MsCezanne's Odyssey

We went on an Alaskan coast cruise, from Vancouver. It was to celebrate our first anniversary. Ian liked the cruise last summer, except he didn't like being in the Caribbean in the summer, so, we did the logical thing, we went to the North Pacific in the summer!

It was a better idea this time! It was much cooler, but just as much food. I was surprised that we actually had landfall destinations, but I guess people don't like being couped up on a ship for seven straight days. I don't know why, we'd have been happy staying on board the whole time. We did a few excursions, that was the best way to go whale watching! We also did landfall with some friends we made on board.

We made an interesting match of friends. Our neighbours were a retired couple from Texas. They'd retired a couple of years ago, they owned a restaurant, and sold it to their son. They're in their 50s, I think (I never really asked), so they're still spry and such. (Not that Ian and I are really 'spry'!) When she hit menopause, she gained a tonne of weight. At first she was really awkward and hated it, but they had the sort of revelation I had: fat's fun! They never became serious gainers, like Ian and I, but they're both closing on 300 pounds. They spend their time trying different places to eat.

When ever we made landfall, he knew the chef in the best restaurant in town, and he made sure we got to have their specialty, so we had a couple of absolutely fantastic 5 star meals. On board, there's always plenty of food, I think our friends really enjoyed watching Ian and me making our serious assaults on the food available. I think that we ate more with an appreciative audience!

The whale watching excursions were... well... they were nice, but the second time out, I got incredibly sea sick. the first time was great though, it's cool seeing the whales up close, and seeing how they really operate as a family!

The other great part about the Alaskan cruise is seeing the glaciers. You're right there as ice bergs break off! It's an incredible noise, you see these tiny pieces of ice fall off and splash into the water, and then realise these 'tiny pieces' are probably the size of the cruise ship. We could've gone for a walk on the glacier, but we both agreed that it would probably lead to disaster to go for a long hike on the ice. We stayed behind and had more lunch instead.

Overall, we ate much more than we did in the Caribbean last year. I think, shipboard, the food was better last year, but having a couple of great meals on land made up for that.

The worst part of the whole thing were the flights. We each bought two seats, which meant we weren't actually seated 'together'. It was easy enough trading with the poor soul who wasn't keen to sit next to Ian either way. It was fun snuggling together in a seat wide enough for three, but fun wears out pretty quickly when you've got a folded up armrest poking into you for a few hours. On the flight home, we also make sure to pack plenty of snack food in our carry ons. We were STARVING when we arrived in Vancouver! Much happier when we got back to Toronto.

It was a lot of fun getting to spend that much time with Ian, without a schedule to worry about. Just being able to lay there when we wanted, eat when we wanted, go for a walk if we wanted.

It was also a great chance to catch up with the changes in his body. He's been hovering around 560 pounds for a couple of months now, but even though his weight hasn't changed much, there's still changes in how he looks. His fat is definitely getting to be 'flabbier'. When he gains quickly, his fat makes him look round, the fat has almost a firm quality to it (it's all relative, 'firm fat' is still pretty soft, just not as soft as 'flabby fat' someone needs to write a book!). It's tough to know which I like more, the firm fat or the flabby fat. I think I like them both, and enjoy the fact that it changes over time, so I don't have to pick.

The flabby fat lets gravity take over a little bit more, so his weight tends to droop a bit. His belly hangs lower, his man boobs are more pronounced. He's starting to form rolls on his legs where the flab is being pulled down in layers. His arms have become quite massive too, when he's reaching for something, you can see the fat hanging off and swaying gently.

It's tough to tell if his waddle's been changing. I think it might have, but it could be in my head too. He's definitely slow on his feet, and there's much less movement than when he was, say 400 pounds. With slower steps, there's less jiggling, less side to side movement. It's almost a disappointment really! Almost, there's a different quality in the way he walks, a sense of defiance, I think, that makes up for the lack of jiggles and wiggles. It might be a disappointment for fat admirers, but it makes him damn sexy to me.

The cruise definitely padded me out somewhat. My belly is getting fatter faster than the baby's growing, so it's getting softer, not harder, as it gets bigger. I know that waddling around a ship for a week really did a number on my hips. I don't really mind, it was nice to get off my feet when I could, and I rather enjoy the pronounced waddle I've got now, better than the waddle I had when I was fat! The extra weight feels good too, it's really kicked up my appetite too. On the cruise, I went bite for bite with Ian, or at least pretty close to it.

And now... back home... back at work.

Blah.