October 22, 2023

Coco Cay and Port Canaveral

We are the only ship in Coco Cay. The skies are overcast with sporadic showers, not a nice day for those looking forward to a day at the beach. I could care less as I am not at all a beach person.

A major activity of the day is to pack the suitcase, a dreaded task that pyschologically indicates that return to land is imminent.

We depart CoCo late in the afternoon to head back to Port Canaveral. As they have the entire 9 days, the seas remain slight. The skies are mostly clear, the air temperature cool, in the low 70's.

I skip the dining room and instead make dinner of the chicken wings, meatballs, and other appetizers in the lounge. This will make it possible to catch the farewell production show, an hour of "Big Band" music, and time to see the Ice Show "Under the Big Top".  Earlier in the cruise we had tried to make the Ice show, but dinner took too long and the theater was full before we could get there.

All three shows are good, and well worth the sacrifice of dinner in the dining room.

The alarm is set for 6:20. I am awake long before this, probably the disappointment of knowing it is the end of the cruise. 

Shortly after 7:00 I head to Boleros, the meeting point for those like me that need wheelchair assistance to disembark.  I am the first passenger. Many of the self assist passengers are still disembarking, I am the only passenger in the luggage terminal. Lugggage is still being moved into the terminal in large cages. Dozens of porters are waiting to help.  My  luggage is quickly spotted. 

A brief stop for passport verification, a fast process where facial recognition is used to find an verify that my passport is valid and not flagged for closer scrutiny.  We are soon onboard the shuttle bus to parking.

The drive to Alyssa's house is smooth. Unlike the trip to the port, the conversation is almost non existant. Nothing wrong except this is the end of the vacation, not the beginning. Transfer luggage to my car and head on to Clermont. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Adrienne will be home in plenty of time to get to work by 3:00.

Turn the water on, set the AC, start the laundry. By early afternoon I could be ready to leave again, but unfortunately I will need to wait 5 weeks. 

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