All my plans to 'write more' while I'm off work have not materialized, but it is certainly time for an update. And why is that the three months "off' which stretch ahead at the end of a contract speed by until it's the 'less than a week before I go back to work' time again? Almost seemed to fly by the same way as the four days off after a set of two 12 hour day and night shifts. It has been a good break and now I am looking forward to the change at work (even though it feels a bit unsettled to be heading to a new community, new employer and new co-workers) but enough whining.
I did manage to get through the busy pre-vacation week and speak a few words at a former co-worker's memorial service. Easy to find nice things to say about her and there was a good turnout of former work colleagues. Several of them bawl at kleenex commercials so you can imagine looking down into the assembled to see them sobbing did not lighten the task. My theory is that if you can't compose yourself to deliver a eulogy to friends and family then you aren't the right person to do it.
Current and past managers attended and I was pleased to be able to tell my former boss that I was doing a job share. It may be 30 years since she unilaterally cancelled the job share arrangements of eight of us RNs saying "I'll go the hospital board and tell them this is best - who do you think they'll believe - you or me?" as we sat in stunned silence, several of us with babies on our laps - but I clearly remember how it went. The circle was closed as I described my job share with a grin. Sometimes it takes a while for resolution. District managers attended as well and when complimented post service, I said "I'm just tough I guess" and walked away. Felt good. Lots of faces from my 'former life' and it was great to see so many people taking time to honour a co-worker who did so much for all of us.
We headed down to the city a bit early to begin our vacation as there was (another) winter storm predicted for Sunday morning. We joined the daughter and son-in-law for a sushi supper at Hamachi Mura on Valentine's Day and then stayed over at the airport hotel to park the car. Up in the wee hours of the morning and over to the terminal on the shuttle. Although at first having a 0530 hrs departure and flying through Pearson seemed like a crappy idea, that thought vanished with the major storm coming up the north eastern coast. Our flight to Toronto and one to Punta Cana were the only flights out of Halifax Sunday morning and it was several days before air travel was restored to the Maritimes. Whew! A longer than expected layover in Pearson as it was one of the coldest days on record with a windchill of -40c and the ground crew had difficulty getting the plane out of the hanger as the electronic doors were frozen! Many fellow travellers were irate as they were making connections, but we were just a bit late getting to the warm. West Jet gave us credit for the inconvenience anyway.
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| Supper at Sazon |
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| Life is good |
Monday was a lounge chair, quick dip in the pool and take it easy day. We headed over to check in for our cruise about 5 pm and it was an efficient and painless process. We were quickly screened, photographed and welcomed aboard to our…..grand suite. And oooh boy was it ever grand! Ronald the butler introduced himself and Rene the cabin stewardess. I think we were a bit less entitled than their usual clientele but they quickly adjusted to our Canadian casual style. With a 76% savings we didn't pay as much as we'd originally planned for a balcony so we were smiling. We enjoyed the bubbly, canapés and fruit basket and checked out the Miami skyline from the wrap around balcony - yes it really is that large as here on the left. Down to our late seating for supper - 9 pm European style - and to meet our waiter Labrador. We had a table for two as no one joined us. The food, service and wine were exceptional (consistently) and a great way to start the cruise. And no, I won't torture you with the photos as that would really cross the line.
Lots of roosters, we checked out Sloppy Joe's (Ernest Hemingway's favourite bar) and Hemingway's House with all the six toed kitties - one posing here on the right. Had forgotten about all the wonderful books / movies he'd created. Great amble through the streets, toured the very pricey yachts at the dock and headed back to enjoy the ship. The buffet was busy, but the restaurant is always an option. Time to catch some rays, fire up the Kindle and enjoy sail away on our own.
Sea days are a chance to really unwind and the sunshine, calm seas and in suite snacks just added to the relaxing. Formal night wasn't even too painful and after we got all gussied up, we had Rene snap a photo on our way to supper. The officers were all Italian and the Captain (who we were introduced to) didn't speak much english. I'm not easily impressed with marine titles as I sleep with the captain every night and gave birth to one too.
