[Marilyn]

The patch didn't make me queezy. It protected me from sea sickness while I was wearing it on the cruise. What happened is that your body gets accustomed to the motion of the ship & when you get off, you can still feel the motion. There is some kind of residual effect in our inner ears. At least for some of us. The sense of motion when there was none is what made me sick. I should have probably had another patch to use for a couple of days after we got home to help combat the effect. I was just totally unaware that something like this could happen, so was unprepared. If we do this again, I will consult with my doctor and see what we can do.

We would like, if the economy improves and we can someday, to do a cruise from Seattle or from Vancouver, BC to Alaska. We also want to do a Mediterannean cruise that loosely follows the apostle Paul's journeys. You begin in Jerusalem and end up in Rome. These are some of our dreams we've been planning and saving for that may not happen if our savings doesn't come back. We both love to travel.

One of the things that I may do in retirement is be a travel agent and plan group trips. The cruise we just went on was a group trip organized by a travel agency that belongs to two retired people who work out of their homes. One of the couples went with us to make sure all went well. They chartered a shuttle to take us from our town right to the boat and back home. We didn't have to deal with luggage or tipping or anything. Their travel was business expense. They can also take research trips that are tax deductable. What a deal!! They are also the ones who planned our Europe trip for us. They have been there so know where to stay and how things work. Kinda like your own personal Rick Steves.