The Ship

Our breakfast table at Chops: 7:30 every morning, table by the window. Great view of the beautiful sea! Not so great picture of the MMPT crew - Terry, Mary and Mary, because you can barely see who they are. Pat is taking the picture. Chops is a specialty restaurant, which means it generally costs you money to eat here. It is open for breakfast for passengers who are in suites.

Our waiters at breakfast - they were excellent. Leonel Pereira and Junior Candelair - Leonel was the first one to remember what kind of juice everyone drank and almost had our coffee cups on the table before we were seated. Wonderful smile, gentle personality. Some days we were lucky enough to be the only ones in the restaurant. Then we really got spoiled by all the attention.

Our cruise director, Leigh Xuereb from Australia - at the front with the mic, the ship's band at the back, and a few of the crew who made our trip enjoyable. Leigh started his career as Bugs Bunny at Warner Bros Movie World, Hollywood on the Gold Coast. He also won accolades for his impersonation of Austin Powers. Slightly dingy, like most cruise directors, he always appeared to be unrealistically happy and enthusiastic about his job. A photo of the Jewel presides over all.

Guest Lecturer Joe Condril. He gave enrichment seminars on a variety of subjects including Nicomodemus and Interesting Facts about the Presidents, VEEPS and First Ladies. He was having a little bit of a meltdown when his equipment didn't work. 'Staff' stepped up to help him. I signed up so now I get emails from him that may be a little self promotional, but what emails aren't?

Professor Stooke - our resident expert on all things spacey...meaning the moon, stars and planets. Actually he is a geophysist, or something like that, fascinated by the geology of the outer world. Fascinating speaker. Terry's favorite.

The center of the ship by night which served as the community center during the day, but definitely more beautiful at night. Straight across - 9th deck - the library where I 'rented' the Tom Cruise book, below is the 8th deck (ours) and the area where I posted most of my blogs. Above - 10th deck - is the area outside the Concierge Club, a natural gathering spot for the elite. I guess for a short time we were one of those!

The All Adult Solarium. Even more adult around midnight when most of the old people (i count myself in that category) have retired. The little snack bar is open all night. It's just me and my golden pet. Except of course when it's all four of us - the MMPT crew.

Look closely for the Terry between the giraffes in the Safari Room, home to M&M playing bingo and later on an art auction. I'm sure everyone goes on a cruise to get a new piece of art. Actually that is EXACTLY what some people do. It is their souvenir from the trip. MY souvenirs are the programs we get free from the front desk.

Hot Springs! Wednesday September 19th -Sunday the 23rd

One might think it might be difficult to enjoy sitting by the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.

I was driving in the fast lane on I30 approaching Arkadelphia, Ark when the car suddenly lost power, as in I'm traveling over 80 one minute and 0 the next. Fortunately there was a break in the nonstop parade of trucks enabling me to drift to the side of the road, past the bridge, and onto the shoulder.

Terry's mobile phone worked, we had our triple A card and they were friendly, sympathetic and expedient. What more could we ask for?

My ipad was full charged. Googling 'should I stay in my disabled parked car', we quickly exited for the relative safety of the shoulder. Sunny but not hot, we were enjoying the coolness of Arkansas when we saw the tow truck. Jerry noted that if we had not been on the side of the road waving expectantly he would have continued. Evidently AAA had given him slightly erroneous information. How much good luck could one couple have?

Luckily we were within 100 miles of Hot Springs and the towing would be courtesy of triple A! AND there was a Chevy dealership there. Although some bash dealerships, we generally prefer them when it comes to working on our ancient 2001 Chevy Astro van.

AND my brother and his wife were already in town. Calling John and Lila on our miracle phone they agreed to pick us up at the dealership pending the car's evaluation. The friendly service manager called to tell us the fuel pump had died. I felt something like a teenager when he explained that changing the fuel filter every 30,000 miles was a good idea, although I was able to criticize it (the fuel pump) for not giving us more warning before it abruptly quit on me. I will try not to take it personally.

John and Lila graciously carried us to the Hot Springs Village timeshare pictured here - unit 72 I think) so we could unload, and had already made reservations for a timeshare sponsored cruise on Lake Balboa, followed by a sumptuous repast at the Last Chance restaurant next door.

