Mike & Tracy’s Excellent Adventure: B2B2B2B on Destiny, Imagination, Valor, Freedom

[Froufie]

BIG CONGRATS to Tracey and the whole family! The pics are amazing and you must all be so proud! (and glad to have Tracey back home I'm sure :) )

[MikeyA53]

BIG CONGRATS to Tracey and the whole family! The pics are amazing and you must all be so proud! (and glad to have Tracey back home I'm sure :) )

 

 

Thank you Froufie, nice to hear from you again. :)

[Tio Marco]

Wow -- there's really one thing to say about this thread: OUTSTANDING!!!!

[MikeyA53]

Wow -- there's really one thing to say about this thread: OUTSTANDING!!!!

 

 

Thank you Tio Marco. :)

[magic&buddy]

Thanks so much to you and your family for sharing such amazing memories and moments with us. The pictures of Tracy's graduation brought tears to my eyes - made me so proud to be a Canadian!

[MikeyA53]

Thanks so much to you and your family for sharing such amazing memories and moments with us. The pictures of Tracy's graduation brought tears to my eyes - made me so proud to be a Canadian!

 

 

Thank magic&buddy, very kind of you. Mike

[JaniceB]

Thanks for sharing the pictures of Tracy's graduation. It certainly looked like a glorious day for a graduation. Her parents must be so proud of her accomplishments. I know you and the children are too! Tracy looks beautiful in all her different uniforms.

[MikeyA53]

Thanks for sharing the pictures of Tracy's graduation. It certainly looked like a glorious day for a graduation. Her parents must be so proud of her accomplishments. I know you and the children are too! Tracy looks beautiful in all her different uniforms.

 

 

Thank you Janice, from both of us and nice to hear from you again. :):)

[rnvattes]

Thank you soccersharon, as soon as Tracy starts working and can find out when she can get time off, we will plan our next cruise/cruises. I've been looking at several options including Liberty in March. Can't wait to book. Mike

 

We are sailing Liberty the last week of Feb -- join us :D

[rnvattes]

Congratulations to Tracy on her graduation! What a fantastic accomplishment. You can see how proud all of you are in the photos you shared. Thanks so much for posting them. It was nice to hear and see the "end" of this (part of the) story.

[MikeyA53]

Congratulations to Tracy on her graduation! What a fantastic accomplishment. You can see how proud all of you are in the photos you shared. Thanks so much for posting them. It was nice to hear and see the "end" of this (part of the) story.

 

 

Thank you mvattes, Tracy and I appreciate it. :):)

[Captain Canuck]

just hooked up my old computer to my 50 inch tv in the bonus room..can now look at your pictures at a size they deserve...i can now watch tv and surf the net from my recliner..500 pounds here I come

 

you guys are not in danger from Irene are you?

[SenatorsFan]

Congratulations to Tracy on achieving this milestone in her life! Thanks for sharing the photos of her graduation with us. I'm glad you're posted together. I look forward to following along on whatever adventure you undertake next.:)

Heather

P.S. we had an outstanding cruise on Freedom!:)

[MikeyA53]

just hooked up my old computer to my 50 inch tv in the bonus room..can now look at your pictures at a size they deserve...i can now watch tv and surf the net from my recliner..500 pounds here I come

 

you guys are not in danger from Irene are you?

 

We're right in her path but they are forecasting a tropical storm by the time it reaches us. Our American friends aren't so lucky, they're expected to get a gategory 1 and possibly a gategory 2 hurricane. :eek:

[MikeyA53]

Congratulations to Tracy on achieving this milestone in her life! Thanks for sharing the photos of her graduation with us. I'm glad you're posted together. I look forward to following along on whatever adventure you undertake next.:)

Heather

P.S. we had an outstanding cruise on Freedom!:)

 

Hi Heather, nice to hear from you again, glad you had a outstanding cruise and thank you from both of us. :):)

[poffles]

A little late reading this but still have to say what a wonderful review of your trip. It looks like you guys took full advantage of everything as it shows in your pictures. It is so refreshing to go on an adventure like this. Your family just enjoying things for what they are comes through loudly and it makes us all love it even more.

 

Thanks for the hard work it took to share all this!

[MikeyA53]

A little late reading this but still have to say what a wonderful review of your trip. It looks like you guys took full advantage of everything as it shows in your pictures. It is so refreshing to go on an adventure like this. Your family just enjoying things for what they are comes through loudly and it makes us all love it even more.