Samana, DR was not a new port of call to us but we took the tender ashore and wandered a bit in the heat, stopping for a beer for the travel partner. We found a couple from NS (he is DFO and known to the shore captain) on the cruise who we'd met in Cuba 15 yrs ago. Small world. Checked out the market and purchased a bottle of vanilla - big spenders. Tortola, BVI was our next port of call and again a repeat but we elected this time to do a snorkel excursion
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| Cuttlefish |
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| Long Bay Beach |
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| Guadeloupe spice market |
The following day found us in Guadeloupe which was new to us. It was a damp day with tropical showers and grey skies. We opted for a driver and shared a tour with the other NS couple of some of the islands. Interesting to note that Guadeloupe is much like St. Pierre and Miquelon off Newfoundland - a department of France. It was very developed thanks to its EU status and not at all what we'd envisioned. Freeways, fast food, Renault dealerships….Our guide Jimmy was very informative and showed us the national park with it's rainforest and waterfalls, a fort, seaside in several towns and a beach with a market. We managed to avoid the showers in our travels and picked up some nice spices as well.
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| Atrium |
restaurant where the food was wonderful but the service was a bit spotty - Labrador could whip them in to shape we decided. We did explore the ship a bit - it was (in our opinion) extremely gaudy. Think Las Vegas or bordello - as if the designer was on LSD, colour blind and doing a grade two art project. The crew were as expected Filipino, Indonesian and East Indian and their usual hard working, pleasant selves that we've come to expect. Labrador had a ten year old daughter and eight year old son in Philippines he hadn't seen for nine months and….his replacement didn't arrive so his contract was extended and he was not able to fly home from Miami to Manilla as he'd hoped. My heart ached.
Our final port of call was Freeport, Bahamas and we did a snorkel excursion with Reef Tours here. Caught the shuttle bus over to Port Lucayna and boarded the catamaran with Captain Gus. Wonderful snorkelling on Treasure Reef and we were the
A final room service breakfast, disembarkation - luggage, a cab and over to the hotel. We decided to visit the Miami Seaquarium - across the city - and enjoyed the exhibits and shows. Dolphins, sea lions and killer whale shows were fantastic and we didn't get soaked until the final show. The reaction of the grade primary class in front of us was priceless! A cab back to Miami Beach, tostones,
bean soup and mojito field the online research for supper which suggested
that Juicy Gyro might be an option. It did not disappoint - again, enough food for the next day and the need to walk it off. Last breakfast, a few moments by the palm trees and the ride to the airport. A wonderful vacation where the workaholic travel partner never once checked email and we remembered why we're still together after 40 years. Can't do better than that.
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| Barracuda |
last two out of the water and reluctantly at that. Last snorkelling for a while so we had to make it count. Huge schools of fish, lots of different kinds, beautiful coral and very clear water. A short shop at the market and back on the shuttle and to the ship. Wonderful afternoon and evening on the deck and late sail away towards disembarkation.
that Juicy Gyro might be an option. It did not disappoint - again, enough food for the next day and the need to walk it off. Last breakfast, a few moments by the palm trees and the ride to the airport. A wonderful vacation where the workaholic travel partner never once checked email and we remembered why we're still together after 40 years. Can't do better than that.
A long process to check the bag, security and finally to the gate. Pizza hut and a glass of red wine and we were ready to board with a nap but….we had to wait for a mechanic to 'reset a circuit breaker' and so with the delay we had missed our connection in Pearson. This wasn't our first rodeo so the travel partner arranged a new flight for us from Toronto to save time on the other end and we were finally on board. What a circus in Pearson - we do our best to avoid flying internationally through there and instantly remembered why. Walked kms then through customs and to the luggage carousel, picked up the bag, out through to security. Lost a bottle of sunscreen and one of lotion from our carry on luggage to the smug TSA screener. Explain how we were so thoroughly scanned in Miami that we had to remove shoes and have a total body scan, review everything in the bin etc etc but those liquids weren't found? I told the shore captain "I feel so much safer flying within Canada without my sunscreen now" but those at the gate who had lost their liquor to the same screener were much more ticked off than me. And to think that I remember when flying was fun. More kms to the gate which….had been changed so even more kms to find the new one. Rush to grab a sandwich and then….delayed again.
