EXPECTATIONS, THAWED

EXPECTATIONS, THAWED

We’ve cruised the seas

A time or two

And reported the news

Now, at it again

Here’s what I choose

To see

I lied to my wife

A boarding eve of disappointments

Led to complaints

And my whining

I promised Carole, “No more.”

But there is a kernel here

Worth letting grow

When the weather's cold
I glorify warm places
Burden our vacations
With too many expectations

And herein lay the kernel

And my lie

The more elaborate the vacation

The more complicated the trip

The more opportunities for things to slip

Embarkation eve

Cozumel?!  Grand Cayman?! Key West?!

Then our hotel's classy restaurant, busy, turned us away

Plan B

More casual beach cafe

With walls of glass and a sunny view

At night, a darkened cage of echoed noise

And ordinary food

Plastic glasses serving ordinary wine 

You, too, might be tempted to whine

My wife, not easily deterred

Suggested a return to plan A

For dessert

As promised

My whining

No longer heard 

But inscribed here
My lie

Not exactly a man of my word

Complaints aside
When our cruise got under way
Somehow, the world
In its marvelous complexity
Decided it was time for some levity

Note this chuckle
From an attendant's comment
At the mandatory safety drill
"If you're quiet, it will last quicker."

GRAND CAYMAN ISLAND

This is what we came to see
Great sand 
Sunny, warm

Seven-mile Beach

Long, narrow

Wavy today
And sloped

Wading challenged me

Beginning my slide 
Down the far side of eighty

But, how about this? 

The Royal Palms

Bistro, beach-side

An opportunity to explore Caribbean rum

In the shade

And on the side

An unexpected encounter
Fellow cruiser

Francis, alone
Somewhat beside himself
Carole invited, listened, tried to hear
But never quite got near

Speech impediment (seemed more)
Ended up sharing fish tacos and a smoothie

We were able to decipher
That he was from Utah

And drinks without alcohol are cheaper

For me, left hand drive

A Cayman UK surprise
Thankful to just ride

COZUMEL

Surprise fun

Doing chocolate, Mexican

Not indulging

But learning 
Its history and how it is made

For thousands of years

Mayans served 
A spicy watery drink

Cows introduced later by the Spanish

Who ultimately took it all to Africa

From where most of our chocolate comes today

We were taught how cacao beans

Are grown, aged, dried

And blended with spices

Cinnamon, cactus, chilies and vanilla

To name a few

Hands-on

We sent beans and vanilla stems through 
Our hand operated grinder

Once more, with sugar

Molded, signed
Finished and bagged

Then sampled

White chocolate with coconut

Dark chocolate with a variety of spices

And cacao concentrations 

Paired with Mexican wines 

Chocolate nerds!  Who knew?

Our chocolate in tow

We taxied back toward port

To check out bracelets

At a jewelry store

And reminisce with Kevin
In a shop for Puebla artisans
about the city of Puebla

And a collegian’s visit sixty years ago

Center stage, a modern day musician at the mall 

With amped flute, voice and guitar

Back on board

A Mexican evening

Under the stars 
At the Lido pool

Mariachi music, local

Others strolled

Full costumed cool

KEY WEST

A chilly early morning walk
Then a trolley 
To the U. S. mainland's point Southernmost

And on to
The Hemingway House

Interesting posters and artifacts

As well as numerous descendants, cats

Several of his books were written there

Between five a.m. and two

Interesting tales

Of his lives, after two

Several wives, the outdoors

Wars and inherited bi-polar  

Then on to Truman’s Little White House

And some Harry surprises

“Dewey Defeats Truman” original Chicago paper
Typos and all
Thanks to a 1948 labor strike

No reprints available

The firing of MacArthur

Five star general, popular
But full of himself

The president's poker table

Where he and his buddies circulated a gun

The “buck”

As they decided whose turn it was to deal

On his work desk, the sign

“The buck stops here”

TRIP BACK

Fun, we agreed to say

Though it now comes less easily 

Again, expectations
This time, home's familiarity
Never mind the cold
FLL not helping, overwhelmed
With Sunday cruise ships overload

Lunch on the plane to DTW

Then a dark bus ride through the snow

With a driver who could not stop punching the accelerator

Safety measure?

Nervous foot?

Drive-you-crazy ride

But safely home

Though too late for most of the Super Bowl

DRK, 1/27/18 – 2/4/18