Cruisin' the Caribbean!

Next week at this time we'll be skimming the skies on our way to Ft. Lauderdale. But that's not all. Princess (no, not me. The cruise line) is putting us up in a 5 star hotel overnight and then we board the Sea Princess for 14 pampered days.

Isn't life grand?

The dining room food and service aboard a cruise line can only be compared to 5 star dining in the finest restaurants. It is mouth wateringly eye-appealing. And tasty to boot. Not for me the buffets on ship. No! No! I can eat from pretty looking buffets in my own town. On a cruise ship I allow myself to enjoy the exemplary service available in the dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can't wait.

But, there is a price to pay. I'm paying some of it now as I hoof it up the stairs at the library. This is my training. If I start at the basement, there are 51 steps to the top floor and let me just say that when I get there my thighs are screaming in pain and I'm sucking air hard enough to pancake a soccer ball.

I know from previous cruises that our cabin is usually at least 7 flights - not half flights - of stairs to the pool deck. The first 2 flights, which would be about 50 stairs, are okay. Then I start to hurt. By the time I'm at the top I can remember using both arms to haul myself up, a rictus smile contorting my face. Yikes.

I better go and do my training stairs a few more times.

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