Alrighty – well I’m still sitting in the Delta Airlines Club in Miami waiting to board the plane in about an hour. Al suggested that I stick my journal online while I have some free time. That way it’s one less thing to think about when I get home I guess. Thanks Al! (He’s actually sleeping now)!! Anyway – without further adieu here’s my journal (oh and I arranged it "xanga style" with the latest entry on top – so the 1st day would…obviously…be on the bottom) J


March 20, 2004 – Saturday


Today is last day – it’s not even that…it’s like half a day. We got up super early, I washed my hair and then we all went up to eat breakfast. Everything happened so fast. Before I knew it I was out of the boat and in a taxi going to the airport. The customs were a breeze. At the airport I ran into Stephanie again. I talked to her for a little bit and gave her my email. After finding our gate, Mr. J. found the Delta Airlines club and we went inside to wait for our plane – which will be in a couple hours. I got to check my email and stuff on the computer here. I also woke up my dad when I called him to say hi!


I now conclude this journal while still sitting in the club waiting for the plane. We don’t leave for another hour and a half. Unless I add something else after this I’m guessing that the rest of the trip will be a breeze. The next stop is Ohio, then MN. I’ll probably sleep the whole way while listening to music and Hebrew CDs. Thank you Johansen’s for bringing me with on this cruise. It was a blast! And most of all thank you God for a wonderful trip and for your infinite protection and love!!!!!


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March 19, 2004 – Friday


I don’t think a day like this could get any better!!! I woke up really early (around 7am), took a shower, did some laps outside on deck 12, and ate breakfast at Windjammers. I literally filled my plate with French toast (and bacon, eggs, and yogurt). I got back to my room and Al was still sleeping (big surprise). We finally all (the family) got up and ready. We stopped at Coco Cay today. This island is owed by Royal Caribbean. We are going here today because our prior plan was to go to Haiti. But because of the trouble still going on there they decided to bring us to their beach. I guess this was the first time that Royal Caribbean brought a "Voyager Class" ship to this place. They never had that many people there before.


We boarded a tender (small boat that holds like…300 people) around 8:30 and went over to the island. The weather was so perfect! It was like a fantasy…it really was. We walked around a little bit and scoped the place out. Actually I think I walked around the island like twice while the Johansen’s sorta just chilled out at a picnic bench…feeding a couple roosters (slices of apples, rice and…chicken!)


At 9:40 Mr. J. rented us 4 jet skis. It was awesome!! We took a tour around the island with some other people. It was so great. I learned a lot about the history of a couple neighboring islands. I went as fast as the jet ski would let me (without hitting the other people). The water was perfect. It was just so unbelievable. I thought I was gonna fall off a couple times on the rough waves but I didn’t…


After the amazing 3 hour tour (sounds like a song) Mr. J. and I went snorkeling. The fish were awesome. We went quite a ways off shore and saw a stingray, some parrot fish, and a lot of other colorful fish. It was awesome. The lifeguard fed some of the fish and they swarmed all around Mr. J. and I while the fish ate the food around us. It was sweet.


After that awesome excursion I went back and got something to eat with Al. All the food on the island was free because it was the ship’s food. They had ribs and a ton of other good stuff. Al and I also had to go find and drag a couple lounge chairs across the island to where his parents wanted to chill. Well after lunch Mr. J. took Mom (Mrs. J.) snorkeling while Al and I took a nap. I don’t think I slept better in my life! I woke up mostly tan and a little burned in a couple places (but nothing serious)! It was cool because they had hammocks in a grove of palm trees in the middle of the island. It was awesome.


After hanging out for a little while longer and browsing the shops a little bit, we got back on the boat. I took a shower and changed (as did Al) then we went upstairs to deck 14 and played gin with his parents. Mr. J. looked out the door to the outside deck and suggested that I sign up for the rock-climbing wall. After a little more persuasion I went out there to check it out. It turns out that there was no sign up because they were closing the wall for the day. That means that they wouldn’t reopen it until the next group of people that would be coming aboard the next day. However the guy told me that I could be the last guy to scale the thing! How cool huh?! I ran to my room to grab some socks then took off up the wall. I forgot how hard it really was. It requires pull ups and strong legs. So…I had the legs going for me…and praise God the working out this week helped too so my arms held on for a while too. I finally made it to the top…in under a minute! Lol ;) I guess the top of the wall was at 208 feet and wall was 35 feet. After coming down though my arms were twitching. And that happened for the rest of the day. We went back to playing gin for a while and I got my butt kicked by Mr. J. and Al. Oh well. You can’t win them all!


