All Ashore What Goes Ashore

Last Thursday we docked in Ensenada, Mexico. Right up to the dock this time. No freakin' tendering. No more seasicky stuff. Annie was sick most of the night before. We wouldn't see her for an hour or so, and then she would come crawling into our stateroom to hurl in our bathroom. What was wrong with her bathroom I'll never know. We just kept getting regular visits, until Joe finally left the room because his stomach couldn't stand it any more. So much for getting separate rooms, one for them and one for us. Amazingly, though, right when the rest of us were getting ready to go ashore, Annie recovered. Seems she had a day planned with a young man from Las Vegas whom she'd met on board. After a massive third degree questioning session from me, I agreed to let her go.

See above, obligatory photo with purple sock and the largest Mexican flag I've ever seen. In the background is the town and shopping district, which this day was filled with college students at the bars. We did some obligatory shopping and bought some obligatory striped blankets. I never cease to be shocked at the sights of poverty that one so often sees in the Mexican tourist towns. (Time here for a small rant. It is customary for American shoppers to haggle with the shop owners here to get the lowest prices. This strikes me as wrong. Obviously the ordinary people in this country are poor and could use the money. Also obviously the American shoppers have just gotten off this amazing luxurious cruise ship for a vacation from their well-paying jobs. Why do they have to deny the shop owners a little profit? I haggle very little, if at all. I spread a little money around. Please do not write and tell me I'm off my rocker.)

After a couple hours we were ready to go back to the ship and have some lunch. Whoa, what's this? There is more security to get back on this ship than to fly from Phoenix to Tucson. The Mexican Immigration authorities check our boarding passes again and again. And we have to be xrayed to even get on the pier, not to mention the boat. But now there's a problem. The Mexican official doesn't like something in my purse. Open this, he motions. I do, of course, and he goes hunting. He pulls out one of my Susan Bates DPNs, fortunately one with no knitting on it. He stares at it, and calls another official. He gives me a dirty look. Quickly I ask for the purse, reach in, and find the sock. I pull it partway out of the purse and make motions as if to knit. Hurrah! Quick laughter and nods from the officials and I am allowed to proceed through the checkpoint. (I can just hear the girls now, we had to leave Mom behind in Mexico because of her stupid knitting that you're not supposed to do on vacation.)


After lunch I head back up to the top deck to continue working on the sock. As usual, the seagulls have to come by and check out the crazy lady with the purple yarn. It was a lovely, if windy, afternoon with yarn and sunshine. At 5:00 we went back on deck by the pier to watch the ship pull out. There had been no sign of Annie or Mr Las Vegas. As the ship pulled away and out to sea again, we all hoped she'd made it back in time. We went to change for dinner and a few moments later she and Mr L.V. appeared. Long enough to tell us that she was going to be eating dinner and spending the evening with him and the other spring-breakers on board. It was a lovely farewell dinner on board with the waiters all singing and dancing with flaming desserts on their heads. Pumpkinknitter danced, too, and had to listen to "Mom, Sit Down!! What Are You Doing!!!" which she ignored.


And so the next morning everyone got off the boat to go home. Annie reappeared fifteen minutes before we disembarked, having spent all night on the pool deck with the spring-break party and having a tremendous case of laryngitis. We hauled all our stuff off the ship and back to the hotel, where we packed the car and Annie made a nest in the back seat. We drove all the way home that Friday as Annie slept like the dead in the back.

Goodbye to the cruising life for now.

And thank you, Annie, for infecting everyone else this week with the laryngitis.

Tomorrow, that which I knit and that which I finished.