Cruise to Bahamas
~ excerpt from the 2022 journal ~
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On Friday morning (December 23, 2022), four of us (Chris, Simon, Lorenzo and Gia) headed to Fort Lauderdale. After pausing at a Barnes & Nobel to buy gifts for Zélie and Zoshi, we rendezvoused with Zachary's family at Gilbert's Grill. We called this a "glorified grandpa handoff". Zach told us about his driving vacation thus far. With two cars we headed to catch our Royal Caribbean International cruise aboard the Liberty of the Sea: two full days/three nights. We had a grand time. That first evening aboard, I ate a steak dinner, and walked the decks: restaurants on 11, grand mall on 4, and our state room on 9. Ruth’s mom, Mary, stayed in one room along with Ruth and the two girls. Zachary and I stayed in an adjoining room with a passage way in between. The space was small but comfortable. December 24th was my 73rd birthday and "The Perfect day at Coco Cay". As things turned out, it was the coldest day of the year in the Bahamas, hovering around 70 degrees. It was an auspicious day none the less. Bahamas counted as my 40th country visited. I now have one more country visit than Liz! There were two halves to the private island/amusement park: the thrill side and the chill side. We moseyed around the latter for a few hours, but really, it was too chilly to get wet. Plus, there was much to do on the ship - - snack, drink coffee, and follow the grandkids around. I soon returned to the comforts on board. On Christmas day, we de-boarded and walked through Nassau to the Catholic Cathedral for a Christmas mass. After a few hours back on board, we de-boarded a second time for a bus tour of the capital city of the Bahamas. It was a bit disappointing because it remained cool and drizzly and on December 25, the rum factory and rum cake factory were closed. I did a lot of walking, logging in 20,000 steps before day's end. After a dinner for four adults (Zélie and Zoshi were in child care), we attended an excellent show on ice. Christmas day 2022 was memorable. The Liberty of the Sea docked at Fort Lauderdale at 6am on the 26th and we off-loaded a few hours later. Mary caught a shuttle to the airport. (We learned later, her Southwest Airline flight was cancelled and she had to scramble.) Ruth, the two kids and I waited for a while for Zachary to pick us up and travel to Simon's place.
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