My Heart Melted Over a Piano

After a 6 week break, Connor started back at his piano lessons today. I love that he plays piano. I have such fond memories of banging out tunes and belting out Broadway hits that it's hard for me to imagine not playing piano. I mean, what do you do if you can't read music and start singing whenever you want?*

Connor was extremely proud to be able to play piano for his grandparents and my sister (a professional piano teacher) when we were in Kansas back in July. And you know what the absolute best part of the whole trip to Kansas was? The day my sister sat down and played a secondo line opposite Connor's primo. If I was harboring ill feelings toward my sister, they melted that day. She must have sat with him for at least half an hour. During that half hour, Connor felt like a professional musician. He was absolutely inspired to keep playing piano because finally, after several weeks of one note at a time, he experienced the art of making music.

Elaine

*That's sort of a rhetorical question. My friend hosts a caroling party every year and I know exactly what you do if you're not making harmonies with several people who really know how to sing. You stand at the back and drink from a flask, or you stay at home and stir the chili while everyone else walks around the neighborhood (Ed's preferred option).

Almost at the Finish - a Look Back at Parts of England

Our month long vacation comes to a close soon. To all my friends who encouraged me not to be intimidated by international travel with children, I am grateful. Possibly the thing I love most about being a parent is seeing things through my children's eyes. And though they weren't the ones who spotted the "elderly crossing" as we traveled to Avebury, or the "there is no dog poop fairy" sign on the trashcan at the head of our walk through the English countryside, they noticed plenty.

You see, there's something amazing about a functioning public transit system. We pay 8.25 pounds each day to ride a fast train from Saint Albans to London. Then, we ride the underground, overground, or bus wherever we want, with just the wave of a card. When we hop on the bus, we take the effort to climb to the second story - and Connor and Helen are absolutely right, the view really is better from up there - and I've learned that there's more to riding a bus than getting from point A to point B. We've stopped at Paddington station just to see Paddington's statue, and we'll try and run through platform 9 and three-quarters on our way out of London for the final time. Because tube stations can be fun places with interesting things to see.

No, our visit to the Tate Modern wasn't exactly my dream of an art museum, and apologies to Meschac Gaba for knocking down the blocks - but no apology to the docents who placed pressure on my destroyers to rebuild the structure. The sign clearly stated the blocks were for touching. And it was just too much temptation - all those blocks stacked into a house, and then that lady tipping down one row with her shoe. It could only be seen as an invitation. More people laughed at the Tate that day than have in a while, I'm certain. Plus, it sort of showed that art is, indeed, alive - and sometimes, art is ridiculous. (Sadly, no photo, as I'm pretty sure cameras weren't allowed, and we'd destroyed enough for one visit - but I do have a photo of the sculpture they created in the children's space of the museum.)

Eventually Connor asked "How many castles does one queen need?" but he had a point, and it was the perfect opportunity for Ed to start telling the story of the end of the powerful monarchy and the transition to a House of Parliament. Always, there are lessons.

This trip stretches the adult's mind as much as the child's - because in order for Stonehenge to be exciting to a 5 and 7 year old, you have to figure out how to explain that something standing for over 4,500 is a miracle. Just what the heck is 4,500 years, anyway?

With children, it's impossible to be "on-the-go" constantly, and taking breaks at various festivals and playgrounds has proven to be great relief for the adults as well. We digest, they run. And while they're running, they learn how to overtake a castle at Old Sarum and then defend it an hour later. Many thanks to the docents there who had my children shouting for justice and wrapping the day up bludgeoning each other with foam swords. That's the kind of break one needs before heading to Avebury.

The wardens at the Tower of London managed to entertain all four of us and we didn't even feel like beheading either of our children - even after walking through long displays of jewels and armory - the kind of thing that could put a child on edge.

We wouldn't have gone to Hamleys and been serenaded in honor of Connor's 8th birthday, or taken the time to go to Kew Gardens or the Diana, Princess of Wales Kensington Playground if it weren't for Connor and Helen. And it's not that I've loved all of these places, but I have loved seeing a part of the world with my children.

I'm going to miss this place when we leave.

Elaine

On the road...

I can't even tell you how many days we've been on the road at this point. I can tell you we've made it to:

Topeka, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
Random other KC suburbs in Kansas
Albany, New York
Loon Lake, New York
New York City, New York (ever so briefly)
Saint Albans, England

and tomorrow we're making our first foray into London (unless we passed through there as I dozed in the car from the airport to Saint Albans).

