Ok. Well.
You all know by now, my mom died in January of 2017. Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday. (Never learned why.....so the mystery will live on for the ages...)
Thanksgiving was always at Chez Jane. Now called The Dacha. Didn't really want to fool with all that. So I said to myself...
"What would Jane do?"
Easy answer, that one. She'd have gone on a cruise.
Which is precisely what I did.
Now, back in July, my pal Kris and I were walking the Firecracker 5K (Heck, it starts at Mall St. Vincent's, which is my backyard....the band and announcers were gonna have me up at 6 am anyway- why not get some exercise, a t-shirt and free beer at the finish?)
So we are walking along to the start line, and Kris' girls Madeline and Margaret were behind us.
E- "Come with me on the Thanksgiving cruise."
K- "I can't. I need to cook Thanksgiving dinner for my kids."
M&M (in unison) "YES, YOU CAN!"
And so Patsy and Eddie's week in the Carribean began.
So we hopped down to Ft Lauderdale on Sunday- ready for a week off from work.
Made sure to keep nasty germs away from the ship.
Ok, peeps, this will come as a shock. But in nearly forty Crystal Cruises, this is the FIRST "Welcome Aboard" photo I have ever taken.
On days 1,3, and 5, this is what we did.
Day 2 was a visit to
Grand Turk.
The
Gemini space program deployed a tracking station on Grand Turk and splashed down near the island, and so there is a dedication area on the beach.
And what a beach it is! Even though the hurricane had been through a few months earlier, the beach was open for business. We settled in for a bit at the
Beached Whale.
Hurricane damage to the palm trees.
But the sign is still simply PERFECT.
Nothing screams "I'm on holiday" as a strawberry daiquiri with a kicker at 10:30am.
Day 4. Grand Cayman. Kris discovered she's not a fan of tendering.
But we got THIS pic out of it, so it was all worth it! Thanks, G!
We booked a cabana online at the Royal Palms Beach Club, and were treated like princesses by the staff.
Our digs for the day- for us and us alone.
Nothing screams "I'm not at work" like a beer in the ocean.
Obligatory toes-over-knees beachchair shot... with Kris in the surf.
Nothing screams "Happy Thanksgiving" like a jerk chicken burger and conch fritters.
And buckets of beer.
Then there was the infamous Kris-in-the-surf rollaround. No camera in hand, so you will have to take my word for it. I had tears streaming down my face. Ask me about it sometime.
About 3 pm, we called it quits. I believe the phrase Kris used was "I'm not drinking anything else today." But, when dinner rolled around the tune had changed. For dessert, there was Grand Marnier souffle, with more than a healthy dollop of Grand Marnier. It was now, that Kris uttered the phrase of the cruise...
"If someone lights a match near my breath, the whole ship will blow to smithereens."
Poor girl, she had to take a wee nap before the evening show. She missed visiting the Captain's Quarters for cocktails......
Day 6 was Key West. She has all the
incriminating photos of
Kermit's Key Lime Pie on a Stick, Ultimate Nacho Fries at
Sloppy Joe's, and our t
rolley ride around the island.
I have the mile marker sign.
Quick trip- new Thanksgiving memories, a much-needed relaxing week..... and more alcohol than I drank in 4 weeks on the Northwest Passage.
What more could a girl hope for ???
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