In the last few weeks I have visited Vienna, New York City, the North Pole, Venice, Denmark, England, Illyria, Scotland, a Mediterranean island somewhere between Italy and Tunisia, Oz, Italy, Peru, Japan, Washington DC and Biloxi, Mississippi. How you ask?
I physically visited the last two.
Italy, Peru, and Japan through dining out.
And the rest through the power of theatre and one film that you probably have heard of recently.
I love books as they can take you to many places and times in history, but this is usually a solitary experience. Dining out and going to the theatre (live or film) are more communal experiences. And while travel can certainly be a delightful solo adventure, the shared one is a different kind of joy.
Currently I am visiting with dear, long-time friends Emily and DeWayne in Biloxi, Mississippi. We met in early cruise contracts back in the 2000's. DeWayne has choreographed “Elf” for the MGM Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. The cast is full of young, talented actors. They seem happy and to be living their best life of getting paid to perform a show out of town.
Last weekend I created a Saturday double bill for myself at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC, attending the matinee of Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt and the evening performance of Patrick Page’s All the Devils Are Here. Two completely different shows: an epic tale spanning 60 years of a Jewish family in Austria and a one-man show exploring the development of Shakespeare's villains through nine plays. In both, it was so easy to be transported to these different worlds.
In between shows, I enjoyed the hustle of Washington DC on a crisp December evening and dined at José Andrés China Chilcano, enjoying a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese flavors. So hip it hurts, but I loved being at a trendy restaurant in a big city, enjoying good food and good people watching.
These adventures have had the cumulative effect of taking me back to the days of being an actor in New York City. I’m quite certain that STC is another theatre that I auditioned for at some point or another. And Emily and I remarked how we remember that thrill of opening a new - friends and shenanigans and feeling like the world is yours. This thrill also came with starting contracts on ships as well. At some point I transitioned from a performer to a career ship person. What would have happened if that never happened? Would I still be living the performer’s life? Successfully? Would I have changed careers?
Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics in “The Road You Didn’t Take” offers one perspective.
You take one road
You try one door
There isn't time for any more
One's life consists of either/or
One has regrets
Which one forgets
And as the years go on
The road you didn't take
Hardly comes to mind
Does it?
The door you didn't try
Where could it have led?
Robert Frost classically offers an alternative.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
In the grand scheme of things, working and living on a cruise ship probably qualifies as a less traveled lifestyle.
I do miss performing. Singing is something I could choose to work back into my life, and maybe that is my new year’s resolution. Stay tuned (no pun intended). Otherwise, I have no regrets regarding the road, or perhaps, ocean that I have traveled by.
Biloxi has been a delightful town to visit. We enjoyed some retail therapy in cute boutiques (including the Lavish Salon/Dime Store Diva Petite Boutique where Emily and I enjoyed mimosas and made guest appearances on the owner's weekly Saturday morning Facebook video post). After an outdoor lunch at The Ole Biloxi Fillin Station, we strolled to the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum, which was having a holiday open house. The effects of Hurricane Katrina were still evident with vacant lots and abandoned foundations. We were surprised by many signs in Vietnamese. We learned more about both, as well as the shrimping industry and additional hurricanes including the 1969 devastating Hurricane Camille.
The genuine kindness of our waitress, the museum staff, the shop owners and everyone throughout the day was refreshing. I would come back here.
Wellness Round Up
Stress and Sleep have been good.
Nutrition could absolutely be better. I fully admit to succumbing to holiday cookies and holiday cheer. In great quantity. And if I am in Mississippi, I want to try Southern dishes I don’t normally get to try. As feared, these are large, fried, and fat-laden. But on the positive scorecard:
I have started using Noom again.
I am resisting the All-or-nothing mentality and not throwing in the towel if a few food choices have been less than stellar.
Destination food curiosity, veggies and proteins can be an “and” not an “or.”
I won a mini-blender at the team holiday party, which I will be using for some protein shakes.
Hydration has been low. Working to get back on track by drinking hot water rather than cold (see above weather!)
Movement has been mixed. I have made it to the community gym and the campus gym a couple of times for strength training, but the cardio has been pretty minimal. Cold and wet weather has not been encouraging, and I am working on my back up plans for this.
Taking things full circle - funnily enough - we learned we shared Mame and Steel Magnolias credits with the Biloxi boutique owner; she is active in local community theatre.
And on our stroll, I saw this sign. I don't know this Jimmy Poulous, but Cheers to the Jim Poulos I do know - an old high school friend and talented NY-based actor.
Happy 3-year anniversary to my husband Dirk, who I definitely would not have met on a different road .
That’s it for now. Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit!
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