Josh loading up at dawn’s early light
As I write this we are sailing away to Mexico. I will write about the boarding process shortly. But this post is about the final pre-cruise preparations. Most important among those preparations was arranging care for Rusty. Most honored stepson Joshua once more rose to the occasion, driving all the way from VA in 2 days, arriving after dark on Saturday (after visiting a hospitalized friend in Miami and going to the wrong RV park in Fort Myers) and left at dawn on Sunday, so he didn’t exactly get to see our home in its best light. Or any light, really.
He drove straight through to VA on the return trip. 14 hours. My back aches just thinking about it.
Dave and Cooper
That was one week ago. The rest of the week was pretty busy with other preparations. Pack. Prep the truck. Clean the car. Charg the walkie-talkies. Get medications. Pay bills. I also had a medical appointment, two softball games, a genealogy meeting, a voter registration event and various other non-trip activities. Busy week.
Two of the most pleasant activities of the week were get-togethers with Dave and Melissa, a wonderful couple that we met last year at the dog park. Not only are they dog lovers and full-time RVers, like us, but Melissa is a Mayflower descendant, like Jett. So we have much in common. Dave even blogs about their travels, like me (roadsofdiscovery.com). They were back in the park for a month and we were delighted to see them.
Because the ship departed from Miami on Feb 2 and because Feb 2 was also the date of the Super Bowl – in Miami – it was impossible to book a room near the cruise terminal the night before sailing, which is our preference. So Jett’s sisters, who will accompany us the first week, flew into Fort Myers, stayed in a hotel overnight and rode with us to Miami Sunday morning. Because we had to transport 4 people and a boatload (almost literally) of luggage, I had to use the truck. So perhaps only for the second time in the nearly 8 years we have owned the truck we had human passengers in the back seat.
I am happy to report that the truck ran flawlessly and delivered us all safely to the cruise terminal. But I will cover that when I report on the first day of the cruise, which I will designate ‘MSC1’ because it is our first cruise on MSC.