Category: Slice of Life

Sea Day – Miami to Ocho Rios

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/900 sec, ISO200
 “Sunny Day” Caribbean Sea, 2019

Today was a full day on board the ship, where we ate, drank, played games, saw a show, listened to Jazz, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. This is cruise-life, I suppose!

The MSC Seaside is an amazing cruise ship, with so many things to do, including bowling! There are two lanes in the gaming area, and they are just like a standard bowling alley. The only difference is that the ship sways a bit, so the ball might not travel the path you expect as it goes towards the pins. 😄

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
 “Cruise Bowlers” Caribbean Sea, 2019

Koa and I spent some time in the lounge listening to the Swing Time Quartet who played Jazz standards and were really good. Of course, Koa is interested in the music, so we stayed there for quite a while.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/50 sec, ISO6400
 “Swing Time Quartet” Caribbean Sea, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO3200
 “Cruise Corridor” Caribbean Sea, 2019

One amazing thing I discovered was the bathroom up by the specialty restaurants. This has to be the coolest bathroom view I’ve ever seen. 🤪

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/150 sec, ISO200
 “Bathroom View” Caribbean Sea, 2019

I hope you had a great day!

Our MSC Seaside Cruise Begins

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/420 sec, ISO200
 “Leaving Port” Miami, 2019

Hello!

*note: when this blog post is published, we will have already returned back from vacation*

Today we departed Miami aboard the massive MSC Seaside cruise ship. It’s such a beautiful vessel… so much glass and shininess! We’re still getting acquainted with all the amenities, but so far the buffet checks out with some really nice pizza. MSC is an Italian company after all! 🍕

Tomorrow is a “sea day”, which means we will be traveling all day as we make our way to Jamaica. Therefore we’ll have time to check out the ship further. But for now, it’s time for a glass of bubbly as we cast off. Cheers! 🥂

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO200
 “Ready to Cruise” Miami, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec, ISO200
 “From the Buffet” Miami, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/40 sec, ISO800
 “Kevin and I” Miami, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/9, 1/600 sec, ISO200
 “Miami Clouds” Miami, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/550 sec, ISO200
 “Sea Clouds” Caribbean Sea, 2019

Austin to Miami and Jamaican Feast

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/550 sec, ISO200
 “Small Plane” Austin, 2019

Today was our travel day from Austin to Miami, where we’ll spend the night before we begin our Caribbean cruise.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO640
 “Jetway” Austin, 2019

Our flight wasn’t too early, and the airport wasn’t crowded at all so the whole flight was stress-free.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/850 sec, ISO200
 “Clouds” Gulf of Mexico, 2019

Our plane was small, with just four seats per aisle, but it was very comfortable with lots of legroom so the flight seemed to go by in no time, and before we knew it, we were in the Miami humidity!

We were the first of our immediate family to arrive so we got dibs on the amazing feast that was waiting at my cousin’s house (where we would be staying).

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO640
 “Boxes of Patties” Miami, 2019

Patties, curry goat, fricassee chicken, stew peas, plantain, etc. It was awesome! Everything was from Jamaica Kitchen, the BEST Jamaican food in Miami. My cousin is the owner/operator of Jamaica Kitchen, but even it wasn’t a family-owned restaurant, I’d still rave about it. It’s so delicious!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/50 sec, ISO800
 “Travelers’ Rest” Miami, 2019

Later that evening, the rest of my immediate family arrived and we continued the feast. What a wonderful day reuniting with family. Can’t wait for the rest of the trip!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO640
 “Ping Pong” Miami, 2019

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Finishing up Work

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/5 sec, ISO800
 “Ready for Vacation” Cedar Park, 2019

Tomorrow we start our 10-day vacation, so I’ve been frantically trying to finish up projects at work and handing off unfinished tasks so things can continue to be worked on while I’m away. I think everything is ready to go, but still, I’m a little worried! At any rate, I’ve decided to leave my laptop at home since I won’t have any Internet access on the cruise ship to check in at work. I guess I’ll try to just not worry about it. After all, the world isn’t going to end if something gets missed, right?

Clean Car

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Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 28mm, f/6.3, 1/80 sec, ISO100
 “Clean Car” Cedar Park, 2019

Behold, a photo of my clean Subaru Crosstrek! It’s a rare picture because I don’t wash my cars often. In fact, I think I only washed my Honda Odyssey (which I owned for ~14 years) maybe a dozen times. And my motorcycle has only been washed by the rain.

What’s the reason why my Crosstrek is clean? The body shop that replaced the windshield and fixed dent in the hood washed it. 😆