Over the River & Thru the Woods...

 To Grandmother's house we go!

At least, that's how the song goes. In our case, it's more like over the Ozark hills and through the cornfields. And we're not going to Grandmother's house. Tomorrow, we're taking her halfway to her temporary new digs with my sister and brother-in-law in South Dakota. We'll meet them in Nebraska at B-I-L's brother's house to make the exchange.

2024 was a very tough year for our family. We lost my dad to a glioblastoma in January and the emptiness of missing him is still knife-sharp. It's been especially hard for mom, who spent 70 years of her life  alongside him. At 87, she stays active in church, going to lunch with her friends and still lives in her own home, four blocks from our house. But I didn't feel comfortable leaving her in town for 4 1/2 months without us here.

Never one to travel light...

Enter my sister Linda. She's been wanting Mom to come for a visit since we lost Dad, so this will work out splendidly. Mom will celebrate Christmas in the Black Hills with Linda's family, including nephew Josh who joined us for the Alaskan cruise in 2021 and his sister Alexis and her husband and kids who'll be flying in from Dubai! Mom is taking a notebook of music for her to play on the piano while my brother-in-law plays his bass guitar. It promises to be an exciting time with lots of fun and family, laughter and good food. 

And maybe, just maybe, this first Christmas without Dad will be a little less painful.   

Linda's already set up a doctor, a beautician and a nail salon for Mom. She will be welcome and well-cared for while we travel the world, which is a big relief to me. 

One of the few downsides of extended travel is fretting about the ones we've left behind. Yes, our kids are adults and able to fend for themselves, manage our tenants and properties, take care of our little dogs and each other, but "what if's" still sneak into my imagination uninvited.

Apparently, I'm arrogant enough to think I can keep bad things from happening or at least mitigate them when they do, just by being there.  

The Greeks have a word for it: hubris. Exaggerated self-pride and importance. 

When I embark the Viking Sky, I hope to fling hubris over board. I don't have to handle every little thing. My loved ones are safe in God's hands, much safer than they are with me.

And the DH and I are safe in His hands too as we roam this unnecessarily beautiful planet. No matter what happens. 

(Yes, Dad, I still remember you warning me about rogue waves!) 

A Day of Small Things

 Who dares despise the day of small things...
Zechariah 4:10

I actually kind of like days of small things. Big days, days filled with drama and deadlines, upset and chaos, even of the exciting kind, are the ones I tend to shrink from. Small things are just as important as big ones to my mind. After all, no days filled with big things tend to happen without a lead up of some kind, an incremental build up of small things resulting in the big ones. 

Today is one of our many days of small things. Here are some of our doings in the works:

Charlie knows suitcases bode a dog no good.

• Luggage Forward will be picking up our two 50 lb suitcases today. The next time we'll see them will be on January 5th when we board the Viking Sky in LA! We'd hoped to only need these two bags. If you've followed this blog at all, you've seen the photos of the DH waggling a cart with luggage stacked so high, he could barely peer over it on our previous extended voyages. I really wanted to lessen his load this time, but I think we'll need one more big case to hold all the things that didn't quite make the weight cut-off for these.
• This morning I'm baking a couple of cobblers for our church's fundraiser for the medical mission trip to Jamaica next year. I'm afraid I wimped out and bought a couple of frozen cobblers instead of making them from scratch, but to be honest, I've never been much of a baker, so I think those who end up eating them will be grateful I chose this path

• My trusty treadmill is an important part of all of my days of small things. I'll spend about an hour to an hour and a half spread out in several sessions, on this machine. Herkimer, my dependable big portable O2 concentrator, is with me every step. Last May, I was diagnosed diabetic with an A1C of  7.4. After changing my diet, dropping 30 pounds and committing to daily exercise, I'm at 5.7. Nearly NORMAL! In this one area, at least...
• 
  
  Speaking of dietary changes, this morning the DH and I put together a yummy cauliflower and pork sausage crockpot casserole. I've gone pretty completely keto and fortunately Viking offers a low carb option in its menus. The casserole we're cooking will be ready for lunch when we go pick up my mom. We love having her eat with us and spend a leisurely afternoon together. 

Here's my mom with another small thing. It's Albert, our 5 pound poodle. He was a rescue dog after being abandoned by a puppy mill once he aged out of being a good breeder. He knew nothing about being a dog, but Charlie soon helped him learn how to behave in the house and climb stairs and drink from a water bowl. Most especially, Albert has learned to bond with a select few people after years of abuse. One of those people is my mom. He adores her and she returns the favor.

