2015 Western Caribbean Cruise - Day 9 (Go Home)

The goal of the day was to get off the ship fast, grab a cab and catch the 8:40 flight from Miami to Houston.  They said we could leave the boat at 6:45 AM.  So naturally I was up at 5:15 AM almost ready to go.  I was also excited to finally get logged back since in port we could connect through AT&T back to the internet.  So at about 5:45 AM I headed up to the top deck (deck 14...we slept on deck 9) to check things out.  It was still dark but the boat never sleeps.  LIghts on, buffet going already and people meandering around.  I immediately sat down and connecte to the web and logged into the United App to check flight statuses and to checkin.  The 8:40 flight still had seats open...looked good. Everything else looked not so good. So we had to get on that one.  At about 6:15 I headed back to the room, stopping by to let Kim and Ilene know that I was grabbing my bags and heading to deck 5 to get into the line to get off the boat.  I then retrieved Denise and the bags.  We were about 10th in line.  Soon, Kim and Ilene joined us.  At about 6:55 we were off the boat heading to customs.  That went really fast (no lines) and out we were to the street.  I thought that we might use UBER for our ride to the airport.  But since taxis were $25 one way, we thought we'd try to get all 4 of us in one and share the costs.  It worked out great.  As a matter of fact, there was a van that had two people in it...but the line attendant asked them to take a car and we got the van.  We paid $30 with a tip.  We were on our way to the airport by about 7:15 AM.  We arrived in plenty of time and got our bags checked in.  But TSA was really, really slow.  Only one line.  But it didn't matter because we were plenty early.  When the Wayment's checked in, they were asked if they wanted $150 credit to take another flight.  They were on the 11:40 flight.  They said no.  But when we got to the gate for the 8:40 flight, they asked if they could get on that one since they were looking for people to jump off the 11:40.  The gate agent granted their wish and we all flew to Houston on the same flight.  Go figure...everything working out so far!

At Houston, our next flight was a Regional Jet (about 70+ Passengers) scheduled to go at 2:30.  We arrived at 10:30.  Kim and Ilene were scheduled to go at 5:30 on a larger plane.  That meant we were in opposite terminal ends.  Since their flight was not leaving for so long, they followed us to our B terminal gate.  We ate lunch together, found a table and played cards for awhile.  Pretty fun.  When it came time to board, we were the next to get seats....but none available.  So the 5:30 flight was our last hope today.  So off we all went together to the E terminal.  Even though they have a tram...the walk is still pretty long.  But we had time as we walked and visited all along the way.  We eventually found our gate and found seats by it.  Again, sat down and played a round of cards.  Before we played 5 Crowns.  This time it was Mormon Bridge.  I stink at all of them!  But it was fun.  Kim started to get the itch to eat in the middle of the game.  We said that we were playing cards.  So he gave us 30 minutes and set his clock.  With each hands of cards, we were reminded of his need to eat and time remaining.   We all laughed each time he called out the time and his excitement to get some food.  Heck...it had been a couple of hours since we had eaten anything!  We're on cruise mode...you know!?  Anyway, at 415 sharp we were off to get food.  Denise and I had  Pand Express.  Kim and Ilene found a deli like place that chicken and stuff.  Anyway, we got our food consumed and then headed back to the gate to board..  It did not look good, as usual, for us.  We wished Kim and Ilene bon voyage and thought we'd be staying thenight.  The plane boarded and a few stand by's got on ahead of us.  We thought that would be it.  But the Gate Agent said to hold tight.  She thought she had a couple more seats.  Sure enough, Denise and I were the last to board.  Another minor miracle flying stand by.

To  conclude this blog about our trip, I want to say how much I appreciated being with Kim and Ilene.  It has been too many years since we've done things together.  We've lived in different states.  We've raised all our crazy kids.  Our hair is getting gray (what is left of it)...but we still feel like it was yesterday when we lived next door to each other, played basketball and softball every night and really enjoyed life.  They have not changed a bit.  And I consider Kim one of my very best friends.  And I hope to not let the rest of the world get in the way of us getting together more than in the past.  Thank you Wayment's for letting the Tiner's tag along on Kim's 60th birthday cruise.  May you have 60 more enjoyable years Kim!!!!