Our Regal Holiday

 

 

 

OUR REGAL HOLIDAY

For those of you who have read these sometimes interesting rambles in the past, welcome back. For those newcomers who have yet to peruse their very likely inconsistent recollections, welcome to you also. This missive contains the memories of a quite enjoyable voyage upon the fair ship Regal Princess as she made her way from Galveston, Texas, through the friendly waters of the southern Caribbean and on to the sunny shores of Florida at Ft. Lauderdale. We undertook this adventure starting on the 23^rd of March, 2023, and concluded it on April 5^th. It consisted of a lot of ups and a couple semi-downs. All things considered it was a rousing success. If you’re interested in travelogues of this kind, please read on. I pledge all the words forthcoming to be true to the best of my knowledge. And memory.

Let’s begin, shall we?

Our trip began on the Saturday morning of March 23. We’d booked an afternoon flight out of Columbus, Ohio that day. Why afternoon and why Columbus when we live an hour and a half northeast of there? The time was selected due to cost (it’s always that at the core, isn’t it?) and the place? Cost again. I of course examined other ports of departure, but they were even more expensive. So the choice became obvious. Mid-afternoon it was and Columbus was the starting line. So, for a change, our day did NOT start at the crack of dawn like it usually does, but a gentle goodbye at noon was the order of the day. The drive to the state capital was fine. We arrived quite early to the airport – one of my quirks I suppose. Judy had messed up her left leg several months earlier, so we were for the first time, requesting wheelchair accomodations in the terminal for her. Those needs were met accordingly and yours truly had to huff and puff to keep up with the athletic wheelchair pusher supplied from the check-in gate, through TSA and on to the departure gate. We had a lengthy wait, during which we fidgeted, fussed and did all in our power to make the minutes and hours pass quicker. Finally – after an hours delay for who knows exactly what reason – we were airborne and heading southward! After a decent flight we landed at George Bush International Airport in Houston, Texas. Houston was the closest airport to our departure port of Galveston. That city has two major airports – the Bush one (IAH) we were going to and one called Hobby which was actually quite a bit closer to the coast. But, as luck would have it, cost and scheduling again were paramount, and we were left with one to Bush. We contracted an Uber for the lengthy onward trip and the gentleman who drove us was courteous and efficient. And definitely well paid for his lengthy journey. We had left for this trip a day early, so our first stop was at a hotel for the night before. We certainly didn’t want to “miss the boat” for any arcane reason like weather, strikes at airlines, yadda-yadda. The hotel we stayed at was in Texas City, Texas which was about a 15-minute ride from our port on Galveston Island. Once again, when you compared the cost of this hotel there versus one on the island, the savings was very apparent.

On this upcoming trip we were joined by my brother Chuck and his friend Dave. We’d traveled with them a number of times before and were looking forward to their company for this voyage. They met us at the hotel that evening with a hot pizza, a cold beer and some convivial conversation. They’d traveled from San Jose, California for this one and, after some recounting of our individual travels thus far, we bid adieu for the night and settled in.

Sunday. Since the sail away wasn’t until 3 pm, we took our time departing the hotel. Our Uber arrived around midday and, after a very good and speedy embarkation process, we were onboard quite quickly. As many of you cruisers know, your stateroom is not ready for your occupancy until a bit later in the afternoon on arrival day. This is to facilitate the cleaning of said room because of the previous guest who no doubt just departed that morning. So we enjoyed lunch in the huge buffet on deck 16. Our staterooms were on deck 15, so we were close. The announcement that the staterooms were available was around 1:30 as normal. We’d booked a balcony cabin this trip so we immediately took a seat out there and enjoyed watching the port activity.

Some facts about our ship. She’s named the Regal Princess and can hold more than 3,500 passengers and 1350 crew. (we weren’t at quite capacity this trip) There are more than 1,400 balcony staterooms aboard. She was built in 2014 and was the original “Love Boat” in the TV series. (She blows the Loveboat theme on the ship’s horn when leaving every port. It’s quite iconic.) There are 19 decks and she’s 1,083 feet long and 217 feet high. Her registry is Bermuda and her crew is VERY international.

We unpacked as soon as our bags arrived (they transport them from the loading dock as we arrived and deposited them outside our stateroom) and soon our new little home was set up. Dave and Chuck were ensconced right next door. We had our room steward open the divider between our balconies so we now had a shared larger one. We did our muster drill (now days it consists of watching a video on your TV, walking to your muster station and checking in and making sure you know where your life jacket was. Pretty simplified compared to how we had to do it “back in the day.”) We met our room steward – a lady named Sarah May Taay from the Philippines sometime that day also. Although we didn’t see her very often, she took good care of us cleaning our room daily.

Couple more facts for ya. This was a “Medallion” cruise. This means all passengers had a medallion which they wore. It was an electronic devise that coupled with an app on your phone and allowed you to do many things on the ship. It was also tracked by the ship and you could find your shipmates that way! Also, we had bought what they called the “Plus” package which allowed you to drink up to 15 $15 drinks per day, special desserts, crew gratuity, internet access and a bunch of other benefits while onboard. It made bookkeeping simple. It was an add-on to the basic cost of the cruise, but quite useful. The cruise was also what’s called in the business a “Repo” cruise. Repo in this context does NOT mean repossession, but reposition. Most cruising fleets reposition a lot of their ships in the spring and fall. Spring you repo to the Mediterranean and in the fall to the Caribbean. This was the first half of a repo to the British Isles.

We made our way to our dining room – it was called the Symphony. There were three such main dining rooms (MDR’s) on the ship. We met the waiters that would take care of us through the cruise and began to know these men. Our drink steward was named Katlego and he was from South Africa and our food steward was named Arnel and he was from the Philippines. Both became friends during our 12 days together. They were very skilled in their duties and we enjoyed our dinners much more through their great personalities. There were a number of lounges and theaters throughout the ship where you could enjoy entertainment of various sorts. We took advantage of a lot of them. This evening we sat in several trivia contests in one of the lounges and enjoyed a few drinks. The Gulf of Mexico was a little rough this first day. I – due probably to the anti-sea-sick meds I took – enjoyed the “motion of the ocean” and, after retiring around 11, slept the sleep of the innocent. We did hear some of the coat hangers in our closet rattling around a bit during the night due to the swaying of the ship, but the “hanger bangers” didn’t bother me hardly at all.

We noticed during our ambles around the ship that a LOT of the passengers are disabled to one degree or another. There are LOTS and LOTS of motorized scooters, walkers, rollators and canes by the hundreds. Judy making her way around with a cane was almost a ship standard! Yes there were younger cruisers clear down to babies. But not many. Most were like us – gray haired and possessing many years under our belts.

Monday. Today was a sea day while the ship sailed toward Mexico. Slept well and arose around 8. When I parted the curtains to our balcony I saw quite a few whitecaps. It was windy. Plus the sky was cloudy and hazy. We had nothing specific planned. Went to the buffet a bit later and had our eggs, bacon, potatoes, pastry, juice and coffee. Later Judy and I went to an open area of deck 16 – Lido – and chatted with Dave and Chuck who were sitting there. At a bit after noon I went to a veteran’s gathering at one of the lounges. There were many vets on this cruise! They gave all of us a glass of champagne and we toasted each other. Then they passed the microphone and we ALL had a chance to comment on our time in the service. By the time we all had our say, we’d run 15 minutes over! Dinner tonight was formal which means, in the Princess lexicon, “Dress to Impress.” The definition has degraded a bit from the “old days.” Back then it was dark suits or tuxes – ladies in evening wear. Now… not so much. Most showed up in long pants and a better shirt. Some suits and ties. Even a few tuxes here and there. But I just had long pants, dress shirt and a tie. Sea is calmer and it’s easier to walk. Food quite good. Then to the theater for a singer/dancer show. Judy and I agreed it was the same show we saw last year! Good though. Later we saw a comedian in the stern lounge. We experimented with different drinks during this cruise and found some we particularly enjoy. For Judy it was a “Dirty Banana”. For me… “Pineapple Mojito.” We rarely drink at home, but during a cruise? Hmmm… Then to bed and pleasant dreams.

