My favorite picture

My boss snapped a picture of Marjie and I at our radio station’s cocktail party, where we entertained our 150+ guests from the Wabash Valley. It was one of my favorite times on the ship because it was just us and our listener friends, a nice chance to get to know a few of them a little better. I wish the party had been longer because it was so much fun and spirits were very high!

Dinner with the Captain!

My coworkers and I got a special treat onboard: we were invited to dine with the Captain and a couple of his crew, the Chief Steward (who sent a fruit basket to our room, really making us feel like celebrities) and the Chief Engineer. All of them were foreign and spoke with heavy accents, so the dinner started out just a little bit awkward until I mentioned to Captain La Fauci that my sister Marjie was a sailor too. He started testing her mettle and I must say she passed with flying colors. By the time our dinner was over, the Captain invited our small group to come and visit him on the bridge of the ship, a truly rare experience! I don’t have those pictures but will share this one with Camillo, the Engineer, myself, Marjie and the Captain. You’ll notice he has a pretty tight hold on Marjie. Even he knows now she’s a real keeper.

Back in Cozumel

Here’s Marjie and I on the beach in Cozumel, taking a rare break from being in the beautifully clear, warm water.

On this beautiful day Marjie taught our Beach Guide how to make painkillers, a great rum drink I enjoyed very much.

Marjie paddle-boat raced one of my coworkers, Christopher, and beat him, of course. ;-) Then we dragged out a couple of rafts and spent most of the afternoon lying in the sea on those rafts, talking to each other and contemplating floating out to sea. But we didn't, I kept going back to the beach for another painkiller. It was a spectacular day.

Crand Cayman with Marjie

Every day was spectacular, and Marjie and I were perfect ship companions. I have to give her props: when we boarded the ship she said, “Okay let’s make a deal…no elevators.” I readily agreed, having no idea how many stairs we would be taking in lieu of the elevators. I had blisters on my feet from every pair of shoes I took and I gave her a hard time about it the whole trip. BUT when I got home I hadn’t gained any weight, even though we ate and drank all the time! That sister of mine is a good influence on me, even my boss said that when we got back. He told me he had seen another side of Diane on this trip and I have to agree: a very happy Diane at that.

Grand Cayman with guide Dennis

Grand Cayman was another spectacular day for us. We joined a few of my coworkers here at the radio station on an excursion to a private beach on Seven Mile Island. Our guide Dennis was fantastic, showing us around parts of the island on our way to our beach…so we took a picture with him and the girls, Jana, me and Billie.

Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel turned out to have one of the prettiest beaches I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. We spent a lovely day in the sun there, drinking painkillers. Marjie taught our guide how to make them and he did an excellent job!

This is the part of the ocean we spent the day floating in…isn’t it beautiful?

My Girls Night Out gang

I was thrilled when four of my girls night out gals booked the cruise and NONE of us were disappointed. This is a crazy bunch of women (witness Bonnie’s leg flung over my boss’ leg…even I wouldn’t do that, LOL) and we have agreed that what happens on the cruise stays on the cruise, so this is about all I can show you of this crazy bunch. ;-)

We met lots of great people on the cruise, but really bonded with those who dined with us in the lovely London Dining Room onboard. Dinners were fancy four course meals but it was the conversation with these people that made dinnertime a must-go experience.

In this picture are our friends Stacey and Rick, Ciara and Faith, and Mark and Cindy. I hope this is not the last we see of each other because these are some really great people!

This picture was taken at our cocktail party, not in the formal dining room.

Cruising with Marjie

Marjie and I just got back from the best vacation I have ever had and I just had to share some of it with you. My radio station had me host a cruise to the Western Caribbean on the Carnival Cruise ship Triumph. Our destinations were Ocho Rios Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel Mexico. My dream has always been to see white sand and turquoise water and that’s exactly what I got!

Marjie acted as my personal cruise photographer and did a fantastic job of getting everyone to take their pictures with me. But we also had lots of time off the ship to enjoy our beautiful shore excursions.

Since I can only share one picture at a time I’m starting with Marjie and I on the deck of the Triumph as we were about to set sail from Miami. More to follow.