Friday, January 18, 2019
BLOGGING IT HOME
January 18, 2019
This will be the last blog for this cruise, because tomorrow after lunch, and before naptime, we will pack up our glad rags to prepare for disembarkation Sunday, and the internet computer goes into a suitcase. I will receive and answer all of your emails on my cell phone, so keep those cards and letters coming in.
We don’t know our departure time yet, and won’t until we pick up luggage tags after breakfast in the morning, but the earliest we will be off is 11:45. We’ve never had an arrival that late, but what will be, will be. Que será, será. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see. Que será, será. Thank you, Doris Day!
When we went to breakfast this morning I stuck my head, and the rest of me, into the Butterfly Lounge because I knew there was an art auction scheduled two hours after my talk, and they have no respect for any act but themselves. Selfish! So I wanted to see their set up. The first auction they put on, they took the sides of the Lounge and we had to put our chairs in the front. This morning they had the sides and the center, except for the first two rows filled with art work.
Well, after breakfast I called Alex, the entertainment director, told him the set up, and he said, “Meet me in the lounge in 5 minutes.” When he got there he looked around and said, “This will not do!” He called the art director and got no answer. He called housekeeping and had workers come to put another row of chairs on the stage floor, and went to find the art director. About 10 minutes later he was back with the art director in tow, and told him, “This will not do.” The AD apologized and took all of the paintings out of the center. And good he did, because we had a good crowd for Social Media.
There was no art work to fool with for the 5 o’clock show – the auctions are over – and no more for this cruise. Don’t they know – Sharing Is Best!
Tomorrow’s talk is “Museum Mosaic” under the general category of Art. It is one of my new favorites about three museums in the Caribbean, the artists and their work and how they captured the history of their respective islands.
And speaking of “Museum Mosaic” I need to rehearse, so hereeeee’s Bonnie!
TTFN
Well, howdy everybody!! I was up at my usual times during the night and finally we were up at 7. We got ready and finally got to breakfast at about 8:30. It was a slow morning. Breakfast wasn’t much. Half the coffee and hot water machines don’t work on any given day in the Lido and you have to wander around trying to get what you need. So consequently the eggs I had gotten this morning were cold before I got to eat them. So I didn’t. I went and got a spoonful of warn ones to have with half a bagel and some fruit. The hot chocolate this cruise has been good.
Well, after breakfast I headed to deck 10 to walk. I got 4500 steps when I got tried and it was very WINDY on the back of the ship and it is starting to get colder. I am sure it will be a lot colder tomorrow. After walking I went to the butterfly lounge to wait for his talk which wasn’t till 11:15. I crocheted. Really nice size crowd for the talk. Then, it was up to Lido for some lunch.
After breakfast Dad had gone to guest services to ask about debarkation. Oh MY!! The girl he talked to was very unhelpful. First she told him we wouldn’t get any info until Saturday night. What!! We get off Sunday morning. She went round and round and finally the best he could get out of her was we would get it Saturday morning and we would get our tags Saturday morning in the Sports Bar starting at 9 am. I know what that means tags with numbers from 5 up will be available. Because the early numbers are kept for the Diamond and Platinum and the wheel chair people.
Well, we got our sheet tonight. We don’t arrive in Baltimore till 10 am but we have to be out of our rooms before 9 am. So we will have to go sit in the Taj Mahal with all our stuff after breakfast. And it is only available till 9:30. They never make it easy.
Dad’s second talk was at 5, so we got in our elegant dress before the talk and went to supper right after at 6. It wasn’t crowded and we got seated right away. We actually finished in time so we could go to the early show. So now we are back in our room and will be in bed soon. I am tired.
Did you find my weights Amy? Way to go Rachel Bryn helping Aunt Ivy with the math. HEY! Mac no school Monday, YEAH!! Everybody enjoy your long weekend. It is supposed to be 40 degrees Sunday when we get back to Baltimore and only 20 degrees Monday and I don’t have any winter shoes with me.
By the way there is to be a lunar eclipse on Sunday night. Stay up and watch it!! I hope to get to see it if I don’t freeze to death. According to the weather channel on the TV it said Atlanta could get some winter weather.
Well, that is all. Love you all. Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Thursday, January 17, 2019
THE LAST ISLAND
January 17, 2019
And so we say a fond farewell to 80 degree days, 70 degree nights, beautiful blue skies, green mountain paradises, even white sandy beaches and head for SNOW! My weather prognosticators tell me that there is 8 inches on the ground in the area where we will dock Sunday morning with more on the way. Good googilee-moogilee. Captain, turn the ship around and pick out another island!
I have frequently remarked how blessed Bonnie and I are to travel like we do, and there is probably something wrong with someone who has been to so many neat places and can’t remember if he really has been somewhere. Grand Turk is like that. I have a couple of photographs in my photography talk that I have labeled Carnival Pride in Grand Turk. Even my cruise buddy agreed with me – although she may just have been going along for the fun of it. But this morning we stood out on Deck 3 Starboard side and watched as we sailed into the dock. And nothing, absolutely nothing, looked like anything I’ve seen before. Nothing!
The beach I walked along to take the picture of the Pride using my selfie stick with the phone turned upside down isn’t there. The fort whose window I took a picture through, using the window as a frame for the picture isn’t there. The cannon that I lined up in another shot with the ship isn’t there. There isn’t there. So I have no idea where those pictures were taken.
But there was one thing that convinced me we have been to Grand Turk. It is the display honoring John Glenn and his Mercury space capsule, Freedom 7. That I remember.
As regular readers of this space know, we like to wander around on our own, exploring the towns, the forts, the churches. There was no town to explore. There is nothing close to the dock. Nothing. Out the window on the Lido Deck while we were having lunch we spied what I think is a salt flat – an area where sea water is let into the land, then dammed up and the water evaporates, leaving behind the salt. That’s it. We could have rented a golf cart or taken a local tour, but declined, choosing instead to stroll through the tourist trap shops looking for stuff. And we found some stuff, including a t-shirt for my beloved that changes colors in the sunlight. We did buy a box of fancy chocolates as a thank you for the ladies who take care of us every evening at supper, guaranteeing that we get a private table.
Back on board I had a salad and a bowl of fruit for lunch and then we played some Yahtzee. I won one game, now trailing 2-1 in this tournament. Then we broke out the new dominos we bought in San Juan that replaced the old set of dominos we bought in San Juan and couldn’t find when we packed. The old ones, and the new ones, are small, light weight, perfect for packing to fly, and obviously easily lost. The old ones were in a white string tie bag. If anyone sees them, kindly let me know. Oh, I lost 105-94.
Okay, enough from me. Let’s hear what my cruise buddy has to say about these and other events of the day.
TTFN
I shall take a break from killing the storm troopers in the Ewok forest while the Ewoks jump up and down for joy in my Star Wars angry bird game. Well some times you just need to relax and play some silly games.
Well, tomorrow back to the real world on a cruise ship on sea days heading home. He has 2 talks tomorrow: one at 11:15 in a room that will be filled to the edges with all the art stuff for the final gigantic art auction at 1:15 and one at 5 pm, hopefully not filled with art stuff. Maybe they will sell all of it, NOT!
I will get back to my crocheting and hopefully over the next two days I can finish my Valentine Day projects and get to work on Easter and finish when I get home. Oh by the way I need some 9 inch plastic Easter eggs. If you see any let me know so I can get them when I get home. I will try and look for some while we are at Kyle’s. Our supper will be delayed tomorrow night because of his 5 pm talk , so we will have to go to the 9:15 show. And it is elegant night again. So have to dress up extra. We dress every night but most people just come in shorts and t-shirts, which you aren’t should to do.
They haven’t had any real good sales on t-shirts this time or I have missed the sales. Actually there haven’t been any sales that are much.
Well, tonight was the Consuela Ivy show. We have seen her twice before and though she has a lovely voice she does too much other stuff rather than sing. The other stuff is not very entertaining to us. In a 45 minute program she may sing 4 songs. So we opted for 2 PG comedy shows, one at 7pm and one at 8:15. Both comediennes were good but we liked the second guy better. If they do another PG show we may try and go.
I actually slept till about 6. We didn’t get to Grand Turk till 10:45. When we left San Juan we were over 40 minutes late leaving, because two couples were very late. All aboard was at 2:30 and one couple got back at 3 pm and the other at 3:10. The ship had pulled the gang plank and was leaving when the second couple finally arrived. The crew had taken the pass ports of the first couple down to the dock and were going to leave them when they had arrived at 3. There were people standing out on deck yelling “leave them”! They did put the gangway back out so the second couple could get on the ship. I sure hope they had a serious talk to both couples.
Today was not much. Just a port complex with all the normal tourist shops. We bought a couple of things. But really nothing of the island could you visit unless you traveled away from the port. The ship only stayed from 10:45 to 6. They did have a nice beach area right off the ship so maybe next time we could do the beach thing with LOTS of sun screen. My spot of red is much better after using your Dad’s cream.
I had bought a real pretty beach cover up that I am wearing tomorrow night with a black top (because you can see through the cover up) and black slacks. We will take a picture. It is decorated like a peacock. I think it will be pretty.
Well, we don’t have to get up real early, just about 7. I want to do my walk in the morning but I will go after breakfast. It shouldn’t be too hot because we are headed back home where it is colder. I can always wear a sweater if it is cold in the morning. That is one bad thing about the ship’s bulletin it doesn’t tell you the projected temperature for the next day or any day. Even the ship’s TV channel doesn’t tell you. Bummer Dude!
Well, nothing much happening so I will be take my pills, floss and brush my teeth and ... (for all you Mamma Mia fans!) Haha!!
Love Mom, Granny, Bonnie
And so we say a fond farewell to 80 degree days, 70 degree nights, beautiful blue skies, green mountain paradises, even white sandy beaches and head for SNOW! My weather prognosticators tell me that there is 8 inches on the ground in the area where we will dock Sunday morning with more on the way. Good googilee-moogilee. Captain, turn the ship around and pick out another island!
I have frequently remarked how blessed Bonnie and I are to travel like we do, and there is probably something wrong with someone who has been to so many neat places and can’t remember if he really has been somewhere. Grand Turk is like that. I have a couple of photographs in my photography talk that I have labeled Carnival Pride in Grand Turk. Even my cruise buddy agreed with me – although she may just have been going along for the fun of it. But this morning we stood out on Deck 3 Starboard side and watched as we sailed into the dock. And nothing, absolutely nothing, looked like anything I’ve seen before. Nothing!
The beach I walked along to take the picture of the Pride using my selfie stick with the phone turned upside down isn’t there. The fort whose window I took a picture through, using the window as a frame for the picture isn’t there. The cannon that I lined up in another shot with the ship isn’t there. There isn’t there. So I have no idea where those pictures were taken.
But there was one thing that convinced me we have been to Grand Turk. It is the display honoring John Glenn and his Mercury space capsule, Freedom 7. That I remember.
As regular readers of this space know, we like to wander around on our own, exploring the towns, the forts, the churches. There was no town to explore. There is nothing close to the dock. Nothing. Out the window on the Lido Deck while we were having lunch we spied what I think is a salt flat – an area where sea water is let into the land, then dammed up and the water evaporates, leaving behind the salt. That’s it. We could have rented a golf cart or taken a local tour, but declined, choosing instead to stroll through the tourist trap shops looking for stuff. And we found some stuff, including a t-shirt for my beloved that changes colors in the sunlight. We did buy a box of fancy chocolates as a thank you for the ladies who take care of us every evening at supper, guaranteeing that we get a private table.
Back on board I had a salad and a bowl of fruit for lunch and then we played some Yahtzee. I won one game, now trailing 2-1 in this tournament. Then we broke out the new dominos we bought in San Juan that replaced the old set of dominos we bought in San Juan and couldn’t find when we packed. The old ones, and the new ones, are small, light weight, perfect for packing to fly, and obviously easily lost. The old ones were in a white string tie bag. If anyone sees them, kindly let me know. Oh, I lost 105-94.