Tuesday. Due to windy weather crossing the Gulf, we docked at Cozumel, Mexico around 11 am. They extended the “back aboard” time to 7 pm, so we didn’t miss much ashore time. We used a pedicab at the dock (Coz has a LONG dock) as Judy still wasn’t walking well. Got a taxi – the four of us – and went to a day club called Nachi Cocum. Judy and I had been there before on previous cruises. All inclusive – food, drink, beach, palapa (beach umbrella), pool, hot tub, etc. Had a great meal in the open-air pavilion and went into the pool. Dave thought it too cool so slipped into the hot tub. We imbibed at the swim-up bar and chatted most of the afternoon. Beautiful place. Dave conversed with the barmen. He’s fluent in various languages, one of them being Spanish, which was handy in Mexico. Hmmm… Taxi back to the ship 4-ish and had supper in the buffet for a change. Then to a bar for more chatting with Chuck and Dave. Later to the theater for a magician who was darn good, especially with card magic. And, of course, he had GORGEOUS female assistants! Magician stock and trade. Had 5 ships docked in Coz today. We were the last to leave. Hazy and cloudy all day with a high in the 80’s. Nice change from the chilly Ohio weather.

Wednesday. Today was the first of our two sea days before Aruba. Up around 9. Buffet. Starting to get sick of bacon/eggs. (I think the eggs are powdered. Not fond of powdered.) Perused the available activities onboard both on the daily paper and the app on the phone. There were LOTS of things to do. Went to bingo at 3. Didn’t win. (figured that, did ya?) Supper was in “our” dining room, the Allegro. My dinner consisted of cold peach/mango soup (remarkable), shrimp cocktail and a jerk chicken main course. Dessert mixed berry cobbler with ice cream. Make no mistake, we ate WELL this cruise. The dishes I didn’t like could be counted on one hand with a few fingers gone. Watched a comedian later then back to the stateroom. My face is a touch red. Too much Mexican sun through the clouds! Set the clocks forward tonight. Back in EST.

Thursday. Our second sea day. Buffet again. This time pastry and coffee. Not bad. Went to the casino for a little while then met Dave and Chuck near the pool on Lido watching the ice carving demonstration. (a standard on cruises) Had an ice cream cone. Met up with Judy then back to Lido to chat some more. Buffet at 1 pm. Constructed fajitas for ourselves. Tasty. Chips, salsa, jalapenos, cheese, tomatoes. Took a nap. Beautiful supper in the Allegro. Italian-theme night. Veal Scallopini for me, lasagna for Jude. Tiramisu for dessert. There was a movie tonight on Lido “under the stars” that I wanted to see. “The Creator.” Judy didn’t. So at 9 I went upstairs and, wrapped in a Princess-supplied blanket and on a deck chair, watched the movie. (I’d seen it before, but it was good enough to re-watch) Back “home” at 11 and toddled off to bed.

Friday. We docked early in Oranjestaad, Aruba. Ate a bite at the International Cafe on deck 5. Our tour of the island is at 1 pm. Judy decided not to go. Afraid of any tough walking on the tour. She later decided to go anyhow. We caught a bus off the dock which took us down the shore to another dock where we caught a small shuttle boat. This took us to the site of a shipwreck and what they called a semi-submersible ship. We boarded and went below. The walls were of glass and we could see the fish and the wreck below us. It puttered around and we got good views of all the various sea life and the pieces of the wrecked ship. Afterward we rode the bus for a few other sights on Aruba including a lighthouse and a natural rock bridge. Then a cool-looking rock garden. The island is mostly desert with LOTS of various spiny cactus and other thorny plants. The guide said most of the plant life on the island WILL hurt you! Ended up being a 4-hour tour. Nice! Judy hurting bad from the necessary walking she had to do. Supper tonight was a couple pieces of pizza on the Lido along with a coke/beer. We went down to deck 7, drank some libations and did some people watching. Went to a lounge and did some ‘80’s trivia. Had a few more pours, then we weaved our way back “home” and hit the comfy bed.

Saturday. We were in Curacao today. No real plans. Just jump off the ship to get some souvenirs maybe. Judy walked to the end of the gangway and decided not to walk any further. She returned to the ship and I went walking. It was already hot. I took some pictures of the pretty buildings. They were painted all different colors. It’s kind of a tradition on this island. Very striking. Stopped at a little casino on the island on my walk back to the ship and ended up winning $78 on a slot machine! Returned to the ship, recounted my journey and winnings to Judy then went to deck 5 to chit-chat with Dave and Chuck. Had a gelato and a drink. Took a bit of a nap, then it was off to Allegro for dinner. Started with the traditional shrimp cocktail then a marvelous crab soup. Short ribs for a main followed by apple pastry and ice cream. Tonight in the main theater it was native Curacao dancers doing some of their traditional dances to their own music. Then back to the cabin. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday and a sea day. Really noticing the preponderance of mobility devices onboard. Scooters, rollators, walkers and canes. We definitely are an older group. Noticed after leaving the theater that the casino was empty. It’s closed when docked. Realized that was the case when we were in port. Don’t want to conflict with the local economy.

Sunday. Another sea day. Our first Easter at sea! Another beautiful day – sunny, hot and calm sea. Went up to the buffet alone – Judy still sleeping. Ate and went down to the Lobby on deck 5 to sit with Chuck and Dave and watch the games they do there. Golf, ring toss, jenga, egg toss, corn hole, etc. Judy joined us later. After a while Judy and I went back to the cabin and gathered up our dirty clothes. It was washing day! We used the laundromat on deck 14 because it had more machines than the one on our deck and also had tokens available. The one on our deck was out. After doing that we should be okey-dokey for the rest of the trip. We adjourned to the Lobby again to grab a sandwich at the International Cafe to hold us (grin) until supper. Again we dined at the Allegro. Started with the shrimp cocktail and a superb mushroom soup. Fried chicken was my main and it was OK. Other offerings were lamb and ham to commemorate Easter. Then some after dinner drinks at the Wheelhouse Bar and a comedian show in the stern lounge. Then back to the room. We have an early excursion tomorrow.

Monday. We docked at Antigua this beautiful morning. We have an excursion booked. Judy is bowing out of this one. Leg. Had a bite on deck 5 – ersatz Egg McMuffin sandwich and a decaf. Then headed to deck 4 for our (my) excursion. Toured some of the island on a mini-bus – about 30 passenger. Had 3 stops. First two were on top of hills looking down on the island scenery. Lovely views of the Atlantic, Caribbean and various other features to see. The last stop was a place called Nelson’s Boatyard. This is where the British navy anchored back “in the day” while they were at war with France and the pirates. (bit hazy on the history here – sorry) Now it contained LOTS of boats and yachts. Quite a popular harbor for the area. Got back to the boat in the early afternoon and napped a bit. We had docked with the starboard side to the dock – the side our balcony was on. We could easily watch all the activity below us on the pier. Judy had wandered around the ship while I was gone. Chuck and Dave also took an island tour with a taxi company. Also enjoyed the island as I had. We joined up out on our balconies and yammered about our adventures for the day before dinner. At the Allegro I thoroughly enjoyed a yummy pea soup for an appetizer and a great dinner. Afterward we went to the theater to see a performance of “Fiera.” Hard to describe. Singing and dancing for sure – kind of a glitzy sideshow theme. Wonderful set decorations. Then Judy and I went up to the Lido for an “under the stars” presentation of the new “Willie Wonka” movie on the big screen. We enjoyed it while wrapped in the Princess blankets. I was struck by the realization that the two of us were sailing across the Caribbean, on a lounger, wrapped in a warm blanket under the stars watching a first run movie! Some moments in life are made to be savored and thoroughly enjoyed. This was surly one. I understood at that moment how GREAT life was for me then and was terribly grateful for the gift. I realized how our folks would probably have thought this a miracle for us and would hardly have believed our story. Only the filthy rich did such things. So, mom and dad… the world is different now… very much so! Then it was back to the cabin and sleep. Another fine cruising day.

Tuesday. We docked at St. Marten/St. Maartin very early today. After a shower we went down to deck 5 for one of the egg sandwiches and some pastry for breakfast. There was a multi-seat golf cart taking the old/weak/disabled/tired down the pier to the shopping area there and back and we took advantage of it. We had docked starboard side again, so we could see our balcony WAY up there when we returned with our island loot. I spent some of the day on deck 5 again watching the games then it was time for another pre-dinner nap. Hell of a vacation, eh? Woke up and watched the sail away from the balcony. Again supper at 5 in the Allegro. Good but not spectacular. Can’t expect that. Then a show in the theater – a singer and fiddle player who was super. Old familiar songs – sing along type. Then we sat outside another lounge and played along on Country Western trivia. And maybe had a drink or three. Chuck and Dave took a tour around the island that morning so Dave could see some of the sights. Chuck and Judy and I had been there before a couple times. This was our last port. Now for two sea days before Florida. God we’re going to miss this life!

