Plan An Adventure
Birthdays have a habit of coming every year, whether or not you are grieving. September 13, 2024 marked the fourth birthday without my beloved, Ed. Family was going to celebrate with me on the 15th, but I did not want to be alone on my actual day.
I made reservations for a one night stay at the beautiful Courtyard Erie Bayfront Hotel by Marriott. Note to my readers: Tell people when it is your birthday. The hotel staff gifted me with a free dinner and free breakfast the next morning.
At the last minute, I decided to invite my sister, Tammy Warholic Comino to join me on this trip. She graciously accepted and even did the driving. Her superpower has always been driving a manual shift transmission vehicle (a stick shift), and she does so very smoothly! So I was going on an adventure with my sister in a fun car. Our hotel even provided a free ($25 value) breakfast for her, too.
We visited the lighthouses on Presque Isle, but the highlight of the trip for me was sailing on the Lettie G. Howard sloop (historic tall ship) in Lake Erie. Lettie was built in 1893 and looks great for her age. She also sailed like a dream, reminiscent of John Denver's song Calypso. We interacted with the crew and even helped hoist the sails. Captain Billy Sabatini called out the commands and crew and passengers responded. There were only four commands:
Haul Away - Pull
Avast - Stop pulling
Ease Up - Give the line back
Come Up - Drop the line
If you are not capable of physical labor, you can sit down and let everyone else do the work! I hoisted the sails for awhile, but soon decided it was safer for me to sit and chat with the captain. A crew member handed me a line, the size and weight of a string, but still attached to the mainsail, and told me to keep control of it at all times. So much responsibility! I still haven't figured out if I was doing an actual job, or if he just felt sorry for me sitting there. Either way, it was fun, and got some laughs.
Now that we were at full sail, Lettie took us on a 90 minute voyage. It was so relaxing and beautiful on the water. One of the crew members talked about the history of the Lettie G. Howard and then Captain Billy played some music from his nautical playlist. He even took my suggestion to play Sloop John B.
There is still time for you to go on this adventure until October 7th. If you call this number, 833-365-7245, Captain Billy often answers the phone himself. Tell him Sandy told you to call. If you have to wait until 2025 to make a reservation, you can start memorizing hoisting instructions now.
Instead of sitting alone on my birthday, I created a memory and a new experience. Yes, I thought about Ed, and missed him so much, but I believe he was with me, too. If you are grieving the loss of any loved one, please plan an adventure for yourself. In fact, I'm thinking about planning a monthly adventure. If you have any suggestions for me, please email me or leave your suggestions in the Comments. I've always loved getting comments, but now I also love adventures.
Choose to be happy.
is the creator and author of The Sandra Seeley Columns. She is a lifelong educator whose teaching experience ranges from suburban Bethel Park, PA to Hawaii to urban Pittsburgh Public's Homewood, Hill District and Squirrel Hill communities. She has taught in every grade level from Kindergarten through Grade 5. She has a Master's Degree in Education from The University of Pittsburgh with a minor in English. Her passion has always been the teaching of Communications: Reading and Writer's Workshop. She is now a freelance writer. To contact the author, click the following link.
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