Making Up for Lost Time Part 2

Following our short Danube River Cruise, we flew from Vienna to Rome where our next adventure began. We have been to Rome before, so having just part of a day to do some exploring was fine with us. Rome was packed, hot and dirty so no extra time was needed for me.

Regent Mariner

On August 14th we took a cab from our hotel to the port to board the Regent SS Mariner, a 700 passenger ship. We have always cruised on the 3,000-4,000 passenger ships in the past, so this was a different experience. It was nice to have fewer people on board, yet we still had access to multiple restaurants, a swimming pool, evening shows and a casino (which is not our thing, and we never stepped foot in it.) The Regent offers free alcohol all the time (unlike the river cruises which give you wine and beer options only at lunch and dinner), free (for the most part) excursions, free laundry service, and no up charge for any of the restaurants.

While the Mariner is one of the older ships in the Regent line, it was still very nice. Our stateroom was spacious and had everything we needed. Service onboard was good for the most part, and the food was plentiful and tasty. A bonus is that the ship had a pickleball court on it!

stateroom

We met up with our long-time friends on the ship. We have traveled with them extensively, including the trip to South Africa earlier this year. It's so great to experience new places with people you can truly relax around because you know each other so well. Being able to see them twice in one year was a real treat!

Salerno, Italy

First port of call was Salerno, Italy. For our excursion we choose to visit the historic Herculaneum archeological site. While it was quite a drive via bus to get there, it was amazing to see the ruins of a town that was built in 1243 BC. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD buried the town in ash, and it wasn't until the 1700s that the town was rediscovered. 

Herculaneum

Messina, Italy

Our second stop was Messina on the island of Sicily. We took a bus to Taormina, a hilltop town on the east coast of Sicily. It sits near Mount Etna, an active volcano. It is known for Teatro Antico di Taormina, an ancient Greco-­Roman theater still used today.

Taormina

August 17th was our one and only day at sea, and we welcomed the opportunity to relax for the day as the excursions had kept us on the go. Friday we came into Santorini, Greece. We opted for one of the paid tours, which involved a 7 1/2 hour day that included a stop for lunch and wine tasting at a local winery. We visited the archeological site at Akrotiri village, which can be traced back to 4,000 BC, and then toured the village of Pyrgos before stopping at the Aroma Avlis Winery. The afternoon ended with a walk through the village of Oia, one of the most beautiful stops on the whole trip.

Santorini, Greece

Ephesus, Turkey

August 19th was our 45th wedding anniversary. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined we would spend it in Turkey. We docked in Ephesus, which is a city in Turkey's Central Aegean region. Here we toured the Ancient Ephesus Archeological site, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While Oia was my favorite beautiful spot, the archeological site in Ephesus was my favorite historical spot. Ephesus was founded about 10th century BC. The ruins are beyond fascinating.

Ephesus ruins

Gythion, Greece

The next day our stop was Gythion, Greece. My stomach was not too happy following a breakfast that included some questionable fruit, so I remained on the ship while the others did their tour of Mystras. I spent some time on a lounger under the shade as well as my first and only foray into the pool. I essentially had the area to myself, so that was kind of nice following all the crowds we had been in on the excursions. 

Corfu, Greece

Fortunately I felt better the next day for our port of call at Corfu, where we did a walking tour of the town. Corfu is an island off Greece’s northwest coast in the Ionian Sea. While the area is beautiful, it was incredibly crowded and our bus had a terrible time trying to navigate the narrow roads.

Corfu

Tuesday we arrived at Dubrovnik, Croatia. We had a wonderful guide who told us the story of the town. We began with a cable car ride up to Mount Srd, where we visited the War of Independence Museum. After the cable car took us back down we toured the old town of Dubrovnik, which is also a World Heritage Site.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Our cruise ended in Venice, where we spent the last night on the ship in port. This is not necessarily a good thing as the the location is in an industrial area and adjacent to a camping or perhaps trailer park.  We did have an excursion here, and we elected to go to Murano and Burano. We have been to Venice before, and were spending a couple extra days there, so we did not need a tour of Venice. 

At Burano we visited a shop where they make lace by hand, which was very interesting. The colorful shops and houses make Burano a fun stop on the tour. On Murano we visited a glass blowing factory for a demonstration. It was so incredibly hot that I ended up going outside for some relief.