Albert isn't worried about the suitcases like Charlie is. After all, his favorite person, our #2 Daughter will be here to care for both the pups while we're gone. 

I'm so looking forward to our action-packed, thrill-a-minute world cruise that is shining ever more brightly on the horizon! But until the day we head to the ship, I'm relishing the small things that create the quiet joys of our land life. 

What small thing brings you joy?

PS. The DH just reminded me of another small thing we did today. We were able to check in to the Viking Sky online! Our boarding passes have been printed out and for good measure the DH has them stored on his phone too. Redundancy relieves my travel stress! 

82 Day Countdown

 "We need the sweet pain of anticipation to tell us we are really alive." ~ Albert Camus

Actually, it's more like an 80 day countdown. We board the Viking Sky in 82 days, but we'll need a couple of days to travel to LA--one to position ourselves near the the airport where we'll catch our flight, and another to fly to our embarkation port. It's nerve-wracking and risky not to arrive a day early, especially for a longer voyage. I'd hate to be stuck in a Midwest blizzard while the Sky  steams westward to Hawaii.

We've knocked a number of things off our "to do" list. Our pre-cruise hotel is reserved (but not our pre-flight one. Oops!) We've selected our excursions for each port of call (I'll share those in another post soon. It's a jam-packed schedule of firsts for us!) We've had a few of our pre-cruise vaccinations, but we're scheduled for the rest of them this week. We almost have our stash of 6 months worth of maintenance meds accumulated. Because it's illegal to ship prescription meds from the US, we have to take everything we'll need with us--plus a month or two to spare in case of emergency. 

I've bought a new carry-on because my old reliable was getting pretty rickety. The new one is bright & shiny & boasts four swivelly wheels instead of two. It glides like a dream, but even though I've done a "practice pack" with it, part of me still likes my old one best. I knew how to squeeze the most out of every square inch! 

Viking has finally assigned us a cabin and I have to say, I'm thrilled! We typically book a Guarantee cabin--a reservation allowing the cruise line to choose for us--because we'd be satisfied with any Viking stateroom since they all have balconies and are luxuriously appointed. But this time we scored a significant upgrade. We'll be in Deluxe Veranda 6053. It's on the starboard side--my favorite! I don't know why but I seem to get turned around more if I'm on the port side. (Maybe because I'm right handed?) 6053 is a the closest to mid-ships we've ever been so I'm looking forward to a much smoother ride. We usually end up near the bow because cabins are typically less expensive there. However, it feels like we're riding the nose of a dolphin in high seas. Maybe a cabin in the mid-ship area means I'll need fewer scopalomine patches for this trip. Fingers crossed!

 Because all DV cabins are basically the same except for location, I thought I'd share our cabin from the 2022 WC.

I love the idea of unpacking once for our 120 day adventure!

In the meantime, as we continue to prepare for the trip, our life here is full. We have family close by whom we love and see often. Our church choir has started work on its Christmas cantata. A black bear was sighted a few miles from town, and just the other night, the Northern Lights were visible in our part of the Ozarks!

#1 Daughter snapped this pic from her place thirty miles north of us. Sadly, we were sawing logs while the sky was dancing. Just think, we traveled all the way to the Arctic Circle in 2023 to see them, but we slept through their visit to us! 

Sometimes, sleep really is overrated...

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The Most Dangerous Creature on the Planet...

"Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh my!"
The Wizard of Oz

 Our world cruise itinerary will feature safaris to see lions (we hope!), as well as the rest of the Big Five (leopards, elephants, rhinos, and African buffalo). We'll also be visiting the Great Barrier Reef and may sight a shark or two from the safety of our catamaran. And we're stopping in Komodo to see the dragons, the world's largest lizards in the wild. 

But none of these are the most dangerous animals on the planet.

It's the mosquito. 

The CDC estimates over 700,000 people die each year of disease transmitted by mosquito bites. Sadly, we are sailing into some areas where malaria and yellow fever are endemic. 

The good news is that there is an effective vaccine for Yellow Fever. The bad news is, it's a live vaccine so as someone with a suppressed immune system, I can't take it. The shot would likely give me the disease. It's also not recommended for people with severe allergies, neurological conditions or are over 60 years of age. 

