You've Been On Too Many Cruises If...Part 2

When last I left you I was cruising on the

Norwegian Breakaway with 50 pounds plus of

clothes, shoes, etc. (lots of etc.!)
and no bag in which to bring them home.

For Part 1 CLICK HERE

I was a well recognized daily visitor to Guest Services

as they debated what to do about my problem.

They readily accepted responsibility, but their...

Solution #1 was:

They brought out a nice new bag which I could

have, but it was a medium size.

No way would it hold all my stuff.

And they were sorry. They didn't have a bigger one.

Solution #2 was:

They offered me $50.
And said I could file a claim on my travel
insurance as well. (Sounded shady.)

My bag wasn't an expensive one, but it had cost

about twice what they offered.

Solution #3 was:

They would reimburse me for the cost of a new

bag up to $100.

The only problem with that was we were cruising

to tiny ports in the Caribbean.

Where was I going to find a big bag to buy?

"Cozumel," they told me. (Our last stop.)

"There is a big shopping center at the port, and

they will have one there for sure."

And they did. They had ONE (1) (UNO)!

It was a typical mall with dozens of souvenir,

handbag, jewelry, and liquor shops.

It was hot as could be, but I walked the entire

thing, finding nothing.

I can't remember how I finally found the ONE

large bag in Cozumel--in a shop past Senòr Frog's,
in a back corner where I would not have gone.

It was kind of a miracle.

It was a fake Louis Vuitton.

With an obnoxious saleslady.

She said it was $350, and when I balked

reminded me I was gettig a LV!

I couldn't say anything sarcastic, because

I had to get home.

I bargained to the best of my ability, but

still had to pay $250.

Since the bag was more than $100 Guest Services
gave me n.o.t.h.i.n.g.
They said I would have to file on 
my travel insurance.
Which I have not had the fortitude to try yet!


A day at sea and it was time to disembark.
No problem. Disembarkation has became a snap.
Usually I walk straight off the ship with no
waiting in line.
Instead of going through Customs, there is now
something called "Facial Recognition" which 
clears one back into the U.S. easily and quickly.
Except on this voyage of the Breakaway!


I came down and faced the rudest of awakenings.
There was a line to disembark which rivaled
anything you have ever seen at Disneyworld.
It was not serpentine, just stretched for miles.
After inching forward for about 45 minutes, I
finally was able to see the exit.
All I had to do was get there and scan off.
But...wait. Two staff members were allowing about
a dozen people to exit, then stopping and
holding up the line.


I asked with extreme exasperation WHY we were
being held up like that.
One of the employees said that it was because the facial
recognition was taking place on the ship.
That was totally wrong.
Once I got off I never stopped "walking" 
(it was more like "limping along" by then)
before claiming my gen-u-ine Louis and  
arriving at the taxi stand.
There were about 5 lines for facial recognition, 
in the terminal, and not one person in any line.



I was so agitated by this time that I had
completely forgotten my unfortunate choice 
of attire for the day.

Yes, I thought it might be a good conversation starter,
never dreaming the conversation might take
an unkind direction.


Only the monkeys and macaws made it worthwhile!
I think my traveling days may be over for a while
Home is looking pretty good.
Except for...a trip to see my Madeline performing
on the Disney Wonder later this month!
I just know I can wear my t-shirt on that one!

You've Been On Too Many Cruises If...

you're embarrassed to blog about your latest.

Yes, I planned to keep it a secret, but then this happened:

How can I possibly keep this to myself?

I can't.

So this is how it came about.

Anytime I am home and my kids are hither, thither 
and yon, I start "just looking" at where I could go.
(I might or might not look other times, too.)

I ALWAYS find something irrestible.

This time it was on the Norwegian Breakaway,

a megaship I have sailed and loved.

The date was not ideal--only one week after I

got home from Colombia--but the perks were

again...irrestible.

I got the specialty dining package, the drink package,

250 internet minutes, $50 excursion credit at all

4 ports, and prepaid gratuities.