Okay, enough from me. Let’s hear what my cruise buddy has to say about these and other events of the day.
TTFN
I shall take a break from killing the storm troopers in the Ewok forest while the Ewoks jump up and down for joy in my Star Wars angry bird game. Well some times you just need to relax and play some silly games.
Well, tomorrow back to the real world on a cruise ship on sea days heading home. He has 2 talks tomorrow: one at 11:15 in a room that will be filled to the edges with all the art stuff for the final gigantic art auction at 1:15 and one at 5 pm, hopefully not filled with art stuff. Maybe they will sell all of it, NOT!
I will get back to my crocheting and hopefully over the next two days I can finish my Valentine Day projects and get to work on Easter and finish when I get home. Oh by the way I need some 9 inch plastic Easter eggs. If you see any let me know so I can get them when I get home. I will try and look for some while we are at Kyle’s. Our supper will be delayed tomorrow night because of his 5 pm talk , so we will have to go to the 9:15 show. And it is elegant night again. So have to dress up extra. We dress every night but most people just come in shorts and t-shirts, which you aren’t should to do.
They haven’t had any real good sales on t-shirts this time or I have missed the sales. Actually there haven’t been any sales that are much.
Well, tonight was the Consuela Ivy show. We have seen her twice before and though she has a lovely voice she does too much other stuff rather than sing. The other stuff is not very entertaining to us. In a 45 minute program she may sing 4 songs. So we opted for 2 PG comedy shows, one at 7pm and one at 8:15. Both comediennes were good but we liked the second guy better. If they do another PG show we may try and go.
I actually slept till about 6. We didn’t get to Grand Turk till 10:45. When we left San Juan we were over 40 minutes late leaving, because two couples were very late. All aboard was at 2:30 and one couple got back at 3 pm and the other at 3:10. The ship had pulled the gang plank and was leaving when the second couple finally arrived. The crew had taken the pass ports of the first couple down to the dock and were going to leave them when they had arrived at 3. There were people standing out on deck yelling “leave them”! They did put the gangway back out so the second couple could get on the ship. I sure hope they had a serious talk to both couples.
Today was not much. Just a port complex with all the normal tourist shops. We bought a couple of things. But really nothing of the island could you visit unless you traveled away from the port. The ship only stayed from 10:45 to 6. They did have a nice beach area right off the ship so maybe next time we could do the beach thing with LOTS of sun screen. My spot of red is much better after using your Dad’s cream.
I had bought a real pretty beach cover up that I am wearing tomorrow night with a black top (because you can see through the cover up) and black slacks. We will take a picture. It is decorated like a peacock. I think it will be pretty.
Well, we don’t have to get up real early, just about 7. I want to do my walk in the morning but I will go after breakfast. It shouldn’t be too hot because we are headed back home where it is colder. I can always wear a sweater if it is cold in the morning. That is one bad thing about the ship’s bulletin it doesn’t tell you the projected temperature for the next day or any day. Even the ship’s TV channel doesn’t tell you. Bummer Dude!
Well, nothing much happening so I will be take my pills, floss and brush my teeth and ... (for all you Mamma Mia fans!) Haha!!
Love Mom, Granny, Bonnie
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
GEORGE AND GRACIE
January 16, 2019
After breakfast we headed out across old San Juan, walking up by Fort San Cristobal and then on to Fortaleza El Morro, the major defensive fort on Puerto Rico from colonial times. The sky was a brilliant blue (Irving Berlin would have approved) with a few puffy clouds, waves were gently rolling up onto the shore, and a nice breeze was blowing.
On our way into El Morro, we stopped and talked to a park ranger who told us a way to leave the fort to pass the area where San Juan’s cats congregate. He said the cat population has doubled because people going back to the states have abandoned them – and we saw some beautiful cats which if the Crew From 2042 had been with us might have gained a new home.
Today was the start of a festival celebrating San Sebastian (Saint Sebastian). There are dozens of venues set up all over the city where there will be musical performances and local foods. At every intersection there was at least one law enforcement officer and sometimes two or three. The celebration will go on for several days, and because of the congestion we sailed away early. It would have been nice to had an overnight visit to have enjoyed it.
We walked into the fort through the main gate, and went directly to the gift shop, and we are glad we did. One of the ladies in the shop could have been quoting Montgomery Scott from Star Trek IV – “Thar be whales here!” She invited us to go behind the counter and through a doorway to a deck where we watched whales breaching. Humpback? People? There were at least two, possibly three. I sent a video to a young reader of this blog with the same caption as the title of this blog, and said reader wanted to know how I knew the names of the whales. Said reader’s parents need to play “The Voyage Home” more frequently for said reader.
It was great! I’ve never seen whales in the wild, and Bonnie has never seen so much activity. We must have watched for 15 minutes as they played. There was a small boat following them, and we think the whales got tired of the boat and swam away from the fort. We’ve seen a lot of God’s beauty on this cruise, but George and Gracie take top prize!
Before we walked into the fort we saw a large iguana, probably 3 feet from nose to tip of the tail, and saw two as we left the fort. Iguana are a problem on Puerto Rico. They are one of those creatures that were brought here and abandoned and they have no natural enemies. I read that there are more iguana than there are human beings on the island. A company has developed a processing plant whereby they process them and send them to Southeast Asia. They taste like chicken.
I had a talk today at 5 p.m. All aboard was at 2:30 and I wondered how many people would come after a day ashore, but it was a good crowd for the second offering of “Are We There Yet?” Two more talks, one each on the last two sea days. Tomorrow is our last port, Grand Turk Island, and we are just going to wander around.
Tonight at supper we were seated in a different part of the dining room with wait staff we haven’t had before. When you are escorted to your table, they waiters receive a slip of paper with your names on it. Our waiter tonight was evidently not familiar with our names because I was Mr. Bonnie, and Mom was Ma’am Melvin. We thought it was funny, and never corrected him. The corn fritter appetizers with pineapple coconut salsa was the highlight of a good meal.
Well, we are tired. My cruise buddy will pass on writing tonight. She walked 6 miles today and she is pooped.
Oh, only Michael offered birthday greetings for Bonnie today. Way to go, Mike!
TTFN
After breakfast we headed out across old San Juan, walking up by Fort San Cristobal and then on to Fortaleza El Morro, the major defensive fort on Puerto Rico from colonial times. The sky was a brilliant blue (Irving Berlin would have approved) with a few puffy clouds, waves were gently rolling up onto the shore, and a nice breeze was blowing.
On our way into El Morro, we stopped and talked to a park ranger who told us a way to leave the fort to pass the area where San Juan’s cats congregate. He said the cat population has doubled because people going back to the states have abandoned them – and we saw some beautiful cats which if the Crew From 2042 had been with us might have gained a new home.
Today was the start of a festival celebrating San Sebastian (Saint Sebastian). There are dozens of venues set up all over the city where there will be musical performances and local foods. At every intersection there was at least one law enforcement officer and sometimes two or three. The celebration will go on for several days, and because of the congestion we sailed away early. It would have been nice to had an overnight visit to have enjoyed it.
We walked into the fort through the main gate, and went directly to the gift shop, and we are glad we did. One of the ladies in the shop could have been quoting Montgomery Scott from Star Trek IV – “Thar be whales here!” She invited us to go behind the counter and through a doorway to a deck where we watched whales breaching. Humpback? People? There were at least two, possibly three. I sent a video to a young reader of this blog with the same caption as the title of this blog, and said reader wanted to know how I knew the names of the whales. Said reader’s parents need to play “The Voyage Home” more frequently for said reader.
It was great! I’ve never seen whales in the wild, and Bonnie has never seen so much activity. We must have watched for 15 minutes as they played. There was a small boat following them, and we think the whales got tired of the boat and swam away from the fort. We’ve seen a lot of God’s beauty on this cruise, but George and Gracie take top prize!
Before we walked into the fort we saw a large iguana, probably 3 feet from nose to tip of the tail, and saw two as we left the fort. Iguana are a problem on Puerto Rico. They are one of those creatures that were brought here and abandoned and they have no natural enemies. I read that there are more iguana than there are human beings on the island. A company has developed a processing plant whereby they process them and send them to Southeast Asia. They taste like chicken.
I had a talk today at 5 p.m. All aboard was at 2:30 and I wondered how many people would come after a day ashore, but it was a good crowd for the second offering of “Are We There Yet?” Two more talks, one each on the last two sea days. Tomorrow is our last port, Grand Turk Island, and we are just going to wander around.
Tonight at supper we were seated in a different part of the dining room with wait staff we haven’t had before. When you are escorted to your table, they waiters receive a slip of paper with your names on it. Our waiter tonight was evidently not familiar with our names because I was Mr. Bonnie, and Mom was Ma’am Melvin. We thought it was funny, and never corrected him. The corn fritter appetizers with pineapple coconut salsa was the highlight of a good meal.
Well, we are tired. My cruise buddy will pass on writing tonight. She walked 6 miles today and she is pooped.
Oh, only Michael offered birthday greetings for Bonnie today. Way to go, Mike!
TTFN
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
IRVING BERLIN
January 15, 2019
Nothing but blue skies from now on. At least in the Caribbean until hurricane season starts in late summer. It was a beautiful day on St. Maarten. The temperature was not too hot. There was a gentle breeze blowing over the beach. But the water was a tad bit cold. We waded into it incrementally. Inches of body slowly being submerged. Inch by inch. Step by step. And then Bonnie lost her balance and a gentleman came to our rescue. With the sand slipping under her feet it was hard for her to get purchase and I couldn’t balance her enough. Our good Samaritan helped a lot. I think his name is Dirk.
We rented two beach chairs with a large umbrella, and put our stuff out while we went in the water. Five drinks came with the rental, but we only picked up 4 – two cokes and two waters. The haggling started as soon as we approached the beach. Hey, Mister! First price, Mister! Not last price! What’s your price? Or something like that. $35. Nope, I’ll give you $25. No, I’ll do it for $30, and we walked away. The next guy, farther down the beach, agreed to $25. It was a lot of fun and we both agreed – next time, we bring books. Two hours of standing or swimming or searching for seas shells is boring. Bring on the books! Mom did find a nice prize. I will let her tell you about it.
We went to supper tonight with Eric and Barbie, the dance couple. They are from California, and haven’t been sailing with Carnival for too long. It was an enjoyable, two hour dinner, and then Mom zoomed up to the Lido Deck to stake out two chairs for the evening movie, “Oceans Eight,” while I went back to our room to get our airline blankets. We did not need them tonight. The movie was good. The popcorn was nothing extra. But enough salt and it picked up (the popcorn, not the movie).
Eric and Barbie are in the room next to ours and one of the things we talked about was the noise nightly that starts overhead around 10:30 or 11 and carries on until midnight. They allowed as how it is the Red Frog Bar closing down for the night, moving furniture and cleaning the floor. A couple of nights the patrons must have been very messy because the furniture was being moved and dropped until after 2, until 3:30 one morning. Fortunately it is not a continual symphony, just a couple of jingles here and there.
Okay. Time to turn the keyboard over to Mom, Granny, and Bonnie.
TTFN
Now I know why I don’t go to the beach. I put lotion on my back and shoulders because I didn’t want to get sun burned. I really didn’t think it was that hot but tonight when I got back to the room my chest was prickly like I had a rash and I got sun burned on the front under my chin down to where my top was today. OUCH! Next time I will lather all over my body!!
Well, the water was nice and I found lots of nice shells. And when I was walking from our chairs back into the water I saw what looked like a blue bead in the sand. I reached down and picked it up and found it was a really nice bracelet. Who knows how long it had been there but it now on my arm. Very pretty. Yeah me. Sad for someone!!
We were back on board about 12, so we both had a shower. Then I hung up our bathing suits and we got dressed and headed to the lido deck were we had a salad for lunch and then came back to the room for a nap. He napped I didn’t. I have started on my second set of post cards to be mailed in San Juan tomorrow. Then, we are back on board at 2:30 and he has his repeat of the Astronomy talk at 5. So tomorrow it will be a late supper.
