Never too old!

[yellowbird23]

I so admire his fortitude. Would love to take a road trip to NYC and do a meet n greet at the pier!!

 

I can drive up in 4-5 hours!!

 

K

Fantastic idea! Train is easier though!

[crusinpsychRN]

Really enjoy the pics!

[yellowbird23]

My daughter is in the hospital and very sick. I may not be on here for a few days. Just wanted to let everyone know. Will update things as I can. Prayers appreciated...

 

Pat:)

[Fisherlady48]

My daughter is in the hospital and very sick. I may not be on here for a few days. Just wanted to let everyone know. Will update things as I can. Prayers appreciated...

 

Pat:)

 

I will keep you in my thoughts Pat, and your daughter.

[50cruiser]

If you go to Eagons site he has posted for june. I know Pat does the transfer but shes busy right now and Im not computer savy to do it but maybe someone here can do it for Pat . CARL

[AndyP7]

My daughter is in the hospital and very sick. I may not be on here for a few days. Just wanted to let everyone know. Will update things as I can. Prayers appreciated...

 

Pat:)

 

So sorry to hear. You and your daughter are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

Andrea

[bjbear]

Pat, i'm so sorry. You and your daughter are in my thoughts and my prayers.

 

God Bless, Sue

[Mike981]

Sorry Pat, you are in our thoughts.

[Okie1946]

My daughter is in the hospital and very sick. I may not be on here for a few days. Just wanted to let everyone know. Will update things as I can. Prayers appreciated...

 

Pat:)

 

Have no fear, prayer travels from here.

 

Take care of yourself at the same time.

 

Barbara :D

[lindalans]

I checked Egon's site and all his updates are posted on here.

 

Pat, my thoughts and prayers are with you, your family, and your daughter.

 

I'll keep checking Egon's site and if anything new appears, I'll post it for Pat. :)

[Okie1946]

I checked Egon's site and all his updates are posted on here.

 

I'll keep checking Egon's site and if anything new appears, I'll post it for Pat. :)

 

Thank you Linda!

 

This is what I love about this web site, even though many of us have never meet in person, we are one BIG family and take care of each other.

 

Pat - please keep us posted if possible.

 

Barbara

[quickrate]

Pat, so sorry to hear that you're daughter is in the hospital-even tho i've never posted here, i have been following Egons adventures and appreciate you posting his adventures. My thoughts are with you!

pat

[yellowbird23]

I'm back! Daughter is recuperating nicely and this was one heck of a week. Thanks to all for your concern and prayers! Much appreciated!:)

[Talisker92]

I am glad your daughter is on the mend. We wish her a speedy recovery.

.

Please post the URL for Egon's website. Thank you

[AndyP7]

I'm back! Daughter is recuperating nicely and this was one heck of a week. Thanks to all for your concern and prayers! Much appreciated!:)

 

Sooo glad to hear! Thanks for the update :)

 

Andrea

[yellowbird23]

I am glad your daughter is on the mend. We wish her a speedy recovery.

.

Please post the URL for Egon's website. Thank you

http://home.cablerocket.com/~egon/itinerarypoesia.htm

[ladysail2]

Pat...I'm glad to hear that your daughter is recovering nicely. I was off the boards all week too.....my Mom passed away....it's been a hard week for both of us!!!

 

Life happens, doesn't it.....cherish the memories!!

 

Joyce :D

[CAC104]

Pat...I'm glad to hear that your daughter is recovering nicely. I was off the boards all week too.....my Mom passed away....it's been a hard week for both of us!!!

 

Life happens, doesn't it.....cherish the memories!!

 

Joyce :D

I am so sorry for your loss. It is never easy to lose a loved one. I hope you can find comfort in loving memories.

 

Pat....I am glad for you that your daughter has recovered. I am sure it must have been a scary time for you.

[yellowbird23]

Pat...I'm glad to hear that your daughter is recovering nicely. I was off the boards all week too.....my Mom passed away....it's been a hard week for both of us!!!

 

Life happens, doesn't it.....cherish the memories!!

