Okay finally as promised it’s time to catch up with the blog.
First I’d like to say how much I enjoyed my time on the Dream. And what made it such a great time is the staff in the Cloud 9 Spa, they truly were a great bunch of people and I miss many of them.
Okay enough of the mushy stuff and down to business. On that subject I’d like to say that what I have posted on my blog is what I have found on my first contract as an “acupuncturist at sea”. I by no means know all the answers and I have an awful lot to learn from others. I will do my best to continue to post what comes my way and try my best not to sound like a know-it-all as I am far from one.
For me the entire contract has been a learning experience and I am looking forward to learning from everyone that comes my way. Listen to the staff in the spa and your managers; they are there to help you. Listen too corporate as they are there for the same. Though at times they will push you to make your numbers know that they have been where you are and they know the challenges. Lisa Forsythe makes rounds on ships and is full of knowledge and gives it freely. Everyone is there to help.
A couple days before my last port day in St. Thomas I packed up everything but my essentials that I would need to work for the next week or two. I then shipped a couple boxes of belongings home from St. Thomas. This didn’t cost too much as it is a US port and had a US post office. It was certainly less then having to pay for extra baggage on flights home and not hassle of carrying everything with me.
Customs was also a breeze. You have to go through them on the ship before you take belongings off to be sent home. My manager Georgena gave me a great tip. Don’t box anything up and put it in your roll away luggage for customs inspection. Then roll it off the ship carrying a couple empty boxes and tape to the post office. This made carrying everything a lot easier. Thanks Georgena…
As it turned out I disembarked on May 21st as planned. Customs again was a breeze. Those of you that are close friends know that I then rented a car and drove to Clearwater to spend a night with my mother before leaving Florida.
They also know that the next day I flew to Atlanta to see someone very special to me. She lives about 90 minutes north of Atlanta and drove down to spend some time together. She is affectionately known as “My Little Hippie Girl”.
With both of us being old hippies I surprised her as a couple months earlier I bought tickets for the closing night of the play “Hair” in Atlanta. We ate at her favorite restaurant and though we had not seen each other in a very long time it was wonderful for both of us. A couple days later I left Atlanta and flew back to Idaho.
But on the way back I made a stop in Las Vegas where a close friend, Tim, joined my for a night. We met up with another friend that now lives there and went to the play Absinthe. One reviewed called is Cirque de Sol meets Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was extremely entertaining and we never laughed so hard.
After the show Steve took off and Tim and I made our way back to the pai gow and craps tables at the Mandalay Bay where we were staying. Fortunately we were lucky that night and I made around $400 and I think Tim made around $300.
The next day I flew to Merced and made my way to Midpines outside Yosemite where a very good friend of mine, Dean had stored my van while I was on the ship.
The next day I drove to see more old friends, Chuck and his wife Kalyn outside Grass Valley near Tahoe. I met both of them years ago in San Carlos, Mexico and we have become friends for life. After joining them for a great Memorial Day bar-b-que at friends of theirs I was off the next day to Idaho.
Chuck and Kalyn live in a 40-foot custom motor home and travel to points far and near. If you really want to see the country and hear some great adventure stories take a look at their blog
So for the last month I have been staying at my son’s in Hailey, Idaho as I really have no home at this point until I join my next ship The Rhapsody of the Seas on August 19th. In the mean time I am leaving next week taking my grandkids on vacation to Disneyland and Yosemite. Then for a month I’ll visit family and friends and work on private clients in California.
Before I post pictures of the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins in Belize only 2 miles from the Guatemala border I’d like to thank everyone for their support of my blog.
As I said my next ship will be the Rhapsody starting August 19th. Ports of call will be Alaska, Hawaii, Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.
Also I’d like to invite you to take a look at a book I published called “Dreaming in the Caribbean”. It is a photographic diary of the ports of call including Nassau, Cozumel, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Belize, Roatan Honduras and Costa Maya. Many years ago I was a professional photojournalist and I truly enjoyed photographing my trip. It is available as both a downloadable eBook and also in printed book form.
Book
eBook
Also available on the site is an acupuncture reference book, a book on alternative medicine protocols and a book on meridian vibration therapy (medical tuning forks) I have published in the past.
And now for photographs of the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins in Belize.
This is a river crossing made on a hand cranked ferry about a mile from the ruins
And now for the ruins themselves
Again thanks to everyone for your support, your interest, your questions and your knowledge
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