“Activity suspended” – believe it or not, that is one of the definitions of a vacation. Well, I just returned from vacation and, trust me when I tell you, activity was not suspended.
Before I get into the details, I want to thank John Leone, Scott Barr, Jim Best, and Randy Kane for filling my blog space while I was away. They did wonderful pieces on a variety of topics and you should take the time to go back and read them if you haven’t done so.
While they were helping me, my wife and I were sailing on a two-week cruise on the Harmony of the Seas for our “suspension of activities” after the football and basketball seasons.
The ship (do not call it a boat) is the largest sailing vessel on the seas. 6,000 passengers are on board each week. There are seven different “neighborhoods” to be found throughout the five stories–
- A royal promenade (think shopping mall)
- Central Park (think New York with live trees, upscale New York restaurants, and expensive jewelry stores and a beautiful open-air walkway)
- A boardwalk (complete with a merry-go-round, two dry nine-story slides, two restaurants, a hot-dog shop and an aquatic theater)
- An entertainment area (think a major theater, an ice theater, a comedy club, a jazz club, and a karaoke bar)
- The pool area and water park (think three water slides and three pools)
- A sports zone (think zip line, miniature golf, surfboarding, a basketball court, and ping-pong)
- A spa (think “suspension of activities”)
If you think that is enough to keep you busy, let me get to the entertainment:
- Two full-scale production shows (Grease and Columbus, the Musical)
- A headliner show (a ventriloquist in week one and an a cappella group in week two)
- Two full production ice shows
- Two aquatic shows featuring high diving from 10 stories above the theater pool at the back of a moving ship
- A comedy club featuring two new comedians each week
- Three game shows
- A major casino
- An art auction, etc.
And, of course, there is the food and drink. There is always food – all the time, anytime. In fact there are 25 different places to eat (at least that’s what I counted) and 37 bars (no, I did not try each one).
To attempt to see and do everything in a week, or even two, leads me to believe that Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, and the Cambridge Dictionary need to re-think their vacation definition when it comes to cruising – please drop “suspension of activity”.
It is much more restful at my desk.
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- I will watch the NBA finals between Golden State and Cleveland. Now that should be great basketball.
- It is not easy to keep up with the sports scene on the ship. Upon returning, I realized the Phillies were 2-11 while I was gone. I was glad I could not keep up while away.
- The 76’ers will get the #3 draft pick this year, so the franchise can continue to add good players. I just hope they add a player who can actually play and not be on the injury list for most of the season. When will the Philadelphia fans finally see a competitive product?
- Parkland won the EPC baseball championship by beating Liberty. It was their 20th league championship, far more than any other school. Congratulations!
- Once again, on Memorial Day, we will replay some of our most memorable football, basketball, and wrestling contests this past season (see schedule here). Everyone is a classic if you want to relive the memories.