Burano & Murano

We spent an extra two days in Venice with our friends before flying from Rome to London before catching our flight to Charlotte. This was an incredible three-week adventure, and I'm glad we got to experience two additional ways to travel by ship. It was fantastic to do carryon luggage only, and that's what we will do in the future whenever possible. My big takeaway was to not travel to Europe in August. It was hot and crowded, and that took away from the experience for sure.

Venice

Happy Anniversary Baby

wedding anniversary

Friday was our 44th wedding anniversary. It's hard to wrap my head around that. We met at Iowa State University when we were 18 years old, and started dating a few months later. We married shortly after graduation, and relocated to St. Louis where Jim had secured a job. In St. Louis we completed master's degrees, raised a family and built a good life.

When we retired to the Charlotte area nearly three years ago, we didn't know anyone or much about the area. It was a huge leap of faith to come here, and only a strong marriage could survive the stress and upheaval of the massive move. During one of our three years here we buried both Jim's mom and dad, and my beloved sister. Having someone to share the grieving process with made all the difference in the world in how we coped with the huge losses.

The support network within our new community is phenomenal as well. Because we are in a 55+ community, we have experienced many deaths already. But I think most of us moved here in the hopes that the community will wrap us in a loving embrace when we experience a severe health issue or death in our family. That has certainly proven to be true so far. I am confident that when something happens to me or Jim, our neighbors will rally around the survivor. And the community will share in the grieving process.

Getting back to our anniversary, we didn't do a lot to celebrate this year, save for going out for a meal at one of our favorite restaurants. It offers waterside dining, so we always know we can sit outside. But as next year will be the 45th anniversary, we are already thinking of something big to do in honor of that occasion. We are both eager to cruise again, but there are still so many people getting Covid on the ships that it just doesn't seem worth the risk yet. Maybe by next summer it will be more under control. Who can say?

2nd Covidversary

Well, I certainly never anticipated when I wrote the post "Covidversary" last August that we would still be talking about this a year later. Despite the availability of vaccines the U.S., and indeed the world, are still crippled by Covid-19. Counties and cities here are backpedalling, and mask mandates are going back in place. Suggestions that we will all need a third shot 8 months following our other two vaccines are being made. In fact a friend of mine in St. Louis has already received hers because her immune system is compromised.

Today is our 43rd wedding anniversary. Unlike last year we are not going to a restaurant for dinner because things are very up in the air right now. The county we live in and the one we shop/dine in do not require masks, so we do not feel safe eating inside a restaurant right now. Instead Jim is grilling steaks and we will enjoy a nice, safe dinner at home. Maybe once the masks go back in place and tables are again separated in restaurants we will dine inside again, but we are not there yet.

So far our community has been silent on the growing numbers of covid cases, including the breakthrough ones where fully vaccinated people are getting the virus. I am wearing a mask whenever I go into any of the buildings here if others are also inside. I don't care what anyone thinks about it. I'd rather err on the side of caution. I've managed to go 17 months without getting covid, and I'd like to keep it that way. I know the shots will keep me from getting so sick that I need to be hospitalized, but who wants to catch it in the first place? No one knows what the long-term consequences of the virus will be on our internal organs.

So where do things stand today? North Carolina has had 1.13 million cases and 13,969 deaths. In the United States there have been 37.3 million cases and 624,000 deaths. Worldwide there have been 209 million cases and 4.4 million deaths.

While it can be easy to get discouraged in light of what's going on, at the end of the day I can only do my part to make things better. I'll still wear a mask, maintain social distance, and wash my hands often. And be grateful that I live where I do, because waking up to this in the morning certainly helps ease the frustration I have that others have not and are not doing their part.

Mountain Island Lake

Covidversary

anniversary flowers

How do you celebrate a wedding anniversary during a pandemic? Our 42nd wedding anniversary was August 19th. We had decided we were going to go away for a few days someplace within easy driving distance of where we live. I found a really great place where we would have our own cabin with a full kitchen, but it was full for the time period we wanted. That rather surprised me, but whatever. Reservations were available next month, so that is when we will go.

In the meantime, we discussed whether or not we felt comfortable going to a nice restaurant for indoor dining. The place we elected to go does not open until 5:00, so we figured if we made a 5:00 reservation on a Wednesday night, the place should not be crowded. We arrived at Chillfire Grill a few minutes before 5:00, and the sign on the door indicated we needed to have a mask on to enter. That was a GOOD sign. We wore the masks to our table, and all of the wait staff and bartenders were also masked. We were seated at a table far away from the bar, and in fact there were few diners at that time though there were people at the bar.