Given that they have their own pontoon boat on Big Stone Lake and their own lovely restaurants by Minnesota Lakes, they may not have been as impressed with the scenery. By the end of the cruise I was in awe of the number of houses I could not afford like the four story vacation home pictured here.

The next day we visited the Property Owners Association to figure out which vacant piece of land belonged to Terry and I.

They amiably tracked it down - 63 Empanada (or is it 62?) and even gave us a map and directions. Tromping around on the undeveloped land I contemplated for the umpteenth time how nice it would be to live here if only I didn't have to pay for a house, cycling rapidly with the thought that I couldn't possibly tolerate this much peace and serenity. It is definitely easier just to visit it once in a while. Proud (or foolish)owners pictured in front of the land.

John drove us to Hot Springs where we visited Bath House Row in historic Hot Springs, ate lunch at Fisherman's Wharf on Lake Hamilton while our Canadian friends waited patiently for bread crumbs (which weren't going to be coming from me), visited the tower at Hot Springs National Forest - spectacular views - and picked up our Astro which was now improved by over a thousand dollars worth of labor and parts.

The next day I was chasing yet another sunrise around Desoto Lake without catching it, but using up a lot of digital memory while I did it. I came back to my two favorite guys smoking and drinking in the Arkansas sun.

Lila and I had read about Garvan Woodland Botanical Gardens outside Hot Springs. One neat part of traveling with another couple is that we visit places we otherwise would not. At any rate, we were delighted to find that they were already decorating for the holidays. Beautiful flowers, fantastic views of Lake Hamilton and a delicious lunch at the Chipmunk Cafe completed our visit.

Too late for the new Clint Eastwood movie, we decided to see if any tickets remained for the Five Star Theater's production of Driving Ms. Daisy. As luck would have it table 24 was open. We opted for the dinner/show and went home to clean up a bit. Well some of us cleaned up. Some of us just played on our computers (me).

The show was delightful with a 3 person, local cast. Ms. Daisy may even be a neighbor to our vacant land - she was from Hot Springs Village. The preceeding dinner was a buffet with way too much delicious food. www.thefivestartheater.com

Although I contemplated a variety of stops on the way home, Terry was not to be diverted.

Saturday John and Lila flew home from Little Rock. We tagged along to visit President Clinton's Library and Museum. As usual I had too little time to digest too much information. I did love the video he made retiring from office. Enjoyed our last meal together at the President's cafe in the basement. I was impressed by how cheerfulness exhibited by ALL the volunteers and employees. That must be THE most important element of the job/volunteer profile.

After J&L left, we found a movie theater close by showing the new Clint Eastwood flick, Trouble with the Curve. We really lucked out because it was a brand new theater, only open for 1 day, and they were giving away popcorn and coke. Besides it had that brand new smell that can never be recaptured.

Driving back to Hot Springs we noted again how beautiful Arkansas is, and how Cool, compared to Texas. Too full to think about food we stopped anyway at Obrien's, outside of HSV. They specialize in pizza, wings and karaoke on the patio. Despite temptations I managed to leave before I humiliated myself.

We were now at the end of part 3 or 4, depending on how you count, of our vacation. We do know how to enjoy ourselves (and our friends and family). There are MANY pictures on my facebook page - facebook.com/prosga.

The Astro carried us back to Dallas on Sunday (without incident thank god) to meet Mary and Craig for Theater Three's play, Freud's Last Session, I may have been the only person who really enjoyed it, but I may have been the only person who was reading Freud in sixth grade. At the time I thought I was going to a psychologist. Well, it's never too late.

Mary was under the delusion she owed us some money for the rental car at Boston, well more money than I thought she owed us, so in addition to the repayment, Craig bought us dinner at MOMO's next door. The food was wonderful, company even better.

One last day of rest before I go back to work. Unless of course I've been fired due to excess enjoyment. At any rate, much to Terry's chagrin, we are working at the State Fair this year. We'll see how that goes. We will have to sign up today, if we are going to do it. Whatever, I have a feeling that I'm going to enjoy it, no matter what.

Tuesday September 18th, Still Boston

Homeward Bound. Took the Marys to the Airport to catch their flight. We headed off to do one last thing.

