One of the worst tragedies of my life happened in the late evening of October 12, 2024 when Brian called to tell me that his mom was in the emergency room after being struck by a hit and run driver. I learned shortly after that she had passed away, leaving a huge hole in my life and in my heart that only she had filled for the past 57 years. She was a sister and a cousin; not just a friend.That is another long story for another blog when I have the heart to be able to tell it.
Today, as I think about her 70th birthday (which she had frequently told me in her last few months that she didn't want), I want to give a little gift to all who knew and loved her. That gift is the memory of laughter. Whether she was actually laughing or she was just making us laugh, we could always be certain that there would always be a way to find joy whenever she was around. So, I gift to YOU this video tribute.
Our videos began as a joke, but as more people commented about our Gallivanting Grannies trips all over the country, we learned that more and more people were enjoying our experiences. So, our videos were all done with you in mind. What might you want to know about our travels and (mis)adventures? So, enjoy this trip down memory lane of my buddy and me over the past few years. You might shed a few tears, but most importantly, we hope you laugh!
Gallivanting Grannies Trip #1: Arizona and Historic Route 66
October, 2021
That first video was meant to be a joke. When we began our first trip (after my brousin, Lanie's husband had passed away) in October, 2021, I was doing a Facebook travelog of our trip, but MANY people laughed at how bad our "selfies" were. Becoming a little defensive, I decided to show people how challenging it is to get a good selfie, by taking a video of our process. Once we learned how much joy and laughter others got from it, the videos began in earnest.
Elaine had been a bit obsessed with the cacti on our drive out to Arizona to visit her old friends from Corny. When she began talking about them again (and the fact that we didn't have a selfie with them), I abruptly pulled off the interstate and our second selfie video came to be.
Our first pool selfie in Flagstaff, AZ emphasizes the fact that her children kept asking her what she was looking at in our selfie photos. She decided she needed to learn where to look when I was taking pictures/videos... and that "cheesy smile" I commented on? I'm still jealous she had such straight teeth without ever having to suffer braces!
Leaving our hotel in Flagstaff the next day came with the plan to do a selfie outside of each of our hotels, always with Elaine pointing at the sign so everyone would know where we are. We should have gotten paid for all the advertising!
It's 2 girls, my Lord with a Flatbed Ford...
On our way to Arizona, we realized how easily we could have visited Winslow, Arizona and decided to add that to our route back home. As The Eagles were gaining popularity during our teen years, we had to stop and "take it easy."
We were greeted with a lot of fog and "fresh" air when we got to the Cadillac Ranch in Texas!
Since it was so foggy that morning, we couldn't really see where the Cadillacs were "buried." I still had one bad knee and we didn't know how far the walk or how uneven the ground was, so Elaine did an "on the ground reporter" video so I could see what I missed!
Next on our Route 66 adventure, we were supposed to visit an old swimming pond with a big blue whale slide in Catoosa, OK! Near the pond, we found the remains of an old Noah's Ark exhibit, but we got our Bible stories confused and gave the Ark to Moses...
Then, because I'm fascinated with Totem Poles, we toured a totem pole park. It was a bit disappointing that they weren't of the carved variety.
Our final selfie video of the great Arizona/Route 66 Road Trip was just down the road apiece in Springfield, Illinois at the Cozy Dog Drive In; home of the original CORNDOG!
Gallivanting Grannies: Random Road Trips of 2021-2022
The rest of 2021 and all of 2022 was just a series of concerts and short road trips to Kentucky, Wisconsin and St Louis.
On November 5, 2021 we went to our first concert: Micky & Mike of the Monkees, just weeks before Mike's death on December 10th. It was extra special for her since Mike was always her favorite and she had never seen The Monkees in concert.
We went to Kentucky for a few days in February, 2022 to see my grandkids in their high school play and to visit some Hudson cousins. In spite of the chill, we got some exercise in the pool. I sneaked this video before she knew I was recording.
She had a fascination with the song Jerusalema and a dance from Africa that she had found on YouTube. You can see that she was having fun.
Sadly, shortly after, we had to say a final farewell to one of our closest high school friends. Cary's granddaughter was handing out little swag bags in her memory and in each bag was a miniature bottle of Cary's favorite Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey. Lanie and our friend Cindy used it to toast to Cary's memory.
In May, Lanie went to St Louis with me one Friday when I had to work in the LDS Temple. Her old friend Nancy lives in St Louis now, so she met up with Lanie and they spent the day together while I was busy.
When we visited Kentucky in September, my granddaughter Dottie was a little upset with Elaine because she wouldn't/couldn't go along with something Dottie wanted. Her mom corrected her and good grandmas that we are had to take it a step further...
The pool at The Hampton Inn in Wilder, Kentucky was a usual stay for us when we went to visit my daughter. It was rather ironic that I was in that hotel, staying in a room that looked directly into the pool when I learned of her death.
While we were in the area, we took some time to go by Randy's old popcorn shop that is still open in Cincinnati.
September, 2022 also took us north to visit my brother Al and Marcie. Lanie had her new Schnauzer puppies by then, so they came along on the road trip. An added bonus to this video is Al's voice in the background. We lost him during a gallbladder surgery less than two months later in November.
On our way back down to Lanie's from Wisconsin, we stopped to see Aunt Grace in Lake in the Woods, Illinois. Since Tinker and Fritz were so special to Lanie, I included this short clip of them.
Gallivanting Grannies Trip #2: Northeast Tour April, 2023
Early April of 2023, we set out on our second grand adventure road trip. It was my granddaughter Paige's birthday and she was being baptized over Easter weekend, so we headed northeast for the family activities and then toured some sights to knock off five more of the states I needed to hit.
First stop and state was Rhode Island where, of course, we couldn't follow our itinerary because it was Easter Sunday and things were closed!
Hershey World was a fun place to visit, especially since they were celebrating their 50th anniversary which coincided with our 50 year reunion for high school graduation. We got matching 50th anniversary tie dye t-shirts and spent WAY TOO MUCH MONEY on candy and goodies!
We were amazed that the lady making Lanie's peanut butter cup had only been working at Hershey World for three days! She did a great job!
Our final video of that trip was our report on Hershey from the hot tub in Zanesville, Ohio! Can you tell my voice is still recovering from my bout with Covid???
Gallivanting Grannies Mini Trip: Happy Together Tour Concert August, 2023
I hated that Lanie wasn't able to go along on the Flower Power Cruise in March so when I heard about the Happy Together Tour coming to Effingham, I knew we had to don our groovy threads and relive the days of our youth!
The Cowsills were the opening act and set the tone for a great evening. The truly great thing is that the performers really like the audience to be involved and sing along. Besides the Cowsills, we saw the Classics IV, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett, The Vogues and The Turtles (with Ron Dante of The Archies & The Cuff Links).
