Great memory-making with girlfriends! GIRLFRIEND CRUISE TO BERMUDA!

We woke this morning to land on the horizon. After two days at sea (and very fun days with great new girlfriends, I might add!), this morning there were some bumpy things on the horizon. Ahead was Bermuda – our destination and home for three days on our girlfriend cruise with Janet DeVito of GirlsonaCruise.com. And, as luck would have it, it’s a GORGEOUS day with equally great weather predicted for the rest of our visit. (Yeah!)

Sometimes it takes a few days for me to get into ‘travel mode.’ Traveling for me is a somewhat intense emotional, somewhat spiritual , experience. I feel like my eyes are open to things I don’t normally see in the ‘real world.’ The kindness of strangers can bring me to tears. The differences and similarities we share with people different and similar is enough to make me pause and take note. The brilliant aqua sea and the bright white roofs, the laughter and conversations overheard, the scent of salt water and a cool ocean breeze, all are more vibrant and beautiful.

By now you may have guessed, that I’m a bit of a whimp. Especially when I travel – my eyes and emotions are open to the world around me. Proof: This morning at breakfast, a loving father of an adorable 16-month old kept addressing her as ‘gorgeous.’ I teared up. The couples who dress alike (a fashion trend I’ve always somewhat scoffed but must admit, they probably look dang good in their cruise photos!) make me smile. Generations of families doting on each other, seeing men in knee socks and Bermuda shorts, cars on the ‘wrong side’ of the road, ferries and yachts greeting new visitors to their bright, colorful island – it’s a sensory overload of gratitude for experiencing it and wishing all my friends (including my dear husband who would LOVE to be here too) could see, smell and feel  what I am blessed to experience right now.

Today the girls are off to Horseshoe Bay –said to have amazing pink beaches. My girlfriend/roommate Joan is on a five-hour tour of the islands and is scouting out places that I ‘must see’ before we depart on Friday. After some work and a conference call, I’ll meet the girls at the Swizzle Inn (tagline: ‘swizzle in, swagger out’ – yikes!). Then we’ll do dinner and have more fabulous conversations and laughs.

All in all, it’s a wonderful reminder to me to take time off, to spend time with friends – new and old, to leave the comfort of my home/city and explore. It’s a perfect way to celebrate ‘Best Friends Day’ and just girlfriends in general. But that’s true every day. It’s just that today, I get to experience it in Bermuda. Lucky girl. Happy me. (:

p.s. After this wonderful girlfriend cruise, I can only hope for more with our favorite girls cruise director, Janet and friends. I hope you can join us next time. It’s well worth the investment of money and time in yourself and your friendships. I’d love you to be here and experience it together – with your girlfriends! Happy Best Friends Day girlfriend!

p.s.s. Addendum – exploring Bermuda (: Took a lovely walk and ferry ride around Bermuda. Found an internet café, skyped with a friend, had a bowl of Bermuda Chowder (actually just so I could have a clean place to use the restroom!) and have found my way back to the ship to finish up some work and then head back out to meet Janet and the girls. Every vista and conscious thought about Bermuda brings gratitude for the opportunity to be here and the beauty all around us. Thanks to Janet for planning this and for all the special things that she does for her ‘girls on a cruise’ (like special gifts every night, taking care of our planning, etc.). Thanks to Joan for being a perfect roommate.  Thanks to the girlfriends that are supporting me while being away – Judi and Julie. And thanks to you for inspiring me to inspire women to have better friendships. Feeling a lot of girlfriend gratitude. THANKS!

Tags: bermuda, Friends, girlfriend cruise, girlfriends, girls on a cruise, janet devito

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 8th, 2011 at 3:56 pm and is filed under Be a Better FRIEND, Girlfriend Advice and Reviews, Girlfriend Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.