Day 8 - 9 : Cruise Ends/ Home Again

All good things must come to an end

The last full day of the cruise was a sea day.  Although I did enjoy them, I wouldn’t want too many of them - I think I’d go a little shack wacky.  But it was nice to sleep in a bit for a change, and then wander upstairs for the breakfast buffet - my usual feed of scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit and a bagel with strawberry compote.   I attended a disembarking meeting in the morning, explaining the procedure in  getting 3000 people off board in the morning, in some orderly fashion.  The Cruise Director had us laughing at some of the stories from this cruise, including the passengers who had asked:

• What time is the Midnight Buffet?
•  Will this elevator take me to the front of the ship?
• Does the crew sleep onboard?
• How can I tell which pictures are ours?  (Referring to the walls of the photo display room that were covered with hundreds of passenger photos. There were photographers ambushing us everywhere!)
•  Do these steps go up or down?
• What altitude are we cruising at?

Spent the rest of the morning checking out the shops (picking up some last minute Tshirts, etc.), strolling the decks, and just relaxing.  Met the rest of the gang for lunch at the fish and chip place for some deep fried oysters, shrimp, and other yummies.

 It was cooler today, about 77F (amazing how just a few hundred miles north can cool things down!  It’s also amazing how Florida can now seem cool!  LOL!), so I wandered out to a shaded area of the deck with my eBook for a while.  Very relaxing and kind of decadent.  I did eventually wander out into the sun again, and found Leslie and the kids soaking up some rays on the deck.  Visited for a while and then decided that a nap was in order… and why not?  On my way thru the Red Sail, I had a small bowl of mac and cheese (addictive stuff… really, really good!) but only stopped and stared at the impressive chocolate buffet they had going.  My SIL would have gone into a coma ….

I have developed hundreds of small little bumps all over my arms and backs of hands.  It’s either a reaction to the sun or the sunscreen… or a combination of both.   Oddly enough, I was using expensive Ombrelle on my arms and upper chest, and less expensive Hawaiian Tropic (both SPF 45) on my legs--- no bumps!  I have also developed ankles the size of melons, which I am assuming is due to the extreme heat and humidity.  I hope!

Had a last supper of crab cakes, lobster bisque, panko shrimp, and a rather delicious grand marnier souffle.  Thanked our wait team for all the fun (they sang and danced and were just delightful!), and then skipped the last show in the Amber Palace to head  back to the rooms and pack.  We have to have the suitcases outside our rooms by midnite so they can be picked up and we will see them again in the cruise terminal in Miami.  I did head up to the Guest Services desk and settled my account (so it won’t get put on my VISA.  There is no cash used on board, just a “sign and sail” card that is either linked to your credit card or a cash deposit.)  Listened to some music in the main lobby (live music in all the lounges was one of the things I enjoyed the most.)

Off to bed- with swollen ankles raised- and then up early for a quick breakfast and waiting for our turn to leave the ship.  Getting off the ship and thru US customs went fairly quickly, and then the bus took us straight to the Miami Airport.  Thru security again, a fairly long wait for our flight, and we were headed home.  We went thru Canadian customs in Toronto, changed planes (but not crew!) and then arrived in Halifax around 11pm.  We checked into the hotel and began a fruitless search for food, but ended up having to settle for junk food to appease our tummies since apparently no restaurants within 30 miles of the airport stay open past 10pm on a Sunday night!

After a fairly fitful sleep (how DOES a size 1 girl take up so much bed??) we got up, and headed home.  Got home mid-afternoon on Monday… 

Fabulous vacation, but it's always wonderful to come home.  I picked up Astrophe, and she just put her head on my chest and went limp.  (Not like "I don't feel well" limp, but just a sweet "you're home" gesture... )  She looks great and her blood work is good.  Poor baby is on 8 pills a day, but she is so good with that.

Mia and Kizzy also welcomed me happily.  Nika made me go to her (in the living room) and "let me" pick her up.  But she has since forgiven me.   

Haven't unpacked yet - lots of time for that tomorrow.  Lots of laundry and sorting to do, which makes me glad I took the rest of the week off.

So …. home again, and life returns to normal!  I napped this afternoon, and woke up completely disoriented ... had no idea where I was.  Was also a bit disappointed to realize I would have to make my own supper.  LOL!  Being pampered and spoiled may be my new addiction.