Singing along with the closing number, The Turtles most popular hit, "Happy Together." For the closing, all the acts come on stage together to sing 'cause everyone is happy together!
Laura was tuckered out and ready to turn in after the concert, but Lanie, Cindy and I hit the hot tub to wind down before bed. I've always been so happy together with my best buddy and any other friends we could gather for an adventure.
Gallivanting Grannies Trip 3: Amtrak to the Northeast
October, 2023
The train trip to the Northeast for a week long adventure with two of Carol's girls in October, 2023 was planned to get in some leaf-peeping AND to check off Maine, Carol's 50th state! The trip began with a commuter train into Chicago from Elburn, IL.
Off to a great start! Even getting on the commuter train proved challenging for these Gallivanting Grannies!
We made it into Chicago's Union Station, but not without misadventure and the kindness of our fellow man...
After we got settled into our seats on our Amtrak train, it was time for some entertainment. That translates into using my laptop and Shazam on her phone to learn or confirm we knew the words to all the hit songs that the bands would be singing on our Flower Power Cruise in March, 2024.
It was quite a process trying to figure out how to hear the music and see the words without disturbing the other passengers. Even more challenging was the in and out of the train's WiFi... We got off the train heading east in Springfield, MA and had to spend the night in a nearby hotel before our train north to New Hampshire would be leaving.
As you can tell from our conversation, getting on board the "Vermonter" to get to Brookie's house posed its own set of problems, but we did get on and off the train for a fun time with my girls. Sadly, although I did take lots of pictures, I only got this one video....
One of the towns near Brookie has a pumpkin people festival every year where people and businesses create a display. Brooks stopped at this one so Elaine and I could visit the Margaritaville pumpkin people. With no videos of our stay in the haunted Omni Mount Washington Resort and Spa, the cog train ride up Mount Washington to experience the worst weather on earth, or our tour of Portland, Maine, to name just a few of our adventures, it was time to board our train to head back home.
Surprisingly, after 57 years of friendship, we could still learn things about ourselves and each other. As I learned that train stops give me anxiety, I also realized how patient Lanie could be with me and helped me to be able to laugh at myself.
Apparently we didn't learn our lesson with our dinner from Wahlburgers on the way to New Hampshire and repeated our mistake on the way back home.
When we spent the night in Springfield, MA on the way to New Hampshire, we took an Uber from the station to our hotel for just $6. The next afternoon, we took an Uber back to the station and were shocked when the charge was $41!!! Not knowing how much they would charge us this time, we opted to walk to and from the hotel from the train station this time.
Lanie realized the zipper was broken on her suitcase before we started on our trip, while we were at the Elburn commuter station. Hence, she was constantly unpacking and repacking, afraid that she was going to lose something along the way. Once we were inside the Springfield, MA Union Station, Elaine realized she must have packed her phone in her suitcase during her most recent repack.
Since it was autumn and a good share of this train ride to Chicago was in the dark, it seemed a good time to pull out my souvenir Cog Railroad deck of cards and play a game of Rummy. Being our go to game on rainy days at the cabins, the rules shouldn't have been so foggy....
Frequent stops through the night made sleep difficult, although Elaine slept pretty well through her podcasts and had to relisten, only to fall asleep again... and repeat.
My fit of giggles may seem to be uncalled for and really not as funny as they seemed to me in the moment, but sometimes Lanie would say (or do) things just like her mother and it would send me over the edge. Not that those times were especially funny, but it was ALWAYS things that used to drive her crazy about her mother OR that she would tease her mother about. Lanie's "What's that?" in response to my early morning question brought one of those memories flashing back into my memory.
After successfully finishing the ride into Chicago and getting back on the commuter train to Elburn, we still had one more adventure left. Earlier that year, I had gone on a Flower Power Cruise with another friend and my daughter Sami where we saw a great Beatles tribute band called The Fab Four. I wanted her to have the opportunity to see them too and our trip ended just in time for us to be able to go see the Fab Four in Rockford.
Gallivanting Grannies Trip 3: Flower Power Cruise March, 2024
While my friend Robyn and I were on the 2023 cruise, we knew we needed to do a repeat to be able to see as many of the old acts as we could before they're all gone, so we booked our same cabin for 2024 and this year, Lanie was able to go with us.
We flew into Fort Lauderdale on March 18, a few days early to spend some time with my brother Bill before the cruise ship left from the port in Miami.
On March 21st Bill arranged for a driver to take us to Miami to board the Celebrity Summit for a week immersed in the days of peace, love and the best music of all time.
Since our luggage wasn't in our room yet when we first boarded, we dropped some of our personal belongings in our cabin and headed to the pool deck for lunch and the "sail away" party with Tommy James and the Shondells.
With 3-5 concerts on the pool deck daily, there were plenty of opportunities to see our favorite bands. Between concerts, there was always music playing overhead to keep the party going. Lanie could get very animated as she sang along!
The theme for the evening on the second day of the cruise was 60s TV, Movies or Music. We chose to dress as characters from the hit show HeeHaw! Our server (for 2023 and 2024) thought I was trying to take a picture of him with Lanie.
We had a whole verse of the song planned about ourselves, but fortunately no one asked us to sing a verse, because we all forgot it! Lanie and Robyn did a good job on the chorus though.
On the third day of the cruise, Lanie and I decided to go up to Deck 11 to walk across the ship to the Sky Lounge. It really wasn't a good idea. We couldn't hear each other talk because the wind was so strong and I thought the wind was going to rip the earrings right out of my ears. We did run into Susan Cowsill taking a few quiet moments up there by herself. We didn't bother her.... much.
Later that day, the Cowsills performed the late concert on the pool deck and Lanie had a good time singing Heat Wave with Susan.
Day 4 brought us to beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico where we had a land and sea tour of the city.
We had late dinner, after our evening concert in the Celebrity Theater every night. Occasionally we were in line back for enough that we were in the Rendezvous Lounge where they had karaoke going on. It was fun when everyone joined in the singing... one lady told us we needed to karaoke because we knew the words to all the songs so well. Lanie really liked to go watch the karaoke singers, but I could never get her to do it with me.
Day 5 took us to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. It was a beautiful place! We had a wonderful tour and tour guide with a chance to spend a couple of hours on the beach. We couldn't get Lanie to come into the ocean with us, but I did catch her doing a hula on the beach!
Our final concert on the pool deck was the Grass Roots on Day 7. The Grass Roots put on a good show and we enjoyed singing along with everyone else!