So after gin we went back to our rooms and changed for dinner. But before dinner we went to a farewell show at the Metropolis Theater on deck 5 I think. They had an amazing juggler, some awesome singers, a highlight video of the cruise, and a comedian (he was ok). After the show we still had about half an hour so Al and I used that time to go pack. I finished packing before dinner. Dinner was good. I had prime rib which was amazing. Afterwards Al and I went back to our room and finished what was left of packing. I said goodbye to our room maid Mareene. She was awesome.


Later on in the evening Al ordered room service and chilled out in the room while I went to the Karaoke Idol finalist show. That was pretty sweet. It was quite entertaining. After that I walked around the ship for a while, enjoying the night, looking at the stars, and just thanking God for the awesome friends that He gave me and the amazing time I had this week.


Before heading off to bed I realized that I still had quite a bit of money on my card for the arcade. So I went up there and played some shoot-em-up games and then played air-hockey with a little dude I met up there. I think he was pretty surprised when all of a sudden I was paying for him to play games with me. We also played a racing game, and then I kicked his butt in the soccer game.


After we finished that game this kid came up to me and asked me if I was any good at that soccer game. In my mind I was like "duh" but I thought better and said I was ok. He then offered to kick my a** at the game. He even paid for it! He had a couple girls and a guy cheering him on, telling me that he was pretty good at it. I was a little nervous about it, knowing that I was playing a high-schooler and that I might actually lose. Well I did my best. I surprised myself at how well I played defense. I never did that well with Al. But it seemed our offense was equal. He scored then I scored. I think he got one more point before I started taking off. All of a sudden I had a surge of energy and started nailing the ball in the corners where he wasn’t fast enough to stop it. That’s how I kept beating Al. The funny part was how he kept swearing when I scored against him (ok it wasn’t "funny" but you know what I mean). After the game (7-2 or 7-3) he walked away in disgust. No more haughty attitude like before. The girls congratulated me and then told me in a joking way that I ruined the cruise for him. Well you can imagine me walking away from that game with a big smile plastered on my face :P It was a good feeling.


I went back to my room, did my devotions, watched a little TV, did some thinking, then fell asleep. It was a perfect day. Oh – Al talks in his sleep! He also snores sometimes unless you hit him with a pillow J !


March 18, 2004 – Thursday


Today was a thriller…literally!! I got up around the usual time (9ish) and took a shower and stuff. Al went to work out with his parents (long story) and actually got up before me! Well I just watched the middle of a movie while waiting for him to come back. We docked at Nassau in the Bahamas today. Mr. J and Al and I went on a boat called the "Thriller" which brought us to a private island where we were able to feed stingrays and snorkel with them as well! It was a blast! Feeding the stingrays was quite an experience as well. It was a perfect day too with a temperature high at around 88 degrees with a nice breeze added in. Around 4pm we left again to get back on the Navigator of the Seas. The Thriller was lightning fast getting us back. I don’t think I’ve been on a boat that went that fast yet! It was awesome. Al’s dad also gave us some spending money for the day (he did that on a previous day as well)!


Back on the boat Al and I roamed around, played foozball, ordered room service, and watched Shanghi Knights. Later that evening around 7pm Al and I played Gin with his parents up in deck 14 again. They won this time…but oh well. It was fun anyway. We ate dinner at Johnny Rockets today. There was a small cover charge for this place but the food was great!! At first they couldn’t get Mr. J’s card to work. But I think their machine was down for a few minutes. Anyhow it worked out. After that we all spent some time in the arcade together. Al played air hockey and soccer with his mom (I think he needed a confidence booster lol) which I beat Mr. J. in air hockey…and Al in soccer (which means I’m a game ahead-not to boast or anything) J Al and I also played foozball in which we tied for the night I believe. But overall this week I’m pretty far ahead of Al in that game.


We went back to our room to find it cleaned up for the day, and a monkey towel hanging from the ceiling!! We ordered room service again but I left again to hang out around the ship. Al stayed back to get some rest. I went to the dungeon for a while, as well as another lounge to hear the piano player sing and stuff. There’s this girl I’ve had an eye on this week. We’ve seen each other and smiled and stuff but never really had a chance to get together and talk. Well…coincidentally, I got on an elevator to go back to my room and this girl got on as well…with some other punk…their conversation wasn’t quite what I was hoping to hear. But she remembered me and asked me my name and where I was from. Her name is Bianca. I just hope that she has some morals to her…I guess prayer is all I can really do – and why I’m thinking about this I just don’t know…but that’s why I have a journal – to help process my thoughts.


