Just because you arent a Jew or a Muslim doesnt mean...

I am realizing something very annoying, and I think detrimental.

The world in general believes that "the West" is Christian. They say this within the context of "instead of a Jew or a Muslim". But it is completely untrue.

I am a christian. Not a very good one, but certainly someone in deep need of Mercy and Grace and I trust only Christ and Christ alone for forgivness and salvation. Not because Im caucasian, not because Im an american, not because Im a westerner.

The problem might also be with the idea of a "Jew". There is a difference (to me) between an Israeli, and a Jew. Israelis live in Israel, or come from there. A Jew is a religious term (again to me). I dont consider someone who goes to temple and fools around with Judaism simply because of a cultural history to be a Jew.

I DO tend to assume people with an Arabic or Persian ancestry to be Muslim unless they tell me otherwise. Again, there is a huge difference between someone who says they are Muslim, and the real people who observe all the tenets of Islam.

Anyhow, I hate the fact that someone assumes my neighbor is a Christian simply because they are American, Western, or White. Or they say they believe in God. It is odd to me. I am a Christian because of WHO I FOLLOW, not where I was born.

Disclaimer

Much alcohol was referred to in previous posts. Although it is mentioned often, in truth I think that is because almost evrything was a perpetual celebration, and many of the things I mentioned were the highlights.

One night Danie and I actually TRIED to get tipsy, and had to work rather hard at it. I dont know that we had a huge tolerance, but we sure are lightweights.

So, just in case there is a little concern out there, we didnt ratchet up our life styles permanately. LOL.

BackHome

We got back Saturday, and spent the next 2 days recovering. I got used to the rocking sensation when going to sleep. I got used to wandering around with nothing to do. It took me about 3 days before I really settled. I could see a 10 day cruise asa little better, as I really did only relax in time ot enjoy a day or 2.

We ordered fresh fruit inthe morning in our cabin. The Pineapple was way better when we hit Mexico. They had saladsand such int he free form dining area, but it would be awfully hard ot eat healthy.

I really reccommend a cruise as a way to go somewhere without massive planning. I look forward to going again as a way to get away with my wife. She is great to travel with,a nd we had a great adventure to get started on our life. What a treat I got with her.

Back at Sea

The next 2 days were just sailing home and relaxing.

Danielle is the only person I have ever met who will get up to go teh bathroom,a nd come back and tell me she just made friends with the nicest girl who was cleaning it, and how wonderful she is and how she is her favorite person (that day). the people that waited on us were so wonderful, both danie and I were a little emotional leaving!

Pras was our dining steward. he is from Indonesia. He might well be the most graceful man I have ever met. His demeanor, his movements, his speech were all so geniune and graceful without being effeminitte (sp?). His names means humble, and it was fitting.

I asked once for Tabasco, and from then on out there was a little gravy boat ofit at my seat every night before I got there. Lots of little things like that was such fun and nice for us.




Evangelina (Vangie) was our drink steward. She was such a bright personality. She called me "Sir Sean" the whole time. She would always see us ans smile and say "Hello Daniel and Sir Sean!". She was from the Phillipines. Danielle loved her so much she would tell me all night how she would just watch her walk a round and talk and smile at everyone. she was the brightest most happy lady int he whole dining area!






Anhar was our dining steward assitant. He was from Bali, and his names mean "River" and "Believers". The guy never stopped laughing and giggling and telling jokes and smiling the whole time. He has worked on 3 "World Trips" that are 3 months long, and one of his customers wason their 20th WorldTrip. Eeesssshh. We have his email, and when he is in Long Beach, we are going to go get him, a nd make him dinner and bring HIM food! He was definitely the most adventurous one, and had lots of stories.



The food was good overall. Some really good things, a few really awful desserts, and the rest nice. I gained 7 pounds, and I cannot see that Daniegained anything at all! The service was great, and I really enjoyed the parade of Baked Alaska. Watching grown people prance around in the dark with flaming cake is worth a lot of money to me.

Puerto Vallarta

This was the best of them all. Nicer city, fun adventure.

We got off the boat, and got on a little speedy boat. We went about 35 mph accross the bay for about 20 minutes, and pulled into a private little cove with some residential houses called Tomatlan. We pulled up right on the shore, and got off.

they put us in a 4x4 unimog that might have seen service in Korea. We packed into the back and went up the hills to a little camp about 2000 feet. The scenery was interesting. We werent in the jungle, but you could see how different it was. It wasnt like California witht he high deserts orevergreens, and notlike the ferns and such up north. vines more than bushes, and cool light green leaves and the air was perfect.

