Last Day to Day

Wednesday January 25, 2006
Our last day at sea. We leisurely wake up and head upstairs to the buffet for breakfast. I got a tip form Jan that I can ask for French toast even if it isn’t on the buffet. Hot Damn! It is off to trivia for mom and over to the culinary demonstration for me. Very well done. The executive chef, the Maitre D’ and one of the Head Waiters put on quite a show. Of course I wouldn’t eat anything they made but they were a good comedy trio. The tour through the actual galley was pretty boring since there was nothing happening in there at the time. Back over to mom and we hit the sale from the boutique. Everything is from the last cruise this ship took to Alaska and doesn’t interest me much; I do find a cute new purse though for only $10. Back upstairs for a nap then it is time for a pizza lunch. It is our second formal night tonight and the menu looks pretty fancy. Lobster tail, Pheasant and Beef Wellington. Hmmm…. Dinner is now over (way over it’s 1am!) and the Beef Wellington was ok and of course my sundae was excellent! Thank you Luis! Near the end of dinner Julie (our awesome Sr. Assistant Cruise Director) introduced all of the galley and wait staff and had them parade around the dining room while we twirled our napkins in appreciation. It was quite a show. Following dinner was the last production show with a tribute to Broadway. They did some Cabaret, Oklahoma, Grease and Phantom. It was fabulous as usual. A little sing a long with Kemble then a very embarrassing game of Name That Tune. When the game is over we notice they have started building the champagne waterfall. It is approximately 20 “stories” with over 700 glasses. They surround the bottom with Alsta Mira flowers and place a grape in each of the outside glasses. When it is complete they begin a countdown to the pouring and everyone throws streamers when they get to 0 and the Maitre d’ begins to pour the champagne. He gets it started and has people line up to help him and get their picture taken. The Cruise Staff has begun dancing in the Purser’s lounge as I head to the elevator to go back upstairs when mom is I run into Luis our waiter and we dance for a moment. He offers me champagne and then realizes I am too young. I told you he was a nice guy! Mom and I watch everything happening for about a half hour then head up to our room. I make my nightly trip to the sad buffet and once again find nothing of interest. You can get a mouthful of sugar anytime you want, but there is never a sign of anything salty! Room service to the rescue! A yummy order of French fries hits the spot.

Thursday January 26, 2006
PRINCESS CAYS, BAHAMAS
The most beautiful blue water I have ever seen! We sleep in a little and have a quick breakfast at the buffet. A WINNING round of trivia, thanks to mom’s knowledge of Polish and then it’s off to the shore. We are tendering again and it is quite a long ride. Okay, it’s only 15 minutes but it feels long and luxurious actually with the blue water surrounding you, the sea breeze blowing through your hair and the salt air clearing your lungs, even if it is in a dirty old lifeboat. Princess Cays is a beach on Eluethera Island a part of the Bahamas. Princess rents the beach form the city and has chairs, cabanas, shops and such set up for a day’s port. It is very nice. Mom and I went off and I did a bit of shopping while she sat and read her book. I found a beautiful Bahamas bell and some jewelry for friends. But again no house for mom. We didn’t stay to have lunch with Rita because the walk to the buffet they had set up was too far for mom with nothing but chaise lounges in between to sit. A tender ride back to the ship and it is an awesome lunch of chicken breast sandwiches and French fries at the grill on deck. I decide to lay in the sun for a while and mom reads/naps in her chair. Back downstairs for mom to start packing and I am off to the Internet café to print our boarding passes for the flight to Detroit tomorrow. Others had the same idea, I have never seen that place so crowded and I have spent quite a bit of time in there. Time for me to start packing. I seem to have quite a bit more than I came with. That could pose a problem. Thankfully mom has room in her suitcase and is willing to loan me some space. Another round of trivia (losing) and then up to the donation lounge. I haven’t written much about the “donation lounge”, also know as the casino. Everything here is a lounge, the Atrium Lounge, The Vista Lounge so the staff refers to the casino as the donation lounge. Mom and I spent some time in there each day, not long and never really spending more than $10 each time. And always one of us took out more than we put in. So far I am up $35 and I think mom is up $15. Not too shabby for 10 days and a casino that boasts about having penny machines now. 2! They have about 24-nickel machine and a dozen quarters. The newest nickel I have never played before was the absolute nicest to me. I love GARFIELD! I took out $45 from him last night. I won $50 on the Enchanted Forest (kissing the frogs) on the second or third night here. We do well tonight and take out more than we put in and get ready to head downstairs for dinner. It is America night. The waits staff is all festive in flag vests and bow ties. There are red, white and blue balloons on every table. It is exciting as well as sad; this will be our “last supper”. Luis and Emelina are again on top form, and for once everyone at our table got something different to eat. Mom got Whitefish, Rita got NY strip, Kadreya got Scallops and I got Prime Rib (end cut of course). When most were finished eating the Jr. Waiters (Emelina) paraded around the dining room in the dark carrying huge Baked Alaska’s. It was really cool! Everyone but me gets that for dessert but Luis brings me my regular ice cream. Back upstairs to finish packing and then down for the last big show of the trip. I’m sitting at the bar as I type this, I’m afraid I will forget things if I don’t put them down the same day. Following this show is the passenger talent show, I told mom she brought the wrong daughter for that, but I will gladly watch others.

