Tag: Alaska

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Giving You the Finger

(Originally posted in Facebook on May 30, 2019)

M and I had a really good evening last night. But I have to admit, we definitely miss being able to walk to the dining room and just pointing to whatever strikes our fancy for that evening’s meal and having it served to us. Having to think of a meal, then cook it and eat it, then clean up afterward is for the birds – after you’ve seen how the other half live!

While we were away, I noticed that whenever we walked anywhere – through the ship, around a town we were visiting . . . whatever – M would be two or three steps behind me. I would stop and wait for him to catch up and then he would drop back again. I wanted to talk to him about what we were seeing or what we were going to do next, but he always seemed to walk so much slower than I did and never wanted to catch up.

But when we were in the dining room on the ship and walking around the buffet, he was practically in my back pocket. If I made the mistake of stopping before he realized I was going to, he would plow right into me – he was so close! And I don’t know why. After the first day, we knew our way around the buffet, it wasn’t like he needed my help negotiating the room. But he was right up against me the whole time.

Here’s a picture M took of me in Skagway, AK. Notice how he managed to get into the picture, too?

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It’s a Bear!

(Originally posted in Facebook on May 28, 2019)

We’re back!

Whew – we did it. There were a few days I wasn’t sure we were going to make it, but we did and we had a wonderful time! We really, truly did. I can’t recommend this trip enough. Holland America is a fabulous cruise line and our travel agent, Go Forth Travel, did a marvelous job of keeping us in the right place at the right time.

M did pretty well on the trip. Being away from home and the disruption of his daily routine was an issue for him, as I had been afraid of. I found that if I warned him ahead of time and told him “tomorrow we’re going to be doing these three things, it’s going to take this amount of time and we’re going to be away from the ship from this time until this time,” he handled the day much better.

The toughest part of the trip was getting through security at the airport and then getting through the security scanner each time we came back on the ship. I didn’t realize M would have such a hard time with this process and wasn’t prepared to get myself through and coach him through the process. Once I realized what was happening, I handled it better and things went more smoothly.

I think the closest I came to having a breakdown was getting through US Customs in Vancouver. We had taken a bus from Seattle to Vancouver and had gone through Canadian customs with no problems. But, before we could board the ship, we had to go through US Customs – I don’t know why. The line was long, we had already had a long day and nerves were frayed. About halfway through the line, M decides he’s had enough and starts pitching a fit, raising his voice and letting everyone know that “THIS IS RIDICULOUS.” Okay, yes – it is ridiculous, but standing in line, waiting for US Customs to give us approval to board a ship that we have paid A LOT of money to get on is NOT the time to let everyone know that. If there were ever a time to just hush and take one for the team, this would be it. Of course, all my snacks and candy were in another bag and I didn’t have anything to try to make things better except the promise it wouldn’t be much longer. I still don’t know how we got out of there.

Mr. Grizzly Bear says “aarrgg!”

So now we’re back, well rested and on our regular schedules again. No more “all you can eat” buffets. No more room stewards making the bed and cleaning the room. I think I could get used to that kind of life. But I’ve learned that having M in a regular routine is very important. I’ve also learned that I need someone else with me if we ever travel again – having all the responsibility for him is too much.

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Setting Sail

(Originally posted in Facebook on May 10, 2019)

So here we are – the day before we leave on our big trip. Yay!

I’m a little concerned, because it means taking M out of the comfort of his routines. He does better with routine, so I’m not sure how this is going to be for him. He seems to be looking forward to this, though, so I hope it’s going to go well. I say “seems to be” . . . he doesn’t get excited and enthusiastic about things like he used to.

I usually have at least one major freak out about an upcoming trip in the days prior to the event – and I managed to work that in on Wednesday. I got an email from the cruise line letting me know what time we were to board the ship and it occurred to me that none of the logistics and itineraries I had for the trip seemed to match up with the departure times and . . . there I went. Spinning out of control.

Fortunately, my travel agent is wonderfully patient and walked me through the entire process and I really do have everything I need. So, I’ve printed out every correspondence from her – including her phone number – and I’m set.

I don’t think I’ll do much in the way of “blogging” or checking in on this space while we’re gone. Wifi on the ship is pricey $$$ and I’ve spent enough. But, I’ll try to take lots of notes so I can report back on the funny stories that happen – because there are bound to be funny stories that happen!! – when we get back.

Sending all of you love and hugs – and many thanks for your support!

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Travel!

(Originally posted in Facebook on April 11, 2019)

We’re getting ready for a trip – we’ll be taking a cruise to Alaska soon. It’s one of those things we have always wanted to do and had planned to do once we retired. When we received M’s diagnosis, we decided things like this shouldn’t/couldn’t wait – so here we go.

Last night, we sat down to look at the excursions that are part of the trip to decide what we wanted to do. Wow. There were so many to choose from and getting M to make a decision was like pulling teeth. He would suggest something like a brewery tour and tasting, which would be fine. But I can’t drink alcohol because it will give me a raging migraine headache and he stopped drinking beer years ago because he saw it was becoming a problem for him. So, a brewery tour and tasting would be a waste of time and money for us.

Then there was the matter of his glasses. Of course, the prescription glasses that he SHOULD be wearing all the time are in his car – he wears them only if he’s driving at night. Scattered around the house are “readers” but for some reason, he couldn’t seem to put his hands on a pair of them last night. I think I’m going to order a 10-pack of them from Amazon and have a pair in every room, just like I do with my chapstick tubes.

On a happy note, we did choose an excursion that will allow us to spend some time with husky puppies. Now, THAT is going to be a ton of fun!!