Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
Drive-In Movies
I grew up during the height of the Drive-In theater popularity. I loved spending time at the Orleans Drive-In as a child and as a teen. Many memories center around nights at the drive-in.
Random thoughts / memories involving drive-in theaters:
-
Mom would load us up in the station wagon wearing our jammies and toting our pillows and blankets. When we arrived at the drive-in and Mom got parked, we would go into the concession stand and get popcorn, drinks, hot dogs, etc. — cheap dinner and a movie for the family! Then, Kevin and I would run down to the park area at the base of the screen to play. They had swings, slides, and that thing that you would run to get it spinning and then jump on and ride around in circles until it stopped! When we saw the cartoons start, we’d run back to the car to settle in for the cartoons and as much of the movie before we’d fall asleep in the back of the station wagon.
-
On nice nights, we might sit out on the hood or roof of the car or on lawn chairs we would bring with us.
-
The concession stand teasers were so much fun……especially the count down to show time with the snacks doing circus acts. I particularly remember the hot dog doing flips before it leaps into the bun!
-
An important ritual after leaving the drive-in was to drive through town before we headed home. Mom would wake us up and we’d drive down main street to see the stop lights flashing — the town put them on flashing after midnight. We’d get a big kick out of it and being able to say we were up late enough to see it!
-
I was small for my age, so I was able to get in for the “under 12 is free” admission fee until I was 16 or 17! hahaha Even when I went with friends, they’d say I was their little sister! I got away with that until I started being the one to drive or when I started going alone with a boyfriend!
-
My friend Mary Aina lived behind the drive-in. A bunch of us would frequently walk down from her house to the far back corner of the drive-in, stretch the last speaker as far as we could, turn it all the way up, and sit on a rail road tie that was just off drive-in property. We’d go in to the concession stand to get snacks and sit there watching the movie for free!
-
Mom took a bunch of my friends in the station wagon up to Transit Drive-In in another town to see The Beatles’ Help! when it first came out.
-
I probably saw hundreds of movies at the drive-in, but the only ones that stick out and I have distinct memories of seeing there are Patton and M.A.S.H! And I think I saw them both on the same night, if I’m not mistaken! Strange……..
And, here’s a real treat — a video of the count down to show time featuring juggling popcorn, tight rope balancing candy, marching ice cream, dancing sodas, and that ever popular flipping hot dog! Enjoy!
What’s New?
Lot’s going on — busy, busy, busy!!! All kinds of stuff to blog about and purge from rattling around in my mind!!! So, I will take a few minutes out of my beautiful, relaxed Saturday morning to capture some of my thoughts before I decide what all is in store for me today! Peruse through to hear about my recent adventures and see how pretty some of the key features in my yard look!
I took a quickie trip up to visit with my family over Memorial Weekend. The plan was to leave after I got off work at noon on Friday and head back on the late flight Monday evening so that I could have two full and two partial days up home without having to use any vacation days! Sounded good — didn’t work out, though! Oh, the trip was GREAT and I got to spend a lot of quality time with my family (more on that later), but the “no vacation days” part didn’t quite pan out! My return trip didn’t go exactly as planned. Apparently, there was a lot of severe weather in some parts of the country that really messed up air travel on Monday – particularly in Chicago, from what I was told. The risk in booking a late flight, in particular the last flight, is that it is usually delayed and sometimes gets canceled. My flight didn’t get canceled, but it did get delayed so late that it was scheduled to leave Buffalo about 40 minutes AFTER my connecting flight (which was the last flight of the night) was scheduled to leave Baltimore! So – my choices were to get as far as Baltimore and spend the night there OR stay at Mom’s another night and start out fresh in the morning………duh – that’s a no brainer! Both options meant I wasn’t gonna get to work on time the next morning and would need to take at least a partial vacation day! I chose to stay put! The next day wasn’t much better — had I chosen to stay in Baltimore, I still would have had to take a full vacation day because they were all clogged up with weather delays most of the day, again! I got home Tuesday evening and all was fine………BUT — I am sure after this and the last flight disaster that the travel Gods are trying to tell me to keep my butt on the ground for a while and stop gallivanting all over the country!!! hahaha
As for the trip home…….we crammed in a lot of stuff and managed to do a lot of relaxing, too! Mom and I went out to dinner Friday night after she picked me up at the airport. Then, Saturday was a full day — it started out with Mom and me making a big macaroni salad together – by the time we both stopped adding stuff that we each put in “our” mac salads, it ended up being quite a mixture of both of our styles and it was SOOOOO good!!! hahaha Then, we went to get flowers for the cemetery from Navarra’s and took them out to fill the crocks and wash the head stones of those who have gone on before us. All are nice and bright and cheery for the summer season! Then, we enjoyed an ice cream sundae at Double Dips before we went home to meet my brother and his wife for a cook out! Zweigles hot dogs on the grill, macaroni salad, devilled eggs, etc…… Mom and I ended the evening watching a couple of movies! Sunday was another day for the family to get together – my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew went out for lunch and then went back to Mom’s. More food and movies and fun! Monday was a relaxing day with just Mom and me before I headed to the airport, only to come back for a “bonus” night with her!
