Western Caribbean Carnival Cruise

On June 24, 2018, Jacqui, Jacsun, and I departed Springfield, MO for Houston, TX.  We drove southwest through eastern OK and detoured east of Oklahoma City, stopping to picnic at Chickasaw State Park.  Arrived at Houston at 7:30 and checked into Wyndham Hotel.

June 25: Three of us swam in hotel swimming pool for about 1.5 hours before leaving for Galveston, TX. At 12:30 pm, we arrived at Galveston port and boarded the Carnival ship called Valor. We quickly settled into our state room after which Jacsun and Jacqui swam in various fresh and salt water pools the rest of the evening.

June 26: All day at sea. Jacsun and Jacqui and I swam in various pools and watched the movie Daddy’s Home II. Attended the captain’s dinner in the evening.

June 27: Left the ship and walked a short distance to Cozumel Cruise Excursions to begin our swim at four reefs off the coast of Cozumel. We snorkeled at Planacar Reef, two parts of Columbia Reef, and El Cielo sandbar. We saw a variety of coral fish, a stingray, turtle, starfish, and other sea creatures (this was Jacsun and Jacqui’s favorite day).

June 28: Left the ship and joined our organized tour to Chichen Itza, the famed Mayan city (ca. A.D. 800-1200) on the Yucatan peninsula about 75 miles east of Merida. This, of course, was Jacqui and Jacsun’s first visit to a Mayan site. I last saw Chichen Itza during the summer of 1977, when I was in the Yucatan for a month earning 6 hrs. of credit for an ethnography course at WKU.

Chichen Itza has changed a great deal since 1977 when you just walked onto the site after departing from a bus. A large visitor center has been constructed on site, and there are vendors selling gifts to tourists within the site. Unlike in 1977, people cannot climb the stairs of the various temples. Nevertheless, we had a good time walking around the site, viewing the Temple of Kukulkan (aka El Castillo), the Temple of the Warriors, the Venus Platform, and the Grand Ballcourt.

After leaving Chichen Itza, we drove to a nearby cenote (ponded sinkhole) approximately 80 feet deep were Jacqui and Jacsun swam in the cool fresh water for about 20 minutes. Drove the 1.5 hour trip back to Progresso, Mexico and reboarded the Valor.

June 29: All day at sea. We swam and ate all day. Free food and snacks could be had practically any time of day. We all took advantage of it, especially Jacsun who must have had a total of 25 ice cream cones during the cruise. Not sure about the children, but I gained at least five pounds.

June 30: Arrived at Galveston and departed ship at 8:10 am. By 8:30 am, we had returned to our car and began a 13-hour drive back to Springfield, MO, arriving at about 9:30 pm. 

Jack suggested that this Facebook piece written by Tresine on the occasion of my 70th birthday on July 6, 2018, be added to the Ray Round Robin. --Sylvia Tresine wrote: "She moved 8 times before graduating high school; each move papering the walls and hanging curtains by her mother's side, readying the new home for her three younger brothers she helped to raise. Her graduating classmates must've felt vexed @ the valedictorian only there a year. She watched her mother earn a bachelor's degree when women didn't do such things. At 18, she continued the family legacy to become a Hilltopper-- for the first time the world was her oyster. A boy asked her if she wanted a cigarette. Silly boy.... why would she? Nevertheless, he persisted. She fashioned her own clothes, including the stylish slacks her professor told her women shouldn't wear to class in '69. Nevertheless, she persisted. The red-headed boy ushered her to his hometown with a ring on her finger, and they welcomed a curly gingered son. Then ginger twin girls whose impulsive, theatrical, self-indulgent adolescence would bring her to the brink. A French and Library Science double-major, her first profession was her last-- 29 years the Library Media Specialist @ Washington County High School. Even in small town KY, she pushed the envelope. Relentlessly pursued technology and innovation-- cuz the students in Springfield, KY deserved no less. Earned distinction and award in this role-- but at 3:30 each day, her hat changed shape. The shape of sacrifice. Unadulterated compassion. Audacious love. Courageous strength. And through her model and osmosis-- her three children understood kindness wins. The world was much bigger than ourselves. It was our commission to improve the lives of the people we knew. And women. must . persist. I learned early on that working mothers can do it all. Once "all" is defined. We understood the value of understanding the plight of humans beyond those we know. The power of a well-read, discerning, compassionate, critical-thinking woman knows no bounds. Retirement came in '99. Three weddings and five grandchildren would ensue in the next 7 years. Each wedding its own "wedding bible", each grandchild its own handmade wardrobe & quilt-- her enduring presence, no matter the cross-county drives & flights to be @ her daughter's side. No matter the aging mother who required every meal provided and every day attended. Nevertheless, she persisted. Two became five. Became 8 Became 14. At 3:30 in the morning as I cradled my inconsolable first newborn feeling hopeless and confused, our eyes met in the night. Her gaze spoke loudly. You can do this. You will do this. I am here. And we will do this. Her daughters + four granddaughters marched for women @ her side. Her son + grandsons know what a strong, independent woman is. The seamstress in her skips a generation-- but burns in Eloise & Lucy. @ 70, her wisdom is like a good KY bourbon, better with age. I crave it. "Did I do this @ 14?" I ask. "How did you respond when I did this?" I question in bewilderment. "Mama-- how did you love us so well? How did your optimism win over worry? How did your faith in our choices win when we made such impetuous, misguided adolescent choices?" Today. We celebrate her 70 years. Friday, the family she nurtured gathered to honor her. To acknowledge we are are who we are... because of her. Her pleasures are so simple. Her devotion to integrity so deep. Her impact on her world just getting started. Thank you, Mama. For personifying love for the human race. For persisting."