St Kitts

 Today we are in St. Kitts - again, no excursions booked so we supported the local economy and went shopping in town! I found a local craftsperson who made jewellery out of sea glass so indulged myself with earrings and a necklace!

After mooching around town (although we didn't venture far from the port as it seemed a bit sketchy), we hung out at the pool, swimming and drinking too many margaritas(!) for a few hours… we are back in our cabin for a few hours of napping and relaxation this afternoon :-) Oh, life is rough! I'm finding this trip to be especially restorative - I guess we both needed the break away from reality…

Last night before dinner we stopped for a drink before supper as is our habit. I was getting Carm to take a photo of me all dressed in my sausage dress, when a lady zoomed over to us and practically grabbed my phone from my hands (in the best way!) so she could take photos of the two of us together :-) She was lovely and we exchanged email addresses. I posted the photo last night.

We had a nice steak dinner at the ‘specialty steak house’... I gorged myself on scallops, black & blue onion soup (our favourite!), and I had a GIANT rib steak, I think it was 14oz! No wonder my belly is getting bigger! Soon Iˋll have to forego the skimpy black bikini that I've been wearing at the pool, although I feel tiny compared to some of the people also in bikinis around the pool 😱

The people sitting next to us, (Fran & JP), in the restaurant were from California and were lovely. I'm not sure how it came up, but I mentioned the benefits of cannabis - but I was talking to the already converted… she used it for pain and sleep as well! Conversation flowed and we covered many topics and found much common ground.

After dinner we got seats at the theatre for the ‘Elvis’ show - I'll admit that I'm not a super Elvis fan but the performer was fun, with so much energy. He came across as a warm person… this morning we met him in the piazza and chatted for a few minutes - he was even more lovely in person 😉 

When the show was over, we headed for the piazza where the band was playing. The singer has a voice like Nat King Cole… we got up to dance many times and had a great time. It's crazy but we are more in love than ever! Perhaps a cancer scare has a silver lining 😉 . And who doesn't feel madly in love when dancing to love songs! So far, it's been like a non-stop date night 😀 

Awesome!

“everything“

Tortola

Today is our first port day! We've never been to Tortola and plan to walk around the town… we haven't booked any excursions this trip as I wasn't really sure how I would feel, but I am feeling great… well, as great as one could feel having had less than 6 hours of sleep every night.

At home I generally have a cannabis cookie at bedtime which helps tremendously with sleep, and as I am reminded constantly through the night, reduces hot flashes to a minimum. Unfortunately they have been wicked, waking me up several times a night. It sucks!

Last night was the first formal night so I trotted out in my coral sequin dress! It's a head turner - not for the shy. I got lots of compliments. It's a dress that wears me, I don't wear it!

We ate again with Sonia and Perry 🙂. She had me in tears with her story about her Jewish parents during the 2nd world war… but we also had fun with other, less emotional topics.

After the production show in the theatre we enjoyed some music and dancing in the piazza 😍. Again, we thought about our distant dance lessons that we have totally forgotten!

I can already feel my clothes getting tighter!

Mid afternoon… We walked around the town for a bit but it was a bust! Not much to see and very hot so we weren't disappointed to head back to the ship for a virtual sea day!

The pool wasn't busy and we eventually scored some chairs in the shade… a few hours later… and a few margaritas later, I headed back to our room for a rest, leaving Carm behind to socialize to his heart's content!

Tonight we are eating at the Crown Grill, the specialty steak house. I'm wearing my purple sausage dress which isn't as sausagy anymore but might be in a few days!

Awesome!

“everything“

getting into the groove

 Sunday, our first day at sea has been wonderful! We started off with a giant breakfast… I had meant to have a light breakfast but ended up with a giant plate of mushrooms, fruit, smoked salmon, pickled herring, and an egg on half slice of French toast. It was delicious and I felt slightly virtuous!

From there we went downstairs to shop (new hat and warm blanket scarf - I've been freezing and stupidly forgot to pack a pashmina). Then we attended a lecture about our next 2 ports. From there we climbed the stairs to the track for 15 laps which is just over 2 miles!

Swim time! It's chilly and windy but we hung out by the pool for ages, meeting some nice people. Julie and her son Austin were from outside Toronto, Sue and her son Brian are from Phoenix and Colorado. He works for Subaru so we had a connection right off the bat. I'm not sure if it's me or just luck, but we have connected with a few people already 😀

I was chatting with Julie about cancer and of course she had a few friends who have gone through it - one friend doesn't call herself a survivor… she has a much more powerful term that I am adopting for myself - she calls herself a thriver! That's me - I'm thriving!

—-

It's already Monday! Last night we had supper with Sonia and Perry. It already feels like we've known them forever 😀 After supper we went to the theatre for a magician show. He was good but I think I enjoyed Ted and Marion’s show better.

I was awake again before the sun 🌅. Once I was showered and into my walking clothes, I dashed to the buffet for a coffee… unfortunately the specialty coffee wasn't available so I just got some regular brew and sat by the pool for a while. When I got back to the room Carm had just gotten up so he got straight into his walking clothes and away we went for a 2.15 miles on the track - with some jogging!!! I felt great!

Breakfast was huge again but I felt slightly virtuous with my choices - lots of fruit and salmon… I got 3 out of 5 health boosting foods already 😀 and it was So good!

By 10:30 we had swum and are now on the 5th deck for a latte and to listen to the captain speak.

Awesome!

“everything“