Author: Southern Simple Blessed

I’m really tired of hearing “New Normal” but things change,  and sometimes for the good. So what shall we call “new normal?”

This is my experience of eating at restaurants and staying in a hotel.

RESTAURANTS

We ate at a restaurant for the first time since they opened back up with restrictions. Restaurants are limited to 75% occupancy. (Texas) Social distancing and higher levels of cleaning and awareness are obvious everywhere. The waiters are wearing masks. Tables have been selectively closed off to keep social distancing. There are no condiments on the tables. You must ask for them and they are the little packs of salt, pepper, etc.
Menus are single-use paper menus. They didn’t clear anything off the table until we were completely done. I watched them clean other tables and was pleased with what I saw. I really like this and hope it stays that way, except for the waiters wearing masks.

  I felt very safe and enjoyed eating out.

Sorry, I forgot to take photos in the restaurant and food. I’m not good at that.

HOTEL

We stayed at the Hampton Inn which is owned by Hilton. There are no housekeeping services unless you are long term and then they will clean the room every five days. They do come in and exchange your towels. There was no coffee making equipment, pens, paper, hotel books, pamphlets in the room. It was pretty much cleaned out, so to speak. Breakfast was served take-out style, although they were still cooking a hot breakfast. Honestly, I do like these new things. I also noticed more housekeepers on our floor and 2 people cleaning each room.

     Just to give you an idea of what to expect.

I took my own Lysol spray & wipes and the only thing I used it on was the TV remote.

This was on each door that was clean and ready. It was sealed and it breaks when the door is open.

I suspect in the “New Normal” we will continue to see people wearing masks in stores or in public. Over time there will be fewer, but some people with higher risk factors will continue to wear them. Hopefully, people who are having symptoms of being sick will stay home or wear a mask if they must go out.

Please be nice to each other…if someone is more comfortable using a mask to go out most certainly they are not just being crazy fearful. On the other hand for those not wearing masks please don’t assume they are selfish and trying to kill you.

The New Normal is pretty Normal. We will again risk our lives going out in traffic, we will have some modest changes that may be inconvenient, but best of all we will have a great appreciation for all we are blessed within our lives. Travels will resume, stores will open. We will likely be more aware of our surroundings for some time, but each of us will do our own “risk management” and do what we are comfortable doing in our personal life situation. And I hope we will be grateful for life and have the wisdom to live it well.

Hi, Y’all!!

Enjoying time on the balcony at the Hotel.

I felt comfortable at the restaurants and the hotel, however, everyone must choose for themselves. If you haven’t been out and experienced these things I hope that this has helped you.

Enjoying life,

💜Davilyn

On December 1, 2019, I turned 50 years old. I was blessed to do one of my favorite things…a cruise to Mexico. There were 14 of us that went and it was so much fun.

I am a hobbyist photographer and LOVE photos. I have to be honest, I didn’t get as many photos as I normally do. I didn’t even get one of us all together. But, I made lots of memories and enjoyed being in the moment.

We left out the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was the lighting of the Christmas tree on the ship, the Carnival Dream, and the start of the Christmas season. We sang Christmas carols, Santa made a visit and we even got a little “snow” on our cruise. Thankfully it was fake because I am not a cold/snow person.

Sorry, not the best video.

It was so beautiful!

We even decorated our cruise door Christmasy (is that a word) and for my birthday, with lights, a mermaid Christmas stocking and of course the big 5 0 on it.

We had one of the best cruise directors, Gary. He made everything fun! On the first day I met him at the sail away party and every time I saw him after that, he called me the “birthday girl.” He even sent a special coupon to my room for a free photo album from the pixels department.

This was our very first time to have a cove balcony. That is a balcony room on deck 2 close to the water. Loved it! Here is a little glimpse of a video I made on December 1, 2019.

It was a blessing that my oldest son and his family were able to cruise with us. Our youngest son and his family will cruise with us next time.

There was a duck hunt one afternoon. Some of the cruise staff hid ducks around the ship. The team that returned with all of the correct places they were hidden, within 30 minutes, won.

Guess what?

We won!! 🎊

They all got a metal. They were so excited, so were the adults. It was all for fun but we are kind of competitive so it was awesome. 👏🏼

The weather was spectacular. The Lord answered my prayers with that. It was a wonderful cruise and lots of memories were made.

Hanging around the Lido deck with my Love on the actual day of my birthday. 😎 Might I add, sunny and 80 degrees. #perfect

I do use sunscreen but those freckles pop out in the sun. My Granny always told me they were beautiful sun-kisses. I sure miss her.

