First Night at Lumiere's

It was the second night of my first cruise. I'd like to tell you how awesome everything was, how perfect it was all going, but that would leave out what made this night so memorable. It would also leave out how I discovered one of my wife's super powers. I'm getting ahead of myself.

Yesterday, we had boarded the magic, a truly amazing ship. We sat in Port Canaveral on the top deck at a buffet restaurant called Topsiders. The food there was just a hint at was to come. While Shally and I enjoyed the company of our friends, Larry and Dixie, and tried a small selection from the dessert part of the buffet, the large ship pulled out of the protection of the port. The blaring horn, playing the first seven notes of "When you wish upon a star," seemed to be the last thing we heard before the waves.

The first evening was a blur. We saw our first show, got checked into our rooms and at at our first dinner restaurant, Parrot Cay. I remeber wondering if feeling the waves would be a normal part of cruising, because it was messing with my stomach, then when the four of us sat at our evening table, you could smell the engine, which somewhat ruined the eating portion of the meal. We met the four others we would be dining with that week, who were also cast members and their family. For the uninitiated, cast member is Dinsneyese for employee. They were great.

I should also add a note, that I'm not sure I actually smelled the engine, there was no sign of technical difficulty for the duration of the trip. The difficult on board was completely in the endurance of the people.

After going to bed a little early, we were looking forward to our first full day on the ship, it was a day at sea. I actually am a fan of the days at sea, they tend to be lazy days. Additionally, we would be going to Lumiere's, the fancy French restaurant on the ship. We explored and hung out. We found the location if all the clubs and lifts and lounges. We sat and talked, but the weather was steadily getting more and more violent. The whole day we were bouncing from wall to wall, but at some point it got rough enough you had to stop to regain your balance.

As we dressed in our stateroom for dinner, I was turning green. I was not going to miss this, I would feel better. It was a battle of stomach verses will. Shelly didn't need to battle at all. She told of her grandfather, who as she told it I imagined as a yellow raincoated captain Nemo, who would take her out on the great lakes in waves that would frighten a lesser man. She told of fishing trips and nautical rescues. By both nurture and nature, her sea legs were stong and sure. I listened as good as I could while I steadied myself on the door of the bathroom with my shoulder, while I tied my tie.

The four of us talked on our way. Larry made room for his meal in a trash can as we went, we kept our distance, but Dixie encouraged Shelly to be comforting, as she was not good at that. She would be adding to the mess. He was not alone, we saw not only dozens of sick passengers, but even a sick crewman. A the point a cruise ship staff person is seasick, you know you are in for something special. In spite of this we, like heroes in a walking montage, made our way to dinner.

The place was beautiful and we got to see all of it because, only about twenty five percent of the patrons even showed up. Our table was the most highly populated, with six. The women from the other set of four did not make it. I would like to say I took everything in and fully appreciated it, but most of the time I was thinking, Look casual and don't think about how sick you feel. This lasted until shortly after we ordered. I didn't want to be the first to go, but I really didn't was to rediscover what I had eated at Topsider's here. Dixie, losing her own struggle, said she was going to be going back to the room. I said I would walk with here because I wasn't feeling well either.

I know I lost it before I made it back to the room, but I'm actually not sure where, I think it might have been intone of the fancy porthole seats near the faux cityscape. I know Shelly brought my meal to me, but while I was thankful, I didn't dare eat it. I also know that my wife had precisely zero effects of seasickness. She completely enjoyed her meal. Her and the two guys from the other group made it to the end and she had a lovely time. Impressive.

I rocked to sleep impressed with my wife and hoping the weather would get better, or at least I would get used to it.