This Yellow Taxi Cab In Which I Ride

Several months after the trip. Home. The following morning (2/2), my friends and I went to Sea Day Brunch. Then we went to the Lido Deck to hang out and catch some sun. It was warm for a little bit, but became cloudier and cloudier as the morning wore on. At some point, I had a cheeseburger for lunch. I love these build your own burgers because you can load them up dozens of pickles.

Several months after the cruise. Home. The rest of my notebook is a mess… I jotted down bullet points of what we did and things that happened so that I could recall them in order when I found time to write. I figured that I would at least get to write while on the plane ride home, but I really wasn’t feeling like writing because I had drank too much on the last night of the cruise. To the best of my recollection (using pictures and bullet points in my notebook), here follows what happened next (*Note: it is a full seven months after the trip as I write this): After writing at the Alchemy Bar on Wednesday 1/31, I went to Karaoke. I do not remember what I sang. I do not remember what I did after that. I might have gone to bed somewhat earlyish. The following morning (2/1), was breakfast with friends. We walked up to the top deck and looked out at the port of Progresso, Mexico. McKenzie and I scheduled an excursion to some Mayan ruins (Dzibilchaltun) and a tour of Merida, Mexico. K

Friday 2/2/18 4:20pm Caribbean, Carnival Triumph, Promenade, Near Coffee Bar I don’t even know where to begin. I haven’t written for two days and while I want to catch up in an orderly timeline-ish fashion, I’m inclined more to just let my freeform feelings fall out onto the page here. I’m in somewhat of a melancholic mood – I mean, the ship is well on its way back to NOLA and we are in Southern Louisiana in February weather. It’s overcast and gray. It was raining earlier and, while it’s not freezing, it’s very cool. The vacation is essentially over (although, we do have some time to do a few things on the ship and after we disembark before the flight home). Scott and Alan/Adam walked by and commented on me drinking water. I told them that the vacation isn’t over yet, but I needed a bit of a break from alcohol. I may drink again tonight when it’s karaoke time. The ship is rocking a bit more than it has been up until this point. I’m tired, but I do want to have one m

Wednesday 1/31/18 8:48pm Caribbean, Carnival Triumph, Alchemy Bar Last night was “Elegant Night.” My friends and I took turns getting dolled up for a nice dinner. I left the room and went up to the lobby bar around 6pm where I ordered my first martini of the evening. While waiting for my friends, I noted the photo ops set up around the lobby. One of them was a chaise lounge in front of a black background with a chandelier and I got an idea. I asked the photographer if he would help me out with some goofy pictures to show my friends later on. I wish I could have bought all of them… there were some funny poses.

Tuesday 1/30/18 11:00am Gulf of Mexico, Aft Deck, Carnival Triumph It is loud on the enclosed aft deck pool area with the splashes and shrieks from a few kids. It is not very packed however. The sun peeks through the clouds now and then, but it is mostly overcast. It’s warm when the sun is out, but it’s chilly when it is not.

Tuesday 1/30/18 8:30am Gulf of Mexico, Carnival Triumph, Promenade (near the coffee bar). I left the Booze Bar on Bourbon Street, buzzed, with bourbon drink in hand. I walked the street for only a short time when someone hollered at me about my shoes. Before I could realize what was happening, this dude started cleaning my shoes and telling me some stupid tale about shoes and kept saying “ten and ten.” I went to give him a dollar and he started to get aggressive, asking me for “ten and ten.” I pointed out his gold teeth and explained that I couldn’t afford gold teeth so maybe he should give me “ten and ten.” He walked away. Shortly after that, my friends texted me and invited me back to the hotel so that we could walk to dinner together. I was preoccupied with “ten and ten” guy and wasn’t really too excited about Bourbon Street anymore, so I told my friend’s that I’d be right there.

(Continued from Part 2) We woke up at 6:00am on Sunday. I rolled out of bed at 6:20, climbed into some clothing, and followed my friends downstairs in somewhat of a haze to the hotel restaurant for the breakfast buffet at 6:30. The buffet consisted of the usual: eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and orange juice – actual real orange juice made from oranges, which I was happy about.

Sunday 1/28/18 3pm The Booze Bar, Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Louisiana I am sipping an ultra sweet Manhattan at the Booze bar on Bourbon Street. It is delicious. 80s music is playing at a mild level, but the sounds of a busy Bourbon Street are directly behind me. The bar is right on the sidewalk with large double doors that are open letting a cool breeze into the bar. The street itself feels warm, however, probably from all the people. It is crowded as people walk the sidewalks and street and gather to listen to street musicians. There is a group of young kids banging on buckets with drum sticks and I can hear a tuba from a somewhere further down the street.

NOLA & Mexico Cruise Adventure Saturday 1/27/18 7am The Local, Albany Airport, Albany, New York I tried to go to sleep at 7:30pm last night, because I needed to get up at 4am for an 8:20am flight out of Albany. I did not fall asleep until close to 9pm and I woke up at midnight completely unable to get back to sleep no matter what I tried. At 1am, I picked up my phone and entertained myself with an endless queue of Fail Army videos until 2am, at which point I stopped fighting the inevitable and got up.  I am now sitting at The Local at the Albany Airport eating eggs, tater tots, and sausage for breakfast. I wanted to get a pina colada (because I am on my way south for vacation and nothing says vacation to me more than a pina colada), but the restaurant doesn’t serve alcohol until 8am. My friends and I had joked about drinking tropical drinks in Albany in the middle of winter prior to our flight. It was a great photo op that was missed due to the 8am alcohol thing. 

