Transition

Because we had to drive the remaining distance to Galveston from our parking space, it required a bit of an early start.   But we managed.  Because of the below-freezing start to the day we drove for a bit to warm up the rig before stopping in a Home Depot parking lot to take showers.  Much more pleasant when the space is warm.

We got fuel at Buc-ee’s just as the sun was coming up, so I managed to catch a photo of the sunrise through Buc-ee’s.  Something inspiring about the sunrise behind those grinning (or grimacing) beavers...

We had traded some texts with another SOWER couple from Canada who were in Galveston, ready to embark on a cruise the same day we were.  Different ships, but most of the same destinations.  They learned that their departure was delayed because of a medical emergency in the crew so they had the morning free.  We met them in a parking lot and had breakfast with them in our rig.  It was a tight squeeze but all four of us enjoyed pancakes and bacon and getting to know each other.  They are used to tight spaces.  They travel in a camper van. They will be serving at Tejas in February after returning from their cruise.  It’s always fun to get to know fellow SOWERs

Then it was off to the self-storage lot where we stored the RV.  This was about 20 minutes out of town but was the only place that would store an oversized vehicle for a reasonable price.  While there, we packed the remainder of our cruise stuff, had a bite to eat, and then walked to the front gate.

Self-storage lots are not designed for walk-outs.  A large metal thing such as a car will trigger the sensor to open the gate, but a couple people on foot are invisible to the sensor.  And the keypad didn’t seem to work right.  So we were locked in.  Fortunately, there was about 10 inches of space under the bottom of the gate, so I squeezed under the gate and entered the gate code on the keypad outside the fence.  Deb could now walk out with the luggage.  I wish I had a picture.  It was quite comical.

We took an Uber from the storage lot to the cruise dock, and arrived to find a long line of people, looking a lot like the lines at airport security, only longer.  We slowly moved through these cattle guides for over an hour and finally made it onto the ship, where we could finally relax, because all the details and logistics of getting here were now complete.  We learned later that the wait was over two hours earlier and the line snaked out into the street.

First order of business once we dropped off our stuff in our cabin: food.  We managed to snag a window seat in the buffet and soon were joined by a Canadian couple.  He was a rather dour, grumpy man, she was a little bit more upbeat.  They didn’t sell life in Canada very well.  Makes me wonder why they are still there.

Thus fortified we explored the ship for a while, even the top decks where the cold wind cut through and chilled us to the bone.  Hopefully it will be warmer as we go south.  One thing that looked good was the hot tubs, so we did the swimsuit run across the chilly, windy deck thing and sat in the hot tub until our fingers and toes looked like prunes.

We had a private table reserved for dinner and arrived to find that the private table was situated so close to the next private table that I was closer to the woman beside me than I was to Deb across the table. The couple next to us oogled each other across the table the whole time and we could overhear most of their conversation.  We gathered that they were not married (at least to each other) and they left before dessert to do what unmarried couples do on cruise ships.  The dinner was good despite the proximity of this and the dessert was much more pleasant after they left.

We stopped by the theater where the Rhinestone Cowgirls were performing and stayed for a couple of their songs before turning in for the night.  Somehow, all the transitional logistics and the hurry up and wait is rather tiring.  Maybe we’ll stay for a full show tomorrow.