busy day

Tuesday was a whirlwind. We slept late and drove to Clyde to buy strawberries. On the way Evelyn stopped to see the doctor because one of her prescriptions has not been renewed by the doctor in Texas. We will have to try again tomorrow. The same is true of the strawberries. We learned that the lady will not have any until after noon tomorrow. We drove back to Taco Bell, and I finally talked with the manager. They wanted to pay me $6.90 per hour, but I had told them last year that I wouldn’t work for less than $7.25. They checked with last year’s manager who said he had promised that. I start to work next Tuesday. I don’t know how long I will stay but I will start. We went to the Folkmoot center and volunteered to usher and distribute brochures in our area. We also paid $100 to go to the gala where the performers make their first performance. The dance troupes will be from Korea, Mexico, Russia, Jamaica, Sicily, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Macedonia, Peru, and Romania. It is always fun to see these dancers from all over the world. We came home for lunch and then went off to distribute the brochures. After that I went to deal with e-mail while Evelyn walked. When we came home, we found the house full of smoke. She had put something on the stove to cook for tonight’s potluck and forgot it. We think the pan may be ruined but will try to clean it. We don’t know how long it will take to clear the air. Evelyn continued preparing our dishes for tonight and then took a short rest. We had a great dinner and a good Bible study looking at the book of James. We came home and Steve came over to tell us he has a date with Kimberly Saturday night. They are both rather shy but wholesome kids. We hope they like each other. I watched some of the Pistons/Cavaliers playoff game and went to bed.

Monday was our 47th anniversary. We spent much of the morning in bed and then went to walk the lake. I also went to Taco Bell to see the manager who had taken the day off. The work crew was gracious enough to give me a chicken Quesada which we shared for lunch. We went out and washed the car. We just laid around after that. As we were preparing to leave for the cook out we had been invited to, I talked with Steve to see if he was interested in dating. His wife had walked out on him last August and no one knew if her had recovered from tha trauma yet. He said he was ready and was interested in meeting Kimberly. We went over to the neighbor’s to talk to Kathy about Kimberly. She was there and quite interested in meeting Steve. We went on to the barbecue featuring mostly people from our church. When we returned home, Steve came sauntering across the street, obviously interested in knowing what I had learned. I told him she was available next Friday and left the contact up to him. We went to bed early, thanking God for 47 years together.

The top picture is the one Evelyn bought Saturday night. They are both beautiful photographs put on canvas. Ours is of Lake Junaluska where we walk.


Saturday I was up and off to the Men’s breakfast at church. Evelyn took me and then went to walk the lake. We had a good breakfast and then had a very interesting discussion about food and food preparation. Unfortunately, there was no Bible study or discussion about God or Jesus. In fact, after the opening prayer, Jesus was never mentioned. I enjoyed the fellowship but will plan and execute some sort of study for next time. If that doesn’t fly, I won’t return. We came home and I prepared some hamburgers to cook on our grill. It was still early so I walked around and visited with the Rogers. I came home and cooked the burgers. We enjoyed them and have 5 left for future meals. We cleaned up the grill which was extremely greasy, and Evelyn cleaned the furniture on the front porch. We then rested for our night out. We dressed and went to the hotel to deal with the e-mail and then went to the block party downtown. It featured three bands and many shops open for shopping. We went to a art shop where we saw a panoramic photograph of Lake Junaluska put on canvas and bartered for a price. Evelyn did the negotiating and did a marvelous job. We got the piece originally priced $495 for $350 and will have the frame changed to more closely match our entertainment center. We want to hang the photograph on the wall above it. After dancing a couple of times in the street, we came home and had popcorn while watching “The Curse of the Lottery” and some of the NBA playoffs. Off to bed to sing praises to our God tomorrow at church. We are both in the choir.

Sunday we worshipped and sang in the choir. We were welcomed by most of the people who had missed us during the winter. We went to a brunch with some friends, the McElroys, at the Maggie Valley Country Club. We wanted to hear Forest Ramsberg play the grande piano but learned that his performance had been canceled. We had just seen him last night and expected him there. He wasn’t. Perhaps he was given a last minute call. We enjoyed the brunch but I was irritated that I was charged extra for coffee. The meal cost $16.95 each and could have included coffee. It is the small things that irritate customers. Everything else was great. We came home exhausted from the “activity” and rested during the afternoon. We watched some of the Indy 500 and the Cubs Dodgers game. We went for our daily walk at 7 PM and then went home to bed.

