This was our final morning with Dawn and Bunny. We walked to the Dahlia Bakery, where we were  surprised and disappointed to see a sign on the door saying  they were closed for the day because of a softball game. We wished they had posted the sign the day before! Plan B was to go to Lola’s, across the street, where we had eaten on our first day. Guess what! They were closed for a softball game, too. Perhaps the employees of each restaurant  were playing softball against each other.

The sidewalk in front of both places was filled with people who now needed a plan C, including us. Dawn’s phone led us to Café Madeleine. It sounded French, so we thought we’d give it a try. To our surprise, it was Korean! Part of the fun of traveling is enjoying unexpected experiences.

The four of us returned to our hotel to get ready for our trip to the airport, Dawn and Bunny to Texas, and Nick and I to JFK. Saying good-bye was difficult, but we will continue trying to get together when we can.

During our trip home, Nick and I reviewed the positives and negatives about the cruise. It was so good to have spent a week with Dawn and Bunny. We were treated wonderfully by the staff of the Majestic Princess. The food was very good, and we enjoyed each evening’s show. On the other hand, if seeing Alaska is one’s goal, a seven day cruise is not the best way to do that, because you must spend four days at sea, while  there are only a few hours on  each of the three days that you can go ashore to explore Alaska.

We have had  Uber drivers  who originated in many different places. The one  who took us from JFK to our home was from Pakistan. Being that I grew up in Queens and have spent more than fifty years living in Connecticut, I thought  our driver and I had very little in common. While he drove, he began to tell  us about himself. He had four children, the oldest being fifteen and the youngest, eight. He worked  at night, while his wife was a health aide during the day. I was one of four children. When the oldest was fifteen, the youngest was eight. My father was a milkman who worked at night, and when I was in junior high school, my mother began working as a secretary. Our driver wanted safe housing for his family and good schools for his children. My parents wanted the same things for our family. I realized that he and  I were indeed alike in more ways than I could have imagined.

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