What color is Sandy Pebble and other mindless things

Odessa
June 25

For those of you who are counting, 6 months until Christmas! :-)

I have been busy for the last few days. Cammie came home with us and I have put her to work. You see, I needed to paint our bedroom and I knew Al would not help (he hates to paint) and I also knew I couldn't do it alone and get it done in this century. For what ever reason, my arms don't work as well as they used to. The last time I painted I blew out my shoulder and elbow and it took months for it to recover. So cammie and I started to paint. Sandy Pebble is the color...a pinkish, tanish, rosy kinda' color. Very pretty, but I am getting ahead of myself. Since we are painting on paneling, you first have to either a.) sand or b.) paint it with Kilz. So of course, I opt for b. However, painting with Kilz is like painting with liquid rubber. UGH. First day was Kilz day. Second day was first coat of Sandy Pebble...and third day final coat. It looks very nice now, but what a chore. We also painted the ceiling, which was a very dirty, icky color, and is now a beautiful white. Cammie had to do the ceiling, I knew I couldn't do that. And if that wasn't enough messing up the house; we had new counter tops installed in the kitchen, so for the last 3 days my house has been a disaster! But now the new counters are in and it sure does look nice. Tomorrow I am going to put my house back together.

While Cammie has been here we have tried, unsucessfully, to get her drivers license. It seems that my Explorer (exploder as it is fondly called) has a problem. The third brake light (middle light) is out. Now, it would be only too simple to just replace the bulb, however, we tried that and it still didn't work. Found out we need a new brake light assembly. Easy enough, right? WRONG! Ford does not stock parts for a 94 Explorer any longer at any dealer ship. We had to order the part. It was suppose to have been mailed to us last week, only to find out it wasn't mailed until yesterday....grrrr! Now, you can't take the drivers test if you have "faulty" equipment. DAMN! Her test is scheduled for Friday morning and if I have to borrow a car I will, but she will take the test. She is more than ready...an excellent, safe driver and a parallel parking ace! I am so proud of her.

I also have gotten her hooked on quilting..kinda. She has picked out her material for her quilt and tomorrow she will start to sew. We cut it out last Friday night at the quilt shop (it was free sew night) and she is all fired up to go. It has been so much fun having her here.

Today we went to Spokane to Costco and also took the cats to the vet for their annual shots...which is always fun. I am still getting the evil eye from Juanito! I can't believe my cats are 13 years old...seems like just yesterday they were kittens and bringing me treasures from the outside like mice, moles, frogs, wood rats, snakes, etc.

I recived this from a friend via email the other day and I really thought it was appropriate to share at this time in my life. I can really relate to this.


OLD AGE, I HAVE DECIDED, IS A GIFT

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother/father!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.


I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?


I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things..

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)

MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!

MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!

FRIENDS FOREVER!

Another one graduates...2 more to go!

Seattle
June 16, 2008

I can hardly believe that another grandchild has graduated from high school. Who told these children they could grow up AND when did it happen???? Heck, I'm not much older than they are (I wish)..at least I have moments that I don't feel any older than them, however, those moments are becoming farther and farther apart!!!
But back to the graduation. Cammie graduated on Friday from Nathan Hale high school, the same high school that Al's sons all graduated from. The ceremony was beautiful, albeit, COLD! It was held outside in the stadium and it was cold, windy and trying to spit rain. But I persevered and stayed .. I had to, with a name like Wraspir you can guarantee you are at the last of the line! However, I digress...Cammie is now officially out of high school. We are so very proud of this young woman...as we are of all of our grandchildren, however, this week was Cammie's turn to shine.


We have been busy while in Seattle. On Wednesday I met up with girl friend Nancy for lunch and catch up on each others lives. Wednesday night we had dinner with friends, Frank and Lynn Conger. Thursday brought doctor appointments for both of us and dentist for Al. Friday of course was graduation; Saturday was the graduation party and yesterday was Father's Day celebration at Rics. I bet Ric and Janet are ready to collapse after all the excitement of graduation and then hosting not only Fathers Day but the grad party on Saturday. And Janet was the head volunteer for the all night party for the seniors, so she didn't get much sleep and Ric pitched in with her for all the prep for the all night party. I think they were glad to get this weekend over with so maybe their lives can return to a dull roar.

Doctor appointments have gone pretty good, nothing new has turned up so far for either of us. Al has two more appointments tomorrow; the big ones are tomorrow, so we will see what comes out of those.

A little more grand child bragging for me....Lori, our youngest grand child is a real horse woman. She competes in several rodeo's; has trained her own barrel racing horse and competes with the pro's at times. I tried to insert the article that was written in the paper about her, but it was so small you couldn't read it. Darn!

The dogs have enjoyed this trip as well. I have been taking them to the dog park every day and they are having a blast! Beau keeps stealing every one else's tennis ball or will con another owner into throwing the tennis ball for him. Schuster is Mr. Social and has to meet all the other dogs..sometimes right at the gate. We have nicknamed him the greeter!!!!

We will head home tomorrow. Sure hope the exploder makes it. We did have some trouble with it on the way over...it decided to over heat on us after climbing a hill. I think it needs a tune up and a radiator flush as well. Can't remember when that was last done. Guess I will put that on my list of things to do before we leave for Alaska...oh goodie!

Gas prices are really unreasonable...(as if you didn't know that)...$4.33 a gallon here in Seattle...and if you can find it for less that is a bargain!!! Makes me furious that the American public is being raped at the pump and no hope for relief...ever. I think we should vote anyone who is in office--OUT, including Obama and McCain and start with a new bunch of idiots in Congress, etc. Apparently the ones in office now aren't doing their jobs well. And don't get me started on what is happening in Iowa...that poor state is just about all under water, yet, amazingly, I haven't seen one person with a sign that says "HELP US" like we did during Katrina. What, you say? People are helping them selves? Outrageous! Oh, wait...that is possible! Haven't seem FEMA bringing in house trailers to sit and not being used yet either....nuff said.


So, until next time....hope you are all happy, healthy and living life the way you want.

It is June, isn't it?

Odessolet....
June 9 (at least that is what the calendar says)

Okay, here it is June 9 and I still am wearing long sleeves and long pants. What is wrong with that picture? Nothing if you are in Odessa...it has been cold, wet, windy, repeat. This morning it was 39 degrees....no, I don't have dyslexia, 39 degrees! WHY? My brain has been frozen! We both were scrambling for more covers last night...brrr. AND THE WIND! Good grief...does it ever stop blowing? As I write this another gust just hit the house making the house shudder! Even our house is tired of the wind!

Since we have been home from Seattle, not much has happened here. I cleaned out another closet yesterday and managed to get 9 more boxes of garage sale stuff; plus 10 years of personal record that needed to be destroyed. I could have burned up a couple of shredders, but Jerry suggested we burn them. Okay,good idea...however, where? He brought over a burn barrel and we had ours, so yesterday when the wind wasn't blowing a gale, I burned, burned and burned. Burned tax records dating back to 1988....don't think I will need those. So now I have one closet that is clean, clean, clean. Now to tackle the other one when we get back from our next trip to Seattle. I am trying to get this house ready to sell if the mood strikes Al to sell. There is enough "stuff" in this house to keep me busy sorting for the rest of the year. And I am being ruthless...if it hasn't been used in the last year, it's gone! And I hope to keep Al out of the garage sale pile!!!! :-)

I did have a fun trip last week to Spokane. I picked up my sister-in-law, Gloria and we went to the mall and met up with Jeannette, Gary, Kali and Josh. Oh my, Josh has grown so much since I saw him in March...and he is so darn cute and a good, good baby. He and Kali will go home this Wednesday and I am not sure Jeannette won't be in their suitcase!

So, until next post, we are heading for Seattle tomorrow for doctor, dentist rounds and the graduation of our granddaughter Cammie. I just don't understand how these kids grow up so fast....I haven't aged..have I? Don't answer that!

I just got this from my daughter in law -- pretty much says it all.

GEORGE CARLIN (His wife recently died...)



Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent...and so v ery appropriate.

A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have talle r buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up to o tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. W e plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build mo re computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that litt le person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

If you don't send this to at least 8 people....Who cares?

George Carlin

Snakes, Funerals, Proms and Engagements

Odessa

It has been an interesting few days -- to say the least.

