home from Paradise

I was up in plenty of time to watch as the Paradise sailed back into port early this morning.

I met the sight with a tinge of sadness, as it meant the end of our cruise vacation.

I was glad I'd had the foresight to have breakfast waiting for me on the night table.

The paper towels had wicked away a lot of the oil from the cheese, making it just right for my start of day meal.

Usually, I would have had it chilled, but there wasn't enough room in the tiny fridge.

However, the water was cold! 

I was out of my room by 0745.

The schedule for the day called for us to wait in the Euphoria until our floor was called to disbark.

Instead, Christina called me about 8:20 AM.

They were already in line on Deck 5!

I was to join them there as they waited for Terry to give the girls one last hug.

Miyah even had a gift bag for her Auntie Terry!

And my first niece and I were again hair twins, sporting single braids down the back and swooped to the side this time. 

I'm so glad her ESP with me works!

So there we were, waiting, and suddenly Terry was there, surrounded by Miyah and Chloe!

Terry even had a gift for them: two free future cruises with Margaritaville At Sea!

She'll be on the ship until sometime in October and really hopes they will soon be back.

Wasn't that so sweet of her?

Then we had our papers checked, collected our luggage, and were off the ship.

Vacation was officially over. 

The trip back to Hinesville took almost nine hours.

That was about 2 1/2 hours longer than the drive down had been.

Part of the delay were the frequent bathroom stops, as the medication Christina is on for the weight-loss drug was cramping her style.

Part of the delay were the frequent stops for drinks, as the van was having the same loss of air conditioning as it had on the way to Palm Beach.

We took an hour-long stop for lunch at a very nice Dairy Queen, letting us all stretch out a bit and get rehydrated.

As I told Christina, I haven't been to DQ since her dad died.

That was four years ago.

My best memory is watching the Super Bowl with him.

Anthony took over the driving after that, so we stopped once and by that time I was about dehydrated in the heat of the van.

I drank one bottle at once, then half the other bottle before we left.

Between that stop in Woodbine and their turn-off to Hinesville, the rain began.

Hallelujah!

It was still raining, but lightly, when we pulled up to her house.

I helped take things into the house, then went back into the rain to move my suitcase and butterfly tote into my car.

Thanks, Michael, for the unicorn rubber duck!

So glad to be home, with my own bed tonight!

Paradise: day 4

"Whatcha got there?"

 

It's an origami parrot, and I made it!!! My first niece had joined me briefly at breakfast, as the rest of her group were still asleep. It was after 10 AM! I was dining with a Jamaican couple. Then she came up and they talked about being parents and teaching and her being a Pisces. Their teen daughter joined us, too. Then Christina left to wake the family, and I went down to the Euphoria to watch more of the Jimmy Buffett concert.

 

"Well, it looks like you had 'Arts & Crafts' today."

 

I did!!! Jason had already started showing some others how to make the folds. He backed up to show me and the others had a chance to repeat. I was the first to get the knack for the little legs!

 

"Joe Guy would have been pleased as punch with you!"

 

I know, right? I even showed the others how to hold the parrot so he looked like he was perched on your finger.

 

"And just where are y'all?"

 

The ship is docked at Freeport, Bahamas. I thought it was funny that the sand mounds looked like the snow-capped mountains in Marcia's pics of Alaska! That's where she was last week. 

 

"Ummm... is that a duck??"

 

It is! A Lady Liberty rubber duck! That's the first duck I've found on Paradise, and I only have the one Jesus. The girls have gotten quite a collection of ducks!

 

"Hahaha! I see that the room steward made you a duck, too!"

 

Mohamed said he was inspired by the ducks I had on my little nightstand. Isn't that sweet of him? I refer to this as "having my ducks in a row". Nice to have another inside joke!

 

"Yes, dear."

 

The tiny duck is one Chloe gave me, and the one wearing shades belongs to Anthony. Chloe had been playing with it nonstop at dinner last night, so I put it in my pocket. I gave it back to him tonight, and gave her the Jesus she found on the ship. It has a red sash.

