Finished yarn

I finished spinning the Malabrigo roving, which, if you'll remember, I bought on the March cruise.

I tried to divide the roving into quarters, but still misjudged and ended up with 34 yards of single left over, after plying. I plied that with some commercial white wool

The tally: 256 yds, 108 gr, Malabrigo Merino roving, 2 plied, fingering weight; 34 yds, 19 gr, Malabrigo Merino/Commercial wool, fingering weight.

I love it!

Google Street View of The Allure of the Seas

Sometimes, I still can't believe that I spent a week on the World's Biggest Cruise Ship...

This is quite a reminder....

Wordless Finished Projects

Malabrigo Cruise- Last Ft. Lauderdale day, and then home

After we left the beach and the beautiful Atlantic, my classmate Colleen (DeeAnn was a grade younger, so she and Colleen didn't meet until this trip) asked if we'd ever seen The Everglades. As a matter of fact, we  hadn't. So Colleen drove us an hour over to Sawgrass Recreation Park.

We were greeted by this fine fellow. I'm pretty sure that peacocks aren't what most folks think of when they think of The Everglades, but I bought a fridge magnet featuring him in the gift shop anyway.

Back when we were planning the cruise, DeeAnn and I contemplated an air boat ride, but we realized that the trip to the park would be far more expensive than the boat trip. We never expected to make it to the park, but once we got there (courtesy of Colleen), we kinda decided we were too tired, and maybe too chicken to do it anyway. But the boats were cool.

 Sawgrass Recreation Park isn't in the jungle part of The Everglades. The land is flat and the horizon is endless (sort of like Eastern South Dakota). Except that what looks like land is actually swamp. And what looks like prairie is actually home to alligators and all manner of bitey snakes.

But should you ever get to this place, the air boat rides are really quite reasonable.

A hug-discouraging tree...

DeeAnn and I both squealed when we spotted the Spanish Moss hanging from this tree. I'd never seen it in person, and though Dee lives in North Carolina, she'd never seen it on a tree either.

I'm pretty sure Colleen had second thoughts about being seen with us after all that moss excitement. Dee took a handful home in her suitcase.

The power lines are shaped differently in Florida.

Colleen did not encourage us to get out of the car and wander around, looking for photo ops, given that this stretch of highway is called Alligator Alley.

It was such fun to see Colleen, and it was so kind of her to shepherd us around her world for an afternoon. We said good-bye reluctantly and then just settled in for an early night. My flight was early, and it was recommended that I get to the airport at least 90 minutes before flight time, which meant I was up and ready to go at 3:00am.

The less said about the fact that the airline folks didn't open the lines until 4:30am, or that a wonky scale prompted the agent to make me unzip my suitcase and redistribute dirty clothes into a duffle bag (in front of a line of other impatient folks) when I was absolutely certain that my case wasn't overweight (and surely enough, it wasn't- the pair of bags only weighed 45lbs, under the weight allowed for a single suitcase...), the better. By the time I got through security, even with precheck status, my flight was nearly ready to board. And by the time I got to Atlanta, I had just enough time to get to my gate and board a flight so bumpy that no beverage service was offered. So by the time I got to Minneapolis, I'd been up for 10 hours already, with no food. But, the less said...

I had enough time in Minneapolis for a leisurely lunch and a beer (at 10am, with no guilt whatsoever). I spent the rest of my airport time reading The Martian, a book I recommend highly.

The flight from Minneapolis to Aberdeen was smooth and short (it's usually around 42 minutes).

And the land at home, while still brown, was at least not white.

And when I got home, after a very long day, I found that The Hub had surprised me. It'll be at least a month before we can swim, but a girl can dream.

So, wonderful trip, wonderful homecoming. Next weekend, I am teaching in Rapid City at the Black Hills Fiber Festival, and after that, I'm home until mid-August! Woot!

Malabrigo Cruise- Last days in Ft. Lauderdale

I couldn't get a flight out the day after we docked in Ft. Lauderdale, so we ended up staying an entire extra day. We didn't do anything but collapse once we finally got into our room on Sunday (folks were returning from cruises and leaving for cruises all at the same time- the lobby and shuttles were chaotic, and when this motel said that check-in was at 3pm, they weren't kidding. We had several really exhausting hours to kill). We walked across the street for supper at Chipotle and then conked out early.

A street sign I'm not apt to see any time soon...

Our first motel was far nicer, but this one had a good pool.

Neither DeeAnn nor I intended to drive anywhere in Florida, so mostly we expected just to sit around for our last pitiful day in sunny Florida. But my old classmate Colleen came to our rescue. I've known Colleen since the 6th grade, but we hadn't seen each other in person for decades. She lived nearby, so on Monday she drove over and took us to the most marvelous little canal marina restaurant for lunch.

