Thursday 1-20-2011

I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update this blog. I have been trying to dig out from under the pile of emails that accumulated during my cruise but they keep coming in faster than I can get to them. However, I do want to thank all of you that commented on my last blog. It is nice to know that so many of you continue to follow my progress and I will try to keep you up to date.

The cruise was great and it felt good to be warm again. I didn't spend much time working on a tan but I did enjoy relaxing in the shade and an occasional dip in one of the three pool on board and some good soakings in the hot tubs. We played tourist at two of our three stops (Montego Bay, Jamica and Grand Cayman) but elected to stay on the ship during the stop at Cozumel since we had previously visited there on another cruise. There was so much to do aboard our ship that even with an extra day of exploring, we still didn't see everything.

I took a of bunch pictures and will post some of them in this blog and try to post some more on line, possibly on my Facebook page. Our ship, the Celebrity Eclipse, is only about a year old and everything was spotless and functioned perfectly. I wouldn't hesitate taking another cruise on this ship or this cruise line. I will post a picture showing the Eclipse and her sister ship, the Celebrity Equinox, that I took while we were touring Grand Cayman. As an aside, our son, Scott, has been asked by Celebrity, on behalf of the Smithsonian Institute (where he had a Fellowship before going to Ohio State) to take at least two cruises and be the on board guest lecturer on astronomy. His next cruise will be on the Celebrity Equinox this summer. The cruise starts in Rome and makes stops in Sicily, Athens, Ephesus (Turkey), the Greek Islands of Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos and then Naples/Capri before returning to Rome. In addition to the 10/11 day free cruise, he and a guest will get round trip air transportation to/from Rome plus he may even be paid! I have asked to be his guest but I'm not first on his list. What a deal!!

Some of the pictures I have posted with this blog include: our departure from Port Miami, sailboat harbor, sunset with Miami skyline, Terry sunbathing while reading her Kindle, yours truly standing by the rail of the ship, pictures of Scott and me after snorkeling, views from the semi submersible including an old wreck, Terry dancing with some of the crew and getting a foot massage with aloe on the skin diving boat, our stateroom while we packed for departure, a final sunset at sea and conditions in Columbia after our return. (Note that even our lake and swimming pool froze)

Our cruise was over much too quickly and we had to return to very cold conditions and our second snow storm of this winter. An ice storm followed the snow and we had snow/ice on the ground for almost a week. This kind of weather is unheard of in South Carolina and all schools, offices, etc. were closed for several days. The shelves in the supermarkets were practically bare as people stocked up on food and supplies. We don't have much snow clearing equipment here so the roads were very slick and there were numerous accidents in and around Columbia. We stayed home during the worst of it.

Last Friday, Terry again took me to Charleston to have my throat stretched. This time I was only partially sedated so I was aware of what was happening during the entire procedure. I have to go back every two weeks until my surgeon is able to do the procedure while I am wide awake. Eventually, he wants me to be able do the procedure at home by myself. This involves sticking a long tube down my throat two or three times and it is hard to imagine doing this myself. He said that it may take years before I no longer need to do this on a regular basis. I sure wasn't expecting this bit of news.

I have not been feeling too good this week so I went to my local doctor yesterday. He did a bunch of tests, including taking several of x-rays and a cat scan and determined that I have some fluid in the bottom of one lung and a bit on pneumonia. He gave me a shot, a prescription for some antibiotics and I have to see him again tomorrow. I still hurt all over, have had trouble eating and my exercise program is on hold. Crap, just when I was beginning to feel good! However, I'm sure this too will pass and I will get back on track soon.

It is now Friday morning so I will wrap this up and get some sleep. I will write more about the cruise during the next few days.

Keep the comments coming---