Meeting Patricia Schultz

March 7, 2020

I guess we lucked out.  Just days before the whole world came to a screeching halt and everything under the sun got canceled..... we headed to the Travel Adventure Show in DC because I heard that Patricia Schultz was going to be there.  And after basing this entire blog off of the book that she wrote, I headed down to DC hoping to meet my literary travel mentor!

My kids became animals in South Africa.

And got henna in India.

And polka danced in Poland.

But most importantly...... I met Patricia Schultz!

She graciously talked to me and signed my book.

And my daughter Riley wanted in on the action too.

Riley got her to sign the "new" edition.

As I mourn all my canceled trips (I should be in LA right now as I type this seeing Dolly Parton and lots of other LA sights and sounds...... I should be in NYC next weekend..... for now everything canceled.  Everything permanently "on hold")..... I'm reflecting back on last weekend and glad that at least that was able to take place by the skin of it's teeth and so grateful to have had the opportunity to already have had so many travel experiences.  I hope and pray this passes quickly and life can return to normal and that many travel experiences are yet to come.

But as long as the whole world is closed..... I'm spending a little more time on IG and this brought a smile to my face..... Patricia Schultz  responded to my (kls118) comment on her page....

And commented on mine!

And what sage advice during these uncertain times..... Carry on!

Cruising

We just got home from a week long cruise on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas.

We did sushi making classes

And saw beautiful ocean-side sunsets

And visited a private island.

And saw beautiful beaches!

And after being on vacation, I got exactly ZERO "checkmarks" (a new state, country, continent or something in the 1000 places book).  I thought for sure I'd get Compass Point in Nassau since Nassau was one of our stops, but alas, we never made it there.

If I'm honest, it kind of kills me to travel anywhere and not get a checkmark.  It especially pains me to vacation for an entire week and not get a checkmark.  So, I thought it would be fun to muse on my past cruising life.  I've cruised several times and decided to sit down and reminisce and list the cruises I've been on.... what boat, where, when, etc.  I found I couldn't remember all the details which made me even more want to record what I do remember.

I realized I've been on a total of 12 cruises and have done 6 cruise lines.  I've repeated some destinations (like the Caribbean), but every time I've cruised, I've had at least one port of call that I've never been to.

1.  1998:  Royal Caribbean.  Baja (I went with two college girlfriends, Marcie and Stephanie Disbrow as a graduation present to ourselves.  It was dirt cheap and we had a blast!)

2. 2000: Celebrity.  Alaska.  I went with my former college roommate, Stephanie Porter.  We were the only people under the age of 60 on the boat.  We were in our early 20's at the time.  We asked where all the young people were and the response:  "In the caribbean!"  But we made friends with he staff and loved the scenery and had so much fun!  Stephanie and I are still close friends to this day.

3.  2001 or 2002 (I can't remember?):  Norwegian.  Caribbean. I went with my Las Vegas roommates, Beverly and Shelley.

4.  2003:  Princess. Mexican Riviera. I went with my friend Emily.  It was shortly after I moved to Southern California from Las Vegas.  We went swimming with dolphins (which was awesome!) and I bought a Lladro on board.

5.  2003 or 2004 (not sure which?):  Carnival. Caribbean. Emily came on this one as well along with her friend Heather and my Huntington Beach friend and roommate, Lisa Mueller.

6. 2006:  Norwegian (Pride of America). Hawaii. My first cruise with Dave!  My sister Lindsay and her husband Kevin came as well.  It was a great itinerary going to all the major islands and we all loved it.

7.  2007: Royal Caribbean. Bermuda.  Lacey's first cruise! I went with Dave, Lacey and Dave's parents.

8.  2009: Royal Caribbean. Caribbean. I went with my friend Mindy Lee for one of our "Womancations."

9. 2012:  Disney (Dream). Caribbean.  Entire Strom family (17 of us including Ella in my 7 month pregnant belly!)

10. 2017: Royal Caribbean (Jewel of the Seas). Southern Caribbean (R/T from Puerto Rico).  Dave and I went with my cousin Seth and his wife Cari.  It was Seth and Cari's first cruise and the LOVED it.  We all loved it!  We all agreed that this particular cruise, itinerary, company, etc was one of our all time favorite trips!