Thursday, March 28, we were back in Miami to disembark. Our driver picked us up and took us back to Bill's for a few hours before he took us to the Fort Lauderdale airport. We had finally convinced Lanie to use wheelchair service because of the pain in her knees and her upcoming knee replacement. She had quite the wheelchair attendant and had to tell us the story of her trip to our gate and just how she arrived so much quicker than Robyn and I did. I don't think she understood that she had big feet though....
Gallivanting Grannies do the Pacific Northwet: Our 4th and Final Great Adventure August, 2024
This trip was the most important and most planned of all. It was one Elaine wanted to take for years; back to about 2010 when I used to live in the Seattle area. I planned a two week loop for us, taking the northern route along interstate 90/94 to Seattle and on to the Washington coast with Forks and LaPush (of Twilight fame), then back to northern Idaho before heading south on Interstate 15 to spend a couple of days with my son in Utah, east on 70 to visit my other son in Colorado to get our eyes checked and then back to Illinois on 80. We accomplished much and had a lot of fun, but unfortunately, I only shot 6 videos in the two weeks we were gone. But, at least I have these...
After meeting up with old friends in Minnesota and Idaho, we headed into Washington. I wish I'd realized how much of our conversation the wind had drowned out at the Columbia River Gorge in Washington.
After arriving in Seattle we checked into our hotel and had to hit the hot tub. It was Lanie's thing! This hot tub gave her a really wild ride though!
The next day, I showed Lanie where I used to live and then took her to my favorite beach, just a few miles from my apartment in Mukilteo, Washington.
When it was time to leave the Seattle area we took the ferry from Edmonds, WA across the Puget Sound to Kingston. I started the recording and handed it to Lanie....
Well... take 2.....
Once we got on the ferry, I took over recording again...
We decided to get out of the car so Lanie could check out the passenger area of the ferry. She decided I needed to plot our route to Forks on the big map.
Sadly, I took NO videos of our time by the ocean or in the rainforest. This was as we were getting on the unplanned ferry when the GPS took us on the Bainbridge Ferry to Bremerton.
After disembarking the ferry near Seattle,we headed back to Idaho and then south toward Utah. Lanie was getting a real kick out of the names and pronunciations of towns in Idaho; not sure why since she's been exposed to Wisconsin names since she was a teenager, but I digress. She made up a joke using the names of some of Idaho's towns and was so tickled by her own joke, I made her tell it while I made this video.
Again, no videos with either of my boys' families in Utah or Colorado, but I got this one as we began the final leg of our trip from Tipton, Iowa.
This final video is the hardest for me to watch. We're not laughing. We're sad our trip has come to an end, but I'm glad to know that she enjoyed our adventures as much as I did.... "I wanna go again."
This past November, about two weeks after Lanie's memorial service, my brother Bill recognized I was having a hard time and had me come spend a few days with him in Florida. One afternoon we went to the pool and I found out they had a great hot tub. I had to get in... for my buddy. She would have loved it.
I'll close by sharing a video of our all time favorite music group. Our love for them, helped set the foundation of our friendship. So, follow THIS advice from the Monkees and LAUGH!
A special thank you to Richard Smith who created and posted
I don't know if you're a nostalgic person, but the older I get, the more enjoyment I find living in the past! Oddly, I've come to realize that I'm much more of a "hippie" now than I was in the 1960s. I guess that's not terribly surprising since I was only 12-14 years old in the days of Flower Power and the "love generation." Lucky for my parents, I guess. So, you might be wondering how I came to this realization... Well it began in March, 2022 when I found out that there was such a thing as a Flower Power cruise and invited two of my closest friends (Lanie, friends since we were 12 and Robyn, since we became sorority sisters when we were 18) to join me for the adventure!
In no time at all, we were booked and paid for a concierge cabin on the Celebrity Summit, leaving Miami on Thursday, March 23 and returning on Thursday, March 29th, 2023! There was much to do in that year, especially since all three of us had been losing weight and needed new clothes, soooo, might as well include suitable clothes and accessories for the cruise in our new wardrobes!
"Groovy" accessories for the cruise
"Peace" earrings made by my daughter-in-law from her Etsy shop
Authentic "Peace" pendant made from the fence that surrounded Woodstock; a great birthday present from a dear friend!
The embroidered jeans I ordered didn't arrive in time, so I made my own!
Lanie and I were also really hyped up on the '60s after attending the "Mike & Micky" show just days before Mike Nesmith passed away and then, a few months later seeing Micky Dolenz in concert as the Voice of the Monkees. We had also taken a few road trips, listening to '60s Gold on Sirius XM radio! Needless to say, the fact that Micky Dolenz, Peter Noone, the Cowsills and the Buckinghams were some of the main entertainers on the cruise had us even more excited!
We were part of a Flower Power Cruise Chat on Facebook and learned that there was a door decorating contest, so I enlisted the creative talents of my daughter, Brooks, to create our door decoration. She went above and beyond, creating a door-size, light up lava lamp with our names in the bubbles!
Sadly, a few months before the cruise, Lanie learned she wasn't going to be able to go and the ticket was non-refundable! What do you do when that happens? You transfer the ticket to someone who CAN go, and before we knew it, my daughter, Sami was getting ready for a cruise with two old ladies! Fortunately, my kids were all raised on "the oldies" and even though Sami couldn't tell you who sang what, she was familiar with a high percentage of the music!
As we began to look for airline tickets to Miami, I thought it might be a great time to get to visit my oldest brother in Fort Lauderdale. He and his wife were happy to arrange our transportation from the airport and to the cruise ship.
March 20, 2023 wasn't a terribly exciting day, but it WAS the beginning of our adventure! I headed over to St Joseph, IL to meet Robyn and we drove on to Indianapolis to spend the night to take a hotel shuttle to the airport the next morning!
On our Holiday Inn Express Shuttle to the Indianapolis Airport
Tuesday, March 21st found us awake early and excited to begin our adventure!
At our gate in Indianapolis!
We flew from Indianapolis to Atlanta, where we had a short layover
At the gate in Atlanta for our layover; It's getting real now!!!
and then on to Fort Lauderdale where Randi, my brother Bill's wife, met us at the airport.
Fort Lauderdale here we come!
Sami's flight was due in shortly after ours, but she was delayed out of Dallas, so they sent an Uber to pick her up when her plane finally made it. After she arrived, the three of us took our Covid-19 tests via a medical video chat. We were each a bit nervous, even though we all felt fine, but we had to be able to show a negative test result to board the cruise!
Showing off our negative Covid results! Whew!
With that bit of trauma behind us, I gave Sami the embroidered jeans I had ordered online that were too small for me...
Step 1 to becoming "hippified!"
and then we were ready to enjoy a dinner with Bill and Randi on the balcony of their condo.