STAFF:
The Cruise Staff is comprised of the Cruise Director (think Julie from the Love Boat) John (England), the Senior Assistant Cruise Director Julie (Australia) and the Cruise Staff Lindsey (Canada), Theresa (Canada), Belinda (Australia), Mark (England) and Dan (England). We spent a lot of time with all of them since they are in charge of all entertainment including trivia and games. My first encounter with the staff was the tour on the first day with DJ Dan. He conducted the tour of the ship and was very welcoming to all of us newcomers. We met the others throughout the first couple days at trivia’s and such. They also came to know us. Each of the staffers was interested in talking to the passengers and makes everyone feel very comfortable and relaxed. Mark is the new kid on the ship. He came from another ship previously, and there was some fun teasing of him. Lindsey from Vancouver a professed Hockey fanatic missed a Scattegories question for the letter H category sports. She has yet to live that down. Theresa reminds me of a teacher from Muir who is also from Canada and I think in some way they may be related. Belinda is a sprite little thing with so much energy it makes me tired just watching her do things. John wasn’t seen much except for MC’ing some of the shows. He always had a funny anecdote each time. Julie was the most inviting and genuine person I have ever met. She was absolutely lovely to everyone and always had a smile even through her terrible cold.

The bartenders are a force to be reckoned with. The moment we walked on the ship they had my number. There was a man sticking a diet coke in my face enticing me to buy his promotion. You betcha! $40.00 for all you can drink soda. They put a sticker on my cruise id card and away I go. By the third or fourth day I didn’t have to show my card to most bartenders. By the sixth day I had sodas waiting for me wherever I would go. Bernardo had one at the bar for me in the Vista Lounge when a show was going to start. Most of our trivia’s occurred in the Atrium Lounge. Elliott and Carlos have diet cokes handy whenever trivia or a game is on schedule. I will really miss this awesome service.

Taste Testing:
I mentioned before that before this trip began I vowed to start tasting things that I assumed I didn’t like. Lo and behold I was right on most. I have been keeping a list as I go and will now en tertian you with my findings:
Spinach (cooked and raw) – No
Strawberries – No
Lettuce – Yes
Pineapple – No
Lima Beans – Yes
Mint Leaves – No
Beef Consommé – Yes
Cantaloupe – No
Beef Tortellini – Yes
French Onion Soup – Ok if it doesn’t cost extra
Won Ton Soup – No
Dark Cherry Sorbet – Yes
String Beans – No

Day by Day (3)

Thursday, January 19, 2006
Due to weather and navigational problems our port at St. Vincent for today was cancelled. We will be spending another day at sea with an unscheduled stop in St. Kitts tomorrow. Okay by me. If a person who obviously knows way more than me about things of this nature deems it unsafe or unnecessary for us to stop, I will abide by his/her decision gladly. We had decided late last night that we weren’t going to sleep in; we were going to get an early start and do everything we planned. Stop laughing! We got up at 7am, showered, dressed and headed out to breakfast. We headed down to the library to pick up the morning Brain Waves quiz. Thinking we would finish the quiz at breakfast and turn in the answers immediately after we set to work. Scrambled words for Musical Instruments. RCNIOAA – see if you can guess. No fair calling Lyle! We then figure out the answers are on the back and it is not a contest after all just a quiz to get your brain working. We complete the quiz with only 1 quick peek by mom, finish our breakfast and head down to Scrabble play. We’re not too sure how this is going to be played, but we are pretty game for anything. Only two other people show up and it turns out it will just be a game of scrabble on the board. I am not really in the mood for that so I head down to the wireless area and proceed to catch up on home. Risa I need more pictures. Another trivia game and an argument ensues, is a piano a string or percussion instrument? It is disconcerting how serious this stuff is taken. It’s a luggage tag! We decide to hit the dining room for lunch. Another wonderful burger, but this time with bacon and cheese and even better company. Gene Suchy met us by chance outside of the dining room on our way in and we spent an enjoyable lunch together. A little relaxation and off to the Passenger Feud. This is really fun but again we lose. Maybe I am bad luck for mom. I do however have all of the scores for everyone and the poor person running it lost track so she gives me a prize for helping her out. Whoo Hoo – A sports bottle! Another trivia game at 4:30 and it’s off to dinner. I have decided before I left home that I was going to tempt fate on this trip. I have been tasting different items that I have always said I don’t like, but I never even tasted to know. Now I know and will post a boring list at the end. Dinners have been good and tonight’s was a Jerk Chicken. Not too spicy and very tasty. Our evening entertainment was spectacular! A comedian Juggler named Pete Matthews, he juggled axes on this rocking ship. He also rode a six-foot unicycle through the lounge. He gave ADD a whole new meaning! After that it was the Marriage Game Show. 4 couples, 1 married five days, 1 married 31 years, 1 married 34 years and 1 married 50 years. The newlyweds won. Upstairs to plan our day tomorrow and off to bed. This by far is the worst night yet. At about 1:30 the hangers in the closet all shift to one side and the bathroom door swings open.