Most of these were a first for me, believe it or not!

The trip did not begin well.

This is my suitcase as it was delivered to my cabin.

It had been handled so roughly that

one of the rear wheels and a big chunk of the plastic

 were missing. This was a BIG problem that 

hung over me all week.

Since this cruise was going to be my little secret,

I did not take many pictures.

I did take some in the thermal spa (I paid extra

 to be able to go here because it is

one of my favorite things about the ship.)

Heated tile loungers

Just me and Father Tim in the salt room 

(Reading Mitford Series by Jan Karon)

I had two of my specialty restaurant dinners here
at the French restaurant, Le Bistro.

The view:

The pouring of the soup: (Mushroom)

The entreé: (Veal Medallions)

The dessert: (Profiteroles)

See why I went back?


Now remember, one of my perks was a $50 credit
toward an excursion in each port.
Our first port was Roatan, Honduras.
I decided to take this one:

And that was the best decision of my trip...
and when sharing became a must!
These are all professional photos!

You are messing up my perfect hair!
(But it's okay.)


The only other port I found an excursion I wanted
to take in was Belize.
It was a very pleasant short boat ride during
which I got to see manatees.
These shots were taken by our guide, since
I remembered my recent porpoise shots.

I did something else different and fun. 
On the Cruise Compass one of the first days,
there was a drawing I could enter to have
"dinner with an officer."
I entered and later received my invitation.
Here is our group:
a lst Officer, a 2nd Officer, another grandmother,
and her two granddaughters.

It was a very compatible group and
 a lovely evening!

  
Another way I justified going on this cruise
was that it encompassed my birthday!
Look what Jay and Terri arranged for me
as a surprise!

That cake was fabulous!



I'm going to end on this very happy note!
But the cruise did not.
Stay tuned if you want to hear about the
unpleasant (and a leetle bit funny) conclusion.

Colombia Bloopers

First...
The phantom air conditioners in our Bogata rooms

Exchange began after 10:00 P.M.

Krista Stotler: Our AC is not working. The repair man came and said the condenser was broken. He is working on it and said 20 minutes.

Logan George: Where is the AC in these rooms? I never saw it.

Krista: Remote control, but it's broken.

Logan: Where is this remote? Is someone pulling my leg?

Krista: Ours was by the TV remote.  
              (And furnishes visual proof)

Logan: Funny. We don't have that on the wall either

{By this time Denise Jackson and I were looking everywhere for our remote and wall unit--without success.}

David Hynson: Shane asked about Linda's room not having AC. (I think Shane had helped deliver me to our room in my Colombian wheelchair! L.S.) I heard Shane leave the desk and say that all rooms have AC. Ours doesn't, but I think we'll be fine. We'll open the  window if it gets hot.

Phillip Benge: Thinking ours doesn't either.

Krista: Our window is open.

{So at this point Denise and I opened our window. And immediately a giant moth creature flew in. We decided we would rather be hot!}

Krista: AC guy just came in our room and said he repaired the AC. Try yours now.

Logan: I think we are on the list of rooms without one. That would explain the lacking remote and AC unit itself. (HaHaHa- added by L.S.)

Krista: We are third floor.

David: Us too. Our side of the hall has no AC! If they do, it's a secret.

Logan: I was checking the cracks at the edge of the walls to see if they were fancy AC ducts.  (HaHaHa by me again!)

*******************

The Villa Katy Unisex Restroom

(View from second floor)

 Jim Parks guarding the "door" for Elizabeth.

There was also someone guarding the stairs so

no one could go up!

Now don't let this scare you off! It will be better

next year!

******************

Pastor Tony Aviles will be seeking patent for his
air conditioned cap creation.

and

CLICK HERE to see that Tony has Moves!

(also featuring Logan and Phillip)

*******************

It was at this point that I uttered the words David

likes to quote:

"I didn't know a mission trip could be so much fun!"

We had just visited this man's home.