It was great to see Bill, visit with him and share some memories. Our brother, Al who we lost in November, was part of several of our discussions. Bill has a lot of great memories of Al and our parents that I don't have since he's ten years older than me...
The next day, March 22, we spent the day with Bill, Randi & Noel (their adorable fur baby) We had a delightful brunch on the beach in the midst of Spring Break for all the college kids!
Spring break and all the kids didn't affect us much, except for traffic patterns and giving me a burning desire to rewatch the old movie, "Where the Boys Are!" We spent the rest of the day just catching up and reminiscing with Bill, giving Sami an opportunity to get to know her uncle (and Noel) better!
Flower Power Cruise: Day 1
Before we knew it, Thursday March 23rd had arrived and we were ready to head to Miami to board our chartered cruise ship, the Celebrity Summit. Bill had arranged for a driver to take us to the pier.
Considering our driver told us pretty much all he does is drive people to the piers or to the airports, we felt pretty confident as we drove to Miami. After a few wrong turns and circling around the dock a few times, we began to worry we were going to be late for our scheduled time to board the ship! We finally found it though and were treated to VIP boarding, going ahead of the lines, thanks to our "concierge" booking... even though the luggage handlers asked if we had brought enough luggage! Don't most people have two suitcases and a "personal" bag for a week at sea?!?!?
As we boarded the ship we immediately began to see signs that we had left the 21st Century behind us and were revisiting the days of Peace and Love.
Lava Lamps EVERYWHERE!!!
Standing in line to spin the wheel for Flower Power Prizes!
After locating our cabin, we didn't have luggage to unpack yet, so we headed out to explore the ship!
The stage on the Pool Deck, my personal favorite place to be.
We got our collectible pins from Tony Cimorelli (from the Facebook Cruise chat) and spun the wheel to win prizes! Robyn got these adorable cruise earrings and I got... American flag "sunglasses?" (Being modeled by Sami!)
On the Pool Deck as the ship began to move, we were enjoying our first concert of the cruise! It was the 4:00pm with the "Sail Away Party" featuring The Grass Roots!
Cruise welcome and Grass Roots introduction by
Cruise Director, Jason
Let the party begin with "Midnight Confessions!"
Now, I want to add an aside here about some of the comments I heard from some of the passengers during the cruise. The comments were usually prefaced with "I'm a musician..." The truth here is that 1) NO live performance ever sounds like the recorded version that became the "hit." 2) When you're in your 70s or 80s, YOU'RE not going to sound like you did in your 20s either! 3) Probably 95% of us on the cruise were there to experience the nostalgia of the music, remember a time when the music was happy and uplifting and have the absolute THRILL of casually meeting famous musicians that we never would have thought we'd have the opportunity to meet in this lifetime, let alone carry on a conversation or get an autograph! So, as you watch these videos, please forgive my skills as a videographer... (it's a phone, we're in a crowd, and, I'm groovin'...) and don't be critical of the entertainers. If they hurt your ears, don't listen. If you want to share our experience and be transported back to your youth, watch on cuz sooner or later, love is gonna getcha!
After the Poolside concert, we headed back to our room to take in our luggage and then made our way to the theater for the Mainstage Show at 6:30, the 5th Dimension!
Even though only one member of the group was an original, after they took us "Up, Up and Away," they took us to the dawning of the age of "Aquarius" and reminded us to "Let the Sun Shine!"
One thing we learned from that concert was that going forward, we wanted to get in line earlier to ensure we could get better seats to view the entertainers!
After our Mainstage Concert, it was time to head to our late seating dinner where we got an amazing table and our server, Sergio, assured us that he would be ready for us the following evening!
After dinner, about 9:00, we headed back up to the Pool Deck for the Welcome Back Party and another concert at 11:00pm! This time it was Chicago's own Ides of March!
We were quite impressed with Jim Peterik's rather outlandish outfit (especially his lime green socks!) and the original band members. I had never put it together before, but Jim told us about also being a founding member of the band Survivor and writing the theme song for Rocky III!
After the Welcome Back Party, we decided it was probably time to head back to our room to unpack and skip the Late Night Concert in the Sky Lounge, but in case you've lost track, that was already THREE CONCERTS on the first day and we didn't even BEGIN until 4:00!!!
When we got back to our cabin, our official cruise t-shirts were waiting for us on our beds along with the schedule for Day 2. Each night when we got back to our cabin we had a new surprise and a new schedule.
Nightly gifts included an official cruise t-shirt and hat, lanyard, water bottle, beach bag, water-proof pouch (to hold a cellphone) and blue-tooth earbuds!
Special perks of our Concierge Cabin
What a week we had ahead of us!!!
Flower Power Cruise: Day 2
Day 2 began with an 8:00 breakfast in the dining room and a selection of pastries and then we were off to the first event of the day: A Q&A session with some of the stars of "The British Invasion."
Surrounded by a sea of official blue & green tie-dyed cruise t-shirts the Q&A began with Peter Asher (Peter & Gordon), Jeremy Clyde (Chad & Jeremy), Tony Young (Gerry & the Pacemakers), Paul Jones (original lead singer of Manfred Mann) and Billy J Kramer (solo artist). My favorite memory of the interview was of Paul Jones talking about recording "Do Wah Diddy." He said that as a proper English bloke he had a horrible time trying to sing the line, "I knew we WAS falling in love..." He wondered who TALKS like that? It definitely wasn't "proper" English! I guess that story stands out to me because ever since 3rd grade when Tommy Dehnert sang that song to me in the lunch room, I've always HATED that line; just because of the improper grammar!
By 11:30, we were back on the Pool Deck ready for the Flower Power T-Shirt Party with The Cowsills! We had already learned our lesson the day before, getting sunburned sitting center-stage watching The Grass Roots, and chose to sit off to the side. I hope I didn't block too many views as I crept over to the center of the ship to catch a couple videos!
Sure, The Rain, the Park and Other Things is signature Cowsills, but you gotta give me a head with hair!
We grabbed some lunch from the buffet in the Oceanview Cafe and then back out for another Poolside Concert at 2:00 with Gerry's Pacemakers!
The Pacemakers finished up with probably their best known hit, "Ferry 'cross the Mersey"
and then just like "people, they rush everywhere," we rushed back to our room to don our bell-bottomed, embroidered jeans to prepare for The Bell Bottom Ball (aka Groovy Hippie Night)!
Us, poolside at the Bell Bottom Ball
We got in line early enough to snag some pretty good seats for the night's Mainstage Show: Felix Cavaliere's Rascals at 6:30
It had indeed been a "Beautiful Morning" and we'd been "Groovin'" all day long!
