I hadn't even realised it until now, but yesterday was my last day in the States! That was a rather unceremonious farewell to such a beautiful country!
My goal today, the final day on the cruise and, therefore, the day I had to return the library books, was to finish reading the book "Spirited Waters". Had grand plans of reading several books and completing my blogs but have succumbed to the siren song of the cruise spa (and chatting and meeting people). Unfortunately, I have fallen VERY far behind with my blogs and am now also having difficulty recalling all the things we did and the places we visited along the way each day on the roadtrip. But, I need to complete what I've started, so I will continue to write, even though it may be slightly more "embellished" and less "factual" than I would have hoped.
In any case, last night, Melinda and I went to the back of the ship and ate some desserts salvaged from the Chocolate Buffet. The moon looked like a lemon wedge floating in a huge, black martini glass - with a long sliver of cloud slicing through the lunar lemon like a luminous rim and one lone star hovering to the side like a glowing olive. The "drink" cast a haunting, muted reflection in the horizon's edge. I wondered whether the moon was waxing or waning? Well, today I came across a passage in the book where Jennifer Hahn explains: "Just imagine the small letters 'd' and 'b'. Each letter's bottom half makes a right- or left-facing circle. Place the half moon in the half circle. If it fits in the 'd' it's diminishing. If it fits in the 'b' it's getting bigger."
At first, I really hated the cruise but this afternoon, something happened which made me soften my attitude. I realised, after speaking to several fellow passengers, that many people have come here to escape. As I also happen to be a master "escape artist" (after all, I'm always trying to escape London and yearning for the perfect place to call "home"), I can also empathise and realise the whole point of it now (although I don't find it as pleasurable as many other people do).
Whether it's an office worker escaping the drudgery of the same job for 20 years, or a 3-times cancer survivor escaping treatment to hang out with her best friend, or a woman who wants to reconnect with her long lost sister and estranged father, or a university professor who has been forced into part-time work after 30 years of heading her department, or a mother who wants to escape her unhappy relationships with her daughters-in-law. Everyone I have met on the cruise seems to be have been glad to escape these problems - even if only for a week!
Since the start of the cruise, we've sailed 2137 nautical miles! I wonder how many miles I have travelled on this trip?
With that thought in mind, we docked at Victoria harbour and from the high vantage point in the Spa, I could see the various modes of tour transportation parked below. There were buses, horse-drawn carriages, limousines, taxis, Tuk tuks, buses and even vintage cars. The cruise has definitely docked!
Our drive from the port with the overly-chatty taxi driver finally brought us to the Ocean Island Inn, where we got an early night's restless sleep. Back on dry land, I still felt like I was on a boat and a bit unsteady on my feet.