The 13th Birthday trip 2.0 is happening - but not without one last hiccup. Everyone arrived safely in Miami and they spent a day watching the beautiful people on South Beach. Papa, Grandma and Erin were all excited to have their trip together.
But, when they arrived at the ship yesterday, Erin was not allowed to board because their documentation wasn't complete - there was a permission form for minors to travel with someone other than their parents that we weren't aware of. Norwegian Cruise Line seems to be the only line that has this requirement, so it slipped by the travel agent. Dan and I were at the athletic club working out when we got the message that everyone was all right, but we needed to call the travel agent immediately. My heart sank.
But, with the help of the business staff at the club, we downloaded the form, copied our driver's licenses, filled out and signed the form, scanned it, and sent it to the travel agent who got it to the cruise line. We made it to our Blast exercise class, and they made it on the ship. Uff da.
I talked to both Grandma and Erin once they were on board, and they were able to laugh about it. Gwen says when Erin writes her book, there can be a whole chapter on traveling with grandparents.
Erin called Dan and I from the Sun Deck (makes me think of the Love Boat) where she was hanging out and tanning. She sent us a picture of the soft serve ice cream machine and told us she plans to have several of those a day. She sounded happy.
Now Dan and I have the whole weekend to ourselves. We plan to spend it in bed ... watching our new 40 inch TV that we purchased yesterday! This is excitement when you've been married 20 years - having a TV in the bedroom that you can actually see. We watch so many sporting events and the little 27 inch screen we had wasn't working so well for our old eyes...
So, a little room remodeling project is underway. The new TV led to re-arranging the furniture and the pet's sleeping quarters. We purchased a new dog bed for Sunny. Sylvie has commandeered the other one, and Sunny is too nice to kick Sylvie off. Today, we will tackle our lighting problem...
Miss Erin is out of touch until they return to port in Miami on Monday. No cell service at sea, and spotty wifi. Erin told us yesterday that she was kind of looking forward to disconnecting for a couple of days. She can just enjoy the adventure and spend time with her grandparents.
We're grateful that Papa was feeling up to this trip. He's doing all right, adjusting to his new normal. He battles fatigue and his eyesight is very limited on the one side. His life will never be the same, but hopefully there is joy for him this weekend, taking Erin on her adventure.
Life is unpredictable. Flexibility is a must. Survive the bad, enjoy the good.