Friday, January 20, 2006
We were up and ready to go on our excursion. Mom took an extra pill; we had breakfast in the dining room, but no. The captain and the pilot determined it was unsafe to dock as the winds were gusting at more than 35 knots and the direction we were going to dock in would possibly cause damage to the ship. Hey, all about no damage! Rock on captain. Another day at sea. It amazes me that some people are actually bitching about it. Hmmm…shopping vs. sinking? You choose! Mom and I decide to spend our extra time napping. As we leave our cabin afterwards we hear an announcement regarding an addition of activities. A round of Pictionary that we actually win (quite easily actually) and it is off to Jeopardy. Another losing venture but it was lots of fun and well run. Back to the Atrium for trivia (boo) and its up to the cabin to get ready for dinner. You’ll notice there is no sun bathing or hanging out at the pool. There hasn’t been any SUN! Rita sits by the pool all day everyday but she sits in the shade anyways. I would want to be in the sun. Again our evening entertainment was wonderful. C’est Magnifique! It was a French revue and they did a terrific job. I can’t believe these dancers do so well on heels no less, when I am wobbling in my seat. Back upstairs and here I am getting everything caught up. Now if I can keep this up each night all will be well. Thanks again Erika for blogging everything for me. It’s too expensive for me to take the time and check everyone’s blog so if you have something really interesting, email me at either address.

Saturday, January 21, 2006
A fabulous night of no rocking and rolling. Mom wakes up and easily gets out of bed. I on the other hand have back pain that I have never experienced. We sleep late and enjoy the calm. A quick breakfast at the buffet and a losing trivia game, we are off to venture into St. Lucia (West Indies). There is a van shuttle (free) into the shopping area. We are deposited at an air-conditioned mall where mom finds a nice bench. I traverse the mall and find cute outfits for Caitlyn and a bell for me. Everything is very cheap. I then decide to venture further into the real world of the city of Castries and hit the local market area. I am almost run over by many cars but thanks to an island native I quickly realize my mistake of looking the wrong way. They drive on the left so you have to look to the left for traffic. This nice native then wanted to escort me to the market area to help me find what I was looking for. Uh no thank you! I wander in and out of stalls looking for a house for mom’s collection. I see bells that I like better than the one I bought before but do not give in to the temptation to buy again. Alas, not a house to be found. Very hot and very humid. Hot I can handle, but humidity is foreign to me now. It has been raining off and on throughout our trip so it is to be expected. Back to the ship in time for a yummy lunch at the pizzeria. Then off to a winning game of Outburst. Our team has been pretty good together at the games, not so much at the trivia. Our team consists of mom and I, Betsy and her mother-in-law Muriel, and Kathy and her husband Norm. We all just kind of got thrown together a few days back and now wait for each other at each event. B and M are very competitive and will argue a point until it is dead. Kathy and Norm are pretty laid back and are very knowledgeable in many areas. Norm doesn’t know much trivial things but detailed and scientific things are his specialty. I leave mom parked at a table for the later game (tables are at a premium, the trivia crowds are quite large) and head off to the Internet café. I have had problems with the wireless service but can check email and such in the café. Back at 4:30 for the afternoon trivia and guess what? We lose again! Riddle me this Batman (without going to google!) – What language was Bambi first written in? Time for dinner. I have had a request to be more elaborate about dinner, so let me backtrack a little to night number 1. My first venture into the dining room. Think of a grand ballroom and then fill it up with tables. The menu is very nice and has a good variety. It wasn’t until the 4th night that I had to go to the bottom of the menu and pick something that is “always available”. Each night the chef gives you 3 choices of each – Appetizer, soup, and salad. Then there are usually 4 or 5 choices of entrees with sides and 4 things at the bottom that are always available. Only 2 of which would interest any of you, an herb marinated breast of chicken and a NY strip. The first night I got filet of Beef Tournedos with a baked potato and mom had a beautiful ham dish. Marisa you would love all the pineapple on this ship! Night 2 – some kind of steak with yucky potatoes. Rita and I got it without the sauce but mom says the sauce was good. Night 3 – Jerk Chicken – YUMMY! And the last two nights have been the herb-marinated chicken. Kadreya has had a seafood dish every night. While I have been tasting things, I am not venturing into tasting desserts, I figure I like enough of those. Our waiter has me down for my nightly 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream with double chocolate sauce and a cute little wafer cookie. Everyone else tries all of the fancy things. And Kadreya gets a different flavor ice cream or sherbet every night. The ones I remember are Honeydew sorbet, Maple and Walnut ice cream, Hazelnut ice cream, mango sorbet and I am sure others. Whew, back to Saturday. After dinner we head down to the show, a singer that everyone who saw him last night was raving about, he even sold out of the cd’s he had brought to sell. I didn’t want to go at first, but when I heard all of that I thought okie dokie let’s go. DAMN! He stunk! He comes out in fake pleather pants and jacket with a bright red shirt under. When I say fake pleather it is not a typo, I mean even the pleather looked fake! His face was an unnatural shade of brown and orange. A horrible tan job and he must have taken advantage of the teeth whitening onboard. Now put all of that on someone who looks like Tom Jones. Have the picture? The singing was just as bad. He only did covers and he did them poorly. Some Garth Brooks (Captain Morgan), Disco inferno, and O Solo Mio to name a few. I couldn’t believe when everyone was clapping and hooting. He did a drum solo and made so many mistakes even I could pick them out. Oh well. We left there and headed to the evening trivia where no one from our team was available so we teamed up with some drunken strangers. Guess what??? WE WON! We only got 15 out of 20 correct and we were in a tie but we won the tiebreaker. Closest number without going over – How many squares on a Scrabble board? I had the exact number but we went a little lower just in case. 10:30 time for the Liar’s game. Really it is like Balderdash and you have to figure out the correct definition of something from choices given to you by members of the Cruise staff. Can anyone tell me what any of these mean? Clinchpoop, tittup, fulfart and foccalation mean? As I type the words are coming up with red lines underneath telling me that MS Word doesn’t like them. It was completely hilarious. We have an excellent Cruise staff! A quick trip to the midnight buffet and back here to keep you all informed.

