A Little of the Inane (more holiday memories)

Is it possible that I may never run out of holiday induced blog posts? Entirely.

My main goal is to write down all that moved me in some way so that I can look back on this years from now and remember. Everything. The highs, the lows, the deep and thoughtful to the inane.

Today ... is a little of the inane. I got a kick out of many of the signs that I saw on holidays. Some people snap pictures of the breath taking Alaskan scenery. Me? When I stop taking pictures of our oh-so-awesome Celebrity Millennium cruise ship ... what do I see? Signs that make me chuckle (or wonder).

First off, I must tell you about the toilets aboard the cruise ship. I had honestly not wasted one brain cell wondering about the plumbing aboard a ship. When my thoughts fleeted to wondering what the bathrooms may be like, I had visions of those tiny bathrooms in a small camper trailer. The ones where you barely have room to turn around. I was wrong.

The bathroom was twice as big as I expected. The shower? Once again, I had visions of tiny in my mind. It wasn't huge ... but (once again) my expectations were almost doubled.

Now the toilet (Mom, close your eyes. I know you do not enjoy toilet talk. But I must ...). The toilets aboard our ship had the most amazing 'vacuum' system that I have ever witnessed. It utilized a minimum of water and it was beyond efficient (if one ever risked placing your hand in the area while flushing, you would risk losing your rings ... or your finger nails). It was the sign above the toilet that got me to wondering:

Most of the pictures are very self explanatory. But cars? I wondered who just may have happened to sneak their car aboard the ship and wondered if they could simply flush it down the toilet to decrease the weight of their luggage on departure.

Yes ... I know it meant 'toys'. But the idea of someone needing a sign to tell them not to flush a car down the toilet did bring a smile to my face.

Now, the object that had me completely buffaloed throughout my trip was the long, oblong shaped 'thing' to the right of all of the unflushables. What was that?

Days and days went by and I continued to wonder about what this 'thing' was. Finally, finally ... I asked my Cruising Friend. Without the pictorial aid, she didn't know what I was talking about. But she required little more than to look at the sign to tell me "It is the lid of the toilet". Oh ... I never would have figured that one out on my own.

This one, I found on an outside garbage receptacle in Ketchikan.

No "Pebble Mine"? I'm still wondering about that one.

Upon writing that sentence, I googled 'Pebble Mine' and found this: http://www.themudflats.net/2010/04/08/eye-on-pebble-mine/

I'm still confused. I'm guessing it doesn't mean not to throw pebbles into the garbage.

This sign? I got. I'm just wondering if bears can read though....

This is why I wonder:

My friend brought this sign (on the wing of our plane) to my attention. We were flying at an altitude of 37,000 feet, at a speed of 506 mph when we read "Do not walk outside this area".

Hmmm .... I guess you are 'safe' as long as you walk on the wing within the safety zone?


How could I walk by this selection of chips aboard our catamaran without snapping a picture?

I have a chip addiction which I can barely (if I try) contain.

"Alaska Chips"; "Grizzly Chips"; "Volcano Chips" ... how in the world did I resist the temptation?









Then there is the auditory video that I put together (I am moving this video from its original location to this collection of the inane, because it truly belongs here and not worthy of its very own blog post).

It is not simply the visual memories that one takes home with them from a holiday excursion. It is the sounds, the aromas and the entire essence of the vacation.

As our days were winding to a close, I listened carefully to the sounds of our our new 'home'. I thought of how these little memories will dim as time goes on.

So I have preserved just a few of those sensory sensations:

The one sound that I long to hear again (and that I did not manage to get, to add to this collection), is the sound of the ship's horn. Ahhh ... my favorite sound of all. It was as if the ship was calling out to me.

And these ... are the memories that I just may forget as time goes by. It is easy to remember the awesome. It takes far more work to remember the inane.