Kevin's Ramblings…

I drove my sister in law back to High River and my friend back to Crowsnest Pass yesterday morning. We left later than I wanted to, but we got under way at 830am.

It was a good trip South, but the winds were crazy. I used over a half tank of gas getting down there and then less than a quarter of a tank coming back with tail winds. The dogs and I got back shortly after 2pm.

I had a great nap yesterday afternoon and watched the ALCS game last night. It’s a good series for sure. Watching baseball when you don’t care who wins is relaxing.

I think I was happy to be in my own bed last night, I slept 7.5 hours.

No real plans today I don’t think. The Bills play this afternoon and then there is baseball on as well.

Back to the regular routine, I’m happy with that.

I got in just after midnight last night. My 16 day voyage across the Pacific had come to an end.

The flights home were uneventful, the way one wants flights to be. The process of going through customs in Vancouver and getting from the one gate to the next was an adventure. I’d guess the total walk was nearly 2 kilometers based on the number of steps I did.

The dogs were very happy to see me, that’s a good thing. My sister in law, Edie, took great care of them while I was gone. Achilles was with her almost as long as he’s been with me. They’ll miss her I’m sure and after I drop her off at the airport on Wednesday, they won’t see her for 6 months while she escapes the cold and snow of Alberta for the warmth of a Texas winter.

We are heading to High River today to drop Edie off and then continuing onto Crowsnest Pass to drop Sasha off. I hope to leave around 8am and be back home by 130/2, then I can pretty much guarantee that I’ll have a nap and the dogs will probably join me.

We’ll settle into our normal routine by tomorrow and I’m looking forward to that. I am also looking forward to having some home cooked food.

I pick Edie up again on Tuesday and we go to the airport early on Wednesday morning. Soon enough, winter will arrive. I know Apollo isn’t overly fond of the cold weather and snow, we’ll see how Achilles deals with it.

I’m glad to be home, it was a good trip and a definite learning experience.

We got to LAX at around Noon today, maybe slightly before that. It was a fairly long wait until we could board, but time passed…

I had lunch, spinach and artichoke dip, $19. It was better than nothing. I’m going to be hungry by the time I get home, that’s for sure.

We are heading north, we’ve got 1:41 until we get to Vancouver then we have about an hour layover and then the short flight to Calgary. We should touchdown in Calgary shortly before midnight and with any luck, have our bags and be on our way within 30 minutes or so.

Tomorrow I’ll take Edie and Sasha home in the morning. I’d like to be back in Calgary by 130/2. Nothing else planned for the day, other than an afternoon nap.

Sunday will be low-key, the Bills play the afternoon game, so that should be good.

Back to the regular routine on Monday, I’ll be glad to be home, glad to have my own bed, glad to eat home cooked food and glad to hang out with the dogs.

We left Ensenada Mexico on time this afternoon, destined for Los Angeles California tomorrow morning around 6am.

I’ve checked into my flights already and paid for the luggage. Checked bags used to be free, didn’t they?

It’s about a 2.5 hour flight from Los Angeles to Vancouver and then another hour and a quarter from Vancouver to Calgary. We land in Calgary around 1140pm tomorrow evening which will get me home shortly after midnight, depending on how long it takes to claim our luggage.

On Saturday morning, I’ll be driving my sister in law back to High River and the Sasha onto Crowsnest Pass. The dogs and I will have a mini road trip.

Saturday afternoon and evening should be relaxing, Sunday will be the Bills game and not much else. Laundry and unpacking can wait.

We’ll arrive in Mexico shortly, about 4 hours from now. This is our last port of call. We are only here for a short period of time, about 5 hours then we head North to Los Angeles and we’ll arrive there around 6am Friday morning.

My cruise will come to an end and I’m sort of happy about that. I’m looking forward to getting back into the normal routine.

I was thinking yesterday that Achilles has spent almost as much time with my sister in law as he has with me. It’ll be cool to see what changes have gone on with him, he’s probably a bit bigger and I’m hoping most of his fears will have disappeared as well.

I am sure that both Achilles and Apollo will be happy to see me early Saturday morning, I know I’ll be happy to see them.

We’ll be heading South Saturday morning to return Edie to High River and Sasha to Crowsnest Pass. We’ll stop at a dog park or two for the pups and we should be home by early afternoon.

I’ll then clear up laundry from the trip and have a nap, in my own bed. Sunday brings NFL football with it as the Bills play in Las Vegas. It’ll be nice to be home.