 

Christina's quartet missed the origami session, as they were at breakfast. But when they all joined me for the onslaught of trivia games at the Euphoria Lounge, her hair was different! It was loose earlier, at coffee with me. Mine had been different, too, in just the one braid on top of my head. Now, with no coordination at all, we both had twin braids, down low!!! That's how Mama wore her hair, too, when I was growing up! 

 

"That's very cool! Y'all's telepathing link is still working! Hooray!"

 

Right? I had changed my hair when I put the green parrot in my cabin.

 

"I wondered when you got the pigtails. Now, talk to me about the trivia."

 

There were only the three, but they were right in a row! First was "Landmark Landshark Trivia" with Jason hosting. I got 15 out of 20; Christina had 17. Mohammed hosted the next two games. "Slogan Trivia" went pretty far back for some of it's 'mercial jingles, but I still managed to score 15 out of 21. I'll take that, gladly! She did better again, of course. The last game was "Guess The Young Celebrity Trivia", and I absolutely sucked at that! I think I had 5 correct out of 14. Yikes! She did better than me again, but neither of us won any of those. That's okay, we still had fun!

 

"And what did Miyah and Chloe do during that time?"

 

A woman with a bag of little ducks gave the bag to the girls, as well as the children in the family from Nicaragua, and asked that they hide them for her. The kids were only too glad to do so!!! LOL!!! That's how I got that teensy blue one.

  

"Great googly moogly! LOL!!!"

 

After all that, we bounced back to Deck 10 for lunch. I went to Frank & Lola's Pizzeria and had an entire Paradise Pepperoni pizza!!! So delicious!!! She got Cheeseburgers for her and the girls... and none of them liked them. They weren't "like Mom's" - hahahaha! Nothing wrong with the chocolate ice cream, though, and they each ate every bit of that! Then they went down to 4024 to change into swimsuits. I headed up to Deck 11, to the License To Chill pool, and snagged a table for us, then relaxed and grooved to the music of DJ Decibels as the "Sail Away Party" began. Ah!!!

 

There was just one snag... I never saw them come up.

Maybe I was too busy singing along with the music, or watching the tugboat that escorted out of the harbor...

or maybe it was because they exited the elevator on the other side of the ship than they usually did.

I waited for them for almost an hour, then I went back inside.

Emmanuel was strumming his guitar again in Euphoria, so I hung out there with him.

I knew they would eventually show up for dinner.

When the Philippine guitarist saw me, he played "Pretty Woman", again - nice of him to do that!

I sang along, of course!

And, sure enough, I caught my girl and her peeps when they showed up for Fins Dining!

However, it was already 7 PM and there was a dinner rush.

We were given a pager and then waited at least 30 minutes for a table. 

Then the maitre d' took us the long way around in the vast dining hall, with Christina speeding along pushing Anthony in the wheelchair as he was too slow with his hands on the wheels.

I could not keep up...

and the sun was setting...

and I didn't want to miss this final sunset on Paradise.

So I left.

I took the elevator to Deck 11, then walked past the pool to the open metal staircase that led to the 12th floor, with nothing but open, darkening, sky above me.

That's where I remained for the next thirty minutes, enjoying the music and the soft sea breeze and that lone star (upper left corner) as the sun kissed the world good night on its rouged cheek.

Yes, others were out there, too, but they were staying in the moment, as was I.

Bliss...

even though it meant I missed dinner.

Renewed in spirit, I knew it was time to head for the Stars On The Water Theatre to snag a table!

Mohammed, the emcee, had said to hit him up for a seat, so I did, getting a fourth row table in the reserved section.

Then Auntie Terry saw me and moved me up to the front row, right where we all sat that first night!

No extra charge to gaze up at Tevin the steel pan man and that scrim of parrots!

Just before the 9:30 PM show time, Christina and her merry band joined me, just in time for the "tourists" checking out the "fishing shack". 

LOL!!!

A fish go snagged and flew up past them, making us all laugh out loud!

What a fun way to start off "Caribbean Heat"!!! 

More music, more acobatics, more twirling on the Luna!

With all the music being played on stage, some of my favorite Bob Marley tunes got mixed in there, too.