Day 7 - Grand Turk

 Grand Turk

This is our last port of call before returning to Miami…. I can’t believe how fast this has gone.

The ship docked quite late today - 11am.   This dock is amazing- it’s right on the beach, literally.  Quite unique.  There is a 7000 ft drop off, just 50 yards off shore, so it was a natural spot for a cruise ship terminal.  The main island (Provo) has a delicate coral reef around it, so they couldn’t build a cruise ship dock. (They got the big airport instead).

As you walk along the dock, toward the terminal, you walk over the most gorgeous clear turquoise water I have ever seen.   The water was like crystal.  I could see long, bright blue fish flitting over the sand - just stunning.  The beach was beautiful, lined with palm trees, stretching as far as you could see, on either side of the dock..   When you walk thru the terminal, you come out in to a pretty plaza, with lots of great little shops - Piranha Joe, Diamond International, del Sol, an art gallery, etc.  All in Caribbean style buildings, painted in  those gorgeous colours I have  come to expect from this part of the world (peach, lime green, salmon, yellow, blue….)


















The others booked on a snorkeling excursion with stingrays, but I opted to take a tour of the island, which isn’t hard since it’s only 7 miles long!   Our driver,  John, was very relaxed and laid back, and related lots of personal stories to the various landmarks we passed.   He pointed out his cousin’s house… and then the much bigger house of his cousin’s ex-wife. 

This was the first island that was not wiltingly humid.  In fact, it was almost arid.  They only get 26 inches of rain a year, so no lush vegetation here.  Lots of cactus (“turks head cactus” - which is where the island’s name comes from), scrub brush, etc.  The land is coral and limestone, so not easy to grow things.  Lots of wild donkeys and cows and horses, just free grazing where they can.  Hurricane Ike decimated the island.  Over 90% of roofs blew off, and most people were without power for over 4 MONTHS!  They are a tough people though - not one life was lost!  The British navy arrived with 300 body bags when they came to help salvage post-Ike, and were shocked not to need even one!

While the other Caribbean islands supplied the world with rum, molasses, spices and sugarcane, Grand Turk had the most precious and expensive commodity of all … salt!   Their salt fields were worked pretty much up until the advent of refrigeration.   They used slaves, as well.  Quite a history in a small place.  I quite liked its tough and resilient people and land….  Not a lush paradise, but beautiful in its own right.

Did some browsing/shopping and then back to the ship for sailing, and a nap before supper.  Yummy supper….  It was formal night again, so lots of tuxes and gowns.  I had shrimp cocktail,  escargot in garlic butter, and Chateaubriand (medium rare).  Baked Alaska for dessert.

The evening show was the history of rock, from the 50s to the 80s.   I loved it, but 17-yr old David was so horrified, he practically ran from the theatre by the time they reached the 60s!  LOL!








A quick turn through the casino, and then off to bed for me.  Sea day and last day tomorrow.  (And Leslie and Davie get to see their wedding photos!)

Day 6 - San Juan, PR

San Juan

This was an unexpected pleasure!  We had a relatively short day in San Juan, so we all opted out of any excursions in favour of just checking out the city.  We were not disappointed- as a matter of fact, we were pleasantly delighted.  Old San Juan is a gorgeous city, like a piece of Europe.  The architecture is stunning- reminiscent of Spanish/Moorish design with stucco and wrought iron.   The building colours were dazzling.  Courtyards, parks, tiny winding streets, and fabulous little stores and boutiques were everywhere.  We eventually ended up at the old fortress, which is a World Heritage Site, and spent some time poking around.  The heat was incredible (one tour guide said it was 100F) and the humidity was oppressive, so when the other nutbars said they wanted to climb to the top of walls, I just waved them on, and settled on a bench in the shade.  I know my limit, and that was it!  I got to listen to various tours as they passed by, and learned quite a lot about the Fortress and Puerto Rico.  It is part of the USA, but is neither a state nor a territory.  The citizens have all the rights and privileges of any US citizen, but they can’t vote for the President, and have no representative in gov’t.  The upside is that apparently that means they don’t pay taxes… sounds fair!

