The massive ferries that I have encountered in my travels (“A Ferry Different Way Of Life”) remind me of cruise ships. Especially when all lit up at night, they bring to mind Puerto Vallarta (to a girl growing up in Pennsylvania “The Love Boat” and Mexico might as well have been a spaceship going to the moon!) and the Caribbean.
Returning to a rental home we love for the second year in a row, we looked forward to the Seattle to Bremerton ferries passing by multiple times during the day and night. My husband and I yell, “FERRY!” to each other every time one of us spots a vessel approaching. This particular time, however, Mister Rain exclaimed, “Sister Rain! It’s a cruise ship!” Thinking he was joking around, I laughed. “No, it’s a CRUISE SHIP,” he said. I got up, grabbing the binoculars, but even with my visual impairment I didn’t need them to tell that indeed this was not a ferry, but a real Captain Stubing, Julie, Isaac, Gopher and Doc boat.
Research showed that the six-level, 170 passenger ship was American Cruise Lines‘ American Constellation on its fall foliage cruise.
Twenty years ago, my husband and I had gone on several cruises so it is not as if we had never seen a floating city before. Yet if we thought seeing a ferry sail by was a constant thrill, a cruise ship going by our temporary home was an unexpected treat. I have spent a good part of my life seeking out new places, new experiences. Sometimes, however, one will find you . . . gliding by as if a dream.
Life, my friends, is like The Love Boat: promising something for everyone, setting a course for adventure and an open smile on a friendly shore.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindtraveler #travel #americancruiseline #americanconstellation #theloveboat #setacourseforadventure
