Well, tomorrow I leave on my sailing excursion with my friends. It will either be wonderful or a disaster. When Vicki emailed the sailing school to ask if she could bring a hair dryer she received an answer like this, "Well, the boat doesn't have any electricity, we rely on a battery, so maybe it's not a good idea." What the woman meant was, "You idiot! Who the hell brings a hair dryer on a boat? Perhaps our battery power is best spent on the lights that keep other boats from slamming into us, and not on helping you maintain a sleek bob." Needless to say, I was horrified that Vicki would even ask.

We have all of our gear - including new Coach sandals for me and Vangie, a new J Crew madras bag to carry the iPod and the new battery-powered docking station so we have music, the new sailing gloves and sailing sneakers that have a cool mesh so we don't grow mold in our shoes overnight, and, of course, the cute navy blue Gilligan hat. Vangie went overboard and sprung for the clips to keep our hats from blowing off, the strap to keep her sunglasses on her face, the headlamps so we can play cards without holding flashlights, and numerous other gadgets that she will never use again (unless this trip is a succes, in which case we're already planning the next sailing trip).

If you read about three women washing ashore off the coast of Cuba and being taken political hostages, you'll know it's us. At least Vangie is fluent in Spanish. And I'm sure Vicki could learn to like a good cigar. Bon Voyage!