Later on Saturday, we headed to board Explorer of the Seas, our second sailing on her. If you recall, we had our geriatric Canada trip on her a couple years back in the fall. She remains in good condition and tidy. The atmosphere was quite different thanks to the more mixed-age crowd. This time we actually got the Promenade room we had booked (not complaining about that balcony upgrade last time). The Promenade room was nice, but not spectacular. Maybe if we had been a level or two lower we would have had better views of the Promenade, but then we would have also gotten more noise. It was pretty quiet, minus a little piano type music or when the parades were occurring and nothing late at night like the cruise I was above Boleros!

This was a rather lazy trip. I didn't ice skate or inline skate or run from class to class. We attended the requisite art auctions (which had the same condescending jackass that was on Explorer last time); spent a little time near the whirlpool (mostly soaking my foot, which I'll explain more on later); spent time in a deck chair (getting my legs red to match my red arms); and what felt like was every few hours going to eat! I did enjoy heading up to the 19th hole lounge for discounted diamond level drinks each night before dinner. The staff up there was excellent.

As to the foot, well, after our first day in Bermuda it was hurting enough to make me limp. I've had a stress fracture in my foot before and that is what it felt like… but the pain diminished over night and then was come and go, so I suspect I just strained it. Perhaps it was the climbing of the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse just two days after climbing Lady Liberty, but I suspect it was moreso just carrying around all this extra weight. Amusingly, it hurt less with my heels than it did in flats. I really think my feet are just use to heels.

The lighthouse was our first stop and there was quite a nice view from there. It isn't too far of a walk up a short hill from the southern road bus stop. I did climb out on the ledge to immediately freeze up at the height and narrow walkway, but after a minute calming myself I did get in motion and went the whole way around the top despite the wind and my heart thudding in my chest. From there we went up a few more bus stops and followed the same path along beaches that my niece and I took last summer. The water was a bit too cool, but that's okay, I am not much for swimming in the salt water or sunning at the beach.

From there we headed the rest of the way into Hamilton, walked the shops, and then headed for our reservation at the Fairmont for afternoon tea. The tea was lovely, and despite the food not being what Slips expected, I thought it was good – well – most of it. We were then going to ride the ferry back, but the water was a bit too choppy so they were talking about canceling that ferry run. Instead we hopped back on a bus and road back around to King's Wharf. This first day is the one that lit up my arms bright red. Yes, I was again too stubborn to put on the lotion I carried with me, so I deserved it. Note: The Dockyard Nights celebration doesn't happen in April, so we didn't get to see Gombey dancers or any of that in the evening, I was a bit bummed, but such is life.

For day two we mostly stuck around the dockyard watching the glass blowers and hitting the stores in that general area. We were back onboard early for Slips' spa time, which is when I hit the deck to light up the legs to match the arms. I went a little overboard… keep in mind that was Tuesday, and the top of my legs are still a wee bit tender and red today. At least I have a tan, which is rare.

While it was too windy and cold in the Atlantic to be up on deck we still had pretty damn nice weather for our vacation. There remains lots I could go see in Bermuda, even after three visits there. My big purchase on this trip came from a caricature artist onboard. I didn't want a picture of myself, I never do, but when I saw his pet drawings I was ready to see what he could do. My first anniversary gift was a hand drawn picture of Satin and Vixen. I've mourned that image for quite some time, as I couldn't bear to keep it knowing who drew it, but now I have a hand drawn picture of Vixen, Danika, and Safyre instead.

Now that I'm back with a few extra pounds I decided I needed to do something. So, tonight on the way home I stopped at Snap Fitness and joined. Hopefully spending the money will be enough to get my rear in gear. So hopefully you'll be seeing more on that soon and often.