 

Joyce :D

Oh Joyce! I am so sorry to hear of your mother's death. When my Mom died, it took me a very long time to have it sink into my brain that I couldn't call her anymore, though I wanted to. Please know that sorrow fades...love NEVER does! You have my sympathy.:(

[yellowbird23]

Oh Joyce! I am so sorry to hear of your mother's death. When my Mom died, it took me a very long time to have it sink into my brain that I couldn't call her anymore, though I wanted to. Please know that sorrow fades...love NEVER does! You have my sympathy.:(

Other than my mother's death, the worst thing for me was losing what I thought was a best friend who I met on a cruise who is still alive. We had some great cruises together but she couldn't accept me for me. She overcame some horrible dealings with the big "C" and I thought I supported her as best I knew how. It is something that is hard for me to get over, but like I said above, sorrow fades....love never does.

Edited July 8, 2011 by yellowbird23

[yellowbird23]

 

Juy 5, Stockholm. Overcast with an occasional sprinkle. I drive along the waterfront for over one mile (I guess) but come to a point where I know that I have to get to the road above which it comes over a bridge from the right and leads into a part of the city I want to go to. However, there is no way I can get up there. So I enter a light rail and subway station, hoping to find an elevator, but there are only stairs. Finally I talk to the nice guy at the subway ticket counter and he lets me through the stile because there is an elevator to the platform upstairs and there I find another one to the outside subway entry. I should have taken a few pics of the snazzy trains, but forgot, preoccupied as I was. And, lo and behold, I spy a McD just accross the very busy road and of course spend a few hous there, perched on a stool - not the best or most comfortable environnment but filling the bill! Next time in this big city I'll reconnoiter the old town, which is accross the bridge on the road I just crossed. And so, I find my way back to old Poesia and am happy for a little nap in my cabin at 2.30pm. But shortly after 3 I go swimming again, not the 20 laps I used to, but working up to it. However, the water is rather cool today and I warm up in the Jaccuzi. There are again lots of kids on the ship and in the afternoon to go swimming or in the Jaccuzzi is not very enjoyable.

At 4.30 we leave and I stand at the reeling on deck #7, watch and photograph the ship leaving, somehow always an emotional moment, especially with the beautiful music they play at that time over the system.

 

July 6, Tallinn, Capital of Estonia. From what I see driving around it combines the very old and the ultra modern very nicely. I roost at a fabulous Spa building with a stainless steel facade gleaming in the (sparse, but yet!) sunshine along with the two beautiful statues of nude maidens guarding the entrance. Of course I couldn't resist entering in the first place, to find free WiFi and comfortable places to sit at tables. There are 5 floors and four glass elevators; in the middle the large pools and I also see a bar at poolside; there are all the accutrements of health preservation you can think of, from Saunas to Gyms to Yoga, but I also see large convention rooms on upper floors and what appear to be hotel rooms; as a matter of fact there is a hotel right next to the Spa and the two may be interconnected. And yes, of course there is a large restaurant. So I spend a few hours there but must wait a very long time until I can get to my email because windows has decided to upload four updates and takes its time doing it. Later, I drive into a part of the old town over rough pavements and teeth chattering cobblestone streets, return to the ship after 2pm, have a bowl of soup, lie down for a bit (oh, my aching back!) and then watch as we leave at 4pm and I once more experience the tear jerking musical moment on deck 7 as the ship backs away from the Pier. Andrea Boccelli sings "Con te partiro".

 

July 7, Saint Petersburg. It's billed as one pof the most beautiful cities in the world, but they sure don't make it easy to see it! Turns out that, unless you have a Russian visa, you cannot: only passengers who have booked a MSC excursion can have the privilege because the company has a collective visa. The excursions are accompanied by a Russian "guide" who also is with you on shopping stops and noone is allowed to go off on their own. They last from 3-1/2 hrs to 10-1/2 and cost from 35 to 164 Euro. All of them are marked as "not recommended for guests with mobility problems". For me, since I'll be back here four more times, a visa would be the ideal solution because I then could strike out on my own, but I think a visa can only be obtained in the country where you live ( yet to be checked out). Feeling somewhat like a caged animal I drive around the area on the side of the ship and beyond, which is all fenced in with obviously electrically charged but fancy looking - of course no WiFi anywhere. Overall, visions arise of conditions prevailing before the Wall came down. Deja Vu!

So I go swimming instead (good boy!) but it starts raining. After a little lunch I sleep a bit (we lost 1 hr each the last two nights and will gain them back the next two) and have invited Allan for a drink at 5 and discuss the matter.