I know there was a lot more that I wanted to put down in my journal for the day. I even mentioned some of it to Al today but he’s asleep for the time being. Oh well. Goodnight!


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March 17, 2004 – Wednesday


Today is our second and last full day out at sea. I’m not sure exactly what Al and I are gonna do but we’ll figure it out! Right now Al is still asleep…that lazy guy J


(later at around 2am…) Yeah today was one of the most exciting days thus far. Maybe just the most action packed…well here’s how it went: So I got up this morning, took a good shower, turned the TV on…well Al’s dad called and told me to wake up Al like every morning. I did that and Al got up and took a shower and got ready and stuff. His mom called and talked to Al for a bit. Then Al went next door for a little over an hour. I watched "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" on TV. After that (around 2:30pm) Al and I went up and ate lunch. We walked around and roamed, and played foozball with some little guys. Their vocabulary was quite…vulgar. It was cool though to run into them later on and they all remembered my name. Al got a new Fossil watch. Nice pick Al! He and I also played a couple more arcade games and finished off the money that he had on his card for the arcade. He and I ended up tying for the soccer game…lol


J Later on that day Al and I came back to our room and watched part of "What a Girl Wants." I hung out on our porch a little bit and soaked up the sun as well. Around 5ish Al and I played cards with his parents. They taught me how to play "Up and Down the River." I came in 2nd place both times. That’s also a fun game. After a little coaxing on my half we decided to go to dinner tonight. It was our last formal night so I got to wear my tux again. When we left our room for dinner Al and I ran into our housekeeper Marinne. I guess it was her 23rd B-Day today. I talked for a few minutes with her to see what her plans were for the week and to just make small talk I guess… The food was good at dinner. I had lobster. I started to get restless after dinner so Al and I walked around a little bit. He went back to change while I walked out in a lounge and listened to "Karaoke Idol" for a couple hours. I met a couple girls there. It was cool.


Later that night I went back and got Al and we went up to play some more foozball. We were there for quite a while. We met some other younger teens (like freshmen-seniors) and I went undefeated playing every single one of them!! Lol I even beat Al every time except once I think. I got a lot of compliments on my tux tonight (and I guess a compliment on my butt too…however that works).


Even later tonight Al went back to his room while I stayed in my tux and roamed the ship. I went to a couple lounges and chilled, then hung out at the Dungeon where I met a couple more people and hung out for a little bit. I also took a long walk around the ship on deck 12 (outside). It was a little windy on both ends but a beautiful night. It was nice to spend a few quiet moments with my Father. After that I came back here to my room and now I think Al and I are gonna take a little rest! ‘Night!


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March 16, 2004 – Tuesday


Today was neat. Al and I got up fairy early around 9am to the sound of room service for breakfast. The food was ok – ok it sucked! But hey – it was room service right?! Um after breakfast Al’s parents joined us in our room to make plans for the day. We decided just go hang out at St. Thomas and make plans as we went along. We started out together in the "shopping" area but Al and I finally broke free and did our own thing. We’ve both been to this island before so it wasn’t anything new to us or anything. We roamed around, seeing everything that we saw before. We finally caught back up to his parents and decided to go to lunch. I guess none of his family could decide exactly what to do for lunch so we finally just picked a place—turns out that it was packed…so we skipped lunch, Al’s dad gave us 100 bux to take a tour of the island, and off we went!


At first we weren’t sure if we wanted to take a tour of the island but this guide came up to us (like most guides would) and offered us a tour for like 20 bux each. We respectfully declined and kept walking (20 bux is good for like 3 hours of tour) but the guy came after us and offered us 17 since we were just "kids" and "brothers." He then said that if we weren’t happy with the tour at all we didn’t have to pay anything. So yeah – we bit the hook and went along.


God was good to us today as we were able to take this tour of the island with 2 other amazing looking girls. Not only were they good looking, they weren’t ditzy like every other girl on the tour ("too bad their accent was annoying" Al said…I prefer "a little over whelming"). The tour guide was the best yet! His name was Bernard (son of Gilbert). We had some amazing views of the island, such as Magen Bay, a beach in the natural shape of a heart, and iguanas…yes wild iguanas roaming free on a beach we stopped at. The guide was the friendliest one yet. When we stopped for a break Al and I (and the 2 other girls) had a nice chat with him. By the end of the tour Al and I decided to tip him quite well.


