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Missed the Boat 2:29 p.m. 2005-04-06 Have you ever planned something to the very last detail, only to have just everything fall apart on you? It really stinks when it is something that you were really looking forward to; you get all psyched up for it, and you can almost taste it, but then somebody or something just snatches it away from you before it touches your lips. Well, a few summers ago, I along with some relatives of mine (whose identities shall remain unknown) planned a nice little cruise in the Azores. The boat was to leave that morning, and we had packed our bags, and said goodbye to the children, and the grandparents who reluctantly agreed to watch them for the next 4 days. We even took pills in case we got seasick! The trip was something that each party had wanted to do for years, and earlier that week at the travel agency it seemed as though our long awaited plans to see the other islands would finally happen. So here we are, with our bags in tow, full of anticipation as we walked our way towards the boarding stairs from the dock of Praia Do Vitoria, Terceira to the cruise ship. We showed our tickets, and immediately we knew something was amiss. The guy with the white hat looked at us, and then back to the tickets, then looked at us again with a strange and confused look on his face. Now this happened long before 9/11, and we sure didn’t look like terrorists of any type. We had our passports for identification and we weren’t carrying any criminal indicia in our bags—just camera film and shorts. Suddenly, out from nowhere, the captain arrives. “We cannot let you board this ship.” Lovely. The captain went on to explain that the ship was going to make an unscheduled stop at another island because of a stupid soccer game. His explanation fell on deaf ears. We did not want to hear it! We did not want to drive back home and explain that the trip was off. We wanted to go somewhere, but not stay on the island. We went to the Golf course instead and had a cheeseburger. When we got back to the children, we learned that they didn’t even miss us. The seasick pills made me sick; I lost my cheeseburger. It was a bummer of a day to say the least. Spontaneity is dearly under-rated!! Coelha@aol.com
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