We then mounted mules, and rode up a foot path about 15 minutes. They had to get a bigger mule for me, and he wasnt happy abouot a big yelling red haired ass riding his ass. Then we got off and hiked abouther 10 minutes up a path, and zip lined all the way back.

they dont let you bring cameras, mainly because they want to sell you pictures. but here are some of the other stuff.



We got back soaking wet (We rappelled down a waterfall and then zip lined down a river into a pool). We met a sweet couple that had jsut gotten engaged on the ship, and we took off in a taxi to downtown Puerto Vallarta.

Since we were the old married couple (comparitively speaking) it was even more fun. We got to just simply hang out, and I remember after some daquiris and margaritas carrying on about how to maintain the proper perspective in your small mfg business (he is a budding General Contractor) and then rambling on a bout adoption and the real nature of God and Love. She was a psych major, so I got into some discussion about healing, and then she asked if we were Christians, and then I got lost explaining that while we were, it was all about love and not titles and claims and religion. I hope it helped, but I doubt it.

Mazatlan

This was a fun place. I dont knwo why we dont many pictures.My guess is because the firststop was the BEER FACTORY TOUR. Danie is a beer girl, so I went along to keep her out of trouble.

It was cool seeing how they make 33 million gallons of beer a year. Nature is a trip, and yeast and bacteria were some kind of cosmic joke God played on us. You can make things like pickles,cheese, wine, beer and sourdough breadout of some of it, and yet int he wrong places, a nd the wrong amounts, it can make you really sick.

They took us on a tour of downtown Mazatlan, and our tour guide gave us some ideas of where she goes to eat.

We then took a taxi to the beach, and Danie went parasailing, the only thing my lovely lady said she wanted to do the whole time there. I watched as 3 strange latin men hooked my new bride into a harness, attached it to a parachute at one end, and a boat ont he other, and then I watched her float away. What and odd feeling....



























Here she comes back down.

















Then we went to eat at a local place and had shrimp and marlin empanadas. This was really good. Then back to the ship!!!!

How to pay for your habits...

They had a poker table!! Yeah. It was basic friendlypoker, and thankfully, no one was taking it too seriously. I spent about 10-12 hours the whole week playing poker, which was the only way I was able to make any money back we lost playing Roulette and 2 cardpoker and "fun 21" blackjack (AWFULGAME!!!)

Tthe problem was that I decided to have some fun, and see if I could win a lot of money.So I went to the first game a little intoxiccated, and acted like I had no clue how to play. I misbet intentionally, rambled on about how I had seen this on TV, and Danie even came up and started helping provide the persona with comments like "Honey this is just like when you watch TV" and things like that.She went and got me a drink, but I had forgotten I hadnt told her to make it LOOK like a Rum and Coke, but make it only Coke.

$200 later, I had the shocking realization that no one played well, no one was trying take advantage of me, and I had just wasted a lot of time and money trying to set up these people for the rest of the week!!!

Overall, I won about $400 playing nice and easy the rest of the week, which made up for the first day, and covered out losses having fun in the other partsof the casino. What a riot.

Cabo Wabo Why?

Our Monday was in Cabo San Lucas. Im still not sure why people like this place, and our conclusion is that they must mean away from the beachy areas. We went to a place called "The Office", got margaritas, and sat on the beach. The sand was very granular and unusual, and we spent the next 30 minutes saying "No thank You" at least 30-40 times (no exaggeration).

We decided to leave, walked up the beach, and got to a mall that was around the marina. It had Johnny Rockets, LaCoste, and every other thing you could get in South Orange County. We rambled back via the main drag, and went shopping at the tourist trap right by the docks.

I had a little encounter with a disabled little boy in a wheelchair that left me undone for quite a while. I kept touching him, and when I stopped he would reach out and grab my hand and put it back on his head, and make sounds like he just wanted to be touched. I kept praying for him secretly while Danie negotiated with his miother to buy some things. I was quite disoriented for the next 15 minutes, and later in the ship just had to cry my eyes out. Thankfully, Danie is gentle and patient with a big blubbering fool like me.




This is the famous arch that people go out ot and look at rocks and arches.













This is our boat as we left it for the first time. Due to the problems with the boat, we werelate, and the rough water caused tremendous delays in "tendering" (odd word for getting to the dock).









Anyhow, we got back to the ship, a nd went in the pool and relaxed.

Formal Night

Sunday night was "formal night". I must say Danielle was awfully pretty, and we attracted a lot of attention. As we would pass tables, I would hear "He must be REALLY wealthy", or "What a gorgeous daughter he has, his wife must be a supermodel to make up for him", and "What bad thing did she do in a previous life?". More stories to come....