The big disappointment for the weekend was not getting to see my new great-nephew! Nolen was born in January and this was my first trip up since he arrived! The plan was to get to meet him and spend some time cuddling with him! BUT – my nephew’s wife went out of town with her family and took Nolen with her to meet some of her extended family! boo hoo!!! But – they didn’t know I was coming, so didn’t know to shift things a little so that I could get to see him, too! There is always next time………
This morning, I snapped these two pictures of my beautiful, crooked mimosa tree! I love this tree and look forward to it blooming every year about this time! When I first moved into my house, most of the back yard was crammed full of wild weeds and stumps and broken trees and vines. It was unusable, so I rented a back hoe and Ronald, Robby, and I worked to clear it out so I could do some nice landscaping and use the entire yard……OK, so it was actually mostly Ronald and Robby, but I also put some time in on the back hoe tearing out tree stumps and debris! One tree they wanted to pull out was this mimosa tree — because it had grown crooked and looked weird! But, I wouldn’t let them — I thought it was quirky, not weird, and if it fought that hard to make its way up through all the crappy stuff to survive, then it deserved to continue surviving! And I think it makes a perfect statement in my landscaping! Yeah, I know – these grow wild all over town and are messy when they shed their blossoms, but I still love it and it isn’t located where the messy blossoms are a problem! But, I do cut down the new ones that try to come up from the seed pods it drops – I don’t want a forest of them! hahaha Look at how pretty it looks in the corner of my lot and check out that gorgeous Saturday morning blue sky!
My special little Weeping Japanese Red Maple is really taking off and branching out. It was just a twig when the elves planted it a few years ago and in the last year or so, it has started to really get full and pretty! I adore it and it makes a perfect feature in the opposite corner of the lot that the mimosa is on.
I almost missed the Gardenia blossoms across the back of my house!!! The buds were just barely ready to pop when I left and by the time I returned, some of the blossoms were already spent! But, it is still blossoming and I am so enjoying them – they smell so marvelous and look so beautiful!
And Katie is loving the warm grass in front of the fragrant gardenias this morning, too!
So, that’s all for now…….I want to get out and enjoy this fabulous day!
Gone, but not forgotten
I rarely drive down Third Street, anymore. When I first moved down here – 25 years ago come June 22nd – I used to take Third Street all the time as the main route to get to the Kendale area. I get lost in my own back yard, so as I ventured out to learn how to get around in a new city, I stayed on streets I knew and that took me where I wanted to go with the least amount of twists and turns to have to remember. Horner Blvd was also a direct route that I took to most places, but the busy traffic was a little intimidating for someone from a very small rural town, so it was avoided whenever Third Street was a logical way to get me there. (Side note: I suppose it is appropriate to add that, at that time, Horner Blvd held another element of fear for me. Shortly after I moved here, I totalled my Camaro on Horner Blvd. Someone pulled out right in front of me from a side street in the peak of Friday evening rush hour traffic as I was driving in the outside lane going south. The impact sent my beautiful Camaro, me, and my 8-year-old son veering uncontrollably across the other three lanes of traffic – miraculously avoiding any other impacts and any serious injuries to me or my son – to land in the parking lot of The Meat and Cleaver restaurant – for those who don’t know, that was an upscale restaurant that used to be located on Horner about across from where that little laundromat is now, near the street that the Sanford Herald is located. It later burned to the ground and moved to the corner of Carthage and Steele Streets for a while.)
