Monday November 20th 2023

It was very foggy overnight. My sleep was interrupted by the sound of a shipboard fog horn. Usually the ships entering and exiting the port pass by in silence. When I looked out the window the entire area was glowing in the reflection of the various lights in the thick fog. There were several more fog horn blasts overnight. Each ship sounded the horn multiple times as it entered or exited the port. I never saw any of them. It is typical for most of the commercial shipping to come in or depart during the overnight hours. The cruise ships also arrive right around sunrise. Today there were six cruise ships in port.

Today’s weather was mostly cloudy. The temperature climbed into the upper seventies before the clouds thickened and the wind off the ocean cooled everything off. There were a few people on the beach taking advantage of the limited sun. Others were taking advantage of the increased surf associated with the current conditions to surf the waves. This is clearly not a normal week day. The number of people on the beach and fishing along the jetty was reminiscent of a weekend day.

During the middle of the day I ventured out for groceries. Walmart was filled with Thanksgiving shoppers. It is only going to get worse as the holiday gets closer. The store was prepared for the holiday. Pallets of potatoes filled the produce section. Pies of all varieties were stacked three feet high in the bakery section. All of the traditional accompaniments stacked in temporary displays filled the aisles. Shoppers navigated around the aisles picking and poking at the displays. I got my shopping done and successfully avoided any of the items the store was pushing.

Checkout took a little longer than normal, but it was very entertaining. A multi generational family was in line in front of me. They had a shopping cart overflowing with the supplies for a feast. Each generation had their own stuff in the cart. Watching them sort things on the conveyor so the right person could pay for it was amusing. The middle generation seemed to doing most of the purchases, but the other generations had their purchases as well. The most surprising element was the two or three year old little girl that was wandering around the checkout aisle picking out things she wanted. She would bring them to her mother to put on the conveyor. I thought they would be sent back, but the mom put them aside. At the end she made a separate purchase of the three or four items the little girl wanted. I think that might be one spoiled little girl.

This afternoon at 3:30 the cruise ships started departing. I only watched three of them go by the campground. The second one I missed when I went back to my RV home for a sweatshirt and the last two departed well after dark. The Disney Wish departed a little after 6PM and the MSC cruise ship was scheduled to leave at seven. I only assume that departure happened.