 

Thanks for the hard work it took to share all this!

 

Thank you poffles, glad you enjoyed it. Mike

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

I have spent the last week reading your wonderful review (just started the Pride one but wanted to post something on this one first). I could tell you that you have a wonderful family (its been said already), I could tell you how handsome you & your son are and how beautiful your wife and daughter are (its been said already). I could tell you how your vow renewal made me cry (yes, that's been said already too), I won't though :p. What I will say is that you are a truly blessed man and most definitely understand the importance of enjoying life. My motto- live life to the fullest because we only get one!

 

Happy sailing!!! ;)

[WayTooCool]

I've looked thru your wonderful pics several times now -- living vicariously, I guess; you and family look like there's a deep love among you. I hope everyone appreciates how precious that gift really is. And graduation pics are just stunning -- I know you're the most proud hub in the world! As you should be. Please give them all a hug from The Little Woman and me, and keep them close and safe. God bless!!

[MikeyA53]

I have spent the last week reading your wonderful review (just started the Pride one but wanted to post something on this one first). I could tell you that you have a wonderful family (its been said already), I could tell you how handsome you & your son are and how beautiful your wife and daughter are (its been said already). I could tell you how your vow renewal made me cry (yes, that's been said already too), I won't though :p. What I will say is that you are a truly blessed man and most definitely understand the importance of enjoying life. My motto- live life to the fullest because we only get one!

 

Happy sailing!!! ;)

 

 

Thank you Buffalofirsttimer4, about 6 years ago, when I turned 50 and after the death of a few old friends and acquaintances from my old neighbourhood I decided I would start living life to the fullest rather than worrying about paying down the mortgage, saving for retirement, etc. To me that meant having the best of everything I can afford now because there might not be a later. :):)

[MikeyA53]

I've looked thru your wonderful pics several times now -- living vicariously, I guess; you and family look like there's a deep love among you. I hope everyone appreciates how precious that gift really is. And graduation pics are just stunning -- I know you're the most proud hub in the world! As you should be. Please give them all a hug from The Little Woman and me, and keep them close and safe. God bless!!

 

 

Thank you WayTooCool, you bet I'm proud of her. Being away for six months was very difficult for her, there wasn't a week that went by that she didn't think of getting on a plane and coming home. She excelled and was one of the top cadet in her class. :D

[gail811]

Seeing this thread made my day! What beautiful pictures of what had to be a very proud day for your entire family! Thanks so much for sharing them with all of us!

[MikeyA53]

Seeing this thread made my day! What beautiful pictures of what had to be a very proud day for your entire family! Thanks so much for sharing them with all of us!

 

 

Thank you Gail. :):):)

[MikeyA53]

WOW!!!! Just spent the past 12 HOURS :eek: reading your beautiful review. (BTW :rolleyes: for the peanut gallery, I do have a life. I work 12-hour shift on nights and I had last night off. LOL!) It was almost like a mini novel and I loved it! You sound like a real "Sweetheart" Mike and I'm sure Tracy is blessed to have you in her life. I would like to THANK YOU for sharing that portion of your life and your beautiful family with us.

 

One question for this dreamy novel...How/where did you guys meet?

 

Now that's quite a story, I actually entered a Valentine contest a few years ago titled " How you met your sweetheart" and won first prize (tickets to a theatre performance). When I get back home I'll post it.

 

 

You know I think what kept me intrigued with your review was that fact that you didn't dwell on the small stuff. Some people write their reviews dictating thier dislikes, criticisms, mishaps, and anything negative that goes on. Instead of focusing in the positive memories that they encountered, they prefer to discuss the dirty roomservice trays left in the halls and how long they remaind there, or if the ocean view window remained dirty the entire cruise, or if they chose to wait 15 minutes for the elevator instead of taking the stairs. Silly stuff. I commend you for focusing on the positive. It tells a lot about your character and how you realize there are more important things to focus on than the negative. Kudos to you!

 

Blessings to Tracy as she completes her training and to you and your family as you guys continue to have "happy" travels.

 

Looking forward to your future cruise reviews.

 

 

A couple of weeks ago Klcruiser asked how and where did we meet. Well it’s a true love story of a lonely Canadian boy and a beautiful Welsh girl and since I love telling the story, here it is.

