Cruise Day One…Monday January 9, 2006
Boarding the MV Zenith

We arrived at the port right on time. We left the furkids at a wonderful vet’s boarding kennel. It is a state of the art facility. They even had a scale in the floor so all you had to do was put the dog or cat on it and it weighed them. Then each of the furkids had their picture taken. Quite a set up…and reasonable also. I must remember to write and thank the SKP couple who gave us Dr. McCoy’s name and phone number.

We had absolutely no problems checking in, the staff working the entry station was wonderful. We were taken to our cabin and we started to settle in. However, our luggage had not yet been delivered so we decided to wander around the ship and get our bearings. The Zenith, one of the Celebrity ships was commissioned I believe in 1992. It is much smaller than the Diamond Princess we sailed on last summer to Alaska. I was a bit surprised to see that this ship had a well worn look to it. Not that it was dirty or anything, just well used and showing its age. We went up to the 11th deck and checked out the buffet. I was impressed that the wait staff worked the buffet stations and put the selection on the diner’s plate. I think this is a much much better way to control food…I remember thinking how much food people wasted on the Diamond Princess where folks were allowed to fill their own plate. I am not saying that the Zenith passengers were not as thoughtless, but at least the portions were somewhat normal compared to the heaps of stuff people wasted on the Diamond Princess.

After exploring for a while, we sat around the pool. I had a drink; Paul and Gene were good and passed on one…at least at this point. We went back to the room and unpacked. We then dressed for dinner. Unlike the Princess where we could eat at the numerous restaurants, we were in the main dining room for the first seating at 6 pm. The dining room was lovely, but Paul and I noticed the carpet was really dirty. It was as if Oscar had been there and dug his claws into the rug and pulled…only it was all over. Our dining companions never showed for dinner so it was just the three of us…our Waiter Lobo, and his assistant Putu (ok, I am NOT making this up!!!) took wonderful care of us. We had so many eating utensils we just laughed. We had a wonderful dinner of shrimp cocktail, the best roasted tomato bisque I have ever had, prime rib, and French pastries. Of course, we had the drink of the day…which for the life of me I can’t remember, LOL!

After dinner we sat in the Rendezvous Lounge and listened to a husband and wife piano/singer duet until it was time to go to the show lounge. I had my favorite cocktail, the Chocolate Cream Martini; Paul had a Pina Colada and Gene his customary Manhattan, sweet. The show was very good; it was a 60’s review. The dancers were very good, the singers were also good. The costumes were hilarious and the wigs were just too funny. The show lounge was very comfortable…all the seating was upholstered loveseats and comfortable chairs. After having another cocktail during the show, we were ready to crash. We would be arriving in Key West about 7 am. The stores open around 9, so we would have plenty of time to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast.

Our double bed was fairly comfortable, and Grandpa insisted on using the upper berth that folded down from the opposite wall. I really wanted it so I could toss and turn to my hearts content and not wake up Paulie. The bathroom was a fairly decent size. The shower had good water pressure but it had only three settings…hot, really hot, and burn your buns off scalding. I just love ship toilets. They are vacuum types that sound like they are gonna suck you down into the bowels of the ships honeypot! Always shut the lid, you never know what it’ll suck down!!!

I will continue with day two of our cruise a bit later.

dennise

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Day Two…January 10, 2006
Key West

After a hearty breakfast which we ate in the main dining room, we proceeded to disembark and do some sightseeing. After visiting a few shops, we decided to take a trolley tour. It was a great tour; the guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the town of Key West and told many entertaining stories about the colorful characters that inhabited the town both past and present. Tommy explained that there are no new building permits being issued by the city board, only permits to rehab existing buildings. On any given street there is a run down ramshackle house right next to a beautifully maintained picture perfect Victorian home. I cannot imagine just how much one of these homes would cost…not the rehabbed ones, the old shacks, LOL! The other remarkable thing we witnessed was that there were chickens and roosters roaming all over the place. We didn’t see any gas stations. There were lots of amazing little but very pricy cars all over the place…Porches, and Jags and a few Benz’s thrown in. The most common mode of transportation appeared to be either by bicycle or scooter. There were a few big dollar Harleys around also. We really enjoyed the day and saw more on this tour than we would ever had been able to see on our own. We wandered back to the ship to have a late lunch. Grandpa and I don’t do walking very well so we were a bit tuckered out. My hip is still killing me; the shot did squat as far a I am concerned. Since we were in port, the ships boutiques were closed but it didn’t stop me from wandering around. I found the library, the internet connection spots, and the martini bar. We rested up a bit, showered and then since it was formal night, we decked ourselves up to the nines. I will say that we do clean up good! In the dining room, we were introduced to our dining companions. David and Carol Mitchell from Chattanooga TN, on the Zenith for their honeymoon. They have both been married before and seem to be positively crazy about one another. Carol is in insurance and David is a former teacher, now the principle for a vocational type school. We had a great dinner. After stuffing ourselves, our waiter and several others brought out a cake for Carol and David. It is so funny to hear all these folks singing all over the dining room. Since many are from India, Pakistan, Bali and a host of other countries, their singing is really a treat…strains of “happy ‘verary to you” and “happy irthyay” reverberate around the diners. The staff really enjoys this and they sing their hearts out. I am so amazed at the work ethic of these people. They work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for 7 months straight. They do get a few hours off every few days. Amazing. We just don’t have a clue of the lives they have lived in their native land and just have to admire them. Carol graciously asked the waiters to cut the cake for everyone at the table. Paul was very put out that he missed the dessert of the day…Cherries Jubilee. Awww...Poor guy. After dinner we had some photos taken by the ship photographers. We wound up again at the Rendezvous Lounge watching the wonderfully precise and equally stiff Japanese couples doing the salsa, the fox trot and the ever enjoyable waltz. We just laughed at how rigid the couples were. The steps were obviously well practiced and perfect, however they were lacking any type of rhythm or a feel for the music or sex appeal of each of the dances.

