Sail away day!

We got away from home right on time in a beautiful 31 passenger bus that was nearly brand new!  After a short trip down Marsh Creek Road we arrived in Clayton and picked up Ed, Theresa, Trevor, Kendall, Cameron, Kevin, Lisa, Riley, Brady and Cally!  We were off to the city where we made a quick stop on Post Street to pick up Brian, Amy, Connor, Sydney and Mason1

I don’t think there is anyone in this world who could have wiped the smile off my face when I had my whole family with me on that bus.  I am blessed and know it!

After a quick trip through town we unloaded in front of Pier 35 and it only took about 30 minutes to check in and embark.  We were stepping onto the ship just about noon.

We quickly found our staterooms and, miracle (!), our luggage started to arrive!  I’ve never received the luggage as quickly as today!

Time for lunch and then the kids started to explore the ship.  My brother, Jim, and his partner, Kevin, arrived from Monterey about 1pm and now we had our full complement of 20!  Muster drill took place at 3:15 and once we put all the lifejackets away it was time for the ship’s horn to sound and we were off!  The Golden Gate was loosely shrouded in wisps of fog and the wind was strong but we had great views of the underside of that impressive structure.  There wer e 15 or 20 pedestrians on the bridge waving and yelling and maybe even spitting on us as we passed underneath!

The Captain made a few announcements including a warning that we were going to have some rough seas and gusty winds overnight and into tomorrow.  We are feeling some bumps but nothing major.  The kids are taking it all in their stride.

Poor Cally and Brady have both slammed their fingers in the heavy doors so we’ve had a few tears.  A nice icepack and some hugs and kisses have made them better.  Glad it’s not worse!

We played our first game of trivia this evening and fielded two teams!  We lost!  Better luck next time!

Tomorrow is a sea day and a formal night so we will all be in our best bib and tucker for some family photos.  What fun!

It’s nearly 10 and time to shut it down for the night. Part of the group is still up and about but the younger ones are tucked in…..and I’m headed the same way!

XOXOXO

M