Today’s turned out to be a disappointing day, as Paula agrees (this is one of the two women in the room next to us that I ran into in the dining area). I’ll write more about her later. For now, I want to keep things in order as best I can. I’ll just say that the disappointment is due to the fact that we couldn’t dock at the Grand Turk today because of stormy weather. I guess we’re heading back to Florida now, but at a slower pace to avoid getting back too soon. The last thing they’d want to do is return a day early and refund people’s money for that day, though they should for having us miss out on the Grand Turk. At least they’re refunding the shore excursions some folks paid for. We really wanted to check out the beaches there. I’m just glad this ship can handle the choppy waters. I would think a 4-million-dollar ship that’s done over 100 cruises already has had enough experience to do it well, though we sure have been rocking more. Usually, we don’t sway as much as planes or even trains. There’s usually just enough sound and motion to tell you you’re moving and that’s it. Today, however, there was enough motion to be annoying. They even closed the pool which they can’t cover because the winds make the sloshing water more dangerous. The family pool and hot tubs on the other end are open, and since they’re not usually too rowdy, thanks to there only being a dozen or so kids on board, I may go there later. Actually, some of the adults have been more obnoxious than the kids with their wild laughter. Lotta folks getting drunk.

I can see where it’d be awesome to work on the ship if you didn’t mind all the people and noise, and you knew you wouldn’t miss being able to run out to places like Walmart whenever you felt like it. Most of the crew members are Asian.

I wish the rooms or hallways had sonar equipment to tell us how deep this water is like the planes told us how many feet high we were.

The Florida airport seemed mellower than the Georgia one, but all we did there was grab our bags, grab a cab, and hit another Motel 6 (this one much noisier than the last). We never went through any checkpoints, but we will soon.

The flight from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale was shorter at around just two hours. The plane was different, too. The first plane was your standard setup with two rows of three-seaters and a center aisle. The second plane was bigger with two outer rows of two-seaters and a center row of three-seaters. Most of the northwest was cloudy, and of course Wyoming was nothing but a big old blanket of snow. It was just beautiful upon arriving in Florida! Slightly humid at 77º.

The motel had a nice soft bed just like the other one and just like the ship does, to my surprise, but was bangy as hell like the Townhouse was in Klamath Falls. We were right by the stairwell, so we heard doors slamming like crazy. I still managed to get a good 6 or so hours of sleep since it quieted down after 10:00 which was about when I crashed.

It’s been 13 years since I’ve flown and 17 years since I’ve been in Florida. What a different person I was then! A broke, miserable girl all alone from New England who was a skinny smoker who could see well. Well, I’m sure I’ll be broke and miserable again at some point, but definitely not a skinny smoker with good eyesight.

Tom and I joked about what I’d say to Doe and Art had we run into them in Florida (assuming they recognized their older and much heavier daughter). If they’d asked us to go to their house, I’d have said, “Nah, we’re going on a cruise, then we’re going to get the hell outa Oregon and move to California.”

The funny thing is the postcard I sent them from Puerto Rico. After making a few small changes, I said basically what I said I’d say in the entry I made on Christmas. I also sent Paula a postcard, but I’m now ready to write her off as a definite thing of the past since I still haven’t heard from her. She’s gotta be either dead or locked up. But if she’s locked up, is she really that stupid that she can’t at least let me know it?