It was then Karaoke Night and the very appreciative crowd was treated by a beautiful rendition of “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic (how stupid is this… singing this very sad song of love lost due to a ship sinking….? Ppfft!) There were several more forgettable songs from a few Star Search wannabes…Paul played the role of nasty Simon and I had to keep shushing him up…at least they got up there and did a song. Then our new friend Carol decided to sing to her new husband. She chose the appropriate song “My Guy” a take on “My Girl”. She freely admitted she couldn’t sing and that was an understatement. She had several Appltinis’ to bolster her courage. About halfway through the song, David joined her on the floor and the honeymooners treated the crowd to a sweet duet and lovely and shall I say, sexy dance. We all had a great time and then we all went to the evening’s entertainment in the show lounge. This time the troupe paid tribute to Broadway tunes. The best song was from Wicked. It was so-so as compared to the night before.

We had a few drinks in the lounge and then headed to the stateroom to get a good night’s sleep. We would be arriving in Cozumel about 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

I just love going to the stateroom to turn in for the night…the bed is all turned down; there is fresh ice and water waiting. The little chocolates on the pillows were divine, I must say. I was awakened several times that night due to rough seas. I was doing my best spinning in a long time. I took some extra valium and tried to go back to sleep. 5 potty breaks in one night is a bit much. I hafta do something about this.

I will continue our Cozumel adventure a bit later.

dennise

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Cruise Day Three, January 11, 2006
Cozumel. Mexico

Paul and I had decided to do the Playa Beach Outing on the beach in Cozumel. This off shore excursion was $62 each and included bus transportation, park admission, buffet and open bar. I had visions of me and Paulie lounging on beach chairs under a tiki hut sipping Pina Coladas and munching on real Mexican salsa and chips and maybe even some homemade tortillas with a yummy bevy of native cheeses. The beach looked beautiful in the little video clip we viewed, and it had lots of water toys, like kayaks, a water trampoline, and cute little areas to sun. BTW, I do not do well in the sun. I am a blonde…blondes don’t sun well and tan…blondes burn. Blondes get sun poisoning. This particular blonde has a personality change when she gets too much sun. Not only that but this blonde’s lips become inflamed with fever blisters…courtesy of ‘ole sol. We thought this was a good deal so we signed up. I had asked Grandpa several times if he wanted to go along. He steadfastly refused saying he was not interested. Just two minutes after I had made the reservations on the in-room interactive TV thingamajig, Grandpa decided he would indeed enjoy accompanying us to the beach. I tried to buy another ticket on the interactive TV thingy. It wouldn’t let me.
Paul went down to Client Relations/Excursions desk. Of course, it was about 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, so I guess they weren’t interested in booking more excursions at that particular time of day. Ppffft. So, we all tumble into bed, arising early. We have been told due to the damage from Hurricane Wilma, that the dock has been washed away and we would be traveling in “transfers” or in other words, we would exit the ship on level three right into the waiting arms of a Mexican flotilla. Make that a transport boat. Geez, since I get seasick looking a waves, I took an extra dose of my valium. I was down at the Excursion desk bright and early at 8 a.m. the scheduled opening time. No one was there. I waited and waited. Finally I flagged down some poor cleaning person who looked like the Dali lama and asked him in sign language where the hell were the excursion people. He politely in excellent English told me they open at 8 a.m. Pointing to my watch I say, “Well, its 8:20!”. “Madame.” He replied. You failed to set you watch to the correct Cozumel time. It is only 7:20. *Sigh*. Again, by my stupidity, I give all American tourists the “L” on their foreheads. I slink off to find some strong coffee and something to eat. Paul and I finally meet up at the waffle station in the buffet line. After breakfast, we both go down and purchase Grandpa’s ticket. We meet him back at the room. Paul told Grandpa to meet us at the Show Lounge on deck 7 at 11 am. He explained that we would meet in the same seats we had sat in both nights for the entertainment. At 10:30, Paul and I arrive at the appointed meeting place. 10:45…no Grandpa. 11 am, still no Grandpa. We ask a helpful steward when the Beach group was meeting. We were told to go to the Rainbow Room on Deck 8 for tickets and bus passes. Paul goes to deck 8 while I wait for Grandpa at the appointed meeting place. 11:15, no Grandpa. 11:30 no Grandpa. Thinking he has misunderstood the agreed upon meeting place, I go up to the balcony of the show lounge on deck 8. No Grandpa. Now, I am really honked off. Cussing under my breath I head for the Rainbow room on Deck 8 aft. Find Paul. The group has already left. We flag down a steward and they radio down to the transfer boat. It has not yet left. They hold the boat for us and we figure, Grandpa is on his own. Throwing $62 bucks away on his ticket is one thing…throwing away another $124 is quite another. I am just seething. I am trying not to be mad, but being who I am, I have little success. One of the stewards at the transfer station said a little old guy was looking for his son and daughter-in-law. Must have been him. We get on the boat. We then arrive in Cozumel under threatening skies. We get on this bus and have a nail biting ride with Julio our driver the ten miles to the beach. As we step off the bus, it starts to pour. We get to the buffet and my goodness it looked like it had been there for weeks. The drinks were watered down and in thimble sized plastic cups. We sit under the leaking dining canopy and sit forlornly looking out over the soaking beach area. Finally after about two hours of downpour, the sky brightens and the sun comes out. We sit out in the sun for about an hour before it is time to get back on the bus to the ship transports. Totally bummed, we head back to the stateroom and get ready for dinner., Grandpa finally shows up at the room. He is all upset as he said he was at the place we told him since 9 am. WE never showed. I said that I had waited and waited in the Show lounge and he tells me he was there. I know he’s kinda short, but heck he’s not invisible for heaven’s sake! I said he couldn’t possibly be there because I sat there all that time. He said he was sitting in the chairs we were in last night. He was in the Rendezvous lounge, not the Show Lounge. He insisted Paul told him the place we were last night. Trouble was we were in more than one place…he thought he was to meet us in the lounge on 7 not the show lounge on 7. There is no arguing with him. Next time I put a leash on him.
Paul comes back to the room after searching the ship for him. Again, he insists that we told him the Rendezvous lounge, not the Show lounge. Next time he is on his own. He then tells me he had hoped and hoped it rained because we left him behind. Aaarrrrgggggh. There is just no arguing with a male Ziaja. He said he went into town, bought some expensive cigars and had several Pina Coladas that were the size of watermelons. Of course he just thought he was sooooo funny wishing we had a bad time. What a stinker he is!