Anyway – I digress – back to the topic at hand – Third Street. At that time, the corner where Third Street crosses Horner seemed like the end of the world. There was practically nothing on that corner – the plaza with the furniture store was there, I think, but that was it!! It felt like crossing Horner at Third Street meant leaving Sanford on the way to Kendale – even though it was all still Sanford and “Kendale” was just a shopping plaza, not a separate town! But, we frequented Kendale to shop – there was a Sky City discount store (that and Roses – where the Dollar Tree and the YMCA are now – were all there was for discount shopping back then – no WalMart, yet) and the main movie theater there, as well as a bunch of other shops. Kendale was a booming area — my son loved it when we would drive through there just after dark to “cruise Kendale”, like the teenagers did! Also, there was almost always very little traffic on Third Street – the traffic light on the corner of Third and Horner was one that needed to be “tripped” to change. I remember coming up on that light on my motorcycle and having to wait for a car to come along and trip the light, but quite often found myself giving up and turning right on red and then circling back around to get where I really wanted to go. So, Third Street was a regular route for me to take.
Aside from that end of Third Street feeling like it was the far end of Sanford, the most prominent feature was the tobacco warehouses. At that time, they were actively used to store tobacco. At certain times of the year, driving down that section of Third Street was almost like sticking your nose in a bag of loose leaf tobacco. The smell of drying tobacco filled the air. I remember thinking it was a pleasant aroma (not like smelling a cigarette burning), but that when it was at the peak time, it would make me feel a little dizzy to breathe it in – sorta like a mild version of the time I tried to be cool and smoked in the girl’s bathroom in school and felt like the room was spinning! As time went by, the tobacco warehouses stopped being used for tobacco and they became run down and rusted eye sores along that area.
I rarely, if ever, take Third Street anymore – no particular reason, I just haven’t gone that way on a regular basis in several years. But, I drove up through there yesterday – one of only a handful of times in the past year – on my way to the Enrichment Center, where we held our CIS Board meeting last night. I took notice of the “missing” tobacco warehouses! They are gone……just a section of foundation wall remains. It isn’t the first time I noticed them being gone – I think I’ve been by there a couple times since they’ve been gone. The first time was a shock! But, this time, I found myself reminiscing about how Third Street used to be and how different a LOT of Sanford used be 25 years ago…………and decided to write about it! Maybe someday I’ll post my memories of all the things that have changed and grown in Sanford in the quarter of a century that I have lived here………but not today!
Danger WalMart Shoppers…..
I had to get groceries, some bedding items, and some other supplies this weekend, so to get it all in one trip, I went to WalMart on Sunday morning. In a matter of seconds, I narrowly escaped what could have been serious damage to the pony (OK, that may not be as dramatic as I intended – ANY small ding is serious damage to the pony, right?), witnessed a child that was almost injured (yeah, I know – this is where I should have used the word “serious”), and watched a head-shaking incident involving a handicap parking spot!!! One more reason why I HATE going to WalMart!
I drove around the parking lot looking for a spot that wasn’t a 30 minute walk to the entrance – they were PACKED, as usual. As I drove down to the end of one of the lanes with the flow of traffic towards the store, a man in a beat up car came flying around the end of the lane like he was Mario Andretti – coming the wrong way up the lane – and almost ran head on into me in order to position himself so that he could back into one of the open handicap spots that was angled such that he couldn’t pull in. Just as I slammed on my brakes to avoid the impact, he slammed on his causing his car to rock to a stop, threw the car into reverse, and rushed backwards into the spot without any regard for the family of 4 that were walking up the row – luckily, they noticed him and grabbed the child that was just seconds from being run over!!! He did have a handicap tag, so my initial thought was, “well, at least isn’t hogging a handicap spot without the right to do so.” But, I quickly changed my mind! Before I could even start rolling past him to continue on my way, he was fully stopped and hopped out of the car and – get this – RAN LIKE THE WIND into the store, causing a car coming down the main lane in front of the store to stop quickly to avoid hitting him!!! Now, I know there are a lot of reasons for needing a handicap spot that are not always be obvious to someone observing them walking from the car and that don’t necessarily impede their ability to walk normally (heart problems, breathing problems, maybe they are fine for short distances, but not longer ones, just to name a few) — BUT, if you can sprint as fast as this guy did, I would venture to guess that you could walk at a normal pace from a little further away and leave the handicap spots for someone who can’t!
Drive in WalMart parking lot at your own risk……
Grey’s Anatomy
Some years ago, I watched the very first Grey’s Anatomy. The hype before the season started got me all excited about a potentially great show – sorta like a cross between ER and Friends, from what I could tell from all the previews. I have to admit, I wasn’t impressed – maybe it was my mood that night, maybe I was just expecting too much – whatever the reason, I was not impressed, so I decided to not get interested in it. I didn’t go back to watch another episode to find out if I might like it afterall.
