Cruisin’
I’ve been hustling to catch up since our return on October 28th from a wonderful and much needed vacation to visit friends in California and then a two week cruise to Hawaii. I started each day by working out. I read several books while sitting by the pool in the sun. My favorite two were ‘Ape House’ by Sara Gruen and ‘Night Woman’ by Nancy Price. I highly recommend both of these novels to any one who might be looking for a good book to read. I also read ‘Half the Sky’, nonfiction by Kristoff and Dunn. A compelling book about women in developing countries who tried to turn oppression into opportunity. A very worthwhile book.
And we watched several movies on the ship under the stars, our favorite by far was ‘Secretariat.’ We both cried and and were on the edge of our seats even though we knew he was a triple crown winner! Anyone who loves a good horse movie, this is for you!
Hawaii was very beautiful with friendly happy people. We loved the music and culture but it is so different and so far away from the main land that we didn’t feel like we were really in the USA.
Cruising is a fun way to travel first class and feel pampered everyday. There are lots of great bargains available if anyone has a hankering to give it a try. There are wonderful live entertainers onboard and there are no additional charges for shows and food.
One thing I didn’t do for the entire vacation was use my cell phone or a computer. Now I’m home again, rested and ready to buckle down and get back to my writing routine. I have made a pledge to myself to write … every day. Even though the holidays will soon be here, I will write! This year for the first time in my adult life, I’m not going to bake any Christmas cookies. If I need a few, I’ll buy them for the ocassion. A disadvantage to cruising is that most people gain weight and I was not an exception. I am now on a strict diet, so cookies and extra goodies are not on this year’s agenda.
We were impressed with the ship’s international crew and their level of professionalism as well as their genuine comradeship. We met passengers as well as crew from all over the world. If only politicians from all those countries could find a way to respect each other and get along like the cruise ship staff.
We left the ship’s emergency phone number with the family. Everyone was okay and proved to us they really don’t need us for much more than cheerleading services, i.e. unconditional love. And isn’t that every parent’s goal?
The weekend before we left was my high school class reunion. Everyone had a great time. It was a four day event, I attended two. An advantage at this point is that no one bothers trying to impress anyone. We all know we have a lot more class reunions behind us than we have ahead of us. Yikes, that’s a sobering thought!
Till next time…