BACK TO REALITY

Where does the time go when you're having fun, especially when it's with family? These past 10 days have flown by, as we jetted from one end of the country to the other, then cruised through the Western Caribbean on the Carnival Cruise Ship Glory.

When I originally started thinking about this trip a few years ago, it was with the idea of getting our immediate family together, a family reunion of sorts on a cruise ship. The trip was everything I had hoped for, with only one exception. Patty's son, David wasn't able to take the time off from work, and there were many times during the past week when one of us voiced the thought that it would have been really nice if he were with us. Next time, we'll make sure all 3 boys are able to make it, where ever that "it" is.

After leaving the ship on Sunday, when we had cleared Customs, the limo picked us up for the ride back to the Mariott in Fort Lauderdale. We spent Sunday night at the hotel, finding a Dave & Busters close by for dinner. We dined in the arcade area, and the noise level from the games and activities was literally through the roof! For me, carrying on a conversation was next to impossible without yelling. But, after dinner, we all bought our game cards, and started accumulating tickets from the various arcade games we played. Laila really got into the skee ball, and with Grandpa's help, her bucket of tickets started to over flow. When she cashed in her tickets, she was able to walk away with a dragon stuffed animal.

The boys & their families had an early Monday morning flight to Atlanta. From there, Marc, Chandra, & Laila caught a flight back to Tucson, and Mike & Amy changed to a flight back to their home in Augusta. Our flight was a couple of hours later, so after some sad good byes the night before, we all headed back to our homes and to reality.