Blue Planet Journey

Playing our ukuleles on the intact Renaissance-era city wall surrounding Lucca, Italy.   Ci ty wall surrounding Lucca , Italy. One of the joys in playing the ukulele is that, because of its size, you can take it with you when you travel. So far, airlines have been good about allowing us to bring our ukuleles on board, placing them in the overhead compartments. We use soft cases, so the space used is a bit more flexible than when using a hard case, although we have to be careful that they don't get smashed when a heavy roll-away is thrown in the same compartment. Caroline started playing the ukulele soon after the Covid-19 pandemic shut everything down in 2020.  I started playing the guitar again, to accompany her, but a few months later I picked up her uke and I was hooked. Wesley started soon after, followed by Mignon. Caroline begins to play the uke, March 2020. Initially, I accompanied Caroline on the rhythm guitar. By December, Caroline, Wesley, and I were all playing. In ...

The Explorer of the Seas in ‎⁨Argostoli⁩, ⁨Ionian Islands⁩, ⁨Greece⁩. Another successful trip planned by Caroline! We sailed from Miami to Barcelona, then Croatia, and finally Greece. A transatlantic, by definition, consists of many days at sea, so you have to be prepared to entertain yourself on a cruise ship. For many, this involves drinking, eating, gambling, more eating, more drinking, and sleeping by the pool. That's not what Caroline and I do. Every morning, we started the day at the gym: treadmill, stationary bike, weights, stretch class, or the abs class. Sometimes I'd run on the outdoor track, but the wind on deck 12 often was brutal. Once, when the instructor was sick, Caroline even led the stretch class! After a quick breakfast in the Windjammer, I'd either visit the stateroom for a shower, or I'd head over to the Sports Court on Deck 13 for an hour of... Wind Pickleball!   Notice the wind speed... 25 mph. That is guaranteed to make a pickleball lob act erra...