This morning we will fly out of New England
for Puerto Rico, where we will catch our cruise ship, The Caribbean Princess,
for a one week tour of the Southern Caribbean.
We depart early out of Boston, and will be getting to San Juan by lunchtime. We’ll check in, have some lunch and then do a little sight seeing before returning to the ship for dinner.
The ship sails at 11 o’clock, PM and I will be sailing toward Aruba and my 50th birthday!
Today was a down day. By that I mean that since it was dark and rainy here I got the chance to actually take a 2 hour nap. I’ve been needing that, as I have had a small cold that had been wearing me down.
I woke feeling better and after a cup of tea decided that I am now on the upswing.
I went in my closet today to get a pair of shoes to bring on the trip. I hunted and hunted, and then recalled that I’d donated them because they’d gotten too big for me. It now means I must go to the local shoe store and pick up a pair of taupe dress shoes.
I also went through the pile of clothes I planned to bring and cut it down by a third! I am so proud of myself! Now I just have to get Hubby to pull out the clothes he wants to bring so I can work at folding those up.
The week ahead finds me seeing my retinal surgeon on Wednesday and getting a complete overhaul on Thursday with my hair stylist!
Before we know it, it will be time to drive to Boston and hop our plane. Just a week from today we board the ship and head off on our trip, where I will sail into being 50.
This picture was taken by Hubby during our cruise last year. I played with it in photoshop and this is what I came up with!
On our way home from the Zuchtschau, Barbie and I took Anneliese to visit her Grandmother. Asta is owned by Jurgen and Lore and they invited Barbie and I to spend the night with them on Sunday.
It was raining cats and dogs as we drove along the country roads of upstate New York. We could see almost nothing. The GPS did the navigation, and we pulled into their driveway just after 1 o’clock.
Jurgen and Lore’s home is truly a sanctuary for all the animals of the wild, including the most wonderful herd of deer. I found myself sitting in front of the picture windows snapping picture after picture of those precious beasts.
Anneliese got to meet her grandmother, Asta, and she also got to rest. Barbie, Anneliese and myself were all feeling a bit weary after the Zuchtschau and Lore and Jurgen’s home was so warm and welcoming to us.
That night I climbed into the large and comfortable queen sized bed and sank into the softness of the down comforter. I slept as though I hadn’t slept in years. A true respite from the world.
The leaves were just changing and the next day as we drove home from there we oohed and aaahed at the beauty around us.
Anneliese and I arrived home at 5:15 this afternoon. A little tired and a little road weary, but home, safe and sound.
Hubby, Fritz, Greta and Arnie met us in the driveway with a great deal happiness, and Anneliese and I were happy to see them too.
Sometimes it just feels good to be home.
As I write we are in Pennsylvania, stopping for the night at a motel. We drove 835 miles today and by the time we stopped we were both very tired! We stopped at a diner for dinner and now we are just settling in to watch a little TV before falling asleep.
Tomorrow we will get home in the late afternoon. I will spend plenty of time hugging and kissing my pups. We sure have missed them!
I will tell you all about our trip back once I am settled comfortably in my chair with three dachshunds draped all around me, and one big white German Shepherd cuddled up at my feet!
Ah yes, it will sure be good to get home!
This will mark my 1500th post on Dackel Princess. When I started writing, I wasn’t sure I had enough inside of me to write 10 pages, let alone 1500. But, here I am, still writing and still thinking constantly, “Will this make a good entry on the blog?”.
It gets that way, you know. You are out somewhere, innocently shopping or walking, or whatever, and you see something or think of something funny and you begin to write the blog entry in your head. One time I even got out of bed and turned on the lights and the computer and wrote down my idea.
You just never know where or when it will happen.
Like today. We woke to hurricane-like weather in St. Louis. The rain was coming down in sheets, and the wind was blowing so hard that the rain was blown sideways into buildings and windows while the trees whipped back and forth.
So what did Hubby and I do? Did we crawl back into our nice big bed and sleep another hour?
No! We got up, had a light breakfast, and off we went to the St. Louis History Museum to view their Grant and Lee Exhibition on its last day in St. Louis.
This picture was taken yesterday when the sun was shining!
For my foreign readers I will tell you that General Ulysses S. Grant was the commander of the United States Army during the latter part of our Civil War, and his opponent was General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army. They squared off in many pivotal battles until Lee finally surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia, in 1865.
The American Civil War has always been one of the most interesting periods that I have studied, and Hubby shares my interest, so today we really wanted the chance to see what had been put together at the museum.
It was well done, with many photo’s, journals, and letters written by each man. The museum also provided a little color, by having a local militia come in full period dress for the closing of the exhibition. Well, you know me. Before I knew it I was talking to them all and having a great time.
(Perhaps the worlds worst picture of me!)
Tonight is our last night in St. Louis and there will be a banquet for Hubby’s Army Aviator’s group. Tomorrow we will leave and head back to our little part of heaven, also known as New Hampshire.
We actually got on the road by 6:10 AM on Wednesday morning. Not bad. Since the car was all gassed up, we were able to make a clean break from New Hampshire, through Vermont and most of upstate New York before stopping at an Indian Reservation for gas. Then we crossed a short distance into Pennsylvania, and then on to Ohio.
We drove and drove and drove, enjoying mostly empty roads, bright blue skies and satellite radio. I had packed lunch for us and about noon I broke out the food and prepared turkey breast sandwiches for the two of us. The sandwiches were surprisingly good.
Hubby was munching on some salt and vinegar chips nd I had to beg him to stop. Between the smell of them, and listening to the crunch of them, I was going insane! So he very kindly finished up so I could put them away.
We’ve gone 750 miles and have 450 more to go tomorrow. We’ll make it, despite the fact that about 1 1/2 hours after departure the front right brake went on the car! Every time Hubby puts on the brakes it grinds in a gruesome way. Once we arrive in Missouri we will get the car to a brake shop and get it fixed.
Now we will setttle in at our motel and try to get a good night sleep. I know the morning will come all too soon and we will be…..
On the road gain!!!
Tuesday was spent doing up the last bits of laundry, going through the fridge to toss out anything that won’t keep, or putting it in the freezer, if possible.
Hubby and I packed the last shirts, shorts and shoes into our bags and then piece by piece, we packed the car with our things.
The entire time the dogs were restless. Especially Fritz and Greta, as they have been through this before and recognize all the signs that Mommy and Daddy are going away. Fritz paced back and forth. Greta grumbled, and she followed us around as well. Each time I sat down for a moment, it seemed Greta was in my lap.
Dinner was easy. Leftovers heated up in the microwave. Easy! The only thing I actually cooked were the wax beans and my first eggplant!
Isn’t it beautiful?
Wake up is scheduled for 5:30 AM and departure is set for 6.
