Back Home Again

The Port of Vancouver imposed some restrictions on the four passenger ships that are in port right now. Each ship has a limited time to embark and disembark passengers. Because of this restrictive schedule, the amount of time required to get all the passengers on board has been compressed. The Viking Orion passengers had to bunch up and form a queue when we checked in and also when we went through security today. The result was that there was a lot of “hurry up and wait.” The Viking Orion could not come alongside the pier today until 4:00 pm. We spent about four hours this afternoon sitting and waiting to board the ship, but at least we were in a very comfortable place to kill time. We were in a splendid, massive hall of the luxurious Fairmont Waterfront Hotel here in Vancouver with lots to eat, lots to drink and many good friends with whom we could converse. Everything went off without a hitch until we came through security. I crammed the contents of my pants pockets into my jacket pocket so that they could go through the x-ray. After going through the security screening, I pulled those things out of my pocket and my key card was gone. I looked for it for five sweating minutes that seemed like a millennium without finding it. Then I decided to step toward the security guard to tell him that I had lost my key card. As I stepped toward the guard, I saw that I had been standing on my key card. It had literally been under my foot. Apparently when I pulled my handkerchief out of my jacket pocket, without my knowing it the key card came out with it and hit the floor. Then I stood on top of it so that it could not be found anywhere. No matter how thoroughly I plan ahead, the number of annoying accidents that can happen during those few rushed seconds when you go through the TSA examination is astounding. At any rate, we got to meet some very interesting people – – Joyce and Rick, John and Dolores, Mimi and Steve, and others. But now we are duly checked into our stateroom, and we have enjoyed a beautiful meal up in the world café. We are back here putting everything away and we are about to watch the security briefing on television. Some people have a home at the beach, and that is wonderful. However, we consider our state room on a Viking ship to be our beach house. We have taken so many cruises with Viking that it almost seems like home. So it’s good to be home again.Read more