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Published: February 27th 2023
That's right! The boat sailed and I forgot to notify you so you could come aboard. We left without you. What was I thinking?....or not thinking is more like it! My bad!
Fortunately, there will be a next time and I will surely alert you with plenty of notice. Mark my word. Pinky swear!
Hopefully, some of our pictures will help you to imagine you were onboard.....pretend anyway.
A big group of us from Tropical Palms signed up to travel on Carnival’s cruise ship: the Mardi Gras. We left Port Canaveral for a 7 days cruise on February 11th. We traveled to Nassau first. We were supposed to go to Puerto Rico but the itinerary was changed early on. We didn't bother to get off the ship in Nassau as we have been here several times and it is not one of our favorite ports. Instead, we enjoyed the quietness of the ship while the thousands of other people disembarked for a few hours. The next port was Amber Cove (Dominican Republic). Cory and I took full advantage of the pedicabs available to the tourists who didn't want to walk the pier.....me, me, me! We waved to our
friends as we passed them by....those healthy, energetic friends! Coming back, Cory and I hoofed it along with the rest of them. Sam, Sandy, Cory, and I trolled around the little “town” area.... made especially for the cruise ship tourists. It consisted of jewelry shops, souvenir shops, jewelry shops, souvenir shops, jewelry shops, and souvenir shops. Get the idea? I don't think any of us bought anything here. We’re learning.....not newbies anymore. We made it back on the ship with plenty of time to eat....one of the main and favorite pastimes of cruising. Our last stop was Grand Turk. We had never been here before. We did not do any excursions so found ourselves back in a little “town” area, much like the one at Amber Cove. Same shops, of course. Both these ports offer beautiful beaches with brilliant, clear blue water. We don't take advantage of this attraction. At present, the only way I would be seen on a beach is in a burka.....plain and simple. I'm not in good shape anymore. So, instead, we tramp through the multitude of T-Shirt shops. Cory and Sandy bought T-Shirts....not me. I'm content with my burka even on land.
While on
the ship, we enjoyed the time spent with friends. We often ate together for breakfast and dinner. It's always fun to share new experiences with friends....lot of laughs to go around. I guess the biggest experience we shared was just eating, eating and eating. That's why my wardrobe consists of only burkas. Cory was able to watch most of the Super Bowl on a giant screen. Of course, he remained sedate through it since the Buffalo Bills weren't in it.....next time! Valentine's Day came and went without much hoop-dee-doo. We returned to Port Canaveral on February 18th. Sam found himself disembarking the ship through a different door than the rest of us. He became ill the last night of the cruise and Sandy took him to the ship’s infirmary. He had aspiration pneumonia and they kept him overnight. In the morning, he disembarked via a gurney to a waiting ambulance which took him to the Cape Canaveral hospital for admittance. Sandy stayed with him. Cory and I needed to get our luggage, their luggage, Sam’s scooter, and walker off the ship. We put their suitcase with ours for pick up. Sandy arranged for us to have priority disembarkation so we
were part of the first group off. We asked Joe to use Sam’s walker to take it off the ship. He gladly obliged. I was elected to drive Sam’s scooter on the elevators, through the tangled, massive crowds, to the luggage area, and off the ship. I have a deep appreciation for what Sam goes through when using his scooter. I drove quite slowly and only had one woman scream at me to STOP!....I was...I wasn’t going to ram her....she was just a Nervous Nellie. Brother!! We found a porter to help us get the luggage to the car....with me trailing behind as “Scooter Girl.” We had a surprise waiting for us at the car. Cory packed our luggage and then disassembled Sam’s scooter for loading. I thought I had smelled an odor around the scooter but passed it off as sweat or a hurried smelly passenger. Cory lifted up the scooter battery and WOWEE! There in its holding well was a pool of puke. Poor Sam had become sick that last night and vomited while on his scooter. He left some of it hidden away. Cory found a rag so I could scoop it up and we could be
on our way. At least, it gave the four of us a good laugh when I shared this occurrence with Sandy & Sam. I told her it would become “Blog” material. We found them at the hospital. I just about needed admittance myself for a heart attack. When walking up to the Emergency entrance, I ducked to the ground because I thought a hawk was flying right at me. Gee Willikers! It was just a fake owl used to scare birds away! Nice!! Give a person a little warning!
Midweek, we went and picked Sam and Sandy up and brought them home. As you can see, Lulu responded quickly to assist Sam in getting into the car. She has been “on call” if he needs anything.
You weren't the only ones who didn't go on the cruise with all of us. Lulu didn't go, either. Since her surrogate disappeared on one of the cruises, we aren't taking any chances with another kidnapping. Others have learned how important and valuable she is. We must keep her safe. If that requires secret seclusion during our absence.....so be it. She understands and has learned to cope with any situation presented to
her. She is remarkable....but we all have known that! Of course, having her new boyfriend, Luigi, living with her doesn't hurt the state of affairs.... ooooh.... that's a pun on words! Lulu is easy!
Besides cruising, we have kept ourselves occupied. Being lax in writing our blogs causes things to bunch up. I'll try to put some semblance to it all....note the word TRY.