We had a wonderful meal, and felt very safe being in the restaurant that night. It was so nice to feel a bit normal, if only for one evening.     

anniversary dinner

                                                                                                                                          My anniversary morning began with beautiful flowers and the gorgeous sunrise pictured below. I'm grateful for another year with the man I chose to love, honor and cherish 42 years ago. During this tough time of Covid-19, it helps me to keep my perspective on what is really important in life.

Mountain Island Lake sunrise

Total Eclipse of My Heart

Living in an area that would be experiencing a total solar eclipse on August 21, for the past few months the news and my Facebook feed were filled with stories and information about the first total solar eclipse to hit the continental U.S. in 38 years. For those of us in the greater St. Louis area, the last total eclipse was in 1442! So it was kind of a big deal, to say the least.

But before experiencing the eclipse, Jim and I celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary on the 19th. Our friends, Kathy and Paul, traveled to the area from Minnesota for the eclipse and spent the weekend with us before heading off to a relative's lake home in Illinois. It was special for us that they were here on Saturday as they sang at our wedding all those years ago. In addition to visiting, we explored the new green space downtown as well as the beauty of the Missouri Botanical Garden. It was a great weekend!

wedding anniversary

For the eclipse we were invited to a friend's lake house located about 45 minutes away. There were reports of how horrific traffic would be following the eclipse, and that coupled with the fact that I wanted to be able to play with my cameras during the event cemented my decision to stay home. While our house would only experience 1 minute and 16 seconds of totality as opposed to the 2 minutes the lake house would get, other factors weighed in on the decision to have a friend over and do things my way.

Mirassou Moscato

I had taken a class at a local photography class on how to photograph the eclipse, but I decided not to invest $110 on a solar filter that I would only use once. That being the case, the only safe time for me to take a photo of the eclipse was during totality. That was fine - I just wanted to experience the solar eclipse and not be viewing it through a camera lens.

I chilled a bottle of Moscato for "toastality", and Diane and I enjoyed a nice lunch inside before sitting on my front porch to enjoy the show. While it was hot out, a couple of fans cooled us between the times we ventured out of the shade to safely view the moon's progress through our eclipse glasses. As totality drew near, I set up a small video recorder, not directed at the sun, to record the changes in light and sound. Unfortunately a neighbor's dusk to dawn lights came on and messed up my light sensor, so that was a bust. Looking down at the ground, the appearance of moon crescents through the leaves of the trees was fascinating to see.

moon shadows

total solar eclipse

During totality the temperature dropped about 5 degrees, the birds silenced and the cicadas started chirping. Removing my glasses, I took a quick shot of the moon. I have no idea why my moon picture is white as all the others I have seen are black with a white ring. I would say that I blew the photo out, yet it is curious that you can see a couple of craters on the moon. It's a unique shot, at any rate.

For all the hype surrounding this eclipse, I can honestly say that it was totality worth it!

Celebrating 65 Years of Marriage

Jim and I went to Charles City, Iowa for a wedding anniversary over the weekend, but first we attended the latest Women in Focus photography exhibit. Held at Third Degree Glass Factory, the opening coincided with their Third Fridays monthly event. Every third Friday of each month, Third Degree offers glassblowing demonstrations, food from local caterers or food trucks, live music, and a new exhibition in their east gallery. That is where the Women in Focus show entitled "Passion" is being displayed for a month.

Third Degree Glass Factory

The event opens at 6:00, and Jim and I arrived a little before that to find the parking lot already full and about 30 people waiting in line to get in. We were amazed! Having never attended Third Fridays before, we had no idea what to expect. The evening was quite fun, and the photos on display by our group are excellent and thought-provoking, as always.

Saturday morning we got up early to head up to Charles City where we had a big surprise in store for my husband's parents. They knew that the two of us were coming up to help them celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary, which happened to be February 18th. But they had no idea that our son and daughter-in-law were flying in from Washington, DC., or that our daughter would also be flying in from Los Angeles. These plans had been in the works since Thanksgiving, when the kids were able to arrange their flights into Minneapolis on the 18th arriving pretty close to the same time. They wanted to be able to rent one car and drive to Charles City together. With the flights settled, we only had to worry about the weather.

wedding day

When my in-laws were married, a snow storm kept some guests from being able to attend the wedding and reception. When the time came to plan their 50th anniversary party, they decided to have the celebration in April to avoid the possibility of snow. But guess what? It snowed that weekend in April. You just can't fool mother nature!

