KEY WEST... Our First Port of Call

Monday, April 16^th, 2018         Key West

Last night Shirley took a tumble.  There is a step up into the bathroom and in the dark she went head first into the small bathroom in their room.  Now we all keep our bathroom light on all night to prevent any of us from repeating that fall.  She has bumps on her head and face and scrapes on her legs but seems to be weathering these okay.  FYI … she is good about using her walker in the evening and during the day when the ships is rolling more than usual. 

On Monday morning Mary and I met at 8 am for the daily morning Mass with Father Mike.  The room is full and various people, including Mary, take turns doing the readings.  The homily is short and by 8:30 am we’re out and back to pick up our partners to go to breakfast in the Lido deck.  Shirley and Mary generally have their breakfast delivered to their room.  

Due to the storm on Sunday, we were over an hour late in leaving the port at Tampa and subsequently late in arriving at our first stop:  Key West.  Our friends in St. Petersburg found an app that tracks our location on the internet and they know exactly where we are at all times.  As we entered Key West Bonnie was texting me on my T-Mobile phone using WhatsApp and the reception was wonderful as long as we were in port and on the upper decks.  

Mary and Shirley went off to town together on the free trolley for shopping and Jim and I went separately.  Arriving in the town we asked for directions and walked to the Ernest Hemmingway Home; a bit further than we’d thought plus we walked about 4 blocks in the wrong direction but we found it and enjoyed the tour.   

The house has about fifty cats.  Three black and white tabbies are always on the bed in the master bedroom.  Others all have movie star names and are located throughout the property.  The tour guide told us many interesting stories about the property and the Hemmingway family.  Jim, the English teacher, was thrilled to see the room and typewriters that Hemmingway wrote his three most famous novels on …. Standing up he said!  

We walked eight blocks back to Sloppy Joe’s Bar; Hemmingway’s favorite place in the evenings.  Crowded, but a lovely couple asked us to join them as they were about to leave.  Later we asked another couple named Bob & Debbie to join us before we left, paying forward the good deed.  They plan to go to St. Petersburg, Russia someday so I gave them my card so they could check out our guide that we used during our visit.  Two beers and french-fries and we were good until dinner.   

FYI….the beautiful swimming pool on the Hemingway property was a huge boxing ring where Ernest taught boxing until he went to Spain.  When he returned his wife had spent $20,000. To build a large swimming pool; the original property had only cost $8,000.  It is one of the largest private properties in Key West and sits well above sea level making it much safer during storms. 

Tonight we got to know Al and Nancy better.  Al is also a twin and we had lots of fun sharing   He has also written many books on various subjects that we're going to take a look at when we arrive home.  All are self-published and sound interesting.  

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Today I walked 16,358 steps (7.39 miles) and also went to the gym and did five minutes on the elliptical machine.  My goal is to increase it every day to reach thirty minutes a day.    The third deck is set up as a walking deck and 3.5 loops equals one mile.    The large amount of steps today was mainly a result of walking to Hemingway’s home.

Tuesday, April 17^th, 2018            AT SEA

The morning began with Mass at 8 am. We’d moved our clocks ahead one hour during the night.  So now we’re four of the nine hours that will be the difference between California and France. Mass was followed by breakfast in the Lido dining room.  We went out and walked the third deck for some mileage and met the girls for lunch in the Lido at noon.  

 After lunch Mary got out her cards and we played four rounds of Hand and Foot.  Did not keep score but Jim and I had the highest number of books every hand.  Tomorrow we’ll switch partners.  Fun not keeping score.  

Jim did some laundry in the sink today and tomorrow will be my turn.  They provide a small line in the shower to hang a small amount of clothes and then we have a rubber line that we can stretch across the bed as they begin to dry. 

The captain did a speech for an hour and a half on the history of the Holland American Cruise Line.  Excellent and very informative.   The two tiered room was full and I didn’t see anyone leaving during the presentation.  But, must admit I did catnap a few times.

Tonight was the Gala Night and we dressed up for dinner.  Carol and Cathy joined our group of six for dinner and photos were taken by the professional photographer.  Not sure if we’re going to purchase some or not.  We even had special menus tonight.  The food has been beautifully prepared and there is a nice selection each night.  Jim is finding duck on the menu regularly and since that is his very favorite dish, he’s very happy.

After Dinner Jim and I joined Al and Nancy on the dance floor and enjoyed tripping the light fantastic.  Generally one or two couples at a time are dancing so one feels on display.   Some are really good but we’re holding our own against many of them. 

Today I walked 8,130 steps, (3.7 miles) including seven laps on the deck, and did 10 minutes on the elliptical machine.   A good day all in all.  