Ghost Town is back

We got up especially early and were walking by 7:30. We had to get home in time for Evelyn to get dressed for the LWML Bible study at 10. While she got ready I put the oil I had drained from the Saturn into the hatch so I could take it for recycling. I dropped her at the church and recycled it. I went to Wal-Mart to get my medicine and then went to talk to the new manager about my coming back to work. She was gone, but I learned that I would be making drinks instead of taking money at the drive through window. I think I can learn that but want to know what she will pay me. I went to the hotel to deal with e-mail. I returned, picked up Evelyn, and came home. I made myself a wrap because she had eaten at the Bible study. Women can’t seem to get together without having a meal together. We rested and then Evelyn went to get some hanging plants for our deck. We visited our neighbors and talked about our plants. We discovered we have a great crop of weeds. We came home and ate a delicious meal of tilapia. We took a walk around our community, and then I watched “National Treasure”, a movie I had recorded before we left on the cruise.

Again up early to walk. We readied ourselves and met Shirley at 10:30 for our trip to Ghost Town in the Sky. The chair lift was not working so we had to be transported up “the steepest road in Western North Carolina” by bus. The road is not only steep but filled with hair pin turns. Once our bus couldn’t make one and had to back up. There were few guard rails and the drops were shear. We were so happy to arrive safely at the top that we applauded and cheered. One woman even hugged the driver. We decided we would ride down in one of the vans that was also transporting. We found that only part of the park was finished. None of the rides were operating and there were only two restaurants open. One was so smokey that we couldn’t stand to eat in there. There were several shops open and there were gunfights in the streets every hour and a half. There were also two saloons that featured singing and bands. We stayed around 4 hours and took a van to the bottom. It was still early so we followed Shirley to their cabin for drinks and a slide show of the pictures I had taken at the park. We came home and had BLT sandwiches for dinner. We took a walk around our loop and up the mountain a short way to inspect the ditching being done by the water commission. We came back and watched another movie “Blue Skies” that I had recorded last February. It was a musical comedy and was very good. Bing, Fred Astair, and Joan Caufield

This is the beautiful leaded glass piece made for us by Tom Crouch in Texas.

Three days worth

We decided to go to Asheville today to do some shopping at Target. We drove Paul and Shirley, and they led us around town with the help of our GPS system. We bought some strawberries, cantaloupe and tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market and then went to Target. We still had over $100 left on our gift card from the purchase of our Saturn. We bought a step stool, a USB cable, and plastic runner for the chair in the office and a chopper among other small items. We then went downtown for some Chicago Hot Dogs. We came home and Evelyn napped while I went to the Terrace Hotel to use the Internet. I came back and she was cooking the dinner for Paul and Shirley and something for tomorrow evening’s potluck and Bible study. I chopped the tomatoes for the salsa and opened a large stack of mail forwarded from Texas. Casterline’s came for the pork roast Evelyn had made and then stayed to watch the pictures of our cruise. We received a blessing in an e-mail from Stacy. Some of the problems they had with school have been solved by the Lord. Praise His Name!

Tuesday was the first day of our summer regime: we walked around the lake. I went back to the site where our builder is working on some condominiums. We have a serious problem with the door on our deck sticking at the top. I hoped that she will send someone to look at it, but she wasn’t there and no one came today. I will have to call Evelyn’s friend who installed our screen door last year. When we finished walking, we came home and Evelyn rested. I went to get some oil and a filter and some gas before the price increases again. She was still sleeping so I heated some soup for our lunch and she joined me. After lunch, I changed to oil with a difficulty in loosening the oil plug. Evelyn washed the front porch. It was then time to ready ourselves for the potluck/Bible study at church. We enjoyed both and then came home to relax. We also talked with Janice from Texas and Bob from Washington. After watching some TV, we went to sleep.

I guess I spoke too soon. It was after 1 AM when I finally got to sleep. I had drunk some coffee that was supposed to be half regular and half decaffeinated. Whatever it was worked havoc on my sleep mechanism. We slept late and then had breakfast before walking around the lake. From there we went to Wal-Mart for a picture of us from our flash drive to send to our Compassion International foster child. We then went to Taco Bell to see if I could begin work in June. I learned that the manager has been promoted and I needed to talk with the new one. She was on the telephone and I tired of waiting for her to hang up. We went on into Waynesville to go to a jeweler to work on Evelyn’s watch and ring. She fixed the watch but we decided to see if the warranty would tighten the stone into the set. We then took some soaps to the Open Door and tried to schedule a time for us to volunteer. The director will e-mail a schedule to us. We will have to work Mondays or Fridays if I get my job back on T, W, T. We went to the grocery for more supplies and came home for a late lunch. We were both tired so we took a nap. We went to choir practice and took a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Crème to our choir director. We made friends with her and her husband this past summer. We came home and watched some of the Cubs game.

