JB is back home. Now. At her PC, in her pj bottoms taking care of business. Feeling fine. yesterday we ate and said "YUM!" so that was good. The first time food tasted like anything in over a week. This morning I had my first real coffee, good coffee, strong coffee...I am pleased.
I wont go into all the details, it was really bad. The cruise line were amazing, Royal Caribbean, compassionate and did everything they could! One day I asked about bell pepper in a dish and was told in reply "I don't know, but if you come up to the piano bar at 10pm I DO know the lyrics to many billy joel songs..." chuckle. Everyone was lending a hand and helping out, the singers, dancers and comedians were all serving food and cleaning. The CNN reports were crap, like they always are. Oops did I say crap, that was either a Gillum-ism or an ironic slip.
Basically we go sick, very sick. Most everyone got sick. More than has been reported, more than 700+. We were unable to go to our first stop as we were quarantined, we went to Pto Rico, then St Thomas and turned around and came home... The Capt and all staff were amazing.
Meanwhile back in dodge, all these people who came back 2 days early (like us) could not just board a flight. Even if there WAS a flight, they would not allow people to fly. Good isn't it! Smart thinking. They put people up at hotels. The bused many of them to hotels enmasse, as of course, the Super Bowl is coming...soon. And the hotels are filled. The ship was clean, it has a 98% cleanliness rating before we left Port Liberty. Someone brought it on board, most likely someone serving food in the kitchen to spread it so wide.
The ship has so many foreign on it, from Portuguese to Dutch etc, and a huge Jersey contingent. I love these folks, picture granny and grandpa only TOUGHER. They said things like "Eh, we survived our house being washed into the ocean from sandy, we can survive this!"
One example that made me laugh was an old New Joisey couple. He sat at the table and she walked up with a glass of ice water (read it with an accent and an attitude):
"Here ya go" she said, placing the cup on the table "here's your watuh"
"Whut? No lemun? Where are my lemuns?" he says.
"You want lemons? Then sit right there and I will go GET YOUR DAMN LEMONS!" says as she wanders off...
We just laughed, it was funny. It is all funny.
Coming home to see the face and outstretched arm of the Statue of Liberty was the highlight of the whole trip. Seeing the NY Skyline and Freedom Tower. It was something special to me, and transported me back to the days of our forefathers and how they must have felt finally arriving in America. It was symbolic for me, chokes me up thinking about. Sometimes we forget where we came from...it sure made me thankful..