Last Thursday I went out to Jerry and Ardis' house to see if I could get Jerry's computer back working. After a frustrating hour, I gave up and told him to take it to the repair shop. On my way back home, first on the dirt road and later on the paved road I ran into a HERD of snakes! My first encounter was just a short distance from Jerry's...snake on the road...run over it! That was one gone...whew! Not much further on the road snake number two met its death. By this time I was having a bad case of the creepy crawlies.... around the curve and snake number three was trying to cross the road...bump..one dead snake. About a half a mile later ANOTHER SNAKE... but this one I actually had to aim for as he was almost across the road -- I am getting mean by this time. FOUR DOWN. I get on the highway at this point and I hadn't gone 20 feet and there was another damn snake...I ran over him twice...thought I may have missed him the first time! Less that a quarter of a mile guess what...yup, another snake in the road...okay -- you are number six! SIX DEAD SNAKES IN LESS THAN 15 MINUTES! WOO HOO...I'M A KILLER! Needless to say, by the time I got home I had goose bumps and shivers....too many snakes for me for one day...or year. ICK

Friday we loaded up the car with dogs and us and headed for Seattle. That was after I had to go get the windshield wipers (Swipers for those of you who knew Gene) fixed...there was no way I was going to Seattle without windsheild wipers. We arrived at Jennifers apartment around 6:30 p.m....dogs howling because they knew they were going to get to see Jennifer. HA...fooled them, she is in Florida! They ran into the apartment and looked everywhere for her. Pookie (or Spookie as I call him) her cat just about had a heart attack....whoa...where did these big beasts come from? He finally came out from under bed about 3 hours later.

Saturday we attended the funeral for Josie Totusek, Al's cousin Pauls wife. She was truly a fine lady and I adored her. She was the epitomy of a fine Southern Lady. At the funeral I actually met more of Al's relatives that I didn't know. You would think after 30 years of being together I would have met them all, but no, there were still more out there! I can't believe how big of a family he has -- especially when you get into the cousins! YIKES! However, I did enjoy meeting this side of the family.

Then last night we got to have a bit of fun. Granddaughter Cammie's Prom was last night. Her group of friends were going out for dinner before the Prom, so we met them at Azteca and I took some pictures of them. How beautiful Cammie looked...as so grown up. Brought tears to my eyes.
Cammie and Prom Date


Cammie and Grandpa AL
Then Al and I had dinner with Ric and Janet...which was a short visit, but fun.

We headed home today. Left Seattle it was 57 degrees....I was shivering. Got home to 80 degrees...this is why we live on this side of the mountains. Our trip was short, sad, fun, all rolled into one.

We had some very good, exciting news today as well. Al's cousin Christy, who lives in Phoenix called to say that she is engaged. We are so happy for her. She deserves some happiness in her life. So to Christy and Bill....congratulations -- we are so very happy for you both. Christy, Bill and Christy's four children will make a wonderful family unit.

Now I have to take my car, the Exploder (1994 Explorer) into to the shop...it has decided it wants to run rough (ruff) and the "check engine" light keeps coming on. I can't understand why....this car has 155,000 miles on it and everyone and their dog has used it at one time or another. It has been a wonderful car up to now...just hope it is nothing serious because I am not prepared to buy another car right now. Besides, I think with gas prices the way they are a horse might be a better investment! Ya, like I could ride a horse. I save that for granddaughter Lori.

And on another note...new picture of great granddaughter Sophie


On that I will end this blog for the night...stay tuned for the snake count...I am positive there are more lurking around here. EW

Brrrr--it's cold in Oddesolet!

Odessa, WA
We arrived home late yesterday afternoon...in the rain! Welcome to Washington..at least it wasn't snow.

We unloaded just what we needed from the trailer and crashed. Fortunately for me, the house was in relative good shape...for being Odessa. Lots of work to still be done however and the weeds are about to take over the yard! UGH! All in good time!

Today has been kinda' a let's see what we need to do day. First off, we are going to have to buy a new bbq...this one has seen it's last days. Al tried to fix it, but gave up and said it's time for a new one. Also on the agenda is a new countertop for the kitchen....so it could get expensive for us this summer! Maybe we should just sell ... don't I wish!

Other than that, it is a whopping 60 degree's and the wind is blowing hard...and it's cold. However, I talked to Holly in Tucson this morning (we had a slight issue of our alarm going off at the Tucson house) and she said it is cold and very windy there as well. Then I talked to Roger right after that and he said the same thing. So where is it warm? It is May, right? Oh wait, it is Memorial Day weekend...it's always miserable weather!

Until next time, or until something exciting happens, (hope that won't involve a snake) we are in Odessa and staying put for a week or so before we meander to Seattle for doctor, dentist visits and a granddaughter's high school graduation.

Change of Direction

May 19, 2008
Salmon, Idaho
Okay…so you are wondering how we got here? Well…it has been a different kind of day.

We left Ogden, UT late this morning. We usually travel up I-15 to I-84 and across to Boise; eastern Oregon and into Richland, WA area and then to Odessa. We got about 10 miles from where I-84 takes off and Al looked at me and said “I’m tired of this route…let’s go up I-15 to Butte, Mt and over I-90 home”…uh, fine with me. So off we went…hadn’t seen this area of the country in years…through Pocatello and Idaho Falls.

About 30 miles north of Idaho Falls we felt a “bump”…hmmm…better stop and see what that was. I got out and looked at the tires on the truck and trailer on the passenger side and they were okay, however, when I got to the trailer tires on the driver side the left front one had thrown a tread….DAMN! This was about 3:30 p.m. and we had made reservations at a RV park in Dillion, MT for the night. I called Good Sam Road Service and at the same time cancelled our reservations in Dillion as we had no idea how long we were going to be sidelined. Good Sam sent a truck out to change the tire…and at 4:50 p.m. the tire was changed…however, after looking at the rest of the tires we weren’t sure we wanted to go much longer on them. The tire service that assisted us was out of a little town called Terenton, Id, about 12 miles west of where we were and they had 4 tires for the trailer at a good price, so we followed the truck back in and had all four tires changed. This is something I have worried about for many a year…having a blow out on the trailer tires…I have heard horror stories about how bad it can be. Fortunately for us it was not bad.

At about 6:00 p.m. the tires were changed and we were ready to get on the road again to the nearest RV Park. But wait…I have been looking at the map again and asked Al if he wanted to go on some “red” roads instead of the interstate. Oh yeah…back to red roads was fine. Red roads on the map usually take you through more interesting areas and you see lots more.

So off we went … up Idaho 28, through pretty much nothing, but great scenry and lots of deer, antelope and later some beautiful farming area’s. We got into Salmon at just before 8:00 p.m. and found a great little RV Park on the Salmon River. The river is running fairly high from all of the meltoff, but we are parked about 50 feet from the river and can hear the bubbling, gurgling sound. We just had a great lightning/thunder/rain storm that lasted about 20 minutes, and now the air smells so fresh. AHHHH…

So now that we are way off our planned path of going home, we will continue up Hwy 93 through the Bitterroot Valley; some place we have both wanted to go to for many years and haven’t. Al has a friend in Hamilton, MT that he may try and call tomorrow and see if he can visit with him for a few minutes. Then on up to Missoula and hit I-90 and head home. We may not get home until Friday…but oh well…we are in no hurry.Besides, we both love to travel the red roads and explore. This is really what I miss about full timing in the RV.

May 20, 2008
St. Regis. MT

We didn't get wrollin' very early this morning...both of us just taking our time. We are in no hurry.

Just out of Salmon, ID we rounded a curve and there were two big horn sheep along side the road...we were praying they would stay there and not cross in front of us and they waited. It was really neat to see them.

The we started climbing...up Lost Trail Pass. Hmmm---Al, what is that white stuff falling from the sky? You have got to be kidding...SNOW! Yup...snow. Not a lot but just enough to let us know we were in the mountains! At it was 40 degrees...brr!

It was a beautiful trip through the Bitteroot Valley....and we can see why so many people like it here. All the rivers in this area are running very high and most are out of their banks...spring run off! We also were amazed at the damage that was done by the fires the last few years in the Hamilton, Darby area. Darby has been hit hard by the wildfires the last few years. We could see where there was a lot of new buildings in the Bitterroot Valley and we had to assume alot of it was from where the people had been burned out.


We arrived in Hamilton, MT around 1:00 p.m. and we had called Al's friend, Hans Schwietzer and we met him for lunch. A long, fun lunch. Al hadn's see Hans since 1971! They worked together at Boeing, and had talked off and on over the phone, but hadn't see each other. Needless to say there was a lot to talk about. I had to laugh tho -- the both would start to say something about someone they knew, but could only remember thier first name, so the game of "what was the last name" was played a lot. And Pete Rielly, if your ears were burning there was a reason for it as your name came up a lot.
Hans and Al

Finally, we took off from Hamilton and landed here in St. Regis around 5:00 p.m. It's cold here....and looks like it wants to rain...I am just hoping that it won't snow!
Tomorrow we will head into Liberty Lake, WA and have lunch with Gary and Jeannette and do some grocery shopping and head home. Hope to arrive in Odessa by late afternoon.

We are both glad we changed direction and came this way. Much prettier of a drive and a bonus of seeing an old friend.

So, until next time...we are wroamin' for now..........

Movin' along

Ogden, Ut
May 19

We arrived here yesterday afternoon and set up for the night. I decided I needed a nap so I layed down around 6:30 and woke up this morning at 8:00! Some nap? WOW! Guess I was tired.

