The vacation is officially over. Roger and I had a wonderful and relaxing time. A few lessons learned:
Lesson #1: Air Tran provides excellent customer service.
The weather in Richmond delayed our departure and we missed our connection in Atlanta. Fortunately, Air Tran put us up in a local hotel with a meal voucher and a flight out the very next morning. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the hotel until almost midnight and needed to leave the hotel at 6 AM to make our shuttle. We didn't get a lot of sleep and the hotel had some bizarre issues with the room: the remote control for the television just advanced the channel regardless of which button was pressed (including volume). Plus, the telephones were disconnected from the wall jack. When we connected them, the dial tone didn't seem to work. Good thing we had our phones and didn't need a wake-up call. It was clean, though, and it was better than sleeping in an airport terminal.
Lesson #2: Social Media is wonderful
We finally made it to Ft. Lauderdale and was shuttled to lunch and then the cruise ship by my Aunt Shelley. Our ship was the Liberty of the Seas, a monstrous floating hotel run by Royal Caribbean. The bulk of our afternoon was spent queueing up for fun as we waited...and waited...and waited in line to navigate the obligatory security checkpoints. My moment of surprise was discovering during my Foursquare check-in that fellow blogger and old high school acquaintance Adam was also on the cruise. Given the size of the ship, I'm sure I never would have known this if not for social media. We met up on the cruise a few times so that was a bonus.
Lesson #3: It feels really good to turn off the phone...for a while
Yes, I love Facebook, Twitter, and instant access to the Internet whenever I need it, but while we were on the cruise ship, I had my phone turned off. I will admit that it took some getting used to. I didn't check my email for 4 days. Nothing exploded. Nothing died. There were no tragedies. I did find myself wanting to tweet about funny things that happened on the ship or post pictures of events in real time but that feeling passed. When the phone rebooted on Monday, there were a few emails to which I needed to respond but most of it was junk mail. Hooray. I only needed to respond directly to about 5 emails during my whole vacation.
Lesson #4: A cruise is better with a group
We were a part of the Eddie from Ohio fan club cruise. This was our second venture with Julie, Mike, Eddie, & Robbie (now with added Jake!) (and 100 or so of their other friends) and we were not disappointed. In addition to all the other cruise events, we were treated to three concerts, a cocktail party with the band, and a chance to load up on new EFO swag (complete with obligatory autographs). The band is not only talented but extremely approachable and we had a great time. In between EFO related events, I did...not a whole lot. I read my books (more on that in another post), soaked up some sunshine, walked around the ship, took a few naps, and ate some really great food.
Lesson # 5: Florida is best in small doses
Lesson #1: Air Tran provides excellent customer service.
The weather in Richmond delayed our departure and we missed our connection in Atlanta. Fortunately, Air Tran put us up in a local hotel with a meal voucher and a flight out the very next morning. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the hotel until almost midnight and needed to leave the hotel at 6 AM to make our shuttle. We didn't get a lot of sleep and the hotel had some bizarre issues with the room: the remote control for the television just advanced the channel regardless of which button was pressed (including volume). Plus, the telephones were disconnected from the wall jack. When we connected them, the dial tone didn't seem to work. Good thing we had our phones and didn't need a wake-up call. It was clean, though, and it was better than sleeping in an airport terminal.
Lesson #2: Social Media is wonderful
We finally made it to Ft. Lauderdale and was shuttled to lunch and then the cruise ship by my Aunt Shelley. Our ship was the Liberty of the Seas, a monstrous floating hotel run by Royal Caribbean. The bulk of our afternoon was spent queueing up for fun as we waited...and waited...and waited in line to navigate the obligatory security checkpoints. My moment of surprise was discovering during my Foursquare check-in that fellow blogger and old high school acquaintance Adam was also on the cruise. Given the size of the ship, I'm sure I never would have known this if not for social media. We met up on the cruise a few times so that was a bonus.
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| Our Ship: Liberty of the Seas (on the left) in port in Cozumel |
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| A typical view from the ship. It just screams, "Do nothing!" |
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| Me in relaxed vacation mode |
Lesson #4: A cruise is better with a group
We were a part of the Eddie from Ohio fan club cruise. This was our second venture with Julie, Mike, Eddie, & Robbie (now with added Jake!) (and 100 or so of their other friends) and we were not disappointed. In addition to all the other cruise events, we were treated to three concerts, a cocktail party with the band, and a chance to load up on new EFO swag (complete with obligatory autographs). The band is not only talented but extremely approachable and we had a great time. In between EFO related events, I did...not a whole lot. I read my books (more on that in another post), soaked up some sunshine, walked around the ship, took a few naps, and ate some really great food.
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| We took a Jeep & Snorkel tour of Cozumel while in port. These were our fabulous guides. |
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| One of the "unplanned" concerts, late night on the back of the ship. The band jammed for over 2 hours. |
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| The beaches of Cozumel |
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| My friend Kim and I had a chance to catch up! |
When we disembarked the ship again in Ft. Lauderdale, we ventured up to Orlando and Daytona Beach to see some friends and family before Thanksgiving. It was great to catch up with a few friends. The weather was perfect and I forgot how nice it was to sit out on your back deck in the middle of November in shorts and enjoy a good book. I had also forgotten how many a**holes drive in Florida. I have determined that people with luxury cars in South Florida don't think the rules of the road apply to them. The worst offenders of ridiculous driving seemed to be operators of Beamers, Lexuses (Lexi?), Audis, and Hummers. Just an observation. I like to visit but I don't plan to make a permanent return any time soon.
Lesson #6: I don't miss cable
Staying in hotels, on the ship, and at my parents' house, I had ample access to cable television. I didn't miss it. 300 channels and nothing on still seems to be the going thing.
Lesson #7: I missed writing and blogging regularly
That's why this post is a mile and a half long. I probably could have done more writing but I purposely avoided the computer during our break. Now I get to play catch up and I have about 4 blog posts floating in my brain. Get ready for more to come!
Lesson #8: I have a great family
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| My cousin Sarah and her daughter Tricia |
We rarely travel for Thanksgiving anymore. It's too much stress for a three or four day vacation. This vacation, however, was a great opportunity to extend our visit and see most of my mom's side of the family. Everyone was more than generous in providing transportation, food, and lodging as we hopped from place to place. Thanksgiving day included a fabulous feast at my cousin Sarah's new home and we had a great visit with everyone.
Lesson #9: Something is still missing
As much as I love my family, there was still an empty place at the table. Again, the holidays served as a somewhat painful reminder of what was, what is, and what will never again be quite the same. We have a very small family and Tricia is now the only kiddo in that "new generation". I found myself wishing many times that Charlotte had been there to play with her.
Lesson #10: There's no place like home
We arrived back at our humble abode late Friday night/Saturday morning. After 36 hours, the mail has been sorted, the suitcases are unpacked, and I'm getting ready for the work week to begin again. I love to travel but it was nice to see our kitties and sleep in our own bed.
I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving. Among other things, I was grateful for a vacation.