Lido....oh oh oh oh! Shuffle?

I’ve been complaining that I haven’t had time to blog. Now here I am on a cruise, nothing to do and plenty of time, and somehow…not much to say. I’m sure I’ll find a way to fill up a lot of space though. I did get to catch up with some of the ex-counselor types from Camp Weed in Jacksonville the day we left on the cruise. Awesome to see them all and to chat. Loved getting Zach’s reaction that we were going on a cruise in the first place. He’s right in some ways- weird for us to just sit around drinking “bahama mamas” and sitting in deck chairs. Actually, we’ve rarely sat in deck chairs. We did spend one evening in the hot tub by ourselves enjoying a ‘goombay punch’ but not much more. The closest we’ve come is yesterday’s outing in Nassau, which was sitting on a white sand Caribbean beach in a lounge chair drinking a daiquiri and reading a book. And yes, there was a Lido deck on the ship where the pool, hot tubs and shuffleboard were located as well as were they held a hairy chest competition and a midnight buffet.

It has actually been a little disconcerting, after being very intentional for quite a while about being low-environmental impact, low consumeristic, and trying hard to get the kids out of a enjoy now pay later existence to really just kick back and enjoy the cruise. There are all sorts of issues that pop up- like leaving the kids for 6 days; the carbon footprint of a cruise ship on a fragile tropical environment (all though it could be seen as one heck of a ride-share program); the exploitation of local and native cultures; the propagation of stereotypes that you can only have fun if you are drinking; the constant drone of amusement to dull the senses of anything that might not be ‘happy’; and the general eating and drinking oneself into an unhealthy state, because, its all been paid for and it is right in front of you. I could go on, but then I risk really damning myself and getting depressed.

It has also been a great chance to talk to people from other places, albeit everyone seems to have an understanding about never talking politics or any unpleasant topics. It has also been good to see places I might never otherwise see- Key West, Nassau, Bahamas and the wide open Atlantic Ocean (how is it we settled the whole continent by sailing over on boats the size of double-wide?) Mostly, it’s been an incredible chance to spend time alone with my husband and be able to have a conversation where we can complete our sentences without interruption. We may not have done too many things…but we did nothing together, and that, as the mastercard commercial would say, has been priceless.

You always take the weather with you

So my husband is an official groupie of these New Zealand/Aussie guys- the Finn brothers and specifically Neil Finn. He also gets all the stuff they've ever done recorded or live and videos too. This goes for their bands Crowded House and Split Enz as well. I have grown to like them as well, but not in quite the hold up your lighter at a concert way. They have a song that is pretty short and the boys like it alot- it says "Everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you". I've decided that has become the Lipscomb theme song. When we take big trips, meteorological things happen.
We first noticed last year when we got caught in the blizzard of the century in Albuquerque, NM. We went to Buffalo in August and they had record heat. And then last week we went to San Diego and they had a record rainstorm. Thankfully, everything seems to be getting less as we go along. The downside is that we seem only to have brought record drought to our homestate. Hmm.
I think if the drought gets much worse in NE Georgia, the city of Atlanta should pay to have several large icebergs towed/barge shipped down the Atlantic coast from Canada and up the Savannah river and then airlifted to Lake Lanier. Maybe that would make their Beluga whales happier....(they have lost two in the Atlanta aquarium this year). Well, its no sillier than some other ideas!
So, we're working on our marketing ploy- we'll bring some meteorological something to your town in exchange for a free vacation. We'll have to work on our slogan, but at least we've got a theme song!