Pining for the Fjords, A Prologue

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Monkey has really been on my case about Norway, ever since last year's cruise. The nagging became completely
unbearable once we got back from the Transatlantic in April. He wants to see more whales, and he's still upset he
didn't get to see a puffin last year in Iceland. So, I gave in and booked us on a slightly shorter version of last
summer's "Lands of Fire and Ice" cruise on board Queen Elizabeth 2. OK, I'm also happy to be going. The cruise
itself is incredibly relaxing. we always meet lots great people, and monkey really enjoys when people make a fuss
over him.

So, here we are, sitting in the Continental President's Club at Newark New Jersey's Liberty Airport, waiting for the
777 that will fly us to London Heathrow this evening. About an hour into the flight from Austin, I had one of those
"Oh Shit" moments, and sure eoungh, I forgot the power cord for the laptop. $128 and change later, I'm back up. I'm
going to need to be much more specific with my packing lists from here on out. Four hand written 8 1/2 by 11 pages,
and I forgot something so obvious. And I was so proud of my packing this time. The garment bag was ready 2 nights
before leaving, and the big suitcase was 90% along. It could be worse. Some day I may forget something I can't replace at an airport shop.

M2C 😉

Bill, for Monkey

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