Our ship has sailed...

Randy and I went on a cruise this month. Yes, I did get my submariner on an ocean-going vessel that he did not have to navigate and he loved it. (Okay, okay, he was a little tense going through the narrow strait into Bermuda...)

We left Boston on October 12th and headed for Bermuda. Our ship, the Norwegian Dream, is older (and smaller) and not as modern or brightly decorated as the newer ships but since it was our first cruise ever we did not mind. It will be nice, however, to cruise in the future on something with a little more open space. (We had one stormy day on the way home and it was a bit 'busy' with everyone below decks.)

Anyway, Bermuda was bee-you-tee-ful!!! I loved it there. Everything about Bermuda is pretty. The water is a million shades of turquoise and so clear! I stood in the water up to my shoulders and could see my toenail polish perfectly!! The sand on the beach we went to was PINK! and very powdery (is that a word?). The houses are painted in every imaginable color and the properties are clean and uncluttered. The streets, although very narrow, were clean - no litter anywhere. The people were so friendly and nice and accommodating and helpful and did I say friendly? Everywhere we went we were met with smiles and hellos and conversation. I understand that their country kinda depends on tourism and keeping people happy while they are there, but their friendliness just seemed genuine to me. Maybe it was the rum.

Oh, yes, the rum. I cannot say the words "Rum Swizzle" without having a little giggle. They are good. Really good. And they go down too easily. There's a couple Swizzle Inns on the island and we visited both within hours of each other. I could've been on the Bermuda evening news that day and the video footage would have shown me holding my arms out like an airplane on the back of the scooter just before the accident. (No, there was NOT an accident, just my example of how my drunkeness, I mean silliness would've been the last thing people on the street saw before said hypothetical accident.)

We spent three days in Bermuda before sailing back to Boston. It was a great week full of eating, drinking, shopping, beaching, walking, scootering, more eating, and more drinking. I recommend a cruise to everyone. We're shopping for our next one already.

Here are some pictures of our week:

A 'moongate' in front of a 'little pink house'

St. David's Lighthouse

View from a window in the lighthouse

Gibb's Lighthouse (I didn't climb this one)

Reid Street in Hamilton with Allen, Lisa and Randy walking

Horseshoe Bay Beach

All the roofs are white and 'stepped'

St. Georges from the ship

The ship docked in St. Georges

Randy and I at Horseshoe Bay Beach (taken by the 'honeymooners')

Turquoise water

Horseshoe Bay again

St. Georges

...another beach (taken while scootering down the road)

JDRF Walk 2008

I'm a little late in posting about our walk. This was our first year walking for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund). Never in a million years did I ever think I'd be walking for a cure for something one of my children have, but I did. In the rain and wind and cold. And I felt good about it. I also felt good about the support we received from family and friends. The weather was truly miserable and to have them there shivering right alongside us was heartwarming, as was the support from friends who could not walk with us but donated anyway.

Together we raised a little over $700 which was almost three times the modest amount I had set for my first-year goal. I also learned alot about organizing and fundraising which will help us next year. Next year I will start earlier. This year's walk came only 6 months after Kathleen's diagnosis so I was still learning. I know to be a little more 'agressive' in getting the word out there and not to wait until the last minute to do t-shirts! And - Kathleen was hospitalized the day before so I was very frazzled the morning of the walk.

I am very proud to have been a part of the walk this year and although I am looking forward to the next, I most look forward to there being a cure and therefore, no need to walk at all.