The only country we are visiting which requires a yellow fever vaccine is Angola, and we don't plan to leave the ship for that port. But to fulfill all righteousness, we had an appointment at a Passport Health office last month--5 hours from our hometown!--to get a Yellow Card indicating we both have medical waivers for the YF vaccine. It should mean we'll have no trouble boarding the Sky in  LA next January. 

However, waving a yellow piece of paper at a swarm of mosquitos won't protect us, and there are no vaccines available for malaria, dengue, zika, west Nile, and chikungunya. So we plan to take preventative action. Starting two days prior to arriving in Komodo, we will begin taking doxycycline as an anti-malarial prophylaxis and continue until we get back home to the US. We'll also take care to prevent bites. We'll use Ben's 30% Deet Tick and Insect wipes, wear long sleeved shirts, long pants and closed-toe shoes when we're out and about in "Moquito Central." We've also bought some netting headgear to protect our heads and necks when we're tramping through the rainforest of Madagascar looking for lemurs. 

One of my favorite college professors, Dr. Barclay, used to tell us, "Europe will always be there. Go to the wild, to the places in this world that won't always be there."  

Personally, I've loved every minute we've spent in Europe. And it could be argued that Europe may not always be there. Anyone else remember weeping as Notre Dame burned?  

But Dr. Barclay was right. Stretching ourselves to visit parts of the world that are very different from our home is good for our souls. Getting out of our comfort zone is the heart of any adventure.  

Any time the preparations and preventatives start to sound overwhelming, I remind myself how blessed we are be able to explore these rapidly dwindling wild places. 

  

An Adventure Worthy of the Name!

 Perhaps a fortunate few would board ships. 

Bound for far off Zanzibar or Madagascar or ... some other exotic place that ends in --ar. The colors are brighter there, I'll be bound, and even birdsong must sound deliciously mysterious."

--from the secret daydream of Lady Caroline Lovell in The Singular Mr. Sinclair

Oh, my goodness! We got the most exciting email from Viking today! Our new itinerary is out and it's more filled with delights than I'd dare hope! 42 "new to us" ports and 15 "new to us" countries, along with many much loved places we'll be thrilled to visit again. 

Date                           Port                                                                                  Country 

 January 5, 2025         Los Angeles, California                                                  United States 

 January 6- 10             Sail the Pacific Ocean                                                     At Sea 

 January 11, 2025       Oahu (Honolulu), Hawaii                                               United States 

 January 12, 2025       Kauai (Nawiliwili), Hawaii                                            United States 

 January 13-17           Sail the Pacific Ocean                                                      At Sea 

 January 18, 2025      Bora Bora (Vaitape)                                                         French Polynesia 

 January 19, 2025      Moorea (Opunohu Bay) / Papeete Tahiti                         French Polynesia 

 January 20, 2025      Tahiti (Papeete)                                                                French Polynesia 

 January 21, 2025      Sail the South Pacific Ocean                                           At Sea 

 January 22, 2025      Rarotonga (Avatiu)                                                          Cook Islands 

 January 23- 27         Sail the South Pacific Ocean/ Cross the International Dateline      At Sea 

 January 28, 2025      Bay of Islands (Waitangi)                                                 New Zealand 

 January 29, 2025      Auckland                                                                           New Zealand 

 January 30, 2025      Rotorua (Tauranga)                                                          New Zealand 

 January 31, 2025      Napier                                                                               New Zealand 

 February 1, 2025      Wellington                                                                        New Zealand 

 February 2-4             Sail the Tasman Sea                                                         At Sea 

 February 5 & 6         Overnight in Sydney                                                      Australia 

 February 7, 2025      Sail the Australian Coast                                                  At Sea 

 February 8, 2025      Brisbane                                                                           Australia 

 February 9, 2025      Sail the Australian Coast                                                  At Sea 

 February 10, 2025    Whitsunday Islands                                                          Australia 

 February 11 & 12     Overnight in Cairns                                                       Australia 

 February 13, 2025    Sail the Coral Sea                                                             At Sea 

 February 14, 2025    Thursday Island                                                                Australia 

 February 15 & 16     Sail the Arafura Sea                                                         At Sea 

 February 17, 2025    Darwin                                                                             Australia 

 February 18 & 19     Sail the Timor Sea                                                            At Sea 

 February 20, 2025    Komodo National Park (Rinca)                                        Indonesia 

 February 21 & 22     Overnight in Bali (Benoa)                                              Indonesia 

 February 23, 2025    Sail the Java Sea                                                               At Sea 