Mary called to warn us about the weather. They were rebooked on an earlier flight because of it. Hotel Jose warned us that Boston airport shuts down with the first raindrop. I hoped they would.

We went in search of the MIT Museum to prove that we could handle Boston traffic. Our GPS lead us around in circles until by some miracle we found it AND a vacant parking meter right next to the front door.

The gift shop was closed, darn it, because I wanted a MIT shirt - the closest I would ever get to being a MIT student. We traded our coupons for a free visit. After a few minutes we realized we could easily have spent hours (maybe days) there, but actually we only had one (hour not day).

Bernice Abbott’s photography exhibit was my favorite. She illustrated her theory about the connection between photography and science. This photo is a slow motion photo of a bouncing ball. Actually this is on the outside of the MIT museum. The real picture is in that room I mentioned.

This is the real Bernice in a photo taken by Hank O'Neal 11/18/1979.

Fascinated by the hologram room. Especially the one of Queen Elizabeth wearing King George IV crown during her 62nd birthday celebration. And the robots, And the story about the glacier research that I didn't get a chance to look at....and..and..and...

Sadly we were out of time. We had to leave Bernice and her contemporaries with much unseen and unread.

The kind lady at the front desk OFFERED (another miracle!) to give us quarters to keep our parking spot while we walked a block and a half to the Miracle of Science café. I absolutely loved it! I seem to be saying that a lot. Menu modeled after the periodic table (can be seen in the back of the photo above), fare was generally healthy, customers seemed to be students and professors, atmosphere electric.

With a couple of hours before takeoff we headed for Logan Airport. A few drops landed on the car window, but it didn’t seem to be too bad. Darn it. Dropped the car at Alamo and a stalwart Terry got the bus driver to let us on the overfull bus by staring him down as he closed the door and prepared to depart.

Our upgrades did NOT come through so we sulked (not really - only I sulked) in the emergency exit row, luckily on the far side of the plane, since passengers were entering through that door and the two assigned seating opposite us had to stand at the back of first class watching the rest of the passengers board and the first class passengers get their before-flight-snacks. If I sound jealous it's because I was.

The plane was about 40 minutes late taking off and seemingly overbooked. I thought the people would never stop boarding with their suitcases and chicken coops (not really, but it seemed like they had a little of everything. Could have been a chicken coop in there).

The pilot warned us it might be turbulent for a while. Aside from a few knee-grabbing moments (me grabbing Terry's knee), it wasn’t bad. Sons Nick and Jon greeting us at DFW's baggage claim.

Stopped by Subway on the way home for the traditional thank-you-for-remembering-to-come-and-get-us-dinner, then off to unpack, wash clothes, repack. Actually Terry washed clothes all night. I slept like I had not seen a bed in months.

What seemed like a good idea when we planned it seemed a little excessive now…we were driving to Hot Springs Village the next day to see Brother John and Wife Lila. I had hoped they could cruise with us this time, but it didn't work out. Since we were married at the same time during the same ceremony we like to celebrate together too.

Are we nuts or what?

Monday September 17th Boston

Over the (free) breakfast on Monday, we poured over the maps and information for Boston. Mary and Terry actually talked to someone about what we wanted to do, where we should go, how we should get there.  I’m more of a walk-out-of- the-hotel-and-head-in-the-general-direction-and-see-what-happens-person, which has lead me into a little bit of trouble now and then.

I’m  pretty gullible. The Marys spent some time making me feel guilty because they had to walk to a restaurant to eat the night before. It was all BS of course.


At Cambridge, considering our options

We had been warned by just about every person who knew anything about Boston that driving in downtown Boston was not an option.

The Floating Bus Tour

We could have taken a train/subway or bus but finally decided we should drive to the Cambridge HOHO stop where we could park for $4.00 all day if we bought a HOHO ticket. Included with the 2 day ticket was a ‘free’ ride in the HOHO waterproof bus that toured the harbor.  HOHO.

We had yet another beautiful day for sight seeing. I love college towns and Boston was no exception. Our bus driver said there were 60 colleges in Boston. I flirted with the idea of apply to Havard rather than Dublin's Trinty College. Oh yeah, I forgot Harvard is a little picky about who they let in. Maybe I could get a job sweeping the floors or something and just soak in the atmosphere.