The next day we will be in Grand Turk. We have been there one time but I remember nothing about it. Maybe I will remember when we get there.
There was no entertainment in the theater tonight and the only going on is at 11 in the Butterfly lounge. It is the Quest game. Which is an adult rated type of scavenger hunt. You don’t leave the room. You have to come up with whatever they want from what is in your bags or on you. We don’t ever go to this. It is R or X rated.
Well, whatever is making the noise above us is really banging tonight.
The movie was good. I would like to have stayed for the mission Impossible Fallout but it would over to late for us. We get to San Juan at 7:15 tomorrow. Oh I forgot to tell you, there were 5 ships in port today. There was an MSC, a P&O, a NCL ( the Norwegian Dawn which was the first ship Dad ever did a talk on) and a Disney ship, Wonder . There were probably about 15,000 people here. Crazy. But it really didn’t seem all that crowded. There was plenty of room at the beach. I guess a lot of people were on excursions.
Well, after our naps, I decided to watch the sail away. All on board was at 4:30. So at 3:45 I was up on deck 3 watching everyone come back. There were probably 30 or more guests who were 10 minutes or so late. But there were 2 crew that were the last two and they were waiting on them to arrive so we could leave. Oh boy they will be in trouble. It was two girls. Well, every body was finally on board and we were the 3rd ship to set sail at just before 5. The NCL left about 3:45 and Disney left about 4. Dad had come up about 4:30 and we stood until we left the dock. Then, off to meet the dance couple and supper. I had spring rolls for an appetizer and veal Parmesan for an entree. It was apple pie for dessert. I actually cleaned my plate this evening.
Well, I have finished my post cards and I still have my pills to take and to brush my teeth.
So goodnight for now.
Love you all.
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Nothing but blue skies from now on. At least in the Caribbean until hurricane season starts in late summer. It was a beautiful day on St. Maarten. The temperature was not too hot. There was a gentle breeze blowing over the beach. But the water was a tad bit cold. We waded into it incrementally. Inches of body slowly being submerged. Inch by inch. Step by step. And then Bonnie lost her balance and a gentleman came to our rescue. With the sand slipping under her feet it was hard for her to get purchase and I couldn’t balance her enough. Our good Samaritan helped a lot. I think his name is Dirk.
We rented two beach chairs with a large umbrella, and put our stuff out while we went in the water. Five drinks came with the rental, but we only picked up 4 – two cokes and two waters. The haggling started as soon as we approached the beach. Hey, Mister! First price, Mister! Not last price! What’s your price? Or something like that. $35. Nope, I’ll give you $25. No, I’ll do it for $30, and we walked away. The next guy, farther down the beach, agreed to $25. It was a lot of fun and we both agreed – next time, we bring books. Two hours of standing or swimming or searching for seas shells is boring. Bring on the books! Mom did find a nice prize. I will let her tell you about it.
We went to supper tonight with Eric and Barbie, the dance couple. They are from California, and haven’t been sailing with Carnival for too long. It was an enjoyable, two hour dinner, and then Mom zoomed up to the Lido Deck to stake out two chairs for the evening movie, “Oceans Eight,” while I went back to our room to get our airline blankets. We did not need them tonight. The movie was good. The popcorn was nothing extra. But enough salt and it picked up (the popcorn, not the movie).
Eric and Barbie are in the room next to ours and one of the things we talked about was the noise nightly that starts overhead around 10:30 or 11 and carries on until midnight. They allowed as how it is the Red Frog Bar closing down for the night, moving furniture and cleaning the floor. A couple of nights the patrons must have been very messy because the furniture was being moved and dropped until after 2, until 3:30 one morning. Fortunately it is not a continual symphony, just a couple of jingles here and there.
Okay. Time to turn the keyboard over to Mom, Granny, and Bonnie.
TTFN
Now I know why I don’t go to the beach. I put lotion on my back and shoulders because I didn’t want to get sun burned. I really didn’t think it was that hot but tonight when I got back to the room my chest was prickly like I had a rash and I got sun burned on the front under my chin down to where my top was today. OUCH! Next time I will lather all over my body!!
Well, the water was nice and I found lots of nice shells. And when I was walking from our chairs back into the water I saw what looked like a blue bead in the sand. I reached down and picked it up and found it was a really nice bracelet. Who knows how long it had been there but it now on my arm. Very pretty. Yeah me. Sad for someone!!
We were back on board about 12, so we both had a shower. Then I hung up our bathing suits and we got dressed and headed to the lido deck were we had a salad for lunch and then came back to the room for a nap. He napped I didn’t. I have started on my second set of post cards to be mailed in San Juan tomorrow. Then, we are back on board at 2:30 and he has his repeat of the Astronomy talk at 5. So tomorrow it will be a late supper.
The next day we will be in Grand Turk. We have been there one time but I remember nothing about it. Maybe I will remember when we get there.
There was no entertainment in the theater tonight and the only going on is at 11 in the Butterfly lounge. It is the Quest game. Which is an adult rated type of scavenger hunt. You don’t leave the room. You have to come up with whatever they want from what is in your bags or on you. We don’t ever go to this. It is R or X rated.
Well, whatever is making the noise above us is really banging tonight.
The movie was good. I would like to have stayed for the mission Impossible Fallout but it would over to late for us. We get to San Juan at 7:15 tomorrow. Oh I forgot to tell you, there were 5 ships in port today. There was an MSC, a P&O, a NCL ( the Norwegian Dawn which was the first ship Dad ever did a talk on) and a Disney ship, Wonder . There were probably about 15,000 people here. Crazy. But it really didn’t seem all that crowded. There was plenty of room at the beach. I guess a lot of people were on excursions.
Well, after our naps, I decided to watch the sail away. All on board was at 4:30. So at 3:45 I was up on deck 3 watching everyone come back. There were probably 30 or more guests who were 10 minutes or so late. But there were 2 crew that were the last two and they were waiting on them to arrive so we could leave. Oh boy they will be in trouble. It was two girls. Well, every body was finally on board and we were the 3rd ship to set sail at just before 5. The NCL left about 3:45 and Disney left about 4. Dad had come up about 4:30 and we stood until we left the dock. Then, off to meet the dance couple and supper. I had spring rolls for an appetizer and veal Parmesan for an entree. It was apple pie for dessert. I actually cleaned my plate this evening.
Well, I have finished my post cards and I still have my pills to take and to brush my teeth.
So goodnight for now.
Love you all.
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Monday, January 14, 2019
PEOPLE HAVE MORE FUN THAN ANYBODY
January 14, 2019
And that’s the way it was in every village and town we were in today.
Today’s excursion of the top 10 sites in St. Lucia was excellent. Good commentary by our guide, and funny, corny stories and jokes from our driver. For sheer beauty, this is one of my favorite islands, and I picked this excursion from several that Mom liked because of the trip out to the Piton Mountains. We did a similar trip on an earlier cruise, and saw 3 of the things on that one, but a lot of new stuff toady. I guess because the islands depend so much on tourism for their economic health, each one of our stops offered us the chance to buy island souvenirs. And at one Bonnie bought a swimming suit cover up, and we bought a bottle of banana ketchup. At the craft workshop, with beautiful handmade wooden pieces, I bought some colorful stones assembled in a recognizable, collectible fashion (I know with all that wood, right). Let’s see, what else? Oh, a postcard which will be mailed from San Juan.
St. Lucia is a volcanic island and their national symbol is two very pointed peaks named Large Piton and Small Piton. Actually the French named them, so they are Grand Piton and Petit Piton. Drive out to them we traveled over more switch backs going up and down hill than any place I’ve been. I was thinking about driving Route 50 up over the mountain from Winchester, but St. Lucia beats it.
At one stop they gave us each one of “their” bananas and asked us to compare the taste to Chiquita bananas (which are only labeled Chiquita – they are really Cavendish bananas – those of you who have attended my banana talk know that). Neither of us could tell the difference. Having showed off with the nutmeg and mace, I did not steal their banana thunder.
One of the stops that was a duplicate of years gone by was at Maranatha Gardens (Cesar Brooks was nowhere in sight). A beautiful flower garden where weddings and parties are held. Several scripture verses are displayed throughout. They have three really large copper kettles that were used for boiling sugarcane. I asked if they had been used for boiling missionaries. You know the joke about the missionaries in a pot. Well, several jokes actually. They allowed as how no missionaries were boiled.
After Leroy, our bus driver (not the namesake of Leroy’s World Famous Bean Goulash) had stumped us with a number of jokes, I privately asked him one of my favorite riddles. A farmer has a cat, a chicken and a bag of corn. He has to take them to the other side of the river, but the boat is only big enough for him and one of the items. If he takes the cat and leaves the chicken, the chicken will eat the corn. If he takes the corn and leaves the chicken, the cat will eat the chicken. So taking only one item at a time – and he can bring back an item he’s previously taken over – how does he do it? Leroy figured it out. I really like this riddle.
Here’s one of his. A man starts at the top of the hill and walks down. Another man starts at the bottom of the hill and walks up. When they pass each other, what time is it?
Okay, enough.
TTFN
Well, not much sleep last night. Awake about every hour after midnight till about 4 then every half hour. Then finally dozed back off to sleep after six just before he got up and went to take a shower. Oh well.
After breakfast we went out on deck 3 to watch them tie up the ship. We wanted to be sure we heard them say when we could get off because our tour was an early one again. They started to get off just after 8 before any announcement was made so we got our stuff and headed off. There was already a long line behind the sign for our tour but again they were using 20 passenger vans and we were almost first in line for the second van. There were 3 or 4 vans in all. We sat right behind the driver and had real good views. The guide and the driver were both very good. We had an excellent tour. We visited the volcano and the site of the current volcanic activity which is sulfur leaking out of the ground. They have sulfur springs and you can swim in them. We did not. We also visited the local community college. It was interesting because the college students all must wear uniforms just like the grade school and secondary school students do. That wouldn’t go over back home.
The roads are very narrow and windy. And we would drive way up hills and then way down. There were many curves that were almost u turns. There many animals along the roads. We saw cows grazing in fields which were public marsh land and too wet for anything to be constructed on so farmers are allowed to bring their cows and let them graze for free. We also saw many goats tied in yards and along the roads.
Bananas are one of their main exported crops. There are not as many fields as before the last hurricane. But there are still a lot. Most people have some growing in their yards in the country. There about 180,000 people on the island. There is one city and 5 districts and several small towns or villages. We saw one fishing village on a very famous beach where part of the movie Dr Doolittle was filmed. I think it was the part with the pink snail.
The views from high up in the mountains of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean were amazing. It was just hard to believe how blue the water was. The sky was blue and the water below was blue. It was very awe inspiring. It was not hot just a beautifully warm day.
When we got back to the ship it was quick lunch and nap. Then off to supper. Tonight’s specialities were Jerk chicken wings and peppered steak with pineapple, peppers and onions in a spicy sauce with rice and fried plantains. I had both of those and some chorizo potato skins. All was very good.
The show tonight was a comedienne and ventriloquist. We have seen him before and it was a good show. According to our cruise director the comedienne, Michael Paul, is supposed to be on Whose Got Talent this year.
Well, we are back in the room and getting ready for bed. I have taken my pills and just need to brush the teeth. Tomorrow we will try some time at the beach. We will see how long we last. I have my bathing suit and 70 sun screen. We will ride the ferry over to the beach, rent 2 chairs and an umbrella and maybe even get wet. The rental comes with 2 drinks, too. You can have alcoholic ones but we will get cokes. Before we come back to the ship your Dad wants to find a can of pringles.
Well, good night all. Mac keep doing those exercises at least twice a day. It is the only way it will get better. Granny says so.
Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie
And that’s the way it was in every village and town we were in today.
