Pappa Hardy's Musings on Life.

Today we visited St. Kitts. It is a beautiful but relatively undeveloped island amongst the islands in the Eastern Caribbean. Most of the day was spent at a beach resort that was a ways away from port. I guess the most interesting thing about this day was the fact that two famous people come from or have been involved in this island group of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Admiral Nelson of British Navy fame lived on Nevis for a while and in fact married a woman from that island. It is a beautiful island where there is a perpetual cloud over the central peak of the island.

The other matter of fame is that Samuel Jefferson (grandfather to Thomas Jefferson) lived here and I believe that Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States lived on this island for a while.

Otherwise, it was a non-descript day on an island that was beautiful but which didn’t have a huge number of attractions.

Tonight we had an experience that I would rather not have seen. On many of the cruises we have been on, there have been very nice people and some not so nice. Sometimes, the tenor of the cruise gets set by this core group of people.

Today has been a day where rudeness has won out. It seems everywhere I was going someone was being rude to someone else. Toping it off tonight was a show in the Princess Theatre. A comedian was performing and doing his best. Even before the show was over, some of the older people were getting up and leaving. The show wasn’t lewd or mean. These people were not thoughtful and considerate of others. Once the show was finished, before the cruise director could get back on stage and close the show, many of the people were standing up and heading up the stairs to the exits. There was no respect whatsoever for the performers or the cruise director, and then a gentlemen yelled out at the top of his voice, before the cruise director was finished, and yelled, turn on the lights so we can see where we are going. The show was preceded by people arguing over seats and in several instances, a man would bully a place for he and his wife from someone else. People were just out of line.

I am afraid this cruise will go down in my books as one where the people were real rude. In my experience, sometimes that is determined by the place where these people are from, but I was ashamed to be on the same cruise with these people. It was really not acceptable.

There was a curious site this morning while I was up on the LIDO deck on Emerald Princess. I was sitting in a nice protected area. We had some pretty rough seas as the wind had been howling and the ship, and its passengers, were being tossed to and fro.

Suddenly, it appeared that the swimming pool adjacent to me emptied its contents in to the air, and then inundated a performer up one deck as well as a whole slug of passengers on the next deck down. People were soaked. I have seen some pretty significant wave action before on a ship but this took the cake. It was kind of funny too.

This morning I am sitting in my room looking out on the beach at Fort Lauderdale. It is a beautiful day and it is a beautiful beach. The sand stretches for miles. There are also hotels on this beach, but still, it is gorgeous. I love the beauty of the earth and the loveliness of the places that God has given us.

It has been almost 6 months. I feel the call of the ocean. I feel the call of traveling. I love to travel, and the call is getting more intense to go out and cruise on the ocean and see new places and have new experiences. This is getting tough to do because I have responsibilities and a job at home.

I can’t explain the soothing that the open sea brings to me. I don’t understand why I love so much the sound of the open ocean, the wave action, and the crash as it hits against the side of the ship. I love looking horizon to horizon and seeing nothing but water.

I love coming into a new port, exploring new places. I feel the call of the ocean deep in my bones and want so much to satisfy that call.

Today is the 24th of July or also known in Utah as the Days of 47. This time celebrates the entry of the Mormon Pioneers in the Salt Lake valley. For Utahans’, this celebration normally means a giant parade, lots of local events, and a July 24th parade in Salt Lake City, Utah. It also means a big rodeo in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a fun time and for many businesses it is a State Holiday as well, meaning you don’t have to work.

For most other places, this means another hot summer day. It can mean summer type activities. For those who live in Cheyenne, Wyoming, it means Frontier Days. Frontier Days spans the last complete full week in the month of July. That normally includes the 24th. For those of us who grew up in or have moved to Cheyenne, Frontier Days has a different meaning. Yes, it can mean a big parade. The difference, in Cheyenne it means 4 different parades. There is a Saturday parade at the opening of Frontier Days (which is 10 days long). It also means the next Tuesday, the next Thursday, and the last Saturday. Although there may be a lot of differences for each parade, there also a lot of the things the same. This parade is every bit as big as Days of 47 parade in Utah.

There are 10 days of rodeos and activities. There is a carnival in Frontier Park. There is a giant air show. There are three days of pancake breakfasts. Each of these breakfast serves up to 15,000 people. Pancake dough is mixed in cement trucks and it is a lot of fun. There are night shows every night. Acts include the traditional country acts, but there are also rock groups that are invited to play. Some of the best concerts that I have ever seen were put on at Frontier Days. There is an Indian Village, more frontier type activities, and things are just a lot of fun.

This weekend, this 24th we are in Cheyenne to visit family but I would be lying if I didn’t say it was also for Frontier Days. It is a Sunday so I probably won’t make it to any of the activities. However, it is just fun being in town for Cheyenne Frontier Days, the home of the rodeo known as the “Granddaddy of the All”.

If you have ever been on a cruise, you soon realize that Einsteins theory of relativity is indeed true. However, what you find out is that time zooms by fast while having fun, but that is not what Einstein was postulating. I just don’t like going on a vacation if I can’t make it last forever.

When we left Port Everglades it was an amazing site. We watched the Oasis of the Seas leave port with 5000 passengers and about 2000 in staff. Our ship, the Crown Princess has 3000 passengers and 1700 staff. In total, during the day we saw at least 8 ships leave port. That is the population of Payson on just those ships. It is hard to comprehend the entire population of Payson sailing out of the ports. What a day.

We are sitting on the beach. I think most of us always dream of waking up to a room with a view of the beach. Well, here we are and I love it. The water is gorgeous, the setting perfect. What better place to be than in Fort Lauderdale with the beautiful Atlantic Ocean out there. I love the surf. I love having a chance to recharge my batteries.

Sailing the ocean blue. What a way to be.