Our garden is looking beautiful. We actually have a few tomatoes growing and 2 green bell peppers. I think Aaron saw some cucumbers and my lettuce is just about ready to have its first cut. Aaron is not my brother, for those of you who might think so. Aaron is a friend who lives here in Willard. He and his wife, Kristy, are sharing the responsibility of the garden so we can share the yummy vegetables. I can't eat them by myself and there isn't much in the garden that Chris cares to eat.
Chris and I just returned last week from our 10th anniversary cruise vacation. We left out of here on Saturday afternoon and our church prison team dropped us off in Tulsa on their way to OKC. We walked several blocks to find something good to eat and ended up coming back to just across the street from the hotel and settling on good, cheap, Arby's. Then, we went back to the hotel and went to bed kinda early. We got up at 4:00am Sunday morning and headed to the airport. The seats on Continental Airlines were so uncomfortable we didn't get much of a nap on the plane. We got into San Diego around 10:00. We couldn't board the cruise ship until 11:30 so we figured we would just walk to the cruise terminal. We were told it was just barely over a mile. So, luggage in hand, we took off. We followed what we thought was the ocean line, but it stopped at the end of a pier. We could see our cruise ship but couldn't cross over so we had to walk all the way back around and followed the main road down to the terminal. All in all, I would say we walked about 6 miles that day. We got on the boat and ate lunch and then headed to our cabin for a nap. We didn't get a nap, though, because it was time for lifeboat drills and ship introduction. By the time that was over we wanted to go out and watch the ship leave port and then there were things to do on the boat. Then, we were hungry for dinner. However, by the time dinner was over...I was dragging. We finally got to bed around 9:00 and I slept so hard I don't remember the boat rocking or stopping. Keep in mind the time had rolled back 2 hours for us so technically we were up for 4am to 11pm. That's a long day for anyone, but especially me.
We woke up around 7 the next morning. Getting up early for breakfast was a good thing because the food was generally hot and the lines were minimal if any. Our favorite was the made-to-order omelettes. Monday was our only day at port. Technically, we never ported, though. We stopped way before Catalina Island and had to tender in to the pier. That's an experience in itself, but it wasn't a bad one. Catalina was very pretty but the day was overcast and misty until almost noon. We walked around in the mist and shopped and went up to the Chicago Cubs old summer training camp. We were told it was about a mile up the road. It took us almost 45 minutes just to get there. I know I'm not a fast walker, but I can do a mile a lot quicker than that. We definitely got our exercise, again. I love it when people estimate a mile. I think they ought to walk it before they estimate. We did a tour later in the afternoon and then were one of the last two boats to tender out. We had a great evening dinner of lobster and steak and met a very nice family.
Tuesday we were supposed to dock at Ensenada, Mexico but becuase of the swine flu we didn't. Instead, some kind of international law made us park in the cove because it was Mexican waters and we had to stay there 3 hours looking at a beautiful city on a very warm, summer day wishing we could get off the boat and play on the beach. Then, the Captain decided to head back into International waters where they could open the casinos and shops and the clouds came back out and the warm weather was officially gone for the remainder of our cruise. Chris and I played basketball up on the top deck one day and we ran around the track (for 1 mile :D). We really enjoyed just being together and not having the daily grind of cooking, cleaning, and all the other stuff. We went to the shows and even closed down the Karoke lounge a night or two. You know, most people in the karoke lounge can actually sing. Don't get me wrong. There were a couple people who got up there just to make fools of themselves, but in general there were some great singers. One guy sang some Frank Sinatra and I was impressed. Then, there was a lady who got up there and said something about Whitney Houston and I said, OH NO! But, after the first line of the song the crowd went wild because she had an excellent voice. We had such a relaxing vacation.
We got off the boat Thursday morning early and the rental car company picked us up right outside the gate of the terminal. We got in our car and headed to LAX. Since we got there a little early, we decided to hit the beach just outside the airport. It was a little cool but nice enough to take off my shoes and walk in the sand. Then, we ate at our favorite CA fast-food restaurant...In N Out Burger. We flew Allegiant Air back into Springfield and got to see our beautiful (or should I say handsome) boys about 8:30 Thursday night. I'm so glad to be back home.
