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There are lots of don’t in the world.
Don’t walk under ladders.
Men, (or I suppose some acrobatic women) don’t pee on an electric fence.
Don’t go the grocery store when you are hungry.
No texting former lovers after a night drinking.
My current one is:
Don’t go internet surfing for cruises when you are bored.
I’m not going to say that I made a mistake, though all things considered perhaps a different trip would have been a wiser choice.
A trip through the Panama Canal. That sounds exciting! A repositioning cruise generally offers more days for dollars spent. So, out came the AMEX. Once the ‘No refunds’ day came and went, I really started looking at the trip.
21 days nine days at sea. With the first port, Seattle almost a neighborhood place to me. The end of the trip is Miami, Florida where I have absolutely no desire to spend any longer than absolutely necessary.
So I am now down to nine port days. Victoria Canada, a day trip from home. Went there 25 years ago and have not thought about going back in those 25 years. San Francisco, 2 days. Been there half a dozen times and saw what I wanted to see then. Los Angeles one day. I was raised in the L.A. area. I suppose I could rent a car and drive out to see old friends. Except for that, I’m kind of counting it a land ‘sea day’.
Cabo San Lucas, new to me. A nice former one shack fishing village that developers have changed into miles of ocean fronted all inclusive hotels and kind of cheap drinks.
Acapulco 8 hours of Sinatra nostalgia, that surely isn’t the place I am picturing on my mind. Watching the cliff divers while sipping a martini with Ava Gardner at the next table. Currently the U.S. State Department (that is still it’s name, isn’t It?) a level 4 travel advisory due to gang activity and murder. It’s not going to stop me, it’s within my level of risk, but remember Lynda has my Will if need be.
Someplace in Guatemala and another place in Costa Rica, could be great. With more than 8 hours to experience each of them.
Panama City and the canal. That could be interesting. Though the canal might be a glorified Ballard locks without the salmon ladder.
Cartagena, Columbia. Yes please. History. Great coffee. Tony Montana. I’m looking forward to that city.
Which leads me to my current location cabin 10710 somewhere between Seattle and Victoria with nearly 1700 strangers, soon to be up to 4000 after picking up more passengers in San Francisco, and the City of the Angels.
This morning was about as easy as you can get when leaving for a trip. Get up, have a cup of coffee, ride 5 blocks, get on a bus. Two hours later catch a taxi, give a man 30 pounds of clean clothes, zig zag through large rooms and then ‘Welcome Aboard’.
The bus is the same one I would take if I was flying out of SeaTac, but for some reason this trip had a stop right downtown Seattle, which was perfect for me. The cruise terminal could have been a nice 40 minute stroll if I wasn’t towing 30 pounds of clean clothes behind me. Instead I saw a Yellow car, stuck my hand up and rode in Toyota Prius style to the terminal. No meter, a ‘Flat fee’. I’m not sure the company is going to hear about that $15 flat fee, since it wasn’t recorded on the meter. I handed him a $20 and stood there. “Oh. You want change?”. Yes, please.
I was about an hour and a half early for my assigned boarding time. My plan was to drop off the luggage and then walk up to Pike Place Market and be tourist for a bit. The weather wasn’t as inviting as my plan thought I should be, so I asked a lady gate keeper if they were enforcing the boarding times. She shrugged and said. “Go ahead. You just tell them you didn’t know any better.”. At over 70 years of age, I think that is going to be my mantra from now on. After that it was read this, sign that, show my government documentation and find a bar. 1130 am really was a bit too early for me even in my days of alcoholic training in high school, so I opted for a Diet Coke.
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Talked to a few strangers, who are now acquaintances. A couple who were both retired Air Force members, and were Air Force brats to boot. I ran into Jill an older woman from England on her first trip to the states (and I assume Central America). She flew into Seattle a couple days early and touristed around for a bit. “People in Seattle are so nice. It’s odd they pass you on the street and smile at you, and sometimes say hello.”. I didn’t tell her of my before 10 am and afternoon 10 tropes I meet when biking the trails. Before they smile and say hello (unless they are with a dog. Then they are concentrated on the dog’s anus) and after 10 am where hardly anyone has a smile on their face. I’m really happy we left her with a good impression.
Then there is Ron, who as a long haired hippie freak in the 60’s toured Asia and the Indian subcontinent. After dinner there was Garry a man who can talk for15 minutes straight with out taking a breath. We talked for about 3 breaths.
It’s now close to 9 pm. I’m not tired so much as mentally overloaded, so I think it is time to grab my book and head to the room and watch Washington state or British Columbia roll by my sliding glass door.
