Rudolph Was Here.mov

#17 Pie in the Sky.mov

BootyBands™.mov

F***n Flip'n Flutz.mov

#14 Shake'em Up.mov

#13 For The Birds.mov

OBX Marathon 2011.mov

Colington's A'Fire.mov

Don't Tie Me Up.m4v

Zombie Roasting Pumpkin Seeds.m4v

How to Carve a Pumpkin without Carving Yourself.m4v

Tim Reynolds & Andy Rice at Front Porch Cafe.m4v

Moon Rock on the OBX

Jeanettes Pier.m4v

Up That...Hill

My friend Sherrie and I were always ready for adventure. We met while I was a student at RPI and she at Radford. We stayed in touch off and on and after school we both ended up working at Miller & Rhoads and sharing an apartment, the Cave, on Park Avenue near campus.

This night the Four Tops were performing at a very small club on the north side of Richmond. We really wanted to see them and decided that it was worth paying our own way, since neither of us had a date, to go.

And then we decided to up the ante. We recently had a spontaneous photo shoot (thanks to store photo pal, Ed Booth) with Troy Donahue when he visited M&R and we were on a mission to add to our celebrity photo wall. I had a Polaroid camera loaner with free film since I was a Polaroid Camera Girl and so we plotted to be press looking for an interview. Like I said, the club was really tiny so in hindsight our scheme was probably completely unnecessary, we could have gotten a picture just about anytime that evening, but we forged ahead with our grand plan, sold our story to the club manager (surely he didn't believe us nevertheless he played along) and got our pre-show picture. Before we headed downstairs to our table, Sherrie asked a few questions to make us legit all the while jotting answers down on her note pad (we were prepared). Crazy girls!

But probably my craziest memory of an antic with Sherrie is the time she decided that she had to go home. Her folks lived in Williamsburg and one night she pops into my room and says that she has to talk to her mom, right away. She had already borrowed a car from Mike Stull who lived upstairs and was the only person in the entire building that even had a car. She begged me to go with her since she couldn't go without someone to drive (I don't remember why she did not have her license but she didn't). We both had to work the next day but she assured me that we'd be back in time. I told her that I didn't know how to drive a straight stick. She said that she would shift gears while I drove. Never one to dampen an adventure, off we went.

The next morning I'm feeling more confident about my driving after I realize that first gear is the only nasty one to master and so I do all the driving including gear shifting myself on our return trip to Richmond. This is no interstate days and our approach to home and work is up Broad Street Hill with a left turn at 8th. Well it so happens that the turn is at the crest of the hill and I just catch a red light. So not only am I on a steep hill, I am the first car in line. The light changes, we even have an arrow, so my only concern is going forward but I can't do it. I am convinced that we will roll back into the car behind us. Mike will kill me if I do anything to his car. It's not new but he hovers over it. I still cannot believe that he let Sherrie borrow it. I stall the car again and again and finally we lose the light. It's rush hour, everyone coming from the east uses this turn to get to work in downtown Richmond. The next light cycle I still mangle every attempt, drivers at this point are going around me, honking, pretty mad.

We go through I don't care to say how many light cycles and I still cannot get the car in gear and going forward. I won't let Sherrie help, it's a steep hill, I know we'll roll all the way to the bottom taking numerous cars with us. Finally the guy behind me gets out of his car and comes up to us asking (nicely) what the problem is. He listens and says that he will drive the car through the intersection for me. Then I think that it dawns on him this plan leaves his car unattended, or worse attended by me. He changes his mind. He tells me to just let my car roll back into his, it will be fine. Really. I look back at his car. It's a real car, like a Chrysler or something. What can a little Dodge Dart do to that? I trust him. Really. The next time we have the light, I gear up and shoot through the intersection, not rolling back at all.

My First Car

She was a beauty. A 1950's something Volkswagen complete with a tiny back window; a starter button; a gas tank system that had a flip switch to give you one more gallon before you really ran out of gas; seats belts (rare but Don Cully, who owned her, was a far sighted guy and he put them in all his cars) and a name, Velma.

The year was 1967. I was working at Miller & Rhoads in the Advertising Department as a layout artist. The pay was okay, my expenses few, but saving money just didn't happen. And so when Pat Cully, fellow artist whose cubicle office was across from mine, said that she and Don were selling their Volkswagen that he had just finished rebuilding my ears perked up. I didn't have a car, never had been able to afford one. Over a year out of college and still without a car. Yup, that was me. I walked or rode my bike to my job, to visit friends, and to the grocery. I took the train home to Alexandria. It worked but a car of my own? Sigh. "How much," I asked certain that it would be well out of my reach. "Two hundred," she replied. "Two hundred? I'll take it." Nevermind that I did not know how to drive a straight stick (this doesn't count) or have a clue how much insurance would cost. My own car!

We sealed the deal, I got insurance, and asked my ex boyfriend to teach me the basics of stick shift driving which turned out to be a couple of thirty minutes lessons in a school parking lot after which he declared me good to go. I wasn't so sure but he had me do the driving back to the Franklin Street vintage home turned into apartment units where we both lived and that was that. I was street worthy.

