Homeward Bound

A meaningful crossing aboard Queen Mary 2.

- Ben Lyons

The boom of Queen mary 2’s whistle was meant as celebratory, heralding the start of a new voyage. To us, it was a mournful farewell to familiar shores. As we sailed away under grey skies from Southampton — and, more broadly, Europe — the drizzle settling on our cheeks certainly masked a tear or two. For my wife, Kathryn, and me, there were conflicting emotions as we set sail for New York.

A LOOK BACK_For two adventurous, eye-opening years, we had lived in Istanbul, where we enjoyed hikes in Oman and ski weekends in Italy. From our apartment, we gazed across the Bosphorus, and the Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace defined our skyline. In New York, the only skyline from our apartment was a neighbor’s brick wall; returning home was not the joyful affair we had anticipated.

To help transition ourselves from the Old World to the New, we decided to go over land and sea. Packing our bags and dashing off to the airport, only to land 11 hours later at JFK airport, couldn’t capture the enormity of our move. Instead, we traveled by train across Europe in three days, took an overnight ferry to the U.K., and then boarded Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2. At least, we reasoned, we could look forward to being on the ship.