Tag Archives: travel

FEBRUARY 2. 12 YEARS LATER. (and a month late)

February 2nd. Jonathan’s new birthday, Groundhog Day, Gary Snyder’s birthday (RIP)……and twelve years (and one month) ago, my brand, spanking new adventure started! Goodness, how things change over the years!!! And this past year of my life was phenomenally changed!

First, MY ADORABLE GRANDSON WAS BORN!!! Barrett Jonathan “Bear” Plsek was born May 29th. I fell in love with him the first moment I saw him! He is a precious gift from God! My condo in Florida has been put to good use. I spent a couple of months there—and plan on many more months next winter and maybe some in between. And a sweet family that are dear friends used it when, after moving to St. Pete three weeks prior, they were ordered to evacuate due to a hurricane. And my niece and her family used it to go to the parks. No regrets buying it!

Another big, new development in my life is, 5 1/2 years after Kenn died, I have met someone special. His name is Chris. When we met, he had been a widower for 3 1/2 years. And while each of us had met other people, we are each other’s first relationship since becoming widowed. He is a great guy and lives on a farm about 20 minutes away from my home in Murfreesboro. I’ve gotten to hold a baby piglet and a four day old lamb since meeting him! Eeeeek….right up my alley!!!! However, he has warned me, that occasionally they have to send some of the animals to freezer camp. I won’t be visiting on those days. 😳. Anyway, we are enjoying each other’s company and taking it one day at a time.

My big, 35 day cruise was a blast! But I got some surprises, too. Everyone who knows me well, knows that I am—and have always been—an extrovert. I will talk to a wall if I think it will listen. All of my table mates at dinner were solo travelers as well. It was a very interesting group from all over the USA and two were from other countries. I enjoyed visiting with them a lot. However, I felt so awkward doing things around the ship alone. One day, I called Chris, and asked him a simple question. If it’s allowed and possible, will you fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina and meet our ship to sail on the last half of the cruise. He said yes, and I asked, and they said yes, and he did it! His cabin was on the opposite end of the ship and three floors above me so needless to say, he got his steps in every day! But we both had so much fun! We saw one colony of penguins (from a distance, thankfully) that the captain said was over 250,000 penguins! And boy howdy, could we smell them! We did get up close and personal with some smaller colonies in the Falkland Islands. They were so interesting and cute! And very human tolerant! It truly was a trip of a lifetime!

Overall, my year was good. I had some heartbreaking moments but all in all, God has been very good to me. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next year brings!

A BIG ADVENTURE

Do you have a bucket list?  I do!  Some of the things I want to do are actually written down, and other things are just in my head.  I’ve marked off several things—places I wanted to visit, like Switzerland, Holland, Bora Bora, and Italy.  And a little closer to home—Kenn took me to see where my first love, Andy Griffith, grew up!  Mount Airy, North Carolina!  I also got to whale watch and was a temporary ‘one hit wonder’.  (You would have read a previous blog post to hear about the last two!)

But most of my friends know I love to cruise.  As a matter of fact, I’ve just recently completed my 45th one!  One of my bucket list items is to go on a long cruise—like twenty days or more.  The longest one I’ve done was 15 days, when Kenn and I did a full transit of the Panama Canal.  We also did two back to back cruises, each being 14 days.  After I finished this last one, which lasted a week, I started looking for long ones.  I mostly sail on Royal Caribbean and, since I get a lot of perks for being ‘loyal’, I started there. The longest one I could find that sounded interesting was 21 days.  However, the timing wasn’t good.  I would miss a dear friend’s wedding.  So I looked elsewhere.

And I found it!!!  Thirty five days.  Leaves from Fort Lauderdale.  Goes to St. Kitts.  Then, on to South America, including Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina. And THEN…….ANTARCTICA!!!!!  I am stoked!  Actually, it just does several days of scenic cruising of Antarctica, which is fine with me.  I’ve already reserved some excursions—one, where I get to hang out with penguins and another one, where I hang out with seals and sea lions!  Another one is a dinner and show, watching professional dancers do the Tango.  I’ve also reserved several city tours.  It ends back in Buenos Aires, so I will fly back to the USA from there.

I’m guessing I will be amongst ‘like aged’ people.  I mean, how many young people can go away for 35 days?!  And if they could, would they head to Antarctica…..or Hawaii???  I also hope there are a few solo travelers like me.  But if not, it’s ok!

Packing will be a challenge.  I’m leaving in November, which will be the start of summer weather in the southern hemisphere.  But, as we get further and further away from the equator, it will be really cold.  So I will need to pack for both extremes. 

I am having a lot of fun planning!  It will certainly be one of the biggest adventures I’ve ever experienced!

FEBRUARY 2nd—11 YEARS LATER

February 2. Jonathan’s new birthday, yada yada yada…..

It’s been 11 years since I moved out on my own and started this blog. I was newly divorced and trying to make my way in the world as a single woman. My life continues to change and evolve every single year. Some great things, some so so things, some devastating things…. but through it all, God has been there, giving me joy and peace when I least expect it.

I’ve still been going to North Myrtle Beach for at least a month every winter. This was my 5th winter to go and I just returned home yesterday. I meet a lot of snowbirds there who don’t want to go all the way to Florida for the winter. The condo I rent is right on the beach. I find watching and listening to the ocean very peaceful. This year, I had planned on looking into buying a condo there. But a few months ago, my plans suddenly changed. Today, I signed closing documents on a condo in Orlando. It will be my 2nd home as I plan to stay in Murfreesboro for now. I need a place in Orlando because….I’M GOING TO BE A GRANDMA!!!!!!!!! Jonathan and Olivia are expecting a baby boy June 2nd! I’m not excited or anything 🙄……🎉💕🎉❤️🎉💕🎉!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m not crazy about summers in Florida but I know I will be crazy about baby boy!!! Anyway, I plan on going down often and eventually, putting the condo in a rental program for times I know I won’t be using it. 

I guess with time, everyone’s life changes. Some people get what they expect. And others, like me, have no idea what to expect each year. I wonder what year 12 will look like? I know one thing—there is going to be a very much loved baby boy in the world!!!!!!