I've been home for a few days now but I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep. My roommate on the trip woke me up every night at least once and sometimes 2 or 3 times. She has bad dreams and becomes very vocal during her dreams shouting at the people who are trying to steal from her or hurt her. She's never been to a counselor to try to find out and/or deal with the "whys" of her dreams.
The weather on our trip was beautiful - no rain or rough seas, although it was pretty hot most afternoons. We had a great waiter in the main dining room who kept us laughing. He's headed home to Bali in mid-May and is really looking forward to seeing his family. We told him we might just show up on his doorstep.
One of the things I find most interesting about cruising is the great variety of nationalities on board the ship. Just in our dining room, 32 different nationalities were represented in the staff. Life aboard the ship for the workers is very hard. Their hours are long and the expectations are high but they make more money than they can make at home. The waiters work six months and get 2 months off then start another 6 months on a different ship. The higher ranking employees, like our maitre'd, are on the ship for 11 months before a break. Not nearly as glamorous a job as it might appear on the surface. I sure did appreciate all their hard work to make our trip a fun vacation.
And Rosie, my cat, survived the 5 days without me. So glad I didn't have to board her in a kennel while I was gone. I don't think she would have been as glad to see me if she hadn't been able to stay in her familiar surroundings while I was away.
Two couples in our group are retired and stay gone more than they stay home. I'm not there yet. I love to go away for awhile but I would much rather be here than anywhere else.
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Vacation
I have gotten so far behind with my writing for the 21 day Bible reading plan I'm just gonna let the last four days go. I'm reading the passages but have just been too busy to write up my thoughts. And today I'm headed to the Bahamas for 5 days and will not even touch a computer except my e-reader.
I struggle with taking vacation that takes me away from church on Sunday because I miss my friends and the experience of gathering together as well as the teaching which always speaks to me in some profound way. It may be only a sentence but God always uses Perry, Clayton, Brad - whoever may be speaking - to awaken my heart to Him. The good thing for me, though, is I can catch the sermon when I get back home.
It will be good to spend time with friends I haven't seen in a couple of months as we cruise together and enjoy such a relaxed time with absolutely no agenda except finding a lounge chair by the pool.
I struggle with taking vacation that takes me away from church on Sunday because I miss my friends and the experience of gathering together as well as the teaching which always speaks to me in some profound way. It may be only a sentence but God always uses Perry, Clayton, Brad - whoever may be speaking - to awaken my heart to Him. The good thing for me, though, is I can catch the sermon when I get back home.
It will be good to spend time with friends I haven't seen in a couple of months as we cruise together and enjoy such a relaxed time with absolutely no agenda except finding a lounge chair by the pool.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Holiday
Here it is a little after 7 in the morning and I have already put in a full day. I'm headed to the mountains for Labor Day weekend.
I'm really looking forward to this because I don't take many vacations for rest and relaxation. Just about every day off this past year has been busy. Last March I took off to volunteer for Unleash. Memorial Day and 4th of July were spent with friends but it was a large crowd which is never restful for me. My actual vacation was spent in Kenya working harder than I ever work at home.
But now...it's ME time. This annual trip to Lake Junaluska with some old friends is a time to just do nothing. I usually read a book or 2. Beth and I are the slobs on this trip. Sometimes on Saturday we don't take a shower or get dressed until lunch time. We just sit in a rocker and watch the mist rise off the lake as we drink our 2nd or 3rd cup of coffee.
So now, I have finished cleaning the house and packing and am about to go to work for half a day. Really looking forward to some genuine down time.
I'm really looking forward to this because I don't take many vacations for rest and relaxation. Just about every day off this past year has been busy. Last March I took off to volunteer for Unleash. Memorial Day and 4th of July were spent with friends but it was a large crowd which is never restful for me. My actual vacation was spent in Kenya working harder than I ever work at home.
