Chapter one starts Our Red Dress World Tour with a historical cruise up (or is it down?) the C&O canal in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. It was a beautiful fall day to be out and about in Georgetown with my daughter and travel buddy, Karen. The vessel was smaller than our usual cruise ships and not quite as comfortable. But the on board guide’s narrative was informative and the cruise was a chance for some more local history in our back yard.

A little information about our cruise, captained at the helm by Captain Franklin. The vessel is 80 feet long, 13 feet at the width, weighing 40,000 pounds and we traveled at speeds up to 1.5 miles per hour. There are 74 locks along the 184 miles of the canal, however not all are working locks. The locks are manual, requiring deckhands to lock and unlock for passage. The deckhands use long poles to push the boat off the edge of the canal. We had a couple of bumps along the way but had been warned that it would most likely happen as there is no keel to the boat. Each lock takes about 12 minutes to drain or fill, which recedes or raises about 9 feet. Many of the vessels that traversed the canal were family owned. There were many female captains (wives) and cooks (husbands) and skinners (children who tended to the mules along the tow path).

The C&O (Chesapeake & Ohio) canal is a grand ole ditch, which was started in 1828 by President John Quincy Adams, with a ground breaking ceremony. The earth was so resistent that gun powder was used as dynamite had not yet been invented.

Fun Fact: even though it is called the C&O canal, it never did reach Ohio.

After our canal journey we headed over to Ristorante Picolo for an Italian lunch in which we shared a delicious chicken parmesian and a meatball hoagie with truffle fries. A word of caution about the outside tables however – they may not be sitting on solid ground and may shift -as was the case with me – when attempting to sit. I had a very intimate relationship with the umbrella next to the table! Also, this establishment is not handicap accessible per se. After my mishap outside, we were taken to a side door for easy, no-step access to an inside table. There are multiple steps leading up to and into the ladies room which may prove difficult for some. I did not attempt them however.

Fill your life with adventures, not things.
Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.

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I have decided to call this next chapter in my life “Our Red Dress World Tour”. A few years ago, I said if I ever received a terminal diagnosis that I would leave on a world cruise. Well, I looked into that world cruise and decided it really wasn’t for me. Weeks on the same boat, with the same people, eating the same food and seeing the same entertainment even with interesting ports of call – Boring as well as costly! So instead, my always-ready-to-travel daughter, Karen and I are planning many epic and maybe not so epic journeys on land and sea for as long as I’m able to travel

Our first cruise is not as epic as some that we have planned but certainly historical. This cruise is in a local canal – the C&O Canal to be exact. The canal has been cleaned out and there is a short boat ride (60-70 minutes) which should be informative as well as interesting. We followed this cruise with a delicious lunch at Ristorante Picolo.

Our second cruise is a bit higher on the epic scale – aboard Disney’s Magic with an itinerary to Bermuda. We will be able to check that destination off our map and wish list soon. We are booked on Disney’s original cruise ship, which is a little cause for concern, but knowing Disney, I’m sure everything (except maybe Mother Nature) will be fine. We plan to drive to NYC where we will board the ship and cruise south to Kings Wharf, Bermuda. The itinerary on this cruise is entitled “Halloween on the High Seas”. I’m not a huge Halloween fan but it should be fun seeing the kids on board in costume having a blast. A great way to lift my spirits! This will be our second Disney cruise – our first being a memorable “A Very Merry Christmas” cruise a few years ago.

We also plan a trip to Montreal for the Christmas markets and a another stay at a Four Seasons hotel. It’s been years since I was in Montreal (not counting disembarking there and heading straight to the airport a few years ago after our Atlantic crossing cruise!).

Fingers crossed for Christmas in Las Vegas. HIghlights of this trip should be seeing ‘old’ friends and visiting Opportunity Village’s Magical Forest. Karen, Ed and I volunteered at Magical Forest many times. I even created several display cases of winter village scenes that were on display in the commissary area for all to enjoy. Vegas will always be very special to me.

Starting the new year of 2023 off right, the plan is to visit a couple of newer Four Seasons locations – one in the Bahamas and one in Fort Lauderdale. The main purpose is to escape the cold winter here and enjoy the sunshine there.

Another cruise is planned for April aboard Oceania, with a port stop in … Morocco! How cool is that?! Stay tuned for more later!

An epic cruise on Oceania is coming up in July. More countries to check off the wish list and map! More information about this journey later.

September brings about a special birthday party back home. My high school graduating class, for the most part, is turning 70 in 2023. Anticipating about 100 classmates or so will attend. I’m sure that our “Reunion Queen, Janet” has some great things up her sleeve for this event. The plan right now is a catered picnic in a local park as well as a casual get-together night at a favorite bar. Last year we had our 50th high school reunion gala that I was glad I was able to attend. I also put together a 50th anniversary edition of a yearbook for this event. The plan right now is to drive back to Rochester/Henrietta for this party with a possible 1000 Islands side trip.

The chapters will be filled in as we make future plans to travel and explore our world, from our back yard and across the ponds to countries we never dreamed we’d be exploring. An idea that we talked about today, as a matter of fact, is a Canadian Train adventure. More on that if we make it happen.

And so, that’s your introduction to what we have planned so far for Our Red Dress World Tour. Lots of interesting places to visit in our world. Lots of things to see and photograph, lots of memory books to be made. Oh and yes! I did buy some new luggage for all these epic journeys! So, stay tuned to this blog for updates and photos as each chapter unfolds.

Why did I change the name of our world tour you may ask? Well, we decided that since we are supporting and hopefully educating women on heart health, that the Red Dress movement was important to us. Men are not the only ones who have heart attqacks! For more on that check out http://goredforwomen.org.

Tourists see the world; Travelers experience it.

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