We're Home!

We arrived in port at 4:45 AM on Nov 19 - opened our curtains to find myself viewing a behemoth of a ship - yep, the Oasis, sitting all lit up directly in front of me. I can't believe it can float :) The turning back of the clock seems to give me an extra hour in the early AM - up very early every sea day! We dressed, rechecked every drawer and shelf and left with our carry-ons to meet friends in the main dining room for a final breakfast. What a mistake...very, very slow service with some orders never arriving at the table...entirely too few waiters for the number of people who chose to have one last 'served' meal. It would be so much more efficient to serve a continental breakfast in a variety of locations where people can serve themselves. Ass't Maitre Ds sorted it all out and we all got fed (like any of us needed the additional food) but not necessarily what had been ordered. We headed to a quiet spot on Deck 3 since it was too early to head to our required meeting place. At the appropriate time we went to Deck 4 only to find that disembarkation was running 45 late and to hear about the FAA computer crisis that was reported to be delaying flights along the eastern seaboard. Folks were amazing calm despite long slow lines as we finally headed to the luggage area and customs. Then the fun really began....not enough porters, long lines merging into one as we laboriously attempted to get to customs' agents, and finally a long 1/2 mile walk to where private cars were allowed to pick up. My sweet sister who lives in FL drove over to meet us in heavy traffic (cars, taxis, buses and trucks) so we dragged our 5 suitcases and 2 backpacks in warm temperatures to find her. It would have been laughable if it wasn't so uncomfortable. After a visit and lunch, my sister took us to the airport where we found that our plane was on time! The short flight home was uneventful; got our baggage and our friendly chauffeur (our daughter, Ellen) picked us up despite a hectic schedule including soccer practice for our youngest grandson, Nicholas. We drove in the fog to Nick's practice, took some 'soccer in the fog' pictures and finally arrived home about 8 PM.

Believe it or not...a simple supper of soup and flat bread tasted divine - no 4 course meal served by our waiter from Thailand, Bayu. we actually unpacked about 1/2 of our things and I did 2 loads of laundry before bedtime.

The first day home is always full of multiple chores - mail, bills, laundry, picking up our wonderful little schnauzer with an excited reunion, catching up with our kids and grandkids, etc. It's good to be home; it's good to reflect on the memories of a great trip and to share them with our friends and family.

I look forward to comments on this e-Journal and to adding links to pictures over the next few weeks. Happy travels to all....we're now planning the new one A:)