For lunch, we went to Senor Frog’s.  Can someone explain why they made us (and all patrons) wear balloon hats?  Strange place.  Fun, but strange.  Lovely tall drink (a yard of Diet Coke, to be precise… and I get to keep the glass) and a tuna sandwich, and I was ready to head back to the ship.  My poor feet are aching and blistered (literally).  I desperately need some good shoes…  It
was really a lovely city.  I could see myself heading back here again for a vacation - and would love to check out the rain forest next time!

We left port early- about 3:30pm- so it was a short day.  Got some gorgeous pics of the beaches and fortress as we sailed out, and then prudently took my heat-stroked and exhausted self to my cabin for a nap.



Supper was lovely, again.  I had the shrimp cocktail (big surprise!), the cream of wild mushroom soup (delish!!!) and the penne with a vodka blush sauce.   Mmmmmm!!  Warm apple pie a la mode with coffee rounded off  another wonderful meal.  Due to a big deck party, there was no late show at the Amber Palace so we toddled off to the Lido Deck and watched the party for a while.   Hit the shops for a bit- Davie bought another Guess watch- and then Rayna and I sat in one of the lounges, sipping sodas and people watching until we were tired enough to head to bed.

Tomorrow is our last stop- Grand Turk.  I can’t believe we are almost finished this cruise.  I like it more than I expected, and thanks to Miss Astrophe doing well and good friends who are watching her, I have been able to relax and enjoy.  (Tyler’s email said her PCV was up to 33%, so we are all happy.  Except maybe Astrophe…)

Heading back north to the Turks and Caicos….  G’night!

Day 5 - St Thomas

The Virgin Islands

We pulled into St Thomas at 9am.  When these ships say they sail/dock at a certain time, they mean it!    Anyway, we were eating breakfast in the Red Sail restaurant, with a window seat, so had a lovely scenery show as the ship sailed in.  The Royal Caribbean “Freedom of the Seas” was already in.  Huge ship, with deck after deck of private balconies.  Looks like nearly all outside staterooms have them.  I am actually familiar with this ship, as it is one of the ones that frequents the port at home.  (And, as a total side comment, in a couple of weeks, this ship, the Carnival Glory, will change her home port from Miami to New York, and will start sailing the New England/Atlantic Canada routes.  So I may be seeing her again sooner than I expected!)

Anyway, back to St Thomas….  A hilly island, with huge homes dotting the heavily treed hillside.  I think that’s where the “rich and famous” live!  And it was pouring rain.  Both Davie and Leslie said that in all the times they have cruised the Caribbean (and they both worked on cruise ships, remember!), they have never seen as much rain or as rough seas as on this trip.  Uh huh.  Suuuuuuuuuure.   You could tell by the sky that it would be a fast rain, so we weren’t worried, and sure enough, by the time we finished our meal and were heading off the ship, the sun was out and the ground was steaming.   The other 4 were off to spend a few hours swimming at Magen’s Bay, but I opted out and had bought tickets for the skyride to the top of the hill, and a ticket for the butterfly farm. The rest of the time, I was browsing great little shops at the “Havensight Mall”.  The new cruise dock is called Havensight, and there are gazillions of fabulous shops there.  Lots of high end jewelry places.  I guess St Thomas is THE place to buy diamonds and tanzanite.  Sorry, guys.   Then the cable car ride to the top of the hill…. Very, very nice view from there.  Apparently you can see Puerto Rico from the top when it’s not as hazy.  Took a few dozen photos, watched some parrots, browsed some shops… took frequent shade breaks.   The humidity is like we get for 2 weeks each summer, but even hotter.  Saps your energy very easily.  Then back down for a leisurely walk back to the dock.  The others passed by in an open-side bus at the same time, so we all met up to see what we wanted to do.  

Rayna decided to stay with me, and the others headed back to the ship for a nap.  We browsed more great shops (saw the nicest stuff, but pricey), and then off to the butterfly farm.  We loved it!!!   It’s a small enclosed tropical garden, filled with gorgeous exotic butterflies.  None of the butterflies are native to St Thomas, so they are extremely careful about not letting them escape into the local ecosystem.  The butterflies actually don’t breed there - they mate, but they deliberately don’t have the one type of plant that each particular breed of caterpillar needs to eat, so no new babies!  Lots of pretty shots of gorgeous flutterbyes and a few geckos…  and then the hot walk back to the ship.  I was baking from the soles up.  Cool shower and a nap.   Up in time for the departure from St. Thomas - very pretty sunset.

