The Pleasures of Preparation!

“Why not seize the pleasure at once? -- How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!” ― Emma, Jane Austen

I don't often contradict Ms. Austen, but in this case, preparation is pleasure! We continue to knock things off our "to do" list as we get ready to say goodbye to our land life for a while. If we fail to prepare, I'm sure I'll be kicking myself while we're bobbing in the Pacific somewhere over something important I forgot. 

The cases are about 70% full now.

Today, we packed the DH's 2nd big suitcase, which we'll check on the flight to LA. and his carry-on. It's amazing what you can fit into those small wheeled conveyances if you're willing to do a little smooshing and squooshing. I still have a list of about a dozen items we'll need to find space for, but our packing is pretty much complete at this point. 

And while we were packing I found our old passports, which I'd absent-mindedly tucked into one of the DH's carry-on's outer pockets. Our Indian visas, which the DH sweat bullets over when he had to wrestle with the online process in 2017, are sewn into those expired passports, but the visas are supposed to be valid until 2027. I'd been concerned since GenVisa, the service Viking uses, has not yet sent us our e-visas for India and Saudi Arabia. 

But when the DH called Ilya at GenVisa, he said he was still working our our e-visas because India has voided all the old visas since the beginning of the pandemic. I fretted over finding something that is essentially worthless.    

We took down our Christmas tree today, and wandered about the house collecting all the holiday gewgaws and gizzwickies from the horizontal surfaces they've adorned for the last month. Christmas always seems to crawl toward us until suddenly it's here in a rush and just as quickly gone. (With a nod to Jane Austen, there is something to be said for celebrating the 12 days of Christmas beginning with the Big Day itself. One day and done is just too time-compact for such a momentous occasion.) 

But since we'll be gone shortly after Epiphany, I didn't want to leave it till then. And I certainly didn't want to leave the chore for #2 Daughter who'll be taking care of the house for us. The only thing sadder than taking down Christmas decorations is doing it alone! 

We stopped by the bank yesterday to change some hundreds into ones, fives, tens and twenties to take with us on the cruise. Smaller bills are great for incidental tips and shopping in port. This time, the DH took me with him. When he went in to order a hundred one dollar bills in 2017, the teller gave him the stink-eye until he explained our travel plans. I'm afraid she suspected he was headed for a strip club! 

We've both popped in to our doctors' office for a blood draw in preparation for a final medical check next week. We're feeling fine. These are just our regular 6 month check-ups.

In a sense, this cruise has already begun. The first group of world cruisers boarded the Star in Florida on the day before Christmas, about 750 passengers on a ship designed to hold 930. However, some of those are only doing the Panama canal transit portion and will disembark in LA to make room for folks like us. According to some of our fellow cruisers, our final head count will be around 650 passengers making the trip from LA to London, or, in our case, Bergen. We've been following a couple of bloggers who are already on board--Rose & Ted's Excellent Adventures and Kolbs on the Road. Highly recommended reads!

The voyage thus far has not been without its snags. Some passengers tested positive in Ft Lauderdale and were denied boarding. A couple more were put off in Key West. Then in an apparent change of policy when the Star reached Cozumel, 4 passengers who came up positive in the daily spit test were quarantined on board, while one was disembarked. A couple of wags on our CruiseCritic email loop shared this exchange about the situation: 

"What's the difference between walking the plank and getting thrown in the brig?" 

"Bad lawyer!"

Personally, I think it may have been that the passengers who remained on board where only planning to be on for the Panama Canal leg of the trip. Just a hunch.

Anyway, by the time the Star reached Cartagena, Columbia, there were 9 passengers and 2 crew members in quarantine with 10 close contacts self-isolating in their cabins. Unfortunately, this exceeded the 1% Covid tolerance for that South American city and the Star was turned away.  She's steaming in slow circles toward Colon, Panama as I type. 

It's tempting to be depressed by these events, but I've challenged myself to remain positive. Yes, there are 11 positive cases on board, but that means there are 739 passengers and 548 crew members who are not infected. Same for those who are self-isolating because they were in close contact with folks who were later determined to be positive. Only 10 are enjoying room service, while 729 passengers can enjoy a spectacular sunset from the fantail, dine in one of the many excellent venues, and generally be as content as they choose. And anyone who tests positive will surely be disembarked in LA,  so the Star will start fresh with just "worldies" on board.

If we remain negative for our pre-flight test on January 8th... if we test negative at the San Pedro port... if we are still negative for the second day the Star will be in that California berth...when we shove off from the US mainland, we'll have eight sea days to make sure everyone is still in a negative state before we reach our first port of call. 

Have Zinc, Will Travel! I'm determined to be positive...about staying negative... well, you know what I mean!