The weather gods were kind this time, and we had unseasonably warm weather. It was sunny and warm (for northern Iowa) on both Saturday and Sunday. We were even able to take some photos outdoors in the park on Sunday afternoon following Mass and a small dinner party at the local Chinese restaurant. Thank goodness for tripods and the timer on my camera.

family photos

All of us were able to stay in town until a little after noon on Tuesday, so there was plenty of time to catch up, play cards, puzzles and other games, and of course eat some amazing food. Our children rarely get the opportunity to see their grandparents as everyone lives so far away, so I am beyond grateful that things worked out for us to share this time together.

I have been fortunate to have Jerry and Lorraine Wolterman in my life for over 40 years. They are a constant source of inspiration to me, and have set a loving example of what marriage should look like to all who know them. There is no "in-law" after father and mother in either my mind or my heart with them. They raised Jim to be the man that I fell in love with, and I know that our own marriage is stronger for the example that they have set for both of us.

Kirby Update

Kirby August 16

It's been over two weeks since Kirby had surgery to remove his tumors. Until the diagnosis of cancer, it was intended that his stitches would be removed on the 18th. Because of the type of cancer he has, the vet wanted to leave the stitches in for an additional week, so they will be removed on the 25th. Dr. M. said we could try taking the cone off to see how Kirby would do, and we removed it after dinner on the 18th. He was such a happy boy! He could finally rub his ears, and get around without running into things.

Unfortunately, it also meant he could get to the two incisions. He went and hid behind a chair and licked them until they were all red and swollen. Man, he is so much like a toddler sometimes. So the cone went back on, and it will remain in place until the vet removes it on Thursday.

Other than that, he is doing quite well. We are taking two walks a day, and could probably add back in his third now that the weather has cooled a bit. He is done with his antibiotics and his pain pills, so that just leaves giving him Benadryl. I think he will have to take those the rest of his life, but I will ask the vet about it on Thursday. His appetite is pretty much back to normal. I'm thinking that his post-surgical medications probably acted as an appetite suppressant. All in all, things are okay for now.

We celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary Friday night at Annie Gunn's with Jim's business partner and his wife. They were also celebrating special birthdays, so it was a big night. We we seated in one of their special booths that has a sliding door for privacy, and they brought us each a complimentary shot glass of sparkling moscato. It was very good. Then after dinner they gave us two pieces of warm apple pie ala mode to share, complete with a candle in them. How nice was that? The best part is that both couples had gift cards, so the entire deal only cost us $10 out of pocket. Nice!

Sunday was so gorgeous that Jim went for a motorcycle ride, and I headed off to the Missouri Botanical Garden with a friend. It was such a treat to have a day in August that began in the low sixties with even lower humidity. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day.

Missouri Botanical Garden August 21

Loss of Limb

I just can't make this stuff up. Tuesday afternoon a storm blew in, complete with high winds and heavy rain. I heard a thunking noise outside the house and immediately knew what had happened. After all, I have already had two trees fall down within three months so far this year. The sound had come from the back yard, so I cautiously peeked out the bedroom window. A large oak limb had broken off of one of our trees, smashing onto the patio. I offered up a thankful prayer that this time only our property had been damaged. Or so I thought. Once the rain let up, I threw on a raincoat and took my camera outside to survey the damage. Crap! The limb caught part of the neighbor's fence in addition to busting some of our stuff. This would be the same neighbor whose car was totaled when one of our trees fell on it Good Friday. He and his wife were out of town all week taking their oldest child off to her freshman year of college. We have not had a chance to discuss the latest calamity yet.

We had a bid for the tree removal on Friday (the earliest they could come out due to all the storm damage), and today all the debris was removed. One of the table umbrellas was busted up, as well as the slats on one of the wooden chairs, but remarkably that was all the damage that was done to our property. The painters (who are still here, by the way) had a stack of ladders on the patio, and one of their ladders was bent. It may be repairable, I don't know. The ladders probably saved our actual patio surface from being damaged by the limb. One section of the neighbor's fence will need to be replaced as far as I can tell. We continue to endear ourselves in the neighborhood, one tree at a time.