We almost lost a Thursday.

We didn’t get up until 8:30 and had breakfast at 9:30. All the while we thought we would be leaving around noon because we thought it was Friday. We both thought that and Stacy finally straightened us out. We went for a walk around the Roswell city park with their dog, Beethoven, and returned home for lunch. We ate out on the deck. This house has a beautiful setting in the trees and the deck was cool and lovely. Tom was able to work at home today and joined us for lunch. Afterward we took a nap. We wakened and Tom took us to Trader Joe’s to get some wine. I am not sure how we will get it from here to NC because the Saturn is still full. We will have to stuff the bottles in one by one tomorrow morning. We bought a few other things there and then went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. After that we went to an “exposition” presented by the students at the academy where the kids go to school. We came home and went to bed early again because Tom has to get up very early to go to work tomorrow.

a day at one daughter's

We arose earlier than usual to go to breakfast at the neighboring Waffle House. The motel sent us there instead of providing a continental breakfast. I thought that a smart business decision. We returned to the room, packed, and were on the road at the time we were arising yesterday. We went on through the remaining small part of Alabama and on to Atlanta. We always have close accident calls, but the Lord has been gracious to us on almost every trip. We arrived at noon and learned that Olivia will be a homebound student for the remainder of the year. She has to be brought home from school frequently. We has chicken for lunch and then Evelyn went along to the dentist. Stacy left them there and went to get Peter from school. He and I worked on some of my computer/camera problems until the others returned. Evelyn sewed an outfit for Olivia while we all watched “Cars” the movie. Tom returned home and we had fajitas for dinner. We had a short visit with Tom because we will be gone when he returns tomorrow. We exchanged gifts and then everyone went to bed.

Pictures of the outside of the Grand Hotel in Fairhope, AL.

Pictures of the interior of the Grand Hotel in Fairhope, AL.

The Alabama coast continues

Thursday found us sleeping quite late. The breakfast room was almost closed when we arrived at 9:30. They had a meager selection but did have cereal which is what Evelyn wants anyway. We were out of the motel by 10 and drove out to the edge of the Mobile Bay. We found an area that had either been spared or had been rebuilt. There were many homes for sale but did not look damaged as the properties in Gulfport. We came to the Grand Hotel and spent some time looking around at the beautiful setting. It was a temperate day and we enjoyed walking around the grounds. There was a nice white beach and a large area of two swimming pools. The interior of the hotel was rich with heavy oak. The shocking thing is that the storm surge from Katrina was more than 20 feet high, covering most of the second floor. We left there and went to a small convenience store to use their microwave to heat our leftovers from last night. We still had enough that we should have shared one of the dinners and saved the other. We couldn’t do that because we had no way to keep it cool. I bought a beer and Evelyn had diet Pepsi so we had bought something for the use of the facility. I opened my beer and began my lunch when the manager came and told me it was illegal to have an open container on the premises. She said I should cover it up so I wrapped the bottle in a plastic bottle and carefully drank it. We left there and drove back to Mobile. We had considered driving to Roswell for the night, but we would have arrived too late. We decided to seek a bed and breakfast in Opelika. We went there but could not get anyone to open it up. We just left and came to a motel that was only acceptable. We moved in and went to get some hair coloring. We got it and went to a Logan’s Roadhouse for dinner. We shared a meal even though I thought we had agreed to eat a light supper after such a heavy lunch. That didn’t seem to fly too well. Cest le Gere. We returned and Evelyn colored her hair. We watched the post Republican debate show.

This is the third and final Lambert's restaurant we have visited. This one is in Foley, Alabama.

These pictures show the devastation of the buildings in Gulfport. Things were worse looking than this last year but much of the debris has been removed.

Last of the blogging marathon

We still had more packing to do--after we unpacked. We had started last night because we were still on west coast time and didn’t get to sleep until after 2 AM. We also had a ton of laundry to do so we began it today. I had thought I would cut the grass today since the man I had hired to do it had not. I went to borrow the neighbor’s mower as I always do and found it gone. I guess they sold their house while we were gone and they had sold the mower to Juan, the man who was supposed to mow our lawn. I still wanted to get some of the trimming done so I cut the old fronds from the sega palms around the yard. Along came Juan who promised to mow next Monday. I also had to get our month’s worth of back mail and begin to go through it. We also began having gourmet meals from the freezer so we could clean it out. We fried the pound of crawfish tails we had brought from Lafayette last fall. We worked at these tasks all day and went to bed early.

