We have some access to the internet each day so that there is time to download our email and hopefully to post on Silverfox-whispers. If not every day at least once in awhile as we cruise along on the Splendor.

Our first day was over before it began. We arrived in Long Beach around 1130 to the news that there had been a medical emergency and bad weather and the ship would not be in until three o’clock and we would not be able to board until 7PM. Carnival Cruise lines had arranged bus transportation into Long Beach and a fifteen dollar room reduction to cover not having our first meal on the ship.

So we took the bus into Long Beach which is a quite pretty tourist area. There we switched to the Red Bus which is a little bus that runs throuh town. Cute and touristy, asit putted up and down, and weaved its way through the old section, up and down Pine Street, and finally back to where we picked up the bus to take us back to the ship.

Before getting on that bus, we stopped at Chili’s and had a leisurely lunch. Chili’s is a favorite restaurant for us and we felt quite lucky to find one here in Long Beach.

Lunch over, we walked a little way, spotted the Splendor, now docked and decided to head back to watch the people getting off. We grabbed a bus and was soon back to the terminal.

Three thousand, seven hundred people are a lot of folks to come streaming off a ship. Most of them looked fairly grim. They were supposed to dock before 8 O’clock that morning and be off the ship before 10:O0.
Many of them had flights to catch and even those with long car rides ahead, were stressed.

Watching weary travellers kept us busy for quite awhile. As we watched, we heard snippets of conversation, but it wasn’t until I went to the restroom that I got more of the story.

Yes, the restroom with its three stalls and 3,700 of us waiting to get aboard the ship and 3,700 just off the ship. I tell you, it was a long, long, line. So we who were waiting were made privy to the reasons for the delay. No, there was no storm, just a mad dash to get back. Yes, there was a medical emergency. The Captain, yes the Man in Charge, had a heart attack. The ship had sailed out of Cabo San Lucas and about three hours later had to turn around and return to port with the stricken Captain. Was there also a mechanical problem? Yes, the Splendor collided with a Royal Caribbean ship in Puerta Vallarta causing problems to both ships. . . a fender bender more than likely. Nothing too serious. Some repairs would probably be done while docked and we would sail around 11 PM.

By 7:30 the first group of about 500 (luckily we were in that group) passed through security, got our room keys, and posed for our embarkation photos. All of this took about an hour and a half.

On boarding the ship, we stopped long enough to admire our stateroom and balcony, freshen up a little and 9:30 found us sitting down to a delicious dinner in the dining room. Surprisingly, we found ourselves at a table where most of us were from California’s High Desert. We lived in three different little towns about 100 miles from each other.

After dinner we half-heartedly explored the ship because by that time our tails were dragging. After all, we left Ridgecrest at 8AM and all the waiting around took a toll on us.

We returned to our cabin and waited for our luggage to arrive. About an hour later, a welcomed knock on our door and the bags were delivered. Bob and I took time to sort things out, put the clothes in the closet, wash up, and wearily climb into bed. Tomorrow there will be time to really view the ship.

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A list of all the Consortium Writers may be found in the column on the right hand side of the screen. I hope that this makes it easier to visit their sites and I encourage you to do so. We write on a different subject each week and publish on Fridays.

What marvelous timing GrannyMar had in choosing the LBC’s theme of A Journey since Bob and I leave for a week long cruise to the Mexican Riveria on Sunday.

Our first cruise together was in 2000 to Alaska. There have been at least nine more since then. There was one more to Alaska with Bob’s grandson. The rest were to Mexico and my three favorites include last November when Dawn and Jade came with us, the Alaskan cruise with David, and one many years back when Kristi accompanied us. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love all the times that it was just the two of us because those bring back sweet memories, too.

Cruises to Mexico require no airfare for us which cuts way down on price and since we have been on the on-shore tours that highlight our ports of Mazatlan, Puerta Vallata, and Cabo San Lucas, we simply go into the city on our own, walk the beach, or my favorite; stay on board and enjoy a quiet time in the hot tub, pool, and gym.

We always take our laptops along because we enjoy the opportunity to write, download our photos, and occasionally get our e-mails. Connecting to the internet is pricey, so we usually hold off until late in the cruise and then spend a morning in the internet cafe, catching up on e-mail and posting our blogs. This time Bob has promised me it will be Friday morning so that I can post next week’s topic.

I am looking forward to early morning coffee on the balcony of our suite, evening formal dining, and the Broadway style shows. I just reminded Bob to bring his dancing shoes for a few turns around the ballroom floor. Just thinking of that has me humming big band favorites.

We are going to be aboard the Carnival’s Splendor which boasts of being the largest in the Carnival Fleet. It carries over 3500 passengers and has 14 decks, 6 pools, a casino, poolside movie theatre, and all the ammenities of a first class hotel. Oooh, we are going to be so spoiled by all the luxury of this journey on the high seas.

Here’s to a table overflowing with good food; a perfect turkey, delicious dressing, cranberry salad, and sweet potato yams that melt in your mouth.

Here’s to the many friends and family that will gather around your Thanksgiving table.

Here’s to the laughter of small children and to the stories of Thanksgivings past that mingle in the air.

And finally, here is to bowed heads and quiet words of thankfullness.

May your day be all you dreamed it would be.

I am sure that lots of bloggers are defrosting turkeys, worrying about air flights, or busy with all the other preparations for Thanksgiving. My friend Dianne sent this to me and I decided to post it since everyone needs a good story for the dinner table on Thursday.

It’s late fall, and the Indians on a remote reservation asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn’t tell what the winter was going to be like. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold, and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared. But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea . He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, ‘Is the coming winter going to be cold?’

‘It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,’ the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. ‘Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?’

‘Yes,’ the man at National Weather Service again replied, ‘it’s going to be a very cold winter.’

The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.

Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. ‘Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?’

‘Absolutely,’ the man replied. ‘It’s looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we’ve ever seen.’

‘How can you be so sure?’ the chief asked.

The weatherman replied, ‘The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.’

Remember this whenever you get advice from a government official!

It can’t be Friday already. The week has simply flown. I had planned to write at least two posts in between the ones written for the Loose Writer’s Consortium, but no such luck. I did take time to list all the Consortium Writers in the column on the right hand side of the screen. I hope that this makes it easier to visit their sites and I encourage you to do so. The choice of theme for this week is A Memorable Day.

What could be more memorable than the day one finds out that they are at long last going to be a grandparent. I remember the day as if it were yesterday. It was March of 2006 when my daughter Kristi called me with the expected yet wondrous news that she was pregnant. She had gone through in vitro fertilization and two little developing zygotes had been implanted. Miracles of miracles. The doctor was optimistic that two such healthy implants would successfully grow and develop.

Bob and I were spending the week-end in Ventura. The weather was stormy, the sky overcast, the ocean grey and caliginous. I took a long walk along the beach, conscious of the blustery wind and the crispness of the ocean air. My walk became a prayer for my daughter’s dream of Motherhood.

Her call finally came through to our hotel in the late afternoon. The tests showed the in vitro succesful and she was indeed, pregnant. I hugged Bob and I found myself laughing and crying at the same time. I was overjoyed and true to course, I sat right down and wrote the to my future grand babies.

Oh My Little Fishies!

Your loving Nana Maria