Volume 18 - Day 48/317, 2026 - Tuesday

Happy Mardis Gras, y'all. Throw me somethin', Mister! I didn't walk this morning. I was out of the bed at 5:15, and when I let the girls out and fed them, Mike was already in the shower. We left a little bit after 6 o'clock to take him to the airport for his 8:40 flight to Ft. Lauderdale. He had a five hour layover somewhere, and he texted me just a few minutes ago, about 6:45, that he was home. After I got home from the airport, I did a few little things towards the goal of getting things unpacked, and then I headed off to Georgetown for the ROMEO breakfast. Rick, me and Richard, we had good conversation, good food and good laughs. One of the servers (Andrew) hung out with us for a little while, just talking about nothing much. After breakfast, I stopped at Tony & Luigi's to confirm our reservation for the neighbors dinner tomorrow. Then it was off to Costco, then I went to vote. Today was the first day of early voting, and the place was packed. I have a couple opinions on why it was packed. 1. There is a lot of interest in the mid-term elections, so people are coming out to have their voice heard. 2. Texas has gone to paper ballots, and you must fill in the little bubbles with an ink pen. My ballot had forty measures to be decided. Forty little bubbles to be filled in. It took a while, so maybe (just maybe) the place was packed because it was taking three or four times more time to vote, than in the past. I'm not sure. After voting, I stopped to pick up a bracelet that I was having repaired, and then I made a stop at HEB. Then home for a nap, then a few more errands after that, and I am about to settle in the the night, but first, I need to eat the ribs that Mike had for dinner last night but couldn't finish.

Volume 18 - Day 47/318, 2026 - Monday

Good news: Today is NOT tomorrow. If you read the post from yesterday, you may understand what I am talking about. So...today was the disembarkation day from the cruise. Why do we disembark from a ship? Why DON'T we disembark from an airplane or a car? If we deplane for a plane, it would make sense that we would de-ship from a ship, and de-car from a car. We could de-bus from a bus..okay, never mind. I did not get much sleep last night because we had another time change, and my watch and phone did not make the change, so I was constantly looking at my watch and phone, and comparing that to the 'ship time.' SO, Mike and I were up and in the restaurant for breakfast at 6AM, and we met Marian and Ronny and Richard and Marge. We were self-assisting, which means we carry our own bags off the ship. It was simple and we made it to the Buzz with no problems. Richard and Marge met us a little while later, and we were off to central Texas. On the way, there were a couple of pee stops and one charging stop. I learned a lot about remote charging of the buzz, so today it was not nearly as frustrating. We stopped in Columbus, Texas and charged at a Rivian charge stations. I used to charge the Teslas at Columbus, but they have come a long way since then. There were seven Rivian high speed chargers, and in about a half hour, we were back on our way. We were getting six miles of charge per minute, and that is great. I am glad I figured out a few things with the Buzz, and now, even though my 'range anxiety' was already low, I am back to having no 'range anxiety' at all. We got home about three o'clock, and Mike and I joined Linda and Jimmie for dinner in Georgetown this evening. Always fun, and I am a really lucky person to have such good friends and to live in the neighborhood that I do, where there are 'real' neighborly neighbors!

Volume 18 - Day 46/319, 2026 - Sunday

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Oh, wait, that is a different journal. No matter what the heading of this journal entry says, today is yesterday. It is my journal, and if I say today is yesterday, so be it. However, this should be interesting because I cannot usually remember what happened yesterday, but I will give it a shot. Chas and Richard and I had a good walk in the morning, and after that, we all met for breakfast in the Windjammer. After that, some of us went to an art auction (me and Shelley), and honestly, I cannot believe some of the things that they consider 'art' and the prices they are paying for them. The other day, Marian and I attended one of the art auctions, and there were works selling in the multiple tens of thousands of dollars. I have bought at least two (I think) pieces of art at estate sales, and they were from Park West, which is the gallery that sells art works on the cruise ships. I got those pieces, as best I can remember, for under $100. So, that is my experience. After that, we had lunch, Mike went to Johnny Rockets for a milk shake and I had soft serve ice cream. Then I went to a jewelry auction, and Marge was there, and (again) I bought nothing. I was interested in a small bracelet, and I asked the sales person if it was priced in Pesos. Nope, $33K USD. I quickly gave it back to them and left. Then we went to a comedy show and then, on to dinner. I got back to the cabin and attempted to do my journal, but nothing was working, that is why today is yesterday for all intents and purposes. More news tomorrow!

