Feeling a little like Sandra Bullock in "While You Were Sleeping"

If you haven't seen this movie, the reference is about her character's desire to get a stamp in her passport. That's my story, late in coming primarily due to me not making it happen.

I'm not sure anyone could have had a parent more knowledgeable about geography and history than my dad. Having been raised by parents who immigrated to this country, he made sure me and my brothers were immersed in U.S. history including numerous road trips to see places in person, not just in books. Because of him (and somewhat my work travels) I've visited 46 states, missing Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont and Maine. As a side note, AK and HI are not high on my "must see" list but I'm hoping to finally hit VT and ME this year...maybe in the fall when the leaves are changing...combined with the Thousand Island area north of NY.

So, back to the passport. Italy. I'm finally going, thanks in large part to an email my good friend and co-worker, Ramona, sent me in August - an ad for a Mediterranean cruise.  I had 24 hours to make a decision, including who to talk into going with me. I live alone (well, except for 2 dogs and the occassional overnight stays with Evan and Garrett) and mostly travel alone - key issue being I'm not used to sharing hotel rooms....so the idea of sharing a small cabin on a cruise ship for 10 days was a concern. However, I knew two of my good friends, Hilda and MaryJo, would be fun to travel with and it didn't take much coaxing for them to get out their checkbooks. (seriously - 24 hours from the start of our discussion to the booking).

So, we started the planning in August and we're now 42 days away from the big adventure. 10 days on the "boat", two weeks total including the pre and post-cruise days.

Dad, although you're not here with me in person, I'm hoping you're with me in spirit on this adventure because its largely due to your tales of the many countries/cities you visited during your Navy cruises that made me want to see these historical places in person.

The planning has been "interesting"...more to come on that.