Supper tonight :  wilted spinach and grilled marinated Portobello mushroom salad, shrimp cocktail, and seafood newburg.  Leslie had the beef tenderloin slices with noodles and spicy peanut sauce and was in raptures.    I skipped dessert, but there was melting chocolate cake for David, fresh fruit for David, and tiramisu for Leslie and Davie.




A magic/illusion show was the evening’s entertainment.  “Justin Illusion” was his name.  Lots of pounding drum rock music, great dancing and some pretty darn impressive illusions.  It was really great!   Relatively early to bed … we dock early in San Juan.  It’s so close to St. Thomas that we are only moving at 7 knots …. the gentlest and quietest ride so far!

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Email says cats are all well and being very lazy.  Astrophe’s ears and nose are still cool, and she is behaving “normally” (for her!). 

G’night from somewhere between St Thomas and Puerto Rico!

Day 4 - at Sea

Sea Daze

Two days on this cruise are “sea days”.  Those are cruising days, with no port of call.  Sort of relaxation days, although the ship has at least a dozen things happening at the same time- everything from an art auction to shopping seminars to disco lessons!  And after the storm last night, a nice quiet day was in order. 

Picture a large, down-filled comforter.  Take that comforter and soak it in boiling water, then hang it across the doorway … and that’s what it felt like when I walked out on the deck this morning.  My glasses fogged up, my camera lens fogged up, I could barely breathe… ack!

After breakfast, the others hit the deck for some sun.  No thanks - it was like being boiled alive out there!  The humidity was sky-high.  So I had a nice relaxing day.  Went to a talk about shore leaves, attended a shopping seminar, lounged around various decks (inside), had ice cream, etc.  Even took a nap  before supper.

In addition to the formal dining rooms  with assigned seating and assigned times, there are many informal eateries on this ship : a sushi bar, a grill (burgers, fries, chicken tenders, etc.), a pizzeria, a deli, soft-serve ice cream stations, and a huge HUGE buffet style restaurant with an amazing spread.  Anyone going hungry on this ship has a problem!  LOL!  Anyway, we went to supper at our time (8:15) and it was lovely, as usual.  Tonight I had the shrimp cocktail, baked stuffed mushrooms, and spaghetti carbonara.  The left over wedding cake was brought out for dessert (absolutely delicious cake!) but after we all had a huge slice, Leslie donated the rest (a whole layer) to the crew.  I did a little shopping on the Promenade after supper (ordered a customized anklet, which will be ready tomorrow), and then we went to the “show”.  There’s a Vegas style show every night, and it’s great fun.  Tonight was “Living in  America” with salutes to songs about various cities and states … costuming, music and dancing were great fun.  A fast stop in the casino afterwards (I quickly donated $$ to the slot machine), and I was done.  I headed to bed and left Leslie, Davie, and Rayna in the casino.  David had gone to bed long before.  Early day tomorrow - we dock in St Thomas at 8am.  YAWN!

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Text message from Tyler said Astrophe is doing GREAT!  J   Blood work good enough to skip a day and no rechecks until Thursday.  Email from Dr R said her gums were pink, and her numbers are good… Such a relief to hear!

Night all!!

Day 3 - Part Deux

Post wedding celebrations

So where was I?  Oh yes… the wedding was done, the couple were hitched, the pictures were taken, and the cake was cut.  So, down to our rooms to change into beach wear, grab the towels, and head back to Half Moon Cay for some sun and snorkeling.  We had rented a private cabana for the day, and were really looking forward to the down time after the hectic morning.