Early in January, the four musketeers went to the huge RV show in Tampa. We covered a lot of the grounds but certainly not all of it. Cory and I were checking our RV furniture to replace the crappy theater recliners we had installed in 2019. I'm sure I've discussed that depressing issue....they are peeling and look horrible. We have put slipcovers over them for the time being. Oh, how I miss my mother. She was an expert when it came to making slipcovers. Long story short: we have ordered two, high-quality recliners from LazyBoy.
An activity organized here at Tropical Palms was a “Sip & Paint” event. We sipped wine (glug, glug) and tried to paint a picture demonstrated by our talented activity assistant, Cindy. It was a lot of fun. Others
did much better than me. My parent's efforts to instill an artistic skill in me didn't pay off. When I was young, they had me take art lessons in the home of Whistler’s mother in Lowell, Massachusetts. Obviously, I didn't come out top in the class! Lulu would have gone to this activity but she is limited in how she can draw or paint....you know why.
Eating always remains one of our most enjoyable activities. Our morning coffee group kept company at The Catfish Place in St.Cloud. Their shrimp is to die for. It was a good time minus one vehicle breaking down and needing to be towed. This time, it wasn't us.
Among other events, Tropical Palms organized a Street Party for everyone. There was fabulous, live music, hot dogs, games and fun for all. Yahoo!!
🎶🎶 Callin' out around the world
Are you ready for a brand new beat
Summer's here and the time is right
For dancing in the street…🎶🎶
It's terrific to see our friends from here and afar. Larry and Linda Ping came by for a visit. They owned a Sandcastle here but moved to Bradenton. It was
wonderful to see them again. Our initial meeting, years ago, was somewhat bizarre which makes our friendship even more special.
Jim is one of the regular morning coffee attendees under our canopy. What a marvelous treat he brought to everyone one morning. His talented, thoughtful wife, Mary Jane, made her delicious key lime cheesecakes. They were exquisite and soooooo yummy. How lucky can we get?
Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! As Sandy, Cory, and I sat under our canopy.... intensely occupied on our iPhones and iPad, a figure stood in the distance....staring at us. I looked up and screamed. I always scream when startled. Our good friend Jon Gibson, was standing there. We haven't seem him in quite awhile so what a delight to have him visit us. He always makes us laugh.....and scream.
Last but not least is Joe. Everyone knows Joe. He is a regular at coffee, too. He always has something fun to share. Currently, he is organizing his annual “horserace” event that we all attend. It's a exciting and festive night for all. Betting with play money is active. Everyone has a horse that they submit to correlate with his racing videos. We wish you
all could join us....you’ll find us in the home stretch!
Just the other day, our activity directors, Janet & Cindy, organized a Mardi Gras golf cart parade and street party! Laissez le bon temps rouler.....let the good times roll! Beads and bling: It's a Mardi Gras thing.
Enough fun and forlic. We have hit a bump in our road.....so what's new, you say. As routine, Cory turns on our RV engine motor once a month....just to get it's juices moving. Whaaaaaat?? Oh, no! Remember way back in September when we were traveling down here.....we had a problem with our air dryer (not my hair dryer...don't confuse them) valve. A mechanic at a Love’s Truck Stop helped us resolve the issue with a substitute one which allowed us to finish our journey. We planned to get a new one when we leave here in May and head to Red Bay, Alabama (the mothership for our RV). No problems UNTIL the other day. The dial that reads the air in the airbags and air brake only went partially up. Uh Oh! That's what happened before. Cory got on his phone and started the hunt to get it fixed. Freightliner said
there was a back order on an “air dryer” and couldn't even put us on the list....Oh, God! They said they would send a mechanic out in a couple of days to check the problem. As we sat sad and dejected, Cory got a call that there was a repairman at the gate of Tropical Palms. WOW! Raj ( just like in the Big Bang Theory), the mechanic, wasn't busy so decided to stop today. WOW, again! He was a slight, little man and could slip under our RV like a worm. He changed the valve....no improvement....rats! He traced everything along the system and found our problem to be the air governor for the compressor.....and don't ask me to explain any of it. He is returning tomorrow and replacing the part. Send prayers that it all works or will be living here in Florida all summer! 🙏🙏🙏🙏
While Raj was here, a Glassman stopped by. They had just repaired some fogged RV windows for our friend, Dave. Dave sent them to us. We have had many of our double-pane windows replaced over the years....bummer. We still had another one that we were trying to ignore....not easy when you live
with it 24/7. Cory said to the Glassman to go ahead and try to fix it. These folks take the window apart and clean the insides. They did pretty good...some of the condensation caused etching into the glass so there is a spot where it is still smudgy looking but it is 90% better. It was a busy day at the RV.
All good things have to come to an end....thus ends our blog. (Humble, aren't I?) Be strong! We’ll be back....hopefully sooner than my current pattern of every 2 months. I know you are relieved and grateful that you can now relax and unwind. This blog was lengthy and wore us all out! REST! But remember to check out the 24 sets of photos, first. If you tap on a picture...it will enlarge. 👀
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Jo
non-member comment
Grand Turk
Glad to see you continue, to have a good time in Florida! We have been to Nassau as well and we're not impressed either. But did have some conch chowder there that was pretty good! Never been to Turks and Caicos...maybe some day. Continue to be our star reporters in the field!