We finally got showered and dressed for dinner. We did have another lovely dinner, and our honeymooning dining partners were no shows again. Hmmm. Maybe they were taking too many “naps”. After dinner the show lounge entertainment was an illusionist. I hate magicians, jugglers, and I especially dislike ventriloquists. These people creep me out. So, they went to see the magician and I went to bed.

Later, I will tell you all about Costa Maya.

dennise

Land...

Well we landed once again in Miami. Picked up the furkids from the no-tell-pet-motel. They were just a bit happy to see us. They all received excellent marks on their "report card". The doc told us Oscar had some nasty loose poops. Gee sorry to get so graphic. Glad it was them having to clean it up and not me!

We are relaxing in the rig after re-setting up at the Miami-Everglades Campground. We had pizza and split one beer for dinner. We needed to have a rest before we hit the ground running tomorrow. We are going to try and find a place to park the rig, then take the car down back to the Keys. We may not make it back to Key West, but Key Largo is fairly close and I think we will be able to do some more sight seeing there. We will be planning out the next week or so's travel plans. It is really great that we don't have to worry about rushing because we have to get back to jobs and stuff. I am not sure Grandpa is taking to RV'ing. I suppose if he gets too, um, shall we say, nostolgic for home, we will be happy to put him and Pepe on a flight back to Springfield, LOL! OK, I am gonna sign off for now. I will be putting up my "memories" from the cruise later this evening. I also have a ton of photos. None of me turned out very well, but then again, we all know what I look like.

later...

dennise

The Meandering Ziaja's

`Key West, Florida

Oh what a beautiful place...Grandpa wants to move here. We couldn't afford the taxes! I will make this entry short...50 cents a minute is a bit extreme. The ship is nice, but it is much older than the Princess cruise we took to Alaska. We took a trolley tour of Key West and saw more in two hours than we could have on our own. The food on board is "OK"...not great but then I am a picky eater.l A chocolat martini is on my agenda for this evening, which is a formal evening. We are having "Italian" day so the food is geared towards Italian dishes.

I will try to post more later...we dock on Saturday and then I will post more and some picutres.

The sea is beautiful here...if I didn't "do" oceans, I just might put a toe or two in there.

Hugs

dennise

Day Six...




We set up the rig and then took the car for a test run to the boarding kennel for the furkids and then to the dock. We were told to take Hwy 1 or the Dixie Highway. Two hours later we find the vet's place. Of course the MAPQUEST directions were wrong. Figures. I am at this point not too impressed with Miami, at least the parts I have seen. It looks like a dilapidated neighborhood with palm trees and palmettoes all over the place. The drivers down hear rival those in Chicago, and would make a Paris taxi driver look like he's petalling. The dry run was a good idea. We don't need to get lost in the morning so this took a bit of the anxiety out of Paul. Of course, Grandpa has made some comments but I will not digress...'nuf said. Six days in a motorhome with one big stupid dog and one little bastard dog who is one step this side of EVIL and a cat that tries to escape at every opportunity has actually NOT been that terrible.

