"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." — James M. Barrie
Tomorrow I depart for my last research trip of 2023! I'm off to Miami and will board Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady for her six-day Dominican Daze sailing, round-trip Miami. My oldest childhood friend joins me on this free voyage to Puerto Plata for a day of cultural explorations and beach time plus a day to explore the westernmost Bahamas at Bimini and chillax at Virgin's private beach club (pictured above). We're looking forward to our two days at sea too, trying each specialty restaurant, and even to working remotely - with the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea as our backdrop. I'm especially excited for the gym, fitness classes, spa, and outdoor yoga classes in the Crows Nest space atop the ship.
Virgin Voyages is an adults only cruise line, and we can't wait to share this girl's trip together! When we were kids, she had sleepovers at her house, where we watched The Lost Boys a trillion times, ate popcorn, and stayed up late talking and laughing. Our solid friendship is one of those precious few that are touchstones in life, and I'm so happy almost 40 years later we still love each other's company and will get to share this adult version of our sleepovers together.
Before we embark, I've set aside time to explore Miami on a Small Group South Beach Food & Art Deco Tour as this year's Art Basel Miami begins to take over the city. When we return to Miami and disembark, we're joining a Little Havana Adventure in Miami before our flights home too.
I hope you'll follow along on the Nine Muses Travel Facebook and Instagram pages because the reason I take these trips and post about them is so you can see what I'm experiencing and find inspiration for your next trip too! I walk the walk and cruise the cruise so I can best advise you on all the dos and don'ts for similar adventures.
I've been spending nights recently ushering the highly acclaimed production of Waiting For Godot, starring Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks at Theatre for a New Audience, and I'm really ready now for some bright sunshine and sandy beaches to counterbalance all that existentialism! It's fun to spot local stage and screen celebrities in the audience, and while I particularly love dark and complicated plays and Beckett generally, splashing in the ocean with my childhood BFF feels like perfect timing during this run that keeps extending. World news can also add such heaviness, making a trip like this feel absolutely necessary to balance out all the seriousness in life.
Where would you and your friends most like to go to get away and reconnect? Let's start planning!
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