San Diego Arrival!

The six days at sea went fast, as usual. The days were filled with lots of activities, including appreciation parties, the alumni ball, convocation, “re-entry” day events, and game nights. The alumni ball is a fancy, dress up event on the last leg of the journey to remind us we are now alumni. Our group felt this night reminded us of prom because we had to pick people for a table and it all felt a bit yucky, like a popularity contest. So, when you feel like it is prom, you must treat it as prom, as we did. The girls (well, minus me) spent time getting ready, we all took silly prom-like pictures (capturing the awkwardness this night typically entails in HS), drank lots of wine, and danced like fiends. It was a fantastic culminating night with our friends.

At 6:30 AM on Dec 13, we awoke to Neil Diamond singing: “We’re coming to America!” on the loud speaker. Chris got up to view the sunset and the city of San Diego ahead with most of the passengers on the ship (I was too tired after a late night of games). Customs went by super quickly and soon we were off the ship, having our last lunch with our friends. We talked a lot about our journey over the last 3.5 months, including our favorite moments. There were lots of tears and talks of reunions. I truly believe we will all make the effort to see each other again.

Chris and I hurried off to a party hosted by a lifelong learner at a fancy house in San Diego. Before we knew it, we were behind schedule and would likely miss our plane if we waited for a taxi. It seems we were back to our typical selves, packing too much in for one day. A couple of lifelong learners, Bret and Tom, saved us! They threw our bags in their car, started the GPS, and dropped us off at the airport in record time. We owe them! It reminded us of all the generous, kind people we met along the way and the community inherent in ship life that we will miss.

Despite the sadness of missing the ship, traveling, the sense of community, and our friends…we were elated to be on our way home to Denver, Colorado. We were insanely excited to see our cats, Nikka and Clova. When we arrived home, I cried. It was just so great to be in our home with our cats in our favorite state. And of course, we have so much to look forward to with seeing our friends and family and the holidays. I may be kicking and screaming on my way to S. Africa. While I am excited for our next adventure, I (we) really do love our lives in Colorado. I guess we are in a win-win situation – more adventure in S. Africa with a wonderful life at home waiting for our return.