We got dropped off at the boat, paid the guide, said goodbye to the girls, and boarded. We didn’t go a whole lot this evening. Al and I went to our room and ordered room service to make up for the lunch we missed. His parents were still on the island shopping. We ordered a ton of food; both junk food and good stuff…ok it was all junk food lol! When Al’s parents got back they came in our room and showed us what they got. The bought another small digital camera by Minolta, a couple underwater cameras, and a few other little things. We played Gin together up in the card room. After Al’s Dad showed me how to play…he and I teamed up and kicked Al’s and his mom’s butt! It was sweet. I even saved Mr. J. a couple times in the game. They decided to skip the "Smart Casual" dinner tonight and decided go eat informally at the "Windjammer Café" so we did that. Al and I didn’t eat much there since we had room service just prior to dinner.


After dinner Al and I played some more arcade games, walked around, and hung out in a couple lounges/clubs on the boat. We finally went back to our rooms and watched the end of 10 Things I Hate About You on TV, then went to the casino where I watched Al lose all 10 bucks. I guess you win some and you lose some. It just shows me though how fast you can lose money and how addicting those machines really are. The funny thing was that one of the two machines that Al has been playing on in the casino (I guess 2 of those machines really reeled him in) – well this older lady played it for like 10 minutes and won $450.90. I was there when she won it too. What a look she had on her face! Lol it was great…but I wonder how much she lost before that. Either way – that money probably helped pay off part of the cruise she was on. So I’m sure that didn’t hurt Royal Caribbean that much. It was cool to hear the music and stuff go off when she won. But I don’t think that’s even enough to get me started.


We went back to our rooms where Al played around with the new digital camera, took some nice blackmail of me (oh don’t worry…he erased it) and hung out. I think now Al and I are going to watch Holes and order room service again. I might walk around a little bit outside on deck 12 around 1am and spend a little bit of time with God. But after that I’m prolly gonna go to sleep!! Oh yeah – Al is one game ahead of me in the soccer arcade game.


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March 15, 2004 – Monday


It was another amazing day today. Our port was San Juan, Puerto Rico. Al and I got up late and got in line to exit the boat. The line was 4 stories long because they had problems opening another port or something. The line didn’t last too long however because they finally managed to open that other port. Al’s parents and us got a private van (driver was Raphile) and toured the place for a few hours. The island is beautiful. We had a great tour guide. We stopped at a couple places such as an old cathedral (which was also beautiful) and some stunning view points. After the tour we got dropped off at the "park"/shopping area for a couple more hours.


We went shopping and hanging out for a while but I didn’t get anything. The shopping really wasn’t that great on San Juan. Not that I’m planning on getting anything anyway! Lol! I think the best thing on the shopping trip was that one of the employees in a watch store flirted with me lol. Ok it wasn’t that cool.


Back at the ship Al and I roamed around for a while. We watched a "karaoke idol" contest while Al bought me a virgin Pina Colata while enjoying a strawberry daiquiri himself. The contest was pretty good – when someone good actually sang J


Al and I got separated somewhere and I ended up going to watch this piano player and this singer in another bar. They sang a lot of old and new songs, while doing sound effects, etc. They were quite talented. I caught up with Al at the casino where he was testing out his ability at the slots. He broke even. He might have lost a few cents. We played some arcade games (Al and I are tied for the soccer game), walked around the ship, met some people, watched the end of the karaoke stuff, and then went back to the casino. Al put a couple more into the slots and won 20 bucks!!! So that was it for the night. Al walked a way with a few more than he came with!


We went back to our room later on that night around 2am and ordered room service. For some reason I guess I fell asleep before we got our food…and Al let me sleep. But I guess I needed it!!


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March 14th, 2004 – Sunday


Yep – Today was another amazing day! The weather was beautiful but fairly windy. As a matter of fact, it was a pretty blustery day. The temperature was around 78 degrees F. I woke up around 10am, took a shower, and walked around the ship. I ran outside for a bit on the track, ate some breakfast (really good food of course), then went back to my room where Al was still fast asleep. A little bit later his mom called and came into the room. She had to put water on Al to wake him up!! It was almost funny to watch. After Al got up and stuff we worked out with his parents. The gym place was nice. I ran on the treadmill for a while, then joined Al at bicycling. After that Al and I tried out some of the other work-out stuff. I was disappointed that they didn’t have a pull-up bar so I improvised and did pull ups on one of the bar supports in the room. I think I might have impressed a couple girls standing there watching…either that or they thought I was an idiot! Probably the latter. Al and I went back to our rooms after cooling down and ordered room service for lunch (it’s free). It was awesome. Al’s dad came to our room later and told us that he talked to a freshman girl from UMD on the boat. He told her about us I guess (way to go…) and wanted us to go say hi. Well Al and I went back to the workout place to the hot tub…but sorta didn’t talk to her…lol


We did some more exploring of the ship since today we will be out to sea until tomorrow afternoon. We watched a couple shows on TV, then I got a haircut upstairs. Marianne did a great job. It was a little expensive but the shorter hair and style felt good afterwards.


