Back to Reality

Now look at this picture, then think about what you'd have to do Monday morning after leaving this boat. Isn't that depressing? (Many thanks to Paul DeGaeta, the other Victory Chimes captain, for permission to use the photos in these pages, and to rave all I want to about his beautiful boat.)

I really didn't want the cruise to end. We'd taken a short one because Sam was, he said, concerned that my sister wouldn't like it and thought it prudent to start with the 4-day trip rather than the 6-day voyage. She loved it (unless she's been lying to me!) and would have done fine with a couple of extra days. I would have been blissfully happy to have extended the trip.

Will I sail on the Victory Chimes again? Absolutely! Without hesitation!! Am I ready to give up fancy cruises in the Caribbean in favor of the Victory Chimes in Penobscot Bay? No way! But there is room in my life for both. I may alternate. I dunno' yet. But I know I want to do the longer cruise that goes up to Acadia National Park in the fall - I understand it's spectacular. And I really want to 'do' Maine again a bit later in the summer, so I can take my long johns off for a minute of sunshine.

But I will do this again. It was peaceful and refreshing. The company was, almost without exception, terrific. I ate well, slept well, and just relaxed. Are there people for whom I would not recommend this? Yes, mostly the crowd that believes that it isn't a proper cruise unless you are required to wear something with sequins or a cummerbund to dinner. They'd hate it!

If you're happy sitting down to dinner in your blue jeans and a clean t-shirt, and are at least as entertained by a spontaneous sing-along as by a Las Vegas-style revue, give this a try. You'll be really glad you did.

Now... getting home...

Once we were off the boat, we had a small problem. Most of the guests had driven to Rockland. They just hopped in their cars and drove away. Which left Bebe, Sam, and me standing all alone in the parking garage, suitcases at our sides, with no place to go, and no way to get there. Gail and Mike were coming to pick us up, but not for a while. What now???

I left Bebe and Sam and started walking around in search of a telephone. I found a phone, but information didn't show a listing for any taxi companies in Rockland. I called Gail on the car phone; we agreed that we'd meet at The Water Works, where we'd had dinner when we came up on Tuesday. I still didn't know how we were going to get to the restaurant, since it didn't appear that Midcoast Maine had any taxis!

However... on my way back to the garage, I saw and flagged down a police officer patrolling the area, and told him my sad story. He called in for a taxi for us. See, policemen are our friends! Bless you, officer!

We ate lunch on the patio, soaked up the sun, and waited for Gail and Mike to arrive. After they ate, we headed back to Framingham. Sunday morning, off to church, where Gail was singing. Afterward, Gail dropped me at Shopper's World in Framingham, where I got on the bus for a long ride to the Port Authority in NYC.

I had called work Saturday night to check on flights. There were two, both absolutely positively sure things, coming back from New York. Both crews were on the last day of an extended tour, and both would definitely be coming home! So, in New York, I bought a ticket to JFK on the Grey Line, since there was a Hawker 1000A leaving from there and I love flying on Hawker 1000's!

On a hunch, I called again, just to be sure... my absolutely, positively sure thing flight wasn't coming home. It was going to Connecticut to pick up passengers and fly them to D.C., then it would go home. Okay, glad I called. Traded in my ticket to JFK for a ticket for Teterboro, where I could catch the other flight.

I arrived at the FBO late in the afternoon. Since the airplane wasn't due in until about 00:20, they let me relax in the pilot's lounge. Very nice. Comfy leather reclining chairs, cable TV, a constantly full coffee pot a few steps away, and vending machines around the corner.

The plane got in about 20 minutes late and, when I saw the crew, I knew I didn't want to get on a plane that they were flying! They looked so very tired. Fortunately, I didn't have to tell the captain that. He said he thought it would be an extremely bad idea for them to fly another leg that night. We'd all get a good night's sleep, and head for home in the morning. He got no argument from me.

In the morning... The captain called in for his briefing and was told that, instead of coming home, they needed to take their airplane to Florida to pick up some passengers and fly them home instead! They really didn't want to extend their tour yet another day, but got bribed with extra comp time off. They felt bad about leaving me stranded in Teterboro, NJ but really didn't have a choice. So...

I got on the phone. A one-way, last minute ticket for a one hour flight: $400! I don't think so! My first plan was to get a bus back to the Port Authority and get on a Greyhound back to beautiful downtown Ohio. But the bus didn't come, and didn't come... for just long enough that I called and reserved a car (National, thank you for the one-way rental plan!), took a cab to LaGuardia ($52!), picked up my car, and drove home for way less than half of what it would have cost to fly.

Actually, it turned out to be just the right thing to do. The whole week had been intensely social, between visiting with my family and socializing with all the folks on the boat. I hit the road mid-afternoon, before rush hour traffic got too horrible, and was out of the city and happily on my way a short time later. The drive was uneventful and, by about 03:00, I was home, doin' z's in my own little bed!

'Course, my family was a bit panicked for a while: they kept trying to call me to make sure I'd gotten home okay, and I wasn't there! They were certain I'd been kidnapped or mugged in The City. It occurred to me, about half way across Pennsylvania, that they might be concerned so I stopped, called, and explained why I wasn't where they expected me to be when they expected me to be there!

I was prepared for the possibility that I might not be able to find a flight home, so the abrupt change in plans didn't even upset me. As I said, it was the perfect ending to a really good week of visiting people I love and sailing on a beautiful and historic boat in beautiful Maine.

What's to be upset about in that?