Cruising--Day One

Thursday, August 16, 2008

Thursday started off busy, as I started laundry & packing right after Bill left for work. I had some work to do for the dentist, so I went to check my mail while the office computer was signing in. What I found made my heart sink, as Jen & Brady’s kids had the stomach flu. This is where kids & dogs were going while we were on our cruise. OH NO!! NOW WHAT WERE WE GOING TO DO??

I mulled over a few thoughts, chatted with Bill, he mulled over some ideas, we prayed, and after checking with the kids, we decided we would call Grandma Alice to see if she would keep the kids a few days, until Jen & Brady’s kids were well enough to get the kids. The pain of this is that she has to run the kids back home during the day, so they can take care of animals, and then take them back to her house for the night. Both kids are responsible enough to take care of themselves, and the animals. Rex & Sharon, our great neighbors also said they could be on stand by. Before the day was over, Melissa (Jen’s sister) had also called and said she could help with kids & dogs as well. We are SO blessed to have so many willing to help out. Thanks to each of you for the blessings your friendships have brought to us.

The rest of the day was spent packing, prepping kids for their week, and getting through the day. FINALLY Bill got home, we had supper with the kids, and then headed out to drop off kids, and head to Canby to drop off the Suburban so Jen & Brady could get kids and dogs once the kids were better.

Unfortunately, coming into Aurora, 10 minutes from Jen & Brady’s, as the speed limit changes from 55 to 45 to 35 in a matter of minutes, in an area that is downhill, I come upon a police officer, and of course, he pulls out behind me, and pulls me over. Nothing like starting a vacation with a $150.00 speeding ticket. I think that it hurt my ego more than anything….my first speeding ticket. Of course, Bill has been playing it up—giving me a good tease!

Al came to Canby (Jen & Brady’s) to pick us up…as we didn’t even want to go in to catch the flu bug (we said “Hi” from the front lawn through the screen!), and we spent the night in Gresham with Al & Char. The plan was to have Char’s Mom & Dad, Charlie & Arlene, get us to the airport in the morning.

FRIDAY, October 17, 2008
We leave Char & Al’s at 6:15 AM, and arrive at the airport to catch our flight. We have a 4 ½ hour flight to PA, and then another 2 ½ hours to Ft Lauderdale. The day was pretty uneventful, and we arrived at 9pm in Ft Lauderdale, and got to our hotel around 10PM in Miami. We were tired & hungry, as well as worried about Sean & Tracey, who missed their flight in Eugene Friday AM, and were on a later flight, arriving the day of the cruise, instead of the day prior.

After settling in our hotel room, we went down to the lobby to get some dinner (it was only 7PM our time!), and sat around with some great people, and had a blast. We all headed to bed, knowing we had until 11am before we had to head out.




SATURDAY, October 18, 2008

We woke to beautiful sunshine in Miami, and a hot, humid morning. It was probably 80 degrees, with a high humidity by 10AM. We had a leisurely morning, and then sat with friends before boarding the bus to the terminal to catch the ship. We arrived on board around 2pm, (it took us an hour to check in) and were thankful when we heard Tracey and Sean were on the ground in Miami and on the way to the ship. They had flown all night, a crazy schedule to make the ship. Yahoo!!

We had lunch, and then around 2:30 or 3, we were walking to go see if Sean & Tracey had arrived, when Tracey came running across the deck and hugged Bill & I….they were so thankful to be where they should be!! We were thankful to have them there!

Char & I spent some time up on the top side of the ship taking some pictures, while Al napped, Tracey napped (Separate from Al mind you!) and Sean & Bill visited on the balcony.

We cleaned up for supper, and headed to the dining room, where we met up with some friends Ben & Lindy from the last cruise. We had a nice dinner, then headed up to the top of the ship for a walk.

Headed back to our cabin around 12:00, and tucked in, as we are headed to Half Moon Cay tomorrow. Watch for more postings!!