Today’s excursion of the top 10 sites in St. Lucia was excellent. Good commentary by our guide, and funny, corny stories and jokes from our driver. For sheer beauty, this is one of my favorite islands, and I picked this excursion from several that Mom liked because of the trip out to the Piton Mountains. We did a similar trip on an earlier cruise, and saw 3 of the things on that one, but a lot of new stuff toady. I guess because the islands depend so much on tourism for their economic health, each one of our stops offered us the chance to buy island souvenirs. And at one Bonnie bought a swimming suit cover up, and we bought a bottle of banana ketchup. At the craft workshop, with beautiful handmade wooden pieces, I bought some colorful stones assembled in a recognizable, collectible fashion (I know with all that wood, right). Let’s see, what else? Oh, a postcard which will be mailed from San Juan.
St. Lucia is a volcanic island and their national symbol is two very pointed peaks named Large Piton and Small Piton. Actually the French named them, so they are Grand Piton and Petit Piton. Drive out to them we traveled over more switch backs going up and down hill than any place I’ve been. I was thinking about driving Route 50 up over the mountain from Winchester, but St. Lucia beats it.
At one stop they gave us each one of “their” bananas and asked us to compare the taste to Chiquita bananas (which are only labeled Chiquita – they are really Cavendish bananas – those of you who have attended my banana talk know that). Neither of us could tell the difference. Having showed off with the nutmeg and mace, I did not steal their banana thunder.
One of the stops that was a duplicate of years gone by was at Maranatha Gardens (Cesar Brooks was nowhere in sight). A beautiful flower garden where weddings and parties are held. Several scripture verses are displayed throughout. They have three really large copper kettles that were used for boiling sugarcane. I asked if they had been used for boiling missionaries. You know the joke about the missionaries in a pot. Well, several jokes actually. They allowed as how no missionaries were boiled.
After Leroy, our bus driver (not the namesake of Leroy’s World Famous Bean Goulash) had stumped us with a number of jokes, I privately asked him one of my favorite riddles. A farmer has a cat, a chicken and a bag of corn. He has to take them to the other side of the river, but the boat is only big enough for him and one of the items. If he takes the cat and leaves the chicken, the chicken will eat the corn. If he takes the corn and leaves the chicken, the cat will eat the chicken. So taking only one item at a time – and he can bring back an item he’s previously taken over – how does he do it? Leroy figured it out. I really like this riddle.
Here’s one of his. A man starts at the top of the hill and walks down. Another man starts at the bottom of the hill and walks up. When they pass each other, what time is it?
Okay, enough.
TTFN
Well, not much sleep last night. Awake about every hour after midnight till about 4 then every half hour. Then finally dozed back off to sleep after six just before he got up and went to take a shower. Oh well.
After breakfast we went out on deck 3 to watch them tie up the ship. We wanted to be sure we heard them say when we could get off because our tour was an early one again. They started to get off just after 8 before any announcement was made so we got our stuff and headed off. There was already a long line behind the sign for our tour but again they were using 20 passenger vans and we were almost first in line for the second van. There were 3 or 4 vans in all. We sat right behind the driver and had real good views. The guide and the driver were both very good. We had an excellent tour. We visited the volcano and the site of the current volcanic activity which is sulfur leaking out of the ground. They have sulfur springs and you can swim in them. We did not. We also visited the local community college. It was interesting because the college students all must wear uniforms just like the grade school and secondary school students do. That wouldn’t go over back home.
The roads are very narrow and windy. And we would drive way up hills and then way down. There were many curves that were almost u turns. There many animals along the roads. We saw cows grazing in fields which were public marsh land and too wet for anything to be constructed on so farmers are allowed to bring their cows and let them graze for free. We also saw many goats tied in yards and along the roads.
Bananas are one of their main exported crops. There are not as many fields as before the last hurricane. But there are still a lot. Most people have some growing in their yards in the country. There about 180,000 people on the island. There is one city and 5 districts and several small towns or villages. We saw one fishing village on a very famous beach where part of the movie Dr Doolittle was filmed. I think it was the part with the pink snail.
The views from high up in the mountains of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean were amazing. It was just hard to believe how blue the water was. The sky was blue and the water below was blue. It was very awe inspiring. It was not hot just a beautifully warm day.
When we got back to the ship it was quick lunch and nap. Then off to supper. Tonight’s specialities were Jerk chicken wings and peppered steak with pineapple, peppers and onions in a spicy sauce with rice and fried plantains. I had both of those and some chorizo potato skins. All was very good.
The show tonight was a comedienne and ventriloquist. We have seen him before and it was a good show. According to our cruise director the comedienne, Michael Paul, is supposed to be on Whose Got Talent this year.
Well, we are back in the room and getting ready for bed. I have taken my pills and just need to brush the teeth. Tomorrow we will try some time at the beach. We will see how long we last. I have my bathing suit and 70 sun screen. We will ride the ferry over to the beach, rent 2 chairs and an umbrella and maybe even get wet. The rental comes with 2 drinks, too. You can have alcoholic ones but we will get cokes. Before we come back to the ship your Dad wants to find a can of pringles.
Well, good night all. Mac keep doing those exercises at least twice a day. It is the only way it will get better. Granny says so.
Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Sunday, January 13, 2019
AH, IT’S GREEN
January 13, 2019
What a beautiful island! We had a great tour of Grenada today. It’s pronounced GrenAda, not GrenAHda – as I was corrected in a friendly manner. You say GrenAda, I say GrenAHda. You say PotAto, I say PotAHto. Etc.
I wish I could have taken more pictures of the lush, green country-side. It was nothing but mountains and valleys of green. Hurricane Ivan did incredible damage in 2007, but much has recovered. One part that hasn’t, and it was part of our excursion, is the nutmeg plantations. Before the hurricane, Grenada provided 1/3 of the world’s nutmeg and Indonesia the other 2/3s. Since the hurricane, Grenada’s nutmeg farms have been reduced by 85-90% and many think it will not recover to its former height.
We were taken to a spice farm and a nutmeg processing plant, both very enjoyable. We got to handle some of the spices in their raw state and smell their unprocessed aromas. At the nutmet processing plant we learned that there are 85 workers there, before the hurricane 250. I have some neat pictures which we will post when we get home.
Nick, our driver and tour guide, stopped frequently showing us different things and told us at the start that we would be late getting back from the tour – not too late to miss the ship, but past the allotted 4 hours. Actually, we were out 6 hours. Top notch.
At the nutmet factory, Nick held up an object that looked like a peach which had begun to split and asked if anyone knew what it was. I said, “It’s nutmeg and mace.” He was kind of taken aback that someone knew, but he did not know, that nutmet and mace are part of my spice talk. But it was the only part of the quiz that I got right.
We got to taste raw cocoa and see how it is processed, and we bought some cocoa balls which we will make into hot chocolate once we get back to 233.
Well, we have to get up at 6:30 again tomorrow to do an excursion of the Ten Best Things of St. Lucia, so I will turn it over to my cruise buddy for her turn.
TTFN
After breakfast we came back to our room to wait for them to say it was time to get off. At a little after 8 we were a little concerned because we had to be on the dock by 8:15, so we went out in the hall and people were already getting off and they had not made any announcement. By the time we got to the pier we were just about the last ones in line for the tour. But fortunately they had 2 vans and not one large bus.
The tour was very good. Because the roads are very narrow and windy the tour buses are small 15-20 passenger vans. They were very nice. Everybody could see and the windows were very large and the seats comfortable. They don’t look anything like the vans from back home. We climbed to a height of over 1500 ft to visit the Nature Preserve forest. Their animals were possums, armadillos, mona monkeys and a bird (I can’t remember its name).
There was a large lake in a crater from an inactive volcano. Quite beautiful. We went to see a waterfalls where there were local young men who would jump from the top down into the water for a tip. We watched as they jumped got out and went back up and jumped again.
The reason the nutmeg industry may not recover is because it takes about 15 years for a tree to grow and produce the nutmeg fruit. Most of them didn’t survive the hurricane because they have only one main root. We saw breadfruit trees, star fruit trees, cinnamon trees, mango trees, avocado trees and even a tree from Australia called the rainbow eucalyptus. The guide said you can’t plant many of them because they use a large amount of water and they will take all the water out of the ground. But the bark is beautiful. It multi colored.
There were banana trees everywhere. They were in almost every yard outside the city. And just about every house had a flower garden planted in its front yard. Young men when going to date or marry a young girl were told by their mothers if they went to pick up the girl from her house and their were no flowers planted in her front yard leave her alone because she would have no love in her heart.
They were many goats and chickens everywhere along the roads. The colors red, green and gold were everywhere. Those are the colors of their flag. Our guide told us about how the US came in an saved the country after their prime minister was murdered. The men who perpetrated the crime though originally sentenced to be hanged there sentence was changed to life but after about 10 years they were released after some very bad court decisions saying they were tried unconstitutionally. The people here are still very grateful to the US.
We bought some of the spices and a got a bottle of nutmeg syrup that is supposed to be very good on pancakes. Hey Mac and Tate we will have try that out. I even got some nutmeg balls and cinnamon bark.
After we got back to the ship we grabbed a little something to eat and headed to the cabin for a nap. I took a bath and washed my hair. After 3 hat days it was in dire need. We went to supper a little before 5 and the line wasn’t very long. We had supper and then went to the show. It was a good one with the singers and dancers.
Well we are back in our room and will have another long day tomorrow. So I will say good night. Mac I hope you are feeling better.
Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie
What a beautiful island! We had a great tour of Grenada today. It’s pronounced GrenAda, not GrenAHda – as I was corrected in a friendly manner. You say GrenAda, I say GrenAHda. You say PotAto, I say PotAHto. Etc.
I wish I could have taken more pictures of the lush, green country-side. It was nothing but mountains and valleys of green. Hurricane Ivan did incredible damage in 2007, but much has recovered. One part that hasn’t, and it was part of our excursion, is the nutmeg plantations. Before the hurricane, Grenada provided 1/3 of the world’s nutmeg and Indonesia the other 2/3s. Since the hurricane, Grenada’s nutmeg farms have been reduced by 85-90% and many think it will not recover to its former height.
We were taken to a spice farm and a nutmeg processing plant, both very enjoyable. We got to handle some of the spices in their raw state and smell their unprocessed aromas. At the nutmet processing plant we learned that there are 85 workers there, before the hurricane 250. I have some neat pictures which we will post when we get home.
Nick, our driver and tour guide, stopped frequently showing us different things and told us at the start that we would be late getting back from the tour – not too late to miss the ship, but past the allotted 4 hours. Actually, we were out 6 hours. Top notch.
At the nutmet factory, Nick held up an object that looked like a peach which had begun to split and asked if anyone knew what it was. I said, “It’s nutmeg and mace.” He was kind of taken aback that someone knew, but he did not know, that nutmet and mace are part of my spice talk. But it was the only part of the quiz that I got right.
We got to taste raw cocoa and see how it is processed, and we bought some cocoa balls which we will make into hot chocolate once we get back to 233.
Well, we have to get up at 6:30 again tomorrow to do an excursion of the Ten Best Things of St. Lucia, so I will turn it over to my cruise buddy for her turn.
TTFN
After breakfast we came back to our room to wait for them to say it was time to get off. At a little after 8 we were a little concerned because we had to be on the dock by 8:15, so we went out in the hall and people were already getting off and they had not made any announcement. By the time we got to the pier we were just about the last ones in line for the tour. But fortunately they had 2 vans and not one large bus.
The tour was very good. Because the roads are very narrow and windy the tour buses are small 15-20 passenger vans. They were very nice. Everybody could see and the windows were very large and the seats comfortable. They don’t look anything like the vans from back home. We climbed to a height of over 1500 ft to visit the Nature Preserve forest. Their animals were possums, armadillos, mona monkeys and a bird (I can’t remember its name).
There was a large lake in a crater from an inactive volcano. Quite beautiful. We went to see a waterfalls where there were local young men who would jump from the top down into the water for a tip. We watched as they jumped got out and went back up and jumped again.
The reason the nutmeg industry may not recover is because it takes about 15 years for a tree to grow and produce the nutmeg fruit. Most of them didn’t survive the hurricane because they have only one main root. We saw breadfruit trees, star fruit trees, cinnamon trees, mango trees, avocado trees and even a tree from Australia called the rainbow eucalyptus. The guide said you can’t plant many of them because they use a large amount of water and they will take all the water out of the ground. But the bark is beautiful. It multi colored.
