Getting Ready for Vacation

Well, the week before vacation is always hell week for me.  I am trying to get everything completed and notes written for my back up at work.  Then at home, it’s trying to remember everything to pack.  We’re taking a 7 day cruise and we can’t wait.  But before we can relax and enjoy the cruise, we have to pack.  What are we going to wear to dinner?  What will we need for the islands?  What about hanging out by the pool?  I know I know, these are good problems to have, but these decisions have to be made before we can have fun.

Packing

We’re driving to the port so we don’t have to worry about the 4 oz. liquid limit you have when flying.  That makes packing a little easier.  We’ve taken a lot of cruises, so we’ve learned what not to pack.  I won’t need an outfit for every day, and neither will my husband.  We’ll spend most of our days at sea in bathing suits with a cover up.  I’ll only need a couple of pairs of shorts with tops for the islands.  And the same goes for my husband.  No need to over pack – been there, done that!  I’ve brought home clothes I didn’t wear.  I just need to pack a couple of pairs of slacks and nice blouses for dinner.  I’ll only have the pants on for a couple of hours, so I can wear them more than once.  A change of tops, and it’s a different outfit.  For the formal nights, I have a nice pair of black evening pants and I take two different tops.  So, I have three pairs of pants and 7 tops.  Not too bad.  Oh, and don’t forget the toiletries, passports, and tickets.

Loading the Car

Well, this is always a chore.  You wouldn’t think it would be, but there are four of us traveling together, so we’ll have 2 sets of luggage.  We’ll also need snacks for the drive.  We’re going out of New Orleans so it’s about a 6 hour drive from Houston.  Cruising out of Galveston is easier, but we wanted to cruise to Key West and that trip is going out of New Orleans.  We’re traveling with my Sister-n-Law and Brother-n-Law.  We travel together a lot so the drive will go fairly quickly.  Three of us will talk and one will nap.  That would be my Brother-n-Law.  As soon as we pull out of the driveway, he’ll be asleep.  When he’s awake he’ll have an electronic toy of some sort to entertain himself with.  This is my husband’s younger sister.  Surprisingly they get along like best friends, not like siblings.

At the Port

This is the tough part of the vacation.  So close yet so far away!  This is where we stand in line to get checked in and get on the ship.  Since we’ve taken so many cruises, we usually get to go to a short line, which gets us on the ship faster.  This is helpful since my Brother-n-Law has no patience for standing in line.  Even standing in line for a couple of hours is better than being at work, so just smile and remember…You’re on vacation!

I’ll tell you about the cruise when we get back.  In the mean time, don’t work too hard.

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