The three guys in the back are a group themselves, called "Bad A$$ Brass." They played backup for several of the bands on the cruise and were great entertainers.
From the Rascals it was back to the main dining room where our table from the previous night was set with a "Reserved" sign and after dinner, it was back up to the Pool Deck for the Bell Bottom Ball (Groovy Hippie Night) with Chicago's own Buckinghams at 11:00!
Two of the original band members are still performing: Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna.
Nick of The Buckinghams
Carl of The Buckinghams
We managed to meet them after their performance and get their autographs.
Carl didn't mention it, but I seem to remember when that song first came out, the DJ playing it said that the song had been inspired by a Sunday night radio show on WLS in Chicago. It was an "all request" show and was called "Hey Baby, They're Playin' Our Song."
I had no idea that Chicago had produced so many great bands or the ties that they had to one another! It was the same with all of the bands/artists that were part of the British Invasion. They were all connected! Not only an entertaining cruise, but an educational one as well!
After the Bell Bottom Ball, Sami was pretty well done for the night and headed back to our cabin, but Robyn and I were still going strong, so we headed up to the Sky Lounge for the Late Night Concert with the Jukebox Beatles. After all, that night we got to turn our clocks back an hour; an extra hour to party!!!
We thought The Jukebox Beatles were a pretty impressive group until we saw The Fab Four on Day 5, but we sure enjoyed their performance that night!
Flower Power Cruise: Day 3
The dawning of day 3 (Saturday) found us docking in Belize City and we were ready to go ashore for our (only booked) excursion! None of us had ever been there, so we were excited to learn about the city, but sad that we were going to miss two Poolside concerts while we were gone!
The beautiful sign to welcome us all to Belize
The rough waters while tendering from the ship to Belize!
The winds were really strong and the ocean was really rough as we tendered from the ship to Belize City. They had several men on hand to help the passengers from the boat to the tender and again when we returned to the ship.
Strong winds blowing our hair aboard our tender; Sami was the smart one with her ponytail!
In line to board our "train" to tour Belize City.
You know those annoying phone calls we all get??? Most originate right here!!!
Britain's Royal Family Residence (No one has been there for awhile!)
We all spent a lot more on souvenirs than we planned to spend, but the merchandise was good quality and the people working in the shops were very friendly and helpful. One shop had some little keychains & ornaments that were beaded by the shopkeeper's grandmother.
We got back to the ship in time to participate in a Family Feud Gameshow at 3:00. Well, we got back in time for ME to participate in the game while Robyn and Sami watched. I managed to make a complete idiot of my naive self, speaking before thinking of how my words might be misconstrued.... At 68, you'd think I could stop embarrassing myself!
After playing Family Feud it was time to go back to our cabin to dress for the "'60s TV, Movie & Rockstar Character Night!" I haven't mentioned it before, but each night of the cruise was themed. Unlike most cruises where you're supposed to "dress" for dinner, on Flower Power it's almost anything goes; sometimes the more outlandish, the better! We chose to dress as characters from the very popular '60s TV show, The Beverly Hillbillies:
"Granny, Mrs Drysdale & Ellie May" of The Beverly Hillbillies
Thank heavens we had Sami with us! People would look at me or look at Robyn and wonder who/what we were supposed to be. Then they'd see Sami, laugh and say "The Beverly Hillbillies!" After they knew they had Ellie May, everyone knew I was Granny, but I think Robyn got called Miss Jane every time... maybe we should have just gone with that! For a long time while we were standing in line for our Mainstage Concert, we began to worry that we were the only ones dressed up, but then we eventually began to see others, like Gilligan's Island, McHale's Navy and the Flintstones! What a relief!
The Mainstage Show for the evening was The Manfred's with Paul Jones, the original lead singer of Manfred Mann. We heard their main hits: The Mighty Quinn and Blinded by the Light, but he made us wait a little while before I got to hear my favorite Do Wah Diddy, with the cringe-worthy line of "we was falling in love."
The Manfreds featuring Paul Jones
After our concert we were off to dinner to meet our new friends/dinner companions Jeanne and Arne and enjoy being pampered by Sergio, who, by this point, was getting to know us pretty well and would already have our beverage of choice by our table setting and ensured we had plenty of appetizers and desserts!
With Jeanne & Arne Day 7 Mainstage Concert
The "TV, Movie, Rockstar Costume Party" that night was supposed to be the Grass Roots again, but the show was canceled due to the weather and the fact that it was too dangerous to have the entertainers on the outdoor stage. With the cancellation, combined with the fact that we had to turn our clocks forward an hour, we turned in a bit earlier that night. Well, we went to the cabin, but didn't necessarily go to sleep right away.
Flower Power Cruise: Day 4
As we were eating breakfast at the buffet in the Oceanview Cafe on day 4, the ship was approaching Cozumel. None of the excursions were especially interesting to us, and we felt like we had missed a lot of ship activity when we were in Belize, so we opted to stay on the ship when we arrived at 10 am.
Approaching Cozumel
They had been encouraging people to reserve their same cabin for the 2024 cruise all week and it had been announced that the deadline to do so was by 5:00 that day. I barely even began a discussion with Robyn about doing it before she said "Yes! Let's do it!" Turns out, we both had the same thought; none of these performers are getting any younger, too many healthy people have been dying unexpectedly, and if we wait for two years (which is what we had both been thinking we'd do), we might miss seeing some great entertainers in our lifetime. So, we trotted our little behinds to the Sales Desk, put down our deposits and reserved our same concierge cabin for 2024!
The rest of the morning and afternoon we were dedicating to enjoying all the ship had to offer! We enjoyed lunch at the Pool Grill, hung out on the Pool Deck grooving to the ever constant music playing whenever/wherever there wasn't a concert going on, and FINALLY went for a swim in the pool!
Sami & I enjoying the pool and exhibiting evidence of the sunburns we received on Day 1!
I'm not gonna lie... the pool was a bit of a shock. 1) It was COLD! 2) It was OCEAN WATER! (Yeah, yeah... I know. "What did you expect Carol? Did you think they'd pump fresh water onto the ship when the ship is surrounded by OCEAN WATER 24/7?") 3) It was DEEP! As soon as I stepped off the bottom step onto the pool floor, I couldn't touch the bottom and have my whole head above water! Fortunately, I can swim, it was refreshing and I WAS ON A CRUISE with hundreds of great people, surrounded by memories and music!
George entertaining the crowd with his
tribute to Mick Jagger
We also enjoyed the Poolside Concert: A Tribute to Mick and Joe (with George & Tim who also do a Blues Brothers routine and participate in other activities; Tim was my team captain for Family Feud) before we had to change and head to the Sky Lounge for the All Access Pass Live Interview with my pre-teen heartthrob, Peter Noone! That evening was probably the easiest for costuming. The theme for the evening was "British Invasion- Mod Fashion Night" and I was able to wear my t-shirt with the British flag on it, autographed by Peter the second time I saw him in Lewiston, Idaho at a "Hot August Nights" concert in about 2007.