Thursday Evelyn continued with the laundry and I began to pack the Saturn for travel. It was difficult remembering the things we wanted to take. We will leave some of the items in NC but I didn’t know how we would ever get all the things into it. Evelyn was able to get blood work done at Dr. McDougal’s and an appointment with the internist for tomorrow. It was hot during the day but cool in the evening. I had to put air in the tire of our golf cart so I had to get some advice from Tom Crouch as to how to get the sealant into the tire. He loaned me a tool that would unscrew the valve core. Then he and Diesta came down to visit for a couple of hours. We have a good time with them. He drank some wine which surprised me. I needed to finish a bottle of white wine and gladly joined him. I also put several items into the car but had many more to go. I also pulled the tomato and squash plants and put them out for the park workers to dispose of along with the palm fronds. Our neighbors had their grandsons come to help them load a U haul truck. We worked late and went to bed after 10.

I continued to load Friday and Evelyn finished the laundry. She also worked on closing the house up for the summer. She was able to get an appointment for a permanent in early afternoon and then keep her appointment with the internist. Her report was very good so she will stay on the medicine he has her on. I was finished with the car and we rested until time to go to Joe and Bonny’s for steak. We took them a great many things we could not take with us this year because we don’t have the motor home refrigerator to use. We did take some boudin to them for us to eat during the dinner. We had a nice dinner and visit with them. They think they will come to visit us in NC in July. That will be a busy month for us since Stacy’s family will be visiting several times during that month. We came home and went to bed.

We were up and working by 7. We finished the interior, turned off the water and electricity, and set off 4 insect bombs before we left. We were on the road by 8:50. We had a wonderful uneventful day driving through Houston and made it to Lafayette by 7:30. We checked into a motel and were off to Randol’s for dinner and dancing. We really were in the groove and danced very well. We did have some surprises while driving: gas was around $2.75 most of the time (cheaper than in the Valley) and averaged around 25 MPG. It was a bit frustrating when I could not get my computer to connect to the WiFi at the motel.

We made arrangements to check out of the motel a bit late so we slept late and went to church at 10:30. We had planned to go to Dwyer’s Cafe for lunch but were still full from the large breakfast provided by the motel. So we returned to change clothes and finish packing. We were on the road by 1:30 but were hungry by then. We drove to Breaux Bridge and went to Mulate’s for Mother’s Day lunch. We were surprised to find a live band playing Sunday afternoon. We were able to dance some more before eating our crawfish ettouffee. We left there and drove to Gulfport, MS. We found a Best Western by going to several motels and finding it. We decided to drive along the gulf and view some of the damage from Katrina a year and a half to go. It is humbling to see how this rich area was just wiped out by a storm. I was able to connect to the Internet this time and published many blog entries and pictures. I stayed up later than I should have with this important task.

We slept late and enjoyed the breakfast again. We drove through more damaged areas until we came to the bridge closed on highway 90. We turned north and drove into Alabama, stopping at the welcome center for brochures. We spent 45 minutes there talking with the helpful worker. We drove on to Dauphin Island, a place Evelyn always wanted to visit. I didn’t think it was worth the trip. We took the Fort Morgan ferry across to Fort Morgan. We drove up through Foley where we bought a travel pillow from an outlet mall. We also found a very nice room in a Regal Inn near Lambert’s where we had planned to have dinner. We had to stand in line as always and took a table with two other couples so we could be seated earlier. We both ordered dinners of which we could only eat half. We carried out food that we have no way of transporting in a cool environment tomorrow. The other couples were from Baton Rouge and we talked a great deal about our travels and time in Cajun country. We came home and watched the Cubs blow a game in the 9th.

This is Carrie's flower garden, featuring the "copper man" they made.



Mount Rainier is beatiful from the airplane.

These are chain saw sculptings made on trees broken off by wind storms in the small town of Fall City, WA




These are the Waters and Schroeders. Carrie is Evelyn's cousin and Bob is her husband. We are on the waterfront in Seattle.

