The visit to the Houston Space Center didn't work out well at all. Apparently I scheduled the visit for Monday, Feb. 2, and I truly thought it was supposed to be on Friday, February 6. We missed our opportunity to see the Space Center using the VIP access, but we did walk around the visitor's center and listened to an astronaut's talk about his experiences.

  We followed that up with a wonderful weekend visit with Fran and Len King in San Antonio. They hosted us in their home, took us to some great restaurants and a visit to Gruene, Texas. If you've never been there, it's worth the effort. We tasted wine, listened to country music and visited several shops in some very old and historic buildings.

  After driving back to Phoenix to repack, we spent the next weekend in Las Vegas with family and friends celebrating my brother-in-law Steves' 50th birthday. So much fun! The guys played golf, the girls went shopping at the Forum Shops in Caesar's, and everyone went to Battista's Hole-in-the-Wall for a birthday dinner Saturday night. Marnie and Steve booked a suite at the Nobu Hotel that was party central. Very luxe and special. Have you ever sat on a heated toilet seat that rinsed you off with three different jets of warm water and then dried your little fanny with warm air? Ha, ha, ha. We all had fun trying out this very upscale bathroom! This weekend was a tradition begun 10 years ago for Steve's 40th birthday, and we all decided to plan on meeting again in another 10 years for his 60th birthday.

  After Vegas, Cory flew to Connecticut  to attend a week-long woodworker's workshop with Bobby and Dave, his best buds from working at SCC. I spent the week in Prescott, AZ, with my Dad. We're headed back to Phoenix today and will spend next week in Phoenix. Then we've scheduled a one week cruise on the Crown Princess to Mexico leaving from Los Angeles on Feb. 28. We love cruising and the weather in Mexico will be warm and inviting. I anticipate three days on a deck chair in my bathing suit, reading and relaxing. We'll spend three days in Cabo, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta, three of my favorite places. Cory and I took this cruise on our honeymoon 15 years ago, so this has special memories for us.

 On March 21 we leave Fort Lauderdale on the Island Princess for a 17 day transatlantic crossing to Venice, Italy. I'll post our itinerary for the next year below.   
 
 March 21 -April 7 (19 days) Venetian Passage on the Island Princess from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Venice, Italy.

April 7 – 17 Venice, Italy (10 days)

April 17 – May 1 - Bologna, Italy (14 days) Train to Bologna, Italy.

May 1 to June 1 – Dubrovnik, Croatia (30 days)
 
June 1 – July 31 Richmond, England (61 days) 

July 31 – September 1 Amsterdam, Netherlands (32 days) 
 
September 1 – October 1 Praia de Luz, Portugal (30 days) 
 
October 1 – 28 Amalfi Coast or Sicily, southern Italy (28 days)

October 28 – fly to England, overnight in Southampton
 
October 29 - November 8 - NCL Escape 10 nights transatlantic cruise from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale

We're still planning next winter and considering Puerto Rico, Panama, or maybe Belize. We'll definitely go somewhere warm and near a large body of water with a beach! I'll try to post a few pics later when I get my hands on Cory's camera.