The Bahia Cabana is attached to a motel/resort/canal. The entrance was entrancing.

 We got a waterside table, and commenced to watching the many many boats.

Lovely Colleen, our hostess and guide!

If we had had longer in Ft. Lauderdale, we might have been tempted to ride on this one.

The food was wonderful, and the atmosphere fantastic.

More boats (I'm pretty sure I'm okay in calling these boats rather than ships).

  Rubber biscuit?
Oh, those sculpted black pants? In the sunshine? They're hot. Almost blistering hot.

I never knew that such a thing as revolving plastic toilet seat covers existed.

After lunch, Colleen drove us to a fairly secluded beach. I have no idea who the owner of the bent-over backside is. I'm sure she's happy not to be named.

The ocean sound was amazing. This was my first time putting my toes into the Atlantic, and I loved it. The sand on this beach was grainier than on the Caribbean beaches, for whatever that's worth.

It was windy.

DeeAnn always looks great in the water.

One last view of the beautiful Atlantic.

And one last afternoon of adventure in Florida.

Malabrigo Cruise- Last On Board

Last sunset

 Last docking, at Ft. Lauderdale

 Last onboard panorama

Last gathering of cruise ships

Last on board sunrise

Last cruise selfie

 '
Every day, we got a flyer with a listing of activities and special events. There were sales and shows all day, every day. Anything marked with a $ meant that extra money was needed, but as you can see, the majority of activities were free.

Our room was Level 7, Forward, Port (I think- I'm not good at left and right). The elevator by the Starbucks Kiosk got me there the quickest (and yes, that's how I remembered it).

They want you to spend money in port.

Lots and lots of money.
I did.

There's no way around it- disembarkation is a pain. After a week of being waited on hand and foot, having everything done for you, it's really quite a shock to be thrown back into carrying your own luggage and waiting in line and standing for a long time and going through customs. People whine. They complain. They're cranky. And that wasn't just me. We managed to forget what real life was like in just one week.

We opted for a late disembarkation because neither of us were flying out on Sunday. We had another full day, so we figured we'd give those who had to hurry a chance to get organized and off the ship. We were up and ready early, but not off the boat (yeah, I said boat...) until around 11:30am. It was hot and busy (folks were arriving to embark as well), and the motel shuttle was slow, so we took a cab. That was a good idea- getting away from the port itself relieved a lot of stress- as I mentioned a couple of blog posts ago, the only pier without shops and entertainment was in the US. They might want to think about adding some, it would help with the general crankiness, I think.

The vacation wasn't done yet- we had Ft. Lauderdale adventures too... on dry land...

Malabrigo Cruise- At Sea Days

Our last two full cruise days were at sea, traveling back from St. Maarten to Ft. Lauderdale. During each of those days, I taught workshops and classes, but was free in the evenings. There are more social activities on a cruise ship than anyone can try in 10 cruises back to back, but Deeann and I ended up not doing any of them. After supper with most of the knitting cruisers (some opted for a different dining time) with lots of laughter and a great deal of very good food, we mostly just wandered back to our room and read or checked Facebook, or yakked a bit, or called home. In other words, we went to sleep early. As much as I might have enjoyed the on-board shows (Chicago, the diving exhibition, ice skating, bars with live music) and the Casino, I'm not sorry I stayed in. We had a wonderful time. The seas were calm, the company wonderful, and the knitting was, as always, great fun. I thank Lisa Mackey of Friends and Fiberworks in Asheville, and Mara Hargarther of Cruise One, and Tobias and the rest of the folks from Malabrigo, and the Taunton staff, for providing goodies and prizes and lovely things for all of us. It was a trip to remember.

 We didn't get a towel animal every day, but we loved them when they did show up.

Though I think this fellow looks a little anxious about being hung up.

Our stateroom was roomy and comfortable enough for both of us. I only found out later that the couch also folded out to make a bed (for traveling families, I suppose).

The bathroom was also big enough.

An at-sea sunrise from my table in the Windjammer, where I ate breakfast, and where I left my red hoodie sweatshirt (which was returned to me the next morning from lost and found).

I did love wandering early in the morning, before everyone else got up.

I just liked the reflections in this shot. If you look carefully, you can see me, taking this picture.

 The Promenade was quiet early in the morning too.

Looking down on a quiet Central Park.

But I'm already Big...

And of course, there was Malabrigo yarn and roving to be had!

I started this hat when I was teaching knitting back backwards and making bobbles the easy way. I've worked on it since- it's nearly done.

Ready for formal night!

The dining room was lovely.

Sandy and Ellen applauding the amazing dining room staff.

I spent a late afternoon or two up in the Solarium, reading.

And an occasional evening stroll, watching the passing cruise ships.

Have I said it was all wonderful? It really really was.