tedwords

"Stonehenge is a reminder that even the mightiest civilizations are destined to become echoes in the winds of time.”

After the wonder that was the Scenic Castles of Flanders, what else really was there to top that? So, the only logical conclusion was to call an end to the cruise and return back to Southampton.

OR, thought another way, as we were ending our day at Flanders, Corb remarked, "It's a shame we had to end our excursions on that note." To which I replied, "Well remember, that isn't actually our final excursion. We have a trip to Stonehenge planned once we reach Southampton, on the way back to the airport.

One thing I should also note, as we ended our cruise: although we love Royal Caribbean, one thing we have noticed is the differences between larger ships and their smaller fleets. For the larger ships, you get a lot of really cool things to see and do, but what you sacrifice is the TLC that you get on the smaller ships. And, in addition, because there are so many people, the organization gets a little shit showy.

Two examples that come to mind: first, the main dining room. We have actually always found something to love with our dining room experiences, but this trip was the first one where going to main dining was more of a chore than anything else, because the front section of the Main Dining experience was an absolute mess. They had no idea what they were doing and perhaps because they were dealing with 6,000 passengers, appeared totally overwhelmed.

In fact, our Tuesday night experience was so bad I had to put on my tough PR voice. It was a cock up all around: they had promised us a certain table the night before, we went at our time, we were told the table was still occupied but could wait 10 minutes, we waited 10 minutes and were told a "similar table" was available, but they got lost getting us to it and it turned out to be nothing like our promised table, then when we sat down the people at our table got up and left the table, we asked if we could move there and were rudely told no.

Well, I had to channel my dad. The irony is, we had just received a special acknowledgement the night before for securing 140 points, so of course I threw that in, as well as our Diamond status. Fortunately, our actual wait staff, and their manager, Charlton, were very professional and super apologetic. The end result? We were festooned with make-up accomodations. I received free lobster tail on Wednesday ankljiod Friday night, Corb had filet mignon, and we were given free champagne and bottles of red wine both nights, too. It was heavenly.

We did pay it forward, too. That Thursday night, we couldn't possibly finish the red wine, and there was so much left over, we handed it over to the couple sitting next to us to finish it off. The wife reminded me of my sister Kerrie, so all was good and they were very appreciative.

The other incident was Friday morning, on our way to Stonehenge. That one we didn't complain about, but the lady who was overseeing the gathering of people gave us some terrible advice and we almost ended up missing the excursion and being stuck on the ship.We made it to the bus and our group just in time, however.

Anyway, Stonehenge. What can I say about Stonehenge? Awesome. Inspiring. Lots of rocks. A few days before we went, some eco activists had sprayed the rocks with orange powder, but by the time we got there, the orange was nowhere to be seen.

After we arrived back in London, we had a few tricks left up our sleeve. Corb and I make it a point to schedule a few days before and after a cruise before we fly back, to prevent anything like Barbados from happening again. So, our flight wasn't until Saturday. We spent the evening across from Buckingham Palace at The Rubens and had a lovely dinner at the St. George's Tavern, which had been Steven's recommendation, and turned out to be an excellent one. (He had asked whether we could catch up, but honestly, the schedule was just too frantic.)

And then? One final treat for Corb's mom that we hadn't told her about during the entire trip: we had purchased tickets for the three of us to go see Wicked that evening! I initially would have preferred to go see Six, thinking it more fitting, but Corb had convinced me that she has always wanted to see Wicked and it would be a more fitting choice for her, and he was absolutely right. Of course, she did fall asleep during the start of Act Two, but I chalk that up to the fact that we had kept her so busy the entire trip. Besides, it was fun to see Wicked with British accents and their Elphaba was fantastic.

The next day, an early morning rise (five o'clock) and off we flew, back to the States.

In retrospect? This was a most enlightening two weeks, one where we checked off so many bucket list items. Although I was worried about how traveling with Corb's mom would be, despite a few hiccups, all in all, it worked out well, although I wouldn't want to make it mandatory that she gets to go every time.

As we were waiting at the airport having breakfast, she did ask, "How do you think this turned out? Would you go with me again?" And of course we said we would, and she made it a point to mention how she deliberately gave us time to ourselves. This is absolutely true, but I am glad that next year, she is planning to take a trip with her sister and her husband, rather than us.

I believe we did take her farther than she has ever been, and perhaps stretched her wings a bit. And that, is good, and something she will be able to remember forever.

Even so, I do cherish my solo adventures with Corb. Although family is nice, some trips are just better off meant for two.