(Much later): Allan and I had again a good talk, mostly about his future aspirations - he is much hampered by the fact that he is Honduran and would like to acquire a different nationality. As far as St. Petersburg is concerned, there's nothing that can be done and I'll probably just take one of the 3-1/2 tours to se e at least some of it. But at 35 Euros, which translates for me to US$ 52, it ain't cheap. No discount even with the Black Card.

 

July 8, At sea on the way to Kiel. An uneventful day wich began with a relatively short swim (I left after some burly Russians brought the water to a boil with flailing limbs and raging testosterone). I played in the afternoon to a good but noisy audience (it always is last day before disembarkment), said goodbye to my tablemates at the Gala Dinner (every 7-day cruise has two and the second is always crowned with the Parade of ignited Baked Alaksa) and went to the cocktail party which again was scheduled for after dinner.

[Cruiser733380]

Other than my mother's death, the worst thing for me was losing what I thought was a best friend who I met on a cruise who is still alive. We had some great cruises together but she couldn't accept me for me. She overcame some horrible dealings with the big "C" and I thought I supported her as best I knew how. It is something that is hard for me to get over, but like I said above, sorrow fades....love never does.

 

I had a similar experience with someone I thought was a friend. We met on a cruise ship and shared that interest, and actually cruised a few times together. Before we met, I had survived cancer twice in the prior 5 years, but had had a recent recurrence and was still on disability due to my condition and prognosis. She didn't know me during my diagnosis or treatments, but once she found out I was still on disability and cruising, she considered reporting me for disability fraud because I didn’t “look” or "act" disabled. She actually submitted a thread on CC asking advice from fellow cruisers on this. I haven’t talked to her since. Some people have no clue.

Edited July 11, 2011 by Lusitano

[ladysail2]

Oh Joyce! I am so sorry to hear of your mother's death. When my Mom died, it took me a very long time to have it sink into my brain that I couldn't call her anymore, though I wanted to. Please know that sorrow fades...love NEVER does! You have my sympathy.:(

 

Thank you for your kind words.....I will write down your words of wisdom....Sorrow Fades....Love NEVER does.......that is so true. We lived about 500 miles apart so our communication was mostly through telephone calls and emails...and plenty of both...LOL Thank goodness for digital cameras...I could send her pictures of the cats' antics or flowers from the garden...in 10 minutes!! She always loved that when we kids got together at Christmas (or other family events)..I photographed everything from the dishes to food to clean-up to gift openings...and of course all the kids and g/kids....then I'd send her the pictures..usually on the same day....she said that it always made her feel like she was a part of the party. So many wonderful memories......I'm glad that sorrow will fade in time....:(....I miss her so much already.

 

Joyce

[ladysail2]

I am so sorry for your loss. It is never easy to lose a loved one. I hope you can find comfort in loving memories.

 

 

Thank you Carol. I do find comfort in the wonderful memories that I have...new ones keep coming into my mind every day!!! It's still hard to comprehend that she won't pick up the phone....I guess it's one day at a time!! Sorrow Fades.....Love NEVER does..... I will live by those words..:)

 

Joyce

[yellowbird23]

I had a similar experience with someone I thought was a friend. We met on a cruise ship and shared that interest, and actually cruised a few times together. Before we met, I had survived cancer twice in the prior 5 years, but had had a recent recurrence and was still on disability due to my condition and prognosis. She didn't know me during my diagnosis or treatments, but once she found out I was still on disability and cruising, she considered reporting me for disability fraud because I didn’t “look” or "act" disabled. She actually submitted a thread on CC asking advice from fellow cruisers on this. I haven’t talked to her since. Some people have no clue.

You hit the nail on the head by saying "some people have no clue". I suffered from severe depression most of my life, but after having gone through bankruptcy, gambling addiction, alienation of family members, husband losing his job through no fault of our own. I have received therapy for it these past few months and I know that I truly hurt this person in one of my "horrible" down times and stressful periods of my life; hence, I went cruising to feel "something". I can't take it back, but I have since moved on to a more healthy lifestyle. My family is back, house is for sale, have not gambled since March and hubby has since retired. If I could take back all that was said, I would, but disability comes in all types and I understand fully what transpired from my illness. All I can do is move forward with the new tools I have found.