We left Bryce Canyon around 10:00 a.m. yesterday. We are moving fairly slow...taking our sweet time. Al drove as far as Nephi, UT, where we stopped for fuel ($4.57 owowowowow)and we got some lunch. Then I took over driving. Hmmm...where did all these white cars come from? Both of us noticed an unusal large amount of white cars...all around us. Come on people...get some pizazz in your life and get a colored car!

In through Salt Lake City we go....in rush hour of course! Hey, you! The one in the Silver Ford F250 that just cut in front of me...didn't you see this BIG BLACK FORD PULLING THIS HUGE TRAILER THAT CAN'T STOP ON A DIME? YA' YOU DUMMY! I some times think that people see us coming and think "I want to be in front of them so I will cut them off..they can surely stop before they plant themselves in my rear!" NOT! But then, of course, there was the nice person in the Silver Dodge pickup (Hush DAN) that let me in a few minutes later...restoring my faith in humans. After all...I am in Salt Lake.

There is a fire just west of us today...just started. Don't know where it is, or if it is a forest fire or a structure, but the cloud of smoke is huge and black and in the direction we have to go. UGH!

And we are off...maybe more blog tonight IF I can get internet.

Travelin' along

Bryce Canyon, UT May 17, 2008 Saturday

We arrived here this afternoon after a very uneventful trip from Camp Verde. We spent last night at a KOA in Glendale, UT…not far from here. Nice campground last night, had lots of room for the dogs to run as well. There were a lot of horses pastured right next to us…and we discovered Schuster had never seen a horse up close. He wasn’t sure what they were…are these just big dogs (bigger than me?)

Al’s cousin Neal and wife Bobbie are parked here at Ruby’s Inn in Bryce Canyon for the summer. Neal is working at the Rock Shop here and Bobbie is leading ATV tours. Do I need to say more? This after noon after we got set up, we were off on an ATV tour with Bobbie. Since Al wanted to go, he and I had a Polaris Ranger…kind of a 4x4 golf cart. We had a great hour tour, saw lots of Antelope along the way. Fun ride. Then, we got back and Bobbie had one more tour for the day, and there was only one person on the tour…hmm…so I hopped on an ATV and went on another tour! One thing I love to do is ride the ATV’s. This tour we saw a herd of over 15 antelope, plus many singles and I got to see a baby antelope being born! Bobbie and the other rider were a bit ahead of me as I was hanging back to stay out of the dust; I looked up to my left just in time to see an Antelope kinda’ squat and drop a baby! Fascinating! I had never seen this before! This evening Neal, Bobbie, Al and I went out to dinner and on the way back Al kept spotting Antelope…we have renamed him HEAP BIG CHIEF ANTELOPE SPOTTER! Nothing wrong with his eye sight…he can spot an antelope a mile off!

Our weather has been perfect. Coming out of Camp Verde to Page yesterday it was in the low 80’s most of the way…perfect to travel. Last night it got down right chilly. I had to go scrambling for a blanket! The cats were cold as well…they were both in bed with us and the dogs were curled up in a little ball! Tonight promises to be just as chilly. However, this evening is pleasant. The dogs and I took a long walk and I found a place they could run…and boy did they ever run! Now they are both sacked out…too much exercise!

We will be here until Monday…then we will continue our trek north. It is nice to sit for a day or so and we are just taking our time heading to Odessa. We have been here before and saw all the canyon then, so it is rest time for us. Besides, how many hoo-doo’s can one see? There is a managed forest fire burning not far from here as well and the smoke in the park is bad at times, so we are just going to do nothing! I know, a lot of you wonder (and Jennifer, that is wonder, not wander!)how we can do that…it’s easy! Try it some day!

Ohhhhhhhhhh -- Gone again!

Tucson May 14
The truck is tethered to the trailer....so guess that means we are getting ready to start our annual trek north. Uh-huh! We hope to be heading north tomorrow...if we can get all the packing done! ARG! I hate this part! I have said for years there must be an easier way to pack...but I haven't found it yet. One answer would to be just not to go anywhere, but somehow, that isn't in our makeup!

The dogs are watching their beds, food dishes and toys closely. Beau has even brought me one of his toys to the trailer...I think they want to make sure they are going this time! They didn't like getting left for a month! Spoiled brats!

We had the truck washed and the trailer washed and waxed on Monday. Guess what it did yesterday? RAINED! It hasn't rained in over 6 weeks here...but of course, the day after we wash the vehicles it rains just enough to mess them up! Oh well...such is life.

Thursday, May 15
Camp Verde, AZ
We finally made it out of Tucson around 3:00 p.m. today. After all the times we have packed and unpacked, you would think we would be getting faster at this, but we are getting slower! I think it has something to do with age, maybe!

As we left the house it looked like it was going to rain and surprisingly, it was only about 75 degrees! Made it nice for packing and closing the house up. As we neared Florence, AZ the wind was really blowing and we could see we were going to get into a dust storm ... however, we got into a mud storm! Have you ever been in one? This was a first for us on the road. It was blowing dust and spitting rain = mud! What a mess both rigs are now! So much for having them clean.

It was an easy drive -- Phoenix at rush hour wasn't much fun, but not as bad as we had anticipated. The weather was cooler than normal so even coming up through Black Canyon and the hills north of Phoenix wasn't bad. We got here at 7:00 p.m. and got parked and set up. I took the dogs for a walk while Al finished hooking up the utilities. Had a nice evening, all the windows open and a nice breeze blowing. The sun set was beautiful as well. Tomorrow it is on to probably Kanab, UT; then to Bryce Canyon on Saturday. We plan on spending a couple of days at Bryce. So until the next time, we are on the wroad again!

AHHHHHHHHHH---Home!

Tucson
May 3, 2008

Home never looked so good!!!!! As I told Al yesterday, part of the fun of going on a trip is coming home! We were both glad to be home!

After a fun and relaxing weekend in Seattle, we were up at 3:45 a.m. (yes, that does come in the morning some times!) for our 7:30 flight to Tucson. I was asleep before the plane pushed back from the gate and I stayed asleep until 15 minutes before landing in Tucson. Nice flight! Dick and Lano picked up and our ton of luggage at the airport and after a quick stop for lunch we were home. Dick and Lano headed for Yuma as soon as we got home. We can't thank them enough for house sitting for a month for us....what great friends they are!

Needless to say the dogs and cats were as happy to see us and we were to see them. Matter-of-fact, if we have an empty hand, we have a pet under it! Beau tried to sleep with us last night, but after a few tries of we convinced him to sleep in his own bed. But not the cats...they were busy snuggling with us all night. Schuster got up several times last night and came to check on us to make sure we were still in bed. Guess they missed us!

We went back to the airport last night to pick up Jack and Suzi; then to dinner. They had a good weekend, but were glad to be home as well.

We are all hitting the floor running today. I have several things scheduled for the day including paying bills; and tomorrow's schedule doesn't look any better! Now I am just trying to get myself organized so we can get packed and head north to Washington. As usual, Al is chomping at the bit to get going.

So until next post, we are home and getting ready to go again (sigh)......more later.

KER-THUNK...SEATTLE

May 2, 2008..........Seattle, WA
We are baaaaccckkk! Our ship arrived at pier 66 in Seattle this morning at 8:00 a.m. Back to reality! After a leisurely breakfast on board, we returned to our cabin for the last time, gathered our carry on luggage (our checked luggage was already gone)and waited for our disembarkation notice. At about 9:45a.m. our "color" was called to disembark. Off the ship, to the terminal to locate our luggage....usually in a pile of luggage. However, this time, it was all together! REMARKABLE! We cleared US Customs and made our way to the curb to wait. Jack and I both had rented cars as they are heading to Cashmere, WA to visit friends and we are headed to Lynnwood and Jennifer's house. FINALLY, the rental car picked us up and took us to the rental agency. I got back to pick up Al and luggage around 11:30 a.m. We headed towards Redmond, where we had to go to change Al's CPAP machine out. His CPAP has been emitting a very high pitched squeal for over a month....very ANNOYING! After getting that done, we headed to Jennifers.

Jennifer cooked a wonderful dinner last nigh....Italian Sausage stuffed Chicken Breast...boy that was good.

May 3, 2008 Seattle
HUH? Whadda' mean I have to make my bed? Do my own laundry? Fix my own breakfast and coffee? Darn...back to reality!

Jennifer, Ric and Sherrie walked this morning....10 miles in all. Al was up and about early, but not me....I slept in! At least until 8:00 a.m. After the kids got back from walking we went out grocery shopping. Tonight we are having Al's birthday here with the kids.... pot roast. YUM

We will be in rainy Seattle until Monday...we fly back to Tucson on Monday morning -- then get ready to head north.

So until the next time...hope this finds everyone happy and healthy and living life the way you want.

Astoria Oregon and a new GreatGranddaughter!

