Returning home in the cold

 

 

Given the weekend's cold weather, I was not in a hurry to go outside and go home.  But, I had a dentist appointment scheduled for Tuesday, and it had already been postponed once.  So, homeward I had to go, and that meant I'd be leaving RQS sometime in the afternoon.

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As usual, I woke up relatively early, allowing RQS to sleep for an extra hour or so.  It took us a while to get moving, as she had things to take care of as well.  Around 2 pm, I ended up leaving her house and walked to the bus stop, where I didn't have to wait long for the bus to arrive.

When I reached the subway station, I didn't go straight in.  Instead, I picked up a sandwich and ate it on the train.  (This is New York, after all - no one gives much of a damn on an uncrowded train, as long as one is far away from the people on the train.  I'd never do this in other cities, as it would be an unforgivable sin.)  It took a while to reach Manhattan, and then 20 more minutes to reach Grand Central.

So far, today's trip was much easier than Saturday's trip - it was 15° f warmer than Saturday, with much less wind. Also, I could use ADA Accessible stations to make my transfers between subway routes. In short, it was relatively comfortable trip  for a winter's day.  So, I felt comfortable going home, as I didn't have to deal with Saturday's travel issues. When I arrived at Grand Central, I took the time to get a buttered bagel at Starbucks, and still had time to spare when catching the train home.  Although I took a semi-express train home, I got home around 5 pm or so, and was able to rest. 

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With the afternoon having been spent in transit, I took the rest of the day to rest, and to work on my travel blog.  It's my way of keeping busy and doing something constructive. 


PS: It was nice being able to go to RQS's place as Marian - the cold weather made it easier, as I wouldn't overheat in what I was wearing.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #6 (12/07/25)

 

This would be the last day we'd have breakfast in our room.  Room service came at exactly 9:30, and they put all of our places on the small table, save for the one they put on our bed.  We were hungry and ready to feast - and feast we did.

The last sea day before returning home is always sad.  We have to pack up our clothes, toiletries, and other things, keeping what is needed for the morning into our carry-on bags, and stashing the rest into larger suitcases which left by the door tonight to reappear on the pier tomorrow morning.  There are so many people who get things wrong on this last day, such as packing their passports in their larger suitcases being brought to the pier.

One usually says goodbye to the new friends met on the cruise, knowing that they may never see these people again.  One will often hand their cabin attendant a tip for service, as well as tipping any staff member who went over and above what would be expected from that staff member.   And we planned to do that tonight, when we'd see our cabin attendant for our last time.

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For the most part, we took it easy today, packing things back into our suitcases, so that it could be left by the door before 10 pm.  We were mostly ready to go before dinner, but we planned to do one last inventory of things before leaving them in the hallway.

We went to dinner for one last time in the main restaurant, and had an almost private nook all to ourselves.  Today's minor inconsistency in service was that the person normally assigned to take our drink order didn't see us in the alcove, and we had to ask for service.  Again, a very minor issue that didn't get in the way of enjoying our last dinner on the ship for this cruise.  And, I'm glad to say - everything was to my liking!  Yum!

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Once back in our cabin, we did one last check before putting our luggage in the hallway.  This is when the reality set in - we will be at home tomorrow, and we will have to pick up our towels if we leave them on the floor.

Coming home is such sweet sorrow.