Worlds Colliding: Vacation, Real Life and Maps

It’s been a few crazy weeks!  After enjoying time with mom and the California spring, I had a few weeks in Maryland, which this time of year is all about “gettin’er done!”

• Taxes - check!

• Annual medical exams - check!

• Colonoscopy - check!

• Birthday - check!

• Estate planning documents updated - check! ( this isn’t an annual task - just something I had been putting off).

For the last few years I have consolidated all my annual exams within a two week time frame, usually around my birthday, because, hey, that’s an easy reminder.  I do love being able to knock it out all at once. But due to some minor health things to keep an eye on the last couple of years, it has grown a bit more stressful and it is easy to go down a catastrophe rabbit hole of worry. 

At the end of the day, happy to report a clean bill of health.  And, yes, all the things that you hear are good for you - lose weight, eat more fibre, incorporate cardio and strength training, sleep well, floss your teeth, etc. - the things that sometimes seem really hard to believe they are doing good - they DO do good.  

And so when you are working at incorporating these into your normal, day-to-day, life, when you are on vacation, what do you give yourself permission to skip?

We were out for breakfast one day and I was deciding between something that I considered a healthier option ( avocado toast) and something I don’t get to have very often (biscuits and gravy).  The question was asked - “well, do you consider yourself on vacation or real life?”  The implication being that vacation gives you the green light for the more decadent choice.

The challenge of living on a cruise ship is that vacation and real life are colliding and coinciding on a daily basis. For most part, I do try to take the “real life” approach as the vacation one would not be sustainable full time.

And, of course, compromising is a great option.  That day I opted for the biscuits and gravy.  BUT I asked for the eggs poached instead of fried, had a side salad instead of potatoes, and only ate half, saving the rest for another day.  

---

While I am grateful for the opportunity to work remotely, I always enjoy time on campus. It’s great to connect with colleagues face-to-face, and it is a powerful reminder of the importance of higher education.

A week ago Friday, it was time to fly to Ft Lauderdale to join the ship for its transatlantic crossing. UMBC’s mascot Chip was decked out for Easter.  We had a moment. 

When I got to BWI,  my mind was already forward thinking to the voyage, but I was tickled to see the arrival/departure monitors decked out for UMBC.  My worlds colliding again.

Seven sea days later, today we arrived at Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel of Portugal’s Azores.  I was able to escort a lovely tour of the island; unfortunately the weather did not cooperate for a shot of the island’s most photographed spot - the blue and green lakes at Sete Cidades.  (Lucky for me, I have been able to see it before.) It is still a beautiful island, and a treat of wine and local cheeses was a nice way to end the tour.  Apparently, as I learned today, the dairy cows on São Miguel are of Dutch origin.  Today also happens to be Koningsdag (“King’s day”) in the Netherlands…

Wellness Round Up

Sleep - has been mixed.  With the stress of the appointments and now all  hour forwards as the ship heads Europe, the sleep rhythms are off.

Stress - Getting better. :-)

Hydration -continues to be mixed. Still incorporating the apple cider vinegar.  

Movement - I am going to claim vacation mode….the weather has not helped.  We have all new equipment in the ship’s passenger gym, so the excuses stop here.

Nutrition - Mixed as well, but overall good.  

Almost forgot - maps and worlds colliding…

I've always loved maps. As Travel Guide, I had my favorite ones laminated as I referred to them so often. I have some cool old paper maps from when mom and dad went to Italy in the 80's. And even though I use the map on my phone a lot these days (and re-upped my data e-sim today so I can use my phone for this globally) , sometimes nothing beats a good paper map.

I just finished reading “The Cartographers” by Peng Shepherd.  It raises some interesting ideas - what are the purposes of maps?  And it explores the concept of phantom settlements - places that appear on maps but do not actually exist - often placed so as to reduce plagiarism. What happens if those phantom settlements are real, existing in a parallel life, only accessible to the holder of the map? And what happens when those worlds collide?

As said in the book: I hope the maps are good where you are.

That’s it for now. Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit!