It is time to once again breath new life into my Blog. I know how you have all missed living vicariously through me, but we really haven’t been anywhere in 27 months. So today marks a monumental day for us that I wanted to share. On March 22, 2020 our World Cruise ended abruptly and the world as we knew it changed around us. That was 822 days ago. Today, 6/22/22 my girls and I stepped onto a ship for the first time in exactly 27 months. It was emtional to say the least. Lots of memories came flooding back of the last time we stepped off a cruise ship and the circumstances surrounding it. Today started a new chapter for us as well as an opportunity to bury the ghost of cruising past. We are on the Zuiderdam in Vancouver sailing towards Alaska. We are both on the ship and in the cabin that we intend to step back into on Jan 3, 2023 as Megan and I will embark once again on the World Cruise. We have so much to be thankful for and consider ourselves so blessed just to be here in this moment building new memories together. Mom is home in California following along via this blog and she is missed so very much. But we know she is here with us in spirit. So today we toured the ship and tried to start figuring our all the nooks and crannies. This ship is quite a bit larger then the Amsterdam that we sailed on in 2020. This ship has a capacity of 1800 passengers and there is currently only 1200 on board. The power went out on the ship about 30 minutes before we were supposed to leave Vancouver so that delayed our departure by about 90 minutes. As we sat to our first meal in the main dining room at 5:30pm we watched the ship pull away from the dock. The timing was perfect. How we had missed being served by such delightful Holland America staff. Our servers are Krishna and Oka and our smiling room stewards are Rosi and Doti. On the World Cruise you will hear me mention the dedicated people that touch our lives every day. They are the unsung heros that help make this trip as memorable as it is. The girls, in true cruiseing tradition, have run off to spend time with the other teens on the ship. There are currently 53 children between the ages of 3-17 on the ship. Quite a bit more then the 5 that were on the ship last time we were sailing. We are also blessed to be traveling with Alan and Sharon Johnson. Two world cruiseer from 2020 who just happen to be sailing with us. The familiar faces were such a pleasant addition to our amazing day. We attended two welcome receptions as well. I am now sitting looking out my cabin window as we sail north to Alaska. The mountain tops are covered with snow. The sea air has welcomed me home. I know I will sleep amazingly tonight as there is no better rest for me then when on a ship rolling along the seas. What a day of healing, celebrating, and feeling like a small part of normalcy has returned to our crazy lives. Tomorrow is a sea day. Till then sweet dreams my friends!!
Live Vicariously Through Debra 