 February 24, 2025    Java (Semarang)                                                               Indonesia 

 February 25 & 26     Overnight in Java (Jakarta)                                          Indonesia 

 February 27, 2025    Sail the Java Sea                                                               At Sea 

 February 28 & March 1 Overnight in Singapore                                            Singapore 

 March 2, 2025          Scenic Sailing: Strait of Malacca                                     At Sea 

 March 3, 2025          Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang)                                             Malaysia 

 March 4, 2025          Langkawi                                                                          Malaysia 

 March 5, 2025         George Town                                                                     Malaysia 

 March 6, 2025          Phuket (Patong Beach)                                                     Thailand 

 March 7 & 8             Sail the Bay of Bengal                                                      At Sea 

 March 9 & 10           Overnight in Colombo                                                      Sri Lanka 

 March 11, 2025        Sail the Laccadive Sea                                                      At Sea 

 March 12, 2025        Male                                                                                  Maldives 

 March 13-15             Sail the Indian Ocean                                                       At Sea 

 March 16, 2025        Victoria, Mahé                                                                  Seychelles 

 March 17 & 18         Sail the Indian Ocean                                                       At Sea 

 March 19 & 20         Overnight in Mombasa                                                  Kenya 

 March 21 & 22         Overnight in Zanzibar                                                   Tanzania 

 March 23, 2025        Sail the Indian Ocean                                                       At Sea 

 March 24, 2025        Andoany, Nosy-Be                                                           Madagascar 

 March 25- 27            Sail the Indian Ocean                                                       At Sea 

 March 28, 2025        Maputo                                                                             Mozambique 

 March 29, 2025        Richards Bay                                                                    South Africa 

 March 30, 2025        Durban                                                                              South Africa 

 March 31, 2025        East London                                                                     South Africa 

 April 1, 2025            Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)                                                South Africa 

 April 2, 2025            Sail the Indian Ocean                                                        At Sea 

 April 3 & 4              Overnight in Cape Town                                                  South Africa 

 April 5, 2025 Sail the South Atlantic Ocean                                                      At Sea 

 April 6, 2025            Luderitz                                                                             Namibia 

 April 7 & 8               Overnight in Walvis Bay                                                Namibia 

 April 9 & 10             Sail the South Atlantic Ocean                                           At Sea 

 April 11, 2025          Luanda                                                                              Angola 

 April 12-14              Sail the South Atlantic Ocean                                           At Sea 

 April 15- 17             Sail the South Atlantic Ocean                                           At Sea 

 April 18, 2025         Praia                                                                                  Cape Verde 

 April 19, 2025         São Vicente Island (Mindelo)                                           Cape Verde 

 April 20- 21             Sail the North Atlantic Ocean                                           At Sea 

 April 22, 2025         Canary Islands (Santa Cruz de Tenerife)                          Spain 

 April 23 & 24          Overnight in Agadir                                                        Morocco 

 April 25 & 26          Overnight in Casablanca                                                Morocco 

 April 27, 2025         Seville (Cádiz)                                                                   Spain 

 April 28 & 29          Overnight in Lisbon                                                        Portugal 

 April 30, 2025         Porto (Leixões)                                                                  Portugal 

 May 1, 2025            A Coruña                                                                           Spain 

 May 2, 2025            Sail the Atlantic Ocean                                                     At Sea 

 May 3, 2025            Paris (Honfleur)                                                                France 

 May 4, 2025            Dover                                                                                England 

 May 5 & 6, 2025     Overnight London (Greenwich)                                    England 

Eat your heart out, Lady Caroline! I'm going to Zanzibar AND Madagascar! 

Of course, I'm saddened by the reason for this new route. My heart aches for the people of Israel and all those in the Middle East who are embroiled in conflict. But I applaud Viking for opting to keep us out of range of active military actions. 

We continue to be so grateful for the opportunity to make this voyage around our beautiful blue ball. The earth and its people are such a treasure and we're ready to experience many new parts of it. 

Is there some place you've always wanted to see, but for some reason haven't? What's your "adventure worthy of the name?" Please share. It doesn't have to be a lengthy trip, just something you've been drawn to. Thanks in advance for your comments.

Itinerary? What's that?

"Unannounced changes in life's itinerary are like dancing lessons from God."
~ Kurt Vonnegut

 I'm not exactly sure why I'm including this itinerary. If our recent cruises have taught us anything, it's that all nautical intentions should be viewed as aspirational only. Changes in weather, political climate, wars, terrorism, accidents, disease, mechanical issues--there are myriad things that can cause the best laid plans to go awry. 