11. 2018: Disney (Magic). NYC to Puerto Rico (Transition cruise).  Dave and I brought all four kids and both sets of our parents came along as well, so there were 10 of us in total.  The BEST entertainment of any cruise we've ever been on, hands down.

12. 2019-2020 (a New Years cruise so it covered both years! ;)): Royal Caribbean (Grandeur of the Seas). Caribbean (R/T from Baltimore).  We went with the entire Strom clan of 17 again, but this time it was 7 years later and Ella was outside my tummy this time and could look around a bit more :)

EDIT:  13. I'm adding to this post because I just got home from my 13th cruise!  Dec. 26, 2021 - Jan 2, 2022. Royal Caribbean (Explorer of the Seas) Caribbean (R/T from Puerto Rico visiting the ABC islands of Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba as well as St. Maarten). We went with the entire Strom clan of 15 people (since last cruise Heidi and Jack have divorced, so Jack and his son Tyler didn't come).  

Edit:

14.) Jan. 25 - July 2, 2023  Royal Caribbean (Brilliance of the Seas).  Alaskan cruise R/T from Vancouver with stops in Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan.  It also took us through the Tracy Arm Fjord and to see Sawyer Glacier and Hubbard Glacier. Went with 38 people from my side of the family.  In addition to the six of us, my parents were there, my mom's sister Joellen and her husband Gil, my dad's brother Jim and his two adult sons Jackson and Tom, my sister Lindsay and her husband Kevin and their two adult kids, my sister Maret and her husband Peter and their three boys, my brother Ryan and his wife Carrie and their three kids, my brother Ricky and his wife Heather and their three kids and my cousin Seth, his wife Cari and their four kids.  What a blast!

EDIT:

15.)  Nov. 24 - Dec. 1, 2024 Holland America (Nieuw Amsterdam).  Caribbean cruise R/T from Ft. Lauderdale with stops in Bahamas (private island Half Moon Cay (Little San Salvadore), Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos), Dominican Republic (Amber Cove) and Key West, Florida.  The six of us went with Dave's side of the family (his parents, brother and his family and Heidi and her girls) so there were 15 of us in all.  This was our first time on HA.  Our verdict was that the food was great but that the entertainment was just so-so.  But cruising with family and friends is always a good time!

EDIT:

16.) July 5-12, 2025 Holland America (Rotterdam).  Norwegian Fjords cruise R/T from Rotterdam, Netherlands with stops in Eidenfjord, Alesund, Nordfjordeid, Bergen.  Dave and I went with Lindsay and Kevin to celebrate our 20th anniversary (and their 30th).  And I'd say our verdict was the same as above.  Although the comedian was much better this time around!

Currently (as of July 2023)

Royal Caribbean has 28 ships

• Adventure of the Seas
• Allure of the Seas
• Anthem of the Seas
• Brilliance of the Seas 
• Enchantment of the Seas
• Explorer of the Seas
• Freedom of the Seas
• Grandeur of the Seas
• Harmony of the Seas
• Icon of the Seas
• Independence of the Seas
• Jewel of the Seas
• Liberty of the Seas
• Mariner of the Seas
• Navigator of the Seas
• Oasis of the Seas
• Odyssey of the Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Quantum of the Seas
• Radiance of the Seas
• Rhapsody of the Seas
• Serenade of the Seas
• Spectrum of the Seas
• Symphony of the Seas
• Utopia of the Seas
• Vision of the Seas
• Voyager of the Seas
• Wonder of the Seas

As of 12/6/24:

Holland America (11 ships)

• Eurodam
• Koningsdam
• Niew Amsterdam (2024 - Caribbean)
• Nieuw Statendam
• Noordam
• Oosterdam
• Rotterdam (2025 - Norwegian Fjords)
• Volendam
• Westerdam
• Zaandam
• Zuiderdam

Disney has 4

• Disney Dream (2012 Caribbean)
• Disney Wonder
• Disney Magic (2018 NYC to Puerto Rico)
• Disney Wish

Princess has 18

Carnival has 27 (this is the most of any cruise line in the world)

Norwegian has 21 (as of July 2025)

