Hiddenhearth
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 16, 2001
I am glad to see that some of you are enjoying my ramblings. Since some of you asked for it, I shall ramble more.
Before that, I shall respond to some of your questions. First to Pam. I should not have mentioned about that thing you call mysterious. Not fair of me. Let me just say that I am a Docking Pilot in New York Harbor. I get aboard incoming ships in the harbor and bring them to the dock, or, of course, I get aboard ships at the docks and maneuver them out into the Upper Bay.
I happen to do this because I have always loved being on the water and always loved maneuvering things that float, from little boats to big ships. One of my dreams was to cruise on the Magic, since I'd read about her and seen artists' illustrations of her - in trade publications - long before she was built. Finally aboard her last week, I was up before dawn, three times, to watch the dockings at St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Castaway Cay. Busman's holiday?? You betcha, and I loved it.
Before our trip, I wrote to Captain Henry, introducing myself on paper. Out of professional courtesy, during the middle of the week, he invited me and my family to - well...let me just say, we all got together for a little chat. Captain Henry is upstanding, gracious, professional. He backed that 964-ft ship like one puts the car in the garage. And did you know that he was part of the design team for the Magic. Disney always seems to pick the best, and Captain Henry is no exception. Anyway, it was most kind of him to invite us to our intimate gathering. My family was thrilled by the honor. And, my 11 y/o got to do something really, really cool...
Luvtogo: no, didn't go parasailing. I suggested this to my 82 y/o mother (who grew up in Manhattan, and didn't even ride a bike until I was about 8, when I saw her ride it into the flower garden), but, not surprisingly, she didn't take me seriously.
Sandee: More grief for my mother - my father was thrilled at the suggestion of he and she joining us for the trip. My mother, however, balked at the idea and took many months to agree to go. Both she and my father are not beach people whatsoever. They don't go swimming, any time, any where - haven't for years. My father tries to stay out of the sun as much as possible. They went on the semi-submersible sub at St. Maarten, the seaplane tour of the Virgin Island Islands, and the land tour around St. Thomas. They didn't miss any of the shows. They carried the Personal Navigator around the ship, faithfully, constantly checking what event they could do next.
They had a great time. I don't know if you saw an earlier comment of mine, where I mentioned that my mother was telling my siblings that she was considering a Western Excursion trip! I think they had a better time than my kids! They thanked me and thanked me and thanked me for convincing them to go.
As for my mother-in-law, well, as I said earlier, she had hip replacement surgery less than two months before the trip. She rented a wheelchair at Port Canaveral and never used it. She used her walker around the ship. I was worried that rambunctious children might bump into her in public areas of the ship, but this was never the case. She got around fine by herself, going to one end of the ship for the show and then to the other for dinner. At St. Thomas - while the rest of us went our ways on excursions - she and her walker made it over to the Havensight Mall and back. At Castaway Cay she passed on the tram ride, choosing to walk over to the beach area.
When we returned my mother-in-law to her apartment on the evening of the 20th, after a long day of traveling home, she put her walker aside and gave me a hug, in thanks for the trip. The first hug from her in the 22 years my wife and I have known each other.
You think the Disney cruise is just for kids? Hah!
GTG for now. Homework night and I must relinquish the computer for now.
Am I rambling too much?, or shall I go on??
Steve
Before that, I shall respond to some of your questions. First to Pam. I should not have mentioned about that thing you call mysterious. Not fair of me. Let me just say that I am a Docking Pilot in New York Harbor. I get aboard incoming ships in the harbor and bring them to the dock, or, of course, I get aboard ships at the docks and maneuver them out into the Upper Bay.
I happen to do this because I have always loved being on the water and always loved maneuvering things that float, from little boats to big ships. One of my dreams was to cruise on the Magic, since I'd read about her and seen artists' illustrations of her - in trade publications - long before she was built. Finally aboard her last week, I was up before dawn, three times, to watch the dockings at St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Castaway Cay. Busman's holiday?? You betcha, and I loved it.
Before our trip, I wrote to Captain Henry, introducing myself on paper. Out of professional courtesy, during the middle of the week, he invited me and my family to - well...let me just say, we all got together for a little chat. Captain Henry is upstanding, gracious, professional. He backed that 964-ft ship like one puts the car in the garage. And did you know that he was part of the design team for the Magic. Disney always seems to pick the best, and Captain Henry is no exception. Anyway, it was most kind of him to invite us to our intimate gathering. My family was thrilled by the honor. And, my 11 y/o got to do something really, really cool...
Luvtogo: no, didn't go parasailing. I suggested this to my 82 y/o mother (who grew up in Manhattan, and didn't even ride a bike until I was about 8, when I saw her ride it into the flower garden), but, not surprisingly, she didn't take me seriously.
Sandee: More grief for my mother - my father was thrilled at the suggestion of he and she joining us for the trip. My mother, however, balked at the idea and took many months to agree to go. Both she and my father are not beach people whatsoever. They don't go swimming, any time, any where - haven't for years. My father tries to stay out of the sun as much as possible. They went on the semi-submersible sub at St. Maarten, the seaplane tour of the Virgin Island Islands, and the land tour around St. Thomas. They didn't miss any of the shows. They carried the Personal Navigator around the ship, faithfully, constantly checking what event they could do next.
They had a great time. I don't know if you saw an earlier comment of mine, where I mentioned that my mother was telling my siblings that she was considering a Western Excursion trip! I think they had a better time than my kids! They thanked me and thanked me and thanked me for convincing them to go.
As for my mother-in-law, well, as I said earlier, she had hip replacement surgery less than two months before the trip. She rented a wheelchair at Port Canaveral and never used it. She used her walker around the ship. I was worried that rambunctious children might bump into her in public areas of the ship, but this was never the case. She got around fine by herself, going to one end of the ship for the show and then to the other for dinner. At St. Thomas - while the rest of us went our ways on excursions - she and her walker made it over to the Havensight Mall and back. At Castaway Cay she passed on the tram ride, choosing to walk over to the beach area.
When we returned my mother-in-law to her apartment on the evening of the 20th, after a long day of traveling home, she put her walker aside and gave me a hug, in thanks for the trip. The first hug from her in the 22 years my wife and I have known each other.
You think the Disney cruise is just for kids? Hah!
GTG for now. Homework night and I must relinquish the computer for now.
Am I rambling too much?, or shall I go on??
Steve
