Mother's Day Weekend On Board Navigator

So, yesterday I mentioned that I was having trouble deciding between two blog topics that were floating around in my head.  But I was sort of hamstrung and had to write about the No Socks Day topic since that highly anticipated holiday only comes around once a year.  Since today is only Lost Sock Memorial Day and much more solemnly celebrated, I now have time to cover the other topic I was considering.  So today let me tell you about my weekend plans.  I know.... You're riveted!  Right??!?!?!

You may recall that a few months ago, I was very excited about the possibility of going to Galveston and boarding Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas for a ship inspection. I had planned a big weekend around it driving to Nacogodoches first to pick up my parents and then going to my Aunt Lou's house in Texas City to visit her and my cousin Jan. Aunt Lou even invited some of my other aunts and uncles over to visit while we were down.  It was all very exciting.  On the day before we were supposed to go visit the ship, we were invited to attend an educational event with our Royal Caribbean Business Development Manager near the Galleria in Houston.  I went to that and then went back over to my aunts house where everyone was visiting. After I got there, my cousin Jan told me that there had been a collision near the Texas City Dike between a barge and a ship and there was an oil spill resulting in a closing of the ship channel. The end result was that the ship channel remained closed all day Sunday and we didn't get to board the Navigator at all.

I know what you're thinking... poor Susan!  How do these things always happen to her???!?!?!   Now realizing that the 3,000 passengers on the ship were all late in returning and many probably missed flights and perhaps even a day of work and the 3,000 who had planned on boarding Sunday didn't get to until the next day and then the ship didn't leave Galveston until Wednesday only going to one port instead of the 3 that had been scheduled, you can see how this was really a tragedy for ME in particular. This affected ME very dramatically. It was actually very hard to go on.

An email went out the following week saying that perhaps we would try to do the ship inspection again some other time. But I, quite frankly, didn't expect that to happen. I did find out that the passengers who were supposed to have gone out on Sunday were refunded the price of their cruise, given a discount on their next cruise and were invited to spend the week on board anyway free of charge which was, I thought, very well done of RCCL.

Then a few weeks ago, while I was out of town, I got an email saying that Royal Caribbean was inviting travel agents to board Navigator on Saturday May 10th along with their families for a one night stay free of charge.  I didn't see the email for several days and assumed that it would be too late to react when I finally did.  So, I did nothing.  Then last week I got another email saying that there were still openings available and that I could take myself and 3 other people on board.  They are providing 2 cabins per travel agent and we'll be spending Saturday night on board and disembarking on Sunday morning. So, I decided to take my parents for Mother's Day.  I also invited my niece to share my room.

I can hardly wait to spend a free night on board with plenty of time to see all the updates to Navigator.  I'm hoping to be able to talk my niece into doing the FloRider so that I can have a photo of someone I know on it to share with you all instead of photos of strangers.  I'll finally get to see for myself if the Virtual Balconies are as amazing as they are hyped to be. Plus there will be new photos of more amazing food to upload!!!! I'll naturally have a drink or two.  So you could see a few photos of those floating around on Facebook as well.

The only issue will be to keep all ships from colliding near Galveston for the next 48 hours or so.  It'll also be imperative that they keep all the passengers who are currently on board covered in Purrell so that no one contaminates the ship between now and then resulting in a fumigation that lasts for 12 hours and keeps us from boarding.  If you are on board Navigator right now and reading this, I have two things to say to you.....

1. Really?  You're paying $1 a minute to read my sweet little ol' blog??!!?!?!  How flattering!
2. COVER YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU COUGH AND DON'T DOUBLE DIP IN WINDJAMMER!!!!!

I swear if anybody jumps overboard as that ship is coming back into Galveston on Saturday morning in an attempt to ruin my weekend, I will HUNT THEM DOWN!  I've worked hard for this weekend and I won't let anyone ruin it. My dad had to cancel because he is having back problems.  He'll be having back surgery next week after we return.  He feels that he won't be able to sleep on the ship and will have trouble moving around.  I totally understand and don't want him to be in pain.  So, I am letting him off the hook. But I'm forcing my Mom and my niece to go anyway.  There is no way I'm letting either of them out of this.  If I have to tie them up, gag them and drag them on board the ship kicking and screaming, they will go with me and we will all have a Happy Mother's Day damn it!

