Muster Stations!

Delights abound when you travel on a cruise - but the safety drill definitely falls outside the fun things to do. Still, the drill is obligatory for all passengers, so Simone, hubby, the 13 year old and her friend as well as little B dutifully attended. Given the somewhat recent sinking of a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, cruise personnel reinstated the "stand on deck where the safety boats are located" portion that had fallen by the wayside. As soon as the whistle sounded, signalling the end of the drill, Simone knew where she wanted to go. "Where are you going?" Demanded hubby. "I'm going to Camp Carnival to register little B," Simone informed him. "No, no! We're going to the slides first. He wants to go to the slides first. Don't you want to go to the slides?" Hubby asked little B. Little B readily agreed as Simone fumed, miffed because she really wanted to get the registration over with. Now. She silently cursed her husband for arbitrarily deciding to go to the other end of the ship when Camp Carnival was right there! Next to the safety boats, for crying out loud! Still, little B was very excited at the sight of the slides and quickly stripped down to his swimsuit. Simone sat down in one of the lounge chairs, a little disappointed that in addition to not getting little B registered yet, she had neglected to bring something to read. The overcast, 20 degree Celsius weather was simply not warm enough for Simone to venture out on the slides. Then, Simone spotted a familiar figure. Wait! Make that two familiar figures! Oh wow! Four familiar figures! It seemed that hubby, wanting to surprise Simone, had invited all the kids on the cruise! And there they were, gathering around Simone... What a most delightful, wonderful surprise! Thank-you, hubby! Thank-you, kids!