Well, we were up at 5am this fine morning, and watched the slow sail into the scenic harbor of San Diego. The closer we got, we began seeing sea lions, most of them laying on the buoys. They did not budge one inch, even with the armed Coast Guard boats zooming by them. That always impresses us when we arrive at a US port. The Coast Guard is very serious about security, and keep all the small pleasure boats well away from the ship.
Oceana's Regatta was already docked ahead of us, and was undergoing clearance. We watched as their guests began trickling off a few at a time. And although we were docked by 8am, the ship was not cleared until 8:35am. Our gangway was opened by 9am, as well as the crew gangway. Then we saw one couple being escorted off of the crew gangway with their luggage in tow by a gowned and masked medical person. We knew it was Covid related, since we had the same type of escort back in January, but in Ft. Lauderdale. And while we were on our veranda, we saw more folks in the deck four rooms that had been vacant. Every one of them was sneezing and coughing, and although we cannot prove it, we also suspect Covid. More than 2/3rd 's of the guests will be sailing on to Canada, so these quarantined guests will probably stay in these rooms until then.
Our call for the customs and borders inspection was 9:30am in the Stuyvesant Room, where several agents were sitting at desks checking passports. They scanned them and took a picture of them on a cell phone. They we had a red sticker applied to our room keycard, and handed a pink slip declaring we had been through inspections. This was supposed to be handed off when we went through the ship's security, however, no one wanted them. The sticker was enough.
Not wanting to get off too soon, we hung out in our room until 10am. Then the call came for the last of the guests to see the inspectors. That's when we decided to leave. We had hoped that we had gotten a call from the Event Coordinator, Teresa, who had phoned the day before promising to personally escort us off of the ship. Not that we really needed it, but it was a promise. Well, that never happened, unlike the send-off we got from Jonah on the N. Statendam. Major difference with the protocol, and perhaps, the training.
Once we were in the terminal building, it was really easy finding our three bags, as most of the guests had been there and gone. In fact, the HAL rep said please…take them all, as she laughed. Just joking of course. Pulling them outside we found the taxi line. But now, it was about 10:20am. We were making good progress, and it sure would have been nice if our flight had not been changed to 4pm. Now we were going to have quite a long wait before we flew home.
The airport was busy for a Tuesday morning. We arrived there before 11am, and asked if it was too early to check in our three bags. Locating a supervisor, they told us to go ahead and check them in, and they would get them going as soon as the time would allow. Our handheld scale had worked well, since each piece was under 50 pounds.
From there, we went back outside for fresh air to take a walk and sit in the sun somewhere. By the way, we did leave our masks on, and most of the airport employees wore them. But not all. One out of four people had masks on. The social distancing was still in force as well as washing hands and using sanitizer. That drill is burned into our brains now and forever.
The weather could not have been nicer….warm but not too hot. We sat outside the end terminal people watching. Interesting what you end up seeing. At times, more than you want to know, especially more than you want to see. Moving back towards the United area, we sat long enough to waste some time until about 2pm. Then it was time to go through security. The earlier group had gone through, and the traffic was light here. One of us read a sign saying that if you were 75 plus, you did not have to remove your shoes. That applied even if you did not get the TSA pre-approved OK on your ticket. Neither of us got it. So when it came time to go through the xray portal, Bill did not take his shoes off. No problem. Since I was "close" to 75, figured I might get away with the same thing. Well, no, that did not happen. When asked why I left the shoes on, I said it was my knee surgery that made it difficult to do. No lie here, that still is a hard chore. So after passing through the more serious xray, I had to sit in a chair and have my shoes swiped with a chemical, followed with a general pat down. At no time did the guard listen when I told her I had a new knee that set off the signal. Finally she was satisfied, and said…have a good day. Yes, and you too, as I walked away. The final thoughts on this was that I do not look like I am 75 yet. Ha-ha.
Finding our terminal, we sat more or less until it was time to board. Disability folks were called to board first, and we were among those who were slow in walking due to the knee. This flight was sold out, and they were asking for volunteers to give up their seats for a future flight. No takers, we began loading around 3:45pm. Trying to stay awake, we think we left almost on time. There was just enough time for the stewardesses to serve a beverage before we were landing in San Francisco. Uneventful is the best flight you can have.
Gathering our luggage, our driver was right on time to pick us up. Even though we left the airport at 6pm, the traffic was not horrible. Usually our flight gets in around 3pm, and it is much worse. This time we got home by 7:30pm. And it sure felt good. We will have our work cut out for us….never a dull moment, but we do enjoy it. During the time we were gone, a very large tree came down near the barn, and the weeds have grown by leaps and bounds. The hardest thing was figuring out what was for dinner, which turned out to be something very simple. Followed by a couple of pillow chocolates, no less.
We shall return with a summary soon. So stay tuned……
Bill & Mary Ann
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Report #130 Tuesday - April 26, 2022 Flying home from San Diego................A warm and sunny day - 78 degrees