Paul and I are doing the laundry at the Miami Everglades RV Park. This is the closest campground to Miami and its about 30 miles south of the Port of Miami. When it says everglades, it means the everglades. Eash camp-site is about 20 feet wide and long enough for a 37 to 40' RV. Very close quarters, but everyone seems so nice. Many of these snowbirds come back here every year and hold the same spot. Sounds good to me. The pool looks wonderful and I am glad we will be staying another day when we dock on Friday. Also we are going to store the rig here...we could take it to the port parking lot but there we would have to pay for three spots...about 40 bucks a day. We can store it here for $10 per day. Sounds good to me.

Well, I am going to end now. We are all tired and are just gonna jel out and veg in front of the tv...Desperate Housewives and Greys anatomy is on tonight.

I'll post some more aboard ship in the internet cafe. I didn't take any pictures today so nothing to up load. Darn, and I have free wifi and its FAST for once.

Hugs.

dennise

ps

I think I mentioned earlier in the week that we have smartened up and put the air matress on top of the ick matress on the sofa bed. I have to take a running start and use the sofa cushions as a springboard to get on the damm thing. It is NOT a pretty site...think of the lady gymnasts, then pictue moi and you get the mental picture, right? To make it more exciting for myself, I wind up with a jammies wedgie each and every night!

Saturday Evening Day
Day five continued...

Just go back from dinner at Applebys. Not what I would have c hosen as I prefer local places, but there didn't seem to be alot...just the dinners in a box kinda thing. I had the cowboy burger and it was eh, ok I guess.

We will get a good nights sleep and head to the Miami KOA tomorrow. I have included some pictures from the park we are staying in.

Hugs...

dennise

Day Five…staying put

We have decided to stay at the Treasure Cove RV park for a day or two. We don’t have to be in Miami until Monday morning to drop the kids off at the furkids spa. We are about 120 miles away, so its not going to be a big deal. At least we won’t have to tool around Miami looking for a place to stay. It is the coldest day of the season here…it figures, we brought the cold air with us for heaven’s sake! It is supposed to be in the high seventies and today they “think” it will barely hit 50. Well, that’s warm for January in our neck of the woods anyways.

Paul and I made the most delicious meal last night. We tooled up to Wally world and purchased some Caesar salad, Texas cheese toast and some frozen twice baked potatoes. We used our “new” grill to go. I say new because even though it is about three years old, we have never used the thing. We had taken along three filets from home. Let me just say, nobody talked during dinner….we were all shoveling it in and wanted to concentrate. Since it was so cold, we stayed in and watched the tube. This RV park is very nice…free cable and wifi…however it is very pricey at $49 per night (and that is with our Good Sam discount!). I think that the farther south one travels the price of an RV spot goes up significantly. There were 6 RV’s in the Walmart parking lot. I think if one is just traveling through that is okay…but staying more than a few hours is taking advantage of Walmart’s hospitality. The concern is that Walmart will no longer allow anyone to park overnight.

I think we will probably go exploring the beaches and tourist traps here in Ft. Pierce even though it is very cold. Should be pretty empty. I will take some pix and pots them later.

dennise

H
Here are some photos from the park...Paul working, Grandpa resting up and Oscar just being Oscar...always in the way underfoot!













We are starting to pack up. We will be heading towards Cape Canaveral. Hope to find a nice ocean view camping spot. This wifi from Linkspot stinks. I can only get about 1.0 mps which is like ancient dial up. I am going to call these people and tell them how disappointed I am. For 6 bucks you'd think I get some service! Linkspot is owned by KOA so that says a lot right there.



Later

dennise


5:45 pm

Well, we have landed in Fort Pierce which is about 2 hours north of Miami. We may stay here for two nights...we are in a brand new campground, Treasure Cove RV resort. It is a bit chilly tonight, and they again are telling everyone to bring plants and pets inside as it will freeze inland tonight. Good thing we have plenty of propane and we even have a small electric heater. I will take some pictures tonight and post them tomorrow. We have a slight problem in the motorhome...the left side bank of lights won't go on. Paul is checking fuses as I type this. Please don't let it be something he thinks he can fix, LOL!

Later

dennise

Finally, I have success loading pictures. Sorry it took so long!! Here's me and Superman and Paul relaxing on our sky high bed...



Day Three continued…

Well, we find ourselves at the Flamingo RV Resort, in Jacksonville Fl. The weather is nice and warm…this place is almost all snowbirds. Gee, they have about 230 spots all around a beautiful man-made lake. The spots are a wee bit small for my liking but it seems to be a nice place. It’s dark now, so I really can’t tell too much about the surroundings but what I saw when we pulled in was pretty nice. No one is hungry as we ate about 2 pm at the Sam’s club in Valdosta, GA. We have the makings for Chicken Parmigana, (I think that’s how you spell it, LOL!)

I did sign up for the Flying J WIFI for 20 bucks for a month. It is really slow and not worth the money. Well, that’s what I thought until we arrived here. I paid 5.95 for 24 hours and this service is even slower than the Flying J service. Geesh. I guess I am spoiled with my network at home. I have to wait more than 5 minutes for a page to load, and then if it loads at all, it takes another 5 minutes to complete. I think I am going to call their customer service tomorrow and complain…nicely of course.

I am trying to access my email and I have been “connected” for over 50 minutes! I think uploading my pictures is gonna be difficult if not impossible. But I will try, just can't guarantee results...