Friends hounded me for years about why I wasn’t watching on this show? Apparently, everyone who did stick with season one was hooked on it like a drug they couldn’t live without! I didn’t understand the enthusiasm – afterall, I did watch that first ever show and distinctly remember not being in the least bit impressed by it!
Then, a few months ago, I started catching a show once in a while on LifeTime – they play the previous season in back to back shows from 6:00-9:00 every week night. Then, I started deliberately watching them every day! I found myself wondering what happened “before” so I could make more sense out of what was happening now. I still wasn’t watching the current season – I didn’t want to spoil what I was getting caught up in on the reruns. I figured I could catch the current season from the beginning on reruns after the season ends.
The wondering what happened “before” started really eating at me — I had to know — I had to have MORE!! So, I started getting the DVDs from NetFlix and I watched a season at a time, beginning with season 1 and that first show I didn’t particularly care for……..guess what? I liked it, this time! But, doing it through the mailed DVDs wasn’t getting me through the seasons fast enough – I was receiving 4 DVDs at a time, but had to wait for the mail to come to get another set! So, I got a Roku and got them on “Watch Instantly” and sailed through the rest!
Once I saw all the “before” seasons, I gave in and started watching the current season about 3 or 4 weeks ago! So, now all I have left to catch up on is the first part of the current season………now that the season finale happened, the reruns should start soon and I’ll be able to get there! Maybe the season will get released on NetFlix soon and I won’t have to take all summer to catch up on the reruns!
And, you know what? I still catch most of the episodes of last season over and over on LifeTime, if I happen to be home and able…….
So, I have become one of “those people” – the ones who are so addicted to Grey’s Anatomy that I absolutely can’t get enough of it……..I am so wrapped up emotionally in the characters that I just can’t fathom the thought of not being able to see what happens to them next!
Then, last night happened…………….the season finale I alluded to a couple of paragraphs ago…………the one that was the mother of all Grey’s Anatomy episodes – no, that doesn’t accurately describe it — it was actually the mother of all season finales of all series of all time!!!! It was the fastest 2 hours of my life! I sat down in my favorite chair with my feet up on the ottoman anxiously awaiting the show to start at 9:00! Then, suddenly, what felt like 5 minutes later, it was 11:00 and I had never moved from that chair or the position I was sitting in – not even during the commercials – for fear that I might miss something!!!! I was totally and completely and utterly riveted to my seat! I spent those two hours engrossed, crying hysterically, and yelling at the TV to try to help the characters get through the horrible things that were happening!!! It took me a couple of minutes after it ended to get my breathing back to normal and decide if I was going to be able to get up out of the chair! I ran to Facebook to post my reaction and see what others were saying about it!
So, yes, I am hooked……..I can’t wait to catch up on the first part of this season so that I can say I have seen every single episode and it didn’t take me several years to see them all – like it did most of the fans! And I’ll bet most fans have to admit that they missed an episode or two over the course of the – what is it – 7 seasons!!! Not me!!! hehehehe
Duck, Duck, Goose
I have a great view from my office at work. There is a retention pond across the sidewalk outside my large ceiling to floor window. Planted between my window and the pond are several flowering trees and plants, including two magnolias that are just now starting to burst with their beauty. Then, around the pond are various plants, including roses just like the ones I have planted along one side of my home. It is a lovely view! I sometimes find myself gazing out the window as I try to gather thoughts for a meeting or if I need a brief break from those thoughts to clear my head.
But, the main part of the view is the retention pond and the recent addition of the TWO families that live there! Yes, the retention pond is home to two perfect families…….of geese! Both families consist of a Mommy, a Daddy, and three adorable little fuzzy Babies! I enjoy watching them during my lunch and breaks – it provides a calm to the day and helps relax and refresh me!
They always stay together as distinct family units – each set of 5 – but the two families do tend to never be too far from each other. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one family without the other nearby and absolutely have never seen any of the family members off separate from the rest of their unit. It is such fun to watch them waddle across the yard to the bank of the pond and then scurry down the bank into the water and then play around in the water. The bank is fairly steep, but those little goslings run down it with no fear, whatsoever!
