Family Vacation 2013: All Aboard!

After our six hour drive to Baltimore followed by a seafood feast we were in bed pretty early Thursday night.

The hotel offered both free breakfast and free parking for our week at sea. We had a 10:00 reservation on the hotel shuttle to take us to the Baltimore docks, so our morning was relaxed and unhurried.

At breakfast, I steered clear of the egg nuggets or whatever those clumps of yellow, chalky clusters were supposed to be. Instead, I had some yogurt, a banana, and some hash brown potatoes to start the day. My youngest niece needed some sandals and sunglasses, so she and I hiked over to the Walmart and did a bit of early morning, last minute cruise shopping. She looked great in her Wayfarers!

The Gang on the Gangway

Linda and Dad

Our shuttle arrived on time, we loaded in, and were heading up the gangway to check in at 10:30 sharp. The previous night, when we were arranging our departure time, I whined and complained more than a little about getting to the docks too early. In my past experience, arriving too early only meant standing in line for an hour to get checked in. My recommendation was to leave around noon to avoid the early crowds. With that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised upon our arrival to see that the check-in lines were quite short.

Note to self – relax, give up control, let others make decisions, just be where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there, have fun.

Obligatory Boarding Picture

 

Delicious Vodka Soup

Upon boarding, we learned that our rooms would not be ready until 1:00, so we headed to the pool area, had a few adult breakfast drinks, and watched our shipmates arrive. The day went smoothly from there on out.

A Room with a View

There were bottles of champagne awaiting us in our rooms. Our luggage arrived quickly and our unpacking went smoothly. The sail away party and sunset were lovely and dinner in the dining room was better than expected.

We have a great week ahead of us!

Sail Away Party

Sunset from the Veranda Room 7524

Goodbye 2011 - Hello 2012

This morning, as I was lying in bed wondering if everyday of my 49th year was going to feel like a hangover, I reflected on the past year and started thinking about the year to come. One nice thing about having a birthday at the butt end of the year is that the retrospective holiday special includes all twelve of the previous months.

2011 was a year of travel beginning with our yearly Caribbean cruise in February with John and Jay from Fort Lauderdale, as well as with friends from Chicago, Germany, England, and other far-flung parts of the world. The ports were pretty boring in themselves this time out, but we kept busy with massages, excursions (ATV tour, zip lines, and Mayan ruins), parties, dinners, and trips to the shipboard clinic for John's crushed finger. This was followed by a trip to Chicago over Memorial day, an unexpected trip to Asia to visit the branch of the family taking root on the other side of the world, and a Thanksgiving excursion to visit John and Jay.

2011 was also a year of huge work projects as well as several large organizational changes that have left me feeling a bit rudderless. I was chatting with Alex last night and told him changes with my job were slowly sucking away my mojo - of course that comment could also be due to the end of the year blues, the slow progression of the years, or the gathering gravitational force of my sofa. Nonetheless, besides the several end of year trips I have taken, I have been quite the homebody over the past six months - early to bed, early to rise, and mostly hangover-free....

At Christmas dinner, my dear friend Clodagh asked everyone at the table about their new year resolutions. Since I had not started thinking of them as yet, I came up with the boring response of working to be more frugal while still maintaining my semi-fabulous lifestyle - hence my frenzy of retail therapy to close out 2011 - a boy has to shop after all!

This morning, between the pulsation of PBR-induced head pains, I conducted a more thorough inventory of the things I would like to work on in the coming year.

1. Break out of my comfort level and take more risks (career choices, relationships, spiritually)
2. Pay off my car by July (two years early) and increase my emergency fund by $5000
3. Have no credit card debt at the end of the year (The trip to Asia slammed my budget, I have two more big trips planned, but there are no regrets on that account)
4. Read at least 10 more of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century (only 31 to go)
5. Rearrange my work schedule to go to the gym in the morning before arriving in the office
6. Spend more time with cherished friends and make the effort to cultivate new friendships
7. Have at least two fully planned and executed parties for friends and family
8. Plan "Glenn days" for body and soul replenishment
9. Say "I love you" more often - but only when I mean it

It is going to be a busy year! Stay tuned.

Here's to wishing you all a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012.
Much love,
Glenn

Two Weeks On: Vacation in Retrospective

I was talking to my friend John on Friday and he asked me about my trip. Two weeks on, my perspective has changed a bit. The never-ending jet lag that resulted in two weeks of insomnia had eased and I was sleeping through the night again - well mostly. The fatigue of getting up at 3:30 AM to begin our 30 hour transit home, returning to the office the next day, and being committed to outside activities for seven evenings in a row was a hazy dreamy memory of something that could have occurred in the distant past.

So, in looking back....

I really miss my brother and sister-in-law.  I wish it were easier to see them and share the daily minutiae of our lives. Not to mention that I will have to recreate relationships with Ozzy and Sawyer when I next see them.

Planning a trip to meet the requirements of so many other people's schedules is difficult. Next time, I may have to depend more on my traveling companion or employ the assistance of a travel agent. It was a lot of work coordinating schedules and travel preferences with my brother and dad. Thank goodness for my brother's knowledge of the countries we visited and his eagerness to share his part of the world with us.

Never, never, never again will I update my Facebook status with happy (smug) updates about the empty seat next to mine. Karma is a bitch, and she repaid me by placing an extra large Hispanic man in the seat next to mine on the 15 hour flight home from Honk Kong (not counting the 2 hours of sitting on the ground waiting for electrical maintenance to be completed). After we spent the first hour and a half fighting for the armrest, I gave in and let him have it. Of course, I exacted my revenge by cuddling into his over-hanging largeness as I tried to stay warm and get a bit of sleep on the way home. Good times...

On my next trip to Asia I will plan more professionally conducted tours. Why not learn something new while you are on the other side of the world? I will also plan to take a side trip to Angkor Wat to see another of the wonders of the world - however, I do hear that there is a "roughing it" factor when traveling to Cambodia.

Food is a good thing. I will soon be purchasing my own rice cooker and learning how to make a tasty pho. I will also be pestering my brother for his curry recipes.

If my office opens a branch in Singapore - you can count me among those who are willing to pack up my things and head overseas. I adore that city.

Separate bedrooms may be a good idea to promote prolonged family happiness and harmony. Apparently dad has not spent the night with that many men, in that I expect my sleeping companion to snore, he does not. Middle of the night belching and farting however is still unacceptable.

And, looking back on the entire experience, now that all the bills have come in, I would not change a thing. It was a memorable trip filled with lots of laughs and a few happy tears. My only regret is that it did not last longer.

XOX
Glenn