At the risk of jinxing us, Connor and Helen have been absolute rock stars.

Even today, when they could've been at their breaking points, they managed to keep it together. We walked around a Butterfly Garden and then headed to the grocery store. They were getting a little tired and hungry at this point.

I am simultaneously thrilled that Ed is the primary driver and also terrified - hourly. My heart may not make it through this trip, but for the comic relief from the back seat. Helen maintains an impeccable sense of timing as she warns Ed about "snail crossings" (aka speed bumps) and mocks Ed for hitting the curb and driving with the windshield wipers on, although no rain falls.

Ed exclaims with indignity when he misses a turn that it "certainly wasn't 400 feet" and Connor eagerly supports his claim. I laugh and point out that I'm not arguing with him and the GPS, to which he claims to mean no affront.

Helen even noticed that children in the UK don't appear to hold hands with their parents. Instead, they all wear leashes. She has a point here.

I have decided that the best part of exchanging homes with a family with kids is that Connor and Helen have new toys to play with, and it has been fantastic listening to them play. It has allowed them to go from drenched in rain to having a ball in a matter of minutes. This goes a long way to restoring my road weary nerves.

Elaine

Snow Day

I was really hoping Friday would be a snow day. I had big plans to take an adventure on the metro with Connor and Helen to a nearby bookstore and grab a cookie (with a coupon, no less!). Then, we were going to make the grandest of snow forts, make Helen a snow chair so she could watch Connor and I lob snowballs at each other, and then head inside to warm up.

It was going to be great.

Only there's one problem. We have no snow! Not a single flake decided to fall here, despite forecasts calling for 2 - 6 inches.

So...I guess we just have to relive the memories of when we were in Kansas, and at least got to see snow, even if it wasn't that much and didn't stick around for long.

Elaine

Getting Around on Vacation

Ed and I are on the brink of an enormous parenting milestone. We can almost bike to the beach with our children. At present, Helen is still riding the trail-a-bike behind Ed, but my backseat has been put to rest in the shed until I have time to pass it along to the next person. This is possible, because Connor is rocking his own wheels these days.

I love it. And not just because my bike is 25 pounds lighter!

We also added kayaks back into to our list of great things to do in Chincoteague. It felt great to visit Snug Harbor for the first time in 6 years and paddle around. This was one of those activities that Ed and I have always loved, but we've been afraid to take the kids. This year, we gritted our teeth and just said "we're doing it". It was totally the right call.

As usual, our arms gave out well before our alloted time on the ocean. Next year, maybe we'll make the whole morning. Another Chincoteague milestone of being given a paddle with kayak rental still seems a few years off for Helen and Connor.

Elaine

New York City! I Own You

It's true. New York City and I have not always gotten along. I doubt I'll ever forget when I nearly lost Helen, followed by the day I had a self-diagnosed panic attack in the middle of New York City with no other adults nearby that I knew. Although it took a while to get over that, I returned to visit Vickie the following November, and didn't even lose my kids once! Or feel as if I was in any danger of collapsing and leaving them to fend for themselves.

And now, frankly, it seems almost rude of me to tell New York City that my days of being intimidated by it are over.

For some reason (because we were being cheap), we decided to drive to Albany. On the way back, we split up the drive by stopping in New York City to visit Vickie and her crew. We spent a day chasing around giant statues in the City, visited a transportation museum, and ate cupcakes! Ed went out with a friend one night, and then it was back to DC for us. It was hardly intimidating at all. But it was fun!

Thank you, Vickie, for another great trip. Please let Tipper know that we are grateful that she is the nicest cat in the world, and someday, we hope to actually see something besides the blur that is Moxie as she exits the room when she sees us coming.

Benjie, Tipper, Connor, and Helen. Run, Tipper, run!

Can we break it?

"HELLO! I'm in a confined space! I must shout out to the world!"

Notice the thumb's up Helen is giving? That's her letting NYC know who's boss!

Elaine

NaBloPoMo Advice Column - Day 13 - Establish a Realistic Rhythm

I'm writing 30 thoughts in 30 days for NaBloPoMo. In no particular order, I'm giving you my worldview. I draw the topics from things that come up the day I post, or the day or two before I post.

