Back in the Big Apple

Before I tell you about our trip, I want to mention our former neighbor, Kay, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall. She recently completed her chemo and last week had successful surgery to remove the tumors. Best wishes for a rapid recovery, Kay. We were thinking of you.

It's hard to believe that we were gone for eight days. Our trip was mostly relaxing and we certainly enjoyed spending time with our friends Anne and Andy, who even surprised us by joining us for dinner the last evening of the cruise. We spent many hours in Michael's Club enjoying drinks and the piano player, and I hope it's not six years until we cruise together again.

Celebrity's Solstice is a lovely ship, although some of the areas are a little too modern and cold for my taste. There were several staff members onboard whom we had met on other Celebrity cruises and it was a pleasant surprise to see them again. We met several other friendly and talented crew and staff members, and unfortunately ran into a few employees who would be better used in non-passenger-related positions. That's true on every cruise, though.

The first three days of our vacation were difficult. I was extremely tired Saturday and Sunday, so I didn't enjoy embarkation day as much as I usually do. Anne was kind enough to take us on a tour of the ship (she and Andy had already sailed her) so we were familiar with the layout immediately. Monday I was feeling nauseated all day and at first thought it was motion sickness. It took until the middle of the day when I realized it could be chemo related, and an Ativan, a four-hour nap, and a 10-hour night's sleep resulted in a whole new me.

On Tuesday, we finally -- on our third attempt -- met our friends Lydia and Wilfredo in San Juan. They picked us up at the pier, whisked us off for a delicious lunch with a beautiful view, took us for an apres lunch stroll, and then showed us some of the local sights before returning us to the pier. It was a wonderful visit and I was so happy to see them again. I've been so lucky in my life to meet good-hearted, loving, thoughtful and generous people like these two, and it makes me so happy to spend time with them. Thank you again for a lovely afternoon and for the goodies. Everything made it back home in one piece!

On Wednesday, we took a walk into Phillipsburg on St. Maarten to look for Ed's favorite bourbon, which -- although made in the United States -- is only sold in duty free shops and internationally. After scouring every liquor store along the main street (and there were many), we found one bottle. Andy was hoping for a bottle as well, but we couldn't find another one. After that, it was back to the ship for some sunbathing. Thursday we spent in the solarium, which is the adults only covered pool. It was lovely until everyone came back from Tortola (we sailed at 1 p.m.) and then it became crowded and noisy, so we left. The rest of the cruise was spent just relaxing on the promande deck in a cushioned lounge chair, looking out at sea from the Sky Lounge, enjoying the view and a latte (for me) in the cafe, eating, and having drinks in Michael's Club with Anne and Andy. Sunday morning came quite quickly.

Overall, it was a lovely vacation although we had to fight a few battles onboard, mainly to get some credits that were due us. The weather was perfect and the seas were calm until the last night when we were headed back to Florida. Our flights were uneventful (hurray for Southwest Airlines), and we had no problems getting to and from the airport. It was lovely to be back in our own bed, though, and it was tough getting up for work this morning.

Thanks again to Anne and Andy and to Lydia and Wilfredo helping to make this a wonderful vacation, and thanks also to Lydia G for checking on our house while we were gone. Thanks also to everyone who e-mailed or called us to welcome us home. I'll be in touch within a day or so.

The schedule for this week is chemo on Thursday and Zometa on Friday. Welcome back to reality!