Better Late Than Never - Cruise Part 1

The morning of our cruise, Joe and I were so excited to get to the boat. While I've been on a few cruises before, Joe hasn't ever had the chance and so it was exciting to know that I'd get to experience his first cruise with him.

Moments after we stepped on the ship: FREE champagne in hand :)

Because the staff needs to clean the rooms from the previous cruise, you can't just head to your cabin once you get on the ship. So Joe and I did the next best thing, we hit-up the buffet and took some pictures while we were still docked. It's hard to tell, but behind us in the picture below is New York City. We had a great view of the Statue of Liberty.

Once we got to our cabin, we laughed at how small it was and started unpacking. We couldn't believe how efficient the rooms were despite their size! There was a ton of storage - so much, in fact, that we had more than enough space for our luggage and its (many) contents. 

We discussed signing-up for the unlimited booze package, but since we aren't in college anymore we didn't think our bodies could handle 7 days of hardcore drinking. Plus, we knew we'd be off the boat for 3 of the 6 full days and didn't know that we'd drink enough on the boat to make it worthwhile. We got lucky, though, and overheard a bartender tell a passenger that you can sign-up for the beverage packages with as few as 2 days left on the boat and only pay for those days. SCORE! Our plan was set, and we decided that we'd drink what we wanted the other days and have the unlimited booze to look forward to at the end of the trip.

That night, we went to dinner in the main dining room and attended the opening night performance which was a sampling of the various talent on the ship. There was singing, dancing, comedy, piano playing, etc. It definitely got us excited for what we were in store for the rest of the week! 

The next two days (Monday and Tuesday) were spent "at sea" so there were a variety of activities to keep the cruise goers entertained. One of the activities that was most interesting was a Q&A about cruise dining and a tour of the kitchen. It sounds a little lame, but it was actually really interesting. During the Q&A we learned a ton about how they feed so many people, how they decide on menu items, where the chefs and waitstaff is from, etc. It was also really cool to see the kitchen. I couldn't believe how big it was!

Joe and I also liked playing progressive trivia, where there were three rounds of trivia done over three "at sea" days. The team that had the most points at the end of the cruise would win. Though we were only a team of two, we ended up getting third place on the boat! And that was behind teams as big as 6 people. Yes, we are THAT smart ;)

Wednesday we arrived in Bermuda bright and early! I'll write more on that next time :) 

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Better Late Than Never - Brian's Visit to Philly

And now begins my Better Late Than Never series... which could also be called, I Was Too Lazy This Summer to Bother Blogging.

Summer fun started almost as soon as Joe's classes were finished for the year. Our cruise was booked for June 22nd, and we had asked my brother Brian to fly in and watch Buster while we were gone. Since I don't get to see Brian often, he came a week before our cruise so we could hang out.

The three of us (Brian especially) are really into history and politics. Joe had never been to Washington D.C. before and, with it being only 2(ish) hours away, it was a no-brainer that we'd go while Brian was visiting. We booked a hotel near the city so that we could spend Monday and Tuesday exploring the sites.

We spent the first day looking at the monuments and other D.C. landmarks. It was incredibly hot and humid... nearly unbearable. Plus I made a stupid shoe decision and my feet started hurting literally 10 minutes after we left the car. It was still fun, though :)

Had to apply some bright red lipstick to distract from my sweat-drenched hair

After we were all too exhausted to continue, we decided to head to the hotel. Upon arriving, we noticed that many of the rooms had balconies with rocking chairs. Leave it to Joe, he somehow charmed his way into a free room upgrade. SCORE! The guys were thrilled :)

We ate dinner at the hotel bar. The food was cheap and surprisingly good.

The next day we focused on the Smithsonian museums. Joe is a huge fan of aviation and space, so he was most excited for the Air & Space museum.

I told you he was excited ;)

And, of course, the obligatory shot of Joe somewhere he is too tall for

I was just thrilled to see Dorothy's ruby slippers

After exploring the museums, we headed back to Philly and spent the next couple of days recuperating and playing The Last of Us. Actually, I should clarify. Brian played and Joe and I watched... we aren't that good at shooting video games. But it was a lot of fun to watch and to follow the story.

Thursday night, we had another fun thing on our docket. We were going to be trapped in a room with a zombie!

Yes, you heard me right :)

Trapped in a Room with a Zombie is this cool attraction (for lack of a better word) where you have 60 minutes to solve a series of riddles and puzzles to escape a room. There is a "zombie" in the room attached to a chain, and every 5 minutes the chain releases a little bit so that the longer you are in the room the closer the zombie gets to you. If you get touched by the zombie, you are "eaten" and you have to sit out for the rest of the hour.

Although it was just the three of us in the room, Joe, Brian and I were optimistic that we could solve the puzzles. We realized pretty quick that we were in trouble. It was tough! Being a fan of scary stuff, I really didn't think the zombie would phase me. But I was desperate to not get "eaten." So much so that I actually pushed Brian in front of me at one point when the zombie got close.

Yes, I am a terrible sister.

Luckily he did not get "eaten."

In the end, we did not solve the puzzles and escape. They walked us through how to get out of the room once the hour was up, and we would have needed more people, more time, or clearer brains (we were all exhausted) to have had any hope of getting out of that room. But it was still a blast. I would LOVE to go again when they change the puzzles (which they are supposed to do soon).

Our last major event was the Philadelphia Comic Con on Friday. We were really excited to go because there were supposed to be several actors from The Walking Dead in attendance. Unfortunately the two we were most excited for (Daryl and Maggie) were slated to be there on Saturday, not Friday. Boo :(

Before we went to the convention center, though, we hit up Reading Terminal Market for some sandwiches from DiNics. While known for their pork sandwiches, their Italian beef brisket sandwich is one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten. It's not pretty, but it is FABULOUS.

MMMMMMMMMMM.....

Comic Con ended up being fun, despite not seeing Daryl and Maggie. Lori, Shane and Herschel were there - so that was pretty sweet. I took a couple of sneaky pictures of Herschel, which is strictly against the rules so I won't post them ;) We didn't get any autographs or professional pics, because we are too cheap for that haha.

It was really cool to see all of the vendors, especially the artists. There were so many talented people! I ended up getting two T-shirts:

That's it for our adventures with Brian! Tune in next time for a re-cap of our cruise :)

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Back to School, Back to Blogging

It's almost been 3 months since I have blogged, and during that time Joe and I had a FABULOUS summer. I plan to share details of our adventures, but I'll save those stories for future posts :)

Last Monday Joe went back to school and it has been less of an adjustment than I expected. While I hate that he's gone for so long (he's already spending more time in class and lab than last year), I feel like I grew during D1 and I'm better able to entertain myself in his absence. I still hate it, of course. I definitely got spoiled with Joe-time this summer.

To keep busy, I am re-watching The Walking Dead in preparation for the season 5 premiere on October 12, crocheting, and reading book 1 of the Game of Thrones series. Oh! And I am in not one but TWO fantasy football leagues. Go Broncos! I've still been going to the gym... but let's just say that a cruise and 2+ weeks in Missouri set me back a little bit.

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