Month: November 2016

Having arrived home late on the 1st November from China, with barely enough time to unpack, there I was on the 7th November at the Gold Coast Airport waiting for a flight to Melbourne, then Abu Dhabi, and on to London. From there, a bus to Southampton for a 2-night stay before boarding the Navigator of the Seas for a 13-night cruise to the US, stopping at Boston, New York, Cape Canaveral and arriving in Miami on the 23rd November.

One night in Miami, and then a flight to San Francisco via Atlanta on the 24th (Thanksgiving), and then Vancouver on the 27th. The final leg was a Qantas flight from Vancouver to LA, LA to Sydney, then Sydney to Gold Coast on the 3rd December. Phew! There was a lot to pack in on this trip. My retirement travel plans seemed to be all unfolding at once. The original idea was to pace myself over a few years, working my way through the list of places I want to see, but life has a habit of stepping in and making its own plans, with little regard for any plans you might think you’ve made. And because of this, the comfort zone I’d felt restricted by at the beginning, was slowly expanding, and it was starting to get too easy to just plan and go.

Southampton

Heathrow to Southampton was an easy coach ride – so comfortable in fact, that I slept most of the way. Two nights at the Novotel and then ready to start the sea part of the trip.

Embarkation was a very easy process. Having arrived a few hours before my designated time, I took a chance on being able to board early and was actually given preferential treatment by being ushered through the Diamond and Platinum lines, with only two people ahead of me. This saved me from taking a cab to the Titanic Museum to fill in the time; not a good idea when about to sail the same seas as that famous, ill-fated voyage. Every creak I heard on the first night sent flashes of scenes from the three-hour epic movie of the Titanic, shuddering through me. Having a balcony on the cruise may not have been the smartest choice – putting me so much closer to the water’s edge.

 

Six Days At Sea

Eat / Read / Eat / Sleep / Eat

Boston

The sun rose that morning, as it does every day, but this time I was awake and ready to take it on. I made an early morning dash to the coffee booth on deck 5 and was on my balcony, coffee in hand, as Boston came into view.

Boston, on the horizonBeing the first port of call in the US, we had to clear Customs before disembarking for the day’s excursions. I kid you not, the queue to reach the Customs Officer, started at one end of the ship and ended two hours later, at the other end. Needless to say, the scheduled time for departure for our excursion to Salem, was long gone by the time we reached the front of the terminal. Fortunately for us, the bus had waited. The delay had made the excursion a little rushed, but certainly worthwhile.

Seeing Boston in Autumn (or Fall) left me almost speechless. Mother Nature had turned on her charm and splendour, and changed green leaves to red and orange, in every hue imaginable.

New York

At Last!

I had wanted to see New York for so long and I was finally there.

At night, the Cotton Club was on the agenda. I’m not a big fan of Jazz, but this was of the very mellow variety and I’m glad I didn’t miss it. It felt like such an honour to be there, being entertained by very talented people and in such a fantastic place.

While Boston and New York were definitely the highlights, the other ports had their special charm as well, not the least of which was the much warmer climate. I opted to do my own thing in Port Canaveral and Miami and was very glad for the downtime after such a busy schedule. And I have to say the beaches of Miami don’t have much on our Gold Coast beaches. Having once lived within walking distance to the beaches of Surfers Paradise, I feel qualified to make that comparison, but I would welcome your thoughts – maybe I missed something?