The alarm went off at 6am as directed. We finished packing then went to breakfast. We said goodbye to a few folks, then left the cabin. We had to wait about 30 minutes to get off the ship and an hour for Marlene’s son to fight his way through traffic to the port to pick us up, but we had the car and were on our way home by 10am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Except that we didn’t go home. At least not right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First we tried to visit Marlene’s old friend Danny, a guy she hadn’t seen in years and who recently suffered a devastating stroke. We found his apartment but he wasn’t home. Marlene, through some diligent telephone work, learned that he was in the hospital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next we stopped at Four Star Jewelry<\/a>, the little shop run by Marlene’s old friend Eli. She introduced me to him and they spent an hour catching up on old times. Very interesting guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then we traveled to Marlene’s brother’s house for a reunion with Becky. She was overjoyed to see us, as evidenced by her violently wagging tail. I hung around all afternoon and we caught up on the latest episodes of Reacher Season 4<\/a>. Then I left and drove home. Marlene stayed with her brother. She may try to see Danny this weekend. I will retrieve her on Monday or Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus ends the Carnival Conquest<\/em> 2 trip. Wrapup next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The alarm went off at 6am as directed. We finished packing then went to breakfast. We said goodbye to a few folks, then left the cabin. We had to wait about 30 minutes to get off the ship and an hour for Marlene’s son to fight his way through traffic to the port to pick … Continue reading