There were banana trees everywhere. They were in almost every yard outside the city. And just about every house had a flower garden planted in its front yard. Young men when going to date or marry a young girl were told by their mothers if they went to pick up the girl from her house and their were no flowers planted in her front yard leave her alone because she would have no love in her heart.
They were many goats and chickens everywhere along the roads. The colors red, green and gold were everywhere. Those are the colors of their flag. Our guide told us about how the US came in an saved the country after their prime minister was murdered. The men who perpetrated the crime though originally sentenced to be hanged there sentence was changed to life but after about 10 years they were released after some very bad court decisions saying they were tried unconstitutionally. The people here are still very grateful to the US.
We bought some of the spices and a got a bottle of nutmeg syrup that is supposed to be very good on pancakes. Hey Mac and Tate we will have try that out. I even got some nutmeg balls and cinnamon bark.
After we got back to the ship we grabbed a little something to eat and headed to the cabin for a nap. I took a bath and washed my hair. After 3 hat days it was in dire need. We went to supper a little before 5 and the line wasn’t very long. We had supper and then went to the show. It was a good one with the singers and dancers.
Well we are back in our room and will have another long day tomorrow. So I will say good night. Mac I hope you are feeling better.
Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Saturday, January 12, 2019
TAX AND DUTY FREE
January 12, 2019
I’ll let Mom begin tonight’s blog – it is related to the title – and I’ll be back in a few minutes.
Well, I forgot to tell you about one of our other adventures yesterday. We both remembered it was a funny story but we both forgot. Then, this morning I found the object that caused the funny story, so now I can tell it to you.
Well, here goes. You remember I told you before with went on our walking tour we did some shopping. There was one store where I found a nice stone coaster of Antigua and it was only $5. So I bought it. When I went to pay for it the lady asked if we were on a ship. I said yes. She said she needed to see my sail and sign card so we wouldn’t have to pay taxes. So I gave her my card and she started typing into her computer. Then, she asked for our room number. Then, what port we were going to next and so on she went. I began to think I was going to have to give her the name of my first born child or grandchild. May be I should have just paid the tax. I thought it was a lot to ask.
We both made up some other funny things she might have asked but I won’t tell you what we made up. Censored!!
Well, today was a yucky day. Since he got up so late, I was up at 6 am and should have gotten up and gone for a walk, because it was way to hot outside to walk at 10:30. So no walk today. I really miss when I don’t get outside in the air. It makes the day long. After lunch and some more Yahtzee, which I lost again and again!, we did nap, well he napped and I did, kind of nap. We got up and dressed for formal night.
At supper of course there was the lobster tail and jumbo shrimp, which we did not have. However everybody else was chowing down. At one table near us they had 3 lobster tails each, three out of four of the people. Another table there were 2 or 3 each. Whoa, it was amazing how many these people ate. Then, of course tonight was the parade of Baked Alaska desserts. There baked Alaska is not good. Every time I get it all I get is strawberry ice cream and that is my least favorite flavor. And sure enough that is what I got. Oh well. For supper I had the vegetarian dish of vegetables in a cheese sauce. It was quite tasty. Mostly peas, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. It was supposed to have asparagus on top but that was missing. That was okay because I don’t like asparagus but I would have given it to Dad because he does.
The show was a DUD!! I have seen this guy before and I don’t care for his act. He is like a smooth talker from the Music Man. I would be very distrustful of him if I met him outside of his show. Oh well, Dad enjoyed the illusions.
Well we are in our room. I am having some diet coke and he is having mountain dew. Off to bed soon as we have an early tour.
Love, Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Okay, my turn.
A lazy day at sea. It is unusual for me not to have a talk on a sea day, in fact, I can’t remember the last time that happened.
I slept until 9 a.m. Another, I can’t remember the last time that happened. I think it was in Samara, Russia – that’s how long ago. Anyway, we did the breakfast thing – I had two hard boiled eggs and polish sausage – then just hung out until it was time for the what’s happening in St. Maarten’s talk. Actually, it wasn’t the what’s happening in St. Maarten’s talk. It was the what’s for sale in Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Grand Turk Island talk. Everywhere there is a Diamonds International and a Tanzenite International and all the places where we can shop and save money – guaranteed. But we entered our names in the drawing and won a week’s worth of sale flyers and brochures delivered right to our stateroom! Wooo Hooooo!
Eric and Barbie (she writes her name with a heart over the “I” instead of a dot) were supposed to teach a rumba class at 12:30 and we were going to go. Instead the Michael Jackson “Thriller” dance class ran long, E&B got started late, and we didn’t go. Grilled ham and cheese sandwich for lunch, followed by a nap, and the second formal night of the cruise.
Tonight’s entertainer was a mentalist, and although Bonnie thoroughly dislikes that type of performer, she went with me, and said, she’d like to be the person asked to pick a number between one and five. She’d say 3.1416 and a couple of more digits following. Actually, we’ve seen him before and guessed what was in the box on stage – a volley ball (same as the last two times, actually). But he did other things which have me completely bumfuzzled. I liked it.
We have an early excursion tomorrow in Grenada, a four hour tour. Fortunately not three hours like the ill-fated “Minnow,” so we should be back on board long before sail away.
Okay. That’s it for tonight.
TTFN
I’ll let Mom begin tonight’s blog – it is related to the title – and I’ll be back in a few minutes.
Well, I forgot to tell you about one of our other adventures yesterday. We both remembered it was a funny story but we both forgot. Then, this morning I found the object that caused the funny story, so now I can tell it to you.
Well, here goes. You remember I told you before with went on our walking tour we did some shopping. There was one store where I found a nice stone coaster of Antigua and it was only $5. So I bought it. When I went to pay for it the lady asked if we were on a ship. I said yes. She said she needed to see my sail and sign card so we wouldn’t have to pay taxes. So I gave her my card and she started typing into her computer. Then, she asked for our room number. Then, what port we were going to next and so on she went. I began to think I was going to have to give her the name of my first born child or grandchild. May be I should have just paid the tax. I thought it was a lot to ask.
We both made up some other funny things she might have asked but I won’t tell you what we made up. Censored!!
Well, today was a yucky day. Since he got up so late, I was up at 6 am and should have gotten up and gone for a walk, because it was way to hot outside to walk at 10:30. So no walk today. I really miss when I don’t get outside in the air. It makes the day long. After lunch and some more Yahtzee, which I lost again and again!, we did nap, well he napped and I did, kind of nap. We got up and dressed for formal night.
At supper of course there was the lobster tail and jumbo shrimp, which we did not have. However everybody else was chowing down. At one table near us they had 3 lobster tails each, three out of four of the people. Another table there were 2 or 3 each. Whoa, it was amazing how many these people ate. Then, of course tonight was the parade of Baked Alaska desserts. There baked Alaska is not good. Every time I get it all I get is strawberry ice cream and that is my least favorite flavor. And sure enough that is what I got. Oh well. For supper I had the vegetarian dish of vegetables in a cheese sauce. It was quite tasty. Mostly peas, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. It was supposed to have asparagus on top but that was missing. That was okay because I don’t like asparagus but I would have given it to Dad because he does.
The show was a DUD!! I have seen this guy before and I don’t care for his act. He is like a smooth talker from the Music Man. I would be very distrustful of him if I met him outside of his show. Oh well, Dad enjoyed the illusions.
Well we are in our room. I am having some diet coke and he is having mountain dew. Off to bed soon as we have an early tour.
Love, Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Okay, my turn.
A lazy day at sea. It is unusual for me not to have a talk on a sea day, in fact, I can’t remember the last time that happened.
I slept until 9 a.m. Another, I can’t remember the last time that happened. I think it was in Samara, Russia – that’s how long ago. Anyway, we did the breakfast thing – I had two hard boiled eggs and polish sausage – then just hung out until it was time for the what’s happening in St. Maarten’s talk. Actually, it wasn’t the what’s happening in St. Maarten’s talk. It was the what’s for sale in Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Grand Turk Island talk. Everywhere there is a Diamonds International and a Tanzenite International and all the places where we can shop and save money – guaranteed. But we entered our names in the drawing and won a week’s worth of sale flyers and brochures delivered right to our stateroom! Wooo Hooooo!
Eric and Barbie (she writes her name with a heart over the “I” instead of a dot) were supposed to teach a rumba class at 12:30 and we were going to go. Instead the Michael Jackson “Thriller” dance class ran long, E&B got started late, and we didn’t go. Grilled ham and cheese sandwich for lunch, followed by a nap, and the second formal night of the cruise.
Tonight’s entertainer was a mentalist, and although Bonnie thoroughly dislikes that type of performer, she went with me, and said, she’d like to be the person asked to pick a number between one and five. She’d say 3.1416 and a couple of more digits following. Actually, we’ve seen him before and guessed what was in the box on stage – a volley ball (same as the last two times, actually). But he did other things which have me completely bumfuzzled. I liked it.
We have an early excursion tomorrow in Grenada, a four hour tour. Fortunately not three hours like the ill-fated “Minnow,” so we should be back on board long before sail away.
Okay. That’s it for tonight.
TTFN
Friday, January 11, 2019
AT LEAST THERE WAS POPCORN
January 11, 2019
Tonight’s entertainer in the Taj Mahal was a hypnotist. Neither of us like hypnotists, so we opted to go to the “Dive Inn” movie up on the pool deck. Last night was “Mamma Mia.” Why, oh why, couldn’t it have been tonight’s movie? Tonight was “Antman and the Wasp.” Two hours of my life I will never get back (sorry Luke – I’d rather watch a rerun of last year’s Steelers-Cheatriots game). And someone said, “Did you like it? There’s going to be a sequel!” Nooooooooo!
At least there was popcorn!
Our shore excursion today was less than stellar. It was okay, but, as Skinny Pappy would have said, “Nothing extrey.” It was a walking tour around St. John’s, mostly past decrepit buildings and through a couple of markets – fish and vegetables – with a ten minute stop in a craft market to buy more junk souvenirs. Our guide’s commentary was good, but there was not enough of it. Half of the time we walked – and the tour was two hours – she said nothing. With the history of this island, there was more that could have been said. And her microphone which broadcast to all of our wireless headsets was cheap. If she turned her head to one side or the other, the sound faded into scratchy incomprehensibility. But it was a beautiful sunshiny day and Bonnie did get in her 10,000 steps.
Brandi and Keith, the couple we’ve eaten with twice, went to a beach today. I saw Keith before supper and he said Brandi was burned, possibly second degree sunburns. She was using tanning oil instead of sun screen. And in the hot Caribbean sun, her white Maine skin was lobstered. He said he got some vinegar to rub on her to ease the pain. Here’s hoping it’s not as bad as he thinks.
Tomorrow is a day at sea and I don’t have a talk. I’m not sure I’ll know what to do with myself, but there are some trivias and I have a good book. A relaxing day to be sure.
The next stop is Grenada, an island we’ve only visited once, and that was about 8 years ago. I do remember that Ronald Reagan sent in the Marines, and Clint Eastwood did a movie about it. Our excursion is to the Spice Estate, Grand Etang Park, and Annadale Falls. Stay tuned for details.
Oh, I had blackened catfish for supper tonight and a fresh fruit plate for dessert. Tomorrow is a formal night, so maybe there will be lobster.
Okay, the Caboose is signing off. 10-4. Over and out.
TTFN
We were up at 7 and off to breakfast. Our tour wasn’t until 12:15 so we decided to go out and go through the touristy shops while we waited for the tour. There must have been over 50 people out trying to sell you a tour. Tourism is one of their biggest industries. This a very poor island but somebody has money because there were many high end fancy cars parked on the streets and driving up and down the streets. Not beat up old cars like we have seen on some of the other islands.
There was one neat shop of fancy pocket books. You could smell the leather when you walked into the store. They had Guess, Michael Kors, and several other high end bags. Some had good prices. That lasted about an hour and we came back to the ship and sat on deck 3 and he read and I did dot to dots.