I hope you enjoy my iPhone pictures and a little glimpse of “Cruising into 50.” I’m proud of my age. I am not one to make a big deal out of my birthday (you can’t tell by this blog lol) but this time I did, it was a big one.

#aloha50

Funny story: My brother was cruising with us and he asked me on my birthday if I felt any different at 50… I told him yes, I actually felt better, the day/night before I danced so much that my feet and legs were hurting when I went to bed. So, I felt better on my 50th birthday.

This was a fun cruise and fun to write about. Nothing eloquent about it; just ME!!

This photo was at port in Cozumel.

Merry Christmas 🎄

❤️ Davilyn

If you have any questions about cruising or would like to book a cruise, I’d love to help you.

Lost at Sea Travels

This time we had a road trip, not a cruise or beach trip.

Our nephew got married in NOLA. This gave us an opportunity to go to New Orleans as a family and make a little vacation out of it. We don’t get to travel much as a whole family because of schedules. It was fun being in the same hotel, kids running back and forth to rooms.

This is our family! There’s a lot of us. We have two sons, two daughters-in-love, three grandsons and three granddaughters. We are very blessed!

Eberlan party of 12. We have our own hashtag #eberlanX12

We saw the family that we haven’t seen in a long time, it was great fun, loud time. Eberlan’s are loud. Lol

We went to the French Quarters on the first day. It was my first time to have beignets at Cafe Du Monde. Oh my goodness, delicious. We all LOVED them. We even got them the next day for breakfast, also.



We rode a carriage ride through the downtown streets of New Orleans site seeing and learned a lot of the history of the city.



St. Louis Cathedral



Bourbon street was quiet in the morning but not so much late in the evening.

Beautiful architecture

A lot of history in this city.



The French Market is a great place to shop. Everything from t/shirts, souvenirs, fruit, food, drinks and more.

The wedding was classy and perfect. Beautiful church, bride and groom.

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor

Historic Church

The flower girls. My beautiful grand-daughters.

Yes, we were in Saints country but the groom had a Dallas Cowboys cake with a helmet signed by Jason Witten.



Dancing with the stars; my grand-babies.



We finished the night with a fun reception. We danced the night away, especially the kids.



This was our first trip to NOLA and we had an awesome time. We will be going back.

I love sharing our life with you. By the way, Snapshots not professional photos.

Forever Wanderlust,

Davilyn

If you read this blog give me a like, comment or share.

Thank you! 😊

Hi friends! It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. I have been busy with my family and suffering from chronic migraines. The neurologist tried several medications and nothing worked for me. I finally received Botox injections for migraines (25 injections) and I’m feeling better. Anyway, this blog isn’t about that…

As you may know, I am a travel advisor, agent, consultant, whatever you want to call it. I’ve been doing this for a little over a year. I absolutely love it, it’s my passion to help others plan a vacation.  It’s not always an easy job and takes lots of time, but it’s all worth it.

I always like to get a picture with the Carnival tail.

When I first started and looking at all of the “stuff” it was kind of overwhelming. Then I was in a teaching webinar and the instructor said, “don’t try to do it all, find your niche.” She said if you were having a heart attack you would want a heart surgeon, a brain tumor, a neurosurgeon, etc. It made perfect sense to me. The specialist is more experienced in what they do and they also make more money.  I knew immediately what my niche would be, it would be what I love, cruising and beaches. I already knew a lot about cruises and beaches because that’s what we do so often. I’ve turned down booking trips to Italy, Vegas, New York, just to name a few, because that’s not my niche. I’m not experienced at that.

I have always loved the beach and after my first cruise, I was addicted. I love cruising because you get to visit so many places on one trip. I also love the ship and being on the seas.

I am a Forever Wanderlust!

While I didn’t get into this to get rich, I wanted to make enough money for my husband and I to cruise twice a year and to take other small trips throughout. We love to get away at any time we can. I have a lot of family members that also cruise. It didn’t take long to start booking, but I did have to wait a while for a paycheck.

I am so blessed and thankful for each and every one of my clients, friends, and family that I have had the privilege of helping with their vacation.

This is when I was in Mahogany Bay, Roatan. Loved the monkey, not to mention the beautiful water and beach.

  I have the BEST clients.

The best advertisement is referrals and word of mouth! I’m blessed to have great clients that do this for me.

 Sharing is caring!

