The picture above is on the bus back to the airport to take us home. Don't we look relaxed? Like we just had the week of our lives? Because we just did.
We woke up and had breakfast in the main hall for our last meal on the ship. I had my usual: ham and cheese omelet and french toast. Megan had her oatmeal, and then it was back to our room to shower, grab our carry on bags and leave our room. All-inclusive means tips too. We never had to tip any waitstaff or bartenders as it's all factored in to the cost. I'd read, and GK told me, that you should tip your room attendant if they do a good job. Our room attendant, Kareem, was wonderful, and we handed him a saw buck ($10) on the way out.
See? You don't get much French Toast. We met in the theater and waited to disembark the ship. We only waited a few minutes and it was time to follow everyone off and pick up our luggage that we left out the night before. It was easy to find. We breezed through customs in about one minute, and it was across the street to the bus. We took a seventy minute ride to the Houston airport where I could access the internet again. Megan talked to her mom about Ozzie on the phone for the whole ride.
They get the people off the ship in a hurry, and early, because they make it all nice for new passengers to board the same day and they do it all over again. Another 3,000+ people embark for a week to remember; while we go home with a lifetime of memories. That's cheesy, I know, but I'm getting nostalgic thinking about it.
We had about a six hour wait at the Houston airport where we took the airport trolley to other terminals to check out their food. I worked at Blockbuster Video in 1995 with a girl from Texas who said that we needed Whataburger in Minnesota. I always remembered that, and got to try Whataburger in Houston. You know what? We do need Whataburger in Minnesota. It was a really good fast food burger.
We found two comfy chairs next to an outlet where we could charge our phones. We read our books, and looked at our pictures. We even snapped a few in the airport on a cool, arty mode that Megan found. I wish I knew how to work the camera better on the trip, but I'm pleased with the photos we got.
While we sat and wasted time, it was kind of a long walk to the bathroom. Megan returned and told me that she saw Rod (Ron) and Angela sitting near the Chili's. She didn't talk to them. I went over to say goodbye, and get confirmation on Rod's (Ron's) name. Angela was looking at their pictures when I went and shook Rod's (Ron's) hand. They also had a great week. I wished them the best and went back to my chair... forgetting to confirm his name.
We flew from Houston to Dallas, and then Dallas to MSP where my brother was right on time picking us up. I was going to go into work late the next morning, but instead I had to go with mom to pick up Ozzie. I called work when I got home and asked them to push my vacation for the rest of the day, or mark me absent. Whatever. I had to see my little man.
Reunited, and it feels so good.
Now here's a list of things that I want to remember down the road when I come back to reminisce. They won't mean anything to you, and I couldn't find an interesting way to work them into any of the blogs. They're mainly inside jokes that we had while onboard, but if you're curious about any of them, just ask and I'm happy to tell you the story.
Jesse Atwood and The Jesse Atwood Show. Adam Gump, the A-hole bartender. The John Lennon Way. It's always this way. The big, fat man drawing. Rod-red. An eel gets a shoe. A shark chews my gum.
I lost 20 pounds to go on this trip, and gained 8 pounds onboard. We started Weight Watchers again yesterday. Before the trip I was one pound away from one-derland. I don't remember ever weighing 1XX. I remember being 200-even in high school when I first started weighing myself; in one of my three gym classes per day that I had. My goal is to get to one-derland.
My friend Rachael pointed out how abruptly yesterday's blog ended. I know it did, and I apologize. It was kinda late (for me), and I wasn't sure if I was going to post one last one, or if yesterday would be the end. I've received great feedback from you about this blog of our cruise. Thank you so very much for reading. I'm glad it entertained you.
If you're considering a cruise, I say do it. It was 100% fun. I don't know if we'll ever get the chance to do something like this again, but I'm very happy that we did it.
Let me know if you have any questions, or if you want to just shoot the breeze.
Peace and love,
-Nerd Dad
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