Home for the Holiday!

"At Christmas, all roads lead home.” ~ Marjorie Holmes

Last night, the DH and I sang for our church's Christmas Eve service. In years past, we've gone to midnight services together, once with his 90-some year old grandmother who insisted on sitting between us so she could hear both the soprano and bass parts in the hymns. (The DH and I met singing in college choir.) Then later, when our girls were little, I was directing a choir and handbell group for Christmas Eve and it was so late, we brought the kids to church in their jammies. It was fine with everyone if they fell asleep on (or sometimes under!) the pew. Now, we're still thrilled to be involved in Christmas Eve service (even if they are now a far more sensible 7 PM instead of midnight vigil.) The church is still our home, all year round but especially on the night we celebrate the Savior's birth.

Today, we had ten for Christmas Day lunch--my parents, our daughters and daughter-in-law, my niece and her family. Little Gracie, my great-niece, made the day extra special with her excitement over the presents and her innocent sweetness. Our home was blessed with love, abundant food and joy in each other's presence. After many years of traveling for Christmas, thousands of miles driven through snowstorms or waiting in airports for flights to go, it is such a relief to celebrate Christmas at home with none of our loved ones in danger trying to join us!

Now, after enjoying the blessings of our home for Christmas, our thoughts are turning to the great adventure we are still hoping for in January. We will become virtual hermits to avoid catching this new covid strain if we can. We'll eliminate non-essential running around. If we go out, we'll be sure to mask up, and practice good hand hygiene when we return. As far as possible, as much as it depends on us, we will try to reach the Viking Star on January 10th in a "negative state."

But we intend to stay positive about it!  

To you and yours, we wish the merriest of Christmases. And in the coming year, may the peace of God make your life a blessed one. 

Blue Door Blues

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. ~ Oscar Wilde

 

The blue door is our trademark!

Well, this is a case of someone causing less happiness when they go. One of our tenants called this morning to let us know that they just bought a house and will be moving out by the end of the month! We knew they were looking for a home to buy, but didn't realize they were this far in the process. We are happy for them and wish them well, because I remember how exciting it was when we bought our first house, but the timing is less than good for us. 

This may well be the worst week of the year to try to rent a townhouse. Heavy sigh...

But on the bright side, this will give our daughters, who will be managing our properties while we're gone, a chance to learn first hand how to prepare a unit for re-renting, showing the property, vetting prospective tenants, and making a decision on the applicants. We'd hoped to leave the kids with a full house, so to speak, but I'm sure they'll be able to do this.  

This is what happens when you leave your land life for an extending period of time. You have to trust the people who are taking care of things while you're gone. We're blessed to have kids who want to learn the business of landlording, because the properties will eventually become theirs. (FYI, lest you suspect we're land barons, let me assure you we're definitely a mom-and-pop operation with just 10 units.)

In other news, our two suitcases were picked up on Tuesday and are on their way to the ship in LA. This is the first time we've sent luggage ahead instead of dragging them around airports ourselves. I wish I could say that we are limiting ourselves to those two 50 pound bags. However, we now plan to pack a couple more and check them in St Louis. I think we'd have been okay, except there are so many little things we'll need besides clothing to make our life on the Star comfortable. Like...

• Storage bins--Our verandah cabin only has three drawers for clothing. Collapsible bins will fit neatly on the closet shelf and help organize our undies and socks and jammies.
• Hanging shelves--They fit over the closet rod and are great for folded shirts and pants, with the added benefit of being able to see what's available more easily than in a drawer. 
• Drying bar--Some of my clothes have never seen the inside of a dryer. This collapsible bar slips over a door and holds 10 articles of clothing. 
• Magnets--For affixing excursion tickets and other important slips of paper to the cabin walls so they won't get lost.
• World Map--a gift from my friend Marcy for our first WC. We still have plenty of countries to scratch off.
• Trekking poles--The DH always carries my POC in a backpack when we go on excursions. It can get pretty heavy and messes with his balance, especially on uneven surfaces. The poles will help him out with that.
• Consumables--toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, OTC medication, cpap supplies,...

Plus the DH has a few things under the tree I know he'll want to take, so we definitely need a couple more suitcases. Someday, I'll travel light. I'll use just a carry-on and personal item for a multi-week adventure like all those chic Youtubers with their ultimate packing secrets. Someday, I'll pare down and have a wardrobe that mixes and matches like crazy. I won't feel the need to bring so much stuff. Really, I will. 

It just won't be this time.

Jesus & Germs

On worry...