Velma and I were made for each other. I learned to parallel park in the most minimal spots, on the left and right side of the street, all good since street parking was what I had available. I was a proud gal. Especially since I had failed my high school driving test by pulling wrong out of a parallel parking maneuver that I had just executed perfectly between the two poles designated for the test. Dad had always chided me about my depth perception being bad and assured me that I had lots more room than I thought and so this one time I decided to heed his advice and allow that I had plenty of room to make my exit. Except that I didn't. My front fender just barely touched the pole and didn't even tip it over. But it wobbled and if it had been a real car fender it would have suffered, so, I flunked. It was the last thing on the test too. I had done every other part perfectly, driving in traffic, hand signals, the whole nine yards.

Velma and I stayed together all the way into my marriage with Donny in 1969 and beyond. She took me from our first apartment at Westover Hills to Varina High School way out in the country off of Route 5 and back every day without a hitch. Finally one day she suffered what was going to be an expensive repair, an engine issue I recall.We had lost touch with the Cully's. I'm sure Don could have put her back together in a flash but he wasn't on our radar and so off to the junk yard she went. Still I couldn't let her go without a souvenir. And so I took off her beautiful enameled hood ornament and tucked it away. A few years ago I was creating a self portrait construction using odds and ends from around the house (if you lose something goes the family joke, look for it in mom's art) and came across Velma's ornament. We're pals together again.

Self Portrait 2003

Charleston Bound

Our ship sets sail in the late afternoon. We have a two nights and a day to play on board. Late night laser tag is a last minute addition to activities. The kids & I decide to check it out. We play a couple of rounds. Then Donny & I do some exploring and finally figure out most of the ins and outs of the ship. One deck has really puzzled us. We could not discern how to get to it and finally we do. It is public but you have to wander a kind of maze to find it. A few days earlier, I have also discovered the adults only sunning deck. It is quiet and small. There are padded lounge chairs and a shower to cool off. Plus a hot tub but I skip that. Donny has occasionally joined me because some of the chairs are under a canopy. Upon occasion the rest of the gang stops here too, it's very restive. And to sweeten the pot, we find a stateroom hallway short cut to the cafeterias and to our rooms. We're all set.

We are told to have a member of our group attend one of Hennie's Debarkation chat during the last day and so we do. His most revealing point is to remind us that no Cuban cigars can be brought into the country. No one has mentioned this until now. While we were in Nassau avoiding the rain shower, I have bought a cigar for occasional neighbor Tommy at Donny's suggestion. Tommy defriended me on Facebook after I dropped the F-bomb in discussing the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. That caused quite a thread that lasted almost a day before Tommy up and hit the defriend button. A peace offering suggested Donny. Now Hennie says to smoke the cigars or give them to him, but do not attempt to take them through customs. I only have one cigar. I'm going to chance it. But I've already decided that Tommy doesn't deserve all this attention. I'll give it to Marty's Dad for his 60th birthday coming up in August.

What would a cruise be without fabulous food. And ours is no exception, we have wined and dined from morning until night in gastronomic splendor. True to tradition our last night dessert is Baked Alaska and it is the perfect end to our tasty tour. We take in the early tribute to the Beatles show and so miss the Baked Alaska parade and instead get treated to a farewell sing by our wait staff.

Donny & I decide to wander into the casino which we have skirted throughout the cruise. I lose money at Black Jack and get fussed at by the dealer for my mixed hand signals. It's an artist thing. Lewis & Lauren stay and actually do pretty well by the end of the evening. Donny & I drift to the coin slot machines and find ourselves almost $20 richer with only a few dollars investment. We quit while we are ahead.

 Next morning we're in port and shuffled off the ship by decks, just like in school. It's been a great cruise with awesome company. The Feeney's are fun to travel with. Everyone is ready to get on home but we all want to shop one more time at the Market before we go. The Sweetgrass baskets have made an impression on me. I think we need some. But there are so many quality merchants selling these handmade beauties. We talk to several ladies collecting prices and information. And then we meet Debra. She is the one. Her baskets are not as large as some although she'll make anything you ask and is already training both her grandchildren in the art. But her weave is the thing. It is tiny and tight. We strike a deal with her and then have a time finding an ATM that will give us enough cash but we finally do and three baskets later pack ourselves and the kids into the car and turn toward the Outer Banks.

For the best sweetgrass basket you will ever own contact. Debra Green, 1476 Palmetto Fort Drive, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina 29466. 843-800-2638 or 843-336-5160

Nassau

We leave Freeport in the late afternoon and set sail for Nassau arriving the next morning. At dinner during our sail, we plan our activities for Nassau. The kids are going snorkeling off shore. John & Linda want to try the glass bottom boat excursion. After dinner we all get our tickets and  spend some time playing on the ship before getting ready for Nassau.

Next morning after capturing some fabulous sunrise photos and slipping in a quick breakfast, we all head for our excursion meeting places. It's a short walk to the boats and we're off. We motor past all the luxury homes on Paradise Island and get a good view of Atlantis from the water. I remember when Paradise Island was mostly deserted and you could only get there by private boat. I never went but several girls on our post college cruise did.

