Tales of The Walk

Well, I discovered a way to come back from a cruise with LESS weight than when I left. Not that I recommend it, mind you, but it is sure fire.

I really wanted to blame it on the caribou tenderloin I had for dinner two nights ago. Food poisoning isn't contagious you see. Nevertheless, “Bambi's mother” -- as one apparently horrified friend put it – is guilty by association and therefore I will never eat one of Bambi's relatives ever again.

But no, the rather sudden, prolonged, and explosive evening I had in the bathroom of Room 160 was due to having contracted Norwalk. You know, that awful 24 hour thing that loves cruise ships and other highly populated closed quarters? It seems it is often described by the afflicted through the use of hand motions, with one hand moving quickly away from the mouth and the other hand moving quickly away from the “other end”... simultaneously. Trust me, trying to decide which end to deal with is NOT a decision you want to be making.

To add to the excitement, we discovered that it is our cruise line's policy to quarantine for 24 hours any guest who gets this nasty bug. Makes sense; we didn't argue. And really, it wouldn't have been a big deal if we were still on the ship. But, unfortunately, our tour transitioned from a cruise to a land tour the morning before I got sick, so we are now on land in a hotel with a very stationary view of some trees. I am gratefully feeling much better this morning, although a bit weak and wobbly from having only eaten about a dozen crackers in the last day and a half.

The rest of our tour went on ahead yesterday to the next stop. This morning they boarded a train to scenically traverse the Denali National Forest. We, on the other hand, are trying our best to patiently await a phone call to tell us how and when we are going to catch up with the rest of our group. Perhaps if they knew I had a blog they'd be acting a little faster???

At least the hotel has free WiFi.