SPRING CRUISE TO EUROPE 2018.... DAY 1

The planning for this journey began when we were visiting friends in St. Petersburg, Florida in the summer of 2017.  Initially we had hoped they would agree to travel with us but we were determined to go with or without them.  We booked the tour with Holland American Cruise Line on the Rotterdam for April – May 2018.  It was a repositioning cruise through Vacations to Go that would last 27 days.

Beginning in Tampa, Florida and ultimately ending in Rotterdam which was perfect for an extended trip with eleven days in Amsterdam before arranging our flight home with WOW Airlines.    We began talking with my twin sister about the trip and eventually our older sister, Shirley, who lives in Florida, agreed to come as her roommate.

Using AirBnB we booked a studio apartment near all of the museums in Amsterdam; booked our flights and then started looking at the tours available through the cruise ship for the various ports we would be visiting.  Our stateroom is on the main deck inside; who needs windows for sleeping.  We are definitely out and about through the day and rarely spend time in the cabin.  And the cost is much less without windows.   Mary and Shirley are one deck below us as they wanted a couple of months before finally booking their cruise, and there were no rooms left on our floor by the time they finally booked their cruise.

We flew on Southwest Air to Florida, using air miles, four days early and enjoyed visiting with relatives and friends while the clock moved forward three hours; slowly adjusting us towards the total of nine hours that we would lose by the time that we arrive in Europe.  

We’d rented a car with Enterprise….they are very good to use when you pass the magic age of seventy-five when many car rental companies refuse to rent to you!   We got an SUV so that we’d be able to transport all of the luggage for four to the cruise ship on Sunday morning.  My twin sister, Mary, had arrived from Indianapolis on April 1^st and was settled in with Shirley in her condo.  We joined them and soon our younger brother came to visit for the day, along with Shirley’s children who also live nearby.  Family Reunion!   Our brother lives about an hour north during the winter months.  His primary home is in our home town in Indiana.

We alternated days and spent two of the four with our friends who live in St. Petersburg.    We met them on a trip to Europe in France in 1999; and continue to visit with them on a regular basis.

Sunday, April 15^th, 2018

Up early to attend 8 am Mass, joined by Bonnie from St. Petersburg.  We arrived home and found Shirley packed and ready to go!  She’d been awake and packing all night!   But we soon had all of the bags and Shirley’s walker, loaded and ready.  Mary and I each held a small case and had our feet on another with a 25” suitcase between us!  But we were all together and headed for the port to board the ship before the anticipated furious storm began; it was schedule to start about 3 pm; but we were boarded well before.  Jim and I dropped the girls with all of the luggage at the port, settled them into a safe and dry area with seats and then drove back to Tampa Airport to return the car.  A taxi cab back and then we boarded the cruise ship well before 3 pm.  It was a terrible storm and many passengers missed the ship because of the cancelled flights coming into Tampa.    We met one lady who finally caught the cruise at Bermuda, five days later.  

Shirley and Mary are one floor below us so we are never far apart.  We decided to book 5:15 pm daily for our dinner and they assigned the four of us to a table for eight at the windows in the back of the ship giving us a fabulous but sunny view of where we’d been each day during our evening meal…mostly water!  But once we’d worked out the lowering of the shades we were in good shape and truly enjoyed our table location.  Each evening we looked forward to meeting new guests at our table. 

The very first evening, Al and Nancy from Tampa; originally from New York, joined us and have  continued to sit with us every evening by request.  We also see them at Mass every morning.  We were joined the first night by Melvin who kept Shirley entertained throughout dinner and Cora, two single travelers.  On Monday evening we were joined by Dick and Jane.  Tuesday brought us Carol and Cathy.  Wednesday night we had Dan and Katherine from Texas; and on Thursday Myra and Steve from Tampa joined our group and continued to sit with us for the rest of the cruise.  

Most evenings we join Nancy and Al at the Ocean Bar for some dancing.  It helps if we wear leather shoes.  There is a piano player that follows the three piece band.  He is a young man from Peru named Gabriel.   He can play just about any tune you can whistle.  This is his first tour and we really enjoy his versatility.   By 10 pm we are generally off to bed instead of the evening entertainment.  

As you can see I ’ve finally getting around to writing this on Friday; in between computer classes.  

We do keep busy during the day and one of nearly everyone’s favorite time of the day is when the Times Digest arrives.   It gets later each day as we sail further from the USA and the source of the news.  It’s a small eight page compellation of world news, investment news and the weather.    There are racks in the elevator halls and other places with the paper in about eight different languages. 

Sunday Steps:  5,658.... Yes, I'm going to be giving you the running count of steps to keep me walking in preparation for my long walk in Spain later this summer.

I will be posting my journals which were written daily during the trip in two day increments.  For my friends on Facebook, you've been getting about 20 photos and a short narrative every day during the journey.   We are now in Amsterdam enjoying our after cruise adventure.  I hope you enjoy our story.