February 9 was the beginning of my third BFF cruise. We were supposed to leave Galveston at 4 p.m. Unfortunately, our ship was stuck out in the Gulf waiting on the harbor master to open the port. It had been closed due to fog.
Our first warning was about 8:30 a.m. when Sam called to tell me that he'd had a call to let us know about the fog delay. Earlene got a text message. She and I both signed up for information.
We drove around Galveston and finally decided to eat some good seafood. While we were eating, one of the ships waiting was finally brought in. The restaurant had windows facing Galveston Bay and several tables' of people started cheering. We received notification that our ship, Carnival Magic, would not start boarding until 7 p.m. We had some wait time to kill so we went into a couple of stores and took the ferry. We were laughing and having a great time as I was pulled into the inspection line. I talked to the officer, he asked me to get out and open the back of my Tahoe. As the hatch came up I heard, "Tell him if he unloads, it he has to put everything back." (We had luggage and totes and etc. for five women back there!) The officer grinned and said that the other officer just needed to look. He asked where I worked. I smiled and told him that I was the administrative assistant for the Morris County Judge. He looked at me, then in the Tahoe. I told him that Nancy in the front seat was the administrative assistant for the Morris County Sheriff's office. The three sitting in the back seat: Earlene is the Daingerfield city librarian, Rosemary is a dispatcher for Gilmer, and Beckle was the troublemaker retired clerk from the Gregg County DAs office and her husband was a retired highway patrolman. He said, "You ladies continue having a great time." "D
As you see, the fog started rolling in again.
We were worried that they would close the ferry, so as soon as we got off I pulled a "u"ey and got right back on.
We dropped the luggage off at the terminal about 7 p.m., parked the Tahoe, and took the shuttle back to the terminal. We got split up. Two got onboard about 10:30. We all finally got onboard and to the room after midnight. They had already eaten so we went up to the Lido deck for plates of food and went back to the room to eat.
The harbor was, of course,closed again. About 10 a.m. we left dock. Everyone was anxious to get going!
One of the good meals. This was from the Mongolian Grill where they cooked to order. Delicious!
We were supposed to go to Key West first, but because of the delay, our scheduled was changed. Freeport Bahamas was our first port of call.
Then Nassau Bahamas
Nancy did not feel well so she stayed onboard and enjoyed a quiet retreat from the rest of us. ;)
Earlene and her sister took a two hour tour around Nassau. Rosemary and I did not want to be tied up for two hours so we passed. One of us heard "ferry to Paradise Island $4." That's what we did...round trip fare and tip $10. :D
I got a few photos of docks and peeks at homes of the rich and famous, but they don't mean much to me. It was just an enjoyable boat ride.
Back on ship Earlene and her sister said that they drove through some ritzy neighborhoods. I'm glad I passed on that ride.
Through a window...
..and FINALLY Key West. Because of rescheduling due to the fog on our way out, we spent just a short time in Key West. We all jumped on one of the trolleys for a tour that was a bit over an hour.
Then we started it again, but got off and did some walking. I bought Cuban tobacco rolled in Cost Rica (I think) cigars for the sons. We then ate more good seafood and had a slice of key lime pie. Of course the restaurant faced the water.
More food back onboard...tomato soup...
...yes LOL tomato soup!
The ship was hooking it back to Galveston when Saturday night the Captain announced that there was a guest with a medical emergency. We turned and headed toward the coast of Louisiana to get in helicopter range for a medi-evacuation. We never heard how she was doing so prayed that she is well and safe. That put us about 3 hours late...but no one was complaining...arriving in Galveston. But of course the port was closed due to fog again. We finally got into port at 10 a.m. when we should've already been off the ship. We were off by noon and headed home stopping only for a hamburger, potty breaks, and fuel (so that everyone could square up what they owed for the trip).
I walked in the door a little after 7 p.m. and saw these. :D
Sam had already brought my bags in. I flipped the big one down, unzipped it and plowed through my stuff. AH-HA, says I as I pull his Harley shirt from the Bahamas out of a bag. :)
This is my last cruise. I do enjoy it, but since we are not all "on the same page" finance-wise, we don't do many (any) excursions. I have decided seeing only the pier and the tourist traps surrounding it is not my idea of visiting a foreign port. I want to truly SEE it. One of the others said that they would just go without me...I told her my feelings would not be hurt. However, two of the others have health problems and the long walking is too tiring for them. We are talking about driving trips - at least three of us would like to go to Fredericksburg Texas for a long weekend. Maybe Hot Springs... or New Orleans but not during Mardi Gras.
