Since we are flying to LAX tomorrow, the same day the Ruby Princess sails from Los Angeles (yes, I know that this is a huge cruise faux pas), we booked the first flight of the day, giving us two additional flights that will still get us to the ship on time. But our very early flight would have us not only leaving home in the middle of the night, but also doing all the shutting down and turning off and disconnecting that we have to do before an extended trip in the dark. Not fun (and we should know).
We went back and forth all summer on whether to spend a night at the airport. Given a different situation, we would have enjoyed a night in San Pedro, near the cruise port, but my ability to walk around sightseeing is still fairly limited. In the end, we left the house at our leisure today (laughable; our last hours at home were fairly intense), are contentedly ensconced at a hotel near the airport and will have no trouble making our flight tomorrow morning.
We went back and forth all summer on whether to spend a night at the airport. Given a different situation, we would have enjoyed a night in San Pedro, near the cruise port, but my ability to walk around sightseeing is still fairly limited. In the end, we left the house at our leisure today (laughable; our last hours at home were fairly intense), are contentedly ensconced at a hotel near the airport and will have no trouble making our flight tomorrow morning.
Traveling with crutches is bringing back memories of the business travel I did in the 1990s when I seemed to be perpetually recovering from surgeries. While I got fairly adept at flying while being non weight bearing, one trip is indelibly etched in my memory. I had gotten a cart ride to airport security; there, I had to be wanded to pass through, so my cart driver stepped aside and was chatting with a TSA agent while I underwent that process. Once finished, I crutched my way over to the waiting cart, still running but left unattended. I sat my fanny on the passenger seat and heaved my purse, briefcase and crutches onto the seat next to me...and the briefcase fell off the seat and landed on the accelerator. Tangled up in crutches, there was nothing I could do to stop it.
It was quite a ride, racing down the concourse with no one in the driver’s seat. Startled people were jumping out of the way, mothers were pulling their children’s arms so fast they were airborne, and there was a growing trail of men trying to catch up with me. Eventually, someone was able to reach in and pull the briefcase off the accelerator which brought the cart to a stop.
Thankfully, no one was injured, and, frankly, the whole episode was harious. But not so harious that I want a repeat tomorrow, please. ;-)
With a little time tonight (and one eye on the Bears v. Redskins game)I’ll get GPS-worthy for a few minutes...
We may have had a Horrible Summer, but Mom recently gave us a run for our money. A simple outpatient surgery in late August landed her in the ICU. It was a stressful few weeks, made worse by my inability to fly back to see her, or to even communicate with her. Thankfully, my brothers kept me in the loop, but the minute I got word that Mom had been moved to a regular hospital room with a phone, I was calling her. Her very first words to me? “I have to get back to my apartment to get your going away poem. I’ve already written it”. She is such a mom; regardless of what she is going through herself, she’s thinking of her kids. She also takes these poems very seriously. Mom was moved back to her apartment on Friday, and no one is happier about that than she is, although I’ll bet G and I are a close second. Thank you to everyone who asks about her in your emails. That means a great deal to me.
We ❤️ you too, Mom!
And, finally, to follow along as we travel this season, I’m again posting a link to that gorgeous Sydney Harbour webcam;
The Ruby Princess webcam;
The current location of the Ruby Princess;
And the current time difference between EDT and Sydney. This one is complicated; the US and Australia will change from Daylight to Standard time (or vice versa) on different dates. But, for now, when it’s 8am in New York:
Tomorrow we celebrate our wedding anniversary in a big way, and in 24 hours we’ll be falling asleep in our home away from home for the next long while. Tonight may not feel quite as exciting as 36 years ago when I spent my last evening as a single, but it’s definitely up there with the Christmas Eves of my youth. I’m not sure how much sleep we’ll get tonight, but excitement and adrenaline will carry us through to those first few relaxing days at sea.
For so very many reasons, I’m counting my blessings tonight.
Isn’t life good? :-)