But now...it's ME time. This annual trip to Lake Junaluska with some old friends is a time to just do nothing. I usually read a book or 2. Beth and I are the slobs on this trip. Sometimes on Saturday we don't take a shower or get dressed until lunch time. We just sit in a rocker and watch the mist rise off the lake as we drink our 2nd or 3rd cup of coffee.
So now, I have finished cleaning the house and packing and am about to go to work for half a day. Really looking forward to some genuine down time.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Safari
One of the really fun things we did while in Kenya was go on a safari. The place we stayed was Sweetwater Tented Camp. We had large 2 room tents on platforms with nice twin beds, dressing table, armoire and a full bath with shower stall, sink, toilet and tile floors. The beds had real nice, fluffy pillows. (The pillows up to this point had been about an inch thick!)
One of the nicest things they did for us was put a hot water bottle in our beds to warm them up for us. Being at 6000' and winter to boot (yeah, I know the equator never gets real cold) it was in the 50's at night with pretty strong winds.
The resort was extremely nice with a great restaurant (linen tablecoths and napkins) that served a combination of European, Asian and African foods. We were able to have red snapper, herb crusted turkey and other goodies for dinner and then have waffles, bacon and omelets for breakfast. We had vultures join us for breakfast. A waiter told me they will actually come into the room if the sliding doors are left open. They would peck at the window if someone held up food.
The restaurant overlooks 2 watering holes. People were getting up and down all during dinner to go out the sliding doors to take pictures. There are spotlights to help everyone see the animals. We did find out that although the animals don't shy away from the light, they do shy away from too much noise from the watchers.
We took a ride around the preserve on Wednesday afternoon and again on Thursday morning. around the preserve and saw 4 of the big 5 - elephants, giraffes, rhinos and zebras. The only thing we didn't see was lions. Some of our group paid $95 extra to go on a night time safari. They did see lions and were absolutely thrilled by it. The lions were chasing an antelope but didn't actually kill it. The driver said the lions had already eaten and were just playing with the antelope because they were not making any attempt to actually catch it.
In addition to the 4 large animals, we also saw antelopes or gazelles or maybe both, chimps, baboons, monkeys, water buffalo, and long horned cows from Uganda.
This was a great way to end our trip; to give us time to unwind from the work and the emotional intensity of being around so much need. It's something I would love to do with my grandchildren but I don't think they could take the plane ride or the shots or not drinking the water. Who knows, though, I might be able to save up enough to take them one day when they are older.
One of the nicest things they did for us was put a hot water bottle in our beds to warm them up for us. Being at 6000' and winter to boot (yeah, I know the equator never gets real cold) it was in the 50's at night with pretty strong winds.
The resort was extremely nice with a great restaurant (linen tablecoths and napkins) that served a combination of European, Asian and African foods. We were able to have red snapper, herb crusted turkey and other goodies for dinner and then have waffles, bacon and omelets for breakfast. We had vultures join us for breakfast. A waiter told me they will actually come into the room if the sliding doors are left open. They would peck at the window if someone held up food.
The restaurant overlooks 2 watering holes. People were getting up and down all during dinner to go out the sliding doors to take pictures. There are spotlights to help everyone see the animals. We did find out that although the animals don't shy away from the light, they do shy away from too much noise from the watchers.
We took a ride around the preserve on Wednesday afternoon and again on Thursday morning. around the preserve and saw 4 of the big 5 - elephants, giraffes, rhinos and zebras. The only thing we didn't see was lions. Some of our group paid $95 extra to go on a night time safari. They did see lions and were absolutely thrilled by it. The lions were chasing an antelope but didn't actually kill it. The driver said the lions had already eaten and were just playing with the antelope because they were not making any attempt to actually catch it.
In addition to the 4 large animals, we also saw antelopes or gazelles or maybe both, chimps, baboons, monkeys, water buffalo, and long horned cows from Uganda.
This was a great way to end our trip; to give us time to unwind from the work and the emotional intensity of being around so much need. It's something I would love to do with my grandchildren but I don't think they could take the plane ride or the shots or not drinking the water. Who knows, though, I might be able to save up enough to take them one day when they are older.
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