Days with the Schroeders

May 3 we had to wait until 10:30 to disembark the ship in Vancouver. We asked at the port where people would come to pick us up and were sent to the parking garage. We took our luggage down there and waited for over an hour for Bob and Carrie to get us. Finally they called and had been waiting out on the street since before we disembarked. We were both disappointed in the predicament. We packed things into their trunk (we had 6 pieces of luggage plus theirs) and went to Stanley Park. The park had been devastated by a violent winter storm and some parts were still closed. We had lunch in a small but scenic restaurant. We then drove off to Whistler, the site of the 2008 winter Olympics. On the way we saw a black bear on a flat plain off the road. It was very big but was a considerable distance away. We stayed in a Best Western hotel in the center of the ski village. It was a beautiful village and the weather was very crisp. We had beer and pizza for dinner after walking all around the village. We went to bed early.

May 4 we had breakfast at McDonald’s and took a long drive north to Lillioot. We saw many beautiful mountain peaks covered with snow. We stopped and took many pictures. We had lunch at a Subway and then drove back to the states. We stopped in Edison, a small town in Washington, for dinner. Bob knew a couple that lived there. We shared delicious salmon. I fought sleep nearly all day. I was not quite as well as I had thought. We didn’t arrive at their house until 9:30 and were asleep by 10.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! We didn’t get up until 8:45. We had breakfast and went for a two mile walk. As we walked their dog flushed another young black bear that ran up the mountain we were walking beside. This is quite a thrill to have seen two bear on one trip. We went to a plant sale and came home for burritos for lunch. We visited their children and their families. We also went to a garage sale where I bought a boot jack and a long shoe horn. I have trouble getting my boots off in Texas. The evening we went to an local art show and had some Mexican food their for dinner. It was a nice community event. We came home and went to bed.

We got up and had wheat pancakes for breakfast. Evelyn and I dressed and went to a small Methodist church in Fall City. We were, as usual, blessed by our worship. We came home for lunch and then went to Carnation, WA, the place where Carnation milk was made for years. It was a lovely site but I forgot to take a picture of it. We came home and Bob cooked salmon on the barbecue. It was delicious. We had eaten that with them the first time we were visiting them in 1978. It was delicious again. We watched a DVD about our trip through the Canal. We were very disappointed in it. We had bought it on the cruise thinking it would have more of the history. We were again in bed by 9.

The 7th we were up early, had breakfast and went for a longer 4 mile walk. Carrie has always walked a great deal but now does it as therapy for recovery from her double knee replacement. We went from there to the waterfront for lunch. There is a famous fish and chips restaurant, Ivars, where we had fish and clams. Many people eat outside but the seagulls were too thick for us. We walked down the waterfront for a while and then went to a new outdoor sculpture park. We had planned to go to an arboretum but it was closed. We came home for our afternoon beer and dinner. Becky, their daughter, had printed off our boarding passes for tomorrow’s flight so we could get on first to get better seats. We packed our bags again and prepared for our flight tomorrow before going to bed.

We arose and put our luggage into the trunk. We didn’t have to be at the airport until 11 so we went for another walk on the way. They dropped us off and we ate the turkey sandwiches Evelyn had made this morning. She used the leftovers from last night’s turkey dinner. We got on the plane and tried to preserve the middle seat but the flight was too full. We had a nice young Christian man sit with us. We played cards most of the way to Phoenix, our first surprise stop. When the people staying in Phoenix deplaned, we were allowed to change seats. We moved to the first row for more leg room on the way to Houston. Both legs of the flight were fairly smooth, but the first leg was exciting in that we flew over Mt. Rainier and the Grand Canyon. We had a short layover in Houston and shared a Wendy’s hamburger before parting for Harlingen. Bonny picked us up and brought us back to our home in the RV park. We thank God for such a great trip.

The Waters bothers and their wives at cozy Giants park in San Fancisco.



Evelyn salivating at the Chocoholic Buffet.



I am performing "Welcome to My World" at the talent show.

Final days of the cruise

We landed in Cabo San Lucas on the 27th. The ship couldn’t go into a harbor to dock so we had to ride in one of the lifeboats to get to shore. We walked along the pier which was lined with excursions (mostly deep sea fishing) because the area is famous for sailfish. We walked with the couple we met from Sydney but lost them while shopping for tank tops. We got into the midst of something illegal because the shop owner began frantically hiding Hard Rock Cafe merchandise for some reason. We were in a sunken area and bought what we thought were 1 large and 3 small tank top shirts. I turned out they were all medium--too small for me and too large for the grandsons. They can grow into theirs. We came out of the sunken flea market to find police with rifles all over the street. Nothing ever happened but we didn’t tarry in the area. We went to an art gallery, turned to go in and saw the artist who painted our TV trays that we have in NC. I never thought much of the job he did but said nothing. It was a real shock to see him and learn he had moved his family there from Nuevo Progreso, the border town we visit frequently. We looked at some art but bought nothing. We went to a site to use the Internet and got some e-mail. We went back to the “tender” boat and returned to the ship. We lay in the sun for a while, changed clothes and had dinner with to gentlemen friends from Britain. They meet for a vacation once each year and never see each other the rest of the year. The entertainment tonight was a fantastic pianist who was also funny.