Sunday, January 22, 2006
GRENADA! We ported in Grenada this morning and it is such a beautiful place. I hear farther in there are quite a bit of ruins from both hurricane Ivan many years ago and from the unrest in the 80’s but we didn’t go past the shops on the pier. To get off the boat we had to go below the main decks and “tender” off to the island. I was a little unsure about tendering but it turned out okay. A tender is a small boat that seats about 90 people that is used when then ship anchors off shore. We waited until after breakfast and morning trivia (lost by 1 without our regular team members). The water is the most beautiful blue. Not clear like I have heard about off the Bahamas, but a shade of blue that I have never seen. A quick shopping trip in to get some spices and we were ready to barter. Well mom bartered I just looked cute. What was priced $7 each inside, mom got 2 for $5 outside with some extra nutmegs thrown in. She’s good. We found a shop that had a choice of houses, mom found a very nice metal one with a hook on the bottom. It’s Island Night on the ship and mom finds a store with beautiful shirts in our sizes, so we each buy one. Again it is very hot but not so humid. Hot meaning in the 80’s which shouldn’t bother me so much but the ship is such comfortable temperature that you really notice the heat when you go out on deck or on shore. We tender back to the ship and meet up with Rita, Jan and Gene for lunch on deck at the grill. Yummy burgers, dogs and fries and it’s downstairs for a game of easily won Pictionary. As I type a bunch of us are gathered in the disco, where we are hoping to get reception to watch the Bronco Steelers game. Go Broncos! Sorry Andy, Yeah Steve! Now the Seahawks are winning as well. On 2/5 it will be go Steelers! We leave at halftime and head out to dinner. Tonight is Filet Mignon with grilled shrimp. All of the shrimp gets passed to Kadreya. The filet is excellent! Everyone gets fancy desserts and our wonderful waiter brings me my ice cream. I could get terribly spoiled have ice cream every night. And terribly fat. Oh yeah, I already am! After dinner only one show is set for tonight a tribute to singers from the last 50 years. The staff performers are better than the guest entertainers by far. Tonight they covered, the Beatles, the Rat Pack, Diana Ross, Cher, Madonna and the Beach Boys. I am running out of superlatives for everything. Mom starts to doze during the show, I’m afraid I have been working her pretty hard getting on and off the ship and running from game to game to trivia. I bring her up to bed and head upstairs to the deck for the Island Party. The Patter promises limbo, Caribbean music, a grand buffet and more. What they didn’t count on was the horrible weather. I take some pictures of the buffet. It is under an overhang and of course beautiful. These guys have done things with watermelons, spaghetti sticks and many other items you would never think of. Hell, I have a hard time making a rose out of a radish!

Monday, January 23, 2006
MARTINIQUE. It’s raining hard enough to keep the weak of heart on the ship, so morning trivia is crowded. Unfortunately they are also pretty smart and we again take a loss. We do however see the sun shining afterwards and pull up our collars and put on mom’s hat and venture out into the world. The pier is really long but the let me take the wheelchair with us off the ship. The roads and sidewalks are not as cooperative so mom finds a place to park as I go off in search of our trinkets. Everything is in French and I am without my trusty interpreter so I am looking inside each shop as I go past. Unless you are interested in buying clothes, shoes or perfume, you might as well have not gotten off the ship. I wander in to what ends up being their local Big Lots. They had a quite a few things that I need at home for very cheap prices, but really, how am I supposed to lug that crap around? I do find a cute house. It doesn’t say Martinique, but we can pencil that in later. It rains on and off but nothing hard enough to make us run away. As we head back to the ship I find a magnet for someone at work and then it is back up the long pier. The wind has really picked up now and the rain is actually making some progress on us. By the time we get on the ship we are spent. Straight up to our room for some Room Service lunch and a chance to do some laundry. There is a line at the Laundromat so it just ends up being time for a long nap for each of us. We have slept through afternoon trivia and are getting ready for dinner. It’s Italian night in the dining room and the wait staff all look very cute in their striped shirts with scarves around their necks. A bunch of stuff I’m not going to eat so it is chicken and baked potato again. Mom and Rita have a pot roast that looked good, but didn’t sound on the menu like it looked. Our first show tonight was a ventriloquist Dan Horn. He was okay but nothing to write home about (ba dump bum!). The second show was a comedian that I am sure I have seen with Adam on Comedy Central or somewhere, Billy Vader. He was really good. Then back up to the room and another shot at the Laundromat. Surprise it closes at 10pm. A quick run up to the buffet for absolutely nothing so instead it’s a call to room service for a French fry fix. Tomorrow is St. Thomas. Everyone is excited about the shopping. This is our last real port so I better find what I have been looking for.

