Packing and thinking of the cruise

Even though I played mahj morning and afternoon yesterday, and I even won three games in the morning, although none in the afternoon, I did get all my packing done as well.  I'm not sure I can close the suitcase, but everything I want is in there!

This morning I have a 10:30 appointment to get my two big toes repainted.  From 1-4 we will work in the library like always on Fridays.  We also have to hit the Cove office to pick up our packets of information on riding the bus tomorrow to Fort Lauderdale.  FIVE busses, about 250 people are going down to the cruise.  We are supposed to get a color-coded bracelet for which bus to get on tomorrow and a color-coded sticker to wear off the ship in order to be herded on to the appropriate bus at the end of the cruise.  This is the first time we ever tried to do this.  It cost us $100 a person, and I'm already regretting it.  We did it because going down today, which is what we normally would have done, getting a hotel room and paying to park the car for 10 nights would actually cost about $250.  This saved us $50.  On the other hand, we are not arriving until 2 pm, which will drive me crazy.  We are usually boarding about 11:30.  Apparently, the bus leaves the Cove at 9 but is required to do an HOUR long stop at a rest area on the way.  It's Saturday, so Mark and I won't even be buying any lunch or anything else, but 250 people coming out of five busses will cause HUGE lines for the rest of the folks.  On the other hand, coming home is a Tuesday, and we WILL be standing in line with everyone else trying to get a lunch that day.  BOO!

We also acted like ROOKIES for this cruise in that neither Mark nor I remembered to finish the online check-in process.  That means a longer wait time trying to board tomorrow.  ANOTHER BOO!!    Still, once we are on board all our problems will melt away.  It's going to be great, as always.  We know a lot of people who are cruising, so we will have plenty of friends to hang out with.  I even packed my MAH JONGG set!!  At least three of us will be playing occasionally.  Mark and I are also part of a group of seven who will audition to be in the Talent Show on the last night.  We are singing to the tune of "Hey, Jude" by the Beatles with new words that Donna and I co-wrote.  Marilyn is accompanying on the piano, and Donna, Alan, Alice, Barbara, Mark, and I will be singing. I think we have a good chance of getting picked to be in the show!  Of course, there will be some practice sessions on board as well.

There will not be another blog for awhile now. I won't have time to write tomorrow morning, and as I said yesterday, I'm not sure I will use my precious internet minutes to write a blog.  If I do, then that's a bonus.  If I don't, there will be plenty of blogs with pictures after February 16.