I have other blogs on the best time to cruise, packing ideas, tips and why use a travel agent. I will link them at the bottom, great information in them.

I love my job, it’s hard for me to even call it that because I enjoy it so much.

It’s my desire to help my clients get the best deals, be prepared and have an awesome vacation.

If you are interested in a cruise or all-inclusive beach resort, it would be my honor to help you.

A big group of us that cruised together in April. This is in Cozumel.

No, I don’t do it all but I am a specialist/expert on cruises and resorts.

I hope you have enjoyed my pictures. I love to share them.

Travel is not about leaving our homes, it’s about leaving our habits.

Forever Wanderlust,

💜Davilyn

Lost at Sea Travels

Why Use A Travel Agent

Cruising on a Budget/Recent Cruise

Cruise Packing “Extras”

Hello from Galveston Island!

We have been going to Galveston, Texas for over 30 years. When our children were growing up we went every summer for a week. It’s grown a lot since we first started going. My husband and I still go every couple of months, even if for a day or two.

Our first stop is usually Salsa’s Mexican Food. We love Mexican food, and to us, it’s the best. We order combo fajitas and share because it’s so much food for one person.

There are so many things to do in Galveston.

Pleasure Pier

Side view 

Schlitterbahn Water Park

Moody Gardens is a popular attraction with a large hotel, rain forest pyramid, Aquarium, 4D Special Fx theater, paddlewheel boat cruise. Too many things to list.

Moody Gardens

My FAVORITE seashell gift shop is Murdoch’s over the water. It has a nice Breezeway to sit in, have a drink, if you wish, and look out at the gulf. I’ve seen people during the summer hang a hammock underneath. I have several pictures and can’t share them all but if interested find out more here about Murdochs.

A popular place that tourist like to eat, and we’ve eaten there many times, is Fish Tales. It’s directly across from Pleasure Pier on the Seawall.

But, we have found where the locals eat seafood, and now it’s where we eat. Shrimp N Stuff. There are two locations, one downtown, more for tourist, and the original one, where we like to eat. It’s very casual. You go to counter to order and sit where you want.

They have the best crab cakes and fried oysters.

The Strand Historic District is located downtown, and it definitely needs to be on your to-do list. We love to walk the streets and visit the different boutiques and gift shops. It has a lot of mom and pop cafes, lively entertainment and of course, people watching.

You must go to LaKings for dessert. It’s an old fashion ice-cream and candy shop. You can have an old fashion milkshake, coke float, homemade candies or a latte.

Also, downtown is the cruise port. You can watch the cruise ships sail away or my favorite thing, wave at people as I sail away. Cruise lines with ships that sail from this port include Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean. This port is rated as one of the top cruise ports (#4) in the country thanks to all of the activities Galveston Island has to offer. Usually, cruisers stay a couple of days in Galveston.

I took this photo from Pier 23 at the port. Unfortunately, I was not sailing away that day.

The Galveston Seawall is built along the beaches. The sidewalk adjacent to Seawall Boulevard on the south is claimed to be the longest continuous sidewalk in the world at 10.3 miles. All free beaches along the Seawall are kept by the city and have lifeguards. There are many hotels and restaurants up and down the sea wall.

Beach along the Sea Wall

A sunrise view from my hotel balcony

Stewart Beach is an excellent beach for a day trip. The beach is free, but you must pay to park. It has a big gift shop, showers, store, restaurant, and many activities.

Galveston is a great beach vacation. Many things cost money, but there are also many things, like the beach, the strand, cruise pier, Murdoch’s, riding the ferry, just to name a few, that cost nothing at all. It’s a great peaceful, relaxing place. We only live 3 hours away, so we’ve made the trip in a day or have stayed a week.

Galveston host many activities all throughout the year, everything from chili cook-offs, Mardi Gras, motorcycle rallies to a Festival of Lights during Christmas time and more.

Many people visit Galveston each year, either to vacation or cruise.

On the way home, we always stop at Buc-ees. It’s about 15 miles from Galveston, in Texas City. Actually, we stop going to Galveston and going home.

It’s a huge convenience store for snacks, BBQ, drinks, Texas-Themed T-shirts, beach decor and many gifts, not to mention the largest, cleanest restrooms around.

These are just a few things about my home away from home. Contact me if you have any questions or would like any information about Galveston Island.

I couldn’t leave you without at least one of our many pictures together at Galveston beach.

You can join my travel group below.

Lost At Sea Travels

All photos are pictures that I have taken.

Enjoying the Simple Life,

💜Davilyn