Waiting for Peter in the Sky Lounge!
There he is; as cute as ever... sigh...
One of the best parts of the interview was hearing him explain the origin of the band's name! Seriously. How did Peter Noone turn into Herman, the leader of Herman's Hermits?!?!?
One of he the things I love best about Peter is his ability to laugh at himself and find the joy and humor in life. After the interview, it was time to hustle down to stand in line to see the Mainstage Show of the evening: Herman's Hermits featuring Peter Noone! Peter Noone was the only entertainer on the cruise who performed two shows in the same evening. What energy!
Peter Asher (of Peter & Gordon) was the host of the cruise and introduced all of the Mainstage concerts, but his introduction for Herman's Hermits was one of his best!
Peter Asher introduction of Herman's Hermits
Here he comes!
Every one of Peter's shows I've seen (and this was my fourth), has begun with "I'm Into Something Good." What a great attitude to set the tone with the audience! And then, the welcome from Peter himself.
Peter welcomes the audience and begins "Dandy"
He thought he was going to entertaining a bunch of old folks!
Even though he wasn't singing one of the Hermits hits, my favorite part of that evening's concert was his trip out into the audience!
Those moments spent in the audience, interacting directly with his fans, show his ability to find humor in all life has to offer and why, to me, he is a TRUE performer. He knows what his audience wants, what we're there for and he never fails to deliver. Every one of my kids has had the opportunity to attend at least one of his concerts with me over the years.
You always know the show is coming to an end when Herman pulls out the song that started it all for the Hermits and the audience ALWAYS participates enthusiastically! The show came to a close MUCH TOO SOON, we were off to dinner and then back to the Pool Deck for the Mod Night Party with The Cowsills at 11:00pm!
After that great welcome, it was time to FLY!
And then, my personal favorite, probably because it was a hit when I was enjoying my early years of summer at Lake Siskiwit in Wisconsin.
I love the fact that The Cowsills is still a family band. Even though they've lost Bill and Barry and John performs with other bands (most recently The Beach Boys), they've filled in with other family members. Paul's son plays guitar, Bob's son plays keyboard, Susan's husband plays the drums and a cousin also plays guitar. After a fun-filled day, it was back to our cabin to crash and rest up for a day at sea, but maybe we should watch a little TV?!
Check out the '60s movies that were available all week, along with the opportunity to watch live interviews or mainstage concerts in our cabin!
Flower Power Cruise: Day 5
We began another "Day at Sea" with a relaxing breakfast in the Cosmo Restaurant before our Matinee Show with Peter Asher on the Mainstage at 11:30.
We learned a lot about Peter Asher that I had never known. The biggest thing was HOW connected he was to The Beatles, but then again, it turns out all those musicians from the British Invasion were connected somehow! Pretty impressive though that Paul lived at his home, John hung out there sometimes, and Paul & John composed "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on the family piano that is now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and that Paul dated Peter's sister, Jane...
A snippet of "Lady Godiva" by Peter & Gordon
It's obvious, when you hear Peter talking about Gordon and see pictures of him on the screen behind the band, that he had great respect for his old singing partner and that he misses him. He credits Gordon with being the real talent of the duo.
After the matinee show with Peter, there was an opportunity to buy his book, get autographs and take pictures.
Peter didn't look too happy about the meet and greet; I think he was tired...
He looked a little happier with Robyn; maybe cuz she bought his book. (I bought it on Amazon...)
With Jeff Alan Ross
The Hall of Fame Band played the backup music for Peter Asher on the cruise. Jeff Alan Ross, a member of the band, with a lot of music credits of his own, greeted us and talked with people as they were waiting in line for Peter's autograph and pictures.
After the matinee, we hung out on the Pool Deck and enjoyed lunch from the Pool Grill while listening to the Yardbirds for the first Poolside Concert of the day before heading back to the cabin to dress for the "Psychedelic '60s Dance Party" that night.
A funny thing happened on the way to the mainstage show though... You see, Sami has these long legs and Robyn is very used to hustling her short, little legs to keep up with people and I was just a few months post-op from my knee replacement, so I was forever falling behind when we needed to get from one end of the ship to the other. I had told them to go on ahead and just save me a spot in line, and away they went.
As they walked away, I noticed a man sitting in the corner smile at them. Pretty certain that I recognized him, I slowed down even more. He looked at me, I looked at him and this happened:
Me: You're a Cowsill, aren't you?
Him: I am
Me: Are you Bob?
Him: I am
Me: Is there any chance I could get an autograph?
Him: There is
Before approaching Bob, I took a second to holler down the corridor at Robyn and Sami to come back; we had something more important to do!!! They came back with no idea what I was about until they finally made it back around the corner and found this:
Me with my new friend, Bob Cowsill!
In the time it took them to get back to me, I was already blathering on about my friend Elaine who wasn't able to come on the cruise at the last minute and how I was trying to collect some autographs for her on the poster I had printed for her! When they found me, of course I did the proper introductions, telling them that this was Bob Cowsill and introduced him to my daughter and friend! He was very friendly, willing to visit, posed for pictures with us and when I thanked him for taking the time to chat, give us his autograph and pose for pictures, he actually thanked US for stopping and told us that that's why they like doing these shows and cruises; that they enjoy meeting the people who still like and appreciate them and their music. He even said that the artists who refuse to talk with the people and give autographs have no business entertaining on the cruise! His sincerity shows! What a great man. I still joke with Robyn about "my good friend Bob."
Needless to say, I was flying high as we headed for the Mainstage Show of the evening, a Beatles tribute band called The Fab Four. I could almost believe they were the real deal!
The show began just like the Beatles introduction to America with "Ed Sullivan!" (Ed was played by George, who had also done the Mick Jagger tribute)
They took us through The Beatles career, beginning with "She Loves You."
They advanced through a few of The Beatles early songs and then transitioned the music (and their costumes) into the days of Sgt Pepper.
Then the bloke who plays John provided a nice tribute to the musician...
and then did a great rendition of "Imagine."
They performed a few songs to showcase the individual careers of each of the Beatles as well as a few more of the group in their final years together, including one of my favorites: "Revolution"
I enjoyed their performance so much that before the show was over, I had decided that if I found out they were performing anywhere near home, I was going to go see them again.Lanie and I have tickets to see them in Dekalb, IL this fall!
