I forgot to post for February! To be fair, there was a lot going on … two weeks of sailing around Northern Europe, then a thirteen day transatlantic cruise to Miami. That was followed by flying from Miami to Dayton, then Dayton to Washington, DC, taking a train to Baltimore, and finally a flight back to London. It was also a month of catching up with friends. In Ohio, one friend’s husband did my taxes. I also spent a few days with a friend who I’ve known since the 1970s, and later with another friend I’ve known since my Peace Corps Kenya days, in the 1980s.

Plus, some really crazy things happen in February. I never received the E-Doc, with the QR code, for boarding my NCL Bliss cruise. At the port, in Southhampton, I explained the situation and they looked me up via their manifest. Once my passport was checked, I was allowed on the ship. Later that day, I went to the front desk and asked for a print copy of my E-Doc. I was then told that I still owed two thousands dollars for the cruise. The young staffer went to the office area in the back three times. Her response was still the same, take it up with your travel agency.

The fact that NCL and not my travel agency was saying that I owed $2,000.00 didn’t make any difference. I ended up waiting by the desk for a higher ranking staff member. One said that I would not have been on the manifest and my cruise would have been canceled, 72 hours before the sailing. He said to not worry. I waited for the highest ranking staff member I could find and explained the situation. She said she would contact the office in Miami. Four days later, NCL Miami sent word that I owed them nothing and was paid in full. The front office staff quickly sent a complimentary bottle of wine and chocolates to my room.

Between the “back to back” MSC cruises around Northern Europe and the 13 day NCL transatlantic cruise to Miami, I had some free time in Southampton and walked over to IKEA and the connecting Shopping Mall. In the parking lot between the two, I was shocked to find a Black history exhibit. Each column along the main row featured someone connected to Southhampton. Louis Armstrong performed for a full week at Southampton’s Hippodrome, in 1933! Who knew? The following day, I went back and took photos of each column.

Then, after cruising for a month, flying to Ohio and then (I thought) to Baltimore, I needed help from Amtrak. My flight was actually for Reagan National, in Washington, DC. You know you’re traveling too much, when you can’t remember where you’re going. Luckily, I lived in WDC, back in the mid 1980s and the early 1990s. So, I knew how to take the Metro Yellow Line, transfer to the Red Line, and then get to Union Station. Once there, I took Amtrak to the BMI airport stop and hopped on the free shuttle to the airport.

The airport is named for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The upper level of the terminal has an exhibit chronicling his life and career. My old Peace Corps Kenya friend picked me up and I spent a few days at her new home. It was great being in a proper city and being able to spend time in Baltimore. When I lived in Washington DC, I would have never even bothered. DC had everything I needed. Back then, for fun, I would walk six miles, from the United States Capitol to the Washington National Cathedral. On the walk back, I would stop in Georgetown and grab something to eat.

While in Baltimore, my friend suggested going to the National Great Blacks In Wax Museum. Its mission is to stimulate an interest in African American history and we witnessed that being done firsthand. There was a school group touring the museum. It was great watching the students, hearing their questions, and the back and forth between them and the tour guides. I asked one teenager if he enjoyed the museum and he quickly replied yes and said that he would definitely be coming back.

In the 1980s, the founders of the museum purchased four wax figures with the money they had saved to make a down payment on a house. They now own a 10,000-square-foot museum with 150 wax figures. This museum visit was a great way to end my short return to the USA. Then, it was time for my flight back to London, EuroStar train ride to Paris and my next train to Berlin. I’ll save that for my March blog.

February was a crazy good time and it’s no wonder that I forgot to post. That’s what I get for NOT purchasing the Internet packages on those three cruise trips. Actually, when I think about it, not having WiFi was great. I’ve been traveling full time since December 2022. That no WiFi break was my first real vacation.

Can’t wait to tell you about March, … WWII bombs on train tracks, credit cards being declined, and being back in Berlin … forty years later! Watch this space! XOXO—-GGT