Til tomorrow...

dennise

Please note…because we are going hither and yon, I may not have access to a wifi hot spot. Flying J fuel stops offer it for $4.95 per DAY and no way am I gonna pay that…so we will just have to find a McDonalds so I can upload. You might see three or four days in one post…this just means that a hot spot is not available.

Departure Day…Day one
Tuesday January 3, 2006

Finally we have arrived at our departure day. Paul has been loading up the rest of the “stuff” we are taking on our wonderful adventure. It seems odd that as I sit here in the comfort of our 37 foot motorhome, I am listening to one of the CD’s containing the Thomas Jefferson “interview” that our friends Karen and Mike Krause graciously lent to us. This interview has become a very popular yearly entertainment event in Chicago, hosted by WGN talk show icon John Williams and a wonderfully talented actor who portrays Jefferson with humor and intelligence. It really is a remarkable idea and a unique lesson in history that is both informative and entertaining to the listener. The actor who plays Jefferson (I have to look at the CD to find his name) is quite wonderful. He possesses a wealth of information about Jefferson, and it is interesting and entertaining to hear an actor reflect and speak most charmingly on today’s events and our times in general.

We are heading south on I57 as I write this. It is late afternoon. Earlier today, I had received an injection in my right hip. It was done by the Doctor of Radiology at the Springfield Clinic. Regretfully, it has not yet proven to be an effective solution to my very distressing hip pain. I have also taken more arthritis Tylenol with little relief. I must say that I am quite disappointed that this injection has not helped, I certainly was planning on walking a lot during our travels and it may not materialize or will be greatly hampered by my continuing hip pain and discomfort.

Paul, our Capitan, and Grandpa, navigator for the day, are scoping out potential boondocking sites. I think that they have decided on the Casino in Metropolis. It has been a long day and I think we need to stop and relax.
I will post more later when we are settled for the night.

Departure Day Part Deux

Well, we finally landed in Metropolis. I want to see the statue of Superman, in the town square tomorrow morning. Superman, aka Clark Kent, hails from this little town on the Illinois-Kentucky border, It should provide a couple of great photo opportunities. We are parked at the Harrah’s Casino for the night. I think Paul and Gene may take a stroll over to the casino if I am reading the signals correctly. It was an uneventful (Thank God!) trip thus far. The horrible day yesterday is now forgotten. By Paul. Not by me. I am keeping a close eye on him so he doesn’t find something else to fix for heaven’s sake. We just may get to Miami without any more crises’ …keep your fingers crossed, okay?

Well, enough of my ramblings for today. Looking forward to tomorrow’s blog.

Love,

Dennise


January 4, 2006
Day Two, Destination: Miami

A very interesting night…Paul and I pulled out the air mattress and began to set up for some much needed sleep. Oh, before I forget, both the Capitan and the Navigator came back from the Casino bemoaning the losses they had suffered at the slot machines. Whoever named slot machines “one armed bandits” obviously knew what they were talking about. Gee, here I was hoping we could have a little extra moola so I could take advantage of the diamond deals in the Caribbean. *Sigh*.

Well, now, lets go back to the air mattress. Not a good idea to try to sleep on the floor (or very close to it) if you 1. Have joint replacements and 2. You don’t like being cold. I meet both criteria, unfortunately. To add an exciting element to this, throw in somebody that has to tinkle at least four times a night (moi of course) and a neurotic cat who is not traveling too well. Of course, don’t forget the automatic kitty litter pan that makes the noise of a badly tuned hummer going off after she plays in the pan, and oh yes, it wasn’t working correctly so it ran and ran and ran continuously. Oh, lest I forget, the food dish containing dry kitty food…Our little darling Snickers decided to have a snack about 3 am ….the food dish was about 2 feet from my head and the first crunch was like a thunder roll right next to my ear. Other than that, it was a so-so night and, like I said earlier, interesting!

I am afraid that my desire to find the statue in the Square of Superman is going to remain unfulfilled, at least on this trip. Captain Paul is emulating Captain Kreeg.

We are packing up after a nice breakfast of English muffins and bagels with some tea. Back to the highway and continuing on towards Miami. I will post more later in the day

dennise

Well, my whining worked. Paul stopped and we got a picture of me & the big guy…you can see me when we get some juice so I can upload from my camera!

Ok, onwards and southwards we go!

Dennise

Day Two
Near Atlanta GA.

We are in Carterville to be exact, camping at the Allatoona Landing Marina and Campground. We are just north of Atlanta. As it was 5 pm, we decided to forgo the excitement of rush hour on Interstate 75 . It seems to be a pretty place, but we pulled in just as dusk was rising. I made an exciting dinner of Stouffer’s stuffed peppers and Chicken Parmigna with a lovely side dish of Kraft mac and cheese.

We will just relax and watch the tube tonight. We will probably sleep in a bit as early morning rush hour should be over by 9 or 9:30 am.

Tonight the air mattress will be placed on the sofa bed so I can perhaps get some sleep!

Tomorrow we should be in the warm sunshine state of Florida. Before I hit the sack tonight I am going to see where we will land for the night.

Hugs

Dennise

Day three…traversing through Atlanta.

This is such an exciting place to pass through. Accidents are happening all over the place. We saw four in the span of three miles.

We actually did “sleep in” this morning…arose about 8 am ET(I am not going to set my watch back I don’t care how many time zones I travel through, I hate doing that since my body clock is on central Illinois time anyways.)

