Settling down to normal life

We had a great time on the cruise. I have day-by-day notes, but I won't bore you with those.

The beginning part of the academics was taught by the director of the HotS (Homeschool on the Seas) program, a homeschool mom from Connecticut. To adults, it was clear that she'd done about 15 minutes of internet research on the history and culture of Bermuda, but the kids couldn't really tell. Later on, there were some actual experts from the University of Miami who had an oceanographic/atmospheric research lab right on board, and they were fantastic. I even went to the adult lecture by Hans Graber, a U Miami researcher who is an expert in using radar imaging with hurricanes, which was great.

We had lots of stuff to do. The ship had an ice rink and a mini-golf course, pools, an arcade (where games cost $1.50, so FORGET IT), and shows. We all tried to have an astronomy lesson but we couldn't find anywhere on board that was dark enough, and I didn't ask but assumed that they didn't even try to get the Royal Caribbean folks to dampen the lights on top of the ship for a little while.

Bermuda was really interesting. We were there two days; I opted for science over history, although there are tons of cool forts and things like that, and we took a ferry and then a bus to the Crystal Cave and Fantasy Cave, and then back. I'll be uploading some photos soon. (I had gotten Madison a digital camera for her birthday, a decent one, and so she took about 100 photos.) The second day, we stayed near the ship because it took so long to get around, and we had to be back on the ship at 4pm, so we went to Snorkel Park, to which you could walk from the ship. The girls learned to snorkel, and we saw some great fish, especially in the morning. We did that in the morning, went back to the ship for lunch, went back in the afternoon, and Madison and I got sunburns on our backs (lesson: don't trust little girls to put the sunscreen on your, or their own, back). We also saw a glass blowing demonstration at a place nearby.

The folks on board were wonderful about making Madison feel special on her birthday. They scattered rose petals on the table, put balloons on the table with Happy Birthday Madison, and then the whole room (hundreds of people) sang to her while she blew out the candles. Mike, the guy from Alumni Cruises (which sponsored HotS), sent her chocolate-covered strawberries.

Throughout the trip, both girls (especially Madison) would wander over to a window, or to our balcony from our room, or to the railing, and gaze out over the water for a while, and THINK. I think it was worth it just for that.

Another thing, about which I can brag because about 3 people read this, is that the girls were no question the *best behaved* kids in the group. People even commented on it. The director was putting together groups of kids for an educational scavenger hunt on board, and she was talking to me afterward about why she put which kids with which, based on maturity, and ability to behave with decorum. "...and yours are just angels, so it didn't matter which group they were in, no one needed to look after them." True. I was really proud of them. They were as roudy as the others when time called for it, and sat there and listened when it was time for that, too. Never gave anyone trouble. Madison was very concerned when two of the big brothers (on opposite teams) called each other "losers" and thought that her team ought to give up its winning status because the brother on her team had started it.

I discovered, by the way, that Ella has an excellent sense of direction. This was a huge ship, with 14 floors, starboard and port, fore and aft...and by the second or third day, she was navigating around it with no difficulty. She knew where she was, and she knew where she needed to go and how to get there. Our dining room was third floor starboard, and if she got cold and wanted her sweatshirt, she could take the room key and go up to sixth floor port, where our room was.

All in all, this was a good thing to do.

And now I must go and write a long, detailed article about it, as I told the HotS people I was going to do, which gave me my discount.

Oh, wait, first I must educate my children. Then take them to Gym & Swim. Then take them to karate.