In addition to colleges, Boston has an interesting mix of the modern and the old; skyscrapers  tower over  old churches.  At least I think that is a church.

My New Home

Homes are outrageously expensive, like a couple of million for a house (I thought we were in a recession). Interesting little blue boxes floated in the harbor.  Our bus/boat guide told us that some opted for living in these harbor boxes; some on their boats, because living on the water is much cheaper. Maybe I could afford one of the cute little boxes while I’m sweeping floors.  Or maybe I could live in the Homeless Shelter for Veterans we passed on the bus tour.  Oh yeah, I’m not a veteran. Darn.

Free Sailboats

With the harbor is in the middle of the City, next to the airport, The water is an integral part of Boston.  If I lucky enough to be a resident Bostonian child I could learn to sail for free using one of these municipal boats. Not that I would, being naturally adverse to water and free.

Interesting Little Shops

Cute little shops were everywhere. The advantage and curse of a bus tour is you see a lot but have no idea what you saw. The cute little shops went unentered, as did Cheers, Fenway Stadium, histioric churches, Boston Common, and the 60 colleges etc. Oh well, next time.

The day was over too soon. We found a new and different route to the hotel and along the way a little place called the Border Café. I wasn’t quite ready to retire, so I walked around the hotel which was no mean feat (what does that mean anyhow) since the hotel was surrounded by woods instead of pavement and there were no sidewalks on the city streets near our hotel.    I found a door open to the indoor swimming pool that shouldn’t have been and with the aid of my room key went through to the hotel and out the opposite door of the hotel. A Bostonian Hiking Trail.

Bostonians seem to have no problem jogging on streets (if they had no sidewalks), through woods and around businesses.  Most city streets have a lane reserved for bikes, but I didn’t have one of those and if I did I would likely have been run over.  I have enough trouble staying in my lane when I’m driving a 2 ton vehicle.



Fenway Stadium, Home of the Boston Red Sox

People watching in the Parking lot I saw -   a guy mesmerized by his i-phone ( a text argument with his girlfriend ?) lingered over long, strange cars zoomed past without stopping (drug dealers, kids on a lark, prospective customers, call girls, lost?), dogs barked from cars (protecting the family fortune?), long haired hippies with hyper active kids  (what else would long haired hippies have?) transported family luggage, and business men checking in or coming 'home'.

Three guys returned with a brown bag of beer (I asked) evidently bored with the possibilities of hotel life.

Me, for at least this moment in time, I was content just being.

 

September 16th - I can't believe it's over

Well actually I can....believe it's over.

Although I love cruising, I was ready to step off the ship. We floated into Boston Harbor on a sunny cool morning. It was slightly unsettling to see armed coast guard boats floating behind us, their guns seemingly pointed at me and within range. I was surprised to see that Logan Airport was a swim away. Jets were taking off on a regular basis. That, no doubt, was why some passengers scheduled flights for 10 and 11 AM.

We had put our suitcases out the night before. The crew had worked through the night to get the ship ready for a new group of customers. The suite passengers were to meet in Chops for a light (and I mean Very Light) breakfast and wait for our fearless concierge to take us off the ship. As suite passengers we have paid for the privilege of exiting early.

It seemed to be taking way too long. Earlier I had made a fast trip to the fourth floor to deposit my survey. As usual I had added suggestions for improvement, which will no doubt be ignored. We also didn't receive a letter I thought we should have, so I had written a letter, which will probably also be ignored. Anyway I ran across a line 1/2 the length of the ship. Further investigation revealed that there were foreigners entering the country.

They ALL have to clear customs before anyone gets off the ship. So we waited.

When Fernando finally showed up he had to lead us through hostile territory. Since there was no path roped off we were forced to plow through disgruntled bodies muttering complaints. At one point a couple jumped in front of us shrieking about missing their plane and I had to use my luggage as a cattle prod to get them out of the way.

Anyway, we got off. A poor little guy with a cane attempted the escalators and fell. I was walking down the steps when Mary yelled for me to speed it up. By the time I got to the bottom they had stopped the escalator. The little guy was bruised, probably humilited but ambulatory.

After locating our luggage fairly easily one of the porters told us that he could get us to the front of the line of souls waiting for taxis so we piled our suitcases on his cart and sure enough he walked right past a horde of hostility. Only cost us $20.00 and was worth every penny.

