Happy Birthday Stephanie

Twenty-Five. As we get ready for the cruise, we’ll put on Return of the King in her honor and tonight’s dinner will be light but a special prayer to her in whatever she’s doing now. Even after 3 years it still hurts. I still miss her and I think I always will. The pain associated with the loss has lessened with each year but the longing really hasn’t. I’ll be going about my life and for a brief moment something will remind me of her or I’ll just think about her for some strange reason and I have to pause a moment to keep from tearing up. It’s just good knowing that the body that betrayed her is being perfected and at the moment it’s not causing her any pain since she’s free of it. I’m sure she’s hard at work doing something for the Lord and probably quite happy doing it.

I also want to ask for a special prayer for my dad. He recently had some knee surgery done and he’s in quite a bit of pain. I don’t know how many people read this and I don’t know what you all believe but if some prayers or positive thoughts could go out his way, I think it would help immensely and I know we’d both appreciate it a lot. Thanks guys.

So…not one comment on the blog since last Thanksgiving. I guess if I wrote more frequently, people would be more inclined to read and respond. I also get that some people just aren’t responders. They like to observe the world more than interact with it. That’s fine. I just like knowing that I’m not just talking to myself here.

Uncast is going strong and is more popular than ever thanks to our being mentioned on Keith and The Girl. For those who haven’t heard their show, it might be worth checking out. It makes me laugh every day and they are the most popular show on the web for a reason.

So, I’ve been gone from here for 3 weeks. I’ll be gone the rest of this week and all of next week. I’ll post when I can so you aren’t stuck reading a full synopsis of the cruise in one post. Here’s the itinerary for those who care:

Thursday: 3pm shuttle to the airport for a 5:00 flight to San Francisco. We’ll eat at Grubstake and hit the Buena Vista Cafe before heading to bed.
Friday: We’ll get up early, get some breakfast and head on the first group for Alcatraz. After that, we’ll go to the Musee Mechanique and then Scoma’s for lunch before returning to the hotel for a short rest. We’ll take a cable car down to Union Square and walk to the Virgin Megastore and Citizen Cupcake. From there it’s the ballpark to watch the Giants take on the Cardinals. I also want to hit up Buena Vista once more before we sleep. We’ll come back to the hotel and record episode 73 of Uncast before we go to sleep.
Saturday: We’ll get up, release episode 73, pack what needs to be packed and head out to Mama’s on Washington Square for breakfast. We’ll send the luggage to the ship and maybe make a trip down to Chinatown and the City Lights Bookstore before getting on The Mercury. It sets sail at 5pm. I’m sure there will be an emergency drill, a Captain’s Welcome party and some sort of entertainment preview show.
Sunday: We’ll have a sea day which means formal night at dinner and we’ll spend most of the day reading, eating and checking out the ship.
Monday: Astoria, Oregon. I’m still contemplating doing the same shore excursion we did last year but this year it’d have to be by myself which is fine. Victoria will stay on the ship. I might also…but again I’m not sure.
Tuesday: Seattle, Washington. We’ll hit up Pike Place Market and a ballgame at Safeco Field to see the Mariners take on the Royals.
Wednesday: Vancouver, BC. I believe Bart has planned on buying a trolley pass and taking a tour of the city. They want to hit a big music store of Robson St and there’s Death By Chocolate. I want to go to Japa Dog as well. Just gotta try a Terimayo hot dog with Terryaki Sauce, Fried Onions, seaweed and a beef dog.
Thursday: Victoria, BC. We only get until 2pm to enjoy this city again and it’s a shame. So, we’ll hit up some shops and Irish Times Pub for Fish and Chips before heading back to the boat.
Friday: This is our second sea day which means a second formal night. I hate formal nights. I know they’re tradition but I do not like getting dressed up.
Saturday: Back in San Francisco. We’ll grab our luggage, disembark the boad and catch a shuttle to the airport where we wait for a 2pm flight. That’s a long wait so we’ll probably use some of that time to record episode 74 of Uncast. God bless San Francisco’s citywide wifi service.