Suzi, Jack, Al in San Francisco

April 30, 2008 Wednesday At sea


We are on our last at sea day today. We are heading up the California and Oregon to coast to Astoria, Oregon. Last night was a rough night at sea….a lot of wrockin’ and wrollin’ going on --- lulled me right to sleep. However, it is still somewhat rough this morning and it is a little difficult to walk at times! We have been so fortunate on this trip….smooth sea’s and good weather most of the way, so I am not complaining.

This morning Suzi and I decided to go play Bingo one last time. I never win at Bingo….Suzi has won once, however, I usually am not that lucky. Well, I won the blackout bingo pot today! Of course so did 3 others, so we had to split the pot, but I walked away with ¼ th of $311.

After lunch, the lure of the “BIG JACKPOT” Bingo was calling Suzi and I. So off we went! We decided to split a machine (in case you haven’t played Bingo in the last few months, it is now electronic…you just have to watch your machine! Takes a lot of the fun out of it!) and whadda’ know…we won. Not the big, blackout jackpot, but we won a game..of course we had to split it with someone else, but we each walked away with $54! Doesn’t cover the cost of the machine, but we had fun! AND WE WON!

I came back to the room to a sick Al. I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!!!! He has a real upset stomach….oh oh. We decided not to go down to dinner; he didn’t feel like it, and believe me, I am so tired of the food I didn’t want to go!


May 1, 2008 Thursday Astoria, OR

WELCOME TO THE WORLD SOFIE DENISE! We are great grandparents again! Grandson David and girlfriend, Tiffany had a our great granddaughter last night. Sofie (not sure of the spelling yet) weighed in at 6 lbs 15 oz and 20 inches long and all three are doing fine! David is so happy and proud!

Al and I are confined to our cabin today. He has the norovirus – a gastrointestinal virus that seems to plague cruise ships and we have been so fortunate in the past to avoid. However, we weren’t so lucky this time. It is highly contagious, so hence confining us to the cabin for 24 hours. I am fine so far and Al is feeling much better now that he has some med’s in him. I think 19 days of a cruise is just too long!

Jack and Suzi were able to get off and meet up with her cousin…so, hopefully they are having a good time.

We arrive in Seattle tomorrow morning and we are scheduled to disembark at around 9:30 a.m. Plan is that I will take a taxi to get the rental car and then we will head to Jennifer’s for the weekend. Jack and Suzi are heading to Cashmere to visit friends for the weekend.

So. Since the internet connection on ship is so expensive, I will up load pictures once I get to Jennifer’s (I hope I will have a much fasted connection as well)….it takes usually about 15 minutes per picture to up load them on this connection…which is way to slow and as I said, way to expensive.

Until tomorrow in Seattle…..we are still wridin’ the waves with the Waddicks.

LA to San Francisco

April 27, 2008 Sunday, Los Angeles

AAhh..back on USA soil! We are at the Cruise Terminal in San Pedro, CA. I watched while we pulled in and I was amazed at that we did. This ship came up the “canal”, just under the Thomas Vincent bridge in San Pedro and then the captain turned the behemoth beast around in the canal!!!! It was a little like trying to parallel park it! WOW! I WAS IMPRESSED.

After a quick breakfast we were ready to go ashore…however, before we could do this we had to clear US Immigrations and Customs. We were in Group 3 to clear and we finally got through about 10:45. Billie and Dan were waiting for us in the parking lot of the Cruise Terminal. Hey—it’s hot here in LA. I saw one thermometer register 93 degrees! WOW…and this is only April..if this keeps up Al Gore is right! (and not about inventing the internet either..but his global warming theory…you know the one he spouts every time he opens his mouth)

They borrowed Dan’s sisters SUV, so there was plenty of room for all of us. Off we went…and they made me drive since I was the most familiar with the area. Oh really? So where do we want to go? NO ONE could make a suggestion, so I headed for the only place I could remember…South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa! The four of us cruisers wanted to go to a grocery store (don’t ask) to get some “mix” and Al needed a new book, etc. In other words, we wanted to do something normal. I am sure Billie and Dan thought we were crazy! After finding a Target and deciding it really isn’t what we wanted we found a good ole Von’s and got our needed supplies for “mix” and some “snacks”…as if there isn’t enough food on the ship! But actually, we all wanted some normal food…you know, junk food! And all four of us are growing tired of the food on board. It is getting boring. I can only relate that it is like being in the service and all you get is mess hall food….well, yes it is probably much better than mess hall food, but it is still THE SAME. The menus are starting to repeat and the ship hasn’t re-stocked yet, so there are a few things they are out of. Also, as Jack said, every day the orange juice is getting weaker and weaker…watered down just a bit more.

Back to today. After Von’s we were all beginning to get hungry and we spotted a Red Robin and that’s where we had lunch. I voted for the In n Out across the street, but I heard groans from everyone, so I agreed that Red Robin was fine. Of course, for those who don’t know me well, I LOVE IN’N’OUT burgers. We had a great lunch however, and our next stop was the mall…namely, Barnes and Nobles. Al was out of reading material and of course I can never pass up a book store.

Then we headed back towards the ship, taking Pacific Coast Highway through Huntington Beach (my old stomping grounds) and Seal Beach and through not the best part of Long Beach back to the Norwegian Pearl. We bid Billie and Dan farewell, thanking them for coming to see us. We had a good, but too short visit with the kids!
Back on board, we watched as we sailed away….the US Coast Guard keeping small boats out of our way (what??? Don’t the people who are in these small boats see how BIG we are???) Finally back to the Pacific Ocean…we watched Palos Verdes peninsula slip away behind us. The Pacific was VERY calm…almost unbelievable…the sea conditions were titled as “Wavelets…. .3- 1.5 feet!

Dinner tonight was in the “Garden Café”—aka as the buffet. None of us were very hungry! The entertainment on board tonight wasn’t much of an interest to us either. After dinner Al went back to the cabin to read and Jack, Sue and I went to listen to the piano player for a while. I decided to go back to the cabin after a while and Jack and Sue wandered off.

It was getting windy outside, and a little on the cooler side. However, the sea conditions were still “wavelets” .3-1.5 feet. Hmmmm

April 28, 2008 Monday

Off the California coast heading towards San Francisco -- right now (noon) off the shore of Santa Maria, CA and no, we aren’t traveling very fast today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JERRY!

Well, another day at sea. The sea is a little rougher today…”moderate” conditions, and wind speed across the bow is 25 knots. Ahhh……. This is the Pacific Ocean we know!!! We have sailed 4883 Nautical Miles from Miami and we are 207 nautical miles from San Francisco.

I am beginning to feel like I have been on this ship forever…I think a 19 day cruise is about 7 days to long for me! However, I am glad we did this cruise…it has been fun and interesting…but I would never make a good sailor!

Later in the day…

It is gray, cold, foggy and ugly outside. Needless to say, not many people (none) are at the pool today! Jack did go to the Jacuzzi after he worked out at the gym…and the Jacuzzi is outside. BRRRRRRR when you get out!

We pretty much rested today. This afternoon Suzi and I went to the Crew Talent Show, which was great. There is a lot of talent on board. One man from the galley sang and had a GREAT voice; another man was part of the printing office and he was an artist and did a quick sketch…amazing. The Cruise Director and his crew did one of the funniest skits I have seen in a long time and we laughed until our sides hurt!


April 29, 2008 Tuesday San Francisco

We were up very early this morning as we went under the Golden Gate Bridge at 6:40 a.m. and I wanted pictures. What an amazing site, very pretty site with the sun just rising. We are docked at Pier 35 and that is very close to Fisherman’s Wharf. I also got some good pictures of Alcatraz. I have already decided that the girls (Bev, Jenn and who ever else wants to come) should come back to San Francisco while the guys are hunting this fall. I need more time here.

A few facts about the Golden Gate Bridge for you….the main span is 4200 feet; length of one cable is 7650 feet; diameter of 1 cable is 36 3/8 inches; wires in each cable is 27.572; weight of each cable is 24,500 tons. There is enough cable to span the world 3 times in the bridge. That’s a lot of cable folks!

We took the City Highlights tour today and fortunately for us we were on a small bus. We probably saw more than if we had been on a big bus. We started out at Golden Gate Park, more pictures of the bridge. I probably have 400 pictures of the bridge already! From there we passed Ghirardelli Square; drove down Geary to the beach…can’t remember which district it is called. From there we drove to the highest point in town, the view of the city was remarkable. We drove through “Castro” part of town (gay section) and past the “8 painted ladies” (8 Victorian houses…all beautiful) and many more wonderful Victorian houses…many which are registered as national heritage houses. To qualify you must have at least 3 different colors of paint on the outside, marble or granite steps, all wood windows and maintain the house as to when it was built; which our tour guide said is very expensive to do. On to downtown, past the new City Center; into China town and through Little Italy. A few years ago (actually, probably over 10) I was here for a convention while I still worked at Boeing. Nancy W, John, Eva and Donna were along (at least I think Eva and Donna were) and we all took a streetcar ride…..I can never look at a streetcar again with out thinking of Nancy! Do you remember that Nancy? And of course we saw plenty of streetcars today.

