The Cigarette Snail

Today there was an Oceanography lecture on the ship and I learned about yet more things in Australia that want to kill you!  The oceans around Australia contain cone snails, nicknamed cigarette snails, because after you touch one you have enough time to smoke one cigarette before you die.  Lovely.  When the venom of the cone snail was analyzed researchers discovered that each component in the venom attacks a different part of the human body (making it very comprehensive and deadly).  Interestingly, scientists have been able to manipulate the venom and turn it into a painkiller that is 100 times stronger than morphine and not addictive.  Our presenter said it is the future of medicine.   How’s that for a crazy fact for the day?

Another Winner!

On Monday (Sept 27) our ship was in Oahu and on Tuesday (Sept 28) we were in Maui.  Daron and I have vacationed in both of these places in the past and so didn’t feel the need to run around and see all the sights.  We mostly took it easy, did some swimming, and wandered around.  It was nice just to get off the boat for a spell.  Now we’re back at sea, with ocean all around us as far as the eye can see!  We had four full days at sea before arriving in Hawaii, and for those four days we were definitely out there! On a map you can see how big the Pacific Ocean is, but when you’re actually crossing it and can see nothing but water everyday all day, for four full days, you definitely get a feeling for how vast it truly is!  Believe me, I’ve been looking for something, anything, and there is nothing out here but us.  No land, no boats, no birds, nothing!  It gives me a greater appreciation for the explorers who took to the seas way back when, when they didn’t know where they were going or what they would find.  We have four more sea days before we arrive in French Polynesia (Tahiti) on Sunday, October 3^rd. 

Today Daron went to a rum tasting on the ship (when you’re on a budget, you try to get free alcohol whenever you can! J).   It was a popular event because they were also doing a drawing to give away a free bottle of rum.  Daron entered the drawing and was shocked when he turned out to be the winner!  We seem to be on a roll when it comes to winning alcohol for some strange reason (I wish I could trade the alcohol for internet minutes!).  The only down side is they won’t give him the bottle until the night before we disembark in Australia.  We’re trying to get off the boat as light as possible so we can be fairly mobile.  I guess we’ll just have to have a party in our cabin that night!

A Little Background Info

I thought I’d use this post to catch everyone up on how Daron and I got here, for those of you who haven’t been in on our plans since the beginning.   It all started with Daron’s 40^th birthday, four years ago.  Being a milestone he wanted to do something big and so we booked a 10 day tour of Guatemala to celebrate.  We loved it!  It whetted our appetite for international travel.  When my 40^th birthday came around the next year I wanted to do something equally special –either a hiking trip in Europe or a yoga/meditation retreat in Thailand.  We couldn’t work it out because Daron was out of vacation for that year and I was too busy at work to take a chunk of time off.  We started dreaming about “what if” – what if we had more time, no job to get in the way, a chunk of money, etc.  The seed had been planted. 

Fast forward three years later and after much research and discussion we’re ready to take action.  Here are the highlights:

Dec 2009:  Daron gets laid off from Carestream Health.  We interpret it as a sign that NOW is the time to take action on the trip.

Jan 2010: We talk to our real estate agent about putting our house on the market. 

Feb:  We immediately get cold feet and tell our agent we’ve changed our minds (It was the first step and such a big one.  Even though we felt prepared, it was scary to finally commit).

Mar:  Our real estate agent calls and we’re still not ready (we have so much to give up:  a nice house, Beth has a great job, we have a cat we love; it’s a good life).

Apr:  We call our real estate agent and put our house on the market (we know we will regret it if we don’t follow our dreams).

May:  We get an offer on our house, to close June 30^th.  We book the cruise that takes a month to get to Australia, leaving in Sept.

Jun:  We jump through all the hoops of house-selling (almost backed out of the deal twice while in various negotiations).  We sell all of our furniture and some of our other household items.  Beth gives notice at work, probably the hardest thing she has ever done.  The house closes successfully on June 30^th.

Jul:  We put our remaining items in storage and sublease an apartment for one month in Old Town Fort Collins, above the Crown Pub.  We feel like college students, sleeping on a mattress on the floor and eating off a card table.  Daron visits his family in Washington for 3 weeks.

Aug:  We move again, this time leasing a room above the garage of one of Beth’s co-workers.  Everything seems to be going smoothly, until Beth’s Dad has a stroke in early Aug.  Beth flies home with Daron to help her parents, along with her brother.  Her Dad slowly improves during the month.  

