#734 Getting there

Getting there is half the fun!

When you travel from North America to another continent, you have two options for travel: flying on an airplane or sailing on a ship. 

We choose sailing for lots of reasons.

1) Since we don't leave the surface of the Earth when sailing, we have the opportunity to understand better where we are by slowly approaching a new destination at 20 mph rather than zooming overhead at 500 mph and dropping in from the heavens.

2) The ocean is beautiful. The sun on the ocean is beautiful. The moon on the ocean is beautiful.  

3) The ship has a library! And the Queen Mary 2 library, the largest at sea, has just the right books to get our attention: Dear Mrs. Bird and Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for me and The Art of Cartographics for Kelly.  The librarians even check them out for reading on the deck.

4) And then, there's the people factor.  Those who make the deliberate choice to travel at 20 mph are not in a hurry.  They like to promenade around the deck, read in the deck chair, take time for a conversation.  These are my people.  On our recent Atlantic crossing, we were overjoyed to be joined by two lifetime friends. And when those friends introduce us to their two friends, we form immediate connections and the crossing (and life) become even sweeter.      

Yours in sticking to the surface of the planet whenever possible,
Mary Jo

P.S. I haven't even mentioned the dancers.