The Clampets Board the MV Explorer

We arrived at the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal on Monday afternoon, carrying twelve bags. We each checked two and carried two on the plane with us. Looking (and feeling) absolutely ridiculous, we joked we needed shirts that said, “We’re going to be at sea for two months!” Jill Wright, SAS Vice-President and Senior Academic Officer (and Executive Dean for half of our previous voyage) brought us hugs as we waited to be cleared through ship security and board the MV Explorer. When we finally lugged everything to Purser’s Square (which isn't really a square), we learned that we’d been assigned two rooms. Wade and Diana were to be in cabin 4081 and Emma in 4079. We discussed going back and requesting a different room, but opted not to fuss. One of the buzzwords for the Semester at Sea Program is “flexibility”. The Watki are flexible. So, we decided to make Emma’s room a playroom of sorts and have her stay in ours. Simple enough, right? Oh, no. Emma was completely insulted by the suggestion that she would not sleep in a cabin of her own. “They ASSIGNED me a room. They think I’m BIG ENOUGH!” After a good bit of bribing and coaxing (okay, and a new pink fluffy sleeping bag) she agreed that one of us could sleep in her cabin the first night. Since then, Emma and Diana have been sharing a single bed in Wade & Diana’s cabin. Things are about to get a lot more comfortable for Diana and Emma and less so for Wade because today the cabin steward moved the two beds together -- HOOORAY (can you tell who’s writing this entry?) With no other children scheduled to board for a couple of days, Emma quickly made 4079 a home away from home by putting up Barbie and High School Musical posters alongside snapshots of friends and family back home. After some unpacking, we disembarked and found our way down the pier to Anthony’s Fish Grotto for dinner and kicked off our two month fresh seafood spree with calamari, fish & chips.