I managed to catch the scrim for "Three Little Birds" before they flew off!!!

"Singing, don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing is gonna be all right, yes, don't worry, about a thing..."

I just love that song!!! 

Then the show was over... but not the fun!

 

Mohammed was there on camera duty, taking photos of folks with the cast after the last twirls had been done and the last notes were played.

Such patience he had!

He had to traipse over to the right to get the person's phone, go and get in the middle to live up the shot, then given them their phone back...

over and over and over!

Miyah and Chloe were the first to get their photos taken, then they went over to Auntie Terry and burst into tears while hugging her...

oh, poor dears!!!

She even had tears in her eyes!

But that wasn't the last time we saw her... oh, no!

Even though it was already after 10:30 PM, we headed over to the Euphoria.

 

That's because Cruise Director Terry was the emcee for the game show, "Lip Sync Or Swim" and we had been invited to come!

Christina even managed to grab us some chairs, as the former occupants were up there trying to win free margaritas... or a free cruise!

The game ended in a tie, with both men winning cruises - wow!

Then the girls went up to dance with Terry, and get one more hug, before going back to the cabin to pack and sleep.

Me?

I found out the pizza joint on Deck 10 was still open, so there I went!

It was too late to eat it tonight, but the two slices of Paradise Pepperoni would be perfect for a quiet breakfast tomorrow.

And when I returned to 4089, I still had time to pack my suitcase and sit it outside the door for pickup.

i thank you, God!

Paradise: day 1

"That looks like a cruise ship!"

So it does! That's because it's Paradise, one of the Margaritaville At Sea vessels, and it was our destination there at the Port of Palm Beach, Florida. That was my first view of it, from the jump seat in Christina's van. Anthony had driven us the seven hours down yesterday, to West Palm Beach, then she drove us to the port this morning for our noon-1 PM boarding time.

Here is my first niece, with me, waiting our turn outside the Port terminal. 

"And just where are you? I'm not seeing you in this photo. Is she talking to you?" 

Actually, she is! You can see my reflection in the window, over her left shoulder. That's him in front of her.

"LOL! Are they wearing matching shirts?!?"

You betcha! The girls have on matching outfits, too, though in muted peach tones. Really cute, too, as you'll see later.

That was us, about 11:30 AM. Two hours later, there she comes up the gangplank! You can see him trailing behind her with his dad's walker. 

"Why did it take that long for them to board?"

There was some snafu with their paperwork, so they called her back. I waited for about fifteen or twenty minutes for them to come. I tried to get the girls in the shot, but they moved too quickly! LOL!

The cabins weren't quite ready yet, so everyone was encouraged to go to Deck 10, mid-ship, to have lunch. They didn't have to tell us twice!

"Let me guess. You've got Jimmy Buffett's cheeseburger in Paradise!"

So close! It's actually without the American cheese, but with plenty of pickles. The dining area is called Cheeseburger In Paradise, of course. Great grilled burger!

They all chose other options in the High Tides Market to munch. With six areas there that are included in our ticket, there are so many choices, from pizza to deli sandwiches to international dishes! Plus, of course, ice cream.

"Did you remember to bring Lactaid pills?"

Oh, yeah!

"What's this map for?" 

It's on the wall of every stateroom, showing the ports we can visit. 

Our cruise is the 4-Night Bahamas Duo, as we'll have stops at Nassau and Freeport. My cabin is 4089, on the Coral Reef deck, and is Ocean view. I love it! I'm hoping to see stars outside the porthole very night!

"Oh, that will be lovely!!! But what's with the magnets from your fridge?"

They're for my cabin door, so I can easily find it in that long hallway. There's even a fb group for this cruise and they had nice hints like that one. Christina turned me on to that!

It was 5 PM before I had access to them, as I had to wait for my bag to be delivered. That was fine, as we had the "Sail Away Party" on Deck 11, mid-ship, by the License To Chill Pool, to keep us busy! That's the Fusion Groove band on the stage - they were awesome! Such a large repertoire they had! I even danced to The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights", as I just can't resist that song!!! I even had a woman come up to me after and tell me what a great dancer I was! That is still so nice to hear!

