Lunch with a friend, then both laundry and packing for my cruise.

 

This would be the second to last day I'd be spending at home before the weekend.  And I should have made every minute count.  Instead, I had a long lunch and killed time before doing laundry and packing for my trip.

- - - - - -

Today would likely be the last day I'd be able to spend as Marian for a while.  I'd be out as Mario over the weekend.  And when I return, I'll be unwilling to risk wallet swapping to spend one last day out as Marian.  This will help me be sure to have all my ID in the wallet that is coming on the trip with me.

Around lunch time, I mat my friend from the census, and we had a much longer than usual lunch together.We had a very lighthearted chat, and I made a joke about my bi-gendered nature in regard to a different packing list from that above.  Yesterday, Microsoft's AI generated a packing list for my cruise - but for a female.  This list contained dresses for formal nights, and I noted that it would be inappropriate for most males, but for me.... 😀    We talked about our upcoming trips, me to Norway, and her trip to Vegas.  It seems like all of my friends are going away for a while, and it will be hard to catch up with them during the summer.

After lunch, I proceeded to the bookstore to see if they had Erik Larson's latest book in stock.  Although they did, I wasn't in the mood to spend $35 on a book that I'd only read once.  Instead, I'll put another hold on the book, and wait until I can again get it to read.  Next, I browsed in Home Goods, seeing nothing of interest.  (I miss the old Bed, Bath and Beyond!)  Then, it was time to come home and rest.

Once at home, it was time for this T-Gal to do some laundry.  Not much need to be said about this task, save that I wanted to make sure that I had a pair of jeans to wear on this trip.....




PS: It's already 1:30 am, and I still have more packing to do.  This will have to wait until the morning for me to finish off the big bag that goes down to RQS's place this weekend.

Second Cruise - Day 4: Bar Harbor, ME.

 

 

Day 4: Bar Harbor, ME.

We didn’t have to get up early today, so we didn’t.  Yet, we were up by 8:00 am, and were having breakfast by 9:30 am.  This made it possible for us to get off the ship by 10:30 am, and start walking around Bar Harbor. Unlike tendering at Newport, the cruise line hired a charter boat to ferry passengers from the ship to the pier and back.  That gave us at least 4 boats in tender service to move people, and it didn’t take long to get to shore.

This was RQS’s first time in the area in years, and she was happy to follow my lead in walking around town.  Once on shore, we took some pictures of the harbor, then went to a local book store to spend some money.  Next, it was a search for two stores, one of which always has wallets on sale - where we both replaced our wallets for new ones.  The other store was where I bought (as Marian) a scarf which I have yet to wear - it was packaged as a knot, and looks better as a knot than it does as a scarf.  (Sooner or later, I will untangle the knot and wear the scarf.  Until then, I like how the scarf was packaged for transit, and will keep it that way.)

After walking through town we looked for a place to eat.  Most of the good joints were closed for the season, and we made the mistake of going into a joint where we should have ordered burgers and beers, not chowder and tacos.  That was a waste of money and time.  But, when most of the good joints are closed, one takes what she can get.

Then, it was back to the ship, to prepare for our next day’s journeys.