#226....so let's see..

Where to begin, where to begin...

You know, time is a funny thing...it keeps marching on, with or without your approval - and that, my friends, can be so damned irritating...

It's so hard to believe that this time last week, I was sailing on a Hobi Cat with a wonderful french specimen of a man over crystal clear blue waters in French St. Martin...but alas, I get ahead of myself here...

It's best always to start at the beginning...so pull up a chair kind friends, and lend me an ear, for I am about to tell you a tale of beauty and adventure.

Once upon a time there was a family of ten -  two sisters, two husbands, and six children of various ages who set out upon a short sail to the Caribbean islands via a very new and beautiful ship called the Serenade of the Seas....

The family was in great need of rejuvenation and sunlight, as anyone living on the east coast in the middle of winter can well understand.  Months of shortened daylight and sleet and freezing rain and hours behind a snow shovel can make even the most well adjusted persons cranky and slightly comatose while walking around sporting epidermis of unnatural paleness. 

The Queen and her husband, noting the severity of the winter induced doldrums made plans to save the family straight away.  The Queen's sister was summoned promptly as to also be included in the plans.  Almost immediately, the sisters went to work, studying the Caribbean itineraries. Schedules were rearranged, shopping commenced and bank accounts were drained. 

 And before long, the time of the official departure had arrived...