ONE WEEK!

Wow. It’s time. Well, nearly.

One week from today, Mr. Al and I shall be heading down to San Francisco to hook up with our Princess Cruise Ship. Yup! We are cruising to Hawaii. Fifteen days of cruising. Fifteen days of idleness. Necessary idleness and I feel that I’ve earned it. I’ve published two books. I’m halfway through the third at a pretty good stopping point.

We won’t be idle. Come on! How can you be idle when there are fishies and turtles to snorkel with? When there are whales and dolphins to see? When there are warm (possibly hot and humid) breezes heavy with the scents of the tropics?

And how interesting it will be to sail underneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the vast Pacific. What will it be like to be on a ship without any land in sight for four days? I’m sure it will make me feel very small.

The humpback whales will be just beginning their migration. Will we see groups of them heading to our shared destination?

But that is all a week away.

Today, Veteran’s Day, I’ll start packing. It’s hard to put yourself in the tropics when it’s cold, damp and threatening rain. Why am I packing so early? Because this may be my only chance in a busy week to do so.

And after I pack and make sure we’ve got the animals taken care of and the bills pre-paid and all that stuff, I’ll work some more on my novel…and count the days.