The best gift my mother ever gave me was showing me how to establish a rhythm in a household. I'm guessing it came so naturally to her, she neither worked at it nor knew she was doing it. Although there were a couple of tasks that slid regularly, almost everything got done every week, or as needed. For example, sheets were changed on Thursday, rooms were cleaned on Friday (or Saturday). Homework was finished before heading outside and bedtime was not to be missed. Laundry seemed to be a near daily task.

It's taken me a long time to get into my own groove. In part, I used to think that waiting until the last minute was efficient! It's when I got my best work done! After all, why bother washing today when you might be able to wait a week and do it then, although it would often mean wearing things I didn't want to wear, things that were slightly off-season, or things that simply weren't appropriate - just because that's what was clean.

I have finally figured out a system that gets everything done - and doesn't rely on the weekends to do it. It may have taken a while, but I finally realized that Ed and I are often gone on the weekends, so counting on that time to do a regular task, rather than an optional task, was a recipe for being behind. By the end of our weekend away, I'd be anxious about what didn't get done, and ultimately didn't enjoy being away as much as I should have enjoyed it.

It's also enabled me to build a great rhythm for Connor and Helen, which I credit for the almost never tantrums in our home, and seems to work in general. There are still a few tasks that need working in, and a few habits to change (though finally, after living out of my parents' home for 20 years, I have turned the corner and now make my bed daily), but mostly, things are getting done. The best reason I can recommend developing a rhythm for daily life is that one need only worry about a few tasks daily, rather than always having a task looming overhead. For example, Wednesday is laundry day in my house, Thursday is folding day. I don't worry about the laundry getting done - no matter how big the pile - any day except Wednesday. It's been really freeing!

And this weekend? It left the freedom to enjoy the heated cabins at Bull Run.

Connor carefully sets out a bunch of nuts to see if squirrels are still running around.

After a two mile hike for Connor and me (and a nap for Helen and Ed), it was time for art. The tortoise actually turned out pretty cool, with some nice layered colorwork on the back of the turtle.

Time to hang with Dad.

Quick! Pose with the cannons!

At first, walking with the Ranger during a tour was very interesting.

Later, it was boring, though it did yield a little time to weave blades of grass. Chip off the old block, that girl is.

Elaine

Building a worldview:
Day 1: Surround Yourself With Brilliant People (though my friend Susan makes a good point that clever is pretty good, too).
Day 2: Whatever, it works.
Day 3: Surround Yourself With Beauty
Day 4: When You Go Through Something New - Drag Someone With You
Day 5: No sweatpants.
Day 6: Embrace the Crazy
Day 7: Listen to Your Friends or Fight Old Fogey-dom. Get out there. Keep experiencing fun, new things.
Day 8: Don't Let Anyone Sell You Short
Day 9: Take a Lesson From Your Child
Day 10: Consume the best chocolate you can
Day 11: Help your neighbor.
Day 12: Take Breaks

Connor's Heaven

About a week ago, Grandpa Dick came to babysit. He managed to squeeze a lot of fun into a hurricane shortened visit. The final evening of his visit was spent in the Red Caboose hotel near Strasburg, PA. While this might not have been Grandpa Dick's version of heaven, it was definitely Connor's version of heaven. Our car included two bunk beds, so both Helen and Connor scored a top bunk. Ed and I scored a double bed that wasn't quite long enough for Ed's body.

Elaine

Wordless Wednesday: Cheesy Poofs!

Homemade Friday: Wax Hand

When we were in Squaw Valley last winter, Connor and Helen made candles at a candlemaking shop. For a while, they were too nervous to burn them because I think they both believed the candles would just disappear. That, however, is not the case - because they are both huge candles.

While in Williamsburg, the kids had an opportunity to make other was creations - Helen made a jar candle, and Connor made a wax hand at the Yankee Candle Company. The hand is seriously awesome. Connor had to make two of these, because the first one couldn't be pried from his hand in one piece.

Connor, with a claw shaped hand. I thought it was fabulous. Sadly, it ended up in the trash bin in several pieces.

What could be more awesome than a rendition of your child's hand floating around in a tub of ice. Fist-shaped = much easier to remove from hand.

After the wax hand was released from Connor, he had it dipped in green and red wax, so now a fist of Connor's sits on my mantle with green, white, and red stripes - just like the Italian flag. I might have preferred one color, but Connor was set on having as many colors as possible - which turns out to be two, with white in between them.