As wonderful as the day had been so far, it wasn't over yet! We still had dinner and then the Dance Party on the Pool Deck. Dinner was becoming increasingly entertaining as each evening Sergio found some other way to provide exceptional service. We always knew our drinks of choice would be waiting for us and that we would always have "extra" of our favorite things; like 2 shrimp cocktails!
After dinner, it was up to the Pool Deck for the Psychedelic '60s Dance Party with the Family Stone. Some people might not enjoy getting up there early, but we found that if you got there plenty early, you'd get to hear the bands running through the set, tuning up, etc. Sometimes we heard the best banter and were best entertained in that time before the crowd began to arrive. When 11:00 arrived, the Family Stone was ready to get the party started!
After everyone was pumped up and dancing to the music, we were ready for some hot fun...
The Family Stone has one original band member who played with Sly, Jerry Martini (saxaphone) and the young woman up front is Phune Stone, the daughter of Sly and Cynthia Robinson, the original female trumpet player.
With the end of the Family Stone concert, we were all ready to call it a day and head back to the cabin for some rest!
Flower Power Cruise: Day 6
Early Tuesday morning we were coming in to Costa Maya, Mexico and docked while we were eating breakfast. Breakfast was a little extra special as we ran into our favorite server!
Sami & I with Sergio
Since we had again opted to stay on the ship and enjoy all it had to offer, we went out on the deck to look out at Costa Maya.
After hanging out on the ship the rest of the morning, Sami and I went to play Music Trivia in the Rendezvous Lounge while Robyn went to see if some of the shops onboard were open. The Music Trivia game allowed us to have teams of up to six people, but Sami and I were a team of two. There were thirty-two questions where they played a video clip of 60s entertainers singing a song. We were supposed to identify the PERFORMER. We knew most of the songs, but that didn't mean we knew the artists! My favorite time in the game was when this song came on a video clip:
I looked at Sami, knowing full well she was familiar with the song. She looked at me and said said, "That sounds like that Lollipop Song," just as the word Lollipop came out out of her mouth and we both started laughing. The winning team (of six people) got 31/32 correct! Sami and me? Not so good... we got a whopping 11!
Robyn wasn't away from us for too long; the shops were all closed because we were in port. They're only allowed to be open when the ship is at sea. So, what's next then? How about a CONCERT!!! Time to change into swimsuits and head out to the pool for the Poolside Concert: Sing Along with Hal and Joe
Hal Bruce leading the '60s Sing-along
I took so many pictures, I confused Robyn from time to time.
Other times, maybe we just didn't know all the words...
Earlier in the day, another ship had docked next to us. Someone on our Facebook FlowerPower Cruise chat posted this picture, comparing the size of our ship (on the left) to the new ship!
While we were sitting on the Pool Deck we noticed the big ship was getting a bath!
I don't think you could pay me enough to do THAT job!!! It reminded me of that Twilight Zone episode where William Shatner was looking out the window of a plane and saw a creature on the wing! That show gave me nightmares for days!
The theme and costume for the evening was "Return to Woodstock" and I must say that I enjoyed dressing up that night!
I bought Sami this beaded, feathered headband just for this night, cuz she's always had hippie-perfect long, straight hair. Who knew she'd cut it right before the cruise?!?!
Even though his band's music preceded Woodstock, we were still excited to be seeing Micky Dolenz, the Voice of the Monkees in concert that night. We were fourth in line to make sure we got our favorite seats in the theater.
Lanie would have loved to see this Mike lookalike!
All excited for some Monkee Music!
Peter Asher introduced Micky (and the Monkees) as the "resistance" to the British Invasion...
As the last remaining band member, Micky has turned his shows into an opportunity to salute all of the people who created the music that made the Monkees famous; artists like Carole King, Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart and many others, but he also includes songs written by the guys themselves, especially Mike Nesmith.
Band member Peter Tork wasn't best known for writing music, but he did write the song that became the closing theme song for the show for their second season, "For Pete's Sake.
Poor Micky was having a bit of a hard time on stage from time to time. The ship was traveling through some rough waters, posing some difficulties while walking on the ship, let alone trying to walk across a stage with all kinds of technical equipment to navigate, but that didn't stop Micky! The show must go on and the tribute to the artists who wrote their music played on. Neil Diamond is a guy you might have heard of who wrote several of he Monkees hits:
"Last Train to Clarksville," their first hit, was penned by a team who wrote many of The Monkees hits. Boyce & Hart also performed with Davy & Micky for awhile.
"Micky always draws his shows to a close with probably their biggest hit, another one by Neil Diamond; a song that taught us all to be believers!
Sami was pretty much done for the day and headed back to our cabin after dinner. She claimed she couldn't keep up with us "old people!" Of course, with only one more day to party, Robyn and I decided we'd head up to the "Return to Woodstock Party" to hear "Strange Days" and their tribute to the music of The Doors.
The strong winds on the Pool Deck and the rocking of the boat had us reconsidering pretty quickly though, and we decided to head back to our cabin as well. We took the elevator down to the 9th floor and when the door opened, we found ourselves face to face with ANOTHER COWSILL! As per my norm...
Me: Are you a Cowsill?
Him: I am
Me: Are you Paul?
Him: I am
Me: Is there any way we could bother you for an autograph?
Him: You can...
And, once again, I'm pulling out the posters, telling the story of my friend who couldn't come on the cruise while he was signing our posters. I don't recall exactly how our conversation transitioned, but we got on the subject of the brothers, Barry and Bill who they've lost. Having never heard the story, I boldly asked what had happened to Barry and said that he had always been my favorite, because he was my age (I didn't add that I thought he was the cutest of them all... I thought that might be a little rude). Right there in the hallway, outside the elevator he related how Barry had been in rehab in New Orleans and was waiting for the family to come get him when Katrina hit! They couldn't call in to NOLA to tell Barry what was happening and they weren't getting his calls asking where they were and he got caught in the storm. Paul said that their dad had made sure they were all strong swimmers and that they never should have lost Barry that way. He said the family had had to provide DNA to confirm his identity. (Broke my heart!)
Once again, I found myself thanking a Cowsill brother for taking the time to talk with us and, once again, was the recipient of his thanks, but then he told us that he did have to go find Susan; that's where he was headed when he was going to get on the elevator. I decided it probably wasn't the right time to ask for a picture, so we said goodnight and watched him dash down the stairs in search of his baby sister while Robyn and I attempted to walk down the long hall to our cabin.
I say "attempted" because as I mentioned when I was writing about Micky, the ship was REALLY rocking and it was very difficult to walk. As per the norm, Robyn was speeding ahead of me on her little legs and while I was laughing at myself for bumping into the walls, it was even funnier to watch her bumping into them ahead of me! I took the time to shoot a video, but apparently I deleted it and don't have it to share here!
