On January 14, we traveled from College Station to Houston to San Francisco. We spent one night there before boarding Oceania's Insignia the following day. As we pulled out of port that evening in San Francisco, it was raining and I could not get a good photo of the Golden Gate Bridge as we sailed under it to begin our 180 Day Around the World adventure.
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| leaving San Francisco - January 15, 2023 |
Fast forward 6 months. Early this morning we sailed back into San Francisco as the fog was beginning to lift. Ronnie took some photos from the top deck as we sailed under the bridge; I took a few from our balcony. It's common to see sea gulls around cruise ports, but I've never seen so many in one place as are here in San Francisco! And the racket!!
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| Golden Gate Bridge - straight ahead |
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| good clearance? |
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| foggy morning - San Francisco Bay |
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| "city by the Bay" coming into view |
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| entering Port of San Francisco |
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| noisy gulls in sea and sky |
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| balcony view of San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge |
It has been a great adventure, although we only saw the smallest "snippet" of each place we visited. Some places we would enjoy going back to; others not so much. But we're glad for the adventure we've had and for the opportunity to share many of our experiences over these last 6 months. No matter how long one is away - whether days, weeks or even months - the best part is always returning home.
Sleeping in one's own bed is a wonderful thing! We both have a lot of "catch up" to do with overdue doctor's visits, blood work, dentists, dermatologist, hair cuts (desperately needed!) and more. I've missed taking care of our little bird family, so I will be driving to Madisonville and Houston to collect them from their respective breeders who have graciously cared for them these past 6 months. Unfortunately, one of our beautiful little Lady Gouldian finches (Rocky ll) died while we were away.
At noon today, we enjoyed meeting Ronnie's cousin Laverta, her son Lanny and grandson Kyle at Fog City Diner near the cruise terminal. Ronnie and his cousin had not seen each other since childhood!
Tomorrow morning our alarms will go off at 3 a.m. in order to get breakfast, finish packing and be off the ship with our bags by 4:30 a.m. Lord willing, we will be back in College Station around dinner time. Ronnie woke with a head cold or allergies this morning, so he will be extra glad to get home!
Thank you for following along with us. It has helped us so much to stay in touch with friends and family!
Much love,
Jan & Ronnie
Bharberts: What a wonderful trip and you were gracious, knowledgeable hosts for the rest of us! You really should create a nice coffee table book because your photos are stunning! I almost felt the Heatedness of SE Asia and shivered as you showed us Antarctica! Greg and I both decided if we go around the world, we have to fly!! In the past 2 years I have been laid up or in PT, so you certainly were a good friend by posting so beautifully and articulately. Texas will be glad for you to get home!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Barbara for all of your comments and kind words! Knowing that a handful of people were following along gave me what I needed to keep it going. It's going to be a challenge to pare my photos down because I have such a heavy shutter finger, but it's on my "to do" list. Hopefully I can follow along with YOUR blog when you're ready to travel again!
DeleteWelcome home and thanks for sharing such a wonderful journey.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I wish I knew who I was talking to, but I sincerely appreciate your comment and encouraging words!
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