How to use this Page

Over 20 million passengers around the world take a cruise every year! That may sound like a lot of people until you find out it's only half the number of people who visit Las Vegas annually. And yes, Las Vegas is a must-do, but I also believe that everyone should take a cruise at least [...]
Continue reading...

October 2013 – we’re in Vancouver, British Columbia. We flew into Vancouver the day before our cruise was scheduled to leave and we spent the day sight seeing. It was a GORGEOUS day and this is one of my favorite pictures.

One. Because there is so much glass! And boats!

Two. Because I think I look pretty good leaning up against that post. Note to self: wear dark clothing – it hides the chunky monkey.

Kevin took this picture while we were waiting to board our cruise ship in Vancouver, Canada in October 2013. We were cruising to Alaska. And though I had to talk Kevin into this cruise it actually ended up being the best cruise we’ve been on so far. (And judging by my flushed cheeks, I was having a hot flash).

This was a fun piece--Fresh OFF the drawing board! I thought this befitting for late August. : )

This was a fun piece–Fresh OFF the drawing board! I thought this befitting for late August. : )

Hopefully as you read this, depending on the time of day, I'll be either on a plane heading down to Miami or on board a cruise ship heading out to sea.

The hopefully part comes in because we're expected to get, of all things for this first weekend of Spring, a snow storm here in the Midwest. Since hearing the weather report on Wednesday, I've been in a bit of a panic. We're on a fairly tight schedule to get from the Miami International Airport to the Port of Miami in the first place. For a while now I've been a bit nervous about a delay on our flight. (It never dawned on me to schedule one for the day before and stay overnight in Miami...next time I'll know.) With the bad weather coming it definitely slid from nervous to panic. Thus, there were tears, frantic phone calls and Internet searches trying to find a flight out on Saturday, an Amtrack route, or a rental car, and pleadings for prayers from friends for some peace and calm.

In the end, there was no way we could pay the exorbitant fees involved in changing flights. Amtrack doesn't go directly to Miami. And rental cars one way cost a fortune, too. We were forced to stick with our original travel plans.

As of right now, (I'm writing this on Saturday.) it looks like we'll be okay with the flight. A friend mentioned the earlier we go the better as then we're not waiting for the plane to come in from another airport before taking off with us. We're scheduled to go at 9:00 a.m., which he said was good. I even checked the on-time averages for flights out of O'Hare at that time on Sundays and they were listed as 100% on time. The weather system looks like it will hit farther south and/or later in the day here.

So, I'm breathing a little easier, but will finally exhale all the way when I'm sitting on that plane and we've put wheels up around 9:15.

As for the Caribbean part, we couldn't be more thrilled. We honeymooned on a cruise fifteen years ago and are so excited to be going on another one now. We decided this is the first 'real' week-long vacation the two of us have had alone in, well, fifteen years. We are scheduled to hit the ports of Nassau, San Juan, and St. Thomas. We were scheduled for a stop in Grand Turk as well, but apparently there have been some issues with food causing possible sickness there, so the cruise line has decided to skip that port. Fine with me. I don't want to take even the slightest chance of getting sick on board.

I just want to soak up all the fun and sun I possibly can in a week! And who knows, my honeymoon cruise inspired the locations for Wild Wedding Weekend. Maybe this one will spark some new ideas...you never know.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

by Craig Moodie, author of Into the Trap

Writing Into the Trap allowed me to transform many of the coasts and islands and bodies of water I’ve known into the fictional setting of Fog Island.

Since I was a kid, islands in particular have captivated me. All of the islands I’ve set foot on or seen from the deck of a boat have kept me under their spell. I wish I could tell you about all of them, from Vieques to Cuttyhunk, Bermuda to Barra.

But one that I thought about a lot when I was writing the book was called Dobbins Island. My family was lucky enough to own a 35-foot yawl that we sailed out of Annapolis, Maryland. Sometimes when we cruised we would head into the Magothy River and anchor near Dobbins Island.

It was an uninhabited islet covered with woods and thickets atop steep clay bluffs. Its spindly tangled trees looked like the masts of pirate ships. One time when we rowed ashore for a quick walk along the beach, one of my sisters said it looked like a good stand-in for the setting of Lord of the Flies. It was eerie, quiet and watchful and secretive, and that made me want to explore it all the more. But we had to head back to the boat.

I got another chance one muggy evening when we’d anchored off the island again. After dinner I climbed into the dinghy to head to the island alone. Crossing the smooth water, I spooked myself when I looked over the side to see the dark forms of seaweed just below the surface. I crunched ashore on the orange-ish sand and walked past a steep clay bank pocked with the burrows of swallows. The birds swooped and veered past me. I followed the beach and found a path leading up the bluff into the woods.

The woods was dim and shadowy and hissed with the sound of crickets. The leaves laced together overhead to blot out the light. I hadn’t expected to find such a well-worn path, and I followed it at a trot to reach the far headland. At the edge I pushed through the undergrowth to look out through the foliage over the anchorage, where our boat lay among a few other boats on the serene water. Behind me a blue jay called.

Why I had a feeling I was being watched, I wasn’t sure.

I spun around.

Only the woods lay before me. A blue jay called again. The light was thinning.

I went back down the path to see what was on the other side of the island. The path began to climb toward the other end, tree branches forming a leafy tunnel overhead.

Then I heard a thumping ahead of me.

I stopped to listen, my breathing heaving in my ears.

How close had that sound been?

I moved ahead, slower now.

The sound came again—a thumping of hooves.

I heard rustling in the underbrush.

The path took a sharp turn as it climbed. I came around a bend.

I stopped, my heart jolting, before a pair of large eyes staring at me from the middle of the path. They were the wide-spaced eyes of a goat—a wild goat. The forms of two other goats were behind it. They, too, stared at me.

What was I doing on their island? they seemed to be saying.

I should have known, I realized. Why else would a desert island have such a well-worn network of paths?

The dusk settled deeper as the goats melted into the thicket and vanished into the shadows. How the goats had gotten there I wasn’t sure. Maybe they swam here from the mainland. Maybe their ancestors had survived a shipwr

On March 17th I flew to Miami to meet with the other SCBWI Regional Advisors from around the country and globe to share ideas on what members want and how we could improve and offer more venues.

I thought you might like to see some of the grueling work that took place.

Friday morning we boarded the Norwegian Sky for our weekend meeting.

All Aboard

Music, Dancing, and Song Welcomed Us

This is the lobby in the ship.

Is Your RA in this picture?

Here are the lovely ladies at the pool.  Do you recognize your RA?

A little book inspiration.  Do you recognize this RA, illustrator and author?  She has published some very cute picture books.

Setting sail Friday evening.

Dinner on Board. Maybe your RA is in this photo.

A little towel art to greet us at the end of the day.

Port at Nassau Saturday

Christ Church  Cathedral Courtyard – Nassau
Inside Christ Church Cathedr