Confession Tuesday - The Cruise Ship Edition

Dear Reader,

It's been a Canada/Alaska/Glacier experience since I last confessed.  I've just returned from a week on an Alaskan cruise.  I confess while I love traveling, I also love returning home, but let me tell you some highlights from the cruise.

To the Confessional--

I confess I liked the cruise, but there is ultimately a cheesiness to the whole experience I have to overlook.  Like napkin folding class.  Or the entertainer who plays the piano with his feet.  But what I love is that I can travel with a large group of friends and family (with 30 people) and it's easy to coordinate.  Plus, my mum is 77 so it's a great easy vacation for her.

Also, it's such an enjoyable way to see a few cities in Alaska, a glacier, Orca whales, seals on ice (sounds like an ice skating show) and a lot of natural beauty.

~

I confess my two favorite Alaskan outings were taking the SkyTram up the mountain in Juneau and dogsledding with the great-grandson of the man who founded the Iditarod.  After the ride, I was able to meet all the sled dogs and spend time with puppies-- how could anyone turn down puppy time?

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I confess that I am highly competitive when it comes to games.

On the cruise, we played a group game I had never played before called Quest.  This game had me bringing up my team members pants, bras and belts.  It had me racing against other women to put a lipstick print on a stranger's face (& out of about 20+ women, I was first, thank you very much).  It had another team member racing up to show his appendectomy scar & another showing her tattoo.  And I found none of this odd at the time, I just wanted to win.

I realize in time of competition I completely lose all self-consciousness.  As you see in the photo below I've got about 10 layers of lipstick on (Maybelle Go Currant, borrowed from a friend).  I also bit into a sock to make a hole in it as well as showed the judge my back teeth (though I did not get any points for this, they wanted false teeth not a crown).

This is not the actions of a sensible, serious poet.  No, this is a nut on a vacation who will do anything for a prize.  Welcome to my world.

Me in my element wearing my winning baseball cap (aka my trophy)

~

I confess here are a few things I did on vacation that entertained my family and made me laugh--

1)  Dropped my new sunglasses over an Alaskan cliff  (oops)

2)  Set off an alarm in the Royal BC Museum & ended up having a very interesting talk with the security guard about a stuffed mouse.

3)  Danced as a back-up dancer in the men's karaoke version of "All the Single Ladies"

4)  Tried to be hypnotized

5)  Fell into my suitcase

6)  Walked into a pole near the swimming pool

7)  Accidentally hit a man in the head with a slice of lime

I confess I am not sure I will ever lose my awkwardness, but if you can see it as charm, I'll be happy.

Amen.