Still, despite running nearly nonstop for three days, I have yet to unpack a thing. I haven't done a single load of laundry. In fact, the dirty clothes bag from the end of the cruise still resides in a suitcase (which has thankfully been opened up to air out). These first few days have been taken up with far more important activities.
I made a speedy run to a grocery store Saturday morning, returned home, unloaded $35 worth of groceries, and sped off to start the sports spectatorship portion of the weekend. A college swim meet (they won!) and two 7th grade basketball games (they didn't) kept me busy from Saturday afternoon until Sunday afternoon when it was time to watch two unspectacular NFL conference championship games on TV. For what it's worth, I'm rooting for Atlanta this year. "And sometimes, against all odds, against all logic, we still hope." (I don't know who first said that but I heard it on Grey's Anatomy, and it seems appropriate here, too.) We sorted through the mail during the parts of the games when our eyes glazed over from the lack of excitement, so it goes without saying that we had no trouble getting through all of it and still had time to shred and file and make up our separate to-do lists for this week.
Today was busy from the start, and I took advantage of our good weather to spend seven hours running errands, with ten different stops along the way. Tomorrow, I will stay home, unpack, do laundry and put most of it away and repack a few things in my roll aboard for Hawaii. We're traveling light for once; there'll be no formal nights this time around. :-) !!!! And then I will begin the laborious process of making phone calls to clear up issues and starting the paperwork to handle travel and health insurance claims. Please may it all be straightened out before we leave for warmer climes next winter!
"And sometimes, against all odds, against all logic, we still hope." ;-)
Although our season at sea was a bit of a shipwreck (literally) at the beginning, and a definite downer at the end, the 90% in the middle was spectacular. The countries that especially impressed us were three that were new to us, Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro. Our love affair with the little Pacific Princess continues; I can't say with certainty that we'll ever cruise on a larger Princess ship again. In fact, I can't say with certainty that we'll ever cruise with Princess again. Our plans for next winter are highly contingent upon our experiences in Hawaii for the next month. I simply can't speculate where we'll end up. We have been enormously fortunate to have had the opportunity to cruise as we have for years now, but it's time to reassess and once again reconsider all our options.
Many of you have written asking if I'll be blogging from Hawaii. I'm sorry to disappoint, but the answer is no. I have to remember that the original purpose of this blog was to stay in touch with family and friends while we were out of the country. In Hawaii, it will be no more difficult to do that then when we're home. Talking, texting, heck, McGee and McGuy even installed Snapchat on my iPhone yesterday and gave me a crash course in using it...I'll have all sorts of toys in my digital toy box to communicate with. Also, our stay in Hawaii is less vacation than it is like being at home, albeit a warmer home. We won't be doing the usual tourist things every day, though there are a few sites we want to visit. But I predict lots of taking the public buses around the island simply to walk along a beach that's new to us, and BBQing and eating dinner poolside with new friends. Like being home, there won't be a lot of blogworthy content to share.
Still, if I've left you wanting more, you're in luck! I have already started to add some of those nearly 1000 favorite photos to my blog posts. I am trying to add a few days' worth each evening, with that extra hour I have now that I'm not writing blog posts. (It was either that or pay a late night visit to the gym. Looking at photos of our travels won out. Shocking!) The last post for this year (the post following this one) will be updated as I add more photos so you'll be able to tell quickly which posts have new material. Our condo in Hawaii is supposed to have high speed WiFi, so this is something I can continue while we're there...hopefully.
I thank you so much for following along with our adventures at sea again this year. Quite frankly, it is only knowing that you're counting on a post each morning that incents me to keep writing at the end of each day. That motivation is priceless; just imagine how many hours of reading and reflecting on our experiences we'll enjoy for years to come. I am grateful to you for making sure they'll be waiting for us when we start to slow down a bit.
But, as always, I am most grateful to my husband. Trust me, without him, my travel opportunities would be far more limited, and, if I'm honest, I'll admit that my travel appetite might sometimes be, too. He challenges me, he pushes me, he infuriates me, he calms me, he is my biggest cheerleader and my very best friend. I am blessed.
From one of my favorite books.
Source: the quagmire that is Pinterest
Life is good. :-)