Day 1: Friday, October 28, 2022 Go Go!!

Recently, I was at a community gathering, and I told someone that my husband and I were retired. He asked me if I knew the three stages of retirement. “No”, I said. He proceeded to enlighten me:

Go Go: These are the active retirees that are traveling a lot and are busy doing all the things that they have wanted to do. Think climbing up mountains, riding motorcycles, hiking, packed schedule, adventurous, active travel, etc.

Slow Go: These are the retirees who have done many things that they wanted and now desire a slower pace due to age and health issues … even doctor appointments and procedures get in the way. Think cruises, dietary concerns, operas, Disney with grandkids, etc.

No Go: These are the retirees who can no longer travel with ease. Wheelchairs, canes, oxygen machines make things virtually impossible to travel. Think armchair travelers, TV, memories, scrapbooks, etc.

We are definitely in the Go Go stage but we can see the Slow Go in the distance which makes the time of the Go Go even more important and time critical. Rob once read that all active travel needs to happen before the age of 70. He is trying hard to schedule as much active travel as possible within the next few years. (He will be 69 next month.) We want to Wear Out and not Rust Out.

So here we go go!! We are taking a cruise on the Chesapeake Bay. Our motivation for taking this cruise is to learn about our new home. The cruise might be full of slow goers since a reviewer called it a “floating nursing home”. How can that be??? One of our activities is to scrape The Bay to harvest oysters!!

Here are a few things that we hope to learn more about:

Weather:  The weather patterns are unpredictable. Sometimes the wind comes from the north, (think nor’easter), sometimes the south (think hurricanes), sometimes from the west which is what I am used to seeing in my home state of Kansas!

Birds: The Chesapeake is on the migratory path of many types of birds. The wetlands are critical for their survival. I am concerned about the offshore wind farm that being built locally. I understand that the windmills will stop during migrations. Does that mean that our lights will dim??

We will have a naturalist on board. We have brought binoculars. I try to discern the 40 different types of gulls that I see on my many boardwalk walks. I need professional help.

History: The Bay has a long history from Native Indigenous People to Francis Scott Key penning the lyrics to the National Anthem to the Crab Capitol in the eroding Tangier Island and even Annapolis, home of the famed naval college. An onboard historian will give talks relative to our ports of call.

I get very seasick, but I am hopeful that it won’t affect me. I can’t take Dramamine because I fall sleep when I take it and miss everything AND it dries up my already dry eyes. I plan to try Sea Bands which one wears on the wrists. It is based on acupuncture. I also bought some ginger gum.

Once we arrived in Baltimore, we met up with Rob’s brother, Edward and his partner, Robert, who are attending a comic convention in Baltimore. Robert is an avid comic book collector and wanted to get some autographs. Many people are dressed up so it is like an adult Halloween party.

Edward suggested eating at Liora which is billed as a vegan fine dining restaurant. Is that really possible?? Usually you don’t hear vegan and fine dining in the same sentence?

I would call myself a nutritarian in that I am trying to maximize nutrition. Rob is a opportunarian. He will eat what I make but given the opportunity, he will eat whatever he wants!!