pirate4me2

1 hour and 4 minutes of work left. When that time comes, I am running outta here like an inmate making their great escape!

Ohhhh I may have to give those a try!!

Ah man, if you'd been taking over I could have left y'all a present.

Chocolate coated pecans! That's my go-to. Altho I think I may try the beaver nuggets this time, people keep telling me they are good.

Omg y’all…it’s finally happening!!

Your previous review (I think it was the MG) was how I discovered them! You & Patti are always full of helpful information. 🙂

We sound like 2 of a kind, oh my goodness!! Our crew did decide to meet up and head out at 6 am, so I am HOPING we get to Cape Canaveral by 4 pm to enjoy dinner and just let down after the drive. But, that depends on traffic, potty stops, a Buc-ees stop (2 in the crew have never been and have decided that we HAVE to stop this time), and our stop at our favorite horse supply store in Jacksonville, FL. You know what, I am gonna say we will probably make AWFUL time after re-reading all that. I bet we land about 5 or 6. LOL. Pre-cruise chores.....bah humbug! I am eyeing my list and trying to decide what I can just "forget" to do and leave for the hubby.

Oh thank goodness, B just texted that she is FINALLY packing. Whew. I don't know how some of y'all manage to be last minute packers. Chris is, and he ALWAYS forgets something....anyone remember the loofah incident from a few cruises ago? I did inform B that if she forgets anything, I know all too well where the Publix and Walmart are close by!

Aw shucks!!!! It would have been!

I gotta admit, we ALWAYS eat at Fishlips when in Cape Canaveral. We went one time to Grill's, and I was disappointed....I just love Fishlips so much. Grills wasn't bad, it just wasn't "my" place! I say you should tell the hubby nope, going to Fishlips tomorrow, and we can meet up. I'll be wearing my "awful" glasses! 😂

Its a sign from the universe....book another cruise!

That sounds amazing!

Right?! 7 hrs and 43 minutes until vaca starts. Then I shall do what I call "drinking chores"....for every chore I complete, I get a shot! Let's see, I have laundry to do, camper holding tanks to empty (altho I could leave those for DH....but hey, thats an easy shot of Fireball!), dishes, cat boxes to clean....yeah, this evening will be a fun pre-cruise party at the trailerhood!

Pre-Cruise Hotel: After debating if we wanted to drive down overnight Friday to save some PTO time, or start the shenanigans early and drive down a day before and book a hotel for the night, we all finally agreed to do the less-stress route and drive down and book a hotel. Whew, that is my preferred method….get up super early Friday morning (eeeek, B isn’t a morning person, and neither am I…poor mum!), make the trip to FL, stop at my favorite horse supply store in Jacksonville, and get to Cape Canaveral in time for a late lunch/early dinner at the port. Fishlips, here I come!! 🙂 I booked us at my new favorite Cape Canaveral pre-cruise hotel, Home2Suites. It is always super clean, has a nice pool, and is in a great location. The address is 9004 Astronaut Blvd, Cape Canaveral, and sometimes they have a Park & Cruise package available. Unfortunately for us, it was sold out by the time I made our booking. Oh well, that is what you get for procrastinating!

Meeeeee too! You know who isn’t ready tho? B….she ain’t even packed yet!! 😱 Same! I gotta get thru the workday tomorrow. 5:35 comes, I’ll be FREE!!!!!!

Bags are packed, let’s go!!!!

Welcome aboard!!

BAHAHAHAHAHA you'll know when I arrive in your town on Friday!! So jealous you live so close to my favorite cruise port!! Most of them are pretty darn good! Once in a while we gotta whip them back in shape. 😉

Yes! It really does help to have a good support system.

Thank you!

Please, please let your wishes for safe travels be heard by the big man upstairs! One thing is for certain: I am NOT driving this time! The purple are my favorites! LOL. I really like the tint they give in the sun too!!

If you followed my last review, you know that Mom and I had some, uh, hiccups, along the way. One of the big ones was getting news mid cruise that my Grandma had fallen and broken her hip and had to have hip replacement surgery. Luckily we had a really supportive family unit back home (my uncle, my husband, and my dad) who told us to continue on with our cruise (we had 2 days left) since there wasn’t really anything we could do. Grandma had her surgery while we were in Cozumel, and did really well, and has been doing phenomenal with her recovery. She’s stayed active into her older years (she’s 87) which has helped, watches her weight, and most importantly of all, is STUBBORN. That stubbornness has been a blessing and a curse with her recovery….she’s got the drive to do the physical therapy and get back home, but she also wants to do things HER way which puts her new hip in danger since she can’t bend/rotate like she wants to. Anyway, I say all this because her rehab facility informed us that because she is doing so well, her discharge date is the day we are heading down to FL….April 5. We had been banking on her being in the facility for a few more weeks than that. Obviously she cannot go back to her home alone, she will need someone there at least for a few weeks to make sure she is not doing things that could re-injure her hip, or fall. Mom had already agreed that she would be the Tuesday-Friday daytime caregiver as she works from home those days, and with this new discharge information, we have been left scrambling and wondering if Mom will even be able to go on this cruise. Danggit! After the last one, with all the sickness/worry/drama, she and I both need a re-do! GOOD NEWS Y’ALL….we had a family dinner with my 2 uncles, dad, mom, myself and Chris, and the boys stepped up yet again to save the day. Maybe it was the kick butt, delicious dinner we prepared (Philly cheesesteaks on the Blackstone & potato salad), maybe it was the free flowing beer (Shiner for Chris, Bud for Uncle #1, PBR for Uncle #2), or maybe it was the nice new bottle of Buffalo Trace I had been saving, hidden in the back corner of my cabinet (that stuff is hard to get here in NC) that is now ¾ empty, but they all agreed to take some days to watch over her while we are away. Hallelujah! The trip is saved!

Oh yeah….even mama and B are gonna be sporting these puppies next Saturday…at least for a photo. Amazon, baby!!

So, to give y’all an idea of what to expect, the last time we sailed with B (Aug 2019 I believe it was) we had some good shenanigans take place. It was B’s first (and so far only) cruise, so everything was fresh and new and exciting. She HAD to go to the towel animal folding demo. She loved the towel animals we got each day. We went, and she took her place to make the animals. She did ok with the “snake” (who can’t make a snake?) but when things got harder…well, she got frustrated. I didn’t know B doesn’t have much patience sometimes, I saw a new side of her at the demo. When it came time to make the “elephant” she was pretty, uhhh…peeved. Next thing I knew, she was POUNDING this poor towel into submission. She had gotten the bottom part folded with the legs and all like they’re supposed to be, and she “wanted to make sure it wouldn’t fall apart” so she was pounding on it with her fist to “make sure it was stable.” Kids were looking at her scared, wondering why she was abusing this poor innocent towel. Next up…our day in Nassau. After we went to Junkanoo beach and walked thru a few shops, we headed back onboard. We went and got some drinks from the Red Frog Pub, and sat on the balcony. When I say drinks, I probably should specify…we had pitchers of Rum Jumpers, Caribbean coladas, and I think B had some special fishbowl margarita poured into a to-go cup/pitcher. Anyway…we ended up on our aft balcony, drinking our drinks and chilling. Someone below us had some, um, how can I say this…aromatic herbal stuff. We drank our drinks, then it got close to sail away and mom began heckling pier runners. All of a sudden mom sat down, then face planted into a lounger. The people across from us on the Disney ship cheered “hey, she’s done for!” and B and I just shook our heads and hauled mom inside into a bed. I cannot believe we were THOSE PEOPLE that people on a neighboring ship shook their heads at.

Ol’ Stumpy is back!