Wednesday. First sea day heading home. Sunny skies again and once more blue calm waters slipping by past our balcony. A light breakfast in the buffet and pizza on Lido for lunch. Found Chuck and Dave on deck 5 and sat/talked with them for a while. Watched some shows. Nap then down for “dress to impress” night again at the Allegro. Tonight was lobster and steak for a main and escargot for an appetizer. The waiters and maitre d’ did a line dance for us customers and it was fun and a bit sad. Our voyage together was coming to an end soon. Then to the theater for the night’s show. A good one about choreographers. The staff danced their butts off tonight! We had some more drinks then went to the last comedy show in the aft lounge. Probably the best of the three we’ve seen this trip. Came back to the room to see a sheet of paper with the debarkation information. Another great sea night for sleeping.

Thursday. Last sea day heading home. Up early for a change – shower – went to deck 5 for breakfast. Egg muffin/pastry again. Chuck, Dave and I then went to the theater for a culinary show – head chef for ship and the head maitre d’ doing a cooking/comedy skit for us. A fun show! Then we followed them for a quick tour of the galley. As usual it was immaculately clean and stainless steel everywhere. They do a LOT of meals there. Back to deck 5 for crew vs. guests playing Jenga. Fun. At 2 pm we went to a show starring our marvelous cruise director Allie as she described her job and how she got it. Great talk and a great CD. Next was a talk by one of the bridge officers on how the ship was steered, what went on on the bridge and lots more technical stuff. We asked him lots of questions and it was a fascinating hour. Propulsion, navigating, steering, engineering, ranks of officers, many screens used by them. Learned a ton and it was, at least to me, extremely fascinating. Then back to the cabin to get our suitcases packed and out in the hallway to be whisked away and be given back when we were in port. Another fine dinner in the Allegro and a sad goodbye to our great waiters. Then a farewell show at the theater, more drinks and back to bed.

Friday. We docked at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida pre-dawn. We could hear the docks being attached and the loading/unloading work beginning. (the ship would be continuing the repo cruise by immediately sailing to England after we were off) We were up early – we had to vacate the cabin before 8 am. We finished packing our carry-ons and were in our waiting areas soon after 8. Our debarking was called soon after that and we then crossed the gangway for the last time. Retrieving our bags went smoothly and customs was just a photograph. Then it was on the bus, ride to Ft. Lauderdale airport and wait, wait, wait for our late afternoon flight. The flight was decent and we were in Columbus, Ohio by 9:30 pm. The little shuttle bus took us to the parking lot where our car was awaiting and we were soon on the road home. We arrived there around 11:30 to the waiting arms of our son and dog. Home at last!

A few takeaways…

We debated going on this trip due to Judy’s bad leg, but decided we could make it if we took things a bit easier. It WASN’T as easy as with two more able seniors, but WAS doable. If I had know Judy would be disabled for the trip I’d have booked things differently.

We weren’t the only older disabled couples onboard. As said earlier there were LOTS of folks in the same or much worse conditions than us.

It was great to share the trip with my brother Chuck and his friend Dave. It made the journey MUCH more enjoyable.

12 days MIGHT be a little too long. We agree that a week seems, at least to us, as the ideal time for a cruise to last. Might stretch that to 10.

Cruising might be the ideal vacation. Unpack once, see a lot of new places, be treated superbly, eat well, drink as you like and meet LOTS of like-minded people.

Friends, Family and Far, Far Away

Friends, Family and Far, Far Away

It was a close call. A darn close call. It could have gone either way. We could have been sitting home these past three weeks instead of going on our planned cross-country excursion.

But I guess we got lucky.

Judy had been working with an arthritic knee and had received her second injection to relieve the pain. All seemed well. Then she fell walking into exercise class one morning and that aggravated the difficulties with that particular leg. Then she fell again less than a week later in a parking lot. We realized that she also had a balance problem along with the achy, arthritic knee. And the start date for us to begin our trans-continental drive was FAST approaching. Damn. It was beginning to look a bit bleak. To tell the truth I was THIS close to pulling the plug. If she couldn’t motivate at all, the logistics seemed to be very difficult if not impossible for a long car trip. But then she said, “you know, I can walk around Walmart as long as I hold on to the cart.” I didn’t know that, and after it was proven to me that she COULD get around, we visited with her orthopedist and got her a walker. Our trip COULD be done, albeit with a bit more difficulty. But it WAS doable.

It was back on! Hurray!

The basic idea was to head west and stop at a number of places – some relatives or friends, others just tourist places we wanted to see. The westward journey would finish up at my brother’s house in San Jose, California. We figured a couple days at each place. Then the straight run back home east along the I-80 corridor.

So that was the plan and by golly gee, we were gonna do it!

The rest of this narrative contains day-by-day descriptions of what we did and all that good stuff. If you’re game, come on along. There was a lot of interesting stuff we saw and some great folks we visited with.

Here we go!

Monday, 10/16 Home to Rolla, MO.

We got rolling on our fall adventure around 7:30 with decaf from home and doughnuts from Dunkins. Sort of a tradition in our family to start trips with pastries. It was spitting a light rain, off and on, until we crossed the Ohio - Indiana line or there about. The weather was then just cloudy until later in the day when the sun came out just in time to blind us heading west. I started learning how to take Judy’s walker from the rear of the car, give it to her, then return it after her use. Lunch was at a Sonic near Terre Haute, Indiana. Had heavy sun-in-the-eyes for the last hour of that day. Difficult driving conditions. Missed my turn for the St. Louis bypass I usually take, so got to see downtown St. Louis up close and personal. They have a traffic circle just as we got off the interstate in Rolla, Missouri where we were staying that night, and I seem to ALWAYS have problems there. I want to go over THERE, but the circle seems to always send me the other way. Had to eventually use our GPS to sort stuff out. Dinner was at a nearby Denny’s. The hotel had high beds and Judy needed a stool again to get up on it. Just another high point in the day. Time changed and clocks/watches were reset. Noticed LOTS of semis on the interstate today.

Tuesday, 10/17 Rolla to Sand Springs, OK

Up around 7, breakfast at a Waffle House, rolling by 9. Comfy bed here, so great sleep. Not real hungry by lunch time, so a quick stop at the Micky D’s “over the turnpike” and kept rolling. At Lori/Harris house by 2:30. (Lori is Judy’s sister.) Lori had cooked a VERY nice early supper for us – crock pot roast beef, mashed potatoes and 3 kinds of salad. Yummy and very much appreciated. Lots of chatting and planning for the next day. They also gave Judy her mom’s old walker. She was wheelchair bound by then, so they really had no use for it. It was pink, had wheels, brakes and a seat. A big step up from the primitive contraption Judy’s orthopedist had given her earlier. Lori and Harris had planned a trip for us up to Pawhuska, OK to have lunch at Ree Drummond’s place, the Mercantile. She’s the “Pioneer Woman” TV personality on the Food Network.

Wednesday, 10/18 in Sand Springs, OK

Loaded up their Volvo (nice car!) and headed north as planned. Very good food at Ree’s place, and lots of it! Later in the day, after returning to Sand Springs and lots more conversation, we drove over to a nursing home and visited with Judy’s mother Juanita. She’s 100 years old, so our conversations were attuned to that fact. It was nice to see her again.

Thursday, 10/19 in Sand Springs, OK

Up early and visited with Harris over coffee and cereal. A bit later, Judy and I drove over to Broken Arrow, OK and visited with our friends Linda and Bob Murray. Linda was the younger sister to a girl I dated back in the ‘60’s. We talked a while, then rode to a restaurant they particularly liked. It was very good! And, as usual, too much. Then back to their house and chatted some more (and played with their adorable dog) and then back to Lori and Harris’ house. Missed a turn on I-44 driving back (I hate that highway) in the rush hour traffic. Ate more of the delectable roast beef/potatoes/salads for supper.

Friday, 10/20 Sand Springs, OK to Roswell, NM

Said adios to our outstanding hosts and started the long drive west. Got to the hotel I’d booked and discovered that Judy, due to her leg problem, could not lift her leg over the 8” step into the room. Had to cancel that hotel and find another one more attuned to her disability. Ended up at a Holiday Inn Express as the second try after the first no-go. This place had no steps and many grab rails in the shower. Perfect! Lunch on the road was McDonalds and supper was a Denny’s. Time changed again. Hard to remember to watch for that. Tired from the drive.