At 11:45 we headed back to the room to get our stuff and go to the pier to look for our tour. There were only 8 of us on the tour. Unfortunately that was 2 too many. One couple was a large man, over 6ft 6 inches tall in a huge wheelchair being pushed by his wife who was about my size. He was an idiot for going on this tour. And the tour guide for not telling him it was a bad idea. It was a walking tour on very crowded streets and narrow and very rough side walks. Not made for the handicapped. And most of them are uphill. Because of him we wound up walking in the streets beside the parked cars with a lane of traffic driving on our other side. It was not a safe way to travel around the town. I was very uncomfortable through out the whole tour. The one spot we were to visit was the Anglican church which we have visited before but it was closed. The tour guide was not aware that it wasn’t open. When she gave us info it was interesting but as you Dad said way to much empty air time. It was not a tour I would take again.
When we got back to the ship we went to the Lido for a bite of lunch. Then off for a nap. He napped I did not. Then, off to supper. I had a very good Tex Mex Penne.
The movie was good I really enjoyed it. I will have to find the sequel and watch it. The popcorn was okay but not as good as Orville’s.
Tomorrow will be a lazy day with nothing planned so far. I hope to get some crocheting done. I know I will take a walk in the morning after breakfast.
Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Tonight’s entertainer in the Taj Mahal was a hypnotist. Neither of us like hypnotists, so we opted to go to the “Dive Inn” movie up on the pool deck. Last night was “Mamma Mia.” Why, oh why, couldn’t it have been tonight’s movie? Tonight was “Antman and the Wasp.” Two hours of my life I will never get back (sorry Luke – I’d rather watch a rerun of last year’s Steelers-Cheatriots game). And someone said, “Did you like it? There’s going to be a sequel!” Nooooooooo!
At least there was popcorn!
Our shore excursion today was less than stellar. It was okay, but, as Skinny Pappy would have said, “Nothing extrey.” It was a walking tour around St. John’s, mostly past decrepit buildings and through a couple of markets – fish and vegetables – with a ten minute stop in a craft market to buy more junk souvenirs. Our guide’s commentary was good, but there was not enough of it. Half of the time we walked – and the tour was two hours – she said nothing. With the history of this island, there was more that could have been said. And her microphone which broadcast to all of our wireless headsets was cheap. If she turned her head to one side or the other, the sound faded into scratchy incomprehensibility. But it was a beautiful sunshiny day and Bonnie did get in her 10,000 steps.
Brandi and Keith, the couple we’ve eaten with twice, went to a beach today. I saw Keith before supper and he said Brandi was burned, possibly second degree sunburns. She was using tanning oil instead of sun screen. And in the hot Caribbean sun, her white Maine skin was lobstered. He said he got some vinegar to rub on her to ease the pain. Here’s hoping it’s not as bad as he thinks.
Tomorrow is a day at sea and I don’t have a talk. I’m not sure I’ll know what to do with myself, but there are some trivias and I have a good book. A relaxing day to be sure.
The next stop is Grenada, an island we’ve only visited once, and that was about 8 years ago. I do remember that Ronald Reagan sent in the Marines, and Clint Eastwood did a movie about it. Our excursion is to the Spice Estate, Grand Etang Park, and Annadale Falls. Stay tuned for details.
Oh, I had blackened catfish for supper tonight and a fresh fruit plate for dessert. Tomorrow is a formal night, so maybe there will be lobster.
Okay, the Caboose is signing off. 10-4. Over and out.
TTFN
We were up at 7 and off to breakfast. Our tour wasn’t until 12:15 so we decided to go out and go through the touristy shops while we waited for the tour. There must have been over 50 people out trying to sell you a tour. Tourism is one of their biggest industries. This a very poor island but somebody has money because there were many high end fancy cars parked on the streets and driving up and down the streets. Not beat up old cars like we have seen on some of the other islands.
There was one neat shop of fancy pocket books. You could smell the leather when you walked into the store. They had Guess, Michael Kors, and several other high end bags. Some had good prices. That lasted about an hour and we came back to the ship and sat on deck 3 and he read and I did dot to dots.
At 11:45 we headed back to the room to get our stuff and go to the pier to look for our tour. There were only 8 of us on the tour. Unfortunately that was 2 too many. One couple was a large man, over 6ft 6 inches tall in a huge wheelchair being pushed by his wife who was about my size. He was an idiot for going on this tour. And the tour guide for not telling him it was a bad idea. It was a walking tour on very crowded streets and narrow and very rough side walks. Not made for the handicapped. And most of them are uphill. Because of him we wound up walking in the streets beside the parked cars with a lane of traffic driving on our other side. It was not a safe way to travel around the town. I was very uncomfortable through out the whole tour. The one spot we were to visit was the Anglican church which we have visited before but it was closed. The tour guide was not aware that it wasn’t open. When she gave us info it was interesting but as you Dad said way to much empty air time. It was not a tour I would take again.
When we got back to the ship we went to the Lido for a bite of lunch. Then off for a nap. He napped I did not. Then, off to supper. I had a very good Tex Mex Penne.
The movie was good I really enjoyed it. I will have to find the sequel and watch it. The popcorn was okay but not as good as Orville’s.
Tomorrow will be a lazy day with nothing planned so far. I hope to get some crocheting done. I know I will take a walk in the morning after breakfast.
Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Thursday, January 10, 2019
BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS
January 10, 2019
We had a great excursion today. Our bus drove us to the second highest mountain on St. Thomas – 1457 feet – for some spectacular views, but the highlight was spending 90 minutes in the Villa Botanical Gardens. They’ve had some hurricane damage. That is a duh! Because Irma hit them from the Atlantic Ocean, and another female named hurricane whose moniker I cannot recall hit them from the Caribbean about a week apart. Our guide told us that the houses we could see across the valley (and just below the highest mountain at 1550 feet) were previously hidden by trees and the hurricane took them all out. He said he and his wife were without power for 90 days. Someone asked what you do when a hurricane comes. He said you just hunker down. Wow! But I took many great pictures of beautiful flowers, and some nice shots of the Caribbean and the Atlantic which I’ll post when we get home.
Tomorrow is Antigua – which Pat Sajak frequently mispronounces – and a two hour walking tour of historical St. John’s, the capital. It features a complimentary bottle of water.
Brandi and Keith, with whom we ate three nights ago wanted to eat with us again tonight, and we had a pleasant meal. You will remember she is the special ed teacher and he is the prison guard. They hired a taxi and went to Trump Bay to swim (don’t know it’s relationship to our president) and Brandi looks like a lobster – at least her back does. She allowed as how she put on two layers of 100 SPF lotion, but still got a good/bad burn. She said at the beach tomorrow she is going to flip over and burn the other side.
After the juggler’s show – an entertainer we have 3 times, and enjoyed again – we went to a drawing in the shops. Because Mom bought a purse she got 4 tickets and we went to take part. They pulled a yellow ticket out of a sea of red tickets – ours is yellow – but it was not our number. Next drawing is the evening after St. Lucia and our tickets roll over. Oh, by the way, the juggler’s name is Edge. That’s it, just Edge. But he is not a former professional wrestler.
Speaking of the other Edge, I had a professional wrestling insider for Mike and Matt, but I have forgotten what it is. It would have been funny.
Oh well. It’s time for Blogging by Bonnie.
TTFN
Blogging by Bonnie as I consume some Christmas colored M&Ms.
Well, after a hearty breakfast we went out of the ship and discovered there were two huge Holland America ships docked in front of us. The Koningsdam (which we will do an Atlantic crossing in October) and their new ship the Nieuv (new) Amsterdam. So there were probably 10,000 people in port. WOW! Our tour didn’t leave till 10:30 so we hung around the dock. We were going to walk to find the post office but we were the ship parked the farthest out so we decided to wait till we got back. The tour bus was an open air bus which was really nice. Lots of fresh air and everybody had a great view of everything. We drove WAY UP into the top of the island and had some great sights. The roads are very narrow and winding and steep!! I was not on the edge. When we got to the Botanical garden the driver had to back the bus up the drive in order to get into the entrance. Wild! But he did a good job. I was surprised that we seemed to be the only tour that came to the garden. It was wonderful. There were paths to wander around like in a maze and all types of beautiful plants. We did manage to find our way out of the maze. We had an hour and a half to explore and we used almost all of it. The ride back DOWN the hill did not take quite as long.
The island does not have a major water source. There is a small island (called Water Island) located across from it where they get some of there water. The also have a desalination plant, but 5000 gallons of water cost from $500-600. The houses all have cisterns where they keep their water and depend a lot on rain water which they collect as run off from their homes roofs. We really don’t know how good we have it.
When we got back to the touristy shopping area where the ships were docked we got out and went in search of the post office. Since this is a US port I could mail my post cards which I had prepared last night. I even already had stamps. We were successful. I will mail some more when we get to Puerto Rico but I will have to buy stamps. But I know right where the post office is in Puerto Rico.
After returning to the ship we had a small lunch and then headed to our cabin for a nap. I first had to clean my shoes, they were dirty and muddy from the garden. Then, we both napped to about 4:30. Then, it was dress and go to supper. The line was again very long but after they opened it only took a few minutes before we were in and seated. The couple we sat with are very nice.
When I was sitting waiting for the show to begin someone behind me was from Maryland. They said Mt Airy Md had gotten 5 inches of snow and were supposed to get more tonight, that is close to Frederick and Damascus MD. We used to live near there.
Well, it is bed time and tomorrow our tour is walking but it doesn’t start till 12:30. So there will be time to get up and have a leisurely breakfast. We may go out and shop before we take our tour.
Love you all
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
We had a great excursion today. Our bus drove us to the second highest mountain on St. Thomas – 1457 feet – for some spectacular views, but the highlight was spending 90 minutes in the Villa Botanical Gardens. They’ve had some hurricane damage. That is a duh! Because Irma hit them from the Atlantic Ocean, and another female named hurricane whose moniker I cannot recall hit them from the Caribbean about a week apart. Our guide told us that the houses we could see across the valley (and just below the highest mountain at 1550 feet) were previously hidden by trees and the hurricane took them all out. He said he and his wife were without power for 90 days. Someone asked what you do when a hurricane comes. He said you just hunker down. Wow! But I took many great pictures of beautiful flowers, and some nice shots of the Caribbean and the Atlantic which I’ll post when we get home.
Tomorrow is Antigua – which Pat Sajak frequently mispronounces – and a two hour walking tour of historical St. John’s, the capital. It features a complimentary bottle of water.
Brandi and Keith, with whom we ate three nights ago wanted to eat with us again tonight, and we had a pleasant meal. You will remember she is the special ed teacher and he is the prison guard. They hired a taxi and went to Trump Bay to swim (don’t know it’s relationship to our president) and Brandi looks like a lobster – at least her back does. She allowed as how she put on two layers of 100 SPF lotion, but still got a good/bad burn. She said at the beach tomorrow she is going to flip over and burn the other side.
After the juggler’s show – an entertainer we have 3 times, and enjoyed again – we went to a drawing in the shops. Because Mom bought a purse she got 4 tickets and we went to take part. They pulled a yellow ticket out of a sea of red tickets – ours is yellow – but it was not our number. Next drawing is the evening after St. Lucia and our tickets roll over. Oh, by the way, the juggler’s name is Edge. That’s it, just Edge. But he is not a former professional wrestler.
Speaking of the other Edge, I had a professional wrestling insider for Mike and Matt, but I have forgotten what it is. It would have been funny.
Oh well. It’s time for Blogging by Bonnie.
TTFN
Blogging by Bonnie as I consume some Christmas colored M&Ms.