We had worship again this morning, had breakfast, and played cards a while. We had lunch and planned dinner with Frank and Lorraine Murphy from Perth. We took naps and met them and Brian and Gloria from Colorado for dinner. We were too early for the 9:15 show so we went for the Karaoke. The singers were so bad that I had to ask to sing “Sweet Caroline”, hoping the others would not perform again. Most people liked my song but the next act was one of the earlier ones who sang again anyway. They had a good time. We went to a show performed by members of the crew. There were some good acts. Afterward we went to the chocoholic buffet. Chocolate is served in every shape imaginable. I ate more carbs that night than on the entire 16 other days on the ship.

The 29th found us in Los Angeles. We were only scheduled for 7 hours there and Emily and family were skiing at Mammoth Lakes, so we had not scheduled an excursion. A good thing. Customs took nearly 3 hours to clear everyone and those who had planned excursions had little time to complete them. We did walk on the pier for a while and called my brother, Stan, to confirm our plans for tomorrow. We also called Emiluy and Stacy. We had an informal dinner and then went to see a comedian/musician. We went to bed early.

After breakfast Evelyn took a nap and I walked a mile on the deck. We docked in San Francisco at 2 PM and met Stan and Linda. They had their car but wanted to take us on a trolley tour of the wharf area. They had taken the tour a month earlier and had a great tour guide. We didn’t get a good one this time. We saw many sites and then drove back to Stan’s hotel. From their we took the city bus to the Giants’ baseball game. We had our dinner at the ball park. Stan had ordered tickets a week ago. It is cold on the ballpark so we wore heavy coats. When we returned to his hotel, we were the last ones off the bus. He then had to take us to the ship at 1 AM where we spent the night.

Happy May! We went to the dining room for breakfast for the first time on the cruise. I had two orders of eggs benedict that were a delicious change from the omelets I had been eating. We went back for naps and got up at 1. Evelyn watched a movie, “The Prestige” that I was not too interested in. I went to a lecture on Canada and then began packing. We went to dinner and a show, featuring a comedian, juggler and magician that ended with many representing the different serving departments on the ship. Things were winding down.

May 2 we worshipped again and I sang my song for the talent show. I wanted to share the message with our worshippers in case they couldn’t make the show tonight. We scheduled a cruise for next July in which we will try to take our three grandsons to Alaska. We may not be able to go but can cancel up to three months before the sailing date. We supposedly got a better price by booking on board. Evelyn bought another bracelet while I was at the dress rehearsal for the show tonight. We went to the final art auction and finished packing. I rested before the show. I was the first performer and was surprised at the large number of people who came to see the amateur talent on the ship. I was blessed with my performance and hope the audience was. I was second best at highest. A semi professional woman from Vancouver sang “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” very well. I wanted to emphasize the Christian flavor of my song, “Welcome to My World”. I asked that the audience imagine Jesus singing it to them. We went to the second show of the evening which was more professional, put our luggage into the hallway and went to bed.

Here is the man who sold us the expensive jewelry. They both look happy!


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Here we are in our new T-shirts traversing the Panama Canal.

Tht first few cruising days

April 16 Evelyn went to stretching and aerobics as she did almost every day on the cruise. I set the combination to the safe and met her at the omelet station (I was on a high protein/low carb diet). She had cereal as she did most mornings. We took some sea sick pills, had lunch, went to an art auction, plyed one free game of bingo and heard a lecture on the Caribbean. We had dinner in the dining room with a couple from England, Gerald and Margaret Haycock. There was a show after dinner every night. Tonight was from Mr. Producer. We were feeling woozy and went to bed.

The 17th we spent in Cozomel, Mexico. After breakfast we walked around the town looking for a tank top shirt for me. We found only one large that didn’t advertise Corona cerveza. We enjoyed the walk and returned to the ship for lunch and a nap. We went onto the deck and laid in a lounge chair in the sun. I went into the hot tub and talked with a couple from Germany. We went to dinner in the restaurant where we had to dress more formally. The entertainment was a group hypnosis act so we left and went to dance in the observation lounge. The cruise had an excellent brass band and we enjoyed dancing to their music throughout the cruise.

