HOME SWEET HOME!!!

• I had to leave you with one final installment . . . featuring the road back home on April 28, 2012!
• The final afternoon, we had one last wine tasting and then a goodbye party in Jim and Carol’s (penthouse) suite, with a bunch of other folks, and then a last drink with friends Sam and Sally, and Mel and Pat (forgive me for leaving Crow’s Nest without a big goodbye, but I’ve learned over the years to hate goodbyes and to love hellos).
• We awoke early (8 a.m., East Coast time, or 5 a.m. on the West Coast where we were headed) to see the U.S. for the first time in four months.  We found ourselves feeling quite excited to go home.  Hello Ft. Lauderdale!

• I didn’t quite set the record with my 27 boxes and bags; another family had 38 (and a much larger suite).  Despite the daunting task of packing all of that, the disembarkation process went swimmingly, and we were off to the airport in Ft. Lauderdale with plenty of time for our first stop for FOOD.  I saw a Chile’s at the airport and, so, had some!  And, yes, it was served with shredded cheese and onions, nice and warm!!!  We had normal salt and pepper shakers again (not the ones with huge chunks that get stuck in your teeth).  Bill was so excited just to be able to order Mtn. Dew again!  Already, a calm came over us; we’re on U.S. soil again!

• Then it was a final prayer, “Please God, let us get home safely”, and we were off!  I got a last look at Ft. Lauderdale and even our “home” for the last four months – the ms Amsterdam – as we flew west, young man!  Then a stop in Houston, where we picked up our second leg to San Diego . . .

• At last, we approach San Diego and touch down 113 days after we left.  I see the city, San Diego Bay, the palm trees, George, one of my cars . . . all the for first time in what felt like for-ever!  We make our way home and see all the things we’ve seen several thousand times before, but it all now seems strangely nicer than ever.  Even that crummy little rental house that I’m selling (and will only stay in for two or three more weeks) looks just beautiful, nestled high atop the rolling hills of San Diego.

• Then, I open the door to find my “babies” once more – Blizzard, Snowy and Frosty!!  Big smooches . . . and lots of them!  George did a great job taking care of my “little people”, and I’m VERY grateful to him for that!!  We also find the pile of mail inside – oh my – along with my 75-gallon, 12-jet tub and large shower.  I’ll live.

• About as soon as we arrived home, we headed out for dinner with a few people at the Elephant Bar in San Marcos.  I found that I’d lost about 5 pounds on this trip, so why not head out for food that I love?!  I got to see my brother Bob, niece E.B., nephew Robert and several friends once again – it was great!  I had tomato basil bisque, fresh spinach, jambalaya and garlic bread.  Yum.  Bill had mac and cheese and shared my jambalaya.  It was a long, but great day!

• This morning (4/29/12), after a great night’s sleep, we headed out to IHOP.  I have been fantasizing about breakfast these past months, since they don’t make hash browns on the ship – and to me, breakfast without hash browns is like French fries without the catsup.  I simply saw no point to eating breakfast there.  I had chicken fried steak and eggs, Bill had sausage, and George had bacon.  The hash browns were a given.  And IHOP was even more fan-***-tastic than I remembered!  I finally had over medium eggs that weren’t overcooked and real milk that tasted oh so good.  I wish everyone who ever went to work for HAL was required to eat at IHOP, at least a couple times, so they could understand THIS is what breakfast looks like!!

• Tonight, I’m meeting my parents at one of the best Mexican restaurants in town! If you’re worried that I’m going to get really fat now that I’m home, it’s possible.  However, I doubt that it’ll happen overnight, because my stomach’s so small from eating like a bird these past months that I can’t eat much, even when I want to!  Well, thanks again to everyone.  I wish you many great meals, and splendid adventures in the days ahead!
• For anyone who may be interested:  this blog has generated unexpected interest.  There have been more than 63,000 page views from the US, more than 11,000 from Canada, more than 3,300 from Australia, more than 1,700 from the UK (our "mother country"), 568 from Russia and 525 from the Netherlands.  It's been read by people in Belgium, Ireland, Thailand, Germany and New Zealand, too.
• Thanks to the world for making my "world tour" so very memorable!!  Up next:  Hard Rock World Tour ... I'll fly (ha)!