END OF SEMESTER AT SEA MV EXPLORER CRUISE TO HOME—June 14-21, 2014

---

At Sea while sailing between Northern Ireland and England--Saturday the 14^th of June

Today, Valerie gave her last lecture covering the topic of the Port of Southampton that we will reach in the morning. She talked about the history of the port from pre-Roman times to the present and some of the sights that one can see around the city.

Made sure we were packed and ready to disembark in the morning. As usual our suitcases were out before midnight so they can be “ferried” to the dock by the porters for our retrieval as we leave the ship for the last time.

Southampton, England--Sunday the 15^th of June--the end of this cruise

Up early for breakfast and then the wait to have our group called to get off. We are taking the bus from port to the Heathrow Airport. We will then take a taxi to the sort-of-nearby Holiday Inn Hotel. As we drove along, Valerie took pictures of the scenery of the communities we drove through.

After we got settled into the hotel, we rested before taking a taxi to meet Valerie’s friend David for dinner. Had a nice visit with him at an Indian Restaurant.

London, England--Monday the 16^th of June

Left Heathrow after the usual trials of getting onto the plane through all the security and passport checks. Using the wheelchair makes it much easier for me, since I don’t have to stand in the long lines and walk way too far to the gate but, it is still an ordeal, especially at this airport.

Baltimore, Maryland to home.

Christina met us at the BWI airport that evening and took us back to her home in Columbia. We got Rosie II out of storage the next day and brought her back to the parking lot of the townhouses Christina and Paul live in. Visited, worked puzzles, shopped, ate and basically decompressed a bit before we started for home. The trip home was a reverse of the trip up, taking the same highways and stopping the night at the same State Park in Virginia.

---