Helen had a ball selecting which color of wax she would deposit in her jar. Ed was not as enthusiastic.

Afterwards, we ate lots of candy at the candy store embedded in the Yankee Candle Company, bought some fudge, and then called it a day.

I wish I had a was hand of Helen, but she was too short to be able to dip her hand in the wax and also, having Connor keep his hand still was hard enough, asking Helen to do it would have been an impossible task. I would love to have a collection of wax hands of both Helen and Connor though. I think it'll be fun to see how their hands grow over the years.

Elaine

Disclosure: For this vacation, my family was guests of Greater Williamsburg. I received a free candle and wax hand from the Yankee Candle Company.

Chincoteague - 2011 Edition

I've been heading to Chincoteague almost annually since 1995, when my boss gave my coworker keys to a house he had rented but was unable to use. That was a huge mistake of my boss (I've always wondered if he got that security deposit back), but great fun for me and the 20 or so other people that piled into that little house for the weekend.

Over the years, the trip has mellowed considerably. Which is probably a good thing.

This was the first year that Helen truly embraced the beach. No more being annoyed by sand for her - she was ready to play. Most of the time. She still enjoys sitting in a chair with a towel beneath her feet so they don't get too dirty. But luckily, the rest of the time she seems able to cope with the dirt.

This year, Therese and Rob introduced the boys to the boogie board. And, no surprise, Connor loved it.

Helen wasn't quite as into her board as Connor - which is good since she can't actually swim. I like to have her holding someone's hand when she's near the ocean. It just makes me feel more comfortable. And she's happy to oblige, though she does love the "way deep" water when a parent, usually Ed, takes her past the breakers.

I'm happy to report, that we accomplished every single item from our list of things that Connor insisted we do the next time we went to Chincoteague. I didn't actually look up this list prior to departing for Chincoteague - and as it turns out - I didn't need to. Connor and Helen remembered every.single.item.

As a review:
1. Get a toy. There was a cheap plastic horse, trailer, and car at the Chincoteague Pony Centre. We weren't on the island more than a few hours before Connor recalled how "Daddy had promised he would get a toy" and that's the one he wanted. We're not that into buying a bunch of plastic junk, but Ed and I both agreed that if Connor could remember the dumb thing for a year, he could have it. Wonder what egregious things he's going to remember from his childhood?

2. Go to Mr. Whippy. We had actually done this last year, but not enough for Connor's liking. Just in case you wondered if Helen has grown in the past two years, check out these photos - taken in 2009 and 2011. The sign hasn't changed. The kid sure has!

3. Ride the ponies at Chincoteague Pony Centre. Again - we did this last year, but not enough. For Helen's entire ride, she kept chanting "giddy-up, giddy up". The teen horse leaders were shocked. I wasn't.

4. Ride the convertibles. We rented the mini car for an hour, and Helen thoroughly enjoyed her 20 minutes in it. Ed did not enjoy his hour rattling around the beach nearly as much. When describing Chincoteague to a babysitter, Helen noted it was "a place where you can rent houses and little convertibles". She also casually mentioned, while at the Build Your Own Cookie stand that "if, you  know, we just happened to want to rent a convertible again, there was one right over there. We could just walk! See! It's not far at all."

5. Golf. We actually managed to hit both courses.


And of course, the list was longer than that. The thing we did different this year? We left the fair before the fireworks, drove about an hour and saw a fireworks show from the side of the highway, and then kept right on truckin', with both kids sleeping. No more ruining vacation with a long drive!

Elaine

Wordless Wednesday: In Step at the Beach

Firsts at the Beach: Periwinkles and Raw Oysters

This past week, we made our annual trek to Chincoteague Island. As always, it's been a blast. Helen dove right into eating a raw oyster that Captain Barry plucked from the ocean and followed it up a few nights later with several periwinkles.

Here is Helen holding a bucket of the periwinkles (snails) that she helped pluck from a nearby dock.

Elaine

Entering the KidZone in Williamsburg, aka the Benjamin Powell House

We wrapped up our stay in Colonial Williamsburg at the Benjamin Powell House. Here, we saw a sheep being shorn with some awkward scissors. I envy neither the woman working nor the sheep.

