That ship has sailed

To heck with everything else, tonight we sailed. At about 2300 we cast off from San Diego, and now we're on our way to Ensenada. There was a life boat drill, that consisted of everyone dressing in closed toes shoes and warm clothes and putting on their life vest, assembling in the union, a roll call and that's it. Then most of us went to the faculty/staff lounge and waited for the ship to shove off. A tugboat came and pulled (pushed?) us away from the dock and then... well, we were off. Some students (work-studies) were up on the seventh deck with music and were dancing a bit. The wind was blowing. The atmosphere was reserved, yet festive. I have my sea bands on and I'm feeling ok. I can DEFINTITELY feel the ship moving, though. It feels like being in a car with someone who's learning how to drive. I know it's that we're rocking fore and aft, but it feels more like speeding up and slowing down. Not unpleasant, but also not ignorable.

The rocking is getting heavier now

Now I can say in answer to all of you who asked me, "Are you getting excited?" Yes.

Here is a picture out of my port hole in San Diegeo this afternoon: