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Rosemary & Theresa's Dignity Cruise
On two of evenings we had formal dinners where we wore evening gowns and on one evening we attended the Captain's cocktail party in evening gowns. We met the Captain who was a tall, handsome, 37 year old, man from Argentina. He had a good sense of humor and before the ship left New Orleans he announced that we would get under way as soon as he found the keys.
There were many side trips available from snorkeling to visiting Pyramids. At Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island the ship had to anchor out that required the passengers to step from the accommodation ladder onto a violently rocking boat. The boat was one of the enclosed lifeboats and once inside it was safe, but I was afraid that Theresa would fall between the ship and the boat. When inside the boat I told Theresa that I was once a Certified Lifeboatman when I sailed as a crewman on three Merchant Ships. While disembarking the ship my hat was blown away in the strong wind.
Theresa bought some things for our three grandsons and while she was in one store and I was standing outside the proprietor threw his arms around me and gave me a hug. He was trying to "butter me up" so that I would buy something. He would have been surprised to know that I am a heterosexual male crossdresser and that my wife was in the store.
I visited the Treasure Shop where they had some gold coins that had been salvaged from shipwrecks. I own some rare gold coins from the SS Central America that sunk in a hurricane off of South Carolina in 1857, but I am afraid to buy gold coins over the counter like that. After buying some spirits and other items to be brought home to our families, we returned to the boat to go back to the ship for lunch.
That afternoon we lounged in the Solarium, which is like a Roman Garden with white columns, statues and a pool in the center. We were supposed to dock at a port in Mexico, but the strong winds didn't allow that so we went full speed to Progresso, Mexico. This allowed us to relax and to read. I finally had the opportunity to read the January issue of the Wild Rose completely. It was a shame that we weren't included in the Questionnaires that were referred to in some of the articles.
At Progresso the pier is very long and it is necessary to take a bus in order to get to the town of Progresso. We visited many outdoor shops and in one of them I bought a Mexican dress. I had to try it on over my clothes that consisted of a T-shirt and jeans. We stopped in a Café and I ordered a Cerveza. The attractive waitress spoke no English, but I tried to order some food because something smelled like fish and chips. I pointed to my mouth so she brought me three paper plates. One had two large tacos on it. A second plate had some very interesting pieces of something that looked like short lengths of a tube that had been cut in half, were red on the outside and white on the inside. I placed a few on a taco, but I couldn't chew them. I tried the remaining plate that looked like chopped raw fish with chopped onion. This was not what I wanted to have for lunch so we left and got on the bus. I do not know what I was attempting to eat, but I don't think that I want to know.
There was a tall white lighthouse nearby, but I couldn't find the name of it any where. My bet is that it is the Progresso Lighthouse. We did a little more shopping after leaving the bus and I had one more Cerveza before walking down the concrete pier to the ship.
The ship left and it headed to Pilot Town at the Delta or mouth of the Mississippi River. During the cruise we played Bingo and I attended a wine tasting. There were so many things going on that the list is too long for this article. I want to thank Melanie for saving my life because in my last article I told her that if she doesn't Disco with me on this cruise that I would run to the Stern of the ship and threaten to jump overboard just like Rose in the film Titanic. Melanie did Disco with me as well as two other CD's from our dinner table. Actually, Rosemary modified her threat from jumping off the back of the ship to jumping off the backside of the swimming pool.
On the last evening of the cruise we packed our bags and placed them out in the passageway to be picked up. I was wearing my T Shirt that has ROSEMARY written across the chest and blue jeans with my red wig and went to dinner that way. After dinner Theresa and I proceeded to the Casino where Theresa used up all of my loose change on the slots. I was walking through the Casino when some GG came running up behind me yelling, "Rosemary, Rosemary". I turned and she told me that she was so interested in what I told her about my working in the Aeroballistics Laboratory at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama under Dr. Werner Von Braun as a young Physicist, that she wanted her husband to meet me. He seemed a little surprised when he turned from the Black Jack table to meet me. He didn't know that there was a Physicist named Rosemary that worked on the Jupiter Missile. My co-workers at the Aeroballistics Laboratory didn't know that either.
We had a wonderful cruise and everyone had a great time. We have signed up for the Dignity Cruise for next year that goes to the Panama Canal and other ports. We want to congratulate Peggy and Melanie for conducting another fine Dignity Cruise.