"Wow, good to hear that even with the hitch in your giddy-up you still got it, girl!"

Just a little bit. I knew to stay away from the line dances. Christina joined those, though, and even had the girls come and join her for the Conga line! And when they asked for folks for the "Strong Woman" contest during the party, she jumped to be in it!

She even won a free beer just for holding that stein out there during "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"! 

"And where were Miyah and Chloe during all this dancing and such?"

They were already in their swimsuits, so you know they were in the pool! Christina let them stay for an hour or so, until the party ended. Then they bounced down to Deck 4, Forward, to their cabin to change for dinner.

We went fancy, choosing Fins Dining. Can you believe they've never experienced white-tablecloth restaurants?

"I don't doubt it. Having children doesn't much allow that in the budget."

Hey, wanna hear something funny? We all read the title as "Fine Dining"! That gives us a little inside joke for this family vacation!

I chose Cuban crab cakes to start, then Jerk Chicken, with Key Lime Sponge Cake to finish. Let me just say this: that dessert is at the top of my list for next time! That's toasted marshmallow on its left - yum!

"Oh, that does sound totally delish!!! Tart and sweet, together! I wonder it willl be on the menu again?"

I certainly hope so. Oh, remember I said the girls were dressed in matching outfits? Well, there they are... and them being so cute snagged us front row seats at a reserved table! That's in the Stars On The Water Theatre, on Decks 8 & 9 Forward. We'd come early, hoping for good seats for the "Nassau Nights Variety Show". We couldn't have gotten any better than these! We had songs and dances and even aerial work on silks!!! Wow!!!

"Wow!! What a great ending for your first day!!!"

Magnificent, just magnificent!!! Sweet dreams for all tonight!

 

four meals out this week!

Monday was with my first niece and her man, right?

Tina Tuesday found me with Sandy, Marcia, and Kathy, having supper.

Nope, we were not at MSG!

That's supposed to be our Monday meetup, right?

We decided to skip that, but still wanted to have dinner together, so we met at Seasons of Japan.

Pricier than I'd expected, but it was definitely right place, right time!

This 2007 penny magically greeted me on the floor by the drink stand!

Thursday found me dining out again, this time with mi amiga, Carolyn.

We got together to see a movie first and ran into a snafu, yet again, but different this time.

The movie of interest was on its last screening, so there would not be a make-up date.

Trey made it right, and Tom gave us free cameo specials!

(See elsewhere about the great film!)

We dined at Longhorn, as she wanted their potato soup.

Fine by me!

Then, with me having missed last week's S&K Friday Fiesta, I wanted to be sure to catch it this time!

Smitty must have wanted to make sure, too.

He texted me the location and earlier time about 2 PM!

Spanky's at Mall Boulevarde was the designated spot, with 5 PM as the time.

That worked for me!

I wanted to try out their Spinach & Artichoke Dip as my meal... and I made sure to bring plenty of Lactaid, too.

It was pretty good, but I'm glad Jimmy gave me a slice of his Pepperoni Pizza and Tony gave me some of his Spuds!

No Robin at this gathering, but Addison was there with Sean again, so I made sure to properly introduce myself this time.

He won't be there next week, nor Addison.

How do I know?

Mary was getting a head count for Miyabi's, which is Smitty's choice for his 66th birthday dinner.

Fancy, fancy!!!

I'll need to be sure to set money aside for that.

Now, I'm using some Stella cash to see a musical!!!

Woohoo!!!

back to back bananas for me and stella!

For my last vacation in Georgetown with Stella, I'd been surprised to find the Banana Ball game on TV.

This time, I made sure to check their schedule!

That was a good call.

That meant I was prepared yesterday for the night game...

and I was prepared tonight for the second in that series of three!

 

Of course, I made sure to dine with my brothers last evening.

I wanted to talk with them about our Aunt Linda, who is in the hospital.

I am so grateful Smitty and Tony came with me for her Birthday Tea last year, spending quality time with her!

Nice for me to spend this quality time with family and friends at the S&K Friday Fiesta, too.

I jetted off about 7 PM, though, to make sure I got back to Stella before night fell... and before I missed too much of the game!

