We had a nice visit with some folks at last night's Most Traveled Passenger Party. We also had some nice new food items.
 |
| bruschetta |
 |
| prosciutto |
 |
| pretty little slider |
 |
| flan |
 |
| some fancy desserts |
After the party we headed back to the cabin where hubby proceeded to fall asleep. And snore. He was loud enough I couldn't hear over the TV so I decided to take a jaunt to the casino. Good thing as I got myself a hand pay on a penny machine.
 |
| Big enough to pay for a couple more cruises |
Today was our last sea day and it was another stormy one. The Captain said we are back to those 70 mph winds we had earlier in the week.
 |
| Another stormy day outside the Piazza windows |
Usually the last day of a cruise isn't too sad for us because we are usually doing another one and another one and another one (and even sometimes another one). But this is our third in a row already and it's our last for a while. We'll be arriving in Vancouver tomorrow then off to Seattle to see the Mariners play a couple times before we head back home.
We already have more cruises planned but we will have a stretch of time at home. Which means hubby loses his independence. Which means I lose my independence. I have several books in the works so I have plenty of writing to keep me busy through the summer and hubby will have local baseball games.
If you've been a reader of my blog for a while you know my husband has cerebral palsy. He's not wheelchair bound, but he does have physical limitations. If you were to watch him walk and interact you might think he was someone who had a stroke, with the right side of his body pretty much immobile.
His limitations have impacted our lives and we are pretty much glued at the hip. He doesn't drive and so every time he wants/needs to go somewhere - when he went to work, the doctor's office, the store - I have to drive him. He can't tie his own shoes or the ties he wore to work every single day. He has trouble using a can opener, putting on a belt, and can't cut his own steak. He now has difficulty in processing what he's reading and hearing and gets easily frustrated so I need to be always available for him.
But things are easier on a cruise. I can trust him to get to deck 5 to get his coffee in the morning, and the gals there take good care of him. I know he won't get lost, and if he does, he eventually finds his way. It's a lot of work to get him here, but once on the ship he can manage. I think that's why we like cruising so much. He's familiar with the layout of the Princess ships and knows many of the crew. He's able to have some structure and unlike at home, some independence. I can occasionally go into port and leave him on the ship and know he'll be just fine.
We've had a good trip and I wish it could continue. But it can't, so our lives will turn back to boring ones where I write all day and he watches TV all day.
Before we leave, here are just a few wrap-up things about this particular cruise...
The new hallway carpet still has the color coding for port and starboard side but it's just not as noticeable. Can you see the green v. red dots?
 |
| starboard side carpet |
 |
| port side carpet |
Last week on the Island Princess my Diet Coke was leftover from their South America itinerary. This cruise hubby's regular Coke on the Golden was leftover from their Asia itinerary.
 |
| another batch of non-US Coca Cola |
And one more thing – I’ll let you in a little secret that only a couple people know about. For the last several years I’ve been giving away dollar bills with notes of encouragement. I used to hand write notes on packs of Post-It notes but I found the adhesive wasn’t sticking in high-humid climates we were traveling to. A couple years back I switched to making my own little money pockets and printing labels for them. I’ve left them in restrooms and airplane magazines and sugar containers. I’ve left them in windowsills and tip jars and hotel room drawers. I’ve left them on buses and taxis and trains. Sometimes I place one somewhere once a day and other days I drop them off multiple times. Where did I leave one today? Somewhere in the Piazza. If you ever run into one of these on a Princess ship, you'll know where they came from.
 |
| Shh...don't tell |
Thanks for tagging along on our trip. I'll continue to keep up on the blog for both crafting and cruising content, but the next "live from"? Fingers crossed, I'm hoping to come live from Rome this fall.
Here's the link to today's Patter.
