2-18-13

Aruba. Today I was second call. However, the first call was the CMO, otherwise known as the crew doctor. So I had to be in the clinic for a good portion of the day so he could do his normal thing. I needed to be in here anyway, just to refresh some things. We pulled in to Aruba around 1300. Our LMO got off to catch a flight that will take her to San Diego for the LMO conference and our new temporary LMO arrived. Her name is Dale and she seems very friendly. I like her already. She is from Houston and has been doing this part time for 8 years. All the full timers and LMOs are headed to the conference. Since we arrived in Aruba at 1300 and I had to be in clinic at 1600, there wasn't a ton of time to get out and do anything. We managed to get out and get a fan for our room. Last night the swell got a little bigger and the ship rolled a little more. nothing too bad really, but it created a new noise where two wall panels bind against each other and then release for a wonderful creaking, scratching, 'WTF is that noise?', noise. So we got a fan. In our room, the hallway and messdecks noise can be a bit loud anyway. Oh yeah, and a bloody nose. Same thing happened to me on the Eurodam. The air below decks is so dry, I got a bloody nose for a few days, intermittent of course. Good times. Life on board can be frustrating at times. Something as simple as getting a cup of coffee or a sandwich can take forever. Lunch is tough with the kids, because it is buffet style. That means we take the kids to get their food and then one of us sits with them while the other gets food and then the other gets food, by which time the kids are already finished. Oh yeah, don't forget another trip for drinks. Ugh. And we are trying to learn who is who and who can help with things like excursions and information about, well, everything. It is still such a foreign world. So we got an hour or two on shore in Aruba. Then we went back and while I went back to the clinic, Sarah took the boys swimming in the pool while it was relatively quiet. Everyone that would normally be in the pool was ashore. So, it was a good, if frustrating day. We are progressing. It seems like we have been aboard for a long time, yet it is only day 4. Tomorrow we go to Curacao. I am first call, so I will see it from the ship. The kids spent a little more time in Club HAL today. They really seem to like it. I think they may need a little break from Mommy and Daddy. Michael got to see a real wild iguana today. He seemed pretty jazzed. Altogether I think it was good. Now, let me go see if that fan works. Hope my buddies are having fun in San Diego at the conference.