What We Did On Our Summer Vacation, Part 1

We got the heck outta town to try and forget a crazy school year. We went to NYC to begin our cruise to Eastern Canada, returning to NYC for a few days on our own. Here are the first photos, showing our view of Manhattan from the deck of the ship. Walt and I used our time on board to RELAX!!! Pulling away from the harbor at 5 p.m., we enjoyed a beautiful view of the Statue of Liberty with the sun setting behind her. Then, we found deck chairs that were far away from the loud "Lido" crowd and sat to watch the ocean go by. Very cathartic (there were 3500 people on our ship, including 800 children...most people wanted to swim and party, so we stayed as far away from them as possible). We also returned to our cabin each evening to a new set of towel animals made by our steward. I managed to get sunburned on the first day at sea (putting an Irish person in the sun is like putting a fork in a microwave - just not a good idea). We also took the opportunity to SLEEP! By the way, the hideous smokestack is named "Fun Freddy."