The tree professionals said that the drought we had in recent years caused the trees and their limbs to weaken. When we have a wet spring like we did this year, the trees produce an excessive amount of leaves so in a heavy storm the limbs (or entire tree) just give out. That certainly makes sense. This latest tree incident is complicated by the fact that honey bees are living in the tree. They are protected, so the tree cannot just be arbitrarily removed. The hive has to be saved first. We are having an independent arborist come and look at the tree to see if it can be saved, or if there is other damage that might cause further problems for us - and the neighbor.

In other news, we celebrated our 37th anniversary Wednesday by playing pickleball. We decided we wanted to do that since we had to miss Sunday night as we were out of town. We have been playing every Sunday and Wednesday. We went out to dinner Thursday night instead. Webster Groves has a new restaurant called the Sushi Station. While I am not too keen on sushi, I knew they had other things on the menu I would like. I tried the Chicken Teriyaki and Jim had the Salmon Teriyaki. They were both excellent! It was an added bonus that we each only ate half of our meals, so we had leftovers for lunch the next day. We definitely will go back and try some other things. If we have any money left after paying the painters and tree company. Ha!

Happy Anniversary

our wedding day

Yesterday was our 35th wedding anniversary. Wow! That just seems amazing to me. We got married in Des Moines in a church with no air conditioning - always a gamble in the heat of August. On the night before our wedding the hot and humid day ended with a burst of thunder and lightning, accompanied by heavy rains. Many times that results in more uncomfortable weather the next day. But our wedding day was perfect. The blue sky contained white, puffy clouds and the temperature was in the 70's. Though Jim's tuxedo doesn't seem so now, it was quite fashionable for the day. I made my wedding dress, and my mom crocheted the lace on it. With the people we cared about the most gathered around us, we professed our love and vowed to stay together in good times and in bad. The vows were ones we took very seriously, but I can honestly say the good times have far outweighed the bad. I am eager to see what comes next for us as a couple.

Prairie View Bed & Breakfast

Over the past weekend we drove up to the Lake Panorama area in Iowa to celebrate my father-in-law's 85th birthday. Some friends of the family own a condo on the lake, so the folks and Jim's sister stayed there. We stayed at a bed & breakfast outside of the town of Panora. The B & B was very nice and we enjoyed talking with the owners as well as the other guests who were staying there. Three women were sharing the large suite across the hall from us. They have been friends for 47 years and they try to get together once a month.

sunset on the lake

At the lake we were able to take boat rides, and Jim and I took a jet ski out Saturday afternoon. I was driving because I have control issues. Which is why you will never see me behind Jim on his motorcycle! We had been out about 15 minutes when I got pulled over by the water patrol. I have never even been pulled over by a cop before, so I was stunned. I had only been going 18-20 miles per hour as we like looking at the houses along the shore, so I knew I wasn't speeding. I had been coming around a bend and was watching out for the two speed boats heading my way pulling water skiers. Apparently that is when I went outside the buoy instead of on the inside of it. and just my luck, the water patrol was sitting right there. So he asked me to pull up to his boat, which I was afraid of hitting because it is hard to steer a jet ski on choppy waters when you aren't giving it any gas. Then he made polite chit-chat about how nice the day was (and it was beautiful - or had been) before asking if we owned the jet ski. We told him it was our friends, and he then wanted to know if we were new to jet skiing. I admitted that I was, so he went on to explain that I had missed the buoy, and why that was important. Then he told me it was a $50 fine. Whoa! But he added that he wasn't going to ticket me and just suggested that we might like to stay in the wide open area by the marina where they don't have any buoys. But he did write down the jet ski number so I knew I was going to have to 'fess up when we got back. When the owner asked if we had enjoyed our ride, I said it was all fun and games until the point when I was pulled over by the water patrol. Her mouth dropped open. I told her I didn't get a ticket, just a warning, and explained what had happened. Then everyone had a good laugh about it. I had a fuzzy navel instead.

The weekend passed quickly. We had lots to eat and got caught up on what everyone has been up to since we were last together. We got a few card games in as well. We did not leave Iowa until 4:00 Sunday afternoon, which got us back home at 11:00 p.m. With all the great food over the weekend and the fact that we were so tired, we decided not to go out to eat last night for our anniversary. Instead I made a nice roast and some lemon bars for dessert. We will celebrate another day, and in fact will probably take a trip later this year. In the meantime, happy anniversary baby, got you on my mind...

