Back on dry land – no more gently swaying with the boat – no more endless food offerings – no more nightly turn-down service – no more ocean view out our cabin window – just reality!
We awoke about 6:15 and watched the ship dock in San Diego. I had charged my iPhone overnight so we went to Lido Deck and called some of our kids to let them know we were back. Stacey was already at the Carlsbad airport getting ready to fly to Miami for work but Len assured us he’d be in the cruise terminal parking lot around 9:30 to meet us.
About 7:30, all six of us gathered in the main dining room for our farewell breakfast and for Burl and Ron to finalize their golf plans for today. We knew we would debark by zones (we were zone 5) but had no idea when our zone would be called so we cleared our cabins and went to Lido Deck to wait for an announcement. Our wait was short and soon we were heading down the gangway and into the terminal where we got our luggage, handed our customs cards to an attendant and were out on the street. No security lines, no check to see what we owed in duty fees (trust me, we bought very little), no hassle!
We called Len and found his location and soon were loaded into the van and headed to the airport where Larry and Nancy managed to fly stand-by and were back in Springfield 3 hours ahead of schedule.
My first order of business was to get some laundry started and then get some groceries! I knew I had to get some fresh fruit and yogurt plus I wanted to plan something healthy for dinner for the guys knowing we probably wouldn’t eat until the Super Bowl was over. Nothing like getting back to domestic chores to reinforce that vacation is over!
The weather was picture-perfect in San Diego so I treated myself to a long walk in their neighborhood and even followed some of the nature trails to get away from the traffic noise.
Being on the west coast meant the Super Bowl started at 3 so I gathered my knitting needles to insure my hands weren’t going for the chips and dip and settled in to watch the ads (love the babies for eTrade and the Clydesdales) and enjoy seeing the Saints come from behind to win.
And we managed to fall asleep last night without being rocked by the ocean!