Saturday, 10/21 in Roswell, NM

The curtains in our new room are remote controlled. How spiffy! I’d booked a tour of Roswell for 12:30. We will see how Judy handles the van that would be used for that tour. The included breakfast was good at the hotel with sausage, omelets, cinnamon rolls, etc. Drove downtown and found the tour place. (roswellufotours.com) Went in, checked with the tour folks and watched a presentation of what the tour entailed. There were 10 of us booked for that time period. We walked out to the van and Judy decided not to go. Several steps up to the van and she just didn’t think she’d be able to handle them. So, she decided to just wait as I did the tour. Our guide’s name was Paul, and he was extremely informative on everything pertaining to the story of the 1947 UFO crash. He was also quite a pleasant guy – and a real UFO student! We saw lots of places in the area that had significance to the story. We had several spots where we disembarked downtown and walked around a bit to see some areas in greater detail. Then a short ride to the old airbase south of Roswell. I was very pleased by the tour. It went into a lot of detail about the days surrounding the ostensible crash and I was happy to learn many new facts I didn’t know before. Upon returning to the starting place, I received a full refund for Judy. It was Sonic for a late lunch and then back to the hotel. Later that evening we went to a BW3 for supper. As usual quite good. Hit the hay after a bit of TV watching.

Sunday, 10/22 Roswell, NM to Las Cruces, NM

It was only a 3-hour drive to our next destination, so we took our time. Our route went over some mountains and then by White Sands National Park. We could see the white sands from the pass in the mountains. Very pretty. We soon stopped at our friends Rick and Gini’s place. Rick was an old friend from back in my grade school days and we also shared many adventures as Boy Scouts together. Gini cooked pork chops and rice for supper. Quite tasty! They live in a beautiful Southwestern style home, and we admired its ambiance a lot while we were there. We chatted for hours and then adjourned to our bedroom with attached recently remodeled bath. Very nice!

Monday, 10/23 in Las Cruces, NM

After a great cleanup in Rick’s NEW, beautiful shower, it was then decaf and chit-chat time with Rick. A bit later they packed a lunch for us and we headed over to White Sands National Park. The area was very interesting with finely ground gypsum all around and especially in dunes. Looking very much like freshly fallen snow. Apparently, there is nothing like it anywhere else on earth. Rick and I walked up a boardwalk and admired the views from the end. It was striking with the white dunes, the mountains in the background and the blue, blue New Mexico sky. We made use of one of the provided picnic tables and ate our lunch – chicken/cheese/tomato/lettuce sandwiches with chips and a cold beer. Pretty darn nice! We rode around the park for a bit more, checking out the folks riding down the dunes on saucer sleds, then drove by a local landmark called Dripping Rock. During this drive we saw a number of roadrunners out… well… running on the road! No Wile E. Coyotes apparent, though. This area was open range and had cattle wandering about here and there – actually stopping us at one point while they moseyed across the tarmac. Then back to Rick and Gini’s house for more jawing. For supper we went to one of their favorite Mexican restaurants. A very big building with tons of decorations. Our dinners were great and WAY too much, as usual.

Tuesday, 10/24 in Las Cruces, NM

A lot of catching up was accomplished that morning with Rick and Gini. Lunch was chicken/cheese sandwiches and chips like yesterday. We then all piled in Rick’s truck for the grand tour of Las Cruces. We saw the mighty Rio Grande River (not so mighty today – they called it the Rio Sand - and NO Mexicans on the other side either) and lots of pecan orchards. We saw much of the downtown area with colleges, arenas, etc. and other interesting areas. We stopped in Mesilla (small suburb of Las Cruces) and bought souvenirs plus some chocolates for Rick and Gini. Today was cloudy, cool and spitting a little rain. Back home and settled in with a glass of wine and more talk. Rick showed me three of the paintings he had done in a painting class he’d taken, and they were quite good. Excellent hamburgers for supper with some local Hatch chili peppers on top. Yumm!! Made some plans for tomorrow’s drive north to the Four Corners Area. Slept well.

Wednesday, 10/25 Las Cruces, NM to Kayenta, AZ

Left Rick and Gini about 7:30 and headed northwest toward the Navajo Nation. After a 10-hour drive we arrived at Kayenta, AZ way up in the northeast corner of that state almost touching the Utah line to the north. Had a smattering of rain early but it cleared as the day progressed. Very interesting landscapes as our drive progressed ranging from desert floor, piney uplands, lots and lots of range land with horses and cattle and a number of rocky mountain passes and really stunning vistas. Lunch was a Cracker Barrel near Albuquerque. Our stop this night was Wetherill Inn, Kayenta. Seemed like a pretty nice place. Not high-end, but kinda upper-middle. Checked with the desk clerk there and got a map to the Monument Valley area. Our tour there starts at noon, so no need to get up real early. We slept well. Oh, did I tell you that there were PLENTY of Indians around?

Thursday, 10/26 Monument Valley/Kayenta, AZ

Up around 7:00, showered, grabbed a bag breakfast from the local McDonald's and carried it back to the room to eat. Left for Monument Valley and our tour around 10:50 to get there in plenty of time. Our tour operator was Dineh Bekeyah – Navajo for “the people’s sacred land”. Highly recommended! Upon arrival we asked the operator if we could get a tour vehicle that Judy could ride in due to her ailment. Luckily, they provided one – like a flatbed truck with seats bolted to the rear. With a roof! Judy sat in the cab in front with the tour guide. It was chilly that day and we had luckily worn sweatshirts. Our guide was a wonderful Navajo man named John. Everyone around was Navajo, of course. Our tour was 3.5 hours and we saw a LOT of stuff in and around the valley! John was extremely adept at narrating what we were seeing and telling us all about the rock formations, the history of the park and especially about Navajo life. We learned a LOT and enjoyed it tremendously! We even stopped at a Navajo hogan (home) and a young lady told us all about home life on the reservation and what growing up female was like as Navajo. We learned that their entire lineage is traced through the female of the line. It’s a true matriarchy. John expanded in great detail about this. It was like an open-air seminar on Navajo culture and its people. There were only four of us on this particular tour – Judy and I and another couple. We were back to the hotel around 4:30. Supper was at a sit-down place in Kayenta called The Wagon Wheel. Of course, it was too expensive and too much to eat. Then back to the hotel, purchase a few souvenirs at the gift shop and adios for the day.

Friday, 10/27 Kayenta, AZ to Gold Canyon, AZ

It was a cold start this morning. We gassed up, grabbed some doughnuts and decaf and were on our way south. There were lots of 2-lane roads at 65 mph to negotiate before finding an interstate near the turnoff for the Grand Canyon. We got to our destination, Cindy and Mike’s place, in the early afternoon. The last 50 miles or so around Phoenix were painful due to traffic, and it wasn’t even rush hour! Some 6-lane stuff that was hard for this corn-fed Ohio boy to maneuver in. Our hosts, Mike and Cindy, were very gracious. They lived in a nice desert-themed home in a beautiful, gated community. Cindy had texted me the gate code, but I didn’t see it. My bad. A nice lady in a red Jeep opened the gate for us after I told them who we were visiting. Some background: Cindy is the daughter of my 2^nd cousin Lorraine. Lorraine is my grandmother’s brother’s daughter and is a little older than Judy and I. To keep all this genealogy straight, I call ALL those folks cuz. Keeps it simple. (We tried to explain this lineage to our Navajo guide yesterday and our explanation had him totally befuddled.) They have two dogs – a big black one and a little white one. We were missing our dog by then, so playing with them – Poppy and Norman – was very enjoyable. Mike grilled steaks for supper and did a superb job of that task! Cindy’s additions to the meal were potatoes, salad, asparagus and a creamy dessert with mandarin oranges in it. We ate it on the patio as the temperature was perfect and the bright full moon in the black sky added a great ambiance. Very, very NICE! Kudos to our hosts. We noted later that the time in Arizona was NOT what we expected. Arizona does NOT change back and forth to/from Daylight Savings Time. My car clock and my GPS were arguing with each other. As usual. Finally got it all sorted out.