Paul and I put the air bed on top of the sofa sleeper. I must say, we were up pretty high. I had to place the sofa cushions on the floor so I could just climb up into it. It was a much more comfortable arrangement, however I discovered one problem. Paul didn’t level the motorhome and the front was leaning down. I kept rolling into Paul all night. I didn’t mind, however he has a nasty habit of moving those elbows around to relieve his aching shoulders. He only biffed me a couple of times that I can remember! I do have some pictures that I will put up when I get access to some electric.

We are heading straight south, now towards Macon. Grandpa wants to get on the Florida turnpike all the way to Miami. I think we should take the scenic route and go Hwy 1. We don’t have to be on board ship until 3 pm on Monday. I don’t see why we have to rush down there just to sit in the motorhome for a day or two. Plus we don’t have a place to stay in Miami. This will be the topic of conversation as we tool towards Florida.

Will post more later.

dennise


Thursday afternoon...we just went thru Valdosta and are at the Flying J....I broke down and bought a month's worth of Flying J's wireless service....arrrgggh. 20 bucks I guess I can handle.

Packing Day

Whew, my tush is dragging! We worked very hard today. Of course, Bob Vila, er, Paul...decided to fix a dripping faucet in the motorhome bathroom. This was of course, after he dropped the lid of the crockpot behind the closet wall. I certainly am glad he does these things and not me...I'd never hear the end of it! This little fix-it took 4 and a half hours... 4.5 hours!!! He called all around town to find an RV supply store open. My suggestion to remove the faucet and take it to Lowe's was met with disdain and scorn. We finally went to Wally world about 4 pm and found a new faucet set! Imagine that...we got it at Walmart...is there nothing these people don't have?
Okay, I loaded most of the stuff, rearranged the cupboards, removed unnecessary items to have more space (do we really need 36 bath towels...I think not....), cleaned out the refridgerator that someone left diet coke in during severely cold weather... Thank goodness the fridge door was closed and contained the whole mess. (I can bet it wasn't me...I don't put coke in the fridge IN the paper carton....just guess who does this....) . .. packed all my clothes...cleaned up the foodstuffs leftover from the holidays. No wonder my hip, knees and lower back is killing me. I am heading to bed as soon as I get done here. I need a pain pill and some heat on the old hip. Hopefully, the shot I am scheduled for tomorrow will help.

Well tomorrow we will begin our much anticipated journey south. Stay tuned...I promise it will be an exciting trip, one way or another...

hugs

dennise

This is my evening update. I actually did a couple of things and can scratch them off my list. These have absolutely nothing to do with the trip, however. Gee, we have one day to do all the stuff I have been putting off!

Anyways, I put all my CD's into a new storage carousel. I also decluttered my unfiled knitting patterns, seamed and blocked a sweater that had been sitting for a couple of months. I also updated my medical history book and filed the surgery info I received from Milwaukee. I also decluttered my knitting bag, packing it up with what I am taking with and re-doing the needle cases.

Oh before I forget, here is a picture of Pepe the fugly-est butter ball of a dog. He is just so cute! The crooked feet just crack me up, and then there is that tongue....oh what a cutie he is!

Well, I have already taken my bedtime meds, so I gotta book.

dennise

Happy New Year!

I am sitting with feet up on the sofa while Paulie finishes vaccuming the living room. Such a good man he is. He also cleaned the kitchen floor and got rid of all the doggie hair-bunnies. Gosh these animals shed a lot!

I have moved all the clutter from the living room and stuck it all in the office. Gosh, where does all this paper and stuff come from? Well...at least I can close the door in there and not see it all around me. I have also gotten my summer clothes on the bed so I can go through them and start getting stuff out to the motorhome. I did purchase some new undies and socks
but nothing in the way of clothes. I should have enough to get through the cruise. I have several pairs of shorts and a ton of t shirts that are okay. Evening wear will be my trusty Chico's travelers and some nice jackets. I don't think I am going to bring my bangled evening coat but then again, we will have one formal night on the cruise. Hmmm, maybe I should rethink this.

You may be able to see it in the photo to the left...I think I look pretty damm good there! Yes, I will take it after all....LOL!

Well since I am sitting on my duff while Paulie works so hard is not right...so I guess I should get up and do something. Trouble is I can't do all that much...but I should at least try.

Later....

Well. New Years Eve is upon us again. Had a very busy day but didn't accomplish too much. We found an extendable closet pole out in the garage. I pilfered my linen closet and found the old white cafe curtains from one of the bedrooms. How about that, we found what we needed right here. No need to spend money for the curtains or the rod. We had toyed with the idea of using a rope or chain, but I think what we found will be adequate.