Party On

Our family has a lot of big events occurring in 2012. Jim's mom and dad celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary early this year, his older sister turns 60 later this year, his younger sister turns 50, and Katie turns 21. Add to that the fact that Katie graduated from college and Megan just received her master's degree, and you have plenty of reasons to party. (Jim also has received an amazing accolade, but we are not allowed to talk about it until the national announcement is made, so more on that later.) Since we are all spread out, we decided to have one big celebration over Memorial Day weekend.

My in-laws including Jim's sister and her husband drove down on Friday, and Katie flew in Friday night. Andy and Megan flew in on Saturday afternoon as Megan had her last class Saturday morning. Jim's younger sister and her fiance come over from Kansas City on Sunday morning as they had a wedding to attend on Saturday. We had a barbeque in our backyard Sunday afternoon, which of course had to be the hottest day of the year so far. Thank goodness it was breezy and fairly low humidity, as we were able to sit outside most of the day.

We hired Jim's motorcycle buddy, Jim Diaz, to take some photos before the party began. Jim is a professional photographer, and it has been many years since we had Wolterman family portraits taken. There are too many "exes" in that group shot to warrant keeping the old photo on the wall. Hopefully we will get a group shot where everyone has a decent expression on their face and their eyes open. We shall see.

The party was a great success, and it was wonderful to have Jim's whole family together. Frankly I don't know when my children will be together at the same time with their grandparents in the future. Jim's folks had not been here since Katie graduated from high school in 2009. So this weekend was all the more special because of that. The pictures will help us keep the memories alive.

The Love Boat

There are many things to love about the newest boat in the Princess Cruise Line. We just returned from a week long western Caribbean cruise aboard the Ruby Princess on its maiden voyage. In celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary, we traveled with the couple who sang at our wedding. Paul is a fraternity brother of Jim's, Kathy graduated from high school with me, and we all attended Iowa State University. A hurricane struck Grand Cayman two days before we set sail, but the Captain simply changed the order of the islands we would see to avoid it. We set sail out of Ft. Lauderdale to Cozumel, where we enjoyed a snorkeling expedition. From there we traveled to Grand Cayman, and we really didn't see any signs of recent damage. Jim and I decided to do a submarine/snorkel excursions since our Snuba trip was canceled due to the route change. We boarded two vans which took us to the submarine. A group of Japanese tourists from our ship was also signed up for this excursion, along with their translator. We boarded the sub, which had a series of benches each seating two people running along both sides so that you had ample opportunity to look out the windows which ran from the floor to the ceiling. We headed out and our Jamaican guide was busy showing us a shipwreck, when all of a sudden he said, "We have a problem. Not a big problem...but a problem. We left the Japanese translator behind." So we had to head back to the dock to pick her up only to find that not only did they leave her behind, they forgot the whole second van! It was pretty funny. The next day found us in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We had not scheduled an excursion here so we just went into town where we watched a native dance show, saw a woman rolling handmade cigars (and yes, it really was only tobacco), and then went to Jimmy Buffet's Mararitaville. Where I found out exactly how he came up with the lyrics "Wastin' Away Again in Margaritaville." One of their "Special Margaritas" will really knock you on your butt. Whew! Our final stop was Princess Cays, which is a private area owned by the Princess Cruise Line. There we found some great snorkeling and had barbecue.

Back to the Ruby...this ship is beautiful, and there is something special about having a cabin that no one else has inhabited, towels no one else has used, a balcony that only you have stood on. Very memorable. The food was pretty good, the decorations were gorgeous and the entertainment was exceptional. From music and dance groups, to comedians, magicians and a ventriloquist, there was something for everyone. We had selected the second seating for dining, which was at 8:15, and we were placed at a table for 8. Besides the four of us, there was an older couple from Wisconsin and two ladies from Scotland, who were just delightful.

Our trip back home from Ft. Lauderdale had a couple of interesting things occur, which I will write about later. In summary, this anniversary cruise was truly fit for a "Princess".

Anchors Aweigh!

