This was a day of many emotions. We were scheduled to pick up our pilot at 4:30AM, sail under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at 5:30, pass the Statue of Liberty at 6 and dock at 7AM. We hadn’t gotten to bed until almost midnight last night because we were bidding a fond farewell to Debra, Pete and Sharon. We just didn’t want to let “life as we know it on the ship” end. We cried and laughed and hugged and promised to keep in touch until we were exhausted. Then we were up again at 4:30 to watch the sail in. And without a doubt it was well worth the loss of sleep. As we passed the Statue of Liberty the sun was just rising but dawn had broken so we could see her in all her glory. I’ve been all the way around the world and seen many, many statues, but this is the most beautiful statue in the world.
We had a big surprise after we docked at the cruise ship terminal in Mid-Town Manhattan. Holland America had arranged for a plane to fly over the ship trailing a banner that read “Welcome Home Amsterdam Voyagers”. It truly is good to be home again.
We were “passengers in transit” so we were the last to be allowed off the ship and didn’t get off until about 10:30. We had to be back on the ship at 3:30 so we decided to walk as many miles as we possibly could in that amount of time and also eat at a New York Deli. We both wanted to walk in Central Park so we made a beeline there and went at a good pace through the park, taking in all the sights and quietly reflecting on the last four months and the feeling of being back on American soil. We didn’t talk much on that walk through the park but the experiences we’ve shared, the friends we’ve met, this dream we’ve lived together for 114 days doesn’t need words anyway.
Back on the city streets we saw about 12 people we knew from the ship. Bill and Debbie were the only ones we stopped to talk with but it says a lot about what a close knit family we’ve become on this cruise. We meet more people we know on the streets of Manhattan than we do in our own hometowns.
We ate a huge lunch at a downtown deli and walked back to the ship, a total for the day of 9.8 miles. We have 2 sea days until we end this odyssey in Ft. Lauderdale and fly home to Cincinnati, two people who are still the same and yet changed in ways that we have yet to discover.
We had a big surprise after we docked at the cruise ship terminal in Mid-Town Manhattan. Holland America had arranged for a plane to fly over the ship trailing a banner that read “Welcome Home Amsterdam Voyagers”. It truly is good to be home again.
We were “passengers in transit” so we were the last to be allowed off the ship and didn’t get off until about 10:30. We had to be back on the ship at 3:30 so we decided to walk as many miles as we possibly could in that amount of time and also eat at a New York Deli. We both wanted to walk in Central Park so we made a beeline there and went at a good pace through the park, taking in all the sights and quietly reflecting on the last four months and the feeling of being back on American soil. We didn’t talk much on that walk through the park but the experiences we’ve shared, the friends we’ve met, this dream we’ve lived together for 114 days doesn’t need words anyway.
Back on the city streets we saw about 12 people we knew from the ship. Bill and Debbie were the only ones we stopped to talk with but it says a lot about what a close knit family we’ve become on this cruise. We meet more people we know on the streets of Manhattan than we do in our own hometowns.
We ate a huge lunch at a downtown deli and walked back to the ship, a total for the day of 9.8 miles. We have 2 sea days until we end this odyssey in Ft. Lauderdale and fly home to Cincinnati, two people who are still the same and yet changed in ways that we have yet to discover.
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