The Epiphany..........

Here is the back story to the trip that changed my outlook and allowed me to open my life up and let people in.

I have known Julie since the summer of 1991. Crazy to think I have known her more than half of my life. We met while working at a Girl Scout resident camp in Pelham, NH. Yep....for those of you I have known a long time, Camp Runels! I had been spending my summers at good ole Camp Runels since I was 10 years old. Julie and I bounded quickly. It is hard not to become friends with her. You can hear her laugh from miles away!

She has always been an inspiration to me. She has been to all 50 states, all 7 continents and so many countries that I have lost count. I have lived vicariously through her travels and envied her free spirit. She is the type of friend that you could go years without speaking to and when you reconnect it is like you have been in touch with each other consistently. She is one of my few friends I can talk to about ANYTHING! When we hang out, we do nothing but laugh until our stomachs hurt.

After many years of living vicariously through her travels, I suggested we take an adventure together. We decided with our limited availability that we would do a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas. I had never been on a cruise nor had I ever been to the Bahamas. This combination made for three VCs in one trip. Oh yeah...I forgot to tell you what VC means. VC is Julie's term for virgin conversion. Yes you read that correctly. Easter weekend couldn't have been a better choice. Easter has always been a holiday that has kept me connected to my family. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of spending Easter Sunday at my Godfather's house enjoying family and traditional Polish food. I was worried that Easter was going to be really tough for me this year because my Godfather passed away in February. I won't lie, I woke up on Easter Sunday missing home and missing Joe, but the pain was dulled and some of the emptiness was filled by the trip and quality time with Julie.

It was a great three days. It started with spending time with Khari in Ft. Lauderdale, spending the night at Julie's sister's house and going to lunch the next day with a grumpy old lady who had nothing positive to say. I of course would try to counter anything negative she said with some sort of positive spin. It annoyed her, but made me smile.

When we got on the ship, I was like a little kid in a toy store! It was new and exciting and the FIRST time since I left San Francisco 5 years ago that my staff would not be able to reach me. That's right; this was my first REAL vacation in 5 years.

We had a blast. We now say we are two bitches who can have fun in a ditch. We spent the first afternoon people watching by the pool drinking beers. That night we met the women we shared our dinner table with for three nights and our waiter. I still keep in touch with one of the woman via email and will be having dinner with her in November when I am in Tampa. Later in the evening we wondered into Boleros (the Latin bar). That is when my perspective started to change. Julie and I had a bet to see who could get someone to buy us a drink first. If you had asked me who I thought was going to win, I would have said Julie hands down. I would have lost the bet because I had the bartender buying us drinks for the remainder of the cruise. Who would have thought a little "flirting" would open up a whole new world for me.

Needless to say, Julie and I had a blast and the trip re-sparked my passion for travel and my commitment to fostering important friendships.

So for those of you who have the best intentions of writing an email, picking up the phone to call someone who has meant something to you over the years, I encourage you to stop putting it off and reconnect with those people. You NEVER know what will come of it. Life is short, grab the bull by its horns and live it! As Julie would say.......Adventure On and Be Good or Be Good at It!

Look for a blog out my 2nd cruise at the beginning of December.  My pay Beej and I will be going to Grand Cayman and Cozumel.....all I have to say is Stingrays and Tortugas!

Julie and I our first night on the ship....where the trouble began!

The ladies from our dinner table and Richard our waiter.

I fell in love with this house.

Building on Coco Cay

Roger the Coco Loco Man...he served yummy drinks on the beach

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David.....my favorite bartender!