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Monday, February 19, 2018

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