I felt like crying most of today, I was just that homesick. Kaleb and I have talked on the phone several times. He tried to plan a little welcome home party for us, but couldn’t keep it a secret because he needed to know too many things from me in order to pull it off. It was so sweet he even thought of that. He said he wanted us to have a little snack when we got in so late and also he “wanted to make it nice for us.” So many times I’ve worried he was going to turn out to be a selfish kind of person, but after what he pulled off today, I guess I shouldn’t worry so much. He was very thoughtful. His caretaker for the last 12 nights even said so. She sent me several messages telling me how nice and polite he was and he was no trouble at all to have around. Time went too fast, she said, but for me, it just drug on and on.
The first day on our ferry trip Kory gave a copy of the watercolor he did of the Hurtigruten ferry in the Geiranger fjord, to the captain of the ship. The Captain, being polite and all, invited us up to the bridge. I didn’t want to feel like an opportunist, so we didn’t take him up on his offer, as other passengers have to pay about twenty dollars for the privilege of going up there to meet him. Well, today at lunch, he stopped Kory and told him we were free to come up to the bridge at 3pm today, so we decided we should go. He couldn’t have been nicer. He asked me if I were Norwegian and I told him I’m from America. He asked how come I speak Norwegian so well. I told him I had to go to Norwegian classes when we moved to Norway but I didn’t really learn proper Norwegian, I learned the dialect from Aalesund. He said, “I can tell.” We talked the whole time in Norwegian so I did OK understanding all he said. It was all polite chit-chat and he asked for the address to my blog as he wants to read what I write about Norway. I told him I wrote about the Hurtigruten for this week’s article, then I remembered that I said I got a little bored on it, so I didn’t want to give him the address! Talk about being in a pickle. I decided to leave the address with the receptionist before we got off the ferry tonight, but I may have to re-write it just for my blog so I don’t get the guy upset with me. He invited us back anytime we want to bring the nice weather along with us that we have enjoyed this week. I told him that was up to God, not me.
So that was our excitement for today, except of course, the excitement of finally seeing Kaleb again. I just moped around, packed up my things and talked to Kaleb as much as I could prior to our departure. Our group had our last supper together and had a few good laughs then I worked on a photo book for this trip – and it’s nearly already done. I didn’t even get off the ship in any of the stops today. Once we were closer to civilization, I could get an internet signal so I used the time to communicate with a few people and read some news. Part of the problem with the 12 day long journey is that I really have missed being in touch with my friends so I got kinda lonely and really wanted to be home – either one of our homes.
We got in just after midnight. Kaleb called me about 15 minutes before we docked and he could barely talk, he was so tired and trying to stay awake, but he warned me he might fall asleep. He told me he planned a party for us and a few surprises, so he wanted me to wake him when we got in.
Cousin Odd drove our car into the city and parked it next to the dock so we were home in no time. Kaleb was sound asleep on the couch. He’d made little cucumber finger sandwiches – he even cut off the crusts and cut the sandwiches in triangle shapes. He put out a nice serving tray and had chocolates on one side and the sandwiches on the other. He had nuts and pop and a hand made plaque he’d made at school that said KORY MICKEY KALEB on it that we can hang near our door (as is the Norwegian tradition). I tried to wake him but he was out cold. I just sat and held him for the longest time until I couldn’t stay awake any longer either. We ate up the sandwiches and soon thereafter, called it a day. Oh, it’s good to be home!
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