They also had an ox cart, but unfortunately they weren't giving ox cart rides the day we were there. Connor and Helen would've loved that - and it would've enabled us to skip the carriage ride around town the next day. Although the ride was fine, it wasn't spectacular, and Helen was getting to be a spectacular pain in my rump. Carriage rides have to be scheduled the day they're taken, and you have to get your reservation by 10:00 or you'll be out of luck. We scored an early ride, but that still caused us to cut it very close for our Schooner Pirate Adventure.

Anyway, back to the Peyton Randolph House. Did you know Colonial Williamsburg was home to freakishly large pigeons? I could've gone without knowing that too. These things are big enough that Hemingway probably would've been quite satisfied to have come upon them, rather than the little ones he was eating in Paris. Here, Helen gifted a baby pigeon with two shells that she had picked up from the road, placing them carefully in its nest. Helen had stuffed her pockets with these things, and doled them out to anyone who she felt needed a special gift from her.

And here, I'll take a moment to note that there's a big difference between men and women. When Helen would attempt to bestow a man with her gift, he would politely decline. But women? They would take the shell, admire it, ask if she was sure they could keep it, and then stick it in their pockets. Unfortunately for me, Helen didn't unload all of her treasures, and Ed - feeling a strange amount of inspiration in the vicinity of the washing machine didn't bother to check her pockets. I'm hoping within a few loads I will finally remove all of these from the machine.

The Peyton Randolph House is loaded with games for kids, both in and out, and we played several. Connor was pretty excited to see checkers, and Helen was excited by the dress up clothes.

I think Helen would've made a spectacular Colonial girl - except for likely expectation of needing to be seen and not heard. I'm not sure she would've been very good about that.

Elaine

For this vacation, my family was guests of Greater Williamsburg. My family received passes to Colonial Williamsburg, we stayed at the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel (we had a suite, which meant Ed and I didn't have to relive our trip to Key West where we sat on the curb outside our motel after Connor and Helen went to sleep, watching DVDs - not a highlight of our lives as parents). The hotel comped us one night, Greater Williamsburg comped one night, and we paid for one night. 

Connor's Takeaway? Things Weren't As Good in Colonial Times

Connor and Helen remain captivated by "olden days", so of course they loved Williamsburg. I was a little nervous about our trip at first, because I feared the trip would be long on tour guides talking above the little people's heads, and short on hands-on fun. Turns out, I shouldn't have worried.

Yes, Colonial Williamsburg has lots of history. You can stand where the Stamp Act revolt started, on the recreated steps of R. Charlton's Coffeehouse (and we did - while I discussed the outrage of women not being allowed to go to the coffeeshop, one of Helen's and my Friday rituals), you can walk down the street and see the Capitol of the colonies (we saw it from afar), and you can talk to as many historians as you like - since they dot the town.

But as you might suspect, those weren't the highlights for my 3 and 5 year old companions. The clear highlight in Colonial Williamsburg was the brickyard. Here, we learned that clay was excavated, mixed with water, and then people would mix it by squishing it with their feet. I could not even believe this, but when offered the chance to participate, Connor initially declined saying it was "too messy". After I recovered from falling over backwards in disbelief, I noticed Helen jumping at the chance, and Connor soon followed.

As you can see, Ed was in charge of supervising the little people because, um, it was too messy. Thankfully, no Helens or Connors ended up taking a bath in the mud pit.

So on we went to see the cabinet maker, who had a harpsichord which people could actually play. A teen was playing, encouraged by her parents to keep playing. I still can't believe I walked out of there without testing it out. What was I thinking? My sister - a piano teacher - is going to kick me for this one.

We also saw a man making barrels (and learned that all the bourbon barrels around town for trash collection were not manufactured during Colonial times - they're not the right size).

Artisans were happy to talk shop, happy to continue working, and happy to answer whatever random questions your 3 year old daughter throws at them. Like "what's your name" and "how old are you", Helen's questions d'jour.

We saw all of these places on our way to visit the jail of Colonial Williamsburg, which held endless fascination for Connor. This building has an official tour guide who walks you through the joint. The tour there was a bit more graphic than I usually like for Connor and Helen, but perhaps it will serve as a good deterrent to future crime. I received only a few follow-up questions about the 8 people a year who tended to die there, most of which I answered with "we don't think that's a very good idea now". And by we, of course I mean "I", but they'll figure that out soon enough.

