We're Off Again

Hi Everyone! It's that time again to hit the high seas. We leave the day after tomorrow (Thursday) and fly to London via Icelandic Air and Reykjavik. Our suitcases are packed, but only temporarily as once again, we have taken WAAAY too much. I am sure I will be shifting stuff around and repacking, trying to reduce the amount of suitcases. Ain't gonna happen... (sigh) I think we are taking as much for one month as we had for the last cruise which was two months.

Since this itinerary takes us from cool, wet weather to cold to ??, we have to pack for anything. Since we are actually going to Iceland and Greenland, we also have to take winter coats. Winter coat??? what is that, where did I put them? We haven't worn a winter coat in seven years! Being a snowbird sure does spoil one for decent winter weather. And speaking of weather: what happened to the summer in Port Ludlow? I think I blinked and missed it. We have been running the HEATER in AUGUST, and put the down comforter back on the bed. I feel cheated. Well, I digress.

We will spend two days sightseeing in London, before heading to Dover to pick up the Crystal Symphony. Same ship, same room, same crew. The ports of call are:

Cruising the English Channel
Dublin, Ireland
Cruising the North Atlantic Ocean
Reykjavik, Iceland
Cruising the North Atlantic Ocean
Cruising Prince Christians Sound
Nuuk, Greenland
Cruising the North Atlantic Ocean
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Saturday Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
New York City, New York
Newport, Rhode Island
Boston, Massachusetts
Bar Harbor, Maine
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Cruising the Gulf of St. Lawrence & St. Lawrence River
Québec City, P.Q., Canada
Montréal, P.Q., Canada

As you can see, we will be doing a lot of ocean cruising, and that means we work. I am praying that the sea gods will be kind to us. Crossing the North Atlantic can be evil. We have been to several stops in the British Isles, but we should get a chance to see things we missed the last time.

In my previous posts, I stated how exhausting the trip was. I was in considerable pain and had difficulty walking and climbing steps. In the two months we have been home, I have seen several doctors and it has been decided that I will have to undergo spinal fusion surgery upon my return from this trip. Walking and standing has increasingly affected my daily activities, so lots of sea days should be a good thing for me. My surgery is scheduled for October 11.

My motto is: keep on trucking no matter how much it hurts! And I will keep going and going just like the energizer bunny (that's for you Mom!). There is just too much to see and do now, and there will be plenty of time to sit in the rocker when I am an old lady. New experiences are what keeps us young and active. OK, enough maudlin stuff... let's have an adventure!