Anchor's Aweigh, 5776

So the Jewish year draws to a close, and we're headed out of town. We leave tomorrow for NYC, where we will spend some quality time with D2 and Jonathan. This is guaranteed -- we have reservations for Quality Meats for dinner.  I look forward to toasting the coming 5777 with them.

D1 is jetting to Bogota with her fiance Joey and his family. They plan a big, fat, or grande, gordo, Colombian Rosh Hashonah in South America.  Joey's family has already made D1 their own -- she's going to have a great long weekend before returning here to take over dog/house sitting duties from her friend British Sarah, so called because her name is Sarah and she is from London...Sarah will be right at home with the two spoiled King Charles Cavalier Spaniels -- they're an English breed, and the strange rescue dog is anyone's guess...

On Sunday, we'll meet our fellow sailors -- Edna, Marc, Deb, and Norman. Edna and Wifey are celebrating a big birthday this year -- Edna's next week, and Wifey's Xmas Day. I've been asked to stop mentioning it's their 60th, but the cat is out of the bag...Wifey emailed our travel agent Earl, who is Norman's brother in law, asking about restaurants on the ship. Wifey mentioned it was Edna's birthday, and now there's a series of ship related emails all acknowledging that we're celebrating Edna's 60th. So everybody knows...

We lost my father in law this past year -- very sad. And D1 got engaged to marry a great guy -- very joyful. So the year played out like all of them -- some mountains, and, luckily, fewer valleys.

So the cruise is a Fall foliage theme, and it appears that the colors have begun. The farther north we go, the more Autumnal it ought to be.

We pull out Sunday night, and stop in Newport, RI. Wifey and I have been there -- we'll walk around, and maybe visit some of the historic houses other than the Breakers. Tuesday is Boston -- we have friends coming to meet us, and it'll be nice to walk around Beantown in the Fall. Maybe Norman and I will wear Dolphins jerseys, so the Pats fans can make fun of us.

Wednesday is Bar Harbor, another place we've already visited. I think we have an excursion involving a lobster bake, so that will be an appropriate treyf-ful way to celebrate the holiday.  And after that we head for the Canadian Maritimes -- a place I've always wanted to visit.  I mean, you can't spell Bay of Fundy without f-u-n, right?

Saturday, showing how much we love and honor our wives, Norman and I are missing the best Canes home game in years, against FSU, in order to be on the trip.  I look forward to consuming a healthy amount of the ship's premium liquor as we watch the game from somewhere off the New England coast.  And then we return to port Sunday.

D2 will be off in Gainesville that weekend, for a long planned reunion of many of her UF friends, so we won't see her.  I though maybe there'd be a drink at the Centurion Lounge, but she's returning to LGA while we leave out of JFK..but she's coming home for TDay, a month or so later...

By T Day, we'll have elected a new president.  Any of my friends with even half a brain can't believe Trump is truly a serious threat, but it shows how flawed Clinton is as a candidate.  I've started thinking in terms of the Louisiana governor's race of 1991, which pitted the sleazeball Edwards against the KKK man Duke. The bumper sticker was "Vote for the lizard, not the wizard." So here's to hoping Lizard Hillary wins...

If not, so what? We'll probably have to suffer lower taxes, and better conditions for the rich.  If a majority of poorer Americans want to vote against their interests, and in mine, who am I to complain?

Here's to great health and laughter to all, in 5777.  The Christians think 666 is the number of the devil. I'm thinking 777 is the number of a very, very lucky year. I pray I'm correct.