Won't You Let Me Take You On A Sea Cruise?

Hoo-wee, baby.

My dad came into some inheritance loot a few years back, and as his grandchildren live quite distant (he and the mom are in Connecticut, my two are in central Texas, the other three in Orlando), he really goes the extra kilometer in generosity to spend time with them. Last year it was nearly a full month visiting peaceful* New England suburbia. This time, a Carnival cruise out of Galveston to ports Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico, specifically selected to coincide with Amalie's school spring break week. (Longtime readers -- yeah, both of you -- will remember I had to obtain passports for the kids. This is why.)

* If one overlooks the triple murder, assault, grand theft, and arson that took place nearby in one very shocking, ugly night. (I'm not going to link to any descriptions of this dismal event. Search if you really want to know more.)

After a far-too-long day of preparing to depart, finally departing, and driving to Galveston, we stayed one night in a La Quinta facing the beach. We arrived around 11:30 pm, which would not have been my choice, but we made it. Worse, we missed a chance to stop at the Ikea store in Houston, which was the one thing I wanted to accomplish on the road trip portion of our vacation; ah well, another chance loomed after the cruise.

I like La Quinta. I've stayed at several, have tended to be treated quite nicely and get a decent bed and shower, which is generally all I ask from a short-stay hotel. Happily, the Galveston franchise met my standard, and for a nominal $10 flat fee, we were able to park our car on site and have the hotel bus take us to the ship port.

Due to poor weather conditions, our ship, the Carnival Ecstasy, made port several hours late, which earned us some credits against our on-board accounts. Not the smoothest of starts, but really not a big deal, and unavoidable. We checked in our luggage, secured our "Sign & Sail" cards for shipboard use (general ID, account spending), left my quite tired Mom in the secure area, and went out for lunch (alongside many other temporarily stranded shipmates). Fuddrucker's provided some delicious burgers, and we returned to the terminal. The steward, still on duty, recognized us and sped us along the VIP line so we could re-clear security quickly and board the ship. After having an embarkation portrait taken -- the first of an absolute flurry of photo ops -- we finally arrived in the ship's Grand Atrium.

And here ends Part 1, because I have to go cook spaghetti. Spoliers: the ship didn't sink, and we all made it home safely, so don't read on in hopes of drama or suspense. There is something of a happy ending though.