on cruise

ten years ago, i went on a cruise for the first time. i am not one for cruising but our aunt paid for the trip and i had to cough up the plane fare to go to miami, florida.

i used a fuji instamatic camera for this photo. my sister took the shot under very specific directions from the star (moi!) to include the awesome mural behind me as well as the two planters. one shot of a 24-frame roll, would you believe, was all i got. the rest, their photos.

so you see ten years ago, i still have my neck. now my neck is awol. i could still sit and cross my legs which still had shape but it was all downhill from there! the one thing constant? i have always loved big sunglasses!

i will never forget that cruise. all i did from the time we were on board: drink, run, supper, run, drink. day two, run, breakfast (lots of bacon!), double round of running, gym, shop, run, drink, swim, run, lunch, run, gym, prep for formal night, dinner, run. day three, more of the same except there was no formal night until day 6, so there were inland excursions but running was constant. why? 90 percent of the people on board were huge! probably from eating too much! i am a glutton, but for the love of heavens, i cannot eat that much and just laze around. and they were always in the swimming pool, just sitting around, immersed in the water, never swimming. on the sixth day, i figured it out: the shower rooms in the cabins were so narrow, if you drop the soap you could not bend down to get it. and i wasn't huge then (yet). that was why i only swam in the pools on the first day. when i got back home to my apartment, as soon as i put my suitcase down, i went for a long run!

for the five plus two theme "10 years after".

[Simply Amanda]

Love the common theme of running. We go on our first cruise ever this summer. Without the kids, too. I am pretty freakin' excited. Love your throwback shot and story!

[Nancy]

and a nice clean shower I bet...that is a great story and star "moi" is very lovely and I know still is! Are you paying for the running? I am...this is a super story and shot!

[Bill Fenske]

Wow, that's a lot of running. I tried jogging when I was in my twenty's and my knees couldn't take it. You look marvelous!

[Anita Russell]

Exotic

[Rita]

Great shot and great running commentary ;o)

[Sally Ings]

Very elegant! I would probably run on a cruise just to get away from everyone! Loved reading your narrative

[katy]

You look so elegant here! A true beauty!

[kali]

I dont think I could handle a cruise, I wouldnt be able to stop gawping at and judging all the people, my parents went on one last year and came back sick as dogs...

[summerfield]

@nanderson - a year later i was having backache and i was told by a nurse-trainer that running at my age after 50 puts a lot of pressure on the hip bones, so i had to switch to brisk walking which they say is far healthier and more effective. thank yiu, nance.

[summerfield]

@nanderson - might add, i was a regular runner since i was in my early 20s though.

[summerfield]

@kali66 - why was the theme called '10 years after' when it should've been '10 years before'? :-D

[Anne ❀]

nice one for the memory book. barry and I like cruises and we both lost 5 lbs on the last one. can't say i run onboard but we avoid elevators for the most part. and sure keep busy ashore.

[Francoise]

what a glamour girl. Walking is definitely better at all ages, I think.

[kali]

@summerfield hahaha it sounded cooler.... there was a band called that

[Ann H. LeFevre]

Now don't you look just like a tourist!! Wow- 10 years ago we moved into this house and I could climb a ladder and hoist my self into the attic! Now I can barely hoist myself up a flight of stairs. I hate arthritis!