#213 Nomad Diary. 16-22 November 2024. On Sapphire Princess Ship. Days 4-10 of 35 Day Antarctica Cruise. Sea Days. St.Kitts and Nevis Islands. More Sea Days. Fortaleza, Brazil. "Get to Know" Me Interview for Church Friends in Alabama.

 

Sunrise in the Caribbean Ahead of Our Port at St. Kitts

Darrell on the Ship as We Come Into St. Kitts

On the Ferry Going to Nevis Island

A Nice Breezy 40 Minute Ride to Nevis Island

Water Taxi from St. Kitts to Nevis Island

Walking Down the Beach Front Road From Nevis Water Taxi Dock to the Museum

Arrived at the Museum on Nevis Island. Rebuilt Houses of the Original 1700s Ones. This One Belonged to Alexander Hamilton's Dad.

Statue at Nevis Museum

The (rebuilt)House Where Alexander Hamilton was Born in 1770s.

At the Ferry Port

Nevis Mural

Saturday. 16. Day 4 of 35 days on Sapphire Princess. Port day in St. Kitts. Darrell and I enjoy our morning routine of exercise, coffee in the International Cafe, and Breakfast in the dining room. Around 10am we walk off the ship and down the pier into St. Kitts. We walk a couple of blocks to the ferry dock. We buy tickets to ride over to Nevis Island about 40 minutes by water taxi. We arrive to Nevis Island by 11am. We walk around the port area and up a couple of streets. There is traditional Caribbean architecture from 1700s to 1800s. Looks very English, built with local stone and has colorful wooden shutters. Some buildings are built of wood and also with shutters. The weather is a hot and humid 85 degrees. We are sweating as we walk the sidewalk beside the ocean lined with flags. We follow the walk a couple of short blocks to the Nevis museum. There are two houses here. Both houses have been rebuilt to resemble the originals from the 1700s. The stone house is older and was Alexander Hamilton’s fathers house here. The wooden house was a later structure and is where Alexander was born in the 1770s. Both houses were part of the museum. We paid 10 USD each to go through the displays and to read the concise history of Nevis Island. I enjoyed the history presented in brief with some artifacts and photos. We rode the ferry back to St. Kitts. We arrived back to the ship around 1:30 and we were ready to hydrate, have lunch, rest in the air conditioning and shower. 

Each evening at dinner in the dining room we ask to share with others randomly. We enjoy dinner and conversation. I try to remember people’s names. We have eaten dinner several times with Richard from California. We are learning a bit more about each other every meal. 

Video Call with Grandson Quinn (4yrs+2mos) Living in Brasilia, Brazil

View of Land from Ship

Us on the Ship Deck

Screenshot Location of Our Ship

At Dinner in the Dining Room with Random Seating. Darrell, Me, Carol, Tom, Richard and Gene.

Sunday. 17. Day 5 of 35. We are back at sea for several days in a row. The weather is hot and humid. The sea is quite calm. We have gone from having some sun today to rain, and gray low visibility. Darrell and I continue to get up early and go for yoga on the deck. We have found a sheltered place behind the movie screen where there is a putting green and some cover. We enjoyed worship together today with singing, reading scripture, prayer and communion. We listened to a service online from our Limestone County Alabama church family.

Sunrise Over the Ocean on Sapphire Princess Ship

Around 6 am on Deck 5. Darrell Coming From the Coffee Shop Where We Also Often Get Breakfast.

Deck 7 Outside on Sapphire Princess Walking Around the Whole Ship!

One of the Larger Dinner Desserts. "Trio" on Italian Night is Tiramisu, Pistachio Cakes and an Ice Cream Sandwich.

Getting Ready for this Show by David Klinkenburg. We Saw Him 11 Years Ago on Our (30th Anniversary) Hawaii Cruise and Remembered Him!

