(Time to catch up this blog. Sorry for the delay.)

No need to wake up early, but it seems that that’s not really an option. There is just something about laying in bed and feeling the vibration of the thrusters blasting out sea water and sand as you pull into dock.

Sure, I lay there for a bit saying, “Go back to sleep Pablo. We are spending the night here in Bermuda so there’s no hurry to get up and get rolling. Just roll over and go back to sleep.” But in a very dark room I can’t wait to peek out of the curtains and see what there is to see. It’s kind of like unwrapping a gift. You just can’t wait to see it. No matter what it is.

Once I peek outside, that’s it. I’m up. The light smacks me up the side of the head the colors of the light blue sea and the of the low island ready to explore. Time to call room service for coffee, cream and honey, slip on my robe and wait. The morning has begun and I’m in Bermuda for a bit over 24 hours I’m ready for it.

Pat and I have never been to Bermuda. We have plans. Get off the ship, explore the island a bit, find a beach, go to Hamilton, check out the Gosling Rum Distillery, find a place for dinner and then just go with the flow for the rest of our time here…

Aggressive agenda you say? Yep. You’re right. We got off the ship. We found Horseshoe Beach… Well, that’s about it. We found paradise, poked our toes in the sand and jumped in the crystal clear sea and that was it. Was it enough? For that day, that moment in history, that precious, intoxicating, blink of a life… Yes it was.

We are always flexible when we travel, which we do all the time for fun and business. It’s the only way for us to keep sane while we gather experiences. It’s fun. It’s also moments of frustration, and it’s feelings of victory over our feelings and limitations of our self inflicted schedule, it’s experiencing Peace in the moment and then enjoying the reflection of, “If we had not done that then we would not have gotten this.” We love that kind of stuff. So it was in Bermuda. More lessons and a major GREAT time with Pete and Iva.

So truly, it was a simple day in Bermuda. Once off the ship, we stopped by a store on the dock and saw a bottle of Hennessy White which is very hard to find. It’s not for us, but a special gift for a friend we know in Myrtle. Pat made a note of it and then we headed out to the transportation area to see if we could catch a cab to somewhere. Yep, it was easy.

We found a driver to take us the 45 minutes to Horseshoe Beach. A great place to start our day and adventure in Bermuda. It was a 10 passenger van and we waited until it was full. Once full, the driver headed out of the port area and we started our day.

It was a beautiful drive. We drove by old buildings, and some beautiful bays and anchorages as well as a mooring field that had my name all over it. Tucked away, comfy and peaceful. I was ready to move Panacea there in a flash. The driver helped with information along the way and soon we were pulling into the drop off area for the beach. After four days at sea, and many, many days in Europe, a white sandy beach was just the ticket for the four of us…

Horseshoe Beach is a very welcoming place to stop. It has everything, rental umbrellas and chairs, a snack bar, a bar and a guy named Paul that could play the heck out of the steel drums. It was just him with some tracks behind him, but we were in paradise.

There were so many great views that I had a very hard time figuring out what pics to take. CellGrasp came in VERY handy in all the shots. No sand, no water, no dropping, it was a secure day that’s for sure. Not to say, as always, that I didn’t see so many people being very careful not to drop their phones. Sometimes I wish I traveled with a bull horn and wore a vest with small ones on the right and large ones on the left and I’d yell out, “Start the line to the right.”

Sure, I want to sell my little CellGrasps, but my main goal is to solve the problem that cellphone users don’t even know they have until they drop their phone. Yep. It happens all the time. So it’s trying to sell seat belts before they made it a law to have them. Now there’s an idea, maybe I can make it a law that you have to have a CellGrasp to save your digital lifestyle, your camera, your contacts, your emails, your data… Yea, a law. This day and age, ANYTHING is possible.

So kicking back on the beach was great. We talked about leaving and going to Hamilton, the Gosling Factory, yada, yada, yada… Nope. It just didn’t happen. Sun, water, sand… It got the best of us, again. We stayed and stayed.

Until the time that we had to move on. Sure, we could have pushed it and headed to other places on the island, but we just weren’t into pushing it anywhere. We had officially slipped into “Island Time.” No complaints. It’s a great place to be and it seems to come so naturally for this hedonistic body of mine.

You know, I have to tell you the truth. After all the sea days and all the other days and all the days in general, we were ready to chill on a beach. It happens and when it does, nothing else matters. When conditions are this perfect with the perfect temperature and the perfect place and the perfect people to be with… All the elements were working. It wasn’t even an option to move on. You can see it on Patty’s face.

Well the day came to an end. It was time to head to the ship and move into the night festivities. We grabbed a cab and off we went for the 45 minute trip back to the port.

Once back, we stopped at a small shop to pick up a couple of things and then boarded the ship.

Not much else to report. It was a great evening. Once back in our cabin, hot showers, short naps and then out and about for the evening. Dinner at the steak house tonight. GREAT. It was one of Pat’s perks for becoming a Diamond sailor. Yep, she’s had 25 Carnival cruises and she gets a free dinner. Now that’s a perk huh! It was Amazing.

The steak house aboard was perfect. The food was impeccable. (I love spell check for that one.) Everything was done perfectly and the staff was top notch to say the least. Our dinner was on the house, but even if it wasn’t, the flat rate for dinner there is $35.00 a person. After experiencing it, that’s a steal.

Yes, yesterday, it was a freaky spooky night on the ship. Halloween, well it was actually October 30th but this was the official “ship” night to celebrate it. I was really shocked and amazed at how many people packed pretty elaborate costumes to wallow in the Spirit. It was very cool and crazy. I loved it.

As all the creepy freaks walked the hallways, restaurants and bars, there were a group of people that gave away tickets to the top 10 best costumes and at the end of the night, in the theater, there was a costume contest. Anything for a party on a ship.

The winner, you guessed it, was a family that dressed up as Carnival cruise ships. It was well deserved. They were a very cool family from kids, parents and grand parents. Wise choice audience…

After a great day with walking, beach, sightseeing, great dinner, ship wondering, it was time for kicking back in the cabin. I do like my cabin. It’s a place that has a great view, no matter where we are and a place to contemplate, meditate, and create. Home away from home. Zzzzzz.

It was nice sleeping at the dock. Pat didn’t sleep as well, she loves the feel of the ship rocking her to sleep. Me too, but I got a real nice sleep. We woke up a little later than normal and took our time getting coffee and breakfast. We left port about noon and we are off for a couple day cruise to New York, our final destination. So a sea day today and a sea day tomorrow and then we dock in New York about 4:30 a.m. Eastern.

Tomorrow will be a full sea day…

Paul@CellGrasp.com