The taxi took us to Alamo to pick up our full size car, immediately upgraded to a SUV since there was no way all of our luggage was going to fit in the car unless the girls ran alongside the car, or maybe were attached to the hood.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum was close to us so we headed that way. The building is magnificent. I remember JFK of course. I had forgotten what a great speaker he was. It seems to me that his speeches had a lot more substance than what we hear these days. It set the stage with the artifacts of the era, took us through his early life, the campaign, election, Cuban Mission Crises, Civil Rights movement, and his tragic death. Brought tears to my eyes.

I could have lingered longer, but I felt I was literally starving having gone a whole 5 hours without eating. So we headed for the hotel and found a great little Italian Restaurant, the Chateau Family Dining, and checked into the Hilton Garden Inn in Burlington. Feeling exhausted although I thought I shouldn't be exhausted, I got caught up on my favorite reality TV shows. I watched some of the prior episodes of Big Brother, the shocking finale of Bachelor Pad, and the new Big Brother almost finale. OK, so maybe I am a little shallow.

My food intake significantly reduced from ship level, I fell asleep early and woke late on a non-rocking bed. Cool.

Last Day at Sea September 15th

For the most part the day was totally frittered away packing for departure the next day, getting library books back, checking the bill, using up internet minutes, packing, eating, eating, eating ....

We did find time to listen to Joe Condril talk about Presidents, VEEPS and First Ladies. He had a little trouble with the audio visual and was pressed for time due to a presentation scheduled right after his, so he was speeding through it. The following three were most memorable to me.

I had heard before that there were a lot of similarities between two of my favorite Presidents - Kennedy and Lincoln; Kennedy presided over civil unrest, Lincoln over the Civil War, Lincoln died in 1860, Kennedy in 1960, Lincoln was born in 1839, Kennedy in 1939, both were killed by southerners, the arrested perpetrator in both cases killed before trial, both lost children while in the warehouse etc. I didn't get all of them, but he will be sending out the presentation.

Brother and author John (you can see which I think is most important - that he is related to me) probably knows, but Speaker Joe says that we had a native American vice president from 1929 to 1933, a Kiowa, lawyer and politician by profession. Found the picture on the Internet. He certainly doesn't look like the stereotype of an Indian.

The "secret president" was Edith Galt Bolling Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson, who was so sick during the last 18 months he was too sick to get out of bed. All communication was done through his wife. It was during this period of time that several significant pieces of legislation were signed, including the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote in 1920. Love this picture of her, also found on the Internet.

Part I of the Royal Caribbean Story narrated by Zack covered the early years of this cruise line. Edvard Stefon from Wisconsin had the idea and recruited investors from Norway who specified that the Viking Crown be incorporated into the insignia (also includes a seagull). First three ships were the Song of Norway, Nordic Prince, and Sun Viking. Later they decided that they needed to increase the ships capacity and that the lowest cost alternative was to expand them. They actually cut the ship in two and inserted a piece in-between. Amazing.

They started a Ship Shape program - you can earn shipshape dollars that can be spent on the ship by taking exercise classes! I somehow missed this altogether. Oh well, live and learn.

They also told us about CocoCay, their own private Caribbean island. Now I have two great reasons to cruise on RC again.

The hour long presentation ended in 1995/98 with RC's 15 ships. Zack promised that there would be a part II on the next cruise. Well, now I have 3 reasons to sign up for another cruise.

Above is the RC picture of Jewel of the Seas. Our friends, the McCuskers tell us that their son Gary worked for RC in IT and his last ship was Jewel of the Seas, pictured above. What a great job! Our sailing friends tell me that this ship had faster internet than the other RC ships they have been on, so congratulations Gary!

We were on the starboard side, aft, if I have that right, on the 8th floor. On this ship they also have a rock climbing wall which Terry had to be talked out of climbing, a Solarium for adults only with hot tub and pool open 24 hours a day, multiple night clubs, a theater, cinema, and specialty restaurants. Amazing ship and there are even newer more amazing ships. Love those Vikings!

The rest of the day was spent packing, packing, packing. Should have been easy, but it just never is, especially when I would rather have been doing other things, like going on the back stage tour with the dancers/singers, listening to a lecture on animals assisting humans, or even walking the ship and looking at the waves.