The tender dropped us off at the dock again, and we grabbed the open-back truck to the beach.  The bougainvillea was everywhere, the sand was cool and powder-like, and the temperatures were climbing fast!  The cabana was stocked with soft drinks and snacks (fruit, veggies, tortilla chips, etc.), snorkeling equipment, and a some chairs and loungers…  The others dropped their outer clothes (yes, bathing suits under!!) and just ran for the water.  I grabbed a plate of fruit and settled in one of the amazing padded loungers in the shade with my eBook.  Within a few minutes, I noticed a bank of black clouds massing on the horizon, and it was moving our way- fast!  Next thing you know, the lifeguards are blowing whistles and gesturing for everyone to get out of the water, and had back to the ship!  WTF?  I asked if we could stay in the cabana, and they said “No- back to the ship!  Big emergency!”  So everyone was grabbing their stuff and leaving, and we followed suit.  We grabbed some of the drinks and fruit and headed back to the dock … where we saw no emergency, no one leaving, and a big BBQ going on.  None of the Carnival guys at the BBQ knew anything about any evacuation, so we started thinking maybe we were scammed into leaving.  In the meantime, we grabbed some food and had a quick lunch while trying to figure out what was happening.  And then the wind picked up, those black clouds moved right overhead, and the skies opened.  Oh wow… the rain!  We had some shelter, at least.  Hundreds of people were lined up at the dock, waiting for the tenders to take them back to the ship, and they were drowning in the deluge.  We didn’t mind being last if we were staying dry… but we were actually led a back way by a Carnival guy and ended up cutting in front of a few hundred people.  Oooops!  I was embarrassed, but I went anyway. *blush*   The tender ride back to the ship was wild- the seas were choppy.  And they had a heck of a time pulling alongside so we could get off.  The two vessels were pulling apart and banging together again, so the very amazing guys at the gangway were timing things to get people off …  It took quite a while, but we were all safely off, and heading to  our rooms for showers and much needed naps.   (Leslie spoke to the shore excursion guy, who remembered her, and the full price of the cabana was refunded.  Very nice!)

Slept a couple of hours, and then we had dinner reservations at the “Emerald Room Steakhouse”- one of the specialty restaurants on board, and at an extra (but very reasonable!) cost.  It’s a 6-star restaurant, and … OMG!  Professional wait staff, fabulous room, and food to die for!  I had the lobster bisque (my mouth died and went to heaven), followed by the beefsteak tomato with blue cheese and gorgonzola, and then the filet mignon and lobster tail with the most amazing mashed potato (Yukon gold with garlic and wasabi) … the kind of food you eat slowly because every mouthful is a taste experience…. I just had ice cream for dessert.  Homemade cappuccino frappe ice cream.  Needless to say, we all had an unforgettable dinner experience.

There was an amazing free dinner show, as well.   The tropical storm treated us to dozens of amazing lightning flashes.  The whole sky just lit up.  Occasionally, you could even see lightning bolts coming straight down.  Since we were in the middle of the ocean, it could have been 2 miles or 200 miles away - impossible to tell without landmarks.  And it was still pouring rain, so no walking around the deck tonight!  It was quite late when all was done, so David and I decided to head back to our rooms for the night.  Leslie, Rayna and Davie headed off for some night life.

I watched some TV, wrote up the blog (hoping for Internet access soon!) and crawled into bed.  At some point it occurred to me that if I wasn’t seasick by now, I was not going to be!  LOL!

Sea Day tomorrow - just a relaxing day.

Night all!!!!

Day 3 - Part 1 : The Wedding

Half Moon Cay -- the Wedding

Was awakened at 5am by a grinding, shaking, earth-quaking something.  After which, the engines stopped and then restarted.  I realized later that it was likely the thrusters slowing us down as we approached the island., but WOW!  Knocked my glasses right off the night stand (and it was a good thing I noticed before I stepped on them!).  Got up again at 7, showered and headed up for breakfast.  (The kids had theirs delivered, and the bride and groom were skipping it today!).  Got dressed, and Rayna did my hair (French braided the top and straightened the rest) and waited for the bride.

Leslie looked amazing.  Her dress was gorgeous.  They all looked fabulous! Upstairs to meet Agata and Kerrie, and after a few pics, they escorted us past the long line of people heading to the island and on to the tender.  It was a hot and sunny morning and the island is just a slice of paradise.   Palm trees, brilliant flowers, powder soft white sand, and the most amazing turquoise water I have ever seen.  What a spectacular spot!   The wedding had been moved out of the chapel on to the actual beach, which was what Leslie had wanted all along.  The minister, Gloria, was a lovely Bahamian minister, who had gotten up at 2am to get from her island to this one for the 2 weddings held here today (this was the first).  The wedding register from her church, in which this marriage has been inscribed, will be 100 years old on May 3rd.  Just a beautiful old book.