He roared up as we were leaving, and Cameron

jumped on the back for a ride 

almost before he stopped!

(Rumor has it new guidelines regarding the

behavior of their "missionaries" will be added

by Compassion International.)

********************

That dashing Phillip...

As Juan Valdez...

and...

CLICK HERE to see as The Juggler


**********************

And finally, Nita's disturbing eerie-eyed fish:

She agreed to cover it up!

and...
Lynden's "bigger than she is" macaroni and cheese
sandwich (half!) 

Now I must tell you that many of these pictures
and videos were taken by members of our
group other than yours truly. We had something 
called "GroupMe" where we all could share.
Thanks to all whose pictures I grabbed without
giving proper credit.


Yes! Mission trips can be fun!!!

Parts Of My Heart Live In Colombia

At our first pre trip meeting our leader,

David Hynson, asked us what about our trip

excited us most.

Several others and I said it was meeting our

sponsored children.

I felt like I should have been more broadly 

"evangelistic,"

but it wasn't a good time or place to tell a fib!

I did not realize AT ALL how much the other

facets of our trip would affect me.

Every single day was important for its own reason.

But all week I kept looking for my older girl.

(I knew my younger girl was being flown in from

a distant part of Colombia.)

I looked for her when we arrived at San Miguel.

She was not there.

I looked for her in that stadium where the

Compassion Olympics were held,

but there was really no chance of finding 

her in that crowd. (Again, she wasn't there.)

Finally at Villa Katy I met someone who

knew my girl and assured me she was coming

to meet me!

In fact, here are pictures from Villa Katy of

her pastor and his wife!

They had just come to see the progress, but

they were responsible for ramping up my excitement!

As a reminder, our meeting with our sponsored

children takes place at a waterpark.

It did not compare with our Hurricane Harbor,

as I had predicted, 

but it was a much nicer place than I expected,

with three large, sparkling clean pools.

Here is a picture of all the things I was taking to

meet my girls.

We filled backpacks for each of our kids.

We went to a huge grocery store the night before

and bought Colombian candy and goodies.

We had sunscreen and bug spray.

We were prepared.

Meeting the girls seemed so surreal.

They brought me my younger girl first.

She was precious beyond words.

Her cuteness, her darling hair, and the fact that

everyone knew she had been flown in for

this occasion, pretty much stole the show!

(Compassion had included her mother and her

tutor on the trip.)

But...standing by waiting was a big chunk of my heart.

I have sponsored this girl since the day I heard

about Compassion at Fielder Church.

She was only about 6 years old, and she

is almost a teenager now.

The picture on my refrigerator walked toward me.

 And there she was...another beauty.

This one brought tears to my eyes!

She had gotten all grown up!

We are Fam-i-ly!

Each girl had a tutor with her who helped them

change into their swim duds.

We also had an interpreter who was a sweet teenager.

Since there was such an age difference between my 

two girls, I didn't know how they would do

in the pool together.

No problem. Before I knew it the younger was

riding around on the back of the older as they enjoyed

the shallow pool! (Joined by the interpreter!)

At 4 and 12 a pool was a new experience for them.

The baby and the interpreter

The girls with their backpacks

Not everything was perfect to my standards.

It is miserable not to be able to just talk with them.

(If I had my life to live over, I would learn Spanish!)

The clothing purchases about which I agonized 

were not going to fit my older girl.

The day is short and goes by much too fast.

It is so hard to leave them.

But...they are now a part of the less than 2% of

 Compassion children who get to meet their sponsor.

David quotes his Compassion 
leader on his very first trip (of 4) to Colombia
as stating,
"The tragedy of poverty is not just that you are
poor; it's that poverty tells you that you
don't matter."

These two girls know that they matter to someone

in the United States--ME.

They are real to me and I am real to them.

They will be getting far more letters from that

real someone who cares than they did before!
And I will be telling them how much they
matter to our Almighty God.

And if He sees fit, I will be going back to see 
them next year--without question or doubt.