Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

My wife (she is also my tour guide) and I just returned a day or so ago from a 10-day cruise from Montreal, Canada, and then back to Montreal after nearing the Atlantic Ocean.

Overall and on balance, a good trip.

But, as always, I am very glad to be back home, which is Salem, Oregon.

Here, I have been reflecting on the good and the bad of the recent 10-day voyage:

The Bad:  When we arrived at the Montreal Airport, we couldn’t believe how difficult it was to get out of the airport for a ride to our hotel the day before boarding the cruise ship.

The line to get a taxi stretched for several blocks, both inside and outside the terminal.  The problem was that there was only a two-lane road for all taxes, limousines, buses, and Ubers.

Had we chosen to try for a taxi, it would have been a one-hour wait to get one.

We opted for Uber and even that took a half hour to find our ride.

The Good and Bad on the Ship, Insignia:  When got in our room on the 700-passenger ship (a small number by cruise comparisons these), there was a problem.  There was a leak from the bathroom that made our floor wet.

That’s the bad.  The good was that ship personnel were able fairly quickly to move us to a different room – and, yes, there was one available.

All of this meant that one of my goals for cruising – move in and unpack one, then don’t repack until the end of the cruise – didn’t quite come to pass.  But I guess unpacking twice isn’t so bad!

On another good side, I marvel how staff on a cruise ship do what they do, often with a smile on their faces.

Those who served us sign a contract for six-month stay on ship.  In other words, every week they welcome new folks on-board.

In two examples:  (1) We met a server from the Philippines who told us he missed a three-year-old daughter – no wonder; (2) We also met a server from the Ukraine who, thankfully, told us that her family was safe even in the midst of war.

As usual, these two and others on the ship were sending paychecks home to their families.

The Bad:  The weather wasn’t great on our trip.  So what.  We’re from the Pacific Northwest, so we are used to rain and clouds.

The Good:  We were able to make the best of it by getting off ship every day, except one when we sailed all day.

The Good and Bad on the Trip Home:  First, the bad.  After we had boarded our plane in Montreal and after it had pushed back from the gate, the pilot stopped and said, “We have an unusual light in the cockpit, so we are going back to the gate.”

On the good side, a mechanic came on board and fixed the problem in about an hour.  The alternative would have been to get off the plane, spend the night somewhere in Montreal, and then try for the flight home the nest day.

On the bad side, the deal meant we would be late getting to Vancouver, B.C. for our flight back to Oregon.

Unbeknownst to mid-flight, Air Canada staff took the initiative to re-book us on Alaska Airlines flight to get us back to Oregon.

Without today’s technology, there would have been no way to achieve that within the time allowed.  And the partnership with Alaska proved fruitful.

Nor would it have been possible, as we were set to board on Alaska flight, for staff to confirm that our suitcases were on-board, having made the trip from Air Canada to the new carrier.

After all this, the inevitable question is whether I would make this trip again if the opportunity arose.

Perhaps not, but even with that admission, this recent trip was a good one, all things considered.