Well, after a hearty breakfast we went out of the ship and discovered there were two huge Holland America ships docked in front of us. The Koningsdam (which we will do an Atlantic crossing in October) and their new ship the Nieuv (new) Amsterdam. So there were probably 10,000 people in port. WOW! Our tour didn’t leave till 10:30 so we hung around the dock. We were going to walk to find the post office but we were the ship parked the farthest out so we decided to wait till we got back. The tour bus was an open air bus which was really nice. Lots of fresh air and everybody had a great view of everything. We drove WAY UP into the top of the island and had some great sights. The roads are very narrow and winding and steep!! I was not on the edge. When we got to the Botanical garden the driver had to back the bus up the drive in order to get into the entrance. Wild! But he did a good job. I was surprised that we seemed to be the only tour that came to the garden. It was wonderful. There were paths to wander around like in a maze and all types of beautiful plants. We did manage to find our way out of the maze. We had an hour and a half to explore and we used almost all of it. The ride back DOWN the hill did not take quite as long.
The island does not have a major water source. There is a small island (called Water Island) located across from it where they get some of there water. The also have a desalination plant, but 5000 gallons of water cost from $500-600. The houses all have cisterns where they keep their water and depend a lot on rain water which they collect as run off from their homes roofs. We really don’t know how good we have it.
When we got back to the touristy shopping area where the ships were docked we got out and went in search of the post office. Since this is a US port I could mail my post cards which I had prepared last night. I even already had stamps. We were successful. I will mail some more when we get to Puerto Rico but I will have to buy stamps. But I know right where the post office is in Puerto Rico.
After returning to the ship we had a small lunch and then headed to our cabin for a nap. I first had to clean my shoes, they were dirty and muddy from the garden. Then, we both napped to about 4:30. Then, it was dress and go to supper. The line was again very long but after they opened it only took a few minutes before we were in and seated. The couple we sat with are very nice.
When I was sitting waiting for the show to begin someone behind me was from Maryland. They said Mt Airy Md had gotten 5 inches of snow and were supposed to get more tonight, that is close to Frederick and Damascus MD. We used to live near there.
Well, it is bed time and tomorrow our tour is walking but it doesn’t start till 12:30. So there will be time to get up and have a leisurely breakfast. We may go out and shop before we take our tour.
Love you all
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
THE FALAFEL WAS AWFUL
January 9, 2019
Actually the falafel – a deep-fried doughnut-shaped patty, made from ground chickpeas, and originating in Egypt – was rather tasty. I can’t remember the names of the other fancy Lido luncheon offerings, and that sounded like a catchy title for tonight’s blog.
I walked by the buffet on our way to find a table and the pans were full of a variety of interesting sounding and interesting looking offerings. When I got back to the line, the cupboard was bare. The vultures had descended. As our Russian friend, Lena, once said, “There are a lot of thick people in here.”
But soon the trays were full again and I tried a slice of leg of lamb with mint jelly. The mint jelly was delicious. The lamb was dry and slightly tough. I also got a small piece of some kind of beef, cut the end off, and when I tried to slice another bite, I sawed and sawed like I was trying to carve concrete. So pushing all of that aside, I had two pieces of pepperoni pizza.
After lunch we played three games of Yahtzee (a tournament is 6) and quit for naptime.
I had only one talk today, the one under the general category of astronomy, which when I started doing Journeys Cruises three years ago was called celestial navigation. It is a fun talk, and the Butterfly Lounge was about 2/3 full.
I was followed by a Crew Meet and Greet, so I cut my talk short to allow plenty of time for the set up of what is one of my favorite days at sea activity. Crew persons from the various departments of the ship introduce themselves and talk about their responsibilities on board and share insights into their lives at sea and back home. It is always a good time. Later on in the cruise, the captain and some of his officers will do the same. And the audience gets to ask questions.
For reasons unknown to me – ours is not to reason why – I will not do the second presentation of astronomy until we sail away from San Juan. Strange, but it’s their ship.
We got a private table for two at dinner tonight and enjoyed linguini with a great sauce accompanied by Italian sausage. My dessert was “Bitter N Blanc,” kind of a bread pudding with a cinnamon sauce and chocolate pudding on the bottom. It won’t replace Melting Chocolate Cake but it was good.
The show in the Taj Mahal was a cast show called “Get Away Island.” We saw it the last time we were on the Pride, but strangely it is not produced on any other Carnival ships we’ve been on. That may be because of the 3-D feature in the middle of it. A good show with lots of island music – Kokomo, Margarettaville, Beach Boys selections, and more.
Well, that’s all for me tonight. Oh, we are going on an excursion tomorrow on St. Thomas which features “Amazing Mountain Views and Villa Botanica.” We will report later.
TTFN
Hey you guys!!
Well, after breakfast I went for my walk. The weather was great outside and there was a great wind blowing. No jacket needed. I felt great. So great in fact I walked for an hour and over 3 miles. Lots of others walking on deck 10 with me, even tough the crew had parts of it blocked off and we had to do some detours. They were mostly finished by the time I stopped. There was one person who was jogging on Deck 10 instead of up on 11 on the jogging track where he should have been.
After walking I came back to the room and picked up my crocheting stuff, went to the Captain’s Club, which was closed for a private function again, for creativity at sea. We were out in the bar area again and the craft was Hawaiian leis. I picked up 2 and headed to the Butterfly lounge for Dads talk. It was after 9:30 and the talk was at 10 today. There was almost a full house this morning. He had shortened it but it was still a good talk.
After the Crew show we went to lunch. I had pizza and salad and we both had an ice cream cone for dessert. The dice have been going his way and he won 2 of the 3 games today.
We went back to the room for a nap and on our way into the room we met the dance couple who are in the room next to ours. Nice people. They are not happy with the new Carnival rules either and they don’t like the lady at Sixth Star either. Hhhmm!
He napped first and after he got up I was finally able to sleep for a few minutes. Supper was good. We basically both had the same thing tonight. Except I had the Smores parfait for dessert.
The show was good and we are now back in the room enjoying a cold drink and getting ready for bed. Our tour tomorrow isn’t until 10:30 so we have lots of time in the morning for breakfast and maybe we will get to see the docking. I always like to watch docking and sail away when I can. Probably won’t get to see sail away as it is at about 5:30 which is supper time. Tomorrow nights show is a juggler and comedian.
Good night for now. Love you all.
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Actually the falafel – a deep-fried doughnut-shaped patty, made from ground chickpeas, and originating in Egypt – was rather tasty. I can’t remember the names of the other fancy Lido luncheon offerings, and that sounded like a catchy title for tonight’s blog.
I walked by the buffet on our way to find a table and the pans were full of a variety of interesting sounding and interesting looking offerings. When I got back to the line, the cupboard was bare. The vultures had descended. As our Russian friend, Lena, once said, “There are a lot of thick people in here.”
But soon the trays were full again and I tried a slice of leg of lamb with mint jelly. The mint jelly was delicious. The lamb was dry and slightly tough. I also got a small piece of some kind of beef, cut the end off, and when I tried to slice another bite, I sawed and sawed like I was trying to carve concrete. So pushing all of that aside, I had two pieces of pepperoni pizza.
After lunch we played three games of Yahtzee (a tournament is 6) and quit for naptime.
I had only one talk today, the one under the general category of astronomy, which when I started doing Journeys Cruises three years ago was called celestial navigation. It is a fun talk, and the Butterfly Lounge was about 2/3 full.
I was followed by a Crew Meet and Greet, so I cut my talk short to allow plenty of time for the set up of what is one of my favorite days at sea activity. Crew persons from the various departments of the ship introduce themselves and talk about their responsibilities on board and share insights into their lives at sea and back home. It is always a good time. Later on in the cruise, the captain and some of his officers will do the same. And the audience gets to ask questions.
For reasons unknown to me – ours is not to reason why – I will not do the second presentation of astronomy until we sail away from San Juan. Strange, but it’s their ship.
We got a private table for two at dinner tonight and enjoyed linguini with a great sauce accompanied by Italian sausage. My dessert was “Bitter N Blanc,” kind of a bread pudding with a cinnamon sauce and chocolate pudding on the bottom. It won’t replace Melting Chocolate Cake but it was good.
The show in the Taj Mahal was a cast show called “Get Away Island.” We saw it the last time we were on the Pride, but strangely it is not produced on any other Carnival ships we’ve been on. That may be because of the 3-D feature in the middle of it. A good show with lots of island music – Kokomo, Margarettaville, Beach Boys selections, and more.
Well, that’s all for me tonight. Oh, we are going on an excursion tomorrow on St. Thomas which features “Amazing Mountain Views and Villa Botanica.” We will report later.
TTFN
Hey you guys!!
Well, after breakfast I went for my walk. The weather was great outside and there was a great wind blowing. No jacket needed. I felt great. So great in fact I walked for an hour and over 3 miles. Lots of others walking on deck 10 with me, even tough the crew had parts of it blocked off and we had to do some detours. They were mostly finished by the time I stopped. There was one person who was jogging on Deck 10 instead of up on 11 on the jogging track where he should have been.
After walking I came back to the room and picked up my crocheting stuff, went to the Captain’s Club, which was closed for a private function again, for creativity at sea. We were out in the bar area again and the craft was Hawaiian leis. I picked up 2 and headed to the Butterfly lounge for Dads talk. It was after 9:30 and the talk was at 10 today. There was almost a full house this morning. He had shortened it but it was still a good talk.
After the Crew show we went to lunch. I had pizza and salad and we both had an ice cream cone for dessert. The dice have been going his way and he won 2 of the 3 games today.
We went back to the room for a nap and on our way into the room we met the dance couple who are in the room next to ours. Nice people. They are not happy with the new Carnival rules either and they don’t like the lady at Sixth Star either. Hhhmm!
He napped first and after he got up I was finally able to sleep for a few minutes. Supper was good. We basically both had the same thing tonight. Except I had the Smores parfait for dessert.
The show was good and we are now back in the room enjoying a cold drink and getting ready for bed. Our tour tomorrow isn’t until 10:30 so we have lots of time in the morning for breakfast and maybe we will get to see the docking. I always like to watch docking and sail away when I can. Probably won’t get to see sail away as it is at about 5:30 which is supper time. Tomorrow nights show is a juggler and comedian.
Good night for now. Love you all.
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
THE CIRCUS WAS IN TOWN
January 8, 2019
And the animals got loose! Or at least that’s the way the day seemed.
Tuesday started out in a normal fashion – photon torpedoes were loaded, the tractor beam was installed, and the medical staff came on board. After that we were up for breakfast on the Lido deck, Bonnie went to Crafts at Sea and I came back to rehearse. Then it was time for the 10 o’clock talk. And that’s when the circus came to town.
If you have cruised before you have met Park West Galleries. They “auction” paintings. Yes, it is in quotation marks because it doesn’t start low and go up, the bidding starts high and goes down to as low as they will sell it. We were on 7 cruises last year and PWG had the same picture on every ship. Well, they act like they own the ship. I know they pay the cruise line to be on board, but they take little notice of anyone else. Case in point for today’s circus: They had an art auction 2 hours after my talk, and when I walked into the Butterfly Lounge to set up, both sides were filled with easels and paintings, leaving only the center seats for folks to sit. The center filled up quickly and some people left because their seats were holding paintings. But those of us who could find a space had a good time.
Lunch on the Lido was Guy Fierrie’s hamburgers. Then we played Yahtzee and this time I won. Then it was naptime and back to the theater for the 5:30 talk. And the circus was back.
This time the sound tech was late and the two ladies from the crew who do some meet and greet and pass out the pins for the folks who attend had to do double duty getting me set up. Then about 20 minutes into my talk, the battery in my microphone conked out and the grils came quickly to my rescue and we concluded on time.
Now the real circus performance took place when we went to the Normandie Restaurant for our evening meal during anytime dining. There are some 2600 guests on board and 2500 of them were there trying to get in at 6:45. So we took a pager and waited 30 minutes for a table. Bless the waiters who serve in anytime. They go non-stop from 5:15 until 9 p.m. Mom’s menu was screwy – part of it was for an upcoming day, and she was disappointed when what she ordered was not yet available. It did not make her happy. But we both had short ribs, which were tasty. My appetizer was snails (I wanted escargot, but they were out). And I had melting chocolate cake for dessert. I was within my 23 points up until the cake.