Saturday, 10/28 in Gold Canyon, AZ

A bit of normality for us this morning. Shower, decaf and PLAY WITH DOGS. Watched a bit of TV with Cindy and Mike. Realized we’d put two weeks on the road already! Wow! I guess we’re getting to be road warriors. For lunch today we went to a pizza place in Mesa (nearby town) called “The Organ Stop”. Kinda weird I thought. It’s a great big barn of a restaurant. You order and pickup at a counter and sit out in the big room at a glorified picnic table and bench. Nothing special. Until it’s music time! The big round wall at the end of the room concealed an orchestra pit and out of it rose a gigantic Wurlitzer organ! It has all the bells and whistles normally hooked to giant organs along with other instruments hanging from the nearby walls – drums, cymbals, bells, woodwinds, etc., etc. Along with hundreds of pipes. (It’s a pipe organ, remember?) The musician takes requests and plays a lot of them, along with some patriotic music also. This instrument is LOUD, and the walls rumble with the noise. The draw to this venue, obviously, is the organ, not necessarily the pizza which, to be honest, was just OK. Noticed that a lot of birthdays and anniversaries were being held there. Pretty interesting, all told. Then it was back to the house to watch game 2 of the World Series. Arizona was in it, so it was kind of a big deal there. It was another good day of conversation and fellowship. Cindy even pulled her mother up on her video and I joined in the chat with her back in Ohio.

Sunday, 10/29 Gold Canyon, AZ to Sun City West, AZ

Up and more chit-chat with Cindy and Mike – ate toast, drank decaf and played with Poppy and Norman. We left around 10:30-ish to drive to my friend Ron’s house. It’s west of Phoenix ergo the name. The traffic was lighter as it was Sunday, but… it still seemed pretty heavy to me! Got there and was welcomed by Ron. He lives in kinda of a condo – 2 bedrooms, 2 bath and his community, Sun City West, is huge! It has several golf courses, several rec centers, fire station, bowling alleys, swimming pools, tennis courts and oodles of other stuff. I’m guessing miles square. We drove around a bit, and he said there were 30,000 residents, but it’s spread out a lot. Really nice. We talked about the old days. We used to work together back in the late ‘70’s and we rehashed a lot of very old memories. Ron cooked us some supper and we enjoyed that before retiring for the night.

Monday, 10/30 in Sun City West, AZ

More talk with Ron. He graciously loaned us his washing machine and dryer and we took advantage by washing the HUGE PILE of dirty clothes we’d accumulated the last 2 weeks. Judy used Ron’s shower as it required no step over a tub railing as ours did. Ron left to go bowling and left us to finish washing clothes. Heard lots of fighter jets flying overhead. Ron said there was an Air Force Base close, and they practiced a lot. We accepted his suggestion that we try one of his Haagen-Dasz ice cream bars from his freezer. Yum! Ron returned around 2:30 and we enjoyed lots more talking. For supper he made spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread. Quite good!

Tuesday, 10/31 Sun City West, AZ to Bakersfield, CA

We left Ron’s around 8:30, wiggled our way down a number of streets and highways to I-10 and then headed west. California, here we come! Not too terrible traffic through western Arizona into California all the way to near Palm Springs where it started getting heavy. Lunch was a Denny’s in Highland, California. Traffic continued heavy (this was expected) all the way until I-5 North went over the mountains and down into the central valley where it thinned out considerably. We stopped at a discount motel near Bakersfield around 6 pm and settled in. It was a long day at the wheel through miserable LA area traffic. We seemed to hit the valley during what the hotel clerk called “fly season.” Our room had dozens of flies. Multiple dozens probably. I got a fly swatter from the front desk (she had no fly spray) and merrily spent some time killing the pests. The room price was so reasonable I forgave them the pests. Supper was Popeye’s chicken from the truck stop across the street. The room was handicap accessible, so Judy will have no problems sleeping, showering, etc. We don’t have to leave real early in the morning as my brother only lives 3.5 hours away, so we plan to sleep in a little. Actually, slept pretty well, all things considered, even though the trucks across the street were roaring most of the night. The flies didn’t bother our sleep. Maybe they were sleeping too???

Wednesday, 11/1 Bakersfield, CA to San Jose, CA

We were rolling by 8:30. I-5 long and straight north interspersed by many, many semis. Micky-Dee’s for breakfast while rolling along. Noticed the huge number of crops growing in the valley, even in the fall as it now was. We could guess what a few of them were, but most were unknown to us. We’re definitely not farmers or botanists. Then across the mountains (we seemed to do that a lot on this trip) to San Jose. We were at my brother Chuck’s by 1 pm. We talked for quite a while, viewed the repairs and updates to his home (he had water damage a while ago) then rode to his local Walmart for some staples. He’s cooking supper. The mountain portion of the drive was a bit hairy at times. I’m just not too fond of heights. Just a chicken driver.

Thursday, 11/2 in San Jose, CA

Up at a normal time and then lots of chit-chat. We’d been to Chuck’s house on numerous occasions, so it was like a second home to us – very familiar. Breakfast was French Toast and bacon. While we ate, we watched his feral cat Tom come onto his porch and eat food Chuck set out for him. It was kinda funny. Cat comes to see him every morning to eat and lay in the sun on his deck. Supper was at a pho place in San Jose’s Vietnam Town. (Pho is a kind of Vietnamese soup.) We ordered small bowls of pho, and they came in gigantic bowls. THOSE were the LITTLE ones! Tried the ribs in noodles they were good! The menu was mostly in Vietnamese with English subtitles. We ate outside as the weather was California perfect. Chuck’s friend Dave had joined us for supper, and it was good to see him also as we knew him quite well from previous trips. Watched some TV then to bed by 10:30. Still considering what route to take home. I’ll talk about that in a bit.

Friday, 11/3 in San Jose, CA

Up and showered in Chuck’s NICE NEW SHOWER! Chatted a while then adjourned to one of California’s iconic eateries – In n Out Burgers - for lunch. Quite good! We drove by one of his previous homes and saw the changes that other owners had made to it. Chuck had bought it back in the “day” for around $170 K and now it’s in the neighborhood of $1.2 mil. Three bedrooms, two bath ranch house. Go figure. It’s basically Silicon Valley with some of the highest real estate values anywhere. We then drove back home and talked about what route we would take home. I’d been concerned what a friend had said before the trip when I told him I was considering taking I-80 back home. He said, “You’re going through the Donner Pass in November? You must be nuts!” I’d never considered that. My brother said not to worry, it was too early for problems. Even so… Bought gas that afternoon - $4.89 a gallon. I’d paid $3.12 at home before leaving on this trip. Guess this was about normal for San Jose. Still didn’t touch what we paid in the southern California desert on Tuesday. $5.99 a gallon! Yikes! We’ve decided that yes, we would take I-80 home, so Chuck gave us some directions on how to get through the Bay Area to get to that road. Tomorrow, we start east and toward home!

Saturday, 11/4 San Jose, CA to Elko, NV

Just juice this morning before leaving my brother’s place. Belly a bit upset as usual before a trip. Bid adieu to my brother twice. Why? Forgot my computer at his place and had to run back to get it. Luckily, we hadn’t driven far yet. The highways weren’t terribly busy. This was probably REAL light for a native, but still a bunch of cars for lil’ ol me me to contend with. Stopped near Stockton, CA for breakfast at Denny’s (see a pattern here). Saw some really impressive mountain scenery going from CA to NV. (The aforementioned Donner Pass was negotiated easily. 55 degrees and sunny.) From then on, pretty ho-hum. Miles and miles of miles and miles. Got to Elko, Nevada around dusk. Checked into the Ramada Inn and Casino for $79 a night. Good golly! Handicap room, too. Supper was in the hotel/casino restaurant. Nothing looked particularly good, so settled for bacon/eggs for supper. Back to the room and settled in for some TV and then sleep.

Sunday, 11/5 Elko, NV to Laramie, WY

Had a full breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Paid by voucher for having stayed the night so it was free. Then back on the road. Scenery was pretty interesting – mountains, grazing land, desert. It was awesome dropping down out of Nevada into Utah. You could see miles upon miles of the Bonneville Salt Flats spread out in front of you glistening white in the sunshine. Ate a burrito at a central Wyoming truck stop. Had to keep driving after dark to get to a good stop due to the time change last night. Not fond of night-time driving in strange places. Grabbed a Super 8 finally in Laramie, Wyoming. Decent but still a bit low-end. Papa John’s pizza for supper. Pretty tired. Stacking a lot of miles last couple days. Planning on using our GPS to locate a doughnut shop for breakfast tomorrow. She did her job, but ultimately the place had been out of business a long time. Oh well…

Monday, 11/6 Laramie, WY to Lincoln, NE

Doughnuts and decaf at a gas station. The pastry was, surprisingly, very fresh! Drove the last bit of mountains, then it was LOTS and LOTS of high plains. Lunch at a Sonic mid-state, then grabbed a Motel 6 in Lincoln – just a bit west of Omaha. Much nicer than last night! Kinda. Getting tired of driving. This trip has stressed the fact to us that this is a BIG doggone country! Supper ended up being at a Mexican place called “Amigos” that was similar to a Taco Bell. I was hoping it would be a bit nicer, but it was a dark night, hard to find places and we accepted what we found. When we left, we asked the GPS to take us back to the Motel 6 we were booked in as I forgot all the turns I had made to get to where we were. Little did we know that Lincoln, Nebraska has TWO Motel 6’s! Yep, we ended up at the wrong one and were trying to figure out why it looked so doggone different than before. Ha! After re-navigating to the CORRECT Motel 6 (miles away), we settled in for the night. Along with quite noticeable elevator noises (we were right next to it) and another annoying motor noise from our in-room refrigerator. Much fun.

