Through my eyes

living my life without regrets

Sunday, July 01, 2018

2018 - 1. S. America Cruise, Start



We had a cold winter here in Canada; temperatures so cold that going south was the only option to get away from it all. Our friend Ross found a 60-day cruise trip around S. America at a very good price at Travel Zoo and we asked them if we could book this trip, too. We did not want to be in their way, we did not want to be pushing ourselves into their schedule but the deal was great. While they are good friends, I believe there should always be a policy of ‘they do their thing, we do ours’. 
The Island Princess
The trip worked out just fine. We were booked 2 doors away from their cabin and we hardly saw each other. It was perfect for my anti-social tendencies. The Island Princess Ship had about 2400 passengers with a crew of 900. It was a large ship.

But I am jumping the gun. While our friends drove down to their place in West Palm Beach, FL to get away from our bone chilling cold, and they left a few weeks early to celebrate Xmas there, we decided to drive down right at the beginning of 2018, rather than fly. Christmas, New Years and the weeks following are kind of active days and weeks. It seems everybody is in a cheery mood and we had plans that could not really be altered.  Flying to Fort Lauderdale, FL would be faster, but it would limit us severely with our choice of luggage and since we are retired and can afford it, we took the time to just leisurely drive south. 

Our original plan was to leave on New Year’s Day in 2018 but stuff just kept piling up. Organizing to be away for a few months takes time. On top of that I developed an abscessed tooth.  It had to be pulled. In addition, my old 2007 BMW GSA had seen the best of its life and my mechanic told me to get a new bike and there were incentives to buying a bike at the end of the year. We had club meetings, I needed some cruise wear, etc.  All those items delayed us from leaving on time. Packing for this long trip, going from winter to summer is not as easy as just going for a few weeks on vacation. Just imagine you are packing for summer, fall and deep winter. What you will wear in Rio will not be appropriate in Toronto in deep winter and vice versa. 
My New Bike

My new bike had to be an U.S. approved bike. I had to go to the U.S. to buy it.  I cannot buy a Canadian bike since officially I am an U.S. Citizen and the bike is registered in Massachusetts. What made matters worse was the fact that the 2 closest BMW dealers near or around Buffalo, NY, just closed their doors. The bureaucracy and the legalities of the world have always been a thorn in my side. I despise laws that do not make sense to my way of living or my way of thinking. You want an example?  Why do I have to buy a bike in the U.S.? Oh, I know, different rules, different stipulations for manufacturing the bike, but why? Why can it not be a ‘world’ bike? All these petty thinkers requiring the technical details to conform to each Country separately are driving me nuts. Not only that, even each different state within the U.S. have their own criteria; California being the worst State in the Union for being ‘progressive’. The registration process is different for each state, some charge for yearly inspections, and some wave inspections all together. The world is ruled by petty bureaucrats who need to justify their existence with rules.  

But let me get back to our S. America Trip.

It became clear on Jan. 1 that we needed more time to prepare. We needed to prepay some bills, move medical appointments to after our return, pay travel insurance; I needed a new suit for formal nights, etc, etc. 

Buying a suit for example, is not just walking into a store and picking up a suit. I am not built that way. I need alterations. It takes 2 weeks to buy a suit, because the tailor is busy, the sleeves need to be lengthened or what not.  At this time of year there are great bargains to be had. The sports jacket I bought, originally $679 was on sale for $99. Add those bargains up and a smile creeps over my face.

By Sat., January 13 though, we were ready to go. The weather was terrible. Freezing rain made even the highway a slick, icy way out of town. We had our last Ontario Motorcycle Club meeting on the 13th and we picked up a friend to take with us to Ajax, to the winter dinner and meeting. 

Leaving Day - EARLY
The next morning, Sun. the 14th of Jan. we officially started our drive south to Florida, where our cruise would start soon thereafter. 

But on the way, on Jan. 14, we had breakfast in Welland, ON with the Niagara Club. It is customary to bring a 'gift' for the raffle, if you have something to give away. For this special day we brought 'onions' that we could not keep in the refrigerator while we were away. Most people just grinned when they saw those onions, except Jim Fritz, who smiled and said: “Great idea, I could use those.” But of course it was a raffle and he had to win them. But wouldn’t you know, he drew a ticket that gave him the chance to pick up those ‘onions’. Proudly he came with them in his arms and told Carol….: “I will think of you when I eat these “. To which Carol answered: “Yes, with tears in your eyes too, right?” We always have a good time at the breakfast meetings, once a month, with the Niagara Club. 

After this breakfast we drove pointing Carol’s Lexus southward. The border crossing was uneventful. We chose local roads, trying to avoid the highways but after our GPS took us 45 to 60 minutes out of the way, we decided it was enough time lost; we went back on track, adjusting the GPS, and stopped for the night in a Quality Inn in New Columbia, PA. This first day we drove 645 km. 

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