I particularly get a chuckle when the parents want the little ones to walk across the yard faster – maybe because someone is coming up the sidewalk or just because they are starting to dawdle too much…….both parents get behind them and lift up to fly just inches above the ground and flutter quickly after them – the goslings start to run like the dickens!!!! But, when the parents land again, the goslings slow back down and the parents have to get after them again! Another fun interaction between them is when one of the goslings get distracted by something in the grass and lag behind the group. One of the parents will stop and look back at them – I can’t tell if they make a noise to talk to them or if they just give them the evil eye, but the gosling suddenly rushes off to catch up with the others! Hahaha
Funny how all animals exhibit the same or similar tendencies when it comes to family…….
South Pacific at the Temple Theatre
The Temple Theatre is rounding out the 2009-10 season with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic musical South Pacific – running from April 29 – May 16. I missed the opening weekend because I was out-of-town, so I decided to go Saturday night. I arrived just after the house doors opened and got an aisle seat in exchange for my last season ticket! As I sat there waiting for the show to start, I was getting a real kick out of watching the rest of the seats fill up! And fill up…….and fill up…….and fill up! By the time they closed the house doors and Kelly Wright came on stage to welcome everyone, there were no more than a handful of empty seats! THE HOUSE WAS FULL!!! YAY!!! (insert excited happy claps and big sh** eating grin here) And it was a great crowd — they really reacted to the show by showing how much they loved it!
The immensely enjoyable show had all the right elements – recognizable classic songs (“There is Nothin’ Like a Dame”, “Bali Ha’i”, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out-A My Hair”, and “Some Enchanted Evening”, to name a few), fun characters (Bloody Mary was a real hoot), and amazing performances (more on that later). It gave the audience lots to laugh at and have fun with.
Of course, Peggy Taphorn was incredible in the lead role of Ensign Nellie Forbush – a naive Navy nurse a long way from her Little Rock, Arkansas home on an island in the south Pacific. Nellie falls in love with a rich plantation owner – Emile De Becque, portrayed by Ken Griggs – amid racial tensions caused by her discovering he has two bi-racial children from a relationship he had with an island girl who died. Other racial complications are caused when Lt. Joe Cable (Danial S. Hines) falls in love with Bloody Mary’s daughter – Liat (Theya Havranek).
Peggy’s performance was top-notch, but there were several others that stood out, as well. I mentioned Bloody Mary – Lakeisha Askew brings this character to life and makes her a joy to watch! From her deep belly laughs to her incredible singing voice, Lakeisha brought raw emotion to the stage and generated it in every audience member! She, alone, is reason enough to go see this show!!!
Temple’s own Michael Brocki also gives a stellar, stand out performance as Luther Billis – the sailor that is always getting into trouble and getting his way! I always enjoy seeing Michael – he makes every character he portrays a joy to watch. (and by the way — you’re gonna LOVE his banana!!!)
I was also happy to see Ken Griggs return to the Temple Theatre as Emile de Becque – he has become a bit of a regular and brings a lot of dimension to his roles. I hope we continue to see more and more of him!
Fun, love, songs, dance, and even a hilarious surprise performance by some of the sailors (I am NOT going to spoil this) — there is something for everyone! Keep the rest of the shows at sell out levels — go see South Pacific!
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom
Mother’s Day is a very special day! I won’t be spending the actual day with my Mom, but that’s OK – we celebrated early this year. I usually plan a trip up to my home town during May for a couple of reasons: 1) Mother’s Day! No other explanation needed. 2) Memorial Day – I really enjoy helping her put together and set out the urns at the cemetary for our various family members who have left us. I also enjoy helping her start the potted flowers on her patio. But, this year, she was just here and we took a little trip together that took up a large portion of April. So, I won’t be going up now until sometime during the summer – maybe in July to celebrate her birthday!
So – since I won’t be there with her this Mother’s Day, here is my gift to her – a tribute to what she means to me now and forever! I wrote another Mother’s Day Tribute in 2008 that pretty much tells our story – click here to read it. This won’t be a repeat of that – so if you really wanna know more – use the link and go read for yourself!
Mom was all we had and always made sure that was enough — meaning, we never felt like we were missing out on anything because there wasn’t a father figure there! She worked hard, sacrificed, and struggled, but still always had fun and made sure we had a great childhood! If I had to summarize my memories with her, it could be covered in one word – FUN! We always had fun and there was a LOT of laughing – gut aching, can’t breathe type of laughing! And we always made do…..it doesn’t matter how much or how little you have of something – make the most of what you do have and live life to the fullest, regardless of everything!