We get to see a pretty good variety of fish and wreckage on our little trip and coming back we round the bend by the Paradise Island lighthouse.

We have time before the kids are back. We wander through the straw market. It's crazy crowded. After that Donny & I head for Starbucks and John & Linda back to the ship. We experience a sudden downpour and duck into a conveniently located shop. It is one of the better ones. A shop with a bar at the rear. We'll tell the group about it. When we do meet later we learn that they discovered Sharkeez on their own and were impressed too. Typical tropical shower is over as fast as it started. Before we leave Sharkeez we buy a pirate theme golf ball for Colleen.

I am set to see some of Nassau. Fort Charlotte sounds interesting as does the Queen's Staircase. The staircase is close. The fort farther. An information guide tells us how to get to the fort by foot and a good place to eat near there. We start off. We walk and walk and walk. It's hot but there is some shade. Mostly the scenery is picturesque. We are walking along West Bay Street. It skirts the beach like so many in California where you can just walk right out onto the beach. The palms are beautiful, but the walk is seemingly endless. Finally we spot the shop complex where Twin Brothers is located and find it. Lunch at last. Conch fritters and burgers and just about anything else conch. Their daiquiris are world famous. I have strawberry. It is fun months later to see this tiny hole in the wall spot begin the Top Chef All Stars 2011 season finale, complete with a not planned grease fire.

We opt for a cab back to the ship. Time is short and we've walked the walk. We meet up with the group at the port authority shops and do some last minute shopping before boarding for our trip back to Charleston.

Freeport, Grand Bahamas

Daybreak sees us on the Sun Deck ready to capture the sunrise at sea. Lewis & Lauren are to meet us here but we get there first. They straggle up the steps a few minutes later. It's fairly quiet, the pool side just below us is completely empty. That will all change in just a few hours. Island music, free flowing drinks, smells of suntan oils and cooking foods all joined by a low hum of idle chatter and pool side splashing accompanied by hundreds of sun seekers will cover the decks and side lounges. But for now the ship is in its tranquil state.

We get some nice photos and Donny & I head for breakfast. Two professionally whipped and flipped omelets later, we are satiated and ready for a day in the Grand Bahamas.

The area where the ships dock is very industrialized and depressed looking beyond the gates of the harbour facility. You either get a cab or a specifically designated tour bus to take you to Freeport, one of the many beaches, or any other destination to your liking. We have decided to take the Garden of the Groves tour. The gardens are beautiful and there is plenty of shade. The labyrinth is very impressive. We try to walk it, but it's located in direct sunlight and so quit after a few rows. We get local beer from the snack bar after our tour is over. And Lewis tries to catch a baby duck but they're too quick for him.

We do some shopping in the gardens craft shops before it's time to board the bus for to our next stop, Port Lacaya Marketplace with its adjacent beach. Lewis, Lauren & I decide to take a dip in authentic Caribbean waters at last. The rest are going to shop at the many market stores leading to the beach. Donny & Linda elect to do neither. They are content to sit in the shade and watch sipping ice coffee. The water is warm and the fine sandy bottom is so nice. I just lazy swim and float around. L&L have their fins and masks and venture further out.

We have only a little time before we're due at the bus for our return. After the bus drops us off, we take turns taking group pictures in front of the welcome to Freeport sign. Then we shop a bit and finally board the ship and make plans to meet for dinner. I've lost track of the menus, but every meal is beyond amazing, our only problem being which selection to go with.

At Sea

First full day at sea, June 12, 2010. It's a day to explore the ship. First thing after breakfast we find the Bistro on the Boulevard which has great coffee. Throughout the trip it becomes one of our primary meeting spots.

Deirdre and I get a Monkey Head drink. We're on a cruise ship. It's supposed to be dorky fun. After hanging around the pool a bit, we decide to go for mini-golf. We get our equipment on the pool deck and Monkeys in hand we head for the upper most deck where the mini-golf course and the track are both located.

The entire group is on this adventure. It's fun but hot. We're in the blazing Caribbean sun. After one round, we're done. We're just about the only crazy people out here. Lauren starts juggling the golf balls. She's pretty good. Colleen tosses another ball to Lauren who missed the cue, and the ball. It goes s-a-i-l-i-n-g overboard. We are in the middle of the deck too, not near the edge at all. John & Linda roll their eyes. They're fun loving folks and always up for a good laugh, but tossing golf balls into the brink on our first day out is just slightly over the top. "I didn't know it would go that far," sighed Colleen getting another parent eye roll.

Our dining room is the Celebration Room. Casual resort dress the norm. Throughout the cruise, we do things in small groups, eating breakfast and lunch at any of the outside grills that offer all kinds of international foods and then all coming together for our evening meal.

The rest of our first day at sea we get our bearings, find short cuts to most things and just play around. Donny & I are celebrating our 41st anniversary just a bit late, it's officially on June 7th.

Every night we find a different towel animal decorating our beds. We never use them. They are too cute. By the end of the voyage we have a nice menagerie.