I arrived in time for the bottom of the 3rd inning in this game that pitted the Savannah Bananas against the Indianapolis Clowns in their home city of Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Great American Ball Park.

How very cool those aerial shots were, with the downtown surrounding that diamond of green!

The Bananas took the point for the first inning, the Clowns got the one for the second inning, and neither got a point for that 3rd one.

However, the Clowns, playing on the field they'd last been on 37 years ago, got a fire lit up by the crowd, taking the points for the next three innings!

That meant that at the bottom of the 7th, they led, 4 to 1.

Then Joe Gray, Jr. smacked a walk-off home run, bringing it to 5 to 1!

The Bananas managed to get the point for the 8th inning, but couldn't score again in the 9th, leaving the final at Clowns 5, Bananas 2.

Great game!

Tonight, here's the scene, with the same teams, same field, bottom of the 3rd inning.

Kyle Luigs was the starting pitcher for the Bananas and he had kept the Clowns from getting any runs.

That streak fell apart in the third, with the Clowns getting that point!

The Clowns also took the point in the 5th inning to tie the score 2 to 2.

Not to be outdone, the Bananas took the points for innings 6 and 7!

So exciting, with the thunder rumbling outside!

Their lead may have been aided by Hall of Famers for the Cincinnati Reds doing cameos on their team.

Both Adam Dunn and Aaron Harang played in those two innings!

But it wasn't time to count out the Clowns!

They got three runs in the 8th inning to take the point, bringing their score up to 3 against the Bananas' 4.

That's when they brought in Peanuts the Elephant to pitch in the 9th.

Although the fans loved it - as did I! - that may not have been the best for the team in this close game.

See, the Bananas had already scored three runs that inning.

However, Peanuts kept them from scoring any more, so that was good.

Sadly, the Clowns didn't score any runs that inning, so the Bananas took that game, 7 to 3.

There'll be a third game tomorrow, but I'll miss that.

Can you imagine?

The folks in that Ohio town are getting three Banana Ball games in a row!!!

Wow!

That means over 120,000 fans will have seen the games over this home stand.

That's amazing!!!

no friday fiesta, but slunch with hinesville peeps!

And it was a three-hour meal, at that!

Want three guesses where we were dining?

Seriously???

Hahahaha!

Yes, it was Cici's time for my first niece and her girls and her man... but she may soon forego this destination.

She was in town because she's been accepted into a study about a new formulation of a GLP-1 drug.

She's absolutely elated!!

There's no way to know if she's in the control group or one of three groups who will be getting different doses, but the odds are in her favor for getting the weight loss drug in one dose or another.

I do hope that works!

Meantime, she'll be making lots of extra moolah - like $9000 - for being enrolled in the study.

Maybe she should put that aside for keeping on the medication after the study ends in 96 weeks.

I'll have to remember to suggest that to her.

Meanwhile, I gotta jet over to Asbury Memorial!

The Battle Of The Bands concert has already started!!!

So glad I was surprised with so much time with Miyah and Chloe! 

birthday cake from the universe!!!

It's a real beauty, too, that's for sure.

As Marcia said, I've been dreaming of this dessert for quite some time.

It's called Milky Way Cake and it is some kind of scrumptious!

Far too rich to have on a regular basis, but it certainly was perfect tonight as I continued the celebration of bday68.

This outing for Music Bingo with Sandy and the J Crew was also a perfect ending to my birthday weekend!

Elissa was absent, but Marcia had two daughters (Amanda and Donna) and her 11-yo granddaughter (BatSheva), so that was perfect, too!

Russ was dropping music that I loved all evening, starting off with "Dad Rock Mix #1", like "Learn To Fly" by the Foo Fighters, which would have given me a bingo in that first game.

That was followed by "Bar Favourites Mix #7", which would have yielded me one of two bingos if "Heart Of Glass" by Blondie or "Like A Prayer" by Madonna had either one hit the air. 

He ended the night with "90's Party Anthems #1", giving us "Macarena" and "Ice Ice Baby" and "I Like To Move It" - lots to sing and move to!

Very nice!!!