Valuable things she taught me:
-
If you’re down, don’t whine about it – pick yourself up and do something about it! No one is going to help you if you don’t help yourself, first – there is no shame if you need help occasionally, but you gotta help yourself first and be an active participant in your own destiny so that the help you get is a “helping hand” not a “hand out”. Make the most of whatever path your life is taking and the cards you are dealt.
-
The value of hard work and the money you earn from it – she worked 3 jobs most of our childhood to make ends meet and ensure our needs were met. She made us work for any extras we wanted and if it was something really big, she’d make us a deal that if we could save up 1/2 the cost, she would pay the other 1/2. When she’d get home after a shift as a waitress, she would let us help her count her tips and talk to us about how important it is to do a good job to make more money. And, if you don’t have the money to buy something, you have to save up until you do – don’t rob Peter to pay Paul!
-
Take care of family! They took care of you! Mom devoted her life to caring for my grandparents when they needed it. She was determined neither would ever go to a nursing home! Grandma, unfortunately, needed more constant medical care in her last couple of years than Mom could provide in her home, so it ended up being necessary, but she was a constant presence there making sure Grandma was cared for and treated appropriately!
- Have fun!!! You only live once! You gotta find the fun and laugh – sometimes that’s the only way to get through a bad situation – find a way to enjoy the good stuff around you and not focus on the crap!
-
How to throw a hell of a party! Everything from our birthday parties and slumber parties to impromptu “everyone meet at Marilyn’s for a pool party after the bars close” parties to all the fun GE parties! Mom was President of the GE Employee’s Association and that year the parties were the best in the history – before and after her reign! She was always ready to whip together a party!
My Mom in pictures:
My Mom with her Mom
Mom with me (age 2) on the day she brought my new brother home – 1958
Mom helping me get ready for my wedding – 1985
One of our several road trips to Atlantic City – Mom is the one with the white wig standing on the right – I am scrunched down in front of her and that’s my brother with the gun to his head! The other lady is a friend of Mom’s that traveled with us and her daughter is scrunched down between my brother and me.
The prettiest Mom – EVER!
Mom – how happy she was with Charlie (my Poppie)
Mom at work at GE
Grandma, Mom, and me – another Mother’s Day – 1989
Me, Mom, and Kevin – summer of 1966
Mom and me dancing at a GE party – 1974
Mom – having fun – as usual!
Mom ALWAYS has a tube of lipstick in her pocket, but this was the only time I saw her use one in a sword fight! hahaha
She didn’t need a clown to make her laugh, but this one sure did!
Dancing…..she’s why I have such a love for music and dancing!
Mom and me in Las Vegas – June 2006
Mom and me with a wax Elvis in Vegas – June 2006
Mom and me on a cruise – April 2010
Mom, Kevin, and me – April 2009
That’s my Mom — I love her more than life itself! I want her HERE with me so we can be together every day more than anything I have ever wanted in my life – I hope some day she will give in and come live with me! Until then, we will take every opportunity to continue making wonderful memories and share great experiences together – like we have all of our lives! I can’t wait to find out what adventure will come our way next!
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom — I love you!
Cruisin’
OK, so it took me longer than planned to do a post with cruise highlights, but here they are – better late than never, right? Yep, I just got back from a cruise and it was GREAT! I went with my Mom and we had a wonderful time just being away together – the other fun stuff was just icing on the already perfect cake!
Our time together started when Mom arrived here over two weeks ago on April 17th and ended this past Tuesday, May 4th. She spent a week here visiting, then we cruised for 5 days, and she was here for another 3 days unwinding after the trip! It was a wonderful two and a half weeks. I was able to work 1/2 days while she was here, so we got to spend a lot of quality time together just hanging out! We checked out the new Steele Pig, had a perfect ribeye at Cafe 121, pedicures and hair at Marcello’s, and watched a lot of Netflix movies. We spent a rather low-key week cause we didn’t want to get all wore out before the cruise! haha
We left for Jacksonville, Fl on Sunday, the 25th and spent the night in a nice hotel right near the port. We, then, took the shuttle to the ship and boarded a little after noon-ish on Monday. Our ship was the Carnival Fascination – a newly refurbished ship that was spacious and beautiful! The first day was filled with a lot of figuring out where things were, getting our luggage delivered and situated, and lunch on the Lido deck right about the time we set sail. We spent some time on the Lido open deck at mid ship while we set sail and watched the festivities begin…….music and line dancing was the entertainment!