Tuesday, 11/07 Lincoln, NE to Joliet, IL

Tried getting Dunkin doughnuts this morning. Our GPS took us to a spot where there was NO doughnut shop. Clear downtown Lincoln near Cornhusker Stadium (I think). Long way from the motel. Ended up stopping at a gas station off the interstate (like we should have from the start) and getting humongous apple fritters. We noticed a whole lot of big windmills all across Iowa. Pretty green in that state. Lunch was at ANOTHER Denny’s – ho hum. Beginning to hate that chain. Decided that tonight, which should be our last night on the road, we would stay at a better hotel. Made it a Comfort Inn this time in Joliet, Illinois. Nice place. We both saw a Cracker Barrel near the hotel when we got there and planned on going there for supper. And oddly enough, it kinda disappeared when we went looking for it. Of course, it was in the dark with lots of road work around the area. Ended up at a sports bar and grill right next to our hotel. Good food and a lively atmosphere. A serendipitous good choice. No untoward noises that night.

Wednesday, 11/08 Joliet, IL to home

Breakfast was at the hotel. It was decent, but I still had little appetite. Just wanna head home, I guess. Traffic past Chicago was pretty heavy – lots of construction in the area also. After that it was normal to light. Had a little spitting rain, but that cleared fairly quickly and from there on through Indiana and into Ohio it was nice. Time change again and we had to adjust clocks and watches. Again! Arrived home around 3:30 that afternoon. Very nice to be back! I was amazed at how much there was to unload from the car. Oh, and our dog Penny was VERY glad to see us return. It was now over.

Thoughts:

America is a BIG, BIG country. Be very aware of that fact before undertaking any trip of this magnitude. Be aware of distances, times, condition of your car, your age and all limitations existing on your health.

A huge thank you to all our hosts for the past couple of weeks. Your generosity, friendship, hospitality and willingness to put up with two travel-weary folks was greatly appreciated. You will never know how grateful we were for a bed, a shower, a meal or two and to spend time talking to you and how happy we were you shared your life with us for a time.

The beauty of this country, from the desolate stretches of the American desert through the amazing mountains that seem to be everywhere west of the Mississippi is continually breathtaking. There was ALWAYS something interesting to look at around every bend of the road. We felt an intimate bond with the land we passed through, knowing that this is OUR land, OUR country and we felt a kinship with every scraggly pine tree or tumbleweed to the most majestic of the mountain ranges.

Making connections with old friends and relatives was worth all the weary miles that it takes to get to their homes. It’s wonderful to go beyond a Christmas card every year and maybe a hello on the phone. The face-to-face interactions and physical nearness is a breath of fresh air for any relationship.

Traffic on the road is inevitable. It will be way tougher to drive in than you can imagine. Prepare yourself for that fact. Be safe and try not to do dumb stuff.

You will get tired. The long stretches of highway will get tougher and tougher to endure as time goes on. Take more breaks than you think you need, ‘cause you DO need them. Now take another one. You need that one too. Eat when necessary and try to keep your mind occupied.

Find humor in the difficult times on the road. Tears never help, but laughter will shorten the distances.

Cherish the time spent with friends and family. Odds are that some of them won’t be there the next time you’re out that way. Be humble and be grateful.

Enjoy yourself!

 

Panama!

 

PANAMA!

A long time ago, say 53 years ago to be specific, I was an employee of Uncle Sam. He had designated that I be sent to an tropical isthmus to perform my duties for a certain period of time. A year-and-a-half to be specific again. I performed those duties as required and enjoyed – as much as a military man could – being out of my home country and learning all I could about my present location. The assignment went quick and the next thing I remember is I was on a jet heading north and back into, what we called it then, “the world.” The location I spent my 21^st and 22^nd year of life was the Panama Canal Zone. I was an Air Weather Observer for the United States Air Force. And I remember a lot of that time period. So when the opportunity came to revisit the area, even if only for a short period of time, I responded with an emphatic yes and started planning. Those plans came to an abrupt end a few years ago when COVID-19 reared it’s ugly head and said NO YOU’RE NOT. So our ocean cruise to Panama was put on the shelf for a while.

After the pandemic had eased off some, I decided it was time to take that journey off the shelf and dust it off. So plans were again made and dates set. We would sail on March 22 of this year.

Hurrah!

The following, loyal reader, is a semi-lengthy description of my wife Judy and my voyage to Panama on the good ship Caribbean Princess and the adventures that occurred therein. Read on if interested, if not, adios and take care.

Planning:

We visited our travel agent and booked this cruise last fall. We had discussed it with one of my lodge brothers and his wife and they were also eager to sail with us, so they were there signing the paperwork also along with us at the travel agency. There would be four taking this voyage.

We were going again!

So let’s get cracking, eh?

Tuesday:

This would be our travel day. We left our little northeast Ohio town about 8 am and soon were munching on McDonald’s and motoring north toward Cleveland Hopkins Airport. We arrived after about the normal hour’s travel and my son returned home with our car. He promised he would retrieve us in ten days and would try not to kill our dog in the interim. We were fortunate (why?) this time through TSA screening that we did not have to remove our shoes. We flew a half-empty Southwest flight to Chicago’s MDW airport. It took about an hour. The airport was quite crowded – possibly spring breaker travelers? Dunno. Our flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida was full with 175 people, a couple of them being babies in full voice. We took a Lyft ride-share from the airport to our hotel for the night. (We always fly in a day early to allow for transportation problems along the way.) Please note that it is not at all obvious where you’re supposed to wait for your ride share after you’ve retrieved your luggage at FLL, just that it’s NOT where you are at the moment. It’s a bit of a walk down the way to the PROPER spot where they meet their riders. Quite a bit of a walk pushing, pulling and carrying bags. Our driver was one of the quiet ones. He said “William?” when he saw us to make sure he was picking up the right folks. We responded, “Jose?” to match what the phone app said. He then said “Super Ocho?” to verify he was driving us to the Super 8. We said yes and we were off. Quite a short ride later and we were there.

Please note that I booked this hotel for its lower price. It was only for one night and we weren’t looking for fancy. And, to be sure, it assuredly wasn’t. For the same price around home you’d get upper-middle. For Ft. Lauderdale we got a definite middle-lower. Clean, for sure, but VERY much used furniture, TV massively bolted to the dresser and old fixtures. Bed was comfortable though. No restaurant on premises, so I walked a ways down the BUSY six-lane highway to a Popeye’s chicken place and snagged some suppers for us. So we chowed down at our hard-scrabble motel and soon were off to dreamland.

Wednesday:

Morning showed us that, for our showers, there was NO soap. Just one small bottle of shampoo. We used that all over. At least I did. Judy may have had some soap packed. I stopped at the motel office to check out the advertised continental breakfast. It consisted of the following: coffee, hot water for hot chocolate mix, no decaf, a small basket of breakfast cereal bars – full stop. That was it. I took some of that majestic breakfast back to the room for Judy and we both laughed. Kinda. Then it was Lyft time again to go to the ship port. It was finally sail-away day! Our driver that day was again a Hispanic – a talkative one this time – and we were soon at the port dropping off our bags. From previous experiences, we understood and accepted the congestion and crowds of people around the terminal. There were a LOT of us fun-and-sun seekers for this trip. After some entry line hiccups, we were at last on the ship and scanning our Princess Medallions at the gangway for the first time. All was well! For those who’ve not sailed before, please note that most of these cruise ships are BIG. Ours was not the biggest on the seas, but still a mighty ship. 18 stories above the waterline, a thousand feet long, 3,000 passengers (give or take) and 1,000 crew. A big, beautiful ship just waiting to take care of us! We sat down in the lobby, had our first drinks and waited until 1 pm when we could go to our cabin and start unpacking. We’d booked an aft-facing ocean-view cabin on a very high deck – 14. Two distinctive portholes gave us views aft and great looks at our wake when at sea. We don’t suffer from seasickness, thank goodness for Bonine, so the location was fine. We knew that particular location was prone to more pronounced wave motion and it didn’t not deliver! We were rockin’ and rollin’ most of the voyage! Judy and I grew acclimated pretty quickly and got used to the floor NEVER being still or level. Our sailing companions – Blake and Cathy – had the next door cabin. They arrived later and we didn’t make connections until after supper. We ate supper in the Coral Dining room, one of three main dining rooms on the ship. Supper was fine and food was decent and abundant. The service was, as we’d seen on almost all our past cruises, impeccable. The crew were hard-working and friendly to a person. We capped our first day aboard with a show at the main theater – two comedians who were pretty funny – and stopped at one of the MANY bars on the ship for another drink. We had the drink package, so they were all “free.” The bar, like many of them, had live music, so we sat and listened for a bit. Then back to the cabin to collapse on the bed. The cabin, albeit pretty small, was nicely laid out and had many mirrors, so the size was disguised well. We’d met our cabin attendant and his name was Ishmael. Easy to remember – Moby Dick! (“Call me Ishmael”) Then off to a gently rolling sleep sailing into the blue Caribbean.