Monday-Wednesday. 18-20. Enjoying sea days as we sail to Fortaleza, Brazil. On Wednesday we went to a port talk about tomorrow at Fortaleza. Each sea day we have an 8am Bible study where Darrell is leading as we read the book of Mark aloud and comment. We have a group of 11-15 people. Mostly people from the US, but some others. One couple, Marta and Mike are expats living in Argentina. That’s a unique situation for me to learn about from them. There is another couple from St. Augustine, Florida who have a house and a boat there. Cameron and Sharon. Cameron is looking forward to visiting Rio because he lived there as a kid when his Dad was in the Navy and assigned there! Wow! There are some cruisers from midwest towns in Wisconsin and Michigan as well as Atlanta and Pennsylvania. It’s so amazing to meet and read and discuss with many people here. Some people are here for the first half of our 35 day cruise and they will be getting off in Argentina December 1st. Then we are going round trip to Buenos Aires and going to Antarctica. We had lunch with a couple from Ottawa, Canada today. I learned from Camilla that you can order peanut butter, sliced banana and a bagel for lunch. It’s exactly what she eats when she is at home in Canada! She was an elementary teacher and an ESL teacher until she retired at age 50. She’s having a great time with her husband on one of their many cruises together. Wednesday was the day we crossed the equator. Darrell and I spent the morning on our balcony reading and skipped the ‘ceremony’ for newbies crossing the equator. You gotta kiss the fish to get initiated into the southern hemisphere! Okay, you can usually skip Rethe ceremony and still get credit for crossing the equator! lol.

Coming Into Fortaleza, Brazil

Ship Shuttles at Fortaleza to Take Us Through the Shipping Docks to the Passenger Building

In Fortaleza, Brazil. Central Mercado. It Smells Like Lunch Cooking and Delicious BBQ Meats.

Colorful Mercado Display

Me Beside the Big Tree in Fortaleza, Brazil

Us in Fortaleza Just Behind the Old Fort and Close to the Ocean.

Cathedral Fortaleza. 3rd Largest in Brazil. Fits 5000.

Self-serve Acai

My Acai Bowl with Mango Cream and Fresh Fruits.

Pier at the Beach

Walking By The Ocean

Fortaleza Flower

Thursday. 21. Today we arrived in Fortaleza, Brazil. Darrell and I plan to take an Uber to the central shopping center in the old town. The city is called the Miami of Brazil. It is 2.5 million people plus more for the whole area. There are miles of beaches and coastal dunes and land features and excursions within a 1-2 hour drive. We want to go look around the old town district. We stay on the ship until about 9:30 am and have a nice breakfast. We take the ship’s shuttle for a short ride through the shipping dock to the port building. There we go through the building to the taxis and buses lining up and heading to the port gate and to the various excursions, etc. Darrell gets on his Uber app and books us a ride. It’s about $5 USD to the city center. Darrell’s having some trouble seeing clearly. I tried my app and found out that I haven’t updated my card. Note to self to update my app! He gets through his app in the shade and with slight issues. The uber app gives him the car description and the driver name as well as a code. That code is different, but nice. It was the only ride code we got. We got an uber from town back to the ship and there was no code attached. Another couple was having trouble getting a ride and asked where we were going and to share. Both to town and back to the ship we shared with another couple. This made the $5 fee even less per person. The exchange rate is 5.8 Real/Reais to 1 USD. We went to a shopping center and walked around inside. We walked across the street to the large cathedral and looked around. We walked a few blocks to another shopping area. We got some cash from an ATM. Note about getting cash or using a credit or debit card in a foreign country. Ask for the calculation of currency to be given in the local currency, not in US dollars. It is usually an advantage to do this. The ATM machine will ask this question. Also the ATM machine was in Portuguese and we were looking for the translation tab. The translation option only appeared once the card was inserted into the machine. Ahhh, now we see! Lol. 

We enjoyed also walking into a park with sidewalks and trees. There was a large tree there that I loved seeing. We went to a self-serve Acai place. This is a dark purple berry from the Amazon. It is particular to Brazil. It is made into a soft serve like ice cream. You can get it with or without sugar. It is a little earthy tasting without sugar, and we like it. You can then add fresh fruits or sweet syrups on top. Each large bowl serving is weighed and charged on our card. Together two bowls cost about $6 USD. In the market Darrell tried on some shoes but didn’t get any.

 

Friday. 22. Back to a sea day today!

Nomad Notes.

I’m enjoying my time on the ship. Yes, I miss Owen and Esther, our grandkids in Alabama. I also am excited to be going to see our grandson Quinn in Brasilia in mid-December. I’m sleeping very well on the ship. I’m eating better than I deserve too! 