Sometime during the day we learned that a member of the crew needed medical assistance and would have to be evacuated. The ship detoured to Nova Scotia. A coast guard ship raced out to get him or her; we never knew which or exactly what was wrong. sign up for another cruise.

Of course we couldn't miss the final dinner or the final show, Tony Tillman, dynamic entertainer who whipped those old people into frenzy. Early in his career Sammy Davis Jr. befriended him. Tony's last song was Mr. Bojangles, one of my favorite songs. I liked it. Terry not so much, but then Terry probably remembers how Sammy did it. One of the benefits of not remembering much of anything is that every day is a brand new day.

Who says old age can't be fun? NOT ME!

Room 8668 Family Room Jewel of the Seas

This is the hall leading to Suite 8668, a two bedroom suite on Jewel of the Seas. 8668 is on the aft end of the ship and a LONG ways from most everything. There are only two stairwells, so we had to get to the center of the ship to go back to the eating areas, and all the way to the front for the Theater.

The concierge suite is on 10, two decks above us, at the center of the ship. The Theater two decks below, dining room four decks below, Windjamer 3 above. In some ways it was convenient, but if one had any trouble walking or climbing stairs, it might not be a good choice.

When you enter the room the first thing you will see is an empty shelf with a spotlight. The shelf should have some kind of ornamentation, like maybe flowers. When we arrived it did not, so it looked rather forlorn, especially considering the cost of the suite. Some flowers were sent as an apology for a mishap with our dining table, so we used it here.

. The smaller of the two bathrooms is located to the immediate right of the shelf.

The shower stall is on the left. Very small but adequate for one human being. I wouldn't say it is a big enough bathroom to support a second couple room with you. But it is handy as a second bathroom for guests or kids.

Turning the corner after the small entry way affords you this view of the living area of the suite. Lots of cupboard space, a main closet and smallish sofa and one lounge chair.

We turned the one lounge chair with footstool so that it looked at the tv and the small porthole with the curtain that invariably fell down every night. I'm not sure the porthole added much. It would have been better in the Master Bedroom, which has no exterior light at all. The coffee pot is to the side without access to a plug. If you want to make your own coffee (almost unheard of on a cruise) you will have to move it.

The sofa is big enough for two people, or maybe three very little people. All in all there is room for 3 people in the living area in a room that is supposed to hold 6 to 8 people. I guess you could include the two chairs at the small dining table. It still seems a little inadequate if you have a crowd, and if you don't it's just awkward.

The Master Bedroom - I liked the fact that both bedrooms, the master bath, and the living area had their own thermostats. Even with just the two of us, we tolerate different levels of cold depending... so it was handy. I found the bed comfortable, not luxurious. The small end tables, cupboards and desk were adequate for one person.

The desk, tv and closet in the Master Bedroom.

Master Bath tub and sink

Master Bath II. More than adequate for one or two people. Again if you are staying with other adults it would be difficult to fit all of their stuff in the tiny bathroom off the living room area.

The Second Bedroom. The beds can be separated into twins of course, and there are two beds that can be lowered from the ceiling for a bunk room effect. Maybe it's a good party suite. At any rate it made a very nice office for me. 2nd desk for my computer, closet for my clothes, drawers for clothes and shelves for drugs (prescription of course) and other miscellaneous items that come with being a girl.

The Balcony... along with the living area may have been the biggest disappointment at first. We expected a wrap around with a lot more space. There is a table, 3 chairs and a lounge chair but kindof crammed into a shallow balcony.

There IS a wrap around but you need to be somewhat of a contortionist to take advantage of it. We used it occassionally to see what we could see off the starboard ? side of the ship.

But still and all, there it is, the magnificent Atlantic. Our window to outdoors. A beautiful place to gaze at the moon and the stars, watch the sun rise, gaze in wonder at white caps as the waves tossed us around...the place where I first spyed Venus and Jupiter. By the end of the voyage I was liking our odd little suite. It really isn't all that little, and it has some real conveniences that we used to our advantage. I prefer the owners suite when it comes to looking at the sea. The 'penthouse' actually costs less. Terry is doing his own video commentary and I'll put a link to it here. It will be interesting to see what he has to say. He was a little upset when he first saw it, but I think it grew on him too.