#434 The Joy of Packing

Our packing for the spring voyage is based on cool temperatures on the ship, warm temperatures in port, and shoes for every occasion!

Destination	Arrival	AvgHigh
Nassau, Bahamas	12-Jan	71
Roseau, Dominica	16-Jan	84
Manaus, Brazil	23-Jan	86
Takoradi, Ghana	6-Feb	88
Cape Town, South Africa	17-Feb	80
Port Louis, Mauritius	27-Feb	84
Chennai, India	6-Mar	89
Singapore	16-Mar	88
Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam	19-Mar	93
Hong Kong / Shanghai, China	26-Mar	77
Kobe / Yokohama, Japan	4-Apr	64
Hilo, Hawaii, USA	17-Apr	79
San Diego, California, USA	24-Apr	68

Yours in making it all fit,
Mary

#433 Mappy Voyage!

We're off on a thrilling adventure - sailing with Semester at Sea on the Spring 2011 voyage.

At last count, we'll be sailing with 605 undergraduate students representing 250 schools, 77 faculty and staff, and 54 lifelong learners.

With so many new ports of call, we don't know which we're most excited to visit.  Some early predictions include our 1,000-mile trek up the Amazon River to Manaus, Brazil and our safari near Port Elizabeth, South Africa.   

Yours in circumnavigation,
Mary

#432 Christmas is all around

From Strasbourg, France (the capitale de Noel)...

to Washington, DC...

we've found that, in the immortal words of Billy Mack, "Christmas is all around."

Yours in believing in the magic of Christmas,
Mary

#431 White Christmas

What's better?  The movie White Christmas or the musical White Christmas or an actual white Christmas?

This year, we were lucky enough to experience all three.

The 1954 movie White Christmas has long been my favorite Christmas movie.   I watched it again this year to make sure Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye could pull off the Christmas miracle and save General Waverly's inn in Vermont from bankruptcy.  And yes, with lots of musical numbers and romantic hijinks, they are able to do just that.

The musical White Christmas is new to our Christmas traditions.  Though it premiered in 2004, we just got around to seeing it this year at the Empire Theatre in Richmond.  Though the story lines differ a little, the live production featured vocal powerhouses in the leading roles, fun song-and-dance numbers, and snow showers over the audience at the conclusion.  Our expectations were high and we were not disappointed.

But driving home through the snow-covered Charlottesville streets on Christmas night after a fun afternoon and evening with friends wins the White Christmas contest in 2010.

Yours in White Christmas heaven,
Mary