So have a great weekend.  If all goes well, perhaps this weekend or Monday at the latest, I'll have photos of Navigator to share with you all.  Happy Mother's Day!

Happy No Socks Day, America!

I know, I know, I know....  I haven't written a blog in nearly a month.  I hear about it every time I talk to someone.  Some of the people who have mentioned it seem to be a little too happy for my taste. (Hint - it's not nice to come across as giddy when you bring up the fact that you haven't seen a blog from me in a while.) But nevertheless, I feel missed.  The fact is, I was having trouble coming up with topics.  When you do this everyday, it's hard to continue to be as original and wildly entertaining as I have tried to be.

So now that I have finally decided to wade back into the blogging waters, as it were, I have two topics to choose from and I find myself having a little trouble deciding between them.  The first is that it's No Socks Day.  And I suppose since there is only one No Socks Day a year, it's more urgent than my other choice. I'm not able to confirm if this is an international holiday or simply a national holiday but it's exciting anyway. After all, it means that the rest of you are perhaps joining me in my daily choice of footwear.  At the very least, the knowledge that it is officially No Socks Day may turn your attention to the really important matters of our day to day existence like the planning of your next vacation.

I'm not going to lie, in my line of work, No Socks Day is just another day like the other 364.  But if everyday you put on sturdy work boots to spend your day in construction, working on a farm or doing other hard labor, you're just asking for trouble if you don't wear socks with them.  That means, this should be at the very least a national holiday.  One in which EVERYONE in the labor force gets the day off.... paid. After all, I'm sure that the creators of No Socks Day weren't pushing for people to end up with horrific blisters on their tootsies each May 9th.  If so, May 9th would be called Blisters Day and we all know that May 9th is in fact, Lost Sock Memorial Day. No sir, the No Socks Day founders thought, in their infinite wisdom, that if you didn't wear socks on May 8th, you would be forced to stay home from work. And if you are forced to stay home from work either barefoot or in flip flops, your thoughts naturally turn to other times when your feet might be similarly clad.  Hence, it's time to think about a Caribbean vacation.

Of course there are other places besides the Caribbean where you can be barefoot or wear flip flops all the time, but being in Texas, the Caribbean is so convenient... and blue!!!!  And most importantly NOBODY wears socks there!  It is the perfect place to consider visiting if you have a violent opposition to socks.  Once when I worked at the former employer who shall not be named, while I was working in stores, a customer approached me in the boys department. She was desperately in search of socks for her son that did not have a seam at the toe... anywhere near the toe. She explained that her child was autistic and for some reason the seam near his toe was completely intolerable for him. We didn't have any socks that would work for the boy, but it left me thinking what a horrible thing to have a compulsive aversion to.

How would you get through life if you couldn't stand having a seam near your toes?  You'd have to live every day as No Socks Day! I'm thinking that this might require a move to some place like Antigua or St. Kitts.  I bet there are a lot of people there who don't even own socks.  Can you imagine going through life with no sock drawer?  Never again standing in front of the dryer wondering where the other sock that matches the one you are holding disappeared to?  That would be a wonderful life indeed! I doubt that there is a single sign in Antigua that reads No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.  It's like heaven for people with compulsive aversions to socks.  Another place that would be wonderful to visit if you don't like socks is Roatan, Honduras.  After all, I've never seen a place with a sign like this one in Dallas.

They are probably partying "like it's 1999" at the Barefeet Restaurant and Bar in Roatan today. I like going into an establishment where you are discouraged from wearing shoes.  It's my kind of place.

Maybe that's why I'm such a big Parrothead.  Jimmy Buffett hardly ever wears shoes on stage and when he does they're flip flops.  I bet Jimmy doesn't have a sock drawer.  I think he, like me, probably celebrates No Socks Day almost 365 days a year. It's just how we roll.... Jimmy and I.

Anyway, I hope this is your best No Socks Day ever!  While you enjoy it, think about how much more pleasant it would be if next year you enjoyed No Socks Day with an ice cold Corona in your hand as your toes wiggled around in the sand of a beach in the Caribbean and give me a call if you want to make it happen.