Thursday:

A sea day. I awoke after a VERY restful sleep. The motion of the sea and the fine bed linens had done their trick. The only annoying noise during the night was the sound of the empty coat hangers in the closet banging against the wall and each other. (Solution: take the empty ones off the rod and put on the floor. Voila, much quieter.) Went to breakfast with our travel companions at the buffet and made plans with them for supper and a show afterwards. We had received a complimentary meal from our travel agency (thanks Marty!) at one the the upscale restaurants aboard (Sabatini’s) and were eating there. After breakfast we wandered around the ship and checked out some of the retail shops. Most were pretty high-end. Had a drink or several (it’s ALWAYS five o’clock somewhere!) and checked out a couple lounge shows. Seemed there was always something going on around the ship. Contests, trivia, music, classes, magic, etc. Buffet for lunch and a smattering of rain on the outside decks.

Sabatini’s Restaurant for supper was great with only one real problem. TOO MUCH FOOD! It would take a real trencherman to take advantage of their meals. Quite tasty and, as I said, abundant. Afterward it was the theater show Bravo which was quite entertaining. We didn’t get to the show early enough, so we sat two and two. Then back to the room for a bit. Judy and I walked up to Skywalker’s Nightclub then, which was on deck 19 by itself almost directly above our cabin. We listened to some old-time rock n roll and had another drink. I tried a suggestion of my brother’s this time, a White Russian. Quite good! Had several during the trip. Then back to the stateroom. We set our clocks back an hour tonight. Having to reset our clocks would be a recurring theme for the voyage. Eventually there would be six time changes in ten days. Crazy.

Friday:

This was our Falmouth, Jamaica day. Got up early-ish and did a wander around the ship taking some pictures. Blake and Cathy were up early also and we chit-chatted a bit by the aft pool near our staterooms. (We called it “our” pool.) Judy was up by then and we all went to breakfast at the buffet. Later Blake and Judy and I exited the ship (Cathy wanted to lounge around the pool. Smart lady!) and checked out Jamaica’s tourist offerings on the pier-side. Quite a few souvenir places, craft work for sale and a few food offerings as well. I’m not really counting the diamond stores and the other chains that are in EVERY port in the world, seemingly. Bought some souvenirs and stopped at a food vendor’s place. Got a patty (sort of like an empanada) with a spicy chicken filling (I liked it!) and a Red Stripe beer. The beer is brewed on that island. A tasty little snack! The Jamaican people were all very friendly, but obviously were looking for sales. Not extremely pushy though. We were concerned about that before getting there, but in the enclosed port area I guess the pushy ones are kept out? It was very windy, about 80 degrees and sunny there. After our walk around and shopping visit, we returned to our staterooms and crashed for a little bit. Sail away was at 5 pm and so was our supper in the Coral Dining Room. The Caribbean Princess had three main dining rooms and the Coral was the one we ate at the most. Pretty darn good food. Service was very formal and unfortunately took most of two hours. Afterward we stopped at the Explorer’s Club – we’d stop there quite often for their shows – and watched a couple of presentations. A sports trivia contest, an 80’s music trivia contest and the marriage game show. That one pitted three couples of varying lengths of marriage against each other. Very funny. It was hosted by our Cruise Director Dan and he did a superb job. We enjoyed some drinks while watching the shenanigans – dirty banana, white Russian and Blake and I shared shots of Fireball to end the night. Ship was delayed leaving 1.5 hours by the wind.

Saturday:

This was an at-sea day. Up and breakfast with Blake and Cathy in the buffet. That would be our go-to breakfast place. Judy and I went to the main theater after eating and watched a presentation on how productions were put on on the ship. Casting, crew, lighting, equipment, etc. It was all really complicated, then you multiply that complexity for our ship by THIRTEEN other ships in their fleet. Wow! The planning, logistics and work involved were amazing. Judy and I then went to another presentation in the rear lounge put on by our busy cruise director Dan. He showed some cute bar tricks and other flim-flam to impress folks. Quite interesting. Trust me when I say there was something going on ALL THE TIME on the ship. Then back to the cabin for a little nap. Still windy at sea and the ship was moving quite a bit. Had to be careful walking. Again a two-hour dinner in the Coral. Tasty again but sadly still slow. Blake complained he was not feeling well, so they went to their cabin after supper. Judy and I went to the main theater again for the show – two comedians we’d seen the first night, but a totally new routine. Very funny. Stopped at another bar – the Wheelhouse Lounge – for drinks afterward and to watch auditions for an upcoming show, The Voice of the Sea – a takeoff of The Voice on TV. Some very talented singing passengers on our ship! Off to bed then to a gently rolling bed. Looking forward to Colombia tomorrow!

Sunday:

This was Cartagena, Columbia day. Up again and found out Blake was still not feeling well, so it’ll just be Judy and I for our booked excursion with Dora the Explorer. They stayed on the ship with only a short jaunt off in the port area. We ate early at the buffet and were off the ship at 8 am as our reservations stipulated. We found our group – Dora #1 on the pier and walked the rest of the way off, through the little zoo they had at the entrance to our little bus for the tour. Toucans, macaws, sloths, monkeys, peacocks and other beasties. Nice, actually. Our tour guide was the founder of the tour group, Dora de Zubiria. She had a driver and another helper also. There were only 8 in our group, so it was quite manageable. We first drove to the top of a great big hill, got out of the bus and climbed 14 stone steps to an ancient church. At a certain time of year they bring the statue of the Virgin down that windy mountain road and stop at 14 crosses along the way to pray the Stations of the Cross. Apparently thousands of pilgrims do this. Quite a big to-do as described. We checked out the super views of the old and new city and took some pictures along with some of the church itself. Then back in the bus and down the mountain to the next stop. Dora shared a LOT of information about her city and country during this excursion. At the next stop I climbed onto the top of the wall of the old city, now 11 kilometers long and looked around a bit. Then I walked down to a shopping area that consisted of 23 cells that were used for prisoners back in “the day” and now were little shopping areas. Then back on the bus and onward to the old city. We then parked and all of us (except Judy) went for a long, very hot, very humid walk around the city. It was around 90 degrees and there were LOTS of vendors along the way trying to sell us their goods. Water, beer, Panama hats, jewelry, all kinds of stuff and LOTS of it. And some beggars to top it off. We ended up walking through a number of churches and beautiful flowering and green courtyards. Very pretty with a lot of 15^th and 16^th century buildings. Loads of history was again supplied by our Dora during the walk. Highly knowledgeable and highly recommended. Judy took a different tour at that time with the bus driver through the new city. No walking. She’s not doing well in that department. We finally got through our long walk – Dora said six blocks – but if felt LOTS longer with the heat and humidity. Back again on the bus, reunited with Judy and off to drive through another part of the city called Getsemeni. Looked very artsy/craftsy and rich. Very colorful with art on the walls and the buildings all pretty and in very nice shape. We were back to the pier around noon. We grabbed some lunch on the ship and changed our dinner reservations from 5 pm to 8:40 pm. Just not hungry by 3:30 pm. Napped for a couple hours then up for more adventures! The walking app on my phone said I walked over 4 miles today. Definitely believe it. The boat left Colombia at 3:30 and headed for Panama. Went to our 8:40 dinner in the Coral after checking with our companions. Blake sicker than ever, so they’re scheduled to see the ship’s doctor the next day. Hit the casino for an hour or so then back to the cabin. Total miles for today is 4.82. Serious mileage for this ol’ dude. No word yet where we pick up our Panama tour yet for tomorrow. They’ll know as soon as they know when they’re allowed through the canal lock. Sometime tomorrow morning.