The 18th we had breakfast and bought a DVD about the cruise through th Canal. We went to a party for “Latitudes” members (people who had been on at least one cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line. We then went to lunch and took another nap before the lecture on the history of the Canal. Tonight was the captain’s reception offering champagne. We should had worn our dress clothes but we didn’t. We met the people we had eaten with the previous evening and were invited to join them again. Frank and Lorraine Murphy were from Perth, Australia. We were joined by two single ladies from Britain. There were many Brits on the cruise. We danced to a couple, Duo Royale, for a while and then went to a smaller theater to hear a black comedian that I talked with after his act. I learned that he had performed often at Snickers, a comedy club in Fort Wayne.

On the 19th I came down with a sinus infection that I think I caught in Cozomel. I went to the gift shop area and bought some Contac Cold and Flu for $10.75. When trapped on a ship one will make many purchases that he has to make. I went back and took a nap until lunch in the dining room We walked 3 ½ times around the ship’s deck that was to be a mile and then went back to the pool area to lie in the sun to have some heat on my lungs. We had only a light snack and then went to a variety show, Que Noche. There was a resident song and dance group that performed many times. They were very good but this show was poor. We were in bed by 9:30.

The 20th was the bid day in the Locks. We were up at 5 AM because the Jones’ had encouraged us to see the sunrise just before we entered the locks. It was quite an experience and took all day. We had a good vantage point but many late risers crowded in front of us. I had to tell one man to get out of my space. We got separated from each other and she walked on the treadmill while I wandered around the ship taking many pictures, some of which were keepers. We went to the library and played Rummikub that was provided by the cruise line. They also provided many other games and many decks of cards. They even gave them out to anyone who asked for them. We got four decks for our park. We then walked the ship a few times while we were in Gatun Lake and going through the final locks. We had dinner and went dancing again. It was dark before we were refueled and left the canal for our trip though the Pacific. We didn’t stay long because I was not feeling very well. We went back to the cabin and watched a movie.


It rained on the 21st although the seas remained calm. We discovered a worship service was held each morning at 9 and Sunday at 8. We had our usual breakfast and then attended a lecture on the Mayans and Aztecs. We had dinner with the lecturer and his wife at an earlier dinner. We had lunch and then went to the art auction. At each auction a painting is given away. The winning number was 871. We had 872 and 873. We talked with the winner and might buy it from her later in the voyage. We took a nap and decided to stop the sea sickness pills because we still felt very “loggy”. We decided to register for a score excursion in both Acupolco and Hualtco, Mexico. It was Latitudes night at the galleria and a real super salesman got hold of us and Evelyn bought $1050 worth of jewelry. I had told her I would not argue about spending money on this cruise so she bought a beautiful necklace. She makes jewelry look quite good. We went to dinner and then the show which was a comedian, David Naster. I don’t remember much about him but I think he was cleanish and funny.

22nd we worshipped in the large theater. I learned that the pastor is hired by NCL. I might apply sometime but don’t have much hope, not being ordained. Evelyn was beginning to come down with whatever I had so she went back to bed after worship while I wandered around the ship. I woke her at noon and we had lunch in the sandwich shop in the omelet location. It changes for different meals. We went to another art auction and she went back to bed. I went to a lecture on humor given by last night’s comedian. His theme was that laughter can be found in even the most serious situations and keeps EMS workers and others from falling apart on their jobs. He emphasized how healthful it is for us to laugh vigorously. There was another lecture on the history of Mexico before our dinner at the Pacific Heights restaurant. In addition to the free dining rooms, this restaurant was also free but required reservations. It featured “cooking light” items and was good also. There were 5 other specialty restaurants that charged for the meals, but we never went to any of those. The meals in the dining rooms were elegant enough for us. We played some cards and then Evelyn went back to bed. I went to the sports bar to watch a game, wanting to avoid keeping Evelyn awake. I met a law professor from Denmark and had an interesting conversation with him. He was consuming wine by himself and invited me to join him in a glass. I had a small portion because I was avoiding carbs. He spoke fairly good English but kept saying “boom, boom, boom” when struggling to find a word for expressing his thought. I saw him as a lonely alcoholic but saw him with his wife several times after that. He was always gracious and glad to see me so I know he was lonely the first time we met.