Darrell and I get up early each morning and do an exercise routine together on the putt-putt green behind the movie screen. So far the weather is about 80 degrees and breezy. We’ve been out there in the rain too, but have a partial cover. We’ve called each of the grands one time. It’s a long time between calls. I exhale and pray as I’m grateful for their good parents who are caring so well for them. They have lovely families and parents who love them dearly! It’s so beautiful to me.

I’m doing a small lesson on duolingo for Portuguese each day. 

For my art needs, I brought only a small art book with pens and markers. I’m on my 2nd neurographic art piece for this journey. 

My ‘interview’ from friend Jamie that I copied here, for others to know me better at church (in Alabama at Capshaw church of Christ). Jamie will likely abbreviate it for his published notes later on:

I’m the youngest of four children. My parents Richard and Faye Greeson met in 1955 and married in 1956 after 1 year at Florida College. My Dad had been converted at a tent meeting near Cocoa Beach, Florida. My mother was from Fort Lauderdale. She first went to church with a neighbor and by the time she was 15 her whole family were christians. During the 1960’s my Dad decided to be a preacher. They moved to the FC student trailer park with my 3 older siblings as my Dad studied Bible there for a year. I was born at Tampa General Hospital in 1964. 

My childhood is a memory of moving from place to place every few years with my Dad preaching for churches. I was born in Tampa, Florida. After that I lived in Columbus, Georgia; Shippensburg, Pennsylvania; Indianapolis, Indiana; Parkersburg, West Virginia; and Peoria, Illinois. 

We lived in West Virginia for 7 years, but we moved houses during that time. 

My most memorable childhood Bible class teacher was when I was 5-7 years old. I was usually the only child in my class on Sundays and Wednesdays in Indianapolis with an occasional exception. My teacher was also our usual song leader. Ivan Barker was a divorced, single man with a 20 year old son who never came to church with him. Ivan always taught me with a prayer and then read me a Bible story and quietly discussed the details with questions. I remembered his kindness and patience years later when I came across a childhood picture with me sitting next to him at his house. I found out that he did marry and he visited a prison and taught inmates and he lived into his 80’s.

When I was in 8th grade I was a Girl Scout. I went canoeing on rivers with my troop and loved hiking through the woods and swimming in a pond near our house. I was 13 and I was mailed a marketing brochure to apply for a scholarship to Stuart Hall (a Girl’s Boarding School in Staunton,Virginia). I talked to my Mom about it and sent in my application. The school invited me for an in-person interview. My Mom and I drove 10 hours one way for my interview and a visit to the school. They offered me a full scholarship and I went to 9th grade there with about 80 girls mostly from wealthy families. There were a couple of other girls on full paid scholarships like me. There was a local church of Christ and one of the members would come around and get me every week for Sunday worship. After Christmas vacation a girl from Nashville began going to church with me. She had gone home to Tennessee and was baptized during the holidays. She already knew she was coming back and going to church with me. God was good to give the two of us a unique and unexpected friendship in His family. 

At boarding school I was faced with many worldly classmates and worldly situations. Drugs, drinking, foul language, dances, rape, abortion, disobedient children sent away by their parents, an Episcopal woman priest on the school staff, general lack of spiritual training or understanding. It was everything in God’s Word that my parents had taught me before I was 14 that I leaned into. I relied on my faith in the Word to grow in me and get me through the immorality that was all around me at this school. Even with all the immorality, I loved my classes, my studies, and my friends.

After my year at boarding school, my Mom said that she wanted me back home mainly because she missed me. I went back to Parkersburg and graduated from public High School a year early and with college credit. My parents moved to Illinois the summer after my graduation. I moved with them before going on to Florida College for one year. 

After my year at FC I didn’t have a clear idea of what to study or what to do. My next older sister was in Chiropractic college in Marietta, Georgia. I moved into her apartment as a roommate and enrolled in Kennesaw College. I met Kim Wesner (Holladay) here in 1982. I also met Darrell Hamilton and we began a friendship just before he moved to Germany on his first Army assignment.  

Darrell and I wrote letters for the next year and that led to our marriage in October 1983.

He came from West Germany to Peoria, Illinois for our wedding. 

