September 16th - I can't believe it's over

Well actually I can....believe it's over.

Although I love cruising, I was ready to step off the ship. We floated into Boston Harbor on a sunny cool morning. It was slightly unsettling to see armed coast guard boats floating behind us, their guns seemingly pointed at me and within range. I was surprised to see that Logan Airport was a swim away. Jets were taking off on a regular basis. That, no doubt, was why some passengers scheduled flights for 10 and 11 AM.

We had put our suitcases out the night before. The crew had worked through the night to get the ship ready for a new group of customers. The suite passengers were to meet in Chops for a light (and I mean Very Light) breakfast and wait for our fearless concierge to take us off the ship. As suite passengers we have paid for the privilege of exiting early.

It seemed to be taking way too long. Earlier I had made a fast trip to the fourth floor to deposit my survey. As usual I had added suggestions for improvement, which will no doubt be ignored. We also didn't receive a letter I thought we should have, so I had written a letter, which will probably also be ignored. Anyway I ran across a line 1/2 the length of the ship. Further investigation revealed that there were foreigners entering the country.

They ALL have to clear customs before anyone gets off the ship. So we waited.

When Fernando finally showed up he had to lead us through hostile territory. Since there was no path roped off we were forced to plow through disgruntled bodies muttering complaints. At one point a couple jumped in front of us shrieking about missing their plane and I had to use my luggage as a cattle prod to get them out of the way.

Anyway, we got off. A poor little guy with a cane attempted the escalators and fell. I was walking down the steps when Mary yelled for me to speed it up. By the time I got to the bottom they had stopped the escalator. The little guy was bruised, probably humilited but ambulatory.

After locating our luggage fairly easily one of the porters told us that he could get us to the front of the line of souls waiting for taxis so we piled our suitcases on his cart and sure enough he walked right past a horde of hostility. Only cost us $20.00 and was worth every penny.

The taxi took us to Alamo to pick up our full size car, immediately upgraded to a SUV since there was no way all of our luggage was going to fit in the car unless the girls ran alongside the car, or maybe were attached to the hood.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum was close to us so we headed that way. The building is magnificent. I remember JFK of course. I had forgotten what a great speaker he was. It seems to me that his speeches had a lot more substance than what we hear these days. It set the stage with the artifacts of the era, took us through his early life, the campaign, election, Cuban Mission Crises, Civil Rights movement, and his tragic death. Brought tears to my eyes.

I could have lingered longer, but I felt I was literally starving having gone a whole 5 hours without eating. So we headed for the hotel and found a great little Italian Restaurant, the Chateau Family Dining, and checked into the Hilton Garden Inn in Burlington. Feeling exhausted although I thought I shouldn't be exhausted, I got caught up on my favorite reality TV shows. I watched some of the prior episodes of Big Brother, the shocking finale of Bachelor Pad, and the new Big Brother almost finale. OK, so maybe I am a little shallow.

My food intake significantly reduced from ship level, I fell asleep early and woke late on a non-rocking bed. Cool.