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It’s time for our art society’s 60th Anniversary art show. Anyone nearby, please come. Best part, it’s free and right in time for Christmas shopping.
I spent the afternoon matting eight paintings and stuffing cards in cellophane envelopes, which was a feat as we had our second shingles shot yesterday, with accompanying side effects. My teeth were chattering so hard I thought they might crack.
Living in the Pacific Northwest for over half my life, and well familiar with terms for rain, last night's weather report introduced me to a new concept, one that is due to hit within 12 hours. Meet the atmospheric river. National Geographic describes them as rivers in the sky, except that all that water, sometimes 20 times +/- the water contained in the Mississippi River, falls to the ground.
Why was I unfamiliar with this term? Turns out it's a rebranding of our familiar pineapple expresses as they carry moisture from tropical areas toward the earth's poles. Tis the season to hunker down with soup.
We started with a treat: Bouillabaisse. I asked B if he wanted to head to the dock for some crabbing. Given the heavy weather we decided it was worth spending $16 on a large crab rather than buy bait to hang out in the cold wet with no guarantees. It lasted for two dinners and a lunch.
The instant pot was put to work for ham broth and lentil soup. Half the broth went into our favorite from Spain: Caldo Gallego, which is ham, leeks, white beans, potatoes and a mixture of greens - collards, mustard and turnip greens.
Twelve minute Instant Pot beluga lentil soup was third in the line up of comfort food.
Combine soup with the great room fireplace located in the middle of everything, kitchen, living and dining areas and we're all set up for a weekend of storm watching. C says, along the coast people pay for this experience. I remind him that we did when we moved here. So worth it, I'm very thankful.
How much of a whirlwind was that? 63 days, six currencies, and 28 beds worth. We rode on trains, boats, planes, buses and cars and walked another 400+k of the Camino de Santiago.
Now it’s home sweet home, which was well taken care of by son, Bryant, who came to the realization that White Rock isn’t that far from civilization after all. That’s encouraging for the future, but for now we’ll stay put.
I left you last in New York. Next stop was Boston, where we met my sister. Her new Jack Russell puppy stole the show; five wriggling pounds of incredible cuteness.
Next stop was Bermuda where our ship was technically the tallest structure on the island(s).
other than the lighthouse:
My previous visit to Bermuda was 42 years ago and of course it’s changed. Half of the hotels have shut down or been repurposed, the bulk of the tourism being provided by cruise ships. Hamilton, the capitol city has lost its quaintness to growth and traffic not deterred by gas at $9.00US a gallon.
A day and a half at sea took us to the Bahamas, a return to our honeymoon, which then was affordable as we participated in a bartering network. We were booked in for a Windjammer cruise on a four masted schooner, not as romantic as it sounds. While we were queued for embarkation there was an announcement: Who here won this trip on a game show or through bartering? Enthusiastic hands raised, the second announcement followed: This isn’t your ship, please follow the staff member to yours. Reality set in as we were guided to something that resembled a single masted tug boat, providing us with an adventure that included bunk beds, cold water, and interesting guests: a pimp and a prostitute, two drug dealers and a Mormon family who travelled with half of their seven children each year. Makes you wonder about that barter system.
Back to this voyage, the next morning we arrived at Ft. Lauderdale where we were spat off the ship at an unreasonable hour - 8:00 am. A long 20 hours later we were home. And now we’re adjusting to life in our time zone.
We’ve had a week off grid because there is NO way I was going to pay cruise ship prices for unreliable internet. That appeals to the practical part of my nature, just as I’m not spending extra for on-board specialty restaurants for food that comes out of the same kitchen. Bah humbug.
We left Southampton, England in the rain, which followed us across the North Atlantic. Only one day where the seas were 4 meters high and the barf bags appeared in the hallways. I’m ok dosed with Gravol (Dramamine). But it was cool and grey so our time was mostly spent indoors. No suffering there as Celebrity does a good job of keeping guests occupied. My week was spent at shipboard choir practice, enrichment lectures by a broadway historian and LA prosecutor, watercolour class and trivia, in between eating.
We arrived in the pouring rain at Pier 88 in New York.
Seven days on a cruise ship was incentive to don the waterproof hiking boots and walk for miles, starting with the Highline Park, built on the old elevated freight rails of my nearby NY childhood.
Being experienced cruisers we are used to the vicissitudes of scheduling due to variables such as weather, port issues, and mechanical difficulties. Our original itinerary called for a day in Boston followed by two in New York. It was changed to one in NY, a day at sea traveling to Boston, then on to Bermuda.
Reality: 1.5 days in NY due to high winds, which then damaged the gangway, leaving us literally stuck to the dock. Take off another half day for the customs and immigration process. But the time spent waiting on-board for the repairs was relaxing and the weather glorious.
More later. Wanted to let you know we made it across the ocean.