Windy, rough seas continue...Having fun anyway! Year ago photo, a favorite...

Tom is happy as a clam, even in rough seas.

Itinerary: Celebrity - Celebrity Solstice, departed 9/23/14, 12 nights
Tue Sep 23 Vancouver, BC, Canada 5:00pm

Wed Sep 24 At Sea

Thu Sep 25 At Sea

Fri Sep 26 At Sea

Sat Sep 27 At Sea

Sun Sep 28 At Sea

Mon Sep 29 Honolulu, Oahu, HI 1:00pm

Tue Sep 30 Honolulu, Oahu, HI 8:00pm

Wed Oct 1 Kilauea Volcano, HI (Cruising)

Wed Oct 1 Hilo, Hawaii, HI 11:00am 8:00pm

Thu Oct 2 Kona, Hawaii, HI 11:00am 8:00pm

Fri Oct 3 Lahaina, Maui, HI 8:00am

Sat Oct 4 Lahaina, Maui, HI 6:00pm
Sun Oct 5 Honolulu, Oahu, HI 7:00am

Yesterday morning after breakfast in the Oceanview buffet restaurant, we walked the long distance to the Sky Lounge for the first Cruise Critic "Meet and Mingle."

As always, we met a fabulous couple we sat with during the entire event, both doctors who'd traveled the world, providing relief for doctors in many remote areas. The stories they shared and their enthusiasm and support for our way of life was inspiring and uplifting. We hope to see them again soon.

The most pleasing aspect of cruising is meeting people with many of whom also seem to have a love of cruising and traveling. Although many other cruisers are our age or older, we find that many have a craving for the wanderlust life as well as a sense of adventure, not unlike us.

Celebrity Central, mid-ship, is where a lot of activities transpire. We've been sitting in this area during the day since the waves aren't as noticeable as in our cabin which is located between the bow and mid-ship.

However, few people we meet, after lengthy conversations ensue, feel they could live as we do, unable to conceive of the concept of freeing themselves of "stuff." We fully understand their curiosity as to how we could do this. Some are curious as to how we could leave our loved ones for the fulfilment of a dream.

Everyone's needs and life desires differ. We spent all of lives up until two years ago, near most of our family. As do many Minnesotans, leaving Minnesota for warmer climates, we too felt we couldn't continue life in a cold climate as we aged. No longer could we shovel snow, slip on ice and staying hunkered down in the long cold winters.

Instead of the typical Minnesota seniors. who often move to Florida or Arizona , we chose the world as our home, for however long it works for us.. If and when that changes, we'll figure it out. For now, we don't worry about the future. In a few short months, we'll be together with our family and in a matter of minutes, it won't feel as if we've ever been away.

For now, as we cruise on unnerving and unsteady seas across the Pacific Ocean toward Hawaii, we're reminded of how vulnerable we all feel in these circumstances.

Yesterday, we attended a private party for Captain's Club members for those who have been on multiple Celebrity cruises. The more we cruise, the more benefits we're entitled to receive including free cocktails and laundry service.

Feeling queasy is debilitating for the most part. But us, like many other determined cruise participants, make the most of it, continuing to partake in both preplanned and spontaneous activities, all of which we find entertaining.

As I write this at the moment, we are sitting in the concierge desk, third floor level while a ping pong tournament is occurring beside us. We'd love to participate but our bad right shoulders prevent us from doing so.

We all have limitations of one sort or another as is clearly evident on this mostly over 55 cruise. A few manage with wheelchairs, canes and walkers and others are dancing at the disco late at night. A few are young newlyweds and fairly inexperienced travelers. We love meeting them, regardless of their situation. Each have their own unique life story to share.

Americans occupy only about 20% of this particular cruise. Most often we find ourselves visiting with Canadians and Australians. Few non-English speaking people are on this cruise, although we encountered a few.

Please bear with us during these five days sea. The storm coupled with the poor WiFi signal has made posting extremely difficult, especially when adding photos. It's taking as long as 30 minutes to upload one post with three photos. Bear with us. Once we arrive in Hawaii, we'll easily be able to post photos.

In the Hawaiian Islands on Monday, we'll be able to use the XCOMGlobal MiFi for a strong signal and we'll add many photos of Hawaii as we cruise several of the islands, many of which we'll be living on over the next several months.

Once the seas settle down, I'll be back to my "overly bubbly" self which does, even in my somewhat queasy state, is forefront in my demeanor and much to my delight, is evident in the smile on Tom's face, content as he could be.

Who's to complain? Not us!

___________________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, September 26, 2013

We loved this photo we took a year ago today, as we walked along the Indian Ocean in Diani Beach, Kenya. For details from that date, please click here.