Kerrie took a gazillion pictures before the ceremony … and I took about 10 gazillion.  (I took lots of candid shots, making sure I got pics with Agata and Kerrie and Gloria in them, so Leslie and Davie will always have them.)  Then the wedding ….  The words of the ceremony were simply beautiful.  It was extremely touching… it was also visually stunning,  I am so glad they moved it outside.   Leslie and Davie just glowed through the whole thing - even the pros commented on how happy they looked.   After more pics (these are going to be amazing!), we headed back to the ship for the cake cutting and more even pics!  We all had a piece of wedding cake, some sparkling cider, and toasted the couple.  And the wedding was over!  By now, the humidity is slowly taking the curls out of Leslie’s hair, and putting the curl back in my hair.   Sigh.

Time to change into shorts and head back to Paradise for the rest of the day.   Or did we….?  Stay tuned for Day 3 …. Part 2!

Day 2 …. we Cruise!

Day 2 …. we Cruise!

The free hotel wifi last night was great, but it also allowed a nasty virus in, and I was up very late getting it off the computer.   Grrrrrrrrr….

Up around 8, and a nice breakfast by the pool.  I could get used to that!  We weren’t on a tight schedule, which was nice, since the transfer bus was not due until noon.  Nice trip to Miami (about a 45 min ride) and then we pulled into the Port of Miami, and there it was… looming over us… the Carnival Glory.  Its sister ship, the Valor, was also in port.  Security and check in for the thousands of people (about 1500 for  each ship) was surprisingly quick and smooth.  Preparing all the paperwork at home and printing it off is a HUGE time saver.   A walk up the glass enclosed gangway, and we were on board!   And wow … it’s massive!  So high up, and so long.  We were told that our bags would be taken to our rooms, and we were directed to the Lido Deck (Deck 9) for lunch.  What a spread!   Took a little bit of everything, and it was delicious.  My nephew (another pro  cruiser) took off and found the grill, and came back with a burger and fries.  There’s food everywhere!!  And, with only a couple of exceptions, it’s all included!  OMG- this is a dangerous place!

Then off to check the rooms.  We are down on Deck 2, along the very back of the ship.  Nice windows (don’t open of course) with lots of light.  My room seems to be the  largest, with a sitting area (nice couch, armchair, table, etc.).  I’ve stayed in smaller hotel rooms.  You can really feel the engines here … but it makes it feel more like a plane than a ship, so my tummy is doing fine.   There was a mandatory lifeboat drill, which is just fine with me.  I could feel the engines start up, and I could feel us moving out from the pier, but no one else could. But then again, my sense of motion is extremely fine (hence my predisposition to motion sickness).  Went out on deck to watch us leave, and take pics of the gorgeous Miami waterfront (some of those place cost more money per month than I make in a year!).  We were escorted out of the harbour by armed coast guard boats- who were having a lot of fun, zooming around in figure 8s and using the megaphone to get us to wave. 

Lots of exploring- found the restaurants, sampled some sushi, walked through the casino, checked out the  games room, window shopped the high end shops (Gucci, DKNY, etc.)…. it’s a whole city in here.  Live music everywhere.  Just amazing.  I was really aware of the gentle roll of the ship at all times (anyone who says you can’t feel the motion of these ships is either lying or numb!) , but - thank god- my stomach remains fine!   Our seating for supper was at 8:15, and it was delicious.  (I had fresh roasted tomato soup, shrimp cocktail, broiled mahi mahi with rice and veggies, and fresh fruit for dessert.  YUM!!!)  Met our waiter (Baryo) and had a fun time trying to teach him our names.  Somehow he became convinced that Rayna is “Rhonda” …  LOL!

Leslie’s wedding planner came over during our meal and introduced herself (Agata) and the photographer (Kerry).  They finalized a few things and arranged to meet us in the morning at 9:15am.  Leslie has a hair appointment at 7:30 am,  and the wedding is on the island (Half Moon Cay) at 10:00.   It’s the only port that we don’t dock at, so we have to “tender” (take a boat from the ship to shore).

It started to rain, and got quite windy, so no evening strolls on the deck.  We did go to a show at the “Amber Palace” - a welcome cabaret-style show.  We sat in the balcony.  I thought it was to get good seats.  I realized later that it was to put us outside the victim… I mean, “volunteer” range for some of the acts.   Whew!!

