Nassau, Bahamas – Sun. 1/26
We slept well and woke up a few hours before arriving at Nassau. We had breakfast and just looked around our floating hotel.
As we arrived at the Bahamas, you could see the resort Atlantis on Paradise Island, in the distance.
The pilot headed for the space between the two other cruise ships which had already arrived (above photo, on the right) at the cruise port.
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Embarking from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida – Sat. 1/25
We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, in the afternoon on Saturday, to board the cruise ship. It was scheduled to depart at 11 p.m. that evening. That gave the passengers all day to get there and get on board without any long lines or waiting.
We would arrive in the Bahamas about noon the next day.
Before we headed out, we had a practice drill, to teach us what we’d do in the event of having to abandon ship.
We had to gather at our Muster Station “B” (just below our balcony where the tender boats were hanging on the side of the ship) and receive further instructions about boarding the tender boats to safety. The drill lasted for about 30 minutes.
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I asked Uncle Walt, “Do you just really like Jimmy Buffet or is that a parrot on your head?”
(This picture was recently taken in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, while he and I were on a Caribbean Cruise)
The parrot kept repeating, “Polly want a selfie!”
My Traveling Uncle
Last year, in November, I called my Uncle Walt to tell him, “Happy Birthday!”. He turned 82 years old and he’s still going strong.
He’s my traveling uncle. He’s always had wanderlust. He’s been to over 70 countries during his lifetime. He was in the Navy for a few years and he said he loved being at sea.
After that he worked for the government, as a “silly-vilian”. Well, that’s what I called him. I was in the military at the time. (And he is kinda silly sometimes 😁) . But he is very funny most of the time and has many interesting experiences to share.
He’d look for job openings which required travel. He wasn’t too finicky about what job he did, as long as he could travel.
He’s an avid reader. He’s knowledgeable about geography and history and he keeps current with the news and political scene.
He still travels and he still drives a car. He helps his 92-year old sister (My Aunt Helen) go get groceries.
He knows about a million songs and their lyrics and he sings all the time.
He has countless stories to tell about the travels and experiences he’s had during his lifetime. And he rarely tells the same story twice.
He speaks some Spanish. He spends quite a bit of time in Panama.
Even though single and fancy free to roam the world, he’s always cared about the family. He’s always stayed in touch with everyone, including all his nieces and nephews. He never married but said he almost did once, to a German girl, named Heidi (But that’s another story!).
Our paths (his and mine) have crossed often, throughout the years, in many different places, and we’ve shared a lot of good experiences together. And he’s been a good influence in my life in many ways.
So while I was on the phone talking with him, we talked about traveling and I casually mentioned to him that I’d like to go to the Caribbean for my next trip. I didn’t have a plan to go anytime soon, but thought I’d like to see that area of the world next.
So about a month later, early in January, Uncle Walt called me and said he had found a good deal on a 10-day cruise to the Western side of the Caribbean and asked if that’s something I’d like to do.
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I downloaded this photo from Lizz’s facebook page. It’s not mine. But I think it is possibly the best and most realistic photo I’ve ever seen of Lizz. It was taken by a truly talented photographer by the name of Suzanne Kulperger, of Suzanne Kulperger Photograpy.
Over the years I have enjoyed all kinds of music. But I’ve never enjoyed any music as much as I have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, your music, Lizz.
Your music penetrates my soul and touches my heart like no other can do. You’re my favorite. No others preferred. Keep it coming!
I hope that your 40th Birthday is as memorable and enjoyable to you as your music has been to me these past five years since I first heard you sing.
Happy 40th Lizz!
“January 22, 1980”
I hope that one day, soon, I’ll be able to travel to see and hear you sing again! It means a lot to me. 😊
“To jump really high and dunk a basketball”
At first glance, this may seem like a silly or shallow resolution. But it’s not just about dunking a basketball.
That was me (picture above) in 1968. My senior year in High School. I could dunk it two-handed. I also held the high jump record, back then, at our school. I jumped my height. I was six feet tall then but, to my dismay, I never grew any taller.
But I’m not 17 now 😟 and I’m still six feet tall. I can reach up to eight feet. And the basketball rim is at ten feet. So all I have to do is jump up in the air two feet more to reach my goal. Sounds easy, right?
But if you’ve ever tried to do it, you know it’s not that easy. It requires training and practice.
In order to increase my vertical leap and agility, I’d have to do the right exercises, which could include running, jumping rope, plyometrics, lifting weights, playing basketball, lemon squeezes, stretches, lunges, situps, pushups, etc.
Ugh! That sounds like too much work for such a simple goal of dunking a basketball. (I could just lower the rim to eight feet…🤪😂🤣 )
But, I thought that if I do all the right exercises so that I am eventually able to dunk it again, I would be in pretty good shape and health, like I always want to be.
That’s what the real goal is.
Dunking a basketball is just fun and the idea of being able to do it again was my impetus to get started.
But you don’t have to go to that extreme. Find your own reason to improve or maintain your health. It could be something as simple as walking around a lake because you like the view of the water. Make it a part of your lifestyle, not just an exercise.
‘Cause when you have your health, you have everything. Without it, there are a lot of things you can’t do or enjoy doing.