April 11--Headed Home

I woke up early this morning--really early, like 4am. I went outside to see if I could see anything, and saw the lights of South Florida up ahead--maybe Key Largo, most likely Biscayne Bay and such. I went back to my room but couldn't fall asleep, and wound up back on deck around 6am. The sun wasn't coming up yet, but the sky to the west was lit up from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. I also saw a few other cruise ships waiting to come in, including (I think) the one that passed us yesterday in the Old Bahamas Channel off Cuba.

I ate a hearty breakfast at 6:30, when the buffet opened, then went back to watch the pilot boat come in. I didn't watch us be guided into harbor (although it probably would have been cool; there's not a lot of room in Port Everglades for these big ships), perhaps because I didn't want the trip to end. I finished packing and tidying and made sure everything was done, and then began to wait.

Those of us who were unloading our own luggage were supposed to meet at 8:30, but I got bored and went down at 8. Which was good, because I found people already lined up at the elevators to leave. I went down the stairs and walked right off the ship, walked right up to customs, said hi to the customs guy and was waved through, and called the ParknGo people. It took a while for them to get here, and I was getting hot (it was cloudy but about 76 degrees and humid--hi, South Florida!) and a bit grumpy, but all was forgiven when I got to my car.

Which was FILTHY. Dirt and pollen and sand and (probably) salt all crusted on the car so badly I could barely tell what color it was. I checked the tire pressure (which was fine), cleaned the windshield as best I could, paid the attendant, and headed out.

I got right onto 595 and then 95; very little traffic. I wanted to get past Orlando as quickly as possible, but wound up stopping at Ft. Pierce (the same place I had stayed at a week ago) when transferring from the Interstate to the Turnpike, to use the restroom, get a drink, and call Dad to tell him all was well. I then kept driving.

Very little traffic; much less than I thought there would be. I did run into a bit of a jam after joining I-75, and I immediately thought "oh damn, it's the same thing I ran into coming down!" but it turned out to be a temporary gaper delay of people looking at an accident, and then it was smooth sailing pretty much all the way home.

It took me 9 hours and 10 minutes to drive 584 miles--not bad, particularly considering the last 100 miles was non-interstate. Yeah, I kind of drove fast, but not too fast, and the car performed beautifully. I was very happy to get home, and I think the cats were happy too. Puck was fine, but Nell has some hair loss on her ears; I'm not sure if it's allergies (the pollen here is thick enough that it's forming its own clouds), or stress, or not getting the lysine I normally put in their food (for the herpes eye infection that both have--but it also works on the immune system and the skin). She seems to be better now; maybe she missed me!

All in all, a very good vacation. Although we seem to have gone from early spring to mid-summer in one week; the tree outside my window that was barely in leaf when I left is now fully fledged, and the temperatures have gone from the 60's to the 80's. So much for spring!

At this moment (although things of course change) I'm planning a trip to Alaska this summer, beginning around May 9. So stay tuned!