What a wonderful way to start this month of my 68th year!

 

I had a wonderful ending to the month of May, too.

Last night, my youngest brother took me out for dinner!

Tony and Laura and I went out to Tubby's Tankhouse, as they know I love seafood - and they were right!

I ordered the Tuna Tacos and they were fabulous!

They should have called them "Ahi Tuna Tacos", as the sashimi-grade fish was perfectly prepared and beautiful.

Oh, yes! 

Even in the rain, dinner out with family is a good idea! 

 

Fortunately, the rain had held off for the S&K Friday Fiesta.

Smitty and Mary surprised me with dinner not at our usual haunt but at a seafood place: Driftaway Cafe in Sandfly.

Even with Tony and Laura absent for the Bloomingdale concert, we still had enough for the party table out back!

That's because Addison was there, with her new boyfriend, plus Becca, Robin, and all three of the regular Kamerons.

I changed up my menu, choosing the Jerk Salmon Spring Salad, as it's been a while since I went Caribbean... and I have a cruise coming up at the end of July with Christina and her family... so I had that taste in my mouth and on my mind!

Most excellent choice! 

What a fabulous way to spend the weekend!

Happy birthday to me!

(smile!) 

vacay in georgetown with birds and bananas!

Day 1, Friday

I checked in to Stella's Place about 3 PM.

I had been concerned about the light rain having an ill effect on the afternoon gathering, but it did not!

There's Susan, giving the Rhodesian Ridgeback some love.

She was also trying to distract her from some visitors in the canal.

Such a lovely little family, aren't they?

It's a pair of geese, with four goslings!

The quartet of little ones are so very young that they just have fluff instead of feathers. 

Coco got hold of one of them last week and carried it in her mouth, but didn't hurt it.

Glad I didn't witness that!

Stella and I stayed at the party on the patio with the neighbors for an hour.

That means she still had an hour until her 7 PM dinner bell would chime...

but I made it early for this first night.

It's a special recipe!

One scoop of dry food, four or so green beans, and a heaping tablespoon of pumpkin is what the doctor ordered!

That bit of fiber prevents her anal glands from needing to be expressed by the vet.

A little bit of fiber is good for all of us!

Just ask these two!

Miyah and Chloe both enjoy salad, especially the way it's made at the Olive Garden.

That's where I met them for dinner after their visit to Venita, who is still at Memorial Hospital.

I'm glad I still had a Friday Fiesta with family!

Thanks, Christina, for thinking of me, so we could share this late meal together.

Then I went back to Stella, and watched "50 First Dates" on Comedy Central.

Earlier, I'd watched the back end of "Night At The Museum at the Smithsonian" and the middle part of "Pulp Fiction" on Nickelodeon and FX, respectively.

I don't have access to any of those channels at home...

so this is definitely a vacation!

(smile!) 

Day 2, Saturday

So... today was rainy.

As I tried to explain to Stella, I still cannot stop the rain.

She really does not like to get wet.

Perhaps her breed's homeland of Rhodesia was a drier country before it became defunct in 1979?

All I know for sure is this: to get her to go out and pee, I had to resort to throwing dog treats into the yard.

Seriously.

Even when the precipitation was a mist, as it was in this photo in the late morning.

She was most unhappy about it.

She was even more unhappy when her play date with Coco - i.e., the party on the patio - was canceled due to rain.

She proceeded right then and there to pitch a barking and whining tantrum that any three-year-old child would envy.

Seriously.

Still, I was able to enjoy my vacation anyway!

The cable channels gave me "Up" and "The Bourne Ultimatum", then "50 First Dates" and "The Devil Wears Prada", all with no political 'mercials.

Hallelujah!

Then ESPN surprised me with a little baseball action!

Well, kinda sorta baseball, in the form of the Savannah Bananas taking on the Texas Tailgaters at Kyle Field.

That stadium seats 102,000 people... and it was sold-out!

It was also the largest crowd yet for Banana Ball.

And the home crowd was able to watch their Tailgaters win, too!!!

Good game out there on the diamond... and much more enjoyable to me as it didn't have all the shenanigans and noise in the stands.

(smile!)