We stopped in Puerto Quetzal on the 23rd. No one seemed to know it was Shakespeare’s birthday. Evelyn was sicker so we didn’t do anything until after noon. We had not signed up for a trip to Antigua (which we were told was beautiful) but she was too sick to go anyway. We did take a shuttle bus to a small shopping center near the ship. We bought a tank top for me and looked for a dress for her. Nothing was right. We returned to the ship where she slept more. There was a drill and all the crew had to line up on shore. There were 934 serving us. Our camera batteries were dead so I missed the photo op. I must have left it turned on. I found a friend who had brought his battery charger and charged the batteries. We had dinner and talked with people at three tables. They were from Sydney, Australia, Vancouver, BC and Minneapolis, MN. We went to another comedy show that was only fairly funny and were in bed by 10.

24th found Evelyn up and exercising at 7 while I slept until 8:45. I was not as well as I thought I was. We took a morning nap and went off the Huatulco, Mexico where we bought 3 shorts and shirt sets for the Beeli kids and a dress for Evelyn. We also bought throat lozenges and diet Pepsi to take back on board. The ship served only diet Coke. We also took a catamaran boat around the bay and saw many of the beaches and rock formations. This is a big sailfish habitat and a contest is held in November each year. We had noon snacks on the ship, a nap and then dinner. The entertainment was an original show by the dance troupe.

I got up on the 25th and weighed in. I had lost 8 pounds by staying on the high protein diet. I had only tasted desserts a couple of times. We met with a couple that worshipped with us each day at sea named Ray and Priscilla. He was part native American and had an extensive ministry to natives of many countries. They had been to Acapulco before and we rented a cab with them to go around town. We went shopping at a market and bought another dress. We went to see the young men dive off a 100+ foot cliff into the bay. It was thrilling. They even had to climb up the sheer cliff in order to dive. We were still looking for medicine and went finally to a Wal-Mart to get some. We were back at the ship in time for lunch. The taxi driver had agreed to take us around for $20 but wanted $60 when we left him. We gave him $30. He did drive us quite a ways over town but we felt robbed by his request. We had lunch and a nap. We got to see part of a folk dance troupe that had come on board to perform and I talked with the director about Folkmoot USA. We went back on shore and bought some nail polish for the girls and received a free bag that changes colors in the sunlight. I put it down on the outside deck and we left it for no more than a minute and a half. It had been taken during that time. I had hoped that it would be turned in as lost but it didn’t happen. I was really angry. We had dinner at the buffet and then saw a comedian/juggler who was very funny. We plaid a game of Yahtzee and went to bed.

We had worship today because we were at sea. Afterward I inquired as to whether our bag had been turned in. It hadn’t but somehow one of the receptionists gave us one nearly like it and two bottles of nail polish. We were blessed. This was the day to sign up for the talent show and I did. I had to search for the lyrics to “Welcome to My World” and found them on one of the discs for the Karaoke shows. One of the staff copied them for me. We went to the beginning waltz class but found it too elementary. We had lunch and I attended to audition. I did the act for the band leader and then left. I walked a mile around the deck and then napped with Evelyn while a movie played. We had dinner in the dining room.

Panama Canal trip

This our ship, the Norweigen Sun parked in Cozomel harbor and going through the locks in Panama.

The next few entries will be interspersed with some accounts of our cruise through the Panama Canal beginning on April 14.
April 14 we flew to Houston and then to New Orleans. Tom and LuAnn Jones took us to the Harlingen airport. We arrived in N.O. Around 4 and went to our rooms at the Ambassador Hotel near the French Quarter. We took a taxi and were charged with $26 for the ride and an additional charge for the luggage. What a joke. We were blessed in that there was a French Quarter Festival occurring when we were there. There was music all over and we had a muffelato sandwich for dinner. It was nostalgia. We mistakenly walked down Bourbon Street and saw some of the debauchery on display. Hustler had at least three strip clubs within two blocks. We were inadvertently ripped off by the Hare Krishnas when a woman got some money from us pretending to give us a cap. We were in bed by 10 ready for church tomorrow.

April 15 we walked to the St. Louis Cathedral for Mass. The service was a blessing and we went to the Cafe DuMonde for begnies for breakfast. We packed our things and took a taxi to the ship. On the way to check in, I remembered that I had left the camera on the bed. I was not willing to go on this trip without it, so I jogged and walked back to the hotel to get it. The hotel was closer than I thought and I would not have needed to jog. I really hurt my injured leg that bothered me throughout the cruise. We had a barbecue welcome party and an entertaining show that featured many of the acts that would be available throughout the cruise. There was a free raffle for jewelry which we didn’t win. We went to bed after eating at the outdoor cafe. We sailed around 5 and were still not out of the Mississippi River by dark. The Gulf is farther from New Orleans than we ever imagined.