Our tour dropped us off at Pier 39 where we were to meet Jack’s sister and husband for lunch. Jack and Suzi did just that. Unfortunately, Al was having a hard time with his knees and legs and couldn’t walk as far as we needed to --- so Al and I decided to just have lunch at a restaurant close by and then make our way back to the ship. I think the time he spent on the bus (no leg room) really did him in. We took our time and stopped several times for him to rest and we finally made it back to the ship. In the mean time while we were hobbling back to the ship, I was looking for a wheel chair for him. Yeah, right, as if I could push him up the ramp to the ship! NOT! He is laying down resting now; both of his legs are pretty swollen.

Our weather has been nice today….a little chilly and a wind blowing, but no fog or clouds so far. Of course like the tour guide said; at the beach it could be cloudy and cold and just a few miles inland in downtown it could be clear and warm! At least it isn’t like yesterday!

Tomorrow is our last sea day. We will be in Astoria on Thursday and Friday we will be in Seattle and our cruise will be over. It seems like a long time since we got on the ship on one hand, and on the other, it seems like we just started! At any rate we will have plenty of pictures to share and lots of memories.

Cabo san Lucas

April 25, 2008 Friday Cabo San Lucas

Ahhhh…we both feel much better! After I coughed for a while last night I finally propped my self up on several pillows and slept the night away. Consequently, Al got some sleep as well!

We arrived in beautiful Cabo San Lucas at 8:00 this morning. This is a definite place to come back to….I really like it here. We got off the ship around 10:30 for our “carriage ride around the town” tour. Yep..horse and carriage. I think those carriages need shock absorbers! Or smoother roads in Cabo! OUCH!

After we finished our ride we wandered around the port/marina area for a while; had lunch in a place called “Senor Greenbergs” – doesn’t exactly sound Mexican, does it? It was okay, not great, but I did get my taco’s that I was hungry for. They were rolled and fried, resembling more of a taquito; but they cured the craving.
After lunch Jack and Al returned to the ship while Suzi and I did a little shopping…more looking than shopping. After a while it all begins to look the same, just different names!

We set sail at 4:00 p.m. and had been at sea about 20 minutes when the captain announced we had a medical emergency on board and we were returning to Cabo immediately to get this person taken to a hospital immediately…so it must have been a life or death emergency. We watched from Jack and Sue’s room as the tender took the person to shore…how sad.

Dinner tonight was in the dining room…now we are back from dinner and Al and I are crashing; Jack and Sue are going to the show. Al and I are tired and still recovering, so I think we did good to stay up to 8:00!
Nite all!

April 26, 2008 Saturday
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAM B....YOU ARE 60!!!!

AT SEA ALONG THE BAJA COAST
We are really clipping right along since we left Cabo. Captain trying to make up lost time from our emergency yesterday.

This morning Suzi and I played Bingo...played is the correct word here, we didn't win! NADA...nothing, nilch, nix, none. But it was fun

After lunch Jack, Suzi and I went to play "Name that tune"...argh...we are really bad at this game. I know the words to most of the songs, but can't figure out the name of the $%^&*(* song! grrr

Speaking of lunch....we have been on the cruise too long...all of the food is beginning to taste the same. This happened last time as well....lots of variety, but coming from the same kitchen. Tonight we are going back to the Lotus Garden Asian Fusion -- me for some more of the good terayaki steak I had there a few nights ago.

AND IT HAS GOTTEN MUCH COLDER OUTSIDE! You can tell we have left the tropics....brrr! It is only 62 degree's today, with the wind blowing it feels like 40! I can't wait to get to Seattle and freeze!

Tomorrow is LA and we are meeting Billie and Dan for the day...should be fun.

Until then.............Adios.....

Acapulco to Puerto Vallarta

April 23, 2008…HAPPY BIRTHDAY AL!

Leaving Acapulco…heading to Puerto Vallarta

This morning after breakfast Suzi and I decided to go ashore and try and take a picture of the ship. However, this thing is so big I couldn’t get far enough away to get the whole thing in!!! While ashore we had to fight off the offers of “taxi, lady?” or the various vendors trying to sell anything from Chiclets to silver (?) bracelets and beads. Uh, no thanks!


After the ship sailed and we had the necessary lunch, Suzi and I went to play “Name that tune” with one of the good on board performers. We discovered we didn’t know the CORRECT NAMES to a lot of very familiar tunes! We knew the songs, but didn’t know the correct song name…however, we did get 11 of 15 correct and it was fun.

Dinner tonight was in the steak house “Cagney’s” and it was excellent. Al enjoyed his birthday dinner on board complete with a cake…icky cake, but cake. After dinner we went to see the on board show, “Year of the Gisha” which was excellent. Later we crashed, as did Jack; Suzi decided to give the casino a chance to give her some money and she actually came out ahead.

Al is feeling better and the doctor took him off the IV today and is giving him the pill form of the antibiotic. He is still coughing, but not as bad as he was.
We can clearly tell we are getting farther north…the temp and humidity is coming down. Every night before I go to bed I sit out on the balcony for a few minutes…and most nights it is still warm and humid, but tonight I noticed it was not as warm and humid, and matter of fact, a little on the “cool” side. Okay, cool, in the high 70’s.

April 24, 2008 Thursday Puerto Vallarta

Okay, I give…now I have the crud! Coughed all last night and feel like crap! So I did go to the doc this morning and got some antibiotics. Doc says the family that coughs together stays together! I have a good case of bronchitis. Aren’t I lucky? I am staying on board today, and since we have already been here, I don’t feel like I am missing anything really. I HATE BEING SICK!

Al is doing better…he helped me cough last night however. Doc gave us both some strong, horrible tasting cough syrup; but promised it would help us. I hope so!
Jack and Suzi are on shore. Suzi saw a necklace a few years ago that she liked in one of the jewelry stores here so she is going is try and find it again. GOOD LUCK! Hope she finds it with out too much trouble.
More later……………

Later---

Well, I slept the entire afternoon…something I haven’t done in years. I think I may feel a bit better. Al seems to be improving as well.

Jack and Suzi had a fun afternoon, however, they didn’t find the jewelry shop; they did have a $69 LUNCH however! Jack said they had two margarita’s each, which they didn’t realize were $10 a piece! And they both said they weren’t spectacular margarita’s either.

We had dinner up in the buffet tonight. Al and I didn’t feel like eating too much, nor did we feel like changing clothes since in the dining rooms shorts aren’t allowed. That is something I don’t understand…shorts are not allowed, however, the shortest of mini skirts are? Oh, never mind! Jack and Sue joined us for dinner and now they are headed off to the show and we are headed off to bed. I think I may be able to sleep this stuff off!

Tomorrow is Cabo San Lucas and I am determined to go on our short tour tomorrow! And most of you know how I am when I am determined to do something! :-)

Also....our cruise has been very, very smooth so far as far as sea conditions. Even the captain has made comment several times on how unusual this is for the calm sea's. Apparently, usually once you get on the Pacific it gets a little rougher, however, that hasn't happened so far. However, after saying that, tonight is a little more "bouncy" than we have had in a while.


Night!

Acapulco, Mexico and a sick Al

April 20, 2008 Sunday
Sailing the Pacific on our way to Acapulco

Some info on our cruise that I found interesting. The average age on board is 65…there is one lady who is 99 years old on board. There are only 20 guests under the age of 18 on board. There are 2354 passengers from 29 different countries. On board we will consume over 40,000 lbs of meat, 48,000 lbs of vegetables, 1,800 gallons of ice cream and more than 80,000 eggs. I think we are already half way through all of this already!!! We will sail over 5,885 nautical miles on this cruise and through some very diverse climates. We will see tropics of the Panama Canal to the cool Pacific Northwest. By the way, Seattle had 7 inches of snow on Friday….IT’S APRIL…did someone forget to tell that to Seattle?????

We dined at the French Bistro tonight. Escargots was excellent, if it had been appropriate I would have licked the plate! Sue and Al shared a HUGE rack of lamb, while Jack and I shared the chateaubriand, which was so tender you could cut it with a fork and had a wonderful taste. Of course, we all ate way too much and we struggled to get up from the table! By the end of this cruise we will need cranes to lift us off this ship!!!!

The plan was to go to the evening performance of the magician, however, we had to walk through the casino to do this. Well, I had a $11.25 casino credit burning a hole in my pocket, so I stopped to play the “Le Tumbler” for a minute. Now this is a new machine to me, and it is hard to explain. There are tokens or quarters on a tray and you put in your token to try and knock off more tokens as your wins. I know I didn’t explain that well, but I hope you get the idea. Well, 1 ½ hours later I left that machine – losing my $11.25; however, I played for a long time and had a blast doing it! Jack and Suzi each played as well…it is amazing how those tokens can hang on to the edge of the ledge…and we surmise that the ledge must be magnetized in some way.