Tuesday January 24, 2006
ST THOMAS. A beautiful day, the sun is shining, the wind is blowing. We start off early with a check of everyone’s passports and such since this is a US port. The Laundromat was set to open at 8am. I walk in at 8:02 and there is already a line. I head down 1 floor and it is completely empty. As I start getting everything ready, one of our trivia team members lines up behind me. A quick breakfast and a chat with Rita, then it is off the ship with us. Mom has really been a trooper. She has gotten off at each port with me and endured the walking as I shopped. Today we had to walk to a taxi that took us downtown. Past the beautiful blue water, through the dingy little town, into the bustling downtown, where everyone wants you to buy jewelry. This is the shopping Mecca for cruise ships. Mom says it is called the Kmart of the Caribbean. There were 4 ships docked at two different piers and 1 anchored out in the open harbor. As we drove we also passed about 5 or 6 yachts that were docked as well! I found souvenirs for all and even a couple of bells, but no house for mom. Taxi back in time for lunch in the dining room. Chicken Teriyaki for mom and a Bacon Cheeseburger for me. 2pm is time for Scattegories, which we along with Kathy and Norm win handily. Now it seems to be naptime for mom. I am having problems with the wireless service so that is why these updates take so long. I am trying to type as I go to remember everything. I passed by the dining room and it looks like it’s going to be a chicken and potato night for me again. Which is ok by me. The evening’s entertainment doesn’t look too promising. A concert pianist and a virtuoso banjo player. Hmmm… I think I’ll pass. I’ll go see the comedian / magician instead. I wanted to sit by the pool this afternoon but I finished my book already and the library here is pitiful. Mostly hardbacks and non-fiction. The stores are closed while we are docked so I will just sit here and play snood! I decide to go out on the deck and watch all the yachts go by; one even has a helicopter on the back. I don’t think I got a very good picture of it. As I am getting onto my deck chair, I set down the computer and my diet coke (never without one thanks to the awesome wait staff at all the bars!), on the table next to the chair. I lift my leg and it’s not quite high enough I push the cushion. Readjust and try again. I sit more gracefully this time, get comfortable, pick up the laptop and promptly put my arm down on my diet coke and spill it all over the deck. At least it didn’t get on the computer or the lady next to me. And she was a good sport about it as well. It was too sunny to do anything with the computer so I just closed my eyes and went to sleep. Back upstairs to pick up mom and head down to save our seats for trivia. The gang is all there but still we don’t win. Damn trivia! We are already dressed for dinner so we just hang out and play a few games of Yahtzee. Mom easily beats me 2 out of 3. Up to dinner, yep chicken for me. Mom also picks something from the always available but we both try the fancy dessert. Some mushy bananas cooked in caramel and liquor. I taste the liquor immediately and spit my piece discreetly into my napkin. Thank goodness our waiter likes me and brings me my ice cream anyways! After dinner we head to the comedian/magician. Pee Yew! He supposedly has done 8,000 shows at the MGM in Vegas but he really tanked tonight. His name is Garry Carson, if you ever see his name in lights, head the other way! Back over to evening trivia where again – shocker – we lose! The highlight of the evening and possibly the last few days is the Crew Talent Show. There are great singers and the finale is stupendous. It’s an old number with a couple of changes from the Cruise Staff, If I Were Not Upon The Ship. I will do a blog tomorrow about the Cruise Staff. We leave the theater laughing so hard. It is hard to settle right down to go to bed. Hence the reason I am typing at 12:30 am. That and mom is watching tennis AGAIN! ESPN International has been showing tennis every night at an ungodly hour. But it is live from Australia. Oh yeah and room service is on its way with my French fries.

Day by Day (2)