It was formal night tonight so I wore my tux. I’m glad I own that! It sure comes in handy. I have a couple proms that I’m invited to next month as well – so the purchase (on Ebay) was worth it! Al’s parents and us got some formal pictures taken downstairs. Then Mr. Johansen bought me a virgin (at least I hope it was) strawberry daiquiri. He told me later that he switched his and mine – but I never got a "buzz" I don’t think so I’m sure he was joking :P


Dinner was great – it was cool to see everyone dressed up for the night…lots of beautiful women as well ;) Afterwards Al and I went to a karaoke show and made fun of everyone-jk! We also went to the dungeon later on. Al got dressed back to normal clothes while I stayed in my tux. Al left the dungeon a little early and after he left I met a couple girls named Stephanie and Stacie from OSU. All I had to do was stand in one place – and they came up to me, introduced themselves…and we talked for a while. It was pretty fun. Al and I went to the arcade later that night (around 1am) and hung out for a while. I’m ahead of Al by a game in the soccer arcade game (sorta like air hockey). We had a blast. We even ran into his dad too around 1:30am.


Now we’re off to bed again around 3am – after ordering room service again (for 3 cookies and milk….) goodnight!


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March 13, 2004 – Saturday


Well today was the 1st day of the cruise. Words can’t even express the beautiful and amazing ship this is. Well how about I start at the beginning?!


So the night before we left Al’s house to go to a hotel near the airport. That way we didn’t have to wake up quite as early and we were closer to the airport. We stopped at Target on hwy 65 to pick up a couple more things. I guess it turned out that almost everyone in Al’s family (or just Al) forgot something and we went back to their house to pick up Al’s glasses. Then we went to our hotel. We stayed in a hotel in Eagan. It was the Courtyard or something – Marriot’s hotel. After we got situated Al and I went out to find something to eat. I realized that we were only a mile or so from Maridyth’s house. I text messaged her – only to be reminded that she was in CA! So we almost decided to go visit her family anyway but hunger got the best of us and we went to Taco Bell and then Dairy Queen (but they were closed) then went back to the hotel. Al and I got up around 4:30am, got ready, and loaded everything up and his parent and us left for the airport. It really wasn’t that bad there. It was actually pretty stress-free. Our first plane (destination Atlanta) was pretty small but I was quite comfortable. I slept the few hours that we were on the plane. We had a short layover and then took a much larger plane to Miami. I slept on that plane as well! It was great.


After getting to Miami we got our bags (mine came out first on the baggage claim and Al’s and family came out almost last…lol), took a cab, and headed over to our ship. We got in a short line, filled out papers, and then boarded "The Navigator of the Seas" by Royal Caribbean!! As soon as we got on and got something to eat (buffet of course), Al and I explored most of the ship. We had to be back by 4:30 for a mandatory drill that the ships do on the 1st day. That was slightly boring but still interesting! I disliked walking around in a life jacket though ;P


Later that night we roamed the boat some more and then went to dinner. The food was amazing. I love this place!! After dinner Al and his parents went to bed but I roamed the boat for quite some time after that. I went to the "dungeon" where it was only 18+ from 10:30-late. There wasn’t a whole lot of people down there so I walked around a bit, went up to deck 12 and walked around on top of the boat. The wind was fairly strong as I had a hard time walking in a straight line-lol! There was almost no one else outside so I used this quiet time to spend with my Creator. God is so amazing. To be out in the middle of no where…and He knows where I am and He loves me and cares about me…someone so small…in one galaxy out of possible millions…what a feeling to have! I love you God.


I guess the biggest problem that I might have on this cruise is all these girls on the ship...there are a lot! But I can’t let that distract me from other things this week. I think a lot of ‘em are younger anyway (like 16-17) which would explain why the little "teen" club was pretty full the previous night (hilarious eh?)!


Ok off to bed ;)

Comments

  1. wow that is the longest post I have ever seen.You are one dedicated journaler.

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  2. Wow that was a long one...It sounds like you had a blast on that cruise!  I hope to see you soon!

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  3. BeautyinoceanPR: its long AgentMc: hahaAgentMc: yeah I know...
    he knows..

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  4. Wow - it sounds like you had a fun time! Thanks for filling us in!! Maybe someday I'll find the time to even read the whole entire thing!! :d

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  5. ahh micah u know im jealous of u!!sounds wicked awesomenow i get to see a tan micah, woohoo! :p

    ReplyDelete

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