2. Memoir
I never knew why I wanted to
get away but for some reason I
knew I had to. Was it because I
lost my first love? Was it that I
would never talk to my best
friend? Maybe it was I never
loved her anyways and I was
attempting to find real love. I
didn't know why I was running
away from what I had been
used to for the past 24 years,
but after this adventure I knew
exactly why I left.
3. I was clueless and immature when I decided to take on an adventure
such as this. The previous five years I hoped to take over the family
business and never worry about money or opportunities. Thankfully, God
decided another path for me and I went with it. In the summer of 2004, I
decided to sway from the norm and take on an opportunity that would
be once in a lifetime. I wanted to get away, so I found a cruise ship that
offered everything free, from room and board to alcohol. I flew out of
Charlotte to Montreal, Canada. I had found a smaller cruise ship that
would cruise the Great Lakes and eventually come out the St. Lawrence
Seaway and down the east coast. Unlike most cruise ships, our ship
employed all Americans, so I could relate to all my co-workers.
4. The Adventure Begins
Within the first week, I met a female
employee that liked to sleepwalk in
the middle of the night. Believe it or
not, this is extremely dangerous. We
would find her in the galley, on the
stern of the boat and a lot of times
near the edge either on portside or
starboard side just hanging out.
Eventually, the Captain put an alarm
on her cabin door that would make
a loud noise that would notify us
when she left her room. At this point I
knew this was going to be a great
adventure. We spent almost three
months in the Great Lakes and every
night was an adventure.
5. The crew was so much fun and we
would celebrate our 18 hour work
day every single night. If we were
ported in a harbor, we would go out
and have fun, but if we were out at
sea, we would do the same on the
boat. It almost seemed every night
was someone’s birthday. The nights
were fun but the workdays were
hard. It was fun to wake up in a
different city each day and have a
different view for work every day.
After three months of working in the
Great Lakes, we ventured out the St.
Lawrence Seaway and started to
head south. This is where most of the
memories would start.
Going through the St. Lawrence
Seaway takes more than ten days.
It’s very boring and as crew
members, you have a lot of free
time. We ate, drank, worked, and
played games, but time sometimes
seemed to set still. When we finally
met the Atlantic, it seemed as if we
had finally landed on Plymouth
Rock.
6. The greatest part of coming out of the Great Lakes was experiencing the east
coast from the ocean. We saw the beauty of Maine, New Hampshire,
Connecticut, and New York City. One of the most amazing sights was coming
up on New York City at night. The Captain said we about 25 miles out and we
could see the bright lights from that far away. As we came closer to the city you
could see a space that was empty of lights, obviously where the World Trade
Centers were once standing. The city was magnificent and I was blown away
by how large in size it was.
We spent almost two months doing the same itinerary, which was my favorite
itinerary we did during my adventure. We started in New York City, then to
Martha’s Vineyard, on to Nantucket Island, Newport, Rhode Island and ended in
Boston. These were the best tandem of cities that were in one itinerary.
7. Almost Left Behind
One night while we were ported in Boston we had a 12:00 am departure time. All of us crew
left for downtown because the Yankees and Red Sox were playing game 2 in the playoffs
that year. After a few drinks and watching the game up until the 8th inning, everyone
decided to leave so they wouldn’t be left behind. (Note: If you missed the ship departing
you were left behind and terminated. They didn’t wait for the crew…..just passengers.) Well, I
decided to stay because there was only one inning left and I still had about an hour and
thirty minutes left. The game went longer than expected and I looked at the time, it was
11:30 pm. I totally panicked and threw money on the bar. Luckily, there was a taxi outside
the bar and I jumped in. He nor I knew how to get back to the port where my ship was, since
Boston Harbor is very lengthy and confusing. I knew I was going to miss the ship and be left
behind. We drove around for what seemed like days and then all of a sudden, somehow I
noticed a ship that said “Clipper Cruise Line” on it. I yelled to the driver, “there it is!!” I
jumped out of the cab and ran towards the ship. The crew was pulling up the gangway and
untying the large ropes from the ship to depart. One of the crew said, “Go to the stern and
jump on from there, that way the Captain won’t see you.” I ran to the back of the ship and
some of the deckhands grabbed my arms and lifted me over the rails. My heart was
pounding so hard that it felt like I had ran miles to get on that ship. The two deckhands
started laughing so hard that they forgot they were supposed to be pulling in the ropes to
depart. I told them not to tell anyone I was on the ship. As I finally settled down, I went
straight to my room and laid in bed until I fell asleep. The rest of the crew thought I was left
behind and stayed up for quite some time talking about, where I was going sleep in Boston
and how I was going to find my way back to South Carolina. The next morning I strolled into
the dining room to serve breakfast and the look on the crews’ faces were priceless. We all
laughed so hard that day that I will never forget a day so vividly.
8. Ending???……
After this itinerary, we headed down south
towards the Carolinas and Florida where
more exciting stories and adventures would
take place. After we left the United States, we
moved on to the Caribbean. We enjoyed
every island/country from as far west as Belize
and Mexico, to as far east as St. Lucia and
Barbados. This adventure would have to
consist of three separate parts and this is only
be part one. So, to be continued……….
