The Cruise Begins

DAY 0 January 14

Got up at 6:30 to head out to Charlotte airport. Car (Toyota Camry) was fine, once we figured out the controls—except for the steering. It kept acting as if we had just hit a patch of ice. Arrived about 12:10. Except for the first half mile, it was on multi-lane roads, mostly at 70 mph speed limit; mostly at 80 mph, to be honest.

 

Yesterday was busy, but we were so well organized, thanks to Mary, we both had time to do our exercise routines and even take a walk. Really enjoyable, as we came across most of Mary, the “Milkbone Madam’s” fans, and gave them a whole pocket-full of dog biscuits. 

 

You gotta love Charlotte’s rocking chairs

The one thing Charlotte airport’s main terminal and ours have in common is rocking chairs. Our little regional airport sports a small area with about six; Charlotte’s sports long rows of them.

North Carolina is known for its furniture building; it makes me kind of proud to see these examples of it.

 

San Francisco

Flight left on time, arrived early, and the rough weather we were warned about by the pilot was minimal. 

The terminal was practically empty!

We were met by a rep from the cruise line and taken to the hotel via van. Weather was ghastly—think “Sam Spade Movie.”

 

Put up at the Fairmont: Imagine the Pera Palace had been bought by Motel 6. Huge room with lovely bed, very short on amenities.

 

DAY 1 January 15th

Sunday we boarded the ship, but given how long we’ve been planning and preparing, it feels like we’ve been at this for a year.

We started the day looking for coffee and an open liquor store. Not a sure thing, being Sunday. We took a wrong turn at one point and got lost. Walked and walked. This was all to the good, I believe, as the day before we had spent at least 10 hours just sitting, in the car and on the plane. So by dinnertime Mary’s phone recorded a total of 16,000 steps and 40 floors climbed (On board, we always take the stairs, but 22 of those are accounted for by SF’s hills.)

The ship left the dock at about 11pm, I think. By then we were long asleep.

 

DAY 2

A sea day. Heading south, on our way to Ensenada, on the Baja peninsula. Rough weather; we both ended up taking seasickness pills.