Sep:  Beth’s last day of work is Sep 2 – such an emotional day and week (I still miss all my fellow Bohemians)!  We rent a U-Haul for our stuff and discover that it’s too small, so we decide last minute to store it all in Fort Collins, along with our second vehicle, rather than take it to California.  We find a great home for our kitty.  We drive to California and have a nice time visiting Beth’s family before boarding the ship.  Everything is going according to plan.  

So far, so good!

Tip o' the Day

Today's Tip:  Do NOT weigh yourself while the ship is at sea.  The rocking of the boat will cause the reading on the scale to fluctuate 10 pounds over your normal weight and 4 pounds under your usual weight (ok, maybe it’s actually 7 pounds each way – I’m in denial that I’ve already put on a couple of pounds!).  It’s scary to see those high numbers suddenly appear on the scale, even if they do go down (and then back up - erg!).

Tonight was the first formal night on the ship.  Daron and I opted to not dress up, and instead ate an early dinner at the buffet and then wandered around the ship.  Since just about everyone else was at the dinner, we basically had the ship to ourselves!  We played ping-pong (just us), paddleball (just us, which was good because we suck), explored all the remote corners of the ship (just us), and watched the sunset off the front of the ship, just like Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet did in Titanic – Daron even yelled “I’m king of the world!” – ok, not really.  We actually did a short meditation while the sun set, again just us.  J  It was a very magical evening.  

Cruise Details

I love love LOVE our balcony room!   Whenever I’m in the room the balcony door is wide open so I can hear the ocean and feel the fresh air.  It’s such a treat!   Our room is on the 12^th floor, midship, so we don’t feel the sway of the ship as much as we would if we were on either end (although I’m sure we feel it more up here than if we were on a lower floor).  We figured we would be the youngest people on the ship, and generally this is true, although we have seen a few other couples that are younger.  We’ve only spotted two children so far.  Most everyone else is older (but not old! J).  It is also a very international crowd – lots of British, Canadians, Australians, and other nationalities are on this cruise.  The ship holds 2,670 passengers and 1,120 crew.  This cruise was sold out, with a wait-list.  One couple found out they got a spot on the first day of the cruise!  Can you imagine?  I wonder if they were already packed or if they scrambled to pack that day (either way would tell you a lot about a person)!  I’m glad that we were able to get a spot (and one with a balcony too!).  

First Day on the Ship

Today was our first day on the cruise ship – I can’t believe we made it!  All that planning and coordinating and we’re finally here – wow.   My first task once we stepped on board was to look into my internet options, which turned out to be pricey.  As anyone knows who has been on a cruise before, they charge you for everything (except food of course).  They had a game going on as soon as we boarded for $1,000 in shipboard credit (that’s a lot of internet minutes!), so I dragged Daron all over the place to collect “stamps” from different areas so we could enter the drawing.  Daron wanted to chit-chat with everyone we met (8 months of not working will do that to a guy), while I was on a mission!  We collected our stamps and entered the drawing at the Sailaway Party.  Lo and behold, the very first name they pull from the pile was MINE!   I headed down to the guy with the microphone while the entire ship’s population was watching me (yikes) and promptly forgot where I’m from when he asked.  “Um, Colorado, Fort Collins” tumbled out of my mouth, backwards of course and the MC repeats it for everyone to hear in case they missed my dorkiness the first time.  What a girl will do for the internet!   In my haste I neglected to read the fine print of the game – they weren’t awarding $1,000 in shipboard credit; instead the various prizes added together were worth $1,000.  In the end I won two martinis at one of the onboard bars, a $14 value.  It’s not 30 days of internet, but at least I can console myself with some “free” alcohol.  J

Kickoff!

Tonight was the kickoff to our Big Trip! I can't believe it's finally here. Daron and I enjoyed a bottle of champagne with my brother Brian and his wife Cindy to celebrate. Daron had been saving a bottle of champagne he purchased after he graduated high school (20-some years ago!), so we opened it tonight. It did not age well (yuck, tasted like vintage vinegar and had no pop!), but it's the thought that counts. Luckily we had a new bottle to celebrate with too. We are both super excited to get on the boat tomorrow and start it all off. Much gratitude to everyone who helped us get to this point - we are so appreciative and look forward to sharing our experiences with all of you. More to come!