How to Plan Your First Cruise

Going on a cruise is an exciting adventure enjoyed by everyone from honeymooners to families and retirees. More and more millennials are discovering the joys of cruising as the Cruise Travel Report indicated in 2018 - the percentage of this generation that stated they "definitely will" book a cruise for their next trip increased from 63 to 70 percent over the previous year.

For those who'd like to try cruising for the first time, planning can be a challenge, simply because there are so many options to choose from, like where do you want to sail, which cruise line should you travel on, which room to choose, and so on. There's a lot you need to know in order to make the best decisions, but these tips can help you plan the trip of your dreams.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Ruth and I went out for a bike ride before it got too hot or too windy. We ended up doing the same route we had done the other day, but in reverse. Again, only about 6.5 miles (10.5 kms) but enough to get some exercise. As we are now trying to get out on the bikes more regularly we will up the distance.

It's been pretty warm the last few days though, and windy. Highs around 86F (30C) and it's supposed to get even warmer than that later on this week.

Staying Healthy and Strong on Long Trips

While you likely aren’t heading out on a long trip right at this moment, it doesn’t mean you can’t start planning ahead and prepare for when things do get back to normal and travel is once again possible. While long trips can be lots of fun, giving yourself extra time to really explore and get to know the destination at the same time can be tough on your body. The last thing you want to be dealing with is getting sick while on vacation, or suffering from aches and pains that prevent you from doing all the touring and exploring you had planned on.

With that in mind, there are simple tips and bits of advice that you can follow that will help you to stay healthy and strong even on a long trip. So, let’s take a closer look.

This is rattlesnake territory...

We set off for a windy hike yesterday morning. When you've got a few thousand acres to explore, it's not difficult to put on a few miles and not even get close to seeing everything there is to see.

We had been told to watch where you are putting your feet... it's rattlesnake season and the prairie rattlesnake is fairly common in these parts.

Change of plans

Much of the world has had a change of plans over the last 6 weeks, and we are no different.

Originally, we were supposed to head up to Kansas City, Missouri where we were to hop on a plane and go visit family in Ottawa, Ontario for 10 days. Then fly back to Kansas City and drive the motorhome up to Cabri, Saskatchewan where we were going to spend three months working at Cabri Regional Park.

But all of that went out the window.

Another day on the ranch

We woke up to a strong north wind yesterday and the wind got stronger as the day went on. Fortunately, it was a clear blue sky. But even with the high of around 68F (20C) it felt cool all day.

We did get out for a short hike. I didn't measure it, but it was probably about 3.5 miles (5 kms). Oh, but before that there were chores to do. First up was to bottle feed a calf!

Home on the range... for the next week or more...

A few years ago while in Mexico, we met our friend Tracy. She was living in Puerto Escondido at the time, and we spent quite a bit of time together. We met her and her mother Joy when we got together in Puerto Vallarta a couple of years later.

Tracy had mentioned at some point that her family owns a ranch near Amarillo, and that we would be welcome to park there if we were ever headed that way. Yesterday, we took them up on that offer!

Sherman's repairs are complete!

You haven't heard from us for a couple of days because there hasn't been much to say. We had been parked up for three days and two nights in the mechanical garage parking lot. Well, we were actually parked inside the garage during the day... and outside at night.

Once again, S&L Auto Repairs in Amarillo looked after us well. Head mechanic Ismail did the repairs along with his assistant Isaac. The bill was not cheap, but it was about what I expected.

Stuck in Amarillo

But not for long.

We had some major repair work done at S&L Auto Repair here in Amarillo exactly two years ago. We were happy with the work and the guys who did it, so we purposely took a little bit of a detour to return here and have some more things looked at.

Since the last work was completed, we have done more than 20,000 miles of driving, some of it on very rough roads. Sherman has actually held up quite well, all things considered!

Airport camping

We said goodbye to Guthrie, Texas and headed further north. Not much to stop and see along the way in this part of Texas, but it's still interesting nonetheless.

This time, we had a pretty strong headwind... good thing, because it would make more room in the tank for some upcoming cheap gasoline! Ha... there is a bright side to everything!

A visit from the local Sheriff...

Had a quiet Friday night in Hamlin's sports park. We planned to set off at around 10:00am, and before we did so I checked the pressure in that one tire that we had repaired a few days ago. To my surprise it was zero. Yes, a big fat ZERO!

Bob came over to give me a hand and brought his bigger compressor. We figured we might be able to hear where it's leaking if we put some air in it. But as we took the wheel cover off, we quickly realized where it was coming from.

Lots of free overnight spots in Texas

Our original plan was to overnight in quite a few of the Texas State Parks, but since they closed we have had no problem finding good free overnight spots.

Oh, and speaking of Texas State Parks, they are re-opening their day use areas as of Monday! Great news for those of us who like to get some exercise and fresh air.

Fortunately, this kind of thing doesn't happen very often

Went for a 5.5 mile (9 km) power walk before leaving Santa Anna, Texas. Not the most scenic area, so didn't take any photos. But at least we got some exercise in.

We woke up to a strong south wind that was forecast to get stronger as the day went on. We don't normally like driving Sherman on a windy day, but when it's a tailwind, we will take the extra gas mileage!

Good guys at Flores Tire and Auto in Brady, Texas!

We continued slowly north today. We stopped in at Lake Brady Park just west of Brady, Texas but there weren't a lot of areas to walk so it didn't look like a suitable place for us to overnight. While we were there, I checked Sherman's tire pressures.

The left rear inner tire has had a slow leak ever since we plugged it four months ago in Mexico. I've been keeping an eye on it, and I've had to top it up once a week or so. But lately, the slow leak has become a fast leak!

Heading further north

It seems the worst of the cold weather front is over as of today, so we are slowly heading further north.

Yesterday, we walked around the town of Llano (pop 3,200). Nice little place. Then, we drove up towards Brady (pop 5,300) and found a nice little highway rest area for the night.