I was now an Army bride. I moved to Fulda, West Germany with Darrell. 1 ½ years later our first son, Eric was born at Frankfort Army Hospital. 

 

With the birth of our first son began my years focused on our children. I loved my time having children and being the Mom of our growing sons. We had Eric in 1985 in Germany. We moved back to the US and were in Anniston, Alabama. I was pregnant with our second child when Darrell got the opportunity to go to Graduate school in Monterey, California. We packed up within weeks and moved to California. Our second son Wesley was born near Monterey in 1986. Two years later the Army moved us to Leavenworth, Kansas. I had two more sons in Leavenworth. Benjamin was born in 1990.  Benjamin had a major heart defect. He had a small left ventricle caused by aortic stenosis. He lived to be 16 days old. In 1991 we welcomed our son Jeremy. The Army moved us to Joplin, Missouri where Samuel was born in 1993.

For many years of homemaking, I enjoyed sewing, cooking and baking. I loved quilts and learned how to make them. I taught quilting while in Kansas. I made more than 200 quilts over many years.  

The year Samuel was born Darrell left the Army and we moved to Weston, Missouri just north of Kansas City. We were close to Leavenworth and loved living in this tiny mid-western town. Our boys thrived in the school and we enjoyed the small town apple festival, boy scouts, and kids sport teams, among other things. We drove about 20 miles to get to church and we enjoyed our years and friendships there. 

Those years we also faced challenges. We fostered some children and thought we would adopt, but it didn’t work out as it seemed too difficult for me. One of our sons shut down emotionally and I homeschooled him with help of video classes. It was good for all of us but not easy. 

When Eric was going into the 9th grade and Samuel would be starting 1st grade we moved to St. Louis, Missouri. It was a huge change for our family to go from a small rural town to the edges of this city. Our kids each adjusted in their own ways. While we lived there for 2 years, I went to trade school and became a massage therapist. I worked that trade for 16 years. I also spent time learning to work one on one with people through emotional difficulties like grief, anxiety and trauma using the alternative technique Emotional Polarity Technique (EPT). My sister Annette invented and developed EPT beginning around 1990. Annette had helped me through some difficult physical-emotional issues and I studied, practiced, and taught EPT for many years. 

We followed Darrell’s job changes from St. Louis to Burlington, North Carolina. We lived there 7 years and then moved to Madison, Alabama in 2008. 

I retired with Darrell so that we could be traveling nomads together. We sold our house in September 2020 and began living in airbnb’s 12 months and 18 months before respective retirements. Darrell retired in March 2022. I have logged our nomad experience in my online diary: https://500saturdays.blogspot.com/

Three of our sons live in this area. Eric preached in Wichita, Kansas for 5 years then moved here. He met and married Erin and they have Owen (3+yrs) and Esther (1+ yr). They attend Gooch Lane church of Christ. Wes lives in an apartment in Huntsville and is a self-employed artist. Jeremy met his wife Andrea at Jordan Park church of Christ. They have Quinn (4+yrs) and live in Brazil on his first State Department assignment (Embassy). Samuel lives in a house in Madison. He works from home as a software programmer. 

 

Life is an incredible, dynamic journey. I’m deeply grateful for every person of faith, for every act of kindness, every encouragement, and the continual pointing to God’s word helping me through each step of my life. 

My mother taught me to pray and taught me Bible stories before I could read. Among my favorite verses are:

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18

Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

 2 Timothy 3:14-17

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom  you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God

and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Matt 7:7-8

 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Staying connected at the Capshaw congregation is wonderful. I’m enjoying these interviews as a way to learn more about the people in the group! 

I am grateful for prayer and the scripture and the trust that God is growing me through this life. He’s there for me and others at every moment, every age, every situation. He knows it before I ever get there. I spend time in prayer through all of my pain and difficulties. I work on letting go of many worldly things that aren’t mine to carry like: my anger that I think I have a right to; my expectations of how I think things or people should be; my griefs present and past that have weighed me down.

Happiness for me is: playing with our grandchildren; singing songs of praise to God; walking for hours in a beautiful place with Darrell or a friend; seeing the sunrise and the sunset on the ocean or anywhere; enjoying flowers anywhere; huge and old trees; the freedom to pray to Jesus; waking up early and enjoying the day beginning; resting and winding down in the evening.