We're home. HOME! And, despite the fact that the work starts now (the crew calls it our contract) I am thrilled to be here.
In fact, the only surprise in returning home actually arose a few days ago. We were planning to use the EZ Check option (pay $20pp, put our checked luggage outside our cabin door the last night and don't see it again until our home airport baggage claim) but discovered that it's not offered on Princess cruises of less than 7-nights. Well...shoot. We love that option. We had wanted to take the Sun Trolley back down to Fort Lauderdale Beach hauling just our carry on bags, but that wasn't possible. Instead we were among the very last off the ship this morning and caught a taxi right to the airport 10 minutes away. Fortunately, though we were too early to check in our luggage at the Southwest counter, we could take it down to the baggage claim area and check it there. Unfortunately, the line down there stretched out of the airport and down the sidewalk but we waited just a bit and discovered that, if we timed it between the arrival of bus loads of cruise passengers, the line would occasionally be quite short.
Once we were no longer encumbered by our large suitcases, we returned to the car rental terminal and those high backed leather chairs by the Hertz counter that had served us so well the night we flew in. I plugged an extension cord into the only outlet in the area, we both plugged in to that and happily sat there internetting and texting. Several hours later; we walked through TSA Pre-check security and waited just a few minutes until it was time to start boarding. I was thrilled to learn that, only two boarding places in front of me were people who had paid for Early Bird Check in through Southwest. I guess that, despite using ship's Internet and dealing with the Southwest app upgrade issue, we were pretty quick with our online check in yesterday.
I was sitting on the plane, just before I put my phone in Airplane Mode, when friend Suzan texted me about a cruise out of Los Angeles in April. I think in the addiction world, she is what is known as an enabler. ;-) All I know is I love it! Don't get excited...we're just considering it, but how addicted are we to this cruising thing that I actually quickly looked up the round trip airfare before I put my phone in Airplane Mode? On a plane, still at the gate, going home after over four months of cruising. We're hopeless.
Our flights ran on schedule and I was quite content watching five episodes of Season 5 Downton Abbey on the planes. The lady sitting next to me told me that the season finale had just been shown on TV in the US last weekend, so I'm only two episodes behind. Our luggage collected, Martha met us with her toasty warm car and mysteriously did some flashing of headlights once she arrived in front of our house. Our neighbors suddenly appeared, margaritas in hand, to welcome us home, and even helped us wrestle our suitcases up the front walk. (We called them Room Service. I wonder if they'll also deliver breakfast in the morning?).
We're still waiting for hot water but I plugged in the microwave and heated up a can of Progresso chicken and noodle soup and we called it dinner. No unpacking tonight, except for a couple of things we must have; even easy travel days are tiring, and travel days after a 28-day party are especially so. We'll be asleep in minutes.
I'll publish a wrap up post with some final thoughts in the next couple of days, but I am filled with gratitude for so many things tonight. I am thankful for good friends...good friends to cruise with and good friends to come home to. For a snow-free front sidewalk (see prior sentence) to roll suitcases on. For a warm house to walk in to (G had turned up the heat to 68 earlier today). For the ability to spend a fifth winter at sea. For blog readers who send encouraging emails. For my husband.
For my husband (I mean this so much that it bears repeating).
Life is good. :-)