Truly the Middle of Nowhere

Greetings, my dears, from halfway in between Los Angeles and Maui. 

There isn't much to report--and just a few things to see - out here.

Some pretty sunrises...

...some Celebrity Olympian Sightings....

(that's John Naber , five-time Olympic medalist.  Dwight Stones and Wyomia Tyus  are somewhere around...which can only mean one thing...the 2018 World Cruise Games  are about to commence!)

...there's also lots of awesome lectures...

...new experiences like Tai Chi (there were about 60 cruisers trying it out!)...

... the chance to start my day off right, with lemon water, V-8 and coffee delivered to my room at 6:30 each morning...

(the hour of delivery is MY choice....I find I get so much more out of the day if it starts early. I guess Ben was onto something...)

Stacey's afternoon Zumba classes are dragging me, kicking and screaming, toward a stronger body...

(not about to share photos of what my bedraggled self looks like after 45 minutes of Latin-inspired aerobic dance- let's just say I look like I just stepped out of the shower)

I loved the inspiration from a fellow cruiser..

...and when you look out in the morning and see this....well- no words are necessary!

Maui on Monday, peeps!  Have a GREAT weekend!

Sheer and Utter Insanity

I tossed and I turned all night long.

It’s probably because Susanna, my CPAP (named for the Countess’ good and faithful lady’s maid in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro) was packed.

But I digress…. (quelle surprise)

Let’s start over.

I tossed and I turned all night long.  But I must have finally slept because I heard the alarm go off at 6 o’clock, sat bolt upright in bed and said to myself “Elizabeth, what the hell are you doing?”

What I am doing, my dears, is abandoning Hooterville-on-Red for the next 112 days.

I’m going cruising.

(Another surprise there…..)

So as I type this, I am sitting in my room in the Westin in Los Angeles, overlooking the glaring twinkling approach lights of LAX.  

My bags are packed and I’m ready to go.

Yep, 112 days.

It’s sheer and utter insanity.

Oh, I won’t be alone.  I have lots of gal pals who are regular world cruisers, and Laird is joining me in Singapore for the run to Mumbai.

I’m hitting almost all the places that have been 1) very meaningful to me in the past (Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia) or 2) I’ve always wanted to visit (Middle East, Great Barrier Reef).  We were originally supposed to go to Egypt, and I was really psyched about that, but due to the political climate, that was cancelled, and extra days in Israel substituted.  

It’s something Jane always wanted to do. 

A whole Crystal Cruises' World Cruise. 

So I’m going.  I’m doing it for Mama.  

Ok, I’m doing it for myself, too.  Gonna get it off the bucket list.  

Los Angeles to Rome.  

Ok, so it’s really a ¾ world cruise.  That’s good enough.

I hope you’ll come along with me whilst in the comfort of your armchair, couch, or favorite floor mat.  Look at it like traveling with me —without the packing.

Welcome to E’s “Sheer and Utter Insanity ¾ of the World Tour”

Here’s where we are going….

ps- It was such a beautiful day to fly....just had to share..

What's that bright light in the distance?  It stayed there and stayed there shimmering as we flew over Arizona.

No, the Captain told us....no UFO.  That's the mirrored glass of the buildings in Las Vegas.......we caught it at just the right time.......

Maddie Jane in the Snow

Well, my dears, if you follow Anna-Grace's blog , you know the kiddos bought a house the first week in December.

And they moved the Friday of the first week in December. 

The day that Atlanta got a mini-snowmaggedon.

But I'm glad I was there to help--because I got these pics of Maddie Jane playing in the white stuff for the first time.  Strange thing, snow, for a Cali-born girl.

Honey's Snow Bunny!

Patsy and Eddie Go to the Carribean

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 trolley 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 ???