The Big Ditch

Well, I pulled the vacation trigger yesterday. Gotta get out of this place.

On Friday, April 10th I will wing my way down to Seattle, grab my rental car, and wheel on down to Portland for the weekend. Some fine dining and shopping with the gals and pals is the Portland plan. Then back to Seattle on Monday the 13th to visit my Puget Sound pals for a couple of days.

On the 15th it's a little cross-country jog to Miami and then a limo up to Fort Lauderdale where I will be staying at a very attractive guest house near the beach for three nights. Then on Saturday it's anchor's away on Holland America's M/S Zuiderdam for a 21-day cruise to Vancouver, B. C. via the Panama Canal, a.k.a. the "Big Ditch." Get into Vancouver on May 9th and will immediately head to the airport - I arrive in Juneau that evening.

Then it's four or five months of bread, water, and self-flagellation as I pay-off what will be a very substantial VISA bill...

I had hoped to pre-pay much of my next holiday; but Uncle Sugar is taking a serious bite out of my ass this April. Still, as noted previously, I GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE!!!!!

If you're curious, here's the itinerary for my cruise:
http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?webItineraryIdForAudit=TW9021&durationCode=&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&flexibleMonths=false&pageNumber=1&voyageCode=U924&destCode=T&dateCode=

A Panana Canal cruise has been on my life-list for several decades...and couldn't see how there would likely be a more cost-effective (relatively speaking) opportunity than right now. Twenty-one days is a long time on a ship. I may get bored, but then again, I may not. They've got an excellent gym onboard, two big pools with lots of comfy deck chairs, and of course excellent food. My stateroom has a little verandah. They may even serve alcohol.

The only element that causes me some concern is Holland America's telecommunications capabilities. They've got wifi on the ship; but it is outrageously expensive and dial-up speed. I think I'm going to go visit AT&T this morning and see what it would cost to get one of their laptop wireless modem thing-a-ma-jigs. Since I'll be in port every couple of days, that might be the best solution...depending on what they want for the device and minutes...and depending what they say about reception in Mexico, Panama and Columbia.

Gotta keep my Blog up-to-date.

So there you have it. Spring Break 2009.