Then, later on, we found the open deck at the back-end of the ship on the Lido deck, which ended up being our deck of choice for the rest of the cruise. It was just outside the Coconut Grove restaurant, so we had easy access to drinks and snacks, it was quiet and less crowded, and it didn’t get as much wind as the side open decks did. It was a perfect area to sit, talk, and relax! We spent our first evening our there watching the first of several beautiful sunsets!
Our dinner seating assignment was 8:15, which at first sounded awfully late to me! But ended up being perfect! We could spend the bulk of the evening out on the deck and catch the sunset and then go in and eat dinner! It allowed for nice, enjoyable evenings! The first night we got in to dinner and discovered a surprise! As we started a conversation with the couple that was also assigned to our table, the woman mentioned she was from North Carolina. I grinned and asked where in NC and mentioned that I was also from NC. The conversation went like this: Woman – “Are you from Sanford? Is your name…..Karen or Kathy or….” Me – “YES! I’m Kim and this is my Mom, Marilyn! Are you the other couple from Lisa’s group?” Woman – “I knew it was a ‘K’ name. Yes, we wondered if we’d get to meet up with you!” You see, the original arrangements were through a group thing that Lisa Orlando (Painted Petal) organized as a “Cruising to paint in the Bahamas”! She had something like 12-14 cabins arranged and 1/2 day painting classes on the “at sea” days. It was going to be fun! But, all except me, Mom, and this one other couple canceled. We were able to keep the group rate, but we were sailing solo! We had a lovely dinner and nice conversation. The other couple requested the early seating time when they checked in at boarding and after that first night, they were switched, so we didn’t see them again — I did catch a glimpse of them in the crowd a couple of times, but they were not close enough to connect with again.
Day two was an “at sea” day. We checked out the shore excursion options and the on ship shops, marveled at the amazing center atrium area that spanned multiple decks, and spent some time out on the deck getting some sun and relaxing in the fresh air! That evening, we caught the 7:00 lounge show and dinner was the special “Captain’s Dinner” night! The meal we chose was lobster and grilled shrimp with cherries jubilee for dessert – OMG – YUM! And the waiters all entertained us with a fun performance of Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore”! It was a great day and a wonderful evening!
Day three was in port at Key West! I’ve always wanted to see the Keys and this was the part of the cruise that caught my attention and that I was most looking forward to…..and it didn’t disappoint me at all! We took a trolley ride so that we could get a good view of everything without a lot of effort and time. And, of course, we stopped for lunch and had seafood and an amazing piece of key lime pie!! What a beautiful place Key West is! I can’t wait to plan a short trip to explore it further and visit some of the other Keys – like Key Largo! As I got off the ship, I was immediately curious about a huge RED house that stuck out against the landscape! I discovered it was a museum with lots of really cool and realistic statues of people doing various routine things – snapping photos, sweeping up debris, dancing, painting, gardening, etc. all around the outside of it! We didn’t go inside, but that is on the agenda for my next trip!
The fourth day was in port in Nassau, Bahamas! We decided to stay on ship and enjoy the view from the open decks. The shore excursions were quite a way’s away and didn’t really interest us much and there was nothing really to do right there near the port. But, we weren’t disappointed at all – our goal was spending relaxed time together and seeing some amazing scenery and everything we chose to do fit that bill perfectly! As we sat on the open decks looking out over the beautiful aqua blue Caribbean waters and watching the boats come and go, we were entertained by seagulls and pigeons that were interested in the food another passenger left behind on their table!
The rest of the trip was “at sea” and filled with lounge shows (including a really funny comedian), singing/dancing waiters, breathtaking sunsets, great food, adorable animals made out of towels left on our beds, hours on the open decks feeling the breeze in our hair, and just plain living the good life!!!
And that is that! No stress, no phones, no problems, no worries…..just calm, quiet days and entertainment/excitement when we wanted it…..the perfect vacation! I won’t go in to our return trip home – I already did that in a post the night I got back! Suffice it to say that nothing was able to ruin the wonderful time we had and the memories we made together! I will cherish this trip forever! And I’m already wondering what we’ll do and where we’ll go next! hehehe
Southwest
A large portion of my last post focused on the nightmare flight the day we returned from our cruise. When I wrote it, some parts were still unresolved – our luggage was still in limbo. I’ve reflected a lot on the last couple of days and have a lot of thoughts I need to unload – so, here I go!
When I fly, I always choose Southwest (unless they don’t fly into my destination city). Reasons I love Southwest:
-
I usually find the best connections, service, and prices over any other airline.