April 21, 2008 Monday – somewhere in the Pacific off the coast of El Salvador

After a good nights sleep for some of us (Al had decided catching a cold was the thing to do, so he was up all night hacking and coughing) we moseyed down to breakfast. Jack had eaten earlier and was already at the gym (can I just say here I really admire his dedication to working out) and after breakfast I had an appointment to have my nails done. What??? You don’t think I am going a month without having my nails done do you??? Of course when you go to the spa they always try to see you their products and I might say their products are very, very expensive. Hand cream is $50 A TUBE! I finagled a sample of it. I do like it but not for $50. And I will say the sample is a good size, so if I play it right I can use it for a long time. After lunch we all dispersed … Suzi to read in her room (or I bet sleep); Al to our room to read (and sleep); Jack to read down in one of the lounge areas and I took the camera and walked around the ship taking pictures. I had to laugh at one point…I went by the poolside one time and the band was playing “Mustang Sally “ and then the next time I went by they were playing “Careless Whispers” .. I will say I looked around to see if Jennifer was hanging around anywhere. She knows what I mean.

Right now the ship is beginning to show a little sideward movement…wind is blowing some and it is 92 degrees with 90% humidity.

In the afternoon we both took naps…I think I like taking naps. Dinner tonight was in the Lotus Garden “Asian Fusion” – best meal I have had on board. YUM

Al is feeling worse, so he decided to go back to the room; Jack, Suzi and I went to the show which was an Elton John impersonator…and a very good one at that. He actually is a performer on board as well and I want to catch one of his lounge shows while we are on board…he is really a great pianist and performer.

April 22, 2008 Tuesday

Off shore of Acapulco
Well, guess AL just can’t pass up a chance to go see what the hospital on board looks like. After a night of coughing and sounding like he was going to hack up a lung or two, I made the decision that he was going to see the doctor. Of course I got from Al “I’M NOT SICK” routine and I have learned when he says that we are going to be in for a bumpy ride. Of course he is sick! He has pneumonia. And a temp of 104! Fortunately, we caught it in the early stages and the doctor commended me for being persistent (Al said I was nagging---call it whatever you like) and has put Al on a regiment of massive antibiotics via IV and confined him to the ship for at least 3 days. Does this sound familiar? He was confined to the ship last cruise as well. When you are hospitalized on a ship you are usually just confined to the ship and your room unless you are very ill. The ship hospital only has 2 beds; and those are used as a staging before you are medi-evaced off to a local hospital. Doc said had we waited another day or two we would have been in that position. Sooooooo here we go again.

Later..same day

Acapulco

Al’s temp has came down to 99.5 and he had his second dose of antibiotics this evening. He is beginning to feel a bit better I think, but he is still cranky!!!!! Hope they give him some “happy” meds soon. Or I will be jumping ship! Just kidding.
I went ahead on our scheduled tour of Acapulco this afternoon. I really couldn’t enjoy it tho, too worried about Al. We did see the cliff divers and they were interesting to watch. We toured the city as well, old part, gold part and new part. I think I would like to come back here and spend a week sometime. Hopefully Al will stay well enough for us to do that.

Cartagena Columbia and the Panama Canal

April 17, 2008 Thursday
Cartagena, Columbia

So much for not getting off the ship. Suzi and I decided we wanted to explore the cruise terminal and the duty free shops there. AND, the jeweler I had bought the emerald ring from had notified me that American Express wouldn’t approve the sale until I called them to let them know I was really in Columbia! Kudos for AmEx for double checking that….bad on me for not notifying them that I was going to be in Columbia and Mexico for a few days. SO, I had to figure out how to call AmEx. The salesman from the Jeweler came to meet me at the cruise terminal and between the two of us we finally got AmEx on the phone and of course, we were talking to Bogota and there was only one person in the office that spoke limited English. We finally got the sale approved. He was very gracious to me for being honest – as he said; I could have walked away with a $2500 emerald ring. However, I have to look at myself in the mirror every day! But like I told Suzi, I felt like I was doing a drug deal…meeting in the parking lot, strange man, etc!

Back on ship (with a bottle of vodka from the duty free shop) we met Jack and AL for lunch. After lunch we went to the show “Michael Clayton”…however, I lasted about half way through and I was freezing – it was so cold in the theater, so I left. I never did figure out the plot to the movie either.

Dinner last night was at the Mexican Restaurant on board. Not bad, however, I think the cook was Philippine because it had the same taste that the Mexican food used to have in Saudi when our cook at where I worked at JACOR would cook Mexican food….and he was from the Philippines. Adobo sauce instead of mole sauce. Oh well, it was okay.

After dinner Jack and Suzi went to the show, Al and I decided to just go back to the room. Al’s legs are beginning to really bother him; so he wanted to rest. I walked around the promenade deck three times (makes a mile) and then came back and read.
The sea is really choppy tonight….swells are 6-9 feet and the ship is rocking and rolling pretty good. We are traveling very slow as we are to transit the Panama Canal on Saturday morning and we aren’t that far from it.

April 18, 2008 FRIDAY.

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY SHERRIE!! WE LOVE YOU.

Last night was one of those nights where you were either A.) rocked to sleep or B.) Hanging on to the edge of the bed so you wouldn’t fall out! Yes, it was a little windy and rough and it still is this morning. Makes walking a little more difficult and tricky.

By the way, there are a lot of people from the Pacific Northwest on board…which makes sense since this cruise ends in Seattle. Our neighbors on one side of us are from Redmond; he is a retired Seattle Police Detective. In the laundry the other day I met a lady who was from Portland, OR, however, she grew up and went to school in Medford. I casually mentioned that my sister and family lived in Medford and went to school there. When she asked their name I told her “Beaman”; she replied, I went to school with a Pam and Sue Beaman (my nieces)…after I picked up my jaw from the floor I wondered just how small this world is. Pam and Sue-- her name then was Carol Templeman and she graduated in 1967. I am sure if we searched hard enough we would run into people we knew from Bellevue/Redmond, etc.

Also, we have a celebrity aboard. Seal, the singer, is presently occupying the “owner suite”…ahem, which is advertised as $24,000 per person for the cruise. Of course, he has an entire entourage with him, but I can bet he isn’t paying the top dollar price – whadda’ bet he got a “special” price? Apparently he came out of the owners suite (which has its own pool, patio, etc…you would never have to associate with the common people) and into the reception area yesterday for a moment until he was recognized, then he disappeared quickly back to his own world! And no, he isn’t schedule to perform on board.

After breakfast Jack went to the gym, Al back to our cabin; that left Suzi and I at loose ends. What to do? We explored the game room, the library, the shops (again—nothing new) and basically wandered around the ship. Finally we landed in the Spa. We made appointments for a massage/facial for today. After lunch we headed to the spa. What a wonderful treat! First off, I don’t think I have ever been in such a luxurious spa…personal hot tubs, a plunge tub (we discovered it was ice cold…no thanks), sauna and steam rooms, hydrotherapy pool and heated lounges. WOW! We spent an hour in the hot tubs, hydrotherapy pool, etc. before our massage started. The massage was probably the best I have ever had and the facial was absolutely wonderful. I could do this once a week (Al said, no, I couldn’t!) After the pampering we crawled back to our rooms and changed for the show and dinner. The show was a tenor and he was good and then dinner in the Italian restaurant. It was good, but not spectacular. After wards Jack and Suzi walked the promenade deck and Al and I went back to bed. I collapsed into bed…yawn.

April 19, 2008 Saturday
PANAMA CANAL

We were up early this morning…6:15 a.m. to see the beginning of us going through the Gatun Locks.

We began transiting the locks at 7:15 a.m. and it is fascinating to watch. Our ship is the largest ship the locks can handle and it costs $314,000 for us to transit the canal! OUCH! This is the highest toll ever paid to go through the canal lock system. It is amazing how they can take this huge ship and put it through these small locks!
Gatun Locks

And watching the locomotives pull us through never ceases to amaze me. We stayed in our room and watched from our balcony. I did go up to the pool deck, but you couldn’t get anywhere near the railing. They were also selling Panama Canal souvenirs, but the line was miles long and I didn’t want to miss anything—besides, I have enough tee shirts! We finished transiting the locks at 10:00 a.m…and into Gatun Lake. After crossing the lake we went through the Culebra Cut to the next set of locks, the Pedro Miguel locks, which we transited around 2:30 p.m. Suzi and I were sitting on deck 12 aft when we did this and when we went under one of the two bridges.

