Our Cruise page 4

Cruise journal continued...

(Jen says)

The trip back home through the Mississippi took 8 hours! At the time we went to bed, we could see land and trees on either side of us. I woke up at 6:00 AM and saw NOLA glide by...we were home! We had breakfast, then waited for our color (determined by cabin) to be called. At about 9:00 we were called. We zoomed off the ship and past customs- amazingly easy- no passports, no x-ray screening. I guess because we were leaving and didn't pose a threat to the ship. We dropped our luggage off at the car (which had a flat tire) and went and toured the French Quarter. First I called the kids and joyously talked to them again. And Tracey warned me that I would gain weight with all the good NOLA food, but honestly I am so sick of food! The French Quarter is so interesting, but were were just so exhausted and all we could think of was HOME. Bourbon Street is just gross, full of bars, strip clubs, (of which you have to divert your eyes, the pictures are pornographic, and we saw parents with their kids walking down it!) and smells like old beer. We then went to Cafe du Monde, but with a line around the corner and down the block we decided to go to the one in the mall. We did see beautiful buildings, famous restaurants, and places we have only heard of, but again, there is no place like home!

We went to the mall, shopped, ate, (for sustenance!) went to the car, put the spare on, packed an overnight bag, checked into our room, which was on the 19th floor and had a great view of the river, and just vegged out! At about the time the ships were due to leave, we went back to the mall to see them off, then grabbed some Chinese food, went back to the hotel, and watched TV, then we slept.

In the AM we checked out, got the tire fixed, and went and toured the garden district and saw the Lafayette #1 cemetery with the above ground burial places. The homes it that area are gorgeous! Then we headed out back to the kids whom we began to miss desperately! We drove to about 1/2 hour away from Kansas, Mark for about 4 hours, and me for 5 (Dallas rush hour was killer...YUCK!) and then Mark again for 1.5 hours to Oklahoma City bombing memorial, which I broke down at. It is sad, yet beautiful, yet heartbreaking all at one time. Definitely worth the extra miles to see. We stopped at a rest stop and slept for 7 hours, which surprised me for a cold night in a small car, and woke up cramped sore, but ready to go home. Mark drove again, until North of Kansas City, Missouri. Then I drove to Mason City, Iowa. The excitement of seeing the kids was palpable! An hour and a half later, and I was ready to call them, from Mankato. Tracey said the kids could come home tonight! We got home, got 1/2 unpacked, when Tracey called and talked about how it went. She said the kids were very excited, and that they were great kids. She said she got so attached to them that she cried when they left. And then I saw them pull up. Gabby walked in and gave us a huge hug, Zach came in and cried, Ethan came in and hugged us so hard! Alisa was shy at first, but then came to me and wouldn't let go. Oh my hear melted, and I decided I never wanted to take that long of a vacation without them again! And thus ends our tale. I am glad we went, but more glad to be home. And so very grateful to be safe, and to all who were involved in keeping the kids safe too! So much to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving holiday!

OKC

The OKC Memorial at night; the chairs symbolizing those who died.

(Mark says)

We are all back at home, safe and sound. What a relief! The trip home was fairly uneventful, which is good, but long, which is bad. More about that later. We came into the Mississippi River in the middle of the night on the ship, so we didn't get to see much again. I was hoping to see the scenery on the way back. Didn't realize it took so long to navigate up the river. We did get to see some oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico though. That was neat to see them all lit up. We docked pretty early and had to wait quite a while before we could get off the ship. We got colored tags for our luggage and they called each color tag at a certain time to get off the ship. We didn't have to wait at all once we were off the ship.. Just found our bags and went out. We were surprised at that. We got back to the car at the hotel and found a flat tire on the car. Not surprised since the tire was low a couple times on the way down. We changed the tire to the spare and got the tire fixed the next day. It was some kind of brass screw or bolt. I'm surprised it didn't go flat before we got to New Orleans. After dropping the luggage we decided to walk down the Riverwalk to the French Quarter. It's a place to say I've visited, but I don't want to go back. I guess I'll leave it at that. We went back to the hotel and did a little shopping at the mall on the river. We got to watch the ship load up again and eventually take off for their next trip to the Caribbean. We also watched the Carnival ship go out too. On the way home we stopped in Oklahoma City to see the bombing memorial. We got there ar around 10:30 PM. I think that is the best time to be there, not that I have anything to compare it to! There was one of two other people there. It was still and silent. The middle of Oklahoma City with no traffic or people noise. Very serene. It was all lit up and very nice looking. I am glad that I went, but I am glad that we are home!