Getting Away on a Cruise

Items from gift shop

Last week I had the privilege of being a guest on a Caribbean cruise paid for by the same sister-in-law who took me on a cruise in 2012 HERE.  Her next door neighbors (a couple) whom I have known over the years went as well.

Sunday November 2 the three of them arrived at my house. Then  the four of us went by car to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We stayed over night in a hotel which let the couple's van stay in the hotel parking lot for the week while the hotel bus drove us and our luggage to the dock on Monday where we waited in line to get on the ship.

The weather seemed foreboding as we left.

Ruby Princess

Bahamas

The prediction said  80 to 90 % rain chance. However, no rain. and the weather was beautiful that week, including our trips ashore in the Bahamas and Jamaica.

Now when you take a 70 year old widow on a cruise (me) she gets tired and needs afternoon naps, but she gets new delightful memories. Here are some highlights in the week.

• Being with people you like was delightful. Ann and Kim are so much alike. They both wear head bands, drink a orange spiced tea, and even had the same bags on the trip. I joined their club when I had orange spiced hot tea for dinner the last two night. Kim's hubby had a great sense of humor and went around taking pictures. 
  
• I also met two couples and two women at the ship's morning Bible Study. I introduced myself to two Amish couples--Florida snow birds and I invited them to Plant City's Strawberry Festival--I will go pick them up as they do not drive. They liked my Southern Wonderland snowbird song (see HERE) and I wrote it out for them so they can share it with the Amish and Mennonite community in Sarasota, Florida. (I didn't rap for them--might have been TOO much of a cultural shock.)
• The food was outstanding and hard to resist. At one multi-course dinner I counted four different knives including a special one for salmon and between each course the silverware was changed. So much pampering!  Not sure how much weight I gained back, however. Some of it may disappear by my next Weight Watcher meeting November 15th,  and my jeans still fit.
• The walking helped me get back into exercise as well as burn calories. I have an Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk-a-Thon next Saturday after that Weight Watcher meeting. Will be on the treadmill at home so I can maintain new fitness levels. 
• My spirits seemed to sore after a few days on the trip. I did talk about my grief with my travel companions at first. All three of them have experienced significant losses of parents. Two grief bursts came and went for me. One was seeing a dog ashore, but I pick up Ziggy from the kennel tomorrow. Another strange grief burst was hearing and seeing "Tonight" from West Side Story performed. Suddenly I missed my husband terribly. You just never know about grief. 
• Speaking of spirits, I had a rare strong drink because I did not have to drive. It was just an experiment so I could empathize with students in the DUI class I teach. It was called Beverly Hills Iced Tea and I had the bartender write out how much liquor was actually in that drink: vodka, gin, rum, tequila, etc. I drank it slowly over two hours and then took a nap.  

• I rapped in a Karaoke event and gained some fans who will follow me on YouTube. 

  

  Karaoke Rapping

• I thoroughly enjoyed live entertainment and even a movie, Jersey Boys. 

Entertainer Steve Moris at left almost looks like a relative. 

Wish I could have taken you in my suitcase. 

Back to unpacking.