We landed at almost 1 am and awaited the airport hotel shuttle. It was freezing and I chose to wait in the terminal. Finally over to the hotel and the fun began. I had no more than settled myself on the couch to check email when the chauffeur's distressed and cold face appeared in the doorway. I assumed the car was stuck but he said "you only brought one set of keys did you?" Now, since it only takes one set of keys to operate a car, I think you already know the answer. Clearly, you also know the answer to "you locked the keys in did you?" He acknowledged that he had and the car was running. He also insinuated that if I had been helping it wouldn't have happened. Well…yes, I could've been freezing my butt off in the cold car and when he clumsily locked himself out, I could've opened the door but…I calmly reminded him that when I returned in January to a buried car that I excavated it solo without locking myself out as I'd instructed my travel partner to wait at the hotel - no point in two of us being hypothermic - female reasoning at work that time. The night clerk gave us a phone number and we called for help - the dispatcher said 30 - 45 minutes. Waiting is not something the shore captain does well. Nuff said. At the half hour mark without any sign of the help, I remembered I have roadside assistance on my car - never had to use it before and wasn't sure if it was even still current - 5 yrs or 100,000 km - although I hope I don't need to use it. I called the roadside assistance number and spoke to a calm representative who asked if everyone was safe from danger and I said "I haven't killed him yet, but I have considered it" and he chuckled and said "let's just keep that between us shall we?". He advised that with the recent weather there had been + + calls for assistance and we would do well to wait for our call. He also advised they would compensate up to $100 for lock out assistance and to call back tomorrow and get details for where to send the receipt. The truck arrived shortly after and opened the door but it was quickly apparent the car was completely stuck so he towed it out as well. The guy requested cash. We didn't have any Canadian funds so he suggested the ATM, I trotted downstairs and found it out of service. We finally pooled our resources from various pockets and purses and came up with $150 US. He wrote he'd unlocked the car and towed us on a business card and pocketed the bills. We collected our gear and started out. As we pulled out on the highway and accelerated to 70 km there was a violent shaking (it would loosen fillings I assure you) and thumping noise. The chauffeur got out to check. No flat, must be something out of line. We discussed heading over to the daughter / son-in-laws for the night but mister decides it's best to drive three hours home at 3 am on sketchy roads at 65km - male logic at work here, forgive the sexist remark. After 90 min. there is a mighty bang and crash and suddenly the car is acting normally. Clearly the ice berg wrapped around the underneath had detached itself after the vehicle warmed up. Made good time after that and crawled into bed at 6 am - thankfully the Red Cross workshop had been cancelled so that wasn't awaiting me. Now as you review this paragraph, please keep in mind that the shore captain had a brand new 4wheel drive truck sitting in the driveway but…he hadn't gotten the registration switched over and the temporary registration would expire before we returned. And don't even get me started about the multiple times I attempted to get out of the driveway today to get to my hair appointment - even though an employee ploughs the parking lot at both world headquarters and the satellite office, driving past our house to do so. Sigh. The 14 stair commute is looking good.
Have spent the past few days taking care of post vacation, last minute details for home and thinking about packing - not actually getting my act together yet. And the everyday things like walking the dog which I will miss after Tuesday.
Have had some positive developments this week where I scored Huey Lewis & the News concert tickets for Boston this summer (playing with Jimmy Buffett) August 15th. If our Cuban friends are permitted to visit us this summer, it won't be any problem to sell those tickets. Had a nice visit with the boy captain (last I'll see of him until May) and a chat with two daughters - one heading to Cuba, one to Hawaii and mittens for the teacher daughter's class donated by a neighbour. And no, I didn't put strings on the mitts - they're a hazard apparently - how did my kids survive? The quote of the day is "it's a double edged sword raising strong independent daughters". Oh my, yes it is, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I received a full refund of my reassessment income tax (after the accountant fought on my behalf) meaning that CRA had $3000 of my money to work with since last fall. Just in time to file again. A nice visit/lunch at The Lobster Shack with my house/pet sitter where I showed her the vacation photos to get her revved up for her trip to Cuba in a couple of weeks - as if that was required! Plans to have a double date this weekend - the movie Kingsman looks promising….Discovered I have a direct flight from Halifax to Edmonton next Wednesday - won the travel lottery! A few last minute details with the job share partner and now it's all beginning to sink in- I have a real job again. Ahhhh nice. Next posting from 72 degrees north latitude. Sachs Harbour here I come.
