SURPRISE, SURPRISE

By Joe Lopez, VP

It wasn’t long ago that I wrote an article about my excursion to the west coast last September 2004.  That’s when I visited with friends in Illinois and Iowa.  After touring the Rocky Mountains, Sturgis, Mount Rushmore, Chief Crazy Horse, the Hearst Castle and many more attractions, it was time to get to my ultimate destination, Salinas, California.  In January 2003 Barbara and I went on a Caribbean Cruise and met a wonderful couple from Salinas, California, Ellie and Mike.  We had a wonderful time and we stayed in touch via email.  I figured since I was going to California anyway I would stop by their home and stay a couple of days.  While there I saw the BIG REDWOOD trees and a few other attractions.  Barbara and I had made plans for another Caribbean Cruise on January 2005, which I had been researching, and planning for almost a year and I asked them if there was a possibility they could join us.  They said it was a very bad time of the year and they just couldn’t get the time off.  So….I just dropped the subject.  January came around and we were finally on the ship.  The cruise line was Celebrity and the ship was called The Century.  I picked this particular ship because of its reputation for one of the best cuisines in the Caribbean.  I booked what they called a Sky Suite with a butler and all the trimmings.  It wasn’t a new ship but it was kept in excellent condition.  While waiting for our luggage we decided to tour the ship and book some of the excursions.  We’re waiting our turn at the Excursion Booking Desk and Barbara’s cell phone starts ringing.  IT’S HER JOB.  I can’t tell you how upset she was and she’s telling them, “How dare you call me.  Don’t you know we’re on vacation?  I don’t care what the problem is.  It’s 1:00, I’m hungry, my feet hurt and it’s our turn to book an excursion and you’re calling me with a problem.  You handle it and please don’t call me again”.  I can’t tell you how upset she was.  With tears in her eyes she wanted to go back to the suite.  I figured she would be better off being by herself but she didn’t want any part of that.  She insisted that I go back with her to the suite and I did.  While in the suite the doorbell rings.  Imagine that, we had a doorbell, unbelievable.  I open the door and it’s our butler.  A very nice young man, in a tuxedo and very polished.  He introduced himself and said if we needed anything 24/7, not to call room service, to call his private number and he’ll get what ever we needed.  He said he had something outside for us and he went into the hallway to get it.  If you’ve ever been on a cruise you’ll know that the door closes automatically which it did.  He rings the doorbell again and I open the door.  Who walks in but Ellie & Mike from California.  SURPRISE, SURPRISE.   Have you ever noticed whenever someone wins a big prize or a lot of money on a quiz show they start jumping up and down.  Well…..I used  to call them a bunch of idiots and I would never stoop down low enough to ever do anything like that.  I ate my words.  I saw them and I was overwhelmed with joy and I started jumping and down.  I wouldn’t stop until I was totally exhausted, which by the way in my condition didn’t take very long.  I kept saying “Oh my God, oh my God”.  When I was in California they had already booked the cruise and a stateroom right across the hall from us.  Wasn’t that fantastic?  I found out later the cell phone call Barbara received while we were trying to book an excursion, she was all the while talking with Ellie making arrangements to meet at the suite at 1:00.  Isn’t that the sneakiest scheme or what?  Wow, talk about being an actress.  And you want to know something else, everybody in the whole world knew about this surprise, even the travel agent who booked our cruise knew about it.  Amazing how everyone kept quiet.  Not one little slip, unbelievable.   Without a doubt it was the best cruise we ever had.  Remember, good friends are hard to find, KEEP THEM.