Volume 18 - Day 45/320, 2026 - Saturday

Today was a day in Cozumel, but I (we) did not take the ferry to Playa del Carmen. There were a few issues that caused me to change my mind; Mardi Gras parades, and road closures were the main causes for the change of plans, but at least I did not stress during the day about getting back to the ship. Richard, Chas and I walked in the morning, and then we all met for breakfast at 9. After that, we took our time about getting off the ship. Marian and Ronny toured Cozumel, Chas and Shelley had a beach day, Marge and Richard made it to the port and bought a tote bag, and Mike and I came back to the ship with several t-shirts. Then, it was time for a nap, and at 3 o'clock we hit Johnny Rockets. Then, more naps, and at 7 o'clock, we hit a show and then dinner at 7:45. Overnight, we will have another time change, getting back to central time. Tomorrow will be a day of sailing, and then we will be back in the States on Monday.

Volume 18 - Day 44/321, 2026 - Friday

Friday already, and in just a couple more days we will all be getting off this boat. It has been fun, four cabins of friends and neighbors, hanging out and buying t-shirts. I'm not sure everyone in the group bought t-shirts, but that is something that Mike and I excel at. In my case, it is t-shirts and hats, as if I need more hats. We got off the ship this morning at the Cayman Islands, George Town to be more specific. The Cayman Islands are considered part of the British West Indies. I get the British part, but I am not sure where the 'West Indies' part comes in to play, and Mrs. Google was no help with that. I did look up 'sedition' this morning, a word that seems to be bandied about more and more, and I am now clear about what this means. Whatever. The group spent several hours off the ship, and we all went our separate ways, and we all ended up at Johnny Rockets for milk shakes, the perfect ending to a couple hours off the ship. Later in the day, some of us went to a comedy-juggler act which was fun, and then we all met up for dinner. Lots of good conversation and laughing, and getting to know each other better. Now, back in the cabin, finishing this journal entry for the day. Tomorrow we dock at Cozumel and Mike and I will take the ferry to playa. That will be fun, and after Cozumel, we will be heading back to Galveston.

Volume 18 - Day 43/322, 2026 - Thursday

Really, it's Thursday? It seems that this week has gone by very quickly. Today, we docked at Falmouth, Jamaica. There is lots of evidence of the hurricane that hit this area in October, and even more when you get outside the port itself. Chas and I walked, we did six laps, not sure how far we went, maybe a little more than two miles. We (Mike and I) spent a couple hours and headed back to the ship. I bought a hat. I need more hats. Chas, Shelley, Marian and Ronny went their ways in port, and we all just did what we wanted. Richard and Marge went on a rum tasting excursion, and they got outside the port to a rum distillery. I am not sure that distillery is the right word, but they went to a place that makes rum, and they had a good tour. We all reconnected on the ship, bits at a time; Ronny and Marian, Mike and I found each other in the early afternoon, Richard and Marge, Mike and I found each other about 5, and we all got back together about 7 to go to one of the shows. Then it was time for dinner, and after dinner, we all headed back to the EFFY place to see what we could score for free. I am back in the cabin, I think everyone else is at a trivia night. I think we dock at Cayman Islands tomorrow, then there will be a day at sea, then Cozumel. When we get to Cozumel, I will catch the ferry to Playa del Carmen, just to go by the condo and have lunch. I am not sure who, if anyone, will go with me to Playa, but it will be fun.

Volume 18 - Day 42/323, 2026 - Wednesday

We sailed today, and it was a full day on ship. Richard, Chas and I walked about two and a half miles, and it is always interesting to walk while on ship. Our routine is to walk at 7:30 and have breakfast at 9. After that, the day is full of this and that. Stand in line here and there for free 'crap,' but of course, I will stand in line for free stuff anytime. As I remember, lunch consisted of ice cream and then a milk shake. After naps, it was time for dinner and then we stood in line for more free stuff. I am the early retiring person of the group, I am perfectly content to go to the cabin and be by myself earlier than the others, and that is (I think) okay with everyone in the group. Tomorrow we will dock somewhere (maybe Falmouth, Jamaica) and it will be fun to hang out in the port for a few hours. It is really windy, I thought we were going to be blown off the 12th deck this morning, but we made it back inside. I did finish my recent book this afternoon, Theo of Golden, and I highly recommend it. I think my next book is going to be Best Offer Wins, It sounds interesting, a little bit kind of about real estate, and an 8 hour listen. What could be better?