Heading out to Family Madness

So our journey out to the greater Miami/Ft Lauderdale area itself was relatively uneventful. The months leading up to it, however, were unmitigated torture. We started out with seven. Me, Beloved, our two (Blondie, 27 and The Boy, 22), my mother, 81, and my sister’s two (my niece 26, and nephew 23). My sister couldn’t … Continue reading Heading out to Family Madness →

Three Nights on the High Seas as a Minority…

God, all these Australians! They’re everywhere! Someone screams Aussie Aussie, Aussie!! And the whole room roars OY OY OY!!! We’re on our three night shortie cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles, which, interestingly enough, continues across the Pacific and eventually winds up in... Sydney. For all that we’re surrounded by Roos (and they’re really nice … Continue reading Three Nights on the High Seas as a Minority… →

Waiting for the Stall

Getting used to the French practice of restrooms is taking...well, some getting used to. I have NO problem paying 70 euro cents (to which they frequently refer as “centimes”, which I find really delightful... before we left, my mother sweetly produced French francs for us, in case we needed to piddle, forgetting about the euros... … Continue reading Waiting for the Stall →