T'was a dark and stormy...day? And night.

Our first sea day dawned cloudy and a little rainy, though the swells were still fairly small.  We had coffee and a light breakfast up on the Lido deck and then took a little tour of the Pride.  This is a new ship for us and we like it very much.  It's a considerably subdued theme compared to most Carnival ships.  In other words, it looks much less like someone went crazy with a 64 pack of Crayolas.  

After exploring, Andrew went back to the cabin to do whatever it is he does in the cabin all day on sea days (mostly nap).  I, unfortunately, have a federal grant proposal to write while we're on this trip so I gathered up my pile of "work" and headed off to the library to hunker down for a few hours.  By noon, the weather had worsened and the ship was really rocking.  The combination of that and my glasses that I don't wear often enough to be used to them made me completely motion sick, so  I went back to the cabin for a break, some Gravol and something salty to eat.  

After some crackers and a ginger ale (Andrew had a big ol' greasy burger from Guy's Burger Bar), I was feeling better so I made another stab at working.  I only lasted about 15 minutes on this round before I had to come back to the cabin and lie down for a bit.  Blech.  

Luckily, I was feeling very good by dinner.  Tonight was the first of what will likely be three "elegant" nights.  These used to be called "formal" but people complained that they were on vacation and didn't want to pack fancy clothes, so they've eased up.  People now come in everything from black tie & evening gowns to khakis & polo shirts.  Andrew & I tend to go somewhere in the middle, but a little closer to the casual end.  The fun thing about the formal nights are that the food is fancier.  Tonight it was prime rib and lobster tails.  Yum!  Also, the rough seas provided much entertainment watching passengers try to make their way to their tables as the ship rolled and pitched.  Don't worry, no one fell. 

Despite the continued rough seas, I was feeling so much better after dinner that I went back to work for a few hours (without my glasses).  Because I'm leaving my current job and this proposal will likely be due before they get a replacement for me, I am going to have to finish this grant application myself.  To that end, I want to try and work on it as much as I can on our sea days so that we can enjoy our days in port.  That's not actually such a bad thing, as I find the sea days drag quite a bit for me.  Unlike Andrew, I find naps a waste of time.  Also, we're both happier when I have something to occupy me! 

About 8 am - cloudy but not looking too bad. 

Noon - rough seas just before sailing in to a hard rain. 

View of the Serenity Deck (adults only) and the waterslides.  If it wasn't raining, both would be packed. 

Andrew doing his second favorite thing on a cruise.  First fav is napping.