Friday, January 4, 2008. My travel alarm beeps me awake at 6:40, and somehow I am able to drag myself up. I open the door to the sitting room and rouse the boys, trying to be loud enough to get them moving without being so loud that I disturb Becky’s sleep.
To their credit, both are up and dressed quickly. 
Brandon’s always been a fast riser – though now that he’s a teenager, he can sleep in when he wants to – but Benjamin is much, much faster than he used to be.
Our veranda doors and windows are facing east as we cruise south to Nassau. It’s overcast, but with some breaks in the clouds.
I expect to see Bob up 
and about, but the door to his bedroom is closed. It’s convenient sharing the same Suite, but at the same time I don’t want to go banging on his bedroom door to see if he’s up. We wait around until almost sunrise, and then figure he must have beat us out the door.
Out we go, first to the midship stairwell and up to Deck 9, and then aft. The big “ArielVision” jumbo TV, new to us on this trip, is showing fish swimming. 
We walk to the drink station, where I get a cup of coffee, Benjamin pours a cup of fruit punch, and Brandon just gets some water. Still no Bob, so we head upstairs to deck 10 for an unobstructed view of the sunrise. Unobstructed by windows, that is – there are plenty of clouds in the way. It’s still pretty.
Up on Deck 10, it is windy, but it doesn’t seem as bad as on our first trip, where I had to hang onto my hat. 
Temperature-wise, too, it’s much, much better than yesterday when we left Florida. I heard someone say that yesterday was the coldest day at the port in five years. I believe it. It’s not exactly warm at this hour of the morning, but it is warmer. But then, we are in the Caribbean now.
Our destination is the Wide World of Sports deck. 
Playing basketball on deck at sunrise while at sea is part and parcel of our first-morning cruise tradition. It such an unusual experience, something magical even.
There are a couple of guys bouncing the ball around when we arrive, but they finish and leave quickly, and 
we take over the court. Bob appears after a few minutes, coffee in hand.
We bounce the ball around for a bit, take pictures, and enjoy the view. The buildings of Nassau are barely visible, just specks on the horizon, but we can see them. I quickly learn to stay behind the clear barrier that shields the sports deck from the wind – I go around it once to get a picture of the crew pool below, and am staggered by the strength of the wind. Okay, maybe it’s 
picked up a bit. I not only find myself holding onto my hat, but also my eyeglasses!
We are just about ready to head back below when one of the boys spots a rainbow. Wow. Just… wow. Sunrise at sea, with Bob and my boys, and now a rainbow.
Told you it was magical.
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