Monday:

This is Panama day. Up early and up to our pool area to watch the ship go into the first chamber of the Agua Clara Lock of the Panama Canal. This is one of the new locks built for the super tankers after 2000. You could see ships going through the old Gatuń locks through the trees to the west. Took some pictures. Went to breakfast around then and waited on the call for our tour. Finally around 10 am we got the call and took a tender over to the Colon Yacht Club. Picked up our bus and tour guide there. The bus went OVER the lock we had just gone through (there’s a roadway on top) and headed south toward Panama City. The guide was a wonderful panameño and he told us LOADS of information about all kinds of stuff pertaining to the canal and the country. We stopped at the Miraflores Locks (Pacific side of the Canal) to watch an IMAX movie about the construction of the canal and narrated by Morgan Freeman. Then left the theater to look at the lock itself. There were no ships transiting at that time, so there actually wasn’t much to see. Then back on the bus. Next stop was a duty-free store for a potty break. The bus stopped again down the road and they passed out sandwiches and water for a small lunch break. We rode into the old part of Panama City and they let us out. It looked real sketchy in that area, but the guide assured us it was totally safe. We followed him and learned more history and saw LOTS of historic buildings. He said that neighborhood was guarded by the unit that guards their president. Interesting. The massive gold alter at the first church we stopped at was a real eye-popper and there was an interesting story about it. We were getting in another walk similar to yesterday. Ouch! Finally back on the bus and back across the country to Colon on the Caribbean side when we again got on our ship. (Another 3.5 miles walking today.) On the bus ride back I traded tales with the guide about my days in the Air Force in his country. He really got a kick out of some of them. He actually worked at the base I was stationed at as a younger man until it closed in 2000. He’s a little younger than I, but he remembered most of the incidents I recalled. It was nice today to bring up old memories in the place that they were made. This little country has changed a LOT in 54 years, give or take. I heard a lot of place names that were familiar while driving around today and reminisced a lot about my younger days. We called our shipmates after returning to see how their visit to the doctor had went. Turns out that Blake tested positive for Covid, so he and Cathy are stuck in their cabin until he tests negative. They’re definitely stuck on a voyage from hell. Oh yes, some good news. We won some OBC (on board cash) in a little game that we played. $250! Hurrah! Now for a quiet night before our next excursion tomorrow in Costa Rica. The time changes again tonight. If you’re counting, that’s three times now. And so it goes.

Tuesday:

This is Limon, Costa Rica day. The tour today wasn’t until 12:15, so we slept in a little and had a later breakfast. When it was time to go, Judy bowed out. Her leg(s) were hurting and sore. So I was alone for this one. Our tour group gathered in the theater, then were escorted off the ship. The concrete of this particular pier was pretty rough and cracked. A man ahead of me pushing an elderly lady in one of those lightweight wheelchairs (with the small wheels) hit a particularly deep crack and oops… old lady on the deck! About a dozen other passengers gathered around and got her right side up and on her way again. She seemed not too worse for wear. After that incident, we got on our bus and were on our way. Once again, as the bus pulled out our new Costa Rican guide started with interesting facts about his country and stories about this and that. After about 20 minutes we pulled into the place we were to take our tour of the Tortugero Canals. So we got off the bus and onto a pontoon boat and were soon off on our jungle cruise. The river or canal we were on was smallish, brown water and slow moving. There was lots of jungle vegetation on both sides. We saw and heard LOTS of the native wildlife including: caimans, howler and spider monkeys, iguanas, sloths (3-toed variety), basilisks (like small lizards except they run on 2 legs), tons of all kinds of birds, etc. The boat driver even stopped for a few minutes, jumped into the jungle and started looking around on the ground. Soon he returned and, on a leaf he held, was a bright red tiny frog about the size of a bumble bee. He explained it was one of those poisonous one that the natives used to dip their darts and arrows in to kill prey and other natives. We asked him how he found it as it was so tiny. He said he heard it and made a hissing noise. Don’t know if he was joking or not. We heard a bird and the guide asked if we knew what it was. When we all said no, he said it was a robin. They live down there too. Funny! During the tour they fed us a locally grown banana and a bag of cassava chips – barbecue flavor! The bus ride back to the ship was uneventful and the guide gave us more information on the country. I was glad to get back into the a/c comfort of the ship. We made our dinner reservations at another dining room – The Island – for 7:20. 5 is still quite early. Talked to Blake on the phone. He’s feeling better, but Cathy is starting to cough. She’ll get checked out tomorrow. Food tonight was very much so-so. Don’t know if we’re getting jaded or it was a bit lower quality. Could hardly keep my eyes open. So tired! Found out that three excursions in three days was maybe just a bit much. So it was Tylenol and beddy-bye time. Tomorrow we can rest on our next sea day.

I’d like to say that we enjoyed our next three days of cruising. I’d like to say we had more marvelous adventures and saw more exotic locales. I’d like to say we had fun the last three days of our cruise. But I can’t. Here’s why…

Wednesday:

This was a sea day. I woke up this day not feeling too great. Bit of a headache, feverish, cough. Knowing Blake next door has/had Covid, I was concerned. I called the ship’s medical staff and one of them stopped by the cabin. Yep, my vacation pretty much ended. I got the doggone Covid. Damn. So Judy and I are quarantined until we get off the ship on Saturday. Judy goes to medical tomorrow to get tested. Didn’t do much the rest of the day. TV, read, sleep. Ordered food and drink as we liked.

Thursday:

This was Cayman Island day. Still quarantined in our cabin. My sickness feels like a bad head cold with a deeper cough. TV, room service, read my novel and sleep. Time passed slowly. I’m NOT real sick. I didn’t see any of the Cayman Islands. Bummer.

Friday:

This was a sea day heading back to Florida. Feeling quite a bit better today. Judy went for testing and is negative. (She would test positive Sunday at home.) She’s allowed anywhere on the ship. I’m assuming I’ll get retested today too. (I was wrong. No retest. “too soon” I was told.) Life seems a bit better today. We got our disembarkation instructions. Ours are different than the rest of the passengers because of the quarantine. We’ll be escorted off the ship separately. Judy went for breakfast and brought me back a go-cup of decaf and some pastry. Another long day in the cabin.

Saturday:

Disembarkation day. Up around 7 am. Finished packing. Breakfast delivered again by room service then our disembark escort arrived and we were led off the ship. We went out a crew entrance alone along with Blake and Cathy – everyone masked. Like the bad ol’ days. Rode in a provided bus to the airport and checked our bags. Through TSA OK and then waited. And waited. And some more. Flight not until 5-ish. Our one stop was Nashville. Sat around for about 2 hours there, then the 1 hour flight to Cleveland. Our son Tony picked us up in our SUV around midnight and we were off to home. Hurrah!

Thoughts:

We are SO glad we are back cruising again! The hiatus was LONG and we’re immensely glad it’s over. Being at sea again and seeing new places? Can’t beat it!

Having our cabin high up and in the rear of the ship DOES make it more bumpy, but Bonine makes it all pretty comfortable. We DO look like drunken sailors from time to time though, weaving and wobbling around.

What a damn shame Blake and Cathy got sick so soon and we couldn’t share a lot of our adventures with them. They were screwed. Days and days stuck in the cabin. NOT fun! Blake told me by phone that this was his worse vacation, bar none, and I believe him. I understand there will be some refunds or Future Cruise Certificates coming to us from Princess to make up a bit for it. We’ll see.

The old adage “you’ll always forget something” when you travel is true. You can’t bring everything, but you want to bring everything YOU’LL NEED.

We were lucky and had EXCELLENT tour guides. Dora in Cartagena was superb and the Panama guy (forgot his name, dammit) was great. Even the Costa Rica guy was very good. Saw and learned a TON about our ports.

Princess has been great, all things considered. Can’t blame them for us getting sick. They provided hand cleaning stations EVERYWHERE. The food has been, for the most part, fine. The ship shows it’s age here and there, but is clean as a whistle and she is a fine vessel. The crew is wonderful, as usual. The cabin was not that bad at all.

Travel is more difficult when you get older. Suitcases are heavier and harder to wheel around, airports are GIGANTIC and it’s ALWAYS a long way from where you’re at to where you want to be. Difficulties of all persuasions are harder to overcome.

But, when all is said and done, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. The big disappointment was Blake and Cathy getting sick, followed by me. Basically we just got unlucky this time around. But, discounting that as one must, the rest was just fine.