Travel Log: Day 2

Sunday, June 29, 2008: Boarding the Carnival Legend and Setting Sail

This was definitely an interesting Sabbath day for me! I woke up in Florida next to my sweet heart with fears off constantly swollen ankles plaguing my trip. Andrew was sweet enough to give me a blessing that I would be healthy and safe throughout the trip, etc. It may seem strange, but I truly believe that this helped me to make it through the week without incident. I am so grateful to have a husband who is willing to give me blessings, sometimes about things some might say are ridiculous, without question. I love him!

We met up with our group of fellow LDS travelers and got on a bus to the port terminal to begin the process of boarding the ship. Looking back on this day we didn't know any of the other people we were with and now they are like a new extension of my own family. Funny how that works. So we got there and boarded around noon. I made the mistake of agreeing to take the stairs on the ship to get lunch. Big mistake that I did not make again :) I hiked my sorry butt up 7 flights of stairs huffing and puffing all the way. I would love to blame the baby, but I think it was all my own lazy fault! We didn't have much to do that afternoon since we were not allowed to go to our rooms until 2pm so we just wandered around and familiarized ourselves with the ship. For any of you who have cruised you remember the lovely life vest/life boat drill you must participate in first. And for those of you who haven't, picture hundreds of people wearing bright orange life jackets packed on the deck of a ship like sardines. Cute huh? Now add 90 degrees and Florida's humidity (1000%) and it is a blast. We were all counting down the minutes to non-claustrophobic heaven when people off to the side of us began to cheer. What was going on you ask? Oh, nothing other than some guy proposing to his girlfriend...in the middle of the life jacket drill...in front of hundreds of strangers...in a bright orange life jacket. Luckily for him she said yes, but what a nerd! I would have been so mad if I was that girl. Of all the romantic possibilities a week long cruise holds, this was the time he chose to propose? Whateva!

Our room was a lot nicer than I expected. We had a nice little deck and what appeared to be a comfortable bed (little did I know at that point how impossible a good nights sleep would be on this cruise!) All told it was a really nice room and we felt so lucky to have it. Cute story I want to remember: The doorway to the deck had one of those "watch your step" sticker strips along the bottom (bright yellow of course). Andrew kept stubbing his toe on the metal piece to step over. I wish I could capture his tone and expression as he made them that day, but this will have to do. The last time he did it, it was pretty bad and as he leaned forward to catch his balance he struggled to not swear. Instead he muttered: "Uhh, I did not watch my step as instructed!" I laughed so hard tears came to my eyes. My husband is such a cutie :)

The best memory that I will have of this Sabbath day was Sacrament meeting. Our tour guides have an arrangement with the cruise ship to reserve space for various meetings throughout the cruise. The space we were given was non other than Billie's Piano Bar. In case you aren't sure you read that right, yes. We had sacrament meeting in a bar on a cruise ship. At first I was only focusing on the novelty of the event. I kept thinking I can't wait to tell the folks back home about this! And then I began to watch the leaders of our group quietly ask various members present to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. These priesthood men/boys didn't know each other and had no forewarning, but were totally willing and able to prepare, bless, and pass the sacrament to us. I almost cried at how amazing this gospel is and how blessed we are to have it in our lives. That bar served a sacred purpose for us that night for which I am grateful. Most people in this world would go to a bar in search of happiness or fun, some sort of fulfillment. And they just might find it, at least temporarily. But that night we came to that bar in search of the Spirit. In partaking of the sacrament we were able to gain access to the Spirit and the gospel. These are things that could truly bring us happiness and lasting peace.