Tomorrow Jim and I leave for our anniversary cruise to the western Caribbean. We are traveling with two other couples who were also involved in our wedding 30 years ago. Steve and Ann are from Des Moines. Steve was a fraternity brother of Jim's, and also one of our groomsmen. Paul and Kathy are from Minneapolis, and Paul was also a fraternity brother. Kathy graduated from Hoover High School with me, and she and Paul sang at our wedding. We all graduated from Iowa State together. We have kept in touch over the years, but this will be our first time traveling together. We are all excited! We fly to Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow, and board the Ruby Princess on Saturday. This is a brand new Princess ship, and this will be the maiden voyage (fortunately there are no icebergs in the Caribbean). The itinerary takes us first to Jamaica, then on to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Princess Cays before heading back to Florida. There may be some glitches as this is the first trip for the crew, but who cares??? We will be in the Caribbean with some wonderful friends, and work can't touch us. It doesn't get much better than that! My sister is coming to stay at the house with Katie and Kirby. Of course, Katie believed we should leave her on her own, but since we will be out of the country I was afraid to do that in case of any emergency. Plus her schedule is so busy that we really need someone who can make sure the dog gets walked and fed. Today will be busy tidying up things for the business and picking up some last minute travel items that we need. But then tomorrow, we are out of here!

30 Years of Wedded Bliss

Today is our 30th wedding anniversary. I made reservations for us at Citizen Kane's, St. Louis' best steakhouse, in our opinion. Jim's partner Ted had heard we were dining there, so the waitress brought us each a glass of champagne and then a bottle of wine, courtesy of Ted and Jill. That was wonderful and so were our meals. The couple at the next table was celebrating the man's 30th birthday. It was so strange to think that he was born the day we were married! They were a really nice couple who transferred here from Dallas a couple of years ago, so we enjoyed talking with them. We laughed about St. Louis' obsession with where you went to high school. I told them about the time we stayed in a B & B in Hoquiam, Washington, which is just a dot on the map that I picked out because I liked the review and pictures of the B & B. At breakfast one of the other couples mentioned that they were flying back to St. Louis that day. When we told the owner of the B & B about the coincidence, he asked, "So, did you go to the same high school?" We were amazed that he knew about the St. Louis high school deal. He told us that everyone knows about it. At any rate, following supper we came home for the Oreo Ice Cream Cake I had made earlier in the day. We are actually doing our big celebration in November on a Caribbean cruise with two other couples who were in our wedding. It should be a great time!

Cruisin'

My husband and I will be married for 30 years in August. To celebrate, we decided to contact a couple of friends and see if they want to go on a cruise to the Caribbean in the fall. Steve and Ann got married about a month before us, and Paul and Kathy will be married 29 years this summer, but we told them they could come along anyway. Steve and Paul were fraternity brothers of Jim at Iowa State, and Kathy and I graduated from Hoover High School in Des Moines together. Steve was in our wedding, Jim was in Steve's wedding, and Kathy and Paul sang at our wedding. So, we all have a connection to each other in more than one way. Since I brought up the idea, I got the job of being cruise director. Paul is a pilot for Northwest Airlines and his vacation is scheduled for the first two weeks of November. That set the time frame initially. Ann is an accountant, so the beginning of the month is bad for her. Okay - now we know we are going the second week of November. I put my travel agent (TA) on the job of locating some options for us, and she came back with 5 or 6 which met the time criteria. I found out that several cruise lines don't travel to the Caribbean in November at all. We ruled out the trips that went in and out of San Juan due to flight availability and cost, so that left us with four options. One is the new Ruby Princess, making her maiden voyage on November 8th. My TA said she would never go on a ship that doesn't have a couple of months of travel under its belt, so I didn't really look at the Ruby as a choice. Steve wanted to go on the Freedom of the Seas because it makes a stop in Cozumel, which supposedly has some of the best scuba diving in the world. As I had the TA check on prices, I found out that the ship was nearly sold out of window and balcony rooms. Huh? Isn't there a recession? And isn't this a slow travel time period since it is a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving? What the heck? So I stepped back to regroup. If Steve really wants to go to Cozumel (yep, he does), then the only choice is the Ruby. After talking to all the parties involved, we decided to take our chances on the Titanic - errr, I mean Ruby - and see what happens. I had the TA check on availability for us. There are no window rooms left on the Ruby, nor any of the less expensive balcony rooms. Can you believe this? Why does everyone want to travel at the same time as us? So the group is now deciding on how much they want to spend on this trip.