Monday, January 16, 2006
You have by now undoubtedly read Erika’s blog so you know of our early morning adventures. After Erika leaves it wasn’t too long before our van came to shuttle Mom, Rita, Kadreya and I to the airport. We pile in and I am very cozy in the back drifting in and out of consciousness listening to the many conversations. Easy check in and a small stop at security. I hang back to see how the security works around Rita’s fake knees. I am curious how it will be to travel with Adam after surgery this summer. Not too bad, he will more than likely need to be wanded each time he goes through a metal detector. In the meantime, mom has disappeared! She claimed to be going to sit down, but was not at the nearest seating area. Why would she go further? We couldn’t think of a reason either. So I kept going back and forth up to security and the restrooms and the other restaurants but alas no mommy. Rita and Kadreya sat and I ventured ahead. Lo and behold, there was mom sitting at the gate like everyone knew she would be there! Sitting and waiting, mom realizes that she has forgotten her all-important cane. This will come into effect later in this trip. A very easy and not full flight so comfy seating and we are in Florida. Kadreya’s luggage somehow made an earlier flight than the rest of ours (how does that happen?) but we get settled in at our hotel with no problems. The room is rather far. Close to the elevator as requested but the elevator is in the back of the hotel. Mom waits at the bottom as we head up to drop off luggage and then we all go next door (think Vegas) to Taco Bell for lunch. Mom and I go back to the room for rest and relaxation and some computer time. Plug in to the data port, nothing happens, move the table, move the bed, plug into the wall, nothing happens. Walk all the way down to the front desk to be snipped at by some idiot who wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing, DUH! Then back up to the room and lo and behold it works on the first try. I think the phone was turned off and he realized it and turned it back on when I left. A quiet afternoon in the room and then I go to the other restaurant Mc Donald’s for carry out for mom’s dinner. Many games of Snood later and we are off to bed.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006 CRUISE DAY!
Continental breakfast and some wireless access in the lobby, then sit and wait for the shuttle to take us to the ship. Anticipation is growing; I am trying very hard to disguise it. At the port it is a short wait until they open the gates, mom gets a nice man and a wheelchair and we breeze through everything. OMG it is really happening, I have been waiting for this for over a year and now here I am. I can hardly believe it. As we are coming into the ship a very nice boy with a Coke display sells me a sticker to put on my cruise id that gets me all the soda/pop I can drink for the entire 10 days. 39.95 plus 15% gratuity, quick in your head, comes to about $45.00. That’s $4.50 per day. Not too shabby. (Side note, I got my moneys worth in the first two days) The nice man takes us all the way to our room and deposits us there. It is quite a hike from the elevator but mom is game and makes the best of everything as usual. Our room is nice. It is very small, however, it is bigger than I anticipated so – bonus! (Reminder, set your expectations low, good things happen – bonus, bad things happen – shit happens!) Details – (scroll down if you don’t care) As you walk in the door the desk is to your right, good size with 3 drawers on either side to use as a dresser. The bathroom is to your left, more on that later, past the bathroom is a 3-door closet. One door has room for long – read tall people – hanging stuff. Door number 2 has two tiered short hanging spaces and door number 3 has shelves and baskets for folded items and a shelf with a safe. All in all plenty of room for clothing and what nots. Just past the closet is a small refridge with a countertop for the $6.00 sodas they tempt you to drink. Above that on a nice little shelf is the TV with the remote that looks like a Twix bar. The two beds are pushed together to form 1 queen size bed, mom doesn’t like this because then there is no walking room to get to the bed, you have to crawl in from the bottom, a quick page to the steward easily remedies this. From here the day gets a little blurry, a lot happened in a short time and it was really a whirlwind. Lunch at the buffet. Rita has been raving about all the food and that’s pretty much what I have heard previously. Not too impressed with the buffet. This boat has nothing compared to Harrah’s Las Vegas! Small tour of the ship with Assistant Cruise Director D.J. Dan at 3pm., who gives good advice when it comes to the showrooms. 4pm time to muster; everyone grabs their life jacket and heads to their muster station to learn what to do in case of an emergency, well not “everyone”. Then up to the deck with Rita and Kadreya to watch the ship leave the port. I went to the rail! Of course there were metal bars and plexiglass but still that is a HUGE step for me. It was very dramatic and they did a count down to the blowing of the whistle/horn. Then we were off. I have to admit I cried a little, I know I am an old softie (shut up Adam!). We have been “rockin’ and rollin’” ever since. We are at the first seating for dinner in the main dining room so 6pm sharp we are seated and being waited on hand and foot. I flash my beautiful Diet Coke sticker around and have sodas galore. Our waiter Luis and his assistant are both from Mexico and have a couple of miss steps that first night but make up for it in days to come. Mom and I leave dinner a little earlier than others thanks to D.J. Dan’s advice about the theaters. GET THERE WHEN THE DOORS OPEN, it fills up quickly. From what I have been hearing around, this is a small ship. Although it has 1950 passengers the big theater only seats 700. We get there right away and sit in the very back row for the disabled. We try to reserve seats for Rita and Kadreya but the theater fills up quickly and we relinquish our extra seats. Wonderful Welcome Aboard show, introducing the staff and giving us a taste of a great performer coming up in a few days. We head up to our room and read our Princess Patter (the evening paper with details and timelines for the next day) and begin to plan our day. Mom is really not feeling well, and has decided to request a wheelchair for the remainder of the cruise. After a long day it is time for sleep.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Our intentions and our plans not as big as our need to catch up on some sleep. We awaken just before 9am and finally actually roll out of bed and head to the breakfast buffet after 10ish. Again not impressed. I guess when you have had Vegas buffets it really makes others pale. But honestly as far as breakfast goes even Hometown or Bob’s is better. I decide to pass on the line dancing and we make it to the first trivia challenge. Some of you may know that we are a bit of trivia buffs in this family so we are feeling pretty confident. Let the air out of your chest we stunk! Even with the help of friendly strangers and friends we couldn’t win, oh well next time. Since we had such a late breakfast we aren’t much for a big lunch so we head up to the upper decks and sit and watch the waves. The grill area smells really good and I can’t resist a free burger and fries. The burger was really good, no Canadian meat here Gretch! Back down to Deck 7 for the Princess Pyramid. This is like the Dick Clark pyramid except you have 1 person giving clues to the team of 6. We do ok, but even better we meet new trivia buddies Betsy and her mother-in-law Muriel. They come in handy later on. We skip the afternoon movie and decide to wait around for the next trivia challenge. While waiting I park mom and head off to the Internet café. I have purchased some wireless time but am also using the café when it isn’t convenient to carry my laptop down to the 5th floor and around to wherever else I’m going to go that day. Another bust at trivia and it is time to go up and change for formal night. I have had a couple of dresses hanging in my closet for a few years waiting for just this occasion, I chose to only bring one and it serves the purpose well. Following dinner is a musical revue called “Piano Man”. It is a production number involving the songs of Neil Sedaka, Billy Joel, Elton John and Liberace. Mom claims to not have noticed how much I was singing along, but I think she was just being polite. From one show to the other (thankfully all entertainment thingys are on the same floor, just usually from one end of the ship to the other). The next show was a fantastic comedian who has also written for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the David Letterman show, Tony Daro. Adam look this guy up, he was hilarious. That show didn’t start until 10:30, so we are straight back to our room afterwards.