 

In December,1992 I was at the RCMP Training Academy in Regina, Saskatchewan. One of my troop mates, Jason was flying home to New Brunswick to attend court when a snowstorm forced an extended stopover in Toronto. While there, Jason met Doris, Tracy’s grandmother who was flying from Wales, UK with Tracy to visit her son in Winnipeg. Playing the matchmaker, Doris introduced Tracy to Jason. Though there was no interest from Tracy, Doris invited Jason to visit them in Winnipeg over the Christmas Holidays.

 

After the holidays Jason and I were on the same plane going back to Regina when he stopped in Winnipeg to visit my future wife.

 

Following that visit, Doris made further arrangements for Tracy to attend a party with Jason on Jan 16th , 1993, in Morris, Manitoba, a small village near the North Dakota border. She even extended their stay in Canada because she wanted to keep Tracy away from Great Britain and her ex-boyfriend as long as possible.

The event was an engagement party for one of my troop mates. I attended with several others from my troop. When we arrived, we booked into our hotel and was met by this older gentlemen who invited us over to his house for dinner. We later found out that he was the father of one of our instructors and that he was waiting at the hotel for everyone to arrive.

 

At the house I was sitting in the living room when Jason came in with this gorgeous girl. She sat across from me on the sofa, we started chatting about where she was from and why she was in Canada. I remember loving her accent and thinking why can’t I find a girl like her. Jason doesn’t deserve her, he has a girlfriend at the academy and one back home. I also noticed that she was sitting on the edge of the sofa and that Jason was trying to put his arm around her but it looked like she wasn’t interested.

 

Once at the party, I danced with Tracy, but noticed Jason giving me dirty looks. Rather than making a troop mate angry, I decided to stay away from her. At least that was the plan. A few minutes later, Terrie, one of my female troop mates who was seated next to Tracy called me over to their table. She told me to ask Tracy to dance. During that slow waltz I asked Tracy what was that all about and she told me that she had confessed to Terrie that she ‘fancied me’, I responded " the feeling is mutual, what are we going to do about Jason". Tracy responded " don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it".

 

We spent the evening together and the next day I dropped her off in Winnipeg. The following weekend I visited her and her family in Winnipeg and she came to visit me a couple of times in Regina.

Five weeks before my graduation Tracy had to return home to Wales.

 

We had fallen in love. We continued our relationship by exchanging letters and the occasional very expensive telephone call. (For the younger readers, this was before E-mails and when the telephone companies had a monopoly on rates).

 

After I graduated , I spent 12 days in Wales with Tracy’s family. Then she flew back to Canada with me and on Oct 2nd, 1993 we were married.

 

To this day, Jan 16th is more important to us than our anniversary date. Was it love at first sight, it was for me. For Tracy that’s not quite true, she would argue that she fell in love with me even before she met me. On that fateful day almost 19 years ago she told me that she had a photograph of me and to my surprise she produced a torn photo of me sitting on my dorm bed. Jason had sent her a photo of himself and she had noticed me in the background. She had cut Jason out of the photo and kept the one of me.

 

Initially she was very angry that her grandmother had set her up with Jason again but when she received a letter and that photo of me in the background, she admitted looking at my photo in the evenings and thinking how handsome, fit and muscular I was and thinking "Why can I not meet someone like this." After finding out from Jason that some of his troop mates would be attending the party, Tracy agreed to go in the hopes she would meet me.

 

Was it fate that brought us together, I would like to think so. A couple of years before Tracy first came to Canada, she visited a very religious fortune teller ( her fee was a donation to her church) who predicted much of our future. Even though Tracy doesn’t really believe in fortune tellers, she agreed to accompany a friend to this one. This old lady told her she would move to another country, that she would marry a French guy (I’m French Canadian) who wore two uniforms, one of them red. We would have two children and would be together for 37 years. I hope she’s wrong about the years together because they only way I’ll leave Tracy is ‘Till death do us part’. She also described in detail where we would live and so on. Creepy!:eek:

 

 

 

 

This photo was taken on the night we met, Jan 16th, 1993. Neither one of us had a camera but Tracy, knowing the significance of that night, found someone to take our picture.

 

 

 

 

 

In Feb 2008 I entered our story without Tracy’s knowledge, in a newspaper contest titled "How you met your sweetheart". Our story along with one other couple’s story was awarded the first prize (tickets to a theater performance). Our stories came out on Valentine day.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2011 by MikeyA53

[SenatorsFan]

Aww, Mike, what a great story about how you two first met!:)I loved it. The part about the fortune teller sent chills up my spine and I'm someone who would be very skeptical about what fortune tellers say.

Heather