But God willing, this map shows where we intend to go in 2025.

However, Viking has changed its current 2024 WC to eliminate going through the Suez and instead is heading south after Cochin, India to round the Cape of Good Hope and back northward, avoiding the Middle East and the Med entirely. There would be more sea days than the original itinerary called for, but we enjoy them immensely and never feel bored or antsy. 

Even though I'd have loved the chance to see Egypt, Israel, Athens and Rome again, this is not necessarily a bad thing. All the African stops would be "new-to-us" ports. A possible safari-style excursion or two calls to me. I'd love to see the Big 5 in the wild--Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino & Water Buffalo--and bring home trophies with my phone's camera!  

Then there's the milestone moment of rounding the tip of the African continent. When we were on the Star in 2022, we were told that, according to maritime tradition, because we'd gone around Cape Horn of South America, the DH was entitled to wear a gold ring in one ear and eat with one foot on the table. If a sailor has successfully navigated both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, he can wear two earrings and eat with both feet on the table! 

I don't know about you, but I'd pay to see that! 

When Cruising Doesn't Matter a Bit...

 On November 20, 2023, after talking and thinking about our world cruise plans for 2025, we decided to jump ship and switch from Cunard's Queen Anne's maiden world voyage to the Viking Sky for the itinerary we thought we were going to get in 2022. It's not that we don't like Cunard. It's just that memories of our Viking experience called us so strongly, we decided to make the change. Our trusted travel agent cancelled our booking with Cunard. They were entirely lovely about the whole switch and refunded 100% of our deposit immediately, no questions asked. Then we made the payment for our 2025 voyage with Viking instead. We were happy and excited about our decision. How blessed were we to have this incredible, shiny adventure sparkling on the horizon...

Then suddenly, it didn't matter a bit.

On November 21, 2023, my 88 year old father had a fall and hit his head on my mom's piano. We convinced him to let us take him to the ER. I suspected we'd discover he'd had a minor stroke that had caused the fall, but we were shocked to learn that he had a tennis ball-sized mass in his frontal cortex which turned out to be a glioblastoma, the most aggressive and virulent of all brain cancers.

My dad had been out mowing his own lawn just the week before this fall. Then in just two months and a day, he was gone. 

But in those two months and a day, we laughed together. We worshipped together. We celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas and my Mom & Dad's 70th anniversary on Christmas Day, passing out cookies at church to everyone who came for that special service. We cheered the Chiefs on as they stumbled through the post season. We were together every day.

70 years! My parents loved long and well.

My guys and their cherry pies! 

And we had heartbreaking moments when we traveled to St. Louis to see a specialist who gave us the definitive prognosis. Incurable. Untreatable. It was time to be thankful for the long life he'd already enjoyed and count each day precious. 

And bittersweet times when all my out-of-state sisters and Dad's brother came to see him to say goodbye. The daily onslaught of new symptoms and losses as the illness ground inexorably toward its end. The tumor stole more from him with each sunrise. 

But it never really took him. Never touched the essence of who my Dad was. He was still himself. His personality, his wit, his faith in Jesus was undiminished. He never lost who he was. He never lost us. He knew us till he stepped from this world into arms of God in the early hours of January 22, 2024. 

And I didn't think about cruising, world or otherwise, for quite a while after he passed. 

But I can lay my wanderlust directly at my dad's feet. He's the one who took me camping throughout the American West as a kid. He taught me to read a map, to find north by looking up at the sky, day or night, and being able to orient from there the other cardinal directions. And slowly, thoughts of that beguiling, hope-filled voyage we'd booked last November for next year, began to creep back into my consciousness. 

Yes, she is as sweet and ornery as she looks!

So now, in addition to the other things we do to prepare to leave our land life for four months, I need to make sure my 87 year old mom is ready for us to be gone that long. Her heart is broken, but her spirit is not crushed. I think she will be okay with our adventure and thanks to Viking's really good included wifi, we should be able to text with her every day and call on port days. Of course, our daughters and my niece are close to her too, so I expect all will be well. 

In the weeks and months to come, I'll be sharing more about what we do to prepare for an extended voyage. Since this will be our third trip around this glorious blue ball, we've learned a few things and are happy to expound on our hits and misses. 

And maybe I'll eventually be able to share why cruising does matter again...