While visiting each of the artisans, I took some time to point out that the stores didn't carry pre-fabricated merchandise, but rather, each piece was made to order - exactly how the person ordering it wanted it. The artisans would often tell us how long it took to make particular pieces. I was hoping to make the point that each item was made with care and very different than mass produced goods today. Connor wasn't impressed with the inefficiency of it all, and I think the point will need to be made another day.

As we walked the streets, Connor noticed the unevenness of bricks, the roofs that had sunlight coming through, and the corners that weren't quite square. His conclusion? "That's not a very good [insert noun of choice]". I guess the kids likes his corners square!

Elaine

My family and I were guests of Greater Williamsburg on this vacation. They facilitated mosts of our activities. My family received passes to Colonial Williamsburg. We stayed at the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel (we had a suite, which meant Ed and I didn't have to relive our trip to Key West where we sat on the curb outside our motel after Connor and Helen went to sleep, watching DVDs - not a highlight of our lives as parents). The hotel comped us one night, Greater Williamsburg comped one night, and we paid for one night.

Future Career Identified! Training Ground? Williamsburg Schooner Alliance!

We did it! We took our vacation to Williamsburg. And we were not disappointed. Although we crushed any dreams I might have had of taking the kids to Europe in the near future. We'll be staying closer to home, thank you very much. Some people in our traveling party - ahem, Helen - still need their naps. And some people in our traveling party - ahem, Connor - need to not come up with great ideas during dinner like launching a cherry tomato out of one's mouth "just like a cannon". Thematically appropriate? Perhaps.

But despite some difficulty, all was not lost. Connor and Helen appear to have found their calling. They plan to become pirates. Not only that, they have given the good folks at the Schooner Alliance pirate cruise the good advice that in order to more successful, they should get more cannons. In fact, they have both promised to save up their mythical allowance to purchase some larger cannons for the pirate schooner they hope to one day call their own.

Late morning on Sunday, we rushed aboard the Serenity in preparation for an adventure at sea. The cruise promised tattoos, learning pirate skills - including a battle, and certificate of completion.

Connor and Helen totally rocked this cruise, and how the people running it kept from dying laughing, I will never know. I haven't been this entertained by the little people in a long time.

The cruise started out with the kids hoisting a sail. Ed even joined in the fun! Next, the lead pirate "Captain Mayhem" taught Connor and Helen to steer the boat, while "Mad Molly", the second in command, taught them how to tie knots. Helen's response to Mad Molly? "I already know how" which surprised only one person. And it wasn't anyone in my family.

Mad Molly was totally nice to the belligerent pirate, and taught her how to tie, but did not take the opportunity to string Helen up. Thanks, Mad Molly, but really, we would've understood if you'd taken the chance.

Then, the kids got their pirate tattoos, and finally, it was time for the big attack.

There is no other word to describe this, except fantastic.

We hoisted our pirate flag, as we snuck up on an unsuspecting merchant vessel. Then, Mad Molly taught everyone how to fire a cannon, and though Connor and Helen look intimidated in the video, fear not. As soon as the cannon was fired, Helen jumped to her feet screaming for the merchant vessel to give her their treasure and then told everyone on board she was going to capture them and "poke them in the eye!". Violent little thing, eh?

As soon as our boat's cannon was fired, the merchant ship responded with an even bigger cannon. Smart money told everyone in our boat to back off. Everyone except my two pirates.

Helen stood firm that their gun was NOT bigger than ours when Molly recommended we turn around. I'm pretty sure Connor was convinced we were going to actually board the much larger ship and take their stuff. I'm shipping him off to Somalia next week.

After we steered clear, Helen and Connor discussed their battle plans for next time, and I do believe they plan to come back and get that merchant vessel. In the words of Great Big Sea, Connor and Helen were prepared to make that other boat Wish They'd Never Taken That Cruise Around the Bay!

Elaine

This is a new cruise offered in the Greater Williamsburg Area, which leaves from Yorktown. My family participated as part of a visit we took to the area sponsored by Greater Williamsburg. The cruise was donated by the owner of the ship. Call 757-639-1233 to book this cruise, or visit their website and find out more. A huge thank you. Ed and I are still laughing about how into the cruise Connor and Helen were - due in no small part to Mad Molly's enthusiasm.