Pan American Bridge seen from the Panama Canal

Pretty fascinating stuff. Also, since this ship is so large there are a lot of people on shore that come to watch it go through these locks.
I might mention here that it is 93 degrees with the humidity at 90%--a little like sitting out in a steam room! My camera lens keeps fogging up…so do my glasses. To say nothing of me wilting. But the aft deck has a nice breeze blowing across it and that made it bearable…barely.
Going through the last set of locks, the Mira Flora Locks at 4:30 p.m. today now we are on the Pacific Ocean side. There is a restaurant on shore and there were plenty of people there to watch the Pearl go through. It finally dawned on me why all these people are watching us go through…it only happens twice a year! Since this is a repositioning cruise from the Caribbean cruising of the winter months to the Alaska Cruising for the summer months. The Pearl won’t be back this way until October.
Finally, we went under the American Express Bridge and we were spit out into the Pacific Ocean. There are a lot of ships waiting to go through the canal towards the Atlantic side..I would say at least 30 or more.
So now we can say we have been through the Panama Canal and now we are on our way to Acapulco, in two more days. We have two full sea days ahead of us and we arrive in Acapulco on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. and our tour begins almost immediately.
So until next time……we are wroamin’ the sea’s with the Waddicks.

Santa Marta, Columbia

April 15, 2008 Tuesday
Somewhere in the Atlantic – heading to Santa Marta, Columbia
Day at sea…and a lazy day at that. We got up later than normal and after breakfast, Suzi and I were going to go swimming and try out the huge water slide..however, it was windy and our calm seas have turned just a little bit bouncy, so we abandoned that idea and just laid out in the sun. Al chose to sit out on the room balcony.
After lunch all of us went to see the movie “I am legend” with Will Smith. Suzi and I lasted about a third of the movie and left…to icky for us! Besides, I was too afraid the dog in the movie was gonna’ die and I would be upset!!! So we both did what all good, seasoned cruisers do..we took a nap. Hmmmm-I think I am beginning to relax..what a concept for me! I COULD GET USED TO THIS!

Tonight is “formal picture night”….but not for us. We decided to opt out for tonight and will just go to the dining room for dinner. I have to say, compared to Princess, the food on this ship is much, much better. I even had a decent cheeseburger at lunch today! The last one I had on a cruise tasted more like shoe leather.

We dined in the Summer Palisades Dining Room tonight…a large dining room but unlike most cruise ships which usually have tables for 8 or more, this ship has tables for 2, 4, 6 and 8 or more if you request it. I had beef wellington, which was excellent. Al had the orange duck and he said his was very good, not as good as Pat Voss’ duck, but good. And I had a glass of wine with dinner and so far, no repercussions from it!



After dinner we went to the show and tonight it was a comedian. He was in our age group and was very y funny for us…we understood his kind of comedy. After the show Jack and Suzi took a walk around the ship, but Al and I came back to the room – Al’s knees are bothering him tonight. We want him to be ready to see Santa Marta, Columbia tomorrow.
So until then…goodnight.

April 16, 2008 Wednesday

Santa Marta, Columbia

The ship docked this morning around 7:00 in Santa Marta. Not much to see from our stateroom door with the exception of some commercial cargo ships.

After a quick breakfast we were off on our Historical Tour of Santa Marta. After finding the bus and squeezing into the seats (I swear the seats are getting smaller!) we were off. First thing they did was take us up a mountain and over to a tourist resort of El Rodadero—very modern and nice, but we don’t stop, just drive through it. Then we drove through Santa Marta…typical Mexican town I thought…I could have been in San Luis or Nogales. And I observed that the dogs here all seem to the same breed…just different colors…brown, black, tan, gray and dirt! And the country side seems to be littered with, well, lots of litter! Plastic bags hanging off of trees and fences and trash everywhere. Just not clean.

Next stop was the “Museo del Oro Tairona” – the gold museum, which houses not only gold pieces made by the Tayrona culture 1500 BC…yup, before Christ, but ancient pottery and artifacts. Since our tour guide didn’t speak the best English, I tuned him out and wandered by myself for a while. But I did see the gold…wow! Then we walked (taking our lives in our own hands against the traffic) to the Cathedral, which is the oldest cathedral in Columbia; and by the way, Santa Marta is the oldest city in Columbia, founded in 1525. But back to the Cathedral….it was build in the Renaissance style and was pretty remarkable. And it was cool inside! A plus for today.




A word about the weather here…it is hot, muggy, humid, hot, etc. However, this is the end of their summer, which temps can get up to 110 and humidity of 99%...er, no thanks. However, winter is just beginning here (May to Nov) and the temps will be in the 80s and the humidity drops to 70%! It was hot and humid here today…Jack, Al and I were soaking wet…Suzi must be cold blooded, she shed not one drop of sweat! I think she is part reptile!

Back to the tour…. After leaving the Cathedral, back on the bus, we discover that the bus driver has no idea where he is going next as he and the tour guide are not from here but from Cartagena, our stop for tomorrow. Apparently there weren’t enough buses or English speaking tour guides here. After getting directions we headed to the small fishing village of Taganga---and for the life of me I don’t know why…again we just drove through it, no explanation, or talk about its importance to the tour. We did stop and at a view point up on the mountain (and by this time Jack, Suzi and I had decided we had done this in Greece as well…but in Greece the bus driver and tour guide were good, this bus driver isn’t the best either) – Jack got out to take a picture, but the rest of us stayed on the bus as there were plenty of vendors to sell us “jewelry” made by hand! No thanks!

Our last stop is at La Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, a beautiful hacienda, where Simon Bolivar, The Liberator spent his last days and died here. Yes, the grounds are beautiful…big banyan tree complete with Iguana’s on them, Myna birds everywhere and beautiful flowers. The grounds even had their own distillery which they made rum from sugar cane.

Also here is the Emerald Museum…very small museum, but with it of course, is a jewelry shop dealing specifically in emeralds. Al and I had decided this morning if we could find a nice emerald ring at a reasonable price we would buy one. I haggled and haggled and finally got the dealer down to a price I could afford for a emerald ring! Thank you Al! He was dealing on a stone, but couldn’t get the dealer down below $220 per karate on a 10 karate stone….nope.

After we left there is was back to the ship…and lunch please. But before we got on board we did buy some Columbian coffee…but not from Juan Valdez. An interesting port, but not one I would visit again.

We had dinner at Cagney’s Steakhouse tonight and it was superb! However, I couldn’t begin to eat it all…I was still full from lunch. Then we went to the show – Showgirl Revue and it was good. After the show we decided to go up to Spinnaker’s Lounge to catch the comedian again…he was really funny. When we got back to the room we found this little bunny on our bed.



Tomorrow is Cartagena and since we have already been there we aren’t taking a tour or getting off the ship

Sailing, Sailing, over the ocean blue

Sailing, Sailing Over the Ocean Blue

Somewhere in the Atlantic…..just off Cuba

Apr. 12…Saturday
Up earlier than I like and we got checked out of the condo and on our way to Miami. We decided to go down the west coast of Florida and then over “Alligator Alley” to Maimi. We stopped in Naples and found a Costco to get some gas. Gas is $3.40+ a gallon where we have been. Over alligator alley, and we only saw a few alligators. I think we were expecting it to be “lined” with alligators. We arrived in Miami, found our hotel for the night (no easy task) and got checked in. Jack and Sue returned the car to the airport, which was an adventure in itself. After they finally found the car rental return they had to wait over an hour for the shuttle to return to the hotel. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant “Schuckers” which was fairly decent.

Apr. 13 .. Sunday
Ahhh…cruise day has arrived. We hauled our mini mountain of luggage out to the front of the hotel to catch the shuttle to the port. WAIT! Where are all these other people going? There was over 50 of us for this shuttle…and I am looking at this mini van that was suppose to take us. Not only would our luggage not fit, but the people weren’t going to fit either. AHHHH --- there is more than one van…whew!
We arrived at the port along with the rest of the world…this ship holds 2500+ passengers and it is full. We couldn’t get to our stateroom so we did what comes naturally…we ate! This is our first cruise with Norwegian and it is very different from Princess and I think we are going to like it. First of all, NO FORMAL NIGHTS! Second, it what they call “free-style” cruising…you can eat when ever you like, do what ever you like, when ever you like, no schedule. Hmmmm. The Norwegian Pearl is the ship we are on and it is just a year old. Very beautiful and BIG – 965 feet long to be exact and can cruise up to 25 knots! There is even a bowling alley on board!! And, a rock climbing wall, etc. Just about anything you want to do in the form of entertainment is on board. Jack checked out the gym, Suzi checked out the casino and I checked out the pool area and the internet café. But actually, I have internet in my stateroom….how cool is that?

We got into our stateroom around 2:00 p.m. and got somewhat unpacked. And this time we did something really dumb when we booked our cruise. The person we booked with suggested that we book rooms across the ship from each other so we could see different things from the different side of the ship. DUMB! We aren’t in our rooms that much and we really like being next to each other so we can open up our balconies and it is just more convenient. We will know better from now on!

