On the cruise, they gave me a door sign that would flip from Cruisin' to Snoozin' -- basically a "do not disturb" sign. Well, my cruisin' is over, and I'm ready for some serious snoozin'. I'm exhausted, but in a good way.
So, for the financial part. I spent $461 on vacation expenses. This was beyond the cruise ticket which I paid for a few months ago. The $461 included land travel, hotel stays, long-term parking, road food, pet sitter, gratuities, excursions and entertainment, taxis and souvenirs.
We made two stops -- one at Costa Maya, which seemed to be nothing but tourist shops. We didn't stay there long, as it was hot and and the kids were cranky. Our other stop was Cozumel, where we spent the whole day at Paradise Beach. It was lovely. I basically just lay around all day under the shade of palm trees, with short dips in the gulf. The boys played hard all day, climbing, sliding, splashing and snorkeling. The rest of the time was spent on the ship, where we ATE, danced, swam, watched movies and shows, and I even won a trivia contest. (The prize -- a ship on a stick!) We had one rough day at sea, when the temperature dropped and we were riding 15-foot waves. No one got seasick, but everyone was dizzy and disoriented. We all finally figured out that napping in our beds was the best defense.
Anyway, it was a great time and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I got home a day later than planned due to an ice storm. My son's family was traveling about 100 miles ahead of C. and me yesterday evening, and they called to say "GET OFF THE ROAD NOW AND GET A HOTEL ROOM!" They had run into an area where cars were sliding willy-nilly off the road and wanted to make sure the grannies weren't going to try it. We stopped and stayed in kind of a fleabag motel (not much choice) and had dinner at a restaurant straight out of the fifties (not retro, just never updated). It was okay, though, better to be safe than sorry.
Now I'm back, sorting through mail and doing laundry. Cruel reality.
C's surgery is tomorrow. I am taking the day off to sit with my DIL and assist in any way I can. Tomorrow it is back to work again.
My vacation expenses have already pushed my variables budget to 66%. It's going to be a month of scrimping and cheese-paring. Totally worth it, though!
Not Cruisin', Soon to be Snoozin'
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