Browsed some of the shops, drooled over some Charles Winston jewelry, etc.  Bought a nice cream coloured pashmina.   Might be nice for evenings on deck.  Then I picked up what’s called a “fountain pass”. Alcoholic and soft drinks are not covered by the cruise cost, and I was told you could get a pass for soft drinks for about $12, which saves a fair bit on my diet colas….  Well, I should have confirmed that price before buying … was horrified to see that it was $48!!  Gack!  I will have to drink a lot of soft drinks to cover THAT cost!

Busy day tomorrow, so back to my room around midnight to write this, and head to bed and watch some TV.  (They actually get TV here- didn’t expect that. Thought it might just be movies, old shows, ship programming, etc. )

Will post this whenever I get ‘Net access.  Means no Astrophe update today, but she did have the day off from the vet, so I know she is OK.

Day 1 : Cruising!

I suppose Friday should be Day 1, since that's the day we drove to Halifax and checked into the airport hotel for the night.  Hit a freaky thunder and lightning storm just outside Truro, but was otherwise uneventful.

Today (Sat) has been a really long day…. have been just under 23 hours awake at this point.  Seriously, what sane person sets up a wake up call for 2:30 am?   But since we had to be at the airport by 4am (YAWN!!) , there was no choice… especially since all 5 of us were sharing one room (and one bathroom!)

May I just take a sec to remind people that I am a night owl, usually heading to bed at that hour, not getting up!  UGH!  And my sister is a twisted morning person who was pervertedly chipper when that phone rang at 2:30. 

Flights were quite smooth.  With some great work by a couple of nice gate agents, we were able to change the seating so that we weren’t scattered about the plane.  We didn’t all sit together, but we did sit in groups, so that was nice. 

And by lunch today, we were in Florida.  We walked out of the airport into the heat of the tropical noonday sun.  That wonderful, heavy, humid heat felt wonderful.  And the palm trees were everywhere.  Breathe deeply-- we’re on vacation and it feels good!

After a bit of wait for the shuttle, we were checked into the Hampton Suites and Inn in Hollywood, Florida.  (Who knew there were 2 Hollywoods?)  We are billeted here as we will be on the cruise, so I have my own room.   It’s quite nice.  Anyway, we all changed into “summer clothes” and headed out to a nearby mall - huge, huge place.  Late lunch/supper at the “Rainforest Café” (delicious!) and then about 3.5 hours of shopping.  Well, they shopped, I browsed.  Found a fabulous bookstore, but reined myself in.  Lots of high end stores … designers galore.  Leslie and Rayna were in heaven, and Davie bought himself a GUESS  watch. 

We headed back to the hotel about 8:30pm, and just chilled, hanging around the outside pool.  What luxury- sitting outside under the palms, watching a humungous water beetle (called a palmetto bug) swim around the pool.  We watched a determined raccoon try to sneak into the BBQ at the hotel next to ours, but the people were wise to his moves!  Eventually, the day started to catch up to us, so we drifted off to our rooms for some much needed sleep.  The hotel has free wifi, so I thought it was a good time to start this.  But now, I am ready to crawl into bed.  The bus picks us up at noon tomorrow to bring us to the port in Miami, and the Carnival Glory.

WOOOHOOOOO!!   Now, where's my Gravol?

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Ending with an Astrophe update :   Late start to yesterday's drive to Halifax, since Astrophe had a vet appointment at 8:30am, and it didn't go well.  Her blood count dropped again, and my vet was on the phone to an internist getting some feedback.  They are going to add cyclosporin to her meds but the internist said she was relatively stable, especially with no fever or heart involvement, so I decided to have some faith and leave for the trip ...  it was HARD!   

After yesterday's heartbreaking setback, I was unable to even look at the sun and palm trees while waiting for today's email from my vet.  And it was worth the wait!  According to Dr R:  “She seems to be doing very well and has turned the corner towards recovery. I am going to recommend that we recheck her again Monday but think she should be fine over the weekend. I will be on call if there are any problems.”  I can breathe again!  Please God that she is right, and the corner has been turned.   Email from Tyler later on, confirmed she was eating, etc.

Now I will enjoy myself... on a day to day/ email to email basis, of course!  

Night all!!