Anyway, after the mandatory evacuation life boat drill, we all decided to go to the “Sail away” party up on the pool deck. What fun! Suzi and I even got in the conga line! Had our usual sail away drink and just enjoyed the day.

We decided to have an early dinner so we could catch the show tonight. I don’t think any of us was that hungry, but we ate anyway. (Do you see a trend beginning here?) Then off to the show. It was an over view of all the lounge shows…and very good. After the show Al went back to the room, I explored the ship for a while and Jack and Suzi went to the Casino. We will be at sea until Wednesday so no use to rush into doing anything on the first night. This cruise is 19 days long and we are at sea for 8 of those days, which is fine…lots of time to rest.

April 14, 2008 Monday
Our first day at sea…and the sea last night was so smooth you couldn’t tell you were sailing. We passed the coast of Cuba this morning. Now, at 10:45 the sea is beginning to act like it should with a few rollers, but not bad at all. We have had our breakfast (what??? We weren’t going to pass up that chance to eat!) and now Jack is at the gym and Suzi and I are going to go for our walk around the ship to try and lose a ounce or so we can eat some more! More later….
Later……Well, Suzi and my walk around the ship this morning was side tracked by a bingo game getting ready to begin. Of course, we had to play. Suzi won the first game! I won a beach bag! After that we went to find the guys. Al was in the room reading and Jack was still at the gym, but our tummies were saying that they knew lunch was on…so off we went to eat—again. After lunch Al took a walk and Jack played Trivia; Suzi and I found ourselves in another Bingo game…we didn’t do so well at this one.
Dinner tonight was at the Teppenyaki (say Beni Hana) specialty restaurant on board. There are 11 of these type of specialty restaurants on the Pearl. After dinner, which was outstanding, Al decided to go back to the room, while Jack, Suzi and I went to the show. Tonight’s entertainment was a sensational singer, Lumiri Tubo. She sang just about anything you could want….show tunes, gospel, disco, dance hits, etc. And I will say she was fabulous. She had one of the better voices I have ever heard. After the show Jack and Suzi took off, I decided to walk around the deck. I could see Cuba off the starboard side and another cruise ship off the port side. All day the sea has been as smooth as glass….can’t ever remember being on a cruise this smooth.
Cortney – a note for you here…guess what I found for sale on board. MY CLOCK!!! And no, I didn’t buy it, but it is tempting.
And for Kali…I have met several people from Shreveport on this ship…are there any old people left in Shreveport, or are they all here?
Speaking of old people, there are very few young people on board this cruise. We are attributing that to the length of the cruise, and the time of the cruise. There are only 19 people under 18 on board!
On that note, I am going to turn in for the night….more tomorrow.

Orlando -- The End

Kissimmee, FL

We about to depart the land of Mickey for Miami tomorrow. The last few days here have sure flown by.

Before I forget, on Tuesday when we were at Kennedy Space Center, we saw this critter.



I got a chuckle out of the bus driver that day...she said there were "shoe" "wallet" "briefcase" and "Suitcase" size gators...this one was a suitcase size! We also saw a manatee and a few armadillo's. We have seen a couple of turkey's (the bird, not people!) lots of blue heron and a flamingo! WEEEEEE! Critter count.

Thursday Jack and Suzi went to Sea World. Al and I rested and hung around the condo. I have been fighting some stomach problems the last week and I decided to just rest yesterday. I still feel a little queasy, but I am not going to let a little stomach upset to ruin my trip! Last night we went to Sonny's Real Pit BBQ for dinner. Al and I always try and have at least one meal at this restaurant....it is always good and it didn't disappoint us last night.

Today Suzi and I fought with the two washers and dryers here in the condo building and got our laundry done. These condo's that we are staying in are less than stellar that we have come to expect with and RCI exchange. Matter-of-fact, this condo is old, out dated and in sad need of being refurbished and updated. I am very disappointed in this condo timeshare.

This afternoon we headed off for Downtown Disney for lunch and strolled around there for an hour or so. Then it was off to the Tampa area to meet Peggy and Phil. Peggy was my high school girlfriend and we have been friends since forever. We met at Buco di Beppo's in Bradon, Fl; about half way between here and where they live in North Port. We had a great meal and a short, but wonderful visit. It is always fun to see these two!




Peggy and Phil

Tomorrow we head to Miami for the night and board the ship on Sunday for our Panama Canal Cruise.......

Florida..so far

Orlando, well, actually, Kissimmee, Fl

Greetings from Mickey Mouse! Yes, we are in the land of Disney..or at least near it. Orlando is consumed with Disney!

Our trip started back on Saturday morning at o'dark thiry---rising at 3:00 a.m. to ge to the airport in time to catch our 6:45 a.m. flight to Atlanta to connect to our flight to Orlando. Jack, Sue, Al and I all grumbled about getting up so early. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time...only to find out our flight had been delayed an hour....so we had hurried for nothing. FInally got on the plane and arrived in Atlanta an hour late...leaving us with less than 30 minutes to catch our connecting flight; which, of course, was on another concourse. But I had anticipated this and had ordered a wheelchair for Al...thank goodness. He actually got to our next gate before we did!! At any rate we were the last 4 to board the plane. But then we were delayed due to a minor mechanical problem, so we were late leaving Atlanta by 45 minutes...another hurry up to wait ordeal. Arriving in Orlando to very stormy weather, we went to get our luggage. Well, half of it arrived, the other half was among the missing. Of course, why, would anything be right on that day???? We decided to wait for the next flight from Atlanta to get in which was 45 minutes. So we went and got the rental car and then went back to wait for the luggage. An hour and half later, we had luggage. Off to find the timeshare...which we found and litterally dumped our luggage and went in search of food. It had been about 12 hours since we had last seen food, with the exception of peanuts, pretzels, etc. After feeding our selves we went to the store for some basic necessities, i.e., coffee, bread, etc. IT started to really rain and thunder and lightning when we left the store. Florida? Right?

Sunday
We awoke to pouring rain! And I do mean, pouring. It rained, rained and rained some more. About noon friends Randy and Judy Rahbar arrived from Indian Harbour Beach and a few minutes later their son Randy Jr., wife Liz and son Curtis (7)arrived. Curtis

Randy Jr. is a twin and a few minutes later twin Tara, husband Frank and son Nathan (2) arrived.
Frank, Nathan, Tara

Now we have known the Rahbars forever....since the twins were 2 years old and we were all in Lancaster together! We all had a great visit...and I tell you those kids are great kids...Nathan is so cute and Curtis is so well mannered and so smart! He knows so much about the planets! He really impressed us. Oh, and did I tell you it was raining??? Rained all day and night. And I do mean RAIN! THUNDER! LIGHTNING!

Rahbars: l-r, Tara, Nathan, Frank, Liz, Curtis, Randy Jr. Randy Sr. Judy

Monday arrived with just overcast skies. Jack decided to go to the gym and Suzi and I decided to hit the outlet mall that wasn't too far away. Al chose to rest and read. Randy and Judy came over later in the afternoon and we all went to a faboulous Lebanese restaurant that Randy and Judy had been to. All I can say is that it was great. I think Jack and Suzi were a little hesitant about it, but they both said they enjoyed it. And I had a shawarma...for those of you who know what a shawarma is, this one was good...almost as good as the ones you get in Riyadh! YUM

Yesterday, Tuesday, we drove over to the Kennedy Space Center for a tour. We had a great time and learned so much. OF course, some of this was "going back in time" for us who have worked on the space program at some point in time in our past lives. Did you know that the Shuttle program is over in 2010? And that they are replacing it with a program called Orion. It is targeted for operations to the International Space Station and will start around 2015. Things we learn!!! At any rate the tours of the launch pads, the landing strip, (even though we have seen the shuttle land dozens of times at Lancaster) and just being there where it all happens was so facinating for us. Just to think what we (Americans) have accomplished in the space race over the past 50 years is amazing.

After a great day there we drove down the beach a bit to where Judy and Randy live. They have a beautiful condo right on the ocean. It is so nice to sit out on their veranda and just listen to the surf. We finally decided it was time to eat, so we wandered over to a little place not far from their house on Hwy A1A called "Bunky's"...what great seafood they have! I ate my share of raw oysters (yum, yum, yum) and they were probably the best I have ever had! They are from Appleachicola, Florida and they are small, and very, very tender. We finally waddled out of their and headed home.

Today, Wednesday, we went to the required timeshare sell presentation. What we won't do for 100 bucks! At any rate, we didn't buy, as if we needed another timeshare! And they did try their best to sell us one....or a dozen. I have to laugh at the sales people....we have been to so many of these over the years we could practically give the sales pitch and we have the routine down pat....first the sales person, then the "heavy" who tries to come in and give you a "deal" and then the closer, who starts to give you your "freebie", only has one more "deal" up his sleeve! ARG! We escaped with our lives and pocketbooks intact however. Tonight the Rahbars are coming over here again so we can venture out for dinner.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring....so stay tuned!