-
They don’t tend to have the delays other airlines do – they pretty much stay on schedule.
-
If they do get off schedule, for whatever reason, they find a way to get back on track as much as possible.
-
I have rarely, if ever, found a rude or un-accommodating Southwest employee.
-
They only use full size jets – no puddle jumpers!! Very important, since I don’t like flying on small planes!!
-
Most flight crews are very entertaining and make me laugh!!!
I do realize that, for the most part, Saturday’s events were out of Southwest’s control. I was actually impressed by some of their actions and at least understood the rest. I’ve been on canceled or diverted flights on other airlines and found the lack of communication and chaos in trying to get where I was going to be frustrating and unacceptable! Southwest did a very good job with both those concerns!
-
They kept us informed. The pilot and crew were honest with us and made sure we knew what was going on. I’m not so sure the honesty was really all that reassuring at that point in time (I would have been just fine not knowing about the low fuel situation), but I do have to say we knew exactly what the situation was and why the pilot was making the decisions he was making!
-
Instead of waiting out the storm or heading to a closer airport, the pilot decided to go on to their next scheduled destination, which kept at least part of the passengers on schedule and in their planned destination! Either of the other two options would have put us ALL way off track for both time and destination!
-
Within minutes of letting the passengers who were scheduled to be in Columbus off the plane, a Customer Service supervisor was on board making announcements about the arrangements that were being made for us. He knew exactly where everyone’s final destination was and what we needed to do to get there! There were a couple of destinations that they had immediate solutions for (thank goodness our’s was one) and they got us off the plane, rebooked, and on the next plane in what seemed like a flash of time!
-
Even though some of the passengers were creating some chaos, if they had just taken a breath and listened (followed) the instructions being given, they would have realized it was actually very organized and professionally handled!
The only part I felt could have been handled better was the luggage situation! I understand that everything in and out of Nashville was delayed, canceled, diverted, or something on Saturday because of the devastating thunderstorms and tornadoes they had. So, that meant a very large number of bags that had to be pulled and rerouted in some way, shape, or form! Our’s were just three out of probably hundreds!!! We were told several things that ended up not being correct – probably because those who were relaying the info were basing it on what their procedures tell them should happen, but because of all the activity, didn’t happen! Here’s what happened:
-
The Customer Service supervisor told us that the bags were being pulled and put on the same planes we were being rebooked on, so they would go with us — they didn’t!
-
When we arrived and found no bags, the lady in the baggage claim office told us that they were put on the next flight and would arrive at 9:30…which ended up being delayed until 10:00. So, we waited and they didn’t come in on that flight, either!
-
She, then, said they went back to Nashville from Columbus and were on the next Nashville flight, but changed that info before we waited too long — she found out they would be on the one coming from Nashville at noon on Sunday, so we gave her the info needed to deliver them to us Sunday afternoon.
-
We got a call about 12:30 saying they weren’t on that flight, either, but there were two other flights from Nashville and they would be on one of them – but they finally admitted that they had no idea which one!
-
We got a call about 2:00 saying they had arrived and would be delivered later in the day! They were delivered safe and sound about 6:00 or so! YAY!!!
What I found out in all this was that the bar coding process has some kinks in it! Bags are only scanned when they are in the terminal – first when they are put on the originating flight and then when they are unloaded to the baggage claim area in the final destination! They don’t scan them when they transfer them from plane to plane……so, that’s why they sometimes don’t know exactly where misdirected bags are for a while and, in this case in particular, there were so many being rerouted all over the country that it made it even more difficult! But – I do have to say that of all the years I’ve flown on Southwest, I’ve only had my bags misdirected twice and both times they were hand delivered to me the next day and both times I was either home or at Mom’s, so it wasn’t like I was traveling on business with no clean clothes or necessary toiletries to get me by! The first time, my bag was accidentally put on the wrong cart and loaded onto a plane that ended up in Los Angeles (I was going to Buffalo in a snow storm, so I think it was actually the bag that just decided to take the detour) – it was found that same day, rerouted to Buffalo and in my hands the next morning! This time it was because of the weather crisis and among many others – it was found and in my hands the next afternoon! I have heard many horror stories about bags that apparently went by way of the Bermuda Triangle and were never seen again or found days/weeks later!
So — all in all, I think Southwest handled a really horrifying and frustrating situation very well – or as well as they could, in the case of the misdirected luggage! I hope I never have a flight that scary again…….but, if I do, I hope I’m on Southwest!
Kim's Thoughts 
Recent Comments