The Room Service meal got there quickly and was very good. It’s an option if I get tired of the cafeteria. This is a two-week trip!

My pet sitter is back to asking about the garbage cans. This is good. She did say that Mimi wasn’t eating, but I think that she’s stressed from the vet visit.

Another reason not to do the shore excursion today is that we start the transit of the Panama Canal at 6:30 AM tomorrow, and I want to be up. It’s the main reason that I booked this trip!

I do like the looks of Cartagena though. I looked it up and the Internet says that it’s dangerous, so not a retirement spot. Plus I’m pretty dug in in Urbana.

I’m planning my day, such as it is. I want to wash some shorts and a t-shirt in the sink. I want to gather the laundry that I want them to wash (jeans and pants). I probably will stop by the Future Cruises desk. I want to zero out my cruise tab. (They make it too easy to charge stuff to your room.) And I want to try the pool.

Laundry taken care of. Now I want to take a nap, but they’re having a crew safety drill with a lot of announcements. I abandoned my nap until things settle down. The laundry fairies whisked away my laundry. I’m a little nervous that I won’t see it again, but the workers here seem to have their act together.

Paid my tab. Future Cruises wasn’t open yet. Le sigh. Now I’m killing some time before lunch.

Lunch was good. The Sweet Shop guy asked what my name was :)

I need to figure out what exercises to do because I don’t want to become a hunched-over Little Old Lady. Pilates? Yoga? Posture exercises?

I was wondering how many days we’ve been on the cruise. Their app says Day 5. They have a mat in the elevators telling which day of the week that it is (Tuesday). Easy to lose track!

Nap time, finally. Wow, I zonked out.

It just occurred to me that I haven’t called to check on Bella (dog) and Oliver (cat). (They’re being boarded at a vet.) I’ll do so Thursday or Friday. I’m sure that they’re fine. Oliver is probably running the place!

I talked with the Future Cruises person. The price that she quoted was higher, but she said that she could send the booking to Vacations to Go for their discount. So win win. I get both discounts from Holland America and Vacations to Go.

Oh Christ. Mimi has deteriorated. The pet sitter thinks that she needs to be put down. The vet says that it looks like cancer but we could have her transferred to the U of I, which is what I asked for. If the scan shows cancer, I will have no issues with euthanasia, but she deteriorated so fast that I’d like to know what’s going on. The pet sitter totally disagrees with me.

I feel like crying.

She’s at the U of I now. I gave them my debit card number. I might even have a drink.

Needless to say, I don’t feel like going swimming tonight. I do need to eat something though, although I’m not very hungry. Pizza. I want pizza.

The U of I vet called. I agreed to have her hospitalized until they can do a scan. They said that it might be a bad ear infection or it might be cancer. They said that she would need nursing care, so I need to call Good Friends (where Bella and Oliver are being boarded). It’s a vet hospital. Only time will tell what’s right, but I’d hate to euthanize her over a bad ear infection.

No pizza, so I’m having pasta as the next best thing. And pineapple sorbet for dessert, which was awesome.

The guy at the bar where I get soda remembered my name :) He asked where I was from. I just tell people “Chicago” because most people have heard of Chicago. He asked if I was traveling by myself.

I need to get to bed early because I want to get up at 4 for the Panama Canal transit.

I came back to my room to find my laundry on my bed. The service here has been top-notch.