19 April 2009. This is the first full day at sea. The Celebrity Summit is a curious boat; it shimmies and shakes, somewhat like a train on a rough track. Connie says it’s rather like sleeping on a block of Jell-O and having someone move the plate. Yes, the boat was there. Slipped in during the night or evening before along with another from a different company. From the Condado area to the Pan American pier was a $15 taxi ride. On one side of a spit of land is a commercial airport, probably and old military field, still used by [View Full Entry]

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17 April 17, 2009 You may take all the precautions you wish. The more you protect yourself, the less convenient it becomes for you to pass through airport security. The wonderfully wired and thick PacSafe 200 DayPack makes the gear inside difficult to view on the scanner. So, all you have carefully packed in a certain order and layered for maximum protection of fragile items, including lenses, will be taken out one-by-one and given a thorough swipe test—a special swab that picks up chemicals such as those used in making bombs or bullets, I suppose, which are then put in a [View Full Entry]

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Everything is still a go and the packing--at least on Connie's part -- is still ongoing. Her main bag is getting full and I had to ask, "How come it's got more stuff than we took for a four month trip in '07?" Turns out that since we plan to dress for formal nights on the cruise part of the trip, there has to be makeup, extra dress items, frilly things, special shoes, hand bag, and accessories. Fortunately there is plenty of room in the Tuxedo bag for some of her items. My plan is to ship that whole bag home [View Full Entry]

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This is the part of a trip that I dislike--preparation! What to pack and what to document. Trips to local customs for forms to prove I already own my camera and anything else that customs might take exception to upon our return. House-sitting details, dog-sitting arrangements. Oh, yes. We are the Griffins. We will be flying soon from Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico where we will embark on a cruise to Spain, then by train to Rome. Two weeks in Rome with day trips to other sights, then up to Paris, over to the UK and Glasgow where we will [View Full Entry]

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