• Norwegian Aqua
• Norwegian Bliss
• Norwegian Breakaway
• Norwegian Dawn
• Norwegian Encore
• Norwegian Epic
• Norwegian Escape
• Norwegian Gem
• Norwegian Getaway
• Norwegian Jade
• Norwegian Jewel
• Norwegian Joy
• Norwegian Luna
• Norwegian Pearl
• Norwegian Prima
• Norwegian Sky
• Norwegian Spirit
• Norwegian Star
• Norwegian Sun
• Norwegian Viva
• Pride of America (2006 Hawaii)

Celebrity has 14

#277: Hydra (pg 179; Listed in 2nd Ed as Hydra and Spetses, pg 158)

We had read about this car-less gem of an island where the only mode of transportation is by mule which carries your wares from Place A to Place B and decided to check it out!

I loved seeing all the locals running their errands with the family donkey in tow carrying their groceries and such.

We wandered the streets and made friends with the local stray cats.

And admired all the boats in dock.

And then came across this gem of a swimming spot!

Score!

My cousin Seth, my husband Dave and me!

And yes, in case you're wondering, the water really was that clear and blue-green and gorgeous! And it was the warmest water we'd been in (in Santorini and Mykonos combined!)

But alas, we had to get back on the boat and leave this beauty of an island.

So, so sad to leave her!

Our original plan, after reading about Hydra (pronounced EE-dra) was to get an early ferry out there and spend the whole day.  However, when we went to book our ferry tickets the day before, the early ferry (I think it was a 7:30 ferry or thereabouts) was sold out.  The next one wasn't until 10:30 or so, not getting us into Hydra until noonish.  Wanting to maximize our day, we stopped by a travel agent to ask him about ferry options.  He suggested we take this one day cruise that takes us out to Hydra and then to two other islands (Peros and Aegina) as well.  And it left at 8am, getting back at 7:30pm.  We decided to do it because we still got to see Hydra and (bonus!) two other islands as well.  However, the other two islands weren't nearly as awesome as this one and 2 hours (which was all we got on the island) wasn't nearly enough!  You need a bare minimum of 4-6 hours here.  So, in hindsight, we all wished we would have just gotten the 10:00/10:30 ferry and enjoyed 5-6 hours here and just skipped the other two islands.  Which brings me to my....

Verdict:  YES!  We all fell in love with this island.  It's car-less charm, it's crowd-less streets, it's beautiful waters.  This is a place I had never heard of before planning this trip and yet it's a place I'll recommend to every future Greece traveler!

Cost:  Ferries from Athens to Hydra are ~60 Euros R/T.

#276: National Archaeology Museum (pg 176; Listed as "Athens's Museums" in 2nd Ed, pg 157)

Sept. 30, 2019

Varvakeion Athena.  Per the plaque attached, "this statuette is the truest and best preserved copy of the cult statue of the Athena Parthenon by Pheidias, which was erected in the Parthenon in 438 BC."  The original was 12 times this size.  This copy of that 12 foot statue is from the 3rd Century AD.

According to Fodor's Guide, the National Archaeology Museum is "the most important museum in Greece"

Bronze statuette of Poseidon. Found in the sea.

From ~480 BC.

Dionysos

520-510 BC

One of the earliest known Archaic Sphinxes. 570 BC.

This was found on Delos.  We all had fun finding all the artifacts from Delos, since we had just been there a couple days before.  We felt like we could picture where they had been in their original homes, where they were meant to be seen.

It is unclear if this is Zeus or Poseidon because it was found without the thunderbolt or trident, which would have clarified the god.

460 BC

Rick Steves has a podcast audio tour of this museum and that is what we used.

Verdict:  No.  I didn't walk away from this museum thinking I needed to tell all my friends and family this was a "must do" before they die.  It's not something you need to travel to Greece to see (like the Acropolis!)  However, as it says in 1000 Places, this museum "holds more masterpieces of ancient Greek art and sculpture than any other museum in the world."  It's collection of Cycladic, Mnoan, Mycenaean and Classical Greek art is "unrivaled."  So, if you ever find yourself in Athens, go out of your way to make time to see this magnificent museum (cost 10 euros/person).  But otherwise, just enjoy these pictures from the comfort of your own home ;)