Conditions of the Sea:
It was very windy in Ft. Lauderdale when we arrived and has been the same out on the open sea. The ship has been feeling to me like January 1994. There are constant aftershocks. We will lilt one way or another without a moments notice. There are sharp jolts that feel just like a 2.5 or better earthquake. As time goes on I have been rating them As I type we definitely had a good 5.0 for about 20 seconds. With the sharp jolt and then the rocking after. All you in California know exactly what I mean. This movement does not only happen during the day but consistently at night. At first it can feel like a gentle rocking to help you sleep but then whamo! in the middle of the night there is a jolt and roll. I woke up this morning and my bed was a good fists width from the wall. Thankfully there isn’t far to roll, so I’m not too worried. This constant activity is making moms back revolt. It has been uncooperative and even the magic medicine from her druggist Gene is helping only in spurts. The wheelchair is a godsend but can be a pain in the ass if the ships tilts one way and I am pushing the other. I came on this cruise for an adventure and this is what I am getting. We went out on the deck yesterday and found a very breezy but warm spot to sit and read and sleep. Mom had to put the strap on her hat it was that breezy. There will be proof in the pudding this time, I went to the rail (no metal bars or plexiglass this time) and mom took my picture.

Day to Day

Friday, January 13
Yep I am traveling on Friday the 13th! Susan wanted to buy me a new ticket to travel on a different day and looking back on that day if I knew then what I know now I would have taken her up on it! I woke up in the morning with a terrible sore throat, barely able to speak. Marisa had a cold a couple of weeks back but I didn’t get it so I thought I was scot-free. NOT! I guess it has a pretty long incubation period. Anyways, I get up early enough, run to the grocery store to get some cold remedies, realize that my digital camera is not what I had hoped it would be, spend half an hour on the phone with Erika and buy some disposable cameras, so pictures will have to wait. Kathy gamely battles LA Friday morning traffic through downtown to get me to the airport by 10am for a noon flight (Thank you!) Curbside check in very smooth, security, take off my shoes (I thought ahead and wore slip ons), remove the laptop from the carry on, no ma’am it has to go in its own bin, “sorry to hold up the line everyone”. Go through no beeps, ok off to the terminal. Terminal #66! Yep it’s the Van Houten curse, the farthest terminal possible. I stop at a Jody Maroni's and get some French fries to tide me over. Walking, walking, walking, how big is this damn airport?! Get to the terminal and commence waiting. Pull out my laptop and iPod and realize that not only is neither charged enough for me to use but also I don’t have my headphones. Damn! That’s okay I’m early but not enough that I can’t just read for a while. Announcement “Sorry folks, but due to weather in Chicago we will be delaying our 11:55 flight time to 1:20 with a boarding time of 1pm. Okay now I had a LONG wait. Ok, go find a diet coke and buy some cheapy headphones and find a plug to charge off of. Mission accomplished, sit and wait. Boarding is ok, but due to the delays of all the flights to Chicago there are a lot of standbys and they all fill up our empty seats. We are squished like sardines, I felt sorry for the guy next to me who had another woman on his other side bigger than me. Very turbulent flight, very hard landing in Chicago the winds were gusting up to 40 mph. I have since missed my 6:15 connection to Detroit and got booked onto a 9:20. Lo and behold that one has been delayed to 10pm due to rain and snow in Detroit. Duh! We actually don’t board until 10 and then get off the ground until 1030. Another rocky flight that sets my stomach on edge. I really thought I would use the bag on this one; I have developed a migraine, feel nauseous and just am not a happy traveler at this point. I get to Detroit in one piece and call mom from my cell, she is on her way. Thankfully my luggage made my connection as well and are the first 2 bags off the plane. It is stuffy and crowded inside and I head out the door to wait for mom. Although there were lots of smokers around the door, some very smart designer/architect installed heat lamps around the entrances for waiters. Those came in very handy at 12:30 in the morning while waiting for mom to arrive. Home and bed and call it a day!

Saturday, January 14, 2006
Erika tried real hard to let us sleep in, but who can sleep when there is a sopping wet cute little boy running around the house? Jackson was up and not in too good of a mood. I had a gift that I brought for him and I figured this would be a good time to give it to him. It would distract him from whatever he was cranky about and would break the ice from him and I. Dopey Donkey came out to play; this is a very cute little donkey with a backpack full of books. He enjoyed both and quickly turned back into the happy little boy we all know and love. A nice breakfast made by mom and we were off to run errands. Kmart, Meijers and possibly a payless, little boy willing. Not all occurred but Erika spent the best 99 cents of her life on a pinwheel that kept Jackson occupied and content for quite some time. Home again for a nap. Then spaghetti dinner with Aunt Rita, 1 Jackson meltdown (what would you do with a WHOLE stick of butter?) and a download of Snood to get mom and Jackson hooked. (Thanks Sean!) All in all a good day and night, but my bed is calling my name.

Sunday, January 15, 2006
Up early to go to breakfast at a Coney Island. Why don’t we have any in LA? We used to go to a Coney Island on most corners when we were kids. I can still think of the one on Vernor near Lawndale, off of Ferris. And the one near Holy Redeemer. Yummy! Breakfast was very delicious. Jackson ate so much Erika was very impressed. Of course he was facing mom and I the entire time, so she didn’t see how much was all over his face until the very end. Trick: Try getting jelly off of your top lip using only your bottom lip. Jack figured it out! A quick trip to the Salvation Army and back home we go. Naps all around! Isn’t vacation grand?! Up for an early dinner with Dana, Jeff, Steph and Arn at a great steakhouse and home for some fun games and yummy cake and ice cream (Happy belated Birthday Gretchen!). Steph and Arn brought Scene It. This is a DVD trivia game that Adam has been asking me to buy for a long time. Now that I tried it and know that many of us in the house would play it I will probably buy it very soon. Sorry Adam it took so long! Not so early to bed, we have an early flight in the morning. Ft. Lauderdale here we come!