Oscar and Pepe spent the day at the doggie spa today. Oscar was really excited when he got to the store but was trying to escape when the gal took his leash and tried to get him into the bath area. Pepe thought if he just looked the other way, she'd maybe forget about him. He was shaking so bad, his tongue was flopping around. We went to Perkins for breakfest and the hit the Wally World. Both boys came home smelling nice and sweet sporting a Petsmart kerchief. Paul also bought a kitty harness for Snickers. We will be able to walk her also during the trip. This should be interesting. Just getting the harness on was pretty funny. Paul put in on backwards. He put her down so she could get used to walking with it on. Now, when I describe this I swear I am not making this up. Snickers gave a look at Paul and me, let out a plantive meow and then started walking....backwards! She backed up around the entire living room. It was hysterical. I almost wet my pants laughing so hard! Oscar got up after seeing this and started nudging her to move forward, but she still kept backing up. We laughed so hard. She finally laid down and started to make this gutteral sound. Paul picked her up and after looking at the picture on the halter packaging realized he had put it on wrong. So we fixed the halter and she finally started walking normally. She was really honked off. The look she shot Paul was priceless. Now if I had only gotten this on film I bet we would be the winners of the America's Funniest Home videos. I could use ten grand. Always think of this after the fact. Darn, it really was great too.

I made more chocolate chip cookies, some for Zack to take back to school, and some for the trip. I also made a banana bread from some utterly gross looking bananas. Paul made a great dinner. Tbones for Zack and Grandpa...petite filets for us. It was great.

As I write this it is a bit after 11 pm. I am sipping a chocolate martini. Goodness these things are good. Potent, but good. One does me in. Paul is falling asleep in the chair. What an exciting New Years Eve. Hmmm, hope we celebrate on board the ship. We had thought about going to the Elks Club, but I think the band was an old fart band. Most of the Elks here are old farts.

Tomorrow we will try to find an airbed on sale. The newspaper sale ads come out with the Sunday edition. Tomorrow I also hope to get all my clothes together. The Bears play about three so we have some time to get stuff done. Monday, Paul and Zack will finish moving stuff around in the garage. Grandpa will be able to park his car in there. All the Christmas stuff is now lining the garage walls. Geesh, I gotta get rid of some of this stuff. But I am a selfish person and want it all.

As the martini in the glass gets lower, my typing gets suckier. Giggle giggle. The buz from alcholol is just so fleeting after having gastric bypass LOL!

Well, I guess I better sign off for today.

Keep posting comments, I love reading them!

Happy New Year!

dennise

Friday, part two...

Went to my appointment with Attilia ...er, the physical therapist. All joking aside she was very nice and very attractive too. We worked on developing some exercises I can do while we are away. Gosh, my left knee/leg is very weak. Plus, I didn't know my bad hip would hurt so bad. Enough complaining already.

Trip plans are starting to get past the "just thinking about it" phase. Paul and I measured the inside front windshield area of the motorhome to see if we could get a tension rod across the front window or actually the windshield glass. The made-for-the-rig shades are fugly and it would be nice to block out nosy campground neighbors, but let in the sunshine/light. The measurement is 94 inches. Too big for a tension rod. So, I think that what we will do is put up two brackets similar to the thingys that a a ships rigging is lashed to or a roll up shade cord is wound around. We can then put a string or rope through the cafe curtains and get the same effect. Well, I hope it will work. We tested out the new icemaker, and it appears that it will fit our needs nicely. We can store it in the basement of the motorhome until we stop and then turn out enough ice for two days or so.

Tomorrow the boys(Oscar and Pepe) go to Petsmart for a beauty bath and trim. Paul and I are heading to Wally World to check out the cafe curtains for the front window. We also need an air mattress for Grandpa. The fold out couch is a real piece of garbage to sleep on. We will get one of the queen size types that are almost the height of a regular bed. If Grandpa would rather have the bedroom, then Paul and I can sleep on the air mattress in the main part of the motorhome. This way, Grandpa can go to bed whenever he wants and has access to the bathroom close by.

We are getting excited as the departure day grows closer. There are so many details we have to keep multiple lists! We have the cruise checklist, the motorhome check list, things to do before we leave checklist, grocery checklist and the list goes on and on! Well off to bed. Lots to do tomorrow.

dennise

Hey, I forgot to post yesterday...had a real busy day. Went to the orthopedic doc, Dr. Borowicki aka Mr. NoNonsense I Am A Doctor You Peasant. Oh well, they say he is very very good so I will go with what the in the know folks believe. Had to have my right hip x-rayed. When the doc looked at the x-rays, he said I am too young for a hip replacement. Whoa, who even was thinking this? Certainly not moi! He suggested a shot into the joint....oh, just kill me now! It is set up for Tuesday January 3rd. This means we will have to leave for Miami after this is done, sometime in the afternoon. That still gives us 6 days to get to Miami. Shouldn't pose a big problem. Now all I have to do is convince myself I can do this...Dr. Horvath gave me two hip shots and I didn't even feel them, so hopefully I can get over my thumb-sucking fear. A radiologist does the procedure while looking at a live picture of my hip joint. I just can't wait. However, doing this is better than surgery. I just hope it helps the terrible pain in my hip.

I am heading for an appointment at MOHA, the phyiscal therapy place to have my knees evaluated once again. I seem to have serious pain issues when I stand for more than 5 minutes.
Boy this should be a great post later.

