Soller, Spain

For those of you that actually check up on me via my blog, please expect a blog once a week. I will try and have a new post by every Sunday. I am so busy and tired during the week that the last thing I can do is keep up with my blog.

I am having a great time. It is wonderful to feel like I am on vacation every weekend (every weekend I don't have to work). So far, I haven't had to work a Sat, but Mike is working this one.

I went to Soller, Spain today with one of my crew members/roommates. We had planned to take an old train, but as luck would have it they were closed today and tomorrow for maintenance.

We went for a walk and happened upon a bus station and decided to take a bus to Soller. It is a really nice, quaint town.

I appreciated the involvement in the community. It is nice to see people walking around the town, dining together, drinking cafe con leche (coffee with milk), and "lolly gagging" with one another.

The scenery is amazing. I can't even begin to explain and the pictures don't do any justice. It rained today, but we walked in it anyway. I love seeing all of the fruit trees. Even almond and olive trees!

Spain

View from Apartment

Our Apartment

I have finally made it to Spain. Well, I've been here for one week. I'm not sure how to explain the experience so far. I love it!!

My flights over were great. I didn't have anyone sitting next to me on the long flight, so I was able to stretch out. I took a half a sleeping pill, watched a movie, ate the disgusting food, and slept the entire time. I woke up 20 mins before we landed. I then slept in the Zurich airport for 3 hours during my layover. I then slept on the 2 hour flight to Palma. I'd say everything went just great. I even got all 4 of my bags.

Mike picked me up from the airport. It was awesome to see him! He took me to our apartment; which we share with 6 other crew members. It is a 7 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment. We are on the top floor. It is really indicative of Spain. The tile floors and the ceiling to floor windows that open to a community square are great aspects. The only down side is having to walk up 10 flights of stairs to get to it!!!

Everyone that I live and work with are so great. We all get along wonderfully. Mike and I are going to come home with weird accents, because everyone we are around has a different accent. We are working with people from all over the world. In our "flat" (apartment) there is Carl from New Zealand, Collin from the US, Tak and Sushie from Asia, Michel from Australia, and Fred from a small French island. My boss, the Chief Stewardess is Polish. She is great! Her husband is the Chief Engineer and he is Danish. Everyone is so much fun. I really enjoy hearing their stories.

The boat is "in the yard" or "in a yard period", which means it is out of the water getting work done to it. I'm not sure exactly all of the work being done. There is a million dollar (yes million dollar) audio/video upgrade being done. The boat is currently in shambles, as one would expect during a renovation. The boat is huge in my standards. Of course I am so new to this industry, it seems really large to my standards. I have worked on the boat for 4 days and still haven't seen the whole thing. You can literally get lost on it. I has 4 guest cabins all with bathrooms, 1 master cabin with 2 bathrooms (his and hers). The master is huge, very much like my Kiawah houses. There is a main salon with a large aft deck, a sky lounge with a large deck, a pantry, a galley, Captains quarters, and of course the crew quarters. There are 6 crew rooms that sleep 2 each. Ours is a pretty good size...I think it is going to fit all of my stuff and all of my shoes!! Some of the quarters are smaller, so I can't complain about our room. We are also getting a TV in our cabin (So happy Mike is the first mate)!! We have our own bathroom which is a decent size. There is also a crew mess area, where we eat and can watch TV.

I will take pictures of the boat; however there isn't much to see at the moment.

The weather here is great, very mild for winter. It has been extremely windy- hurricane force winds but with no rain.

It is very difficult to go out to eat because we can't read the menus. We went to the grocery store so we can cook our own foods and that was quite an experience!! We can't read anything in there either. Some things are obvious and other things (like sheets and pillow cases) are not.

I hope all is well with everyone. I was sad my first day here because I had such a great visit with my family, friends, and animals. It is difficult to think of the length of time that will probably go by before I see everyone, but the experience is well worth it. Being around the other crew that are world travelers and have experienced so much makes me realize what a small town girl I really am.

I know, I've been lame.

I'm sorry, I just haven't had the time to keep up with this blog since I've been home. I promise to update it more often once things get settled. I have been going non-stop since making my way to SC. I have been enjoying every single minute I have with friends and family. I've also had the opportunity to spend much needed quality time with my dogs, Dexter and Tucker.
I've been traveling between Charleston, Florence, Columbia, and the NC mountains. Mike and I went to Murphy, NC for New Years and spent some time with his Aunt Kathy and Uncle Don. We had a great time, pictures to follow.
I have enjoyed the weather immensely since being home. I wouldn't trade our warm winter days for cold ones. I understand the value of 4 seasons, but would rather have our warm days over cold ones anytime.
I leave for Palma, Spain one week from today!!!! Mike leaves tomorrow ;o( I will miss him until I get there.
I will follow up with this blog once things get settled, so don't forget about us.

More Pictures of Utah

We camped by the Green River the second night.

Mike climbing to view Cable Arch

Me sitting in Cable Arch

Ray is on top, Bubba in the far distance, and Mike on the ground

Utah-The Most Amazing State

Bubba's truck in Moab, UT
Snowbird, Utah

Moab, Utah- View from camp spot.

Full Moon in the Desert. This is a view from our first camping spot.

Moab, Utah

We have slowly made our way to Ohio, but we aren't where we are going yet. It has taken us 3 days to get to the border of Ohio from Colorado. We spent 2 nights in Moab (the desert in Utah) camping, 2 nights in Denver, Colorado, and 3 days traveling to Ohio. We should arrive at our destination in Ohio tomorrow.

Salt Lake City, Utah

2 dorks

This is an old picture of Mike in his crazy days. He is being much more conservative in his snowboarding on this trip.

Bubba, Megan, Me, and Mike

Bubba, Danielle, & Mike

We finally made it to Utah on Saturday around 7:00pm Mountain time. We went skiing/snowboarding yesterday at Brighton. I had a great time! The slopes are so much longer than on the East Coast. I took several runs and then went in, while everyone else continued. I am very much afraid of hurting my knee; which hurts on its own anyway. We are headed to Snowbird today (Mike's favorite place on Earth). I'm not sure if I am going to ski today or not, my knee is acting like it wants to really hurt ;o( I may go up for one run just to see the top.

They are calling for 5-9" of snow today!! I can't wait to see it snow!

My friend, Bubba, met us in Salt Lake City and is hanging out with us for several days. He has been skiing with us and then is going camping in the desert with us as well.

We are having so much fun! I think we may head to Denver after this, after all. We keep changing our minds about Denver, but I'd love to see Colorado, so I think we may head that way.

I'll keep you posted.

Still in Washington

Leaving BC via the Coho ferry a spectacular view of the Olympic Mountain Range (Olympia National Forest, WA)

We thought we would make it all the way to Boise, Idaho...we are still in Washington! It took us all day to get from BC to Seattle. We stopped in Yakima for the night. We decided to drive during the day so we can see the sites. We will have about a 9 hour drive tomorrow; which isn't too bad. At least the scenery will be amazing.