Everyone else is doing it!

http://www.quizyourfriends.com/yourquiz.php?quizname=060110172618-995234

Cut and paste the above link to take MY quiz

Saturday Morning

Erika and Gretchen claim we had the best Saturday morning cartoons. Not only did we, but Saturday morning was the ONLY time for cartoons. We didn't have a 24 hour network or cartoons on every channel. We purposely got up early on Saturday mornings and filled a bowl of cereal to the brim to watch cartoons. One Friday night in August we would gather around to watch a show I believe on ABC that would preview the new cartoons.

Now, my cahllenge to you is to name 3 Saturday Morning cartoons from the 60's, 70's.

Here are mine:
Scooby Doo (way before the stupid mutt Scrappy was involved)
The ABC Cartoon Olympics (remember how Snidely would ruin everything!?)
SpeedBuggy!

If you can't think of any here is a website to try to refresh your memory!

http://dt.prohosting.com/70s/childtv/childtv.html

It's all Sean's fault

SNOOD! Love it or hate it, but I bet you can't stop playing it. Somehow in a conversation with my daughter Sean introduced her to Snood. I came home to this cute little blue ball on my desktop and being the curious sort, I clicked on it. My eyes have been blurry since. GIve it a try. Just do a google search it will find you.

Whew!

Postcards - I have received Michigan, North Carolina and Indiana. Thanks!

Cruise - Getting way too excited, it is less than a week away that I leave California for Michigan and then just a few short days there til we go down to Fort Lauderdale! Packing is getting a bit confusing, so could you Michigan people please have Carribean weather so I don't have to pack two different seasons of clothes?!? One of the teachers here went on the EXACT same cruise in December, same ship and everrything. She has told me about the excursions she went on. Of course they were all the all day expensive ones, so I won't be following in her footsteps. But she did recommend the line dancing on the ship and got me some informtaion on the wireless cababilities.

Adam - We went back to the Orthopedic surgeon today and went over the results of Adam's CT Scan. (He has now had, multiple Xrays, an MRI, and a CT Scan) His right leg is 3/4 of an inch shorter than his left. So in February they are going to stop the growth in the left leg (outpatient) and then in June/July (when school is out), they will do the major surgery of removing the bad part of his tibia and putting in a metal plat and screws. That will stop both legs from growing in the tibia and fibia. However the femurs and the spine will continue to grow. The doctor measured Adam and he is 5' 7 3/8" right now. He figures he has approximately 1/2 -1" further he will grow from the femurs and spine. I am 5' 10" and Taj is just over 5' 8". So that will put Adam right on target. The doctor is Dr. Osterkamp and is very renowned in the area. He is the Chairman of the Board for Verdugo Hills Hospital and has done quite a bit of pro bono work for students in the District. We just happened upon him and thank our lucky starts.

Marisa - Is such a great mom. She is doing very well taking good care of Caitlyn. She has gotten completely out of maternity clothes and looks awesome. She went to the doctor yesterday for her 6 week check up and everything is fine (at least that is what she told me).

Caitlyn - is ADORABLE! But of course you all know that by seeing all the wonderful pictures. But you ain't seen nothing yet! Wait til you SEE her and cuddle with her smell her (doing the good times). I heard through the grapevine (Mel) that Gretchen is coming in April. Marisa is going to Minnesota with Caitlyn sometime in May. Our house is open for visitors, or there is a nice hotel not too far.

Link - There will never be enough words to express how thankful I am to AUnt Mry for helping us check out Link. She was limping and then wouldn't do much of anything. She was getting lethargic and then started getting hot spots and biting them and then throwing up. I was seriously getting very worried and going through what our choices would be. When the doctor told me how much it would cost to get xrays done, and then if the worst (hip displacia) was confirmed how much surgery would be, I knew my choices were then going to be very limited. Kathy mentioned to Mary the turmoil we were in and she offered to help. Link got her xrays and treatment for the hot spots. (Marisa, post a picture of her in her cone) Arthitis and old age (9 as opposed to the 7 we thought) were to blame. Her hips and knees are fine. She has some pills she takes once a day and is like a new pup again.

Taj - Is still working at Home Depot and living in Simi Valley. He has suffered a loss in his family recently and is thinking of going abroad sometime in the near future.

DSL - Is WONDERFUL! We had the cable guy come in and set us up with Cable connection for the internet now. WOW what a difference. No more waiting for the dial up. I have AOL until the end of February and think I may keep it even after that. The cable guy recommended it even because he says they (AOL) have the best antivirus stuff. Also, if you have a connection other than Dial up AOL is cheaper. We have been with them for almost 10 years now so maybe if I threaten to leave they can do something for me. When I signed up for the DSL, the clerk at the cable company office handed me an installation kit and said here you go! HUH? What? I have to do this myself? I turned to Marisa and said Here ya go! She took hold of it and got to work on it at home only to realize we don't have a cable connection in that room. Whoops! I went back to the office and asked about installing one. The clerk looks at me a little funny and says "Ma'am you have 7 tvs in your home." Yeah what's your point? "You need another connection?", yes I don't have a connection near the computer. Still bewildered, "with 7 tvs?" YES! She went in the back office and came back saying they would do it for free. I guess 7 is a magic number!

I guess that's enough of an update. I still haven't figured out how to put up pictures, ok I never really tried. But I promise to take great pictures on the cruise and put them somewhere for everyone to see.

Hook em!