Since it was "early" when we got back to the cabin (barely 11:30) and Sami was still awake, I decided to see what was on the television. Lo and behold they had some '60s movies, including "Hair!" I'd never seen it, so thought we should watch it... we only made it through about a half hour; maybe another time...
Flower Power Cruise: Day 7
Our last day of the cruise was another very full day at sea! Breakfast wasn't as pleasant as usual. We found ourselves seated next to a couple who were examples of the type of people I mentioned on "Day 1;" the type of people who seem to have declared themselves critics of the aging entertainers and the changes in their voices. I couldn't wait to get away from them!
Sami & Robyn on the pool deck
Their attitudes were easily forgotten as we waited for the 10:00 am Question & Answer Session called A Family Affair with The Cowsills, Micky Dolenz (and his sister, Coco), Jerry Martini & Frank Klepacki of The Family Stone (Jerry was an original band member; Frank stepped in for Phune Stone, the daughter of Sly & Cynthia Robinson, who wasn't feeling well.)
Waiting for the Q&A in the Sky Lounge
Micky started out talking about the beginning of his career.
The Cowsill siblings told us about how the band evolved.
And then all three groups explained their thoughts about performing on the Flower Power Cruise.
I came across John Klepacki in the Oceanview Cafe. I didn't have the posters with me to get an autograph, but I did have my phone!
John Klepacki and me
When I started fumbling with my phone to take our selfie, he asked if I'd like him to do it... Such a nice guy!
From the Q&A, it was back to the Pool Deck for our final Poolside Concerts with the Papas and Mamas
Papas & Mamas: Monday, Monday
Sami and I might have had a little trouble singing along with this Mamas & Papas classic:
But, "for what it's worth," we at least did better on the chorus with this Buffalo Springfield hit...
and then we had one more poolside concert with my new favorite family, The Cowsills! Bob is my new friend, after all...
Sadly, by that time, we needed to be starting to pack up our cabin so we could put our luggage out in the hall right after dinner so they could pick it up for us to disembark as soon as we docked the next morning. So sad! It was a LOT more fun to unpack as we anticipated the week ahead of us, but now, we were packing up a lot of GREAT MEMORIES to last a lifetime! Despite the chaos, Robyn did manage to steal a few quiet moments out on our balcony one more time to elevate her swollen feet and little sausage toes.
There was an All Access Pass Live Interview with Micky Dolenz that afternoon at 5:00, but the doors would be opening for our evening concert at 6:00, so Robyn offered to sacrifice the Micky interview to ensure we would have good seats for the concert. As Sami and I were sitting in the Sky Lounge, waiting for the interview to begin, we got a text from Robyn telling us that she had just ridden in the elevator with MICKY! Say WHAT?!?!?
After the interview was over, Sami and I hustled down to the theater entrance to find Robyn and get the details of this elevator ride! Turns out, she was on the elevator alone on her way to the 4th floor, when the doors opened and in walked Micky. The doors closed, they were alone and she was kind of in shock! Finally she found her voice to tell Micky that she really enjoys his music and liked the show the night before. And he said... NOTHING! She was getting a bit peeved; thinking "What a jerk! He's not even going to respond," when suddenly he said, "I'm sorry. Did you say something?" Whether he couldn't hear or was just preoccupied, she cut him some slack and repeated herself. He thanked her and then the elevator doors opened... I asked if she had gotten his autograph. She said she hadn't because I had the posters. I asked her if she got a picture with him and she said no because there wasn't any time and she was in shock... so, zero evidence! Did it really happen? Or was she just trying to top my encounter with Bob?!?!
Excited for our FINAL concert of the week!
Our Mainstage Show that evening was The Zombies. I had talked to a woman by the pool that afternoon who told me that we were in for a major treat. She had seen the Zombies the night before and claimed that it was by far the best concert of the week and that the lead singer's voice was still phenomenal.
Before the final concert began, Jason, our cruise director had a few final words for everyone; the main one... Mutiny!
Maybe the lady by the pool had built up my expectations too much about the Zombies. I enjoyed the concert and the songs I knew, but still preferred Herman's Hermits, Micky Dolenz, the Cowsills and others better than I enjoyed them. Still, now I can say I SAW THEM!
The Zombies: "Tell Her No"
After telling her "no," we heard that "It's the time of the Season" for loving...
I didn't shoot a video of my favorite of their songs for the evening, even though they did play it, so I pulled it off of YouTube:
Many people began leaving The Zombies concert early. It seemed rather rude to me, and like I said it wasn't my favorite concert of the week, but I'm going to give the deserters the benefit of the doubt and assume they were all leaving to go back to their cabins to pack for the next day's disembarkation.
After we left the concert, we went for our final dinner with Sergio and our table companions, Jeanne & Arne. We had gotten to know them all pretty well and were sad to say goodbye, but it was a phenomenal dinner with all the extras; THREE shrimp cocktails that night!!!
With no late concert poolside, it was back to our cabin after dinner to pull together our final things so that we were ready to leave first thing in the morning.
Flower Power Cruise: Day 8- Disembarkation!
Another benefit to our Concierge Cabin is that we were allowed to wait in the lounge with coffee, juice and pastries while we waited for our group to be called for disembarking. Good thing, cuz my travel companions were WORN OUT!
Little did we know at the time though, that they weren't just tired; we were all taking home an extra souvenir that none of us wanted. All three of us, along with a lot of other people on the cruise, went home with Covid. In spite of the fact that we all had to be tested prior to the cruise, somehow, it found its way onto the ship and came home with us. Fortunately, my symptoms were mild and didn't manifest until after I was back home, so I was able to get treatment right away.
Bill had once again arranged for a driver to pick us up and take us back to his place. We visited for a short while and they took Robyn and I to the airport. Sami had a later flight, so she got to stay with Bill and Randi a little longer before they took her to the airport.
Robyn and I didn't get back into Indianapolis until late Thursday evening and still had to drive an hour and a half to her house in Illinois, so I spent another night in her guest room.
Then, one more breakfast together before jumping in my Jeep and heading back to the reality of home... for a few days...
All-in-all, it was a wonderful week. I'd been on three other cruises before this one, but never had the kind of experiences we had on the Flower Power Cruise. Yeah, it's a little pricier than other cruises but where else do you have the opportunity to see six concerts in one day, meet teen idols and heart-throbs from your youth, get pictures & autographs, dress in comfy clothes or swimming suits all day and cruise the Caribbean; all while knowing you can talk to everybody and there's always someone who can answer any question you might have?!?!?!
In closing, just one more video; the song that always brings to mind hippies, flower power, peace and love: Aquarius. Until next year, peace out!
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