November 28, 2021

Reflections

Well my effort to blog failed but I thought I would share some reflections and learning about the new way to cruise. It exceeded my expectations in so many ways. Because everyone was vaccinated and had to prove it, and get a negative test we were able to be mask free on ship. So life was normal. There were some changes. Things like the Captains club did not have food and the buffet was served rather than grab yourself. Ship was half capacity and people were spread out in the dining room- those were awesome changes. No smoking in the casino was really terrific. The biggest noticeable change was in the lack of pushing ship stores in port and shopping. There were no "port shopping" talks, no maps to the recommended stores, and no excursions leaving time to shop- because there were NO shops! Insane- we saw Diamonds International but that's it! Nice empty stores- very sad! Excursions had to make out bus seating charts so they could contact trace if needed. They also had special areas of the beach that were only for our ship- isolating us from public and other ships- that was also nice. Tours were smaller and masks were required in the bus and at port. Jamaica required excursions to get off ship but no one else did. 

Interesting things that happened were 6 medical emergencies! 2 required changes in itinerary to get someone to medical facilities- the others were people being taken off in port. There were many quite frail people on board and at least 3 falls. My theory is that many older persons were more frail than they knew and discovered 2 years made a big difference. I personally observed one fall that resulted in open wound in the elevator and my card playing friends saw two others. 

Judy has taught me how to remain independent longer by being prepared and not afraid to get a scooter and not afraid to ask for what you need. She goes anywhere and everywhere in that 35 pound scooter. I saw it two years ago on our land tour and she's only gotten better with it. I hope I can still travel alone at 78! 

Im scheduled to cruise again over New Years with another friend. I only hope this new variant from South Africa doesn't mess it up. One thing is for certain- we have to be flexible with plans- knowing at any time things may change or be cancelled- its the new normal.

 November 18, 2021

Twas the night before cruising

Back on a ship in less than 24 hours- so exciting! Judy and I met up at the hotel after having not seen one another in 2 years. So fun spending the night catching up. We talked non stop for hours. We are staying at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Marina and we can see the ships in port. So exciting to see cruise ships again. 

Changes thus far include not only uploading your vaccine and getting a COVID test two days before sailing but also taking a health quiz 24 hours before. Everything is also done through a phone app. They have taken those apps to a whole new level as even the menus are now posted and all the daily activities so we can see what lies ahead. We must show up at the designated time- 12:30 for us. I was always getting on early around 11 but no one gets on now as they try to spread everything out. 

Stay tuned for photos tomorrow - sadly a rainy forcast- its pouring here ever since I arrived.

Travel in a Pandemic World

 November 16, 2021

Preparing to Cruise after 19 months

Wow it just cant be real- I'm going to cruise again! Two nights until I fly to Ft. Lauderdale. Thanks to Michelle the dogs are at their vacation resort in Honeycreek. I've spent the night doing laundry and trying to remember how to pack for a cruise. I've had a trip to Vegas in March and a flight to Chicago overnight but that's it since the last cruise March 7, 2020. The world has so changed! I have of course joined the RV world and will continue that travel May-October- but winter will bring cruising again. The isolation in winter last year was rough-focusing only on where we would RV with warm weather. This winter is filled with 2 cruises, a work trip to San Diego, LA, and Nashville. 

Tomorrow is a required travel covid test. You need to do it two days before boarding- and that is tomorrow! I'll be in Florida when the results come and will have to print them at the hotel. I have all 3 vaccines and proof has already been uploaded. As I understand it we wear masks in the terminal but since 97% of people are vaccinated we do not have to on board. We shall see.

The cruise is "free" because I clearly gamble too much. This time I get a balcony- on the "hump" which is bigger. Going on my favorite ship Celebrity "Equinox". I've taken this ship three times including Hawaii and a Transatlantic. I was also lucky to have several cruise points built up given we couldn't cruise all these months- so all my excursions, internet, and laundry are also free. Add in my American Airlines discount courtesy of my daughter and the dog bill is the biggest cost lol. 

I'm excited to be going with my friend Judy. We go way back, working together in my early days at Heartland in St. Joseph, Mo. I guess it must have been 1985-or so. We have stayed in touch some over the years and when her husband died 5 years ago we became travel buddies. We first cruised to Hawaii together, a wonderful trip. Two years ago- pre-pandemic we did a land tour of the national parks from Las Vegas, another interesting and fun journey. So here we go again and hit the seas. What a great way to try and start cruising again. 

Let the countdown begin!! Follow along and see what cruising in 2021 looks like. Enjoy Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaco Islands for a 9 day journey. Discover cruising in a new way. Forgive my typos- just sit back and enjoy- we are one step closer to what we used to know! 

