Let's Cruise Our Summer Away

Want to go on a midnight swim? Elvis did in Blue Hawaii. Elvis

How about taking a Sea Cruise with Frankie Ford? Frankie

Joseph McDade's got a midnight cruise going. Midnight Cruise


I took a cruise by myself several years ago. For some odd reason, my hubby didn't want to go, but I needed a vacation, so I went alone.

I flew from Houston to Los Angeles and was met by cruise personnel. I was going to Ensenada, Mexico with a mid-way stop on Catalina Island.

This adventure turned out a memory to treasure. My dad had recently passed away, and I was grieving. The crew did everything for me while I sailed the sea with them. My life had order.

I write about this adventure in the book: Sarah and the Midnight Cruise to Catalina Island.

The heroine, Carolyn, is single; I wasn't, but a lot of the other stuff happened to me.

When I arrived in LA, my luggage went missing. It had gone to Dallas.  The airline got it back to me before the ship left the dock.

I toured Catalina Island and found it romantic, filled with history, and charming. I'd love to go back. I found my ship photo.

Here I am. Can you believe that hair? What was I thinking? I look as though I placed a big power puff of flour on my head.  And why was I biting my lip? Perhaps the grieving had something to do with it, I'm not sure. I didn't feel like smiling, and I remember one of the guys telling me to smile. And so I did.

My faith remained fine, but my spirit needed refreshing.

I met interesting people. Lots of interesting people. I ate with  the same group at every meal. One was a couple taking their teenager on a trip before college. Another couple lived in Orange County and took this same trip multiple times for relaxation.

In the book, Carolyn met similar folks. She also meets Sarah.

Sarah, the angel, appears as a human traveler and is seated with the group for meals. She plans to help Carolyn find the right mate. Oh horrors!  She goes from one escapade to another.  At one point, the passengers thought the ship would sink. The Superiors called Sarah on the carpet for that bit of chaos.

Sarah and the Midnight Cruise to Catalina Island

Available in eBook and print.

Here's an excerpt from the book. And remember, the loss of lugage really happened to me. Authors often write scenes about real stuff. In this scene, Sarah remains invisible. She materializes as a human on the ship.

Carolyn strode to the Lost Luggage office.

A woman glanced up at Carolyn from her desk. “May I help you?”

“My bag didn’t arrive. I need to report it missing.”

An invisible Sarah frowned. Huh? Who took Carolyn’s suitcase? 

Sarah watched Carolyn fill out paper work and then the lady clicked away on her computer and made a few phone calls.

“I’ve found it. Your bag ended up on the wrong plane and went to Dallas. It’s at the DFW Intercontinental Airport in the Lost and Found area. We can deliver it to your hotel in about four hours.”

Carolyn stood akimbo. “Can you drop it by parachute onto a boat? I’m supposed to board a cruise ship in an hour.”

“That’s not possible, but let me see what I can do.”

While the lady clacked on the keyboard again, Sarah decided to fly to Dallas and bring back the case. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? She’d been there before, by accident of course, but she’d visited Dallas Love Field when she’d been Laney’s angel. From the air, she should be able to spot another airport in the area. DFW must be close to the city. Right?

On the other hand, getting lost was second nature to her. What if she failed to find the airport and didn’t make it back to locate Carolyn? Another way would be better, but what? Sarah snapped her fingers, and when she did, the two women looked in Sarah’s direction. Seeing nothing, they resumed their positions. Carolyn fidgeted in a chair and the customer service rep worked on the computer.

“I don’t understand this.” The lady at the keyboard glanced up in surprise.

“What now?” Carolyn lifted her brows.

“The bag handler said your suitcase disappeared. He had it by the grip one minute, and the next second it left his grasp. He’s in a state of shock, can’t find the thing anywhere and has no way to explain it missing. He’ll be reprimanded, but that doesn’t help you.”

Sarah clinched her eyes shut. Uh-oh…got another human into trouble. Sigh.

“That makes no sense.”

“I know. The poor man is taking a break, he’s shaking so hard, he can’t continue. His story is unbelievable, but he insists he held it and it literally left his hand.”

“Maybe he imagined he carried the bag. That’s the only plausible explanation. How will I be able to take a five day trip with no clothes?”

“We can replace the value of your belongings, and you can go shopping.”

“Buy a wardrobe and get to the ship in an hour? That’s impossible.”

As the two women discussed options, a man brought a case into the office. “Is this the missing bag? Carolyn Baker is the name on the ID tag.”

Sarah watched in amusement as both ladies mouth fell open at the same time. Too bad about the guy in Dallas getting into trouble, but the idea to call forth Carolyn’s bag had seemed the perfect solution. Maybe the Superiors would send someone to Dallas and help the poor muddled man. He truly had been transporting it from one place to another when she made it go bye-bye. Uh-oh! What if his managers thought he lied about having the luggage? Poopty doopty. Maybe calling forth the thing hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

I hope you'll read Sarah and the Midnight Cruise to Catalina Island. I describe the journey, and you'll feel you are there.