(Due to a lack of internet access, these are slightly delayed.)
Day four was, so far, the busiest day of our trip. The day began with a quick breakfast of bagels, bacon, and instant eggs at the concierge’s lounge at the hotel. With full bellies, we headed out to visit the Pike Place Market., which was only about a block or two from our hotel.
The Pike Place Market is probably most famous for “the guys who throw fish,” and we saw them do that, but there’s a ton of other things to see, do, and buy down there. There’s all order of fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables, all of which smelled incredible. We had donuts at a pastry shop, and a cup of coffee at the very first Starbucks. I considered buying a cup of fresh crab meat for $10, and if we hadn’t eaten breakfast just a few minutes earlier, I would have.
After picking up a couple of cheap t-shirts we went back to the hotel, got our stuff, checked out, and went back to the van. Our next stop was Ye Old Curiosity Shop, a place Susan had visited before which was just around the corner from our hotel. Ye Old Curiosity Shop is a cross between Ripley’s Believe It or Not and a gaudy tourist shop. From there, it was time to (finally) board the cruise ship.
If you’ve never boarded a cruise ship, it’s a lot like boarding an airplane, except with a lot more waiting. Instead of two places to check in, there are half a dozen. There’s a lot of feet-shuffling and everything moves slowly. It was less of a big deal this time because we knew not to be in a hurry.
On our last (first) cruise we learned that even though you can board the ship early, you won’t get your luggage for several hours. We used this to our advantage this time by having the kids bring their swim suits in their carry on bags. Once on the ship, the kids changed into their suits and had the run of the pools for several hours.
Today we signed the kids up for Kids Club. It’s like a daycare for kids on the boat, and during normal daylight hours, it’s free. Morgan is already meeting friends and is begging to go back to Kid’s Club. Mason hates it. There’s a basketball court at the top of the ship next to the mini-golf course, which he greatly prefers. He’s been playing a lot of HORSE up there already.
We were worried about not being able to catch the Thunder game, but the TV in our room has about 10 channels and TNT is one of then. So we had the pleasure of watching San Antonio systematically pick us apart. Hopefully game three in OKC will go better.
Once the boat pulls away from the shore there is no free wifi or cell service. Once we set sail, you can use the cell service on the boat for 55 cents/minute. I think internet access is $1/minute. I finally got tethering working on my iPhone so once we dock I’ll be able to get online and post updates.