Elation

With great shame I do hereby submit this tardy post. I am in the middle of what could be one of my most active summers, and yet, I tend to delay logging in the incredible events that I have been so privileged to participate in over the past few months.

Alright, so it's not that bad. It's just that I've seen some other blogs out there, and as much as I want to know the latest in your life, it's hard to keep checking when there has not been a post on some of those blogs since around March 30! But summer is upon us and you college types are away at your three-month jobs and not glued to your computer chair with multiple windows open on your screen. I'm really curious as to who reads this. I want to tell you the things that I've done throughout the last few days (or weeks), but I'd really like to tailor it to my audience. So I encourage you to leave a comment, or even just jot a quick email to justin@basdensteel.com and tell me you're reading. A published man likes to know who is turning the pages.

So when we last met I was still shaking the cow crap off of my boots and reveling in the pride of having moved multiple head of cattle. It would be a much different and difficult life, but part of me would love to live the life of a cowboy, if nothing else just for the cultural experience of it all. For now, I will just relive my bovine memories and hope for another invitation before too awful long.

Next stop on Summer 2004: Carnival Cruise Lines, funship Elation. My immediate family, along with some family friends (basically another set of parents and siblings we've known them so long) loaded up on Sunday, June 13th and left for the port of Galveston. From Fort Worth, it's long enough to get to Houston alone, much less past it for about 50 more miles. Mallory and Jordan, my sister and brother, survived the trip by turning on Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, not Mal's favorite, but the fact that 3.5 hours would be out of the way was appealing to her. Arriving at the coast, our illustrious floating hotel stood ready for our embarkation. Thirteen decks high and scores of yards long, the Carnival ship Elation dwarfed any ship that I had encountered before. Boarding the boat was mostly comfortable and already involved one picture after another by the Carnival staff. We walked up and up the ramp until we stepped out on the middle deck into the front atrium.

The size and scope of the ship was overwhelming. For at least the first 24 hours on board, I swear I was lost. Think about it, windows are within reach but often times you are just wandering down a long hall. Sure you feel the movement but who in the world knew what direction. Being of the male gender and wanting to quickly know and understand my surroundings, I set out on a trek across the ship with deck layout map in hand. By the end of the walk, I had found the basics of the system. Decks 3 thru 13 were accessible, and there were 3 elevators, forward, middle, and aft. Excited to use my minor bit of nautical terminology, I discovered that even-numbered rooms were located on the port (or left) side and the odd numbers found on the starboard (right) side. I had identified the areas of commerce, recreation, gambling, music, and most importantly cuisine.

It turned out to be a week full of incredible meals with entertaining and attentive service no matter which department you turned to. It seemed that even the store clerks were wanting to make you laugh. Our cruise took us to Progreso, Mexico; Cozumel, Mexico; and Belize City, Belize, each one having a variety of excursions to entertain you for part of the 9 or so hours that we were in port. But obviously a 7-day cruise could not be summarized into a blog of readable size, so I'll leave the nuances to myself. However, how could I have an accurate depiction of the trip without giving the Top Ten things I miss the most about my Carnival ship Elation:

10. The constant sound of crisp, blue water being cut by the bottom of the ship, spraying white waves back into the sea.
9. The chance of being able to step out onto the deck, whenever you felt like it, to have no land in sight.
8. Let's be honest: 24 hour pizza and ice cream. Only way to get that onshore is to camp out overnight at CiCi's or Chuck-E-Cheese!
7. The multitude of cultures and accents among the crew workers, my favorite probably being Romanian.
6. Putting my newly-learned Blackjack skills to the test on $5 tables, but most importantly walking away $75 ahead, including about 9 hours of gameplay.
5. Delicious dinners, complete with the constant care from our waiters Alexsander of Lithuania, and Vladislav of Russia. These guys were incredibly entertaining no matter if they were signing, dancing, describing an elaboarate dish, or forcing several at the table to join a conga line. Let me say, Dad, that I was quite impressed at your willingness to join the dance and do a rather fine job.
4. Strangely, the comforting voice of the elevator in a British accent announcing the deck you had arrived on. I can still hear her voice. "Lido Deck". "Promenade Deck". Yes. Jolly good.
3. Having a show every night after dinner involving comedy, juggling, dancing, or really anything to keep you clapping.
2. The crystal-clear water. If any of you have ever seen the ocean AWAY from the murky and slimy Gulf coast beaches of Texas, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
1. And, of course, day after day of fun-filled times with the family. I will definitely admit that I have an awesome family and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I think it should say a lot that three siblings, no matter what age, can live in tight quarters for 7 days and still come out liking each other!

So all in all, this was a great trip. Each port has an opportunity for various excursions. In Progreso, we visited some Mayan ruins, and then Belize was supposed to involve snorkeling, but the scroching sunburn that I received while at a beach resort in Cozumel kept me boat-ridden for that stop. Seriously, this sunburn was about the worst thing imaginable. My shoulders could've fried an egg, and then my strange condition of the 48-hour Itch set in. This is the second sunburn I've had that two days afterwards my skin begins to violently itch, and scratching only makes it worse. Allergy pills and Tylenol usually knock it out, but there's at least 20 minutes of trying to lie still in a bed while all you can envision are tiny bees running around your skin and stinging over and over. As violent as that sounds, those times were evened out with my top ten above and many more memories.

You see, I had to hurry and write this one because tonight I leave for Las Vegas, just a little trip orgranized by Mike Butts of A&M and Fish Camp fame. With a group of 11 Aggies and a t-sip (to help us communicate with the liberal weirdos), we'll be staying at the Hilton and then going to be there for July 4th fireworks and other festivities. In my opinion, this "having money" thing sure does help to spice up a summer! I'll try not to delay this vacation report like I did the cruise. I hope to return a richer man. So, as the King would say, "Viva Las Vegas"!

P.S. And I would also appreciate your cooperation with the reader census. Email or comment if you feel so inclined. Be back soon.