Finally, it’s our last full sea day.  We have moved back into the Pacific Time zone now, so I am one hour behind Mountain Time now.

We arrive in Mexico tomorrow around Noon and able to get off of the ship around 1230 I’d suspect. We are only in Mexico for a few hours, enough to go into town, have some authentic Mexican food and do some light shopping. Should be a good day.

We leave Mexico around 5pm and 24ish hours later we’ll win Los Angeles and heading to the airport.

It’s not a long flight home by any means, 2.5 hours or so back to Vancouver, a short layover and then another hour and a quarter to Calgary. We touch down shortly before midnight and my neighbour will pick us up at the airport.

I’m looking forward to the reunion with my puppies. They’ve been good boys for my sister in law, but I’m sure they miss me as much as I miss them and I’m also sure they’ll be as happy to see me as I will them.

I’ll return to fall-like conditions. I’m totally ok with that. It’ll be good to be home.

Well, we are down to a full sea day before we finally return to North America. We get into Ensenada Mexico at Noon on Thursday, previously I thought it was 11am. We are just there for a few hours, but I see that the town with shops and restaurants is about 15 minutes away.

I plan on going ashore for some Mexican food for lunch and maybe some small souvenirs.

Tomorrow, I get a behind the scenes tour of the bridge and perhaps other areas of the ship – that should be cool. Tomorrow evening, there is a meet and greet with some of the senior staff. Both events should be cool.

I’m greatly looking forward to getting home, seeing my dogs and getting back into the regular routine. For those who have read the last couple of weeks of blog posts know this hasn’t been the greatest holiday ever, it was a learning experience.

It’ll be back to normal soon, that’s great. I’m looking forward to this cruise being over.

Well, despite them acknowledging it was Canadian Thanksgiving, there was no turkey offered on the buffet. I was disappointed.

I watched most of the Bills game on the big screen on Deck 15. It was quite cool and very windy which made it colder. I didn’t pack anything warm to wear, no hoodies or anything and one would have come in handy for sure.

I had a late dinner on Deck 15 as well, just chicken strips and fries. I’m currently sitting at the bar writing this entry, deciding what the evening will bring. I’m thinking of going to the Deck 16 pool area, the hot tub is actually pretty warm when compared to the other hot tubs.

We still have 2 full sea days before we get to our final port of call, Ensenada Mexico. We are only there for a few hours before we leave for Los Angeles and then home.

It’s been a decent trip, too many sea days as I’ve said. I’m looking forward to getting home.

There’s going to be a lot of seasick people on board again. The ship is rocking back and forth again. We’ll see vomit bags around the ship (thankfully, empty) and green passengers.

Thankfully, it doesn’t bother me, other than walking around like I’m drunk. My stomach doesn’t care.

My cabin mate probably won’t be so lucky.

I suppose it’s this part of the Pacific Ocean, perhaps at this point in the year. The seas are rougher than normal and the ship is, well, jolting is a good description. It’s both side to side and front to back. It’s like being on a rough, wooden roller coaster, but instead of being seated and belted in, you’re trying to go about your normal day. Fun.

We’ve also moved far enough East to be back in Alaska Time, 2 hours behind Calgary and 4 hours behind Toronto. We’ve still got 3 more full days of sea time before we get to Mexico.

With today being Canadian Thanksgiving, have a good one if you celebrate. The ship acknowledged the day one the daily brief, so maybe there’s hope that we’ll get a turkey dinner tonight. Here’s to hoping.

Today was the second full day at sea Street leaving Hawaii. We are heading East towards North America, specifically Mexico where we arrive Thursday morning.

We are only there for a few hours, we leave around 5pm. Just enough time to maybe find some Mexican food and perhaps a few souvenirs.

We get into Los Angeles on Friday morning, early, and leave the ship around 9am.

I’m hoping that a buddy of mine will meet us and gives us a tour of Los Angeles, that’ll kill some time before our flight back to Canada shortly after 5pm. Otherwise, it’ll be a long day at the airport.

It’s generally been a good trip, but as I’ve written, too many sea days. They food has been mediocre at best but the buffet has always had something good on it. I’m staying away from the dining rooms for the duration.

If this was my first cruise, it would be my last, luckily the previous cruise I was on was excellent. I was supposed to sail in February to Mexico, but I’ve cancelled that cruise. I’m tentatively sailing the Caribbean in April, for now that’s on hold, we’ll see.

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends, family and readers. Enjoy.