Saturday May 26

A journey to Bear Park

Our final day- journey home begins tomorrow. The conference was a half-day long. Highlight for me was a talk from David Clark who was a friend to Cicely Saunders- he has just finished a biography I cant wait to read. At the end he read a passage from Cicely that brought tears to my eyes. Brought back special memories of David and I going to St Christopher’s Hospice the spring before he died. 

Einstein sitting atop the city in the Rose garden

After the conference we set off for the famous Bear Park. Its really neat- on a hillside by the beautiful glacier fed river that runs through town. A male, female and daughter bear- we only got a glimpse of daddy but he was cute. We went shopping for chocolate only to find everything but restaurants closed on Saturday and Sunday- insane. Found Einstein along the way- he spent some time here in Bern, however sources differ on how long. 

Everything is VERY expensive here! Our wonderful buffet breakfast today $26- but two pastries yesterday were half that! Food that made me sick the first night was $30- pizza $30. Last night good food but  also $45. Tonight great PK Chang type Chinese buffet at hotel $64 but we finally got full!

Beautiful glacial river runs through the city

Its been an amazing trip but Im beyond ready to go home and see my new house and get moved in! I miss you Ollie and Parker and everyone else as well. Its been a fantastic time away- and you know that when you are ready to return. Ill stay overnight in Philly on Sunday and home to KC on Monday- and I got upgraded to first class so life is fantastic! I close on the house first thing Tuesday morning. 

Above all I am so very lucky that my best friends are also my collaborators. We work hard but we also have an amazing time. We have lived and traveled together for almost 3 weeks and still enjoy one another. These are the things that matter most. Thanks for joining my journey! See everyone soon!!

Friday May 25

View from the conference

A full conference day. We were lucky enough to have clear weather so we could see the Alps today- beautiful. We went to the city center from pastries for breakfast and had a nice dinner- I had pork cordon blu. Ollie tomorrow we are going to the park to see the Bears. Our waiter told us that hundreds of years ago after a victorious battle the soliders brought the Bear back- the town is named for Bears. They built a pit and kept him in there. He was not happy in the pit and it was not good for him so they kept building bigger ones. In 1980 they apparently built the bear and his family an entire park that is walled in. You can see the bear and his family by standing on a hill- they are just living naturally. Every so often they switch out the bear family with others as its not good for them to live there for too long. We shall see tomorrow and Ill try to get you a picture Ollie- Im sure you would want to see them

Beautiful Alps

Beautiful church

Thursday May 24, 2018

Our day began early, as we had to rise at 4:30am and get to the airport. We boarded our Allegan Airlines plane and headed to Zurich. Interesting that some Syrian refugees also boarded. Greece has entire communities, as they and Italy have been the only countries to provide refuge for these poor people. This family had clearly found a sponsor to come to Switzerland- I can only imagine the things they have experienced. George and I sat in Business class and enjoyed space, free luggage, and a nice breakfast. Karla had fun making eyes at the Syrian baby. We get our prearranged taxi and the driver is thrilled with us as he is Greek. A two-hour drive in mostly stopped traffic was met with sleepy passengers and thus we did not see a lot of the countryside.

We arrive at the hotel and are informed the taxi 230 Euro trip needs cash and not credit cards! We scrape together the Euros- lucky George had $200 and pay him- I had given my credit card but was never told they need cash in return! At least we know for the trip home. The train strikes made this trip a bit more expensive. And everything here is off the charts expensive! We are starved and have lunch and decide we must rest before the 4:30 sessions begin. I was informed by email this am that my poster won an award and would have a ribbon. It was in the category of communication and was one of the top 3 out of 108. Tomorrow morning they apparently announce awards from all they category winners. Nice surprise!

 Afterwards we take the free trolley type car down to city center and try to find something to eat. You will not see food photos as we could not find any Swiss restaurants- most are Italian or German. Expensive and not anything to write home about! The chocolate on the other hand- if only you could survive on that! We saw a Big Mac at McDonalds- $8.50!

Heaven must surely smell like this!

Ollie they told us there is a park here with Bears. Its not a zoo but a “bear garden” where bears roam free. We hope to see it before we go- sounds interesting! There are bear cookies, toys, flags, statues, everything so its a pretty big deal. Home early as we are all exhausted.

Waiting on our trolley 

Poster ribbon!

A taste of home but at $7.50!

Beautiful buildings

Wednesday May 23, 2018

We saw Kerry off to the US and our cab went on an excursion to find our hotel. I gave him the address and phone thinking he could then find it- he spoke not a lick of English. Finally after searching Karla came to the rescue with the website and he successfully called for directions. We walked into a place that made us feel like we were queens. An ocean view room, a special breakfast since we leave early, a free airport shuttle and an early check in- we had it made. We went to the amazing pool and decided to get a massage. This spa was amazing! An incredible special hydrotherpy pool and 70 minutes of an olive oil massage and we are like new! Up early in the am to Switzerland!