(*WARNING* Explicit Language) Counting Crows are calling their 25 th anniversary tour, Twenty Five Years and Counting. I wasn’t going to go because there weren’t any dates near upstate NY and concerts these days are expensive before adding traveling and hotels to the mix. But, I had taken some days off from work for some plans that ultimately fell through and decided to take a look at the tour schedule on somewhat of a whim. There were two dates that would have fit into my schedule and I checked out ticketmaster to see what seats were still available only days before the show. There was a lonely 6 th row seat at Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts, which was enticing, so I started to plan out an adventure. On Friday, August 17, 2018 (it’s always apropos to see Counting Crows in August, isn’t it?), I packed up my car with blankets, a pillow, snacks, water, and a change of clothes. I plugged Mansfield into the GPS, dialed up Counting Crows on Spotify, and started my car… t

2/7/7 11:55am America Social Pub, Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, Florida My moleskine notebook is almost full. I have a couple sheets of paper folded up in case I need a back up.

2/6/17 2:20pm  The Taco Spot, Hollywood Beach, Florida

2/5/7 1:25pm  The Taco Spot, Hollywood Beach, Florida I found no party last night, but wandered the length of the boardwalk to the south (about a mile and a half). Maybe tonight, I’ll go north. I went to bed around midnight and woke up at 9:30 this morning. I ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast, put on my swimming trunks and headed to the beach. I stopped off to buy a cheap beach mat on the way.

2/4/17 1:15pm Hard Rock Café bar, Hard Rock Café Hotel and Casino, Fort Lauderdale, Florida I woke up hard around 8am and slowly got myself up, brushed my teeth, dressed, and packed the last of my things in my man bag. Then, I did one last check of my state room before turning off the lights and closing the door for the final time.

2/3/17 6:40pm  Carnival Conquest, Aft Deck, Somewhere between the Caribbean ocean and Florida

2/2/17 9:45pm  Lido Deck, Carnival Conquest, Caribbean Ocean

2/1/17 11:58pm  Lido Deck, Carnival Conquest, Caribbean Ocean "Oh. I get it. The Mega Deck Party is not a Mega Party on the Deck. Rather it’s a party (a term, which is used quite loosely) on the deck, which is mega in size. In other words, the deck is mega. The party is... not. There are a few people here and there hanging out, but not much is going on…" I wrote this at 10:54pm. Just after taking this picture: It was six minutes before the Mega Deck Party was to begin. I walked to the Red Frog Rum Bar and ordered a pina colada. I put my man bag down. Then, the DJ started. The cruise director and a bunch of the cruise staff came out on the deck and within in minutes an actual mega party broke out!

2/1/17 10:05am Margaritaville, Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island There was a lot of loud thumping music last night when I returned to my stateroom. Sleep did not come easily, but it came. I awoke chilled and stuffed up. I took a shower, because that seemed to help my sinuses last time and it helped a lot this time as well. There were announcements from the cruise director, Eric, every twenty minutes or so about tenders and where to board them. You see, there is no pier at Grand Cayman and the ships just sort of float around off the coast while these small boats (tenders) bring people back and forth to the port. I dressed quickly, because I was excited about Grand Cayman, and went up to the Lido deck for breakfast, which was cheesy eggs again and two glasses of orange “juice” (in quotes because it’s more orange flavored juice than actual orange juice).

1/31/17 10:25am Aft Deck (inside), Carnival Conquest, Caribbean Ocean I woke up around 9am feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. The extra Allegra makes me feel like I’m in a jar of molasses or that I’m a bear that’s been tranq… uil… ized… I spent about a half an hour getting dressed before I went in search of more allergy meds that are not Allegra. They did not have anything in the Fun Shop, but they directed me to go to the Medical Center where they have various meds. I waited about five minutes while the male, Russian nurse explained the pain scale to someone who appeared to be Filipino. The Filipino man kept saying his pain was a 10 out of 10, despite not appearing to be in any pain at all. The nurse, in a Russian accent: “You are in the worst pain of your life? You don’t appear to be someone who is in the worst pain in their life. Do you understand ‘worst pain of your life?’”

1/30/17 12:30pm Key Lime Pie Company, Just off Duval St, Key West, Florida I slept fairly well despite loud thumping music coming from the lounge one floor below me. When booking this room, I was aware of the lounge and possible noise issue, but the lounge on my last cruise was lame and the parties died down by 10pm each night if they even lasted that long. On this ship, there are comedy shows in the lounge and for some reason they require thumping music. I awoke just before 8am and I turned over to go back to sleep. However, the cruise director came on the loud speaker and said that we have docked and are ready for Key West, which excited me. I laid in bed for about twenty minutes (I’m a  slow waker) and then started my morning routine. I put on long pants and a long sleeve shirt and packed shorts in my man bag. I wore sandals and went to the Lido Buffet for  breakfast. I ate on the enclosed aft deck (I think that’s what they are calling it). Then I