Wed Dec 28th 2005

Well, I did accomplish some things today. Put away Christmas stuff, everything is gone except the tree. It is too heavy for me to lift so I have to wait until Paul and Zack get it in the box. I had to take a lot of breaks...what should be an hour job took me 4 hours to complete. I have to sit every few minutes and rest. Fibromalgia is a very frustrating illness. Oh well. The tree is still quite pretty without the ornaments. Once the tree is down we can clean house.Paul will say, what is this WE stuff...he and Zack will have to do most of the cleaning. I, being Queen of course, shall direct their efforts. I hate leaving a dirty house when I go on vacation. I made up my check lists for the trip...me(clothes/meds/supplements) general stuff for the motorhome and things I gotta do right away. We will have to be careful of what we take in the motorhome as it will be sitting in the hot Miami sun while we are on the ship. No refridgerator so that limits what I will be taking with regarding food. We want to be economical and not eat out on the way down. Smaller quantities of perishables is the answer I guess. PB&J, small half and half for coffee, bottled water, etc. I better get going on this...time is slipping right away from me. Plus we have to take Snickers and Pepe to the vet for shots and to get their records. I would hate to find out too late that the vet is off on vacation...Paul doesn't think there will be a problem. We'll see.

I pulled out the video camera and we took it in to the battery place. We had three batteries and two are bad. I wish I had gotten the camera out sooner I could have been taking movies all along. How did I forget we had the darn thing?

Zack left for a three day Bible conference in Peoria today. I think he will be home by Saturday. I hope so as we have a ton of stuff to go back to the storage unit. We would also like to put Grandpa's car in the garage while we are gone. Major cleanout needed for that. Just when you need some brute strength to get the job done, Zack is nowhere to be found. There appears to be a pattern here I think.

I have a ortho doc appointment tomorrow morning to have this right hip checked out. It is really bothering me.

 

Tuesday, December 27th 2005

Well, I am still not making any progress in dismantling the Christmas stuff. Or packing the motorhome either... Woke up with a migrane and still have it. Went to PT at the FitClub and did my routine. Oh well, I didn't want to put the tree and stuff up and now I don't want to take it down!

I received good news today from our insurance company. They have approved my appeal to have a revision to my broken gastric bypass surgery. It will be sometime in late February I think. I will call the doc's office tomorrow when they open and get a real date.

I wanted to try and get some more pictures up...I signed up for this Google thing and it was supposed to be EASY to upload pix to my blog. Yeah right. I must be computer stoopid. I can't do it. I will try to post some pictures of the traveling menagerie but I am not promising anything right now.

Oscar the Black lab is almost 9 now. He is the sweetest dog in the world unless the UPS or mailman is at the door. Then he wants to eat the guy. The biggest problem traveling with him will be that he gets so excited when he sees bikes or go carts whiz by in the campgrounds.

Then there is Grandpa's little furball Pepe. He is supposed to be a
Chihuahua...well. He does have a Chihuahua's head, and a sweet little face...but that ends any semblence of Pepe being part of that breed. His fat little body weighs about 10 pounds, about 6 pounds more than most Chihuahuas. Then there is the tongue. This tongue must be the longest tongue on any dog anywhere. I am not making this up. It hangs out of the side of his mouth all the time. When he lays down on the floor, the tongue leaves a wet spot... But we love the little stinker. He and the kitty don't get along and she has to put him in his place every now and then with a couple of waps on the nose. Here he is... see the tongue?


Then last but not least is Miss Kitty, Snickers. She is almost 16 years old. She is really the queen of the house. She will nag and nag and nag some more until she gets what she wants. She wants to go out, then she wants to eat(and she likes to be PETTED) while she eats. She wants you to pet her, she wants some of your ice cream...its always something with the Queen. Here is a picture of Snickers....

This is an old picture...she is now blind in one eye and it is discolored. Doesn't stop her reign of terror at all...

Ok, I guess that's all I can think of to say tonight. Hopefully I will have made some progress by tomorrow on my list of stuff to do.

Monday, 26 December 2005

Well, all my plans for today were in the dumpster. Gene and I had a touch of stomach flu or something that made us both ill. So...the Christmas stuff is still up, I didn't start to pack, I didn't do much except drag myself from the bathroom to the bed and back again. It is now almost 8 PM and I am finally able to sit up for awhile. Not much going on here. Here is a picture of the boys on Christmas Eve.

They are a pair like dumb and dumber... but they are fun to have around sometimes.

I begin this blog on Christmas night 2005. Actually its about 2 am, so Christmas is officially over. I have over-indulged in sappy made-for-TV Christmas movies. Right now, flickering across the tv screen is Olivia Newton-John stranded with some goof in a snow storm.

I will begin to dismantle the Christmas decorations tomorrow. The plan is to be on the road by January 1st or 2nd. The departure date for the cruise to the Carribbean is January 9th. We are not sure of road conditions going south from Central Illinois, and we don't want to rush the driving, so we are allowing plenty of time for the journey south.

Christmas was a bit sad this year. Grandma Ziaja was missed. She loved Christmas almost as much as me, and that is saying a lot! We dug out all the various tapes from Christmases past, and I shed quite a few tears, not just for Catherine, but for the simple fact that my little guy Zack is now an adult, and worse, I am growing older. I look back at all those blurry and shakey images of Christmas pagents, Christmas mornings and family dinners, and the memories come flooding back. *Sigh*. Geesh, I sound like Scrooge after he meets his future! Enough already!

The picture above is of the tree that I took about 1 am Christmas morning...I'll be posting more pictures soon, I promise...

Well, I'm off to bed. More tomorrow