A great many people (not you) do now seem to think that the mere state of being worried is in itself meritorious. I don’t think it is. We must, if it so happens, give our lives for others: but even while we’re doing it, I think we’re meant to enjoy Our Lord and, in Him, our friends, our food, our sleep, our jokes, and the birds’ song and the frosty sunrise. ~ Words to Live By, CS Lewis

 There are plenty of things to worry about right now in general. Will our family stay healthy while we're gone on the WC? Will inflation continue to rise? Will the omicron variant scuttle our travel plans? Did I forget to buy a Christmas present for someone? Have we done everything necessary to prepare to leave the country for 4 months? Am I forgetting to pack something dreadfully important? 

But it does no good to fret. Especially about things over which I have zero control. 

So while the DH and I were doing some of our last minute running around this morning, I calmly announced that I'm done "what-if-ing" and defaulting to the negative. We are about to embark on a true adventure--one in which the outcome is by no means certain. We can't be sure about our itinerary. We can't be sure about what excursions will be available (Viking says they will be finalized once we're all on the ship in LA.) We can't be certain we'll test negatively at the lab before we leave for St. Louis for our flight, or each time we spit into a tube on board the Star. We may or may not make it all the way around this glorious blue ball to Bergen next May. (Just ask the folk who were on the original Magical Mystery Cruise in 2020 when the initial Covid outbreak interrupted everyone's travel!) 

All we can do is move forward into this grand adventure with hope in our hearts and faith that it will all work out.

Ever since my microbiology class in college, I've been the hand-washing queen. And Jesus and I talk every day. I've been vaccinated and boosted. I've started wearing a mask in public again. Everything I can do to keep myself and others safe, I'm doing. The rest I must leave to God. And while I'm doing that, I'll take CS Lewis' advice. I will enjoy every day, revel in every sunrise, love my family and friends, and be ever so thankful for the opportunity to go on this extraordinary voyage!

One of my favorite movies is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. In this story, the character Sonny often says, "It will  be all right in the end. And if it is not all right, it is not the end."

I have a feeling CS Lewis would think those are words to live by, too.

Hoping against hope

As Daddy said, life is 95 percent anticipation.  ~ Gloria Swanson

Every day I half expect an email from Viking cancelling our World Cruise. Especially with the arrival of the highly infectious omicron variant, it seems one thing after another is conspiring against this trip. But the first wave of passengers is still due to board the Viking Star in Fort Lauderdale on Christmas Eve, and we are only 21 days away from leaving home to being our two days of driving & flying that will take out to LA to meet the ship there. So as of today, we're still going. 

The DH has to pick the bag up to weight it

Our two suitcases (50 and 49.6 lbs) are all packed, locked and ready for Luggage Forward to come pick them up next Tuesday. We'll be taking our luggage scale with us because even though domestic flights allow 70 lb bags for first class, international carriers still cap the weight at 50 lbs. They also limit carry-on pieces to 17 lbs. 

Yesterday, I picked up four pairs of pants from the seamstress who was hemming them for me. (I'm not blessed with my mother's long legs, apparently! Family joke. She's shorter than me.) We have a couple pairs of cargo pants and an Aloha shirt on order for the DH. Supposedly they will all arrive before Christmas. All these new things will need to go into our third big suitcase, which we'll check when we board our flight to LA on January 9th. (Yes, yes, I know. I was going to pare down what we take, but the heart wants what the heart wants!) 

We were unable to obtain a vacation waiver from my Part D supplier, which is probably fair because I'm changing companies in January. So we bit the bullet and paid out of pocket for 130 days of my maintenance meds. (To my younger readers who don't need pharmacological help to function like a real person, all I can say is...just wait. Eventually, almost everyone needs help with maintaining a healthy blood pressure or cholesterol or whatnot. I'm frankly thankful for this type of medicine. It keeps me going...kind of like a classic car that needs a little extra TLC to keep purring along.)

We're still waiting to hear back from GenVisa, the service Viking uses to obtain the necessary visas for their passengers. Only India and Saudi Arabia require visas obtained ahead of time on this itinerary. As I understand it, there is currently a tit for tat squabble going on between India and Canada and Great Britain, something to do with denying Indian citizens entry during the time of Covid. So the guests who come from those countries are in a holding pattern for their visa approval. I think our delay is because GenVisa has been inundated with about 400 packets of requests at once.  

So while we are still doing the packing and planning and preparing necessary for leaving our land life for a third of a year, I find the mood is different from when we were just three weeks from boarding the Pacific Princess in 2018. Of course, I always fret that something will happen that will make the trip impossible. I've done that before every cruise we've ever taken, but now...it does seem  we're approaching the plate with two strikes already against us. 

If I somehow find myself standing on the veranda of cabin 4008 on January 10th, I'll be beyond thrilled and grateful. 

I'll be completely surprised...