Great show tonight by an entertainer we’ve heard before several times, and now we are back to the room blogging and rehearsing (timing is tight in the Butterfly tomorrow, so I’m going to edit my astronomy talk to fit the guidelines).
And with that I will turn the keyboard over to my cruise buddy.
TTFN
We were up just before 7 and off to the lido for breakfast. Today was cereal with banana and cantelope, plus a cup of hot chocolate. David’s app said the temperature was to be 44 outside so I had my jacket on in anticipation of walking outside. They had deck 3 promenade closed again so I started to walk around deck three then decided to try and go up to the jogging track. So I found an elevator and rode to deck 10. I didn’t go on up to the jogging track because deck 10 provided a great deck to walk around. And the weather was wonderful. It was not 44. There was a great breeze blowing so off came the jacket and off I went. I walked over 2 miles.
Then, I headed to the Captains club on deck 2 aft for the creativity at sea. But they had that room closed for a “private event” so they held it out in the bar area. It was luggage tags. I got one and then headed to David’s talk. Oh my gosh, the room was terrible. I wound up standing in the back because there was literally no place for me to sit. People did come in and take a look around and left. The afternoon talk was no better when we arrived at 5:15 for the 5:30 talk there were signs outside saying private event and they had stuff still set up for the event that had been in there earlier. Tables, coffee pots, donuts, water, etc. There were dirty cups and stuff sitting everywhere. Not very inviting for the talk. Somehow in the 15 minutes before the talk started they had most of the stuff picked up.
Before we went to lunch we went to the shore excursion desk and purchased an excursion for each of 4 of the islands we are going to. We splurged. Because we usually only get one or two at the most. It shall be fun. The guy said you know all the excursions you got are for historical stuff, meaning there was no beach excursions. We told him that was fine. Most people want the beach but we didn’t. We will go to the beach when we get to St Martten.
After his 5:30 talk it was 6:45 before we got to the dining room and it was slammed. We got a pager and had a wait of about 30 minutes. Considering the crowd that wasn’t bad. Supper was just fair. I really did not want beef for supper but there wasn’t much that was interesting. I ate a little of it. The sugar free panna cottee I had was good. I have had it before and I knew it would be good.
The show was at 9:30 and we got to the theater at 8:30 and got our seats and waited. Good show. Marcus Anthony is a soul/motown/rock and rock/ country singer and quite good. Really works to have the audience participate. We have seen him several times before and always enjoy his show. He did a full hour which is unusual for a performer.
Well, we are back in our room and having a drink and then off to bed to start all over tomorrow. The day after tomorrow is our first port. Yeah, Land ho! I have gotten quite a bit of crocheting down so I haven’t minded the sea days.
Love you all. Mom Granny Bonnie
And the animals got loose! Or at least that’s the way the day seemed.
Tuesday started out in a normal fashion – photon torpedoes were loaded, the tractor beam was installed, and the medical staff came on board. After that we were up for breakfast on the Lido deck, Bonnie went to Crafts at Sea and I came back to rehearse. Then it was time for the 10 o’clock talk. And that’s when the circus came to town.
If you have cruised before you have met Park West Galleries. They “auction” paintings. Yes, it is in quotation marks because it doesn’t start low and go up, the bidding starts high and goes down to as low as they will sell it. We were on 7 cruises last year and PWG had the same picture on every ship. Well, they act like they own the ship. I know they pay the cruise line to be on board, but they take little notice of anyone else. Case in point for today’s circus: They had an art auction 2 hours after my talk, and when I walked into the Butterfly Lounge to set up, both sides were filled with easels and paintings, leaving only the center seats for folks to sit. The center filled up quickly and some people left because their seats were holding paintings. But those of us who could find a space had a good time.
Lunch on the Lido was Guy Fierrie’s hamburgers. Then we played Yahtzee and this time I won. Then it was naptime and back to the theater for the 5:30 talk. And the circus was back.
This time the sound tech was late and the two ladies from the crew who do some meet and greet and pass out the pins for the folks who attend had to do double duty getting me set up. Then about 20 minutes into my talk, the battery in my microphone conked out and the grils came quickly to my rescue and we concluded on time.
Now the real circus performance took place when we went to the Normandie Restaurant for our evening meal during anytime dining. There are some 2600 guests on board and 2500 of them were there trying to get in at 6:45. So we took a pager and waited 30 minutes for a table. Bless the waiters who serve in anytime. They go non-stop from 5:15 until 9 p.m. Mom’s menu was screwy – part of it was for an upcoming day, and she was disappointed when what she ordered was not yet available. It did not make her happy. But we both had short ribs, which were tasty. My appetizer was snails (I wanted escargot, but they were out). And I had melting chocolate cake for dessert. I was within my 23 points up until the cake.
Great show tonight by an entertainer we’ve heard before several times, and now we are back to the room blogging and rehearsing (timing is tight in the Butterfly tomorrow, so I’m going to edit my astronomy talk to fit the guidelines).
And with that I will turn the keyboard over to my cruise buddy.
TTFN
We were up just before 7 and off to the lido for breakfast. Today was cereal with banana and cantelope, plus a cup of hot chocolate. David’s app said the temperature was to be 44 outside so I had my jacket on in anticipation of walking outside. They had deck 3 promenade closed again so I started to walk around deck three then decided to try and go up to the jogging track. So I found an elevator and rode to deck 10. I didn’t go on up to the jogging track because deck 10 provided a great deck to walk around. And the weather was wonderful. It was not 44. There was a great breeze blowing so off came the jacket and off I went. I walked over 2 miles.
Then, I headed to the Captains club on deck 2 aft for the creativity at sea. But they had that room closed for a “private event” so they held it out in the bar area. It was luggage tags. I got one and then headed to David’s talk. Oh my gosh, the room was terrible. I wound up standing in the back because there was literally no place for me to sit. People did come in and take a look around and left. The afternoon talk was no better when we arrived at 5:15 for the 5:30 talk there were signs outside saying private event and they had stuff still set up for the event that had been in there earlier. Tables, coffee pots, donuts, water, etc. There were dirty cups and stuff sitting everywhere. Not very inviting for the talk. Somehow in the 15 minutes before the talk started they had most of the stuff picked up.
Before we went to lunch we went to the shore excursion desk and purchased an excursion for each of 4 of the islands we are going to. We splurged. Because we usually only get one or two at the most. It shall be fun. The guy said you know all the excursions you got are for historical stuff, meaning there was no beach excursions. We told him that was fine. Most people want the beach but we didn’t. We will go to the beach when we get to St Martten.
After his 5:30 talk it was 6:45 before we got to the dining room and it was slammed. We got a pager and had a wait of about 30 minutes. Considering the crowd that wasn’t bad. Supper was just fair. I really did not want beef for supper but there wasn’t much that was interesting. I ate a little of it. The sugar free panna cottee I had was good. I have had it before and I knew it would be good.
The show was at 9:30 and we got to the theater at 8:30 and got our seats and waited. Good show. Marcus Anthony is a soul/motown/rock and rock/ country singer and quite good. Really works to have the audience participate. We have seen him several times before and always enjoy his show. He did a full hour which is unusual for a performer.
Well, we are back in our room and having a drink and then off to bed to start all over tomorrow. The day after tomorrow is our first port. Yeah, Land ho! I have gotten quite a bit of crocheting down so I haven’t minded the sea days.
Love you all. Mom Granny Bonnie
Monday, January 7, 2019
TALK IN THE TUX
January 7, 2019
As hinted earlier, I did my 5 p.m. talk in my tuxedo. I don’t know if it made the talk better or not, but it got us to the dining room faster (although I am getting better at tying my bow tie). We sat tonight with a couple from Maine – she is a special ed teacher and he is a prison guard. Interesting combination.
As usual on a Carnival ship, I did my talk twice today – this one on taking better pictures with your cell phone and digital camera. Some folks who came in for the late talk told me that friends who had been in for the morning get together told them it was a good. I don’t remember if they were the couple who went to sleep on the front row or not. It’s not all my fault, because their eyes were closed before I started. But they came to before the end.
Our cabin is the last room on the port side heading towards the bow of the ship, and on the Riviera Deck, or Deck One. That makes it convenient for my talks, because it’s out of the room, down the hall about 30 feet, make a right turn, go a piece, and left turn into the Butterfly Lounge. The main theater is directly above the Butterfly on Decks 2 and 3, so a quick trip to that venue. And the food is at the other end of the ship, so if we can’t walk outside we can get a good walk going for chow (and Bonnie did laps around the inside of Deck 3 today where she spied a Guess purse she liked, showed it to me, and she carried it out as her birthday present).
Speaking of chow, since this was a formal night there was prime rib, which Mom had, lobster tail, which I’ll get the next formal night, and spaghetti carbonara, which I did select for my entre – and preceded by an appetizer of fried oysters.
Mom’s cell phone, which she swears is on silent, just let out a jungle roar from a game she is playing, and scared the beejeebers out of me. No, it wasn’t a jungle roar, it was an X-Wing fighter swooping down on a Star Wars Angry Bird. Holy cow!
The production cast did their 80s music tribute show which we watched from our regular seats up on Deck 3. It was the second show since we went to supper late, and because both were late, and I have a 10 o’clock talk tomorrow, I’ll wrap this up. She says she’s blogging, so ...
TTFN
Happy early Birthday Luke (and Elvis, haha). Sorry Mac but you have to go to school in the morning. Tate glad you are enjoying the minions Legos.
Well, I walked around inside today because it was very cold and windy outside and they had the decks closed except for a part of the port side where the smokers go out. It was a nice walk and I got my 2 miles in. I just got short of 10,000 steps today.
The Butterfly Lounge where the talks are located is FREEZING!!! And you know it must be cold if I said so. We went to the brunch today for lunch and I had wide pasta noodles with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. It was one of the best meals I have had on Carnival.
Yes I bought a new purse and it is a Guess purse. Nice!! The Nine West purses were on sale for 50% off and I liked some of those but we decided the Guess was better. It is my birthday present, go me. I will keep it and use it when we leave Kyle’s when we come home.
I think I may spray it with scotch guard before I use it as it is off white in color. It is large and will make a nice traveling purse.
We went back to the room after lunch and napped before we dressed for supper and went to his second talk.
Tomorrow after breakfast and my walk I am going to go to the Creativity at Sea to see what crafts they have to offer. I should have time as it is at 9:30 and his talk isn’t till 10.
Well, nothing much exciting here. Our room steward did bring us some more hangers and was able to find an ice bucket for us. This is one of the best rooms, as far as drawers and space to store stuff, that we have had on the Carnival ships.
Love you all. Mac be careful at school and Luke enjoy your day even though you have to go to school.
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
As hinted earlier, I did my 5 p.m. talk in my tuxedo. I don’t know if it made the talk better or not, but it got us to the dining room faster (although I am getting better at tying my bow tie). We sat tonight with a couple from Maine – she is a special ed teacher and he is a prison guard. Interesting combination.
As usual on a Carnival ship, I did my talk twice today – this one on taking better pictures with your cell phone and digital camera. Some folks who came in for the late talk told me that friends who had been in for the morning get together told them it was a good. I don’t remember if they were the couple who went to sleep on the front row or not. It’s not all my fault, because their eyes were closed before I started. But they came to before the end.
Our cabin is the last room on the port side heading towards the bow of the ship, and on the Riviera Deck, or Deck One. That makes it convenient for my talks, because it’s out of the room, down the hall about 30 feet, make a right turn, go a piece, and left turn into the Butterfly Lounge. The main theater is directly above the Butterfly on Decks 2 and 3, so a quick trip to that venue. And the food is at the other end of the ship, so if we can’t walk outside we can get a good walk going for chow (and Bonnie did laps around the inside of Deck 3 today where she spied a Guess purse she liked, showed it to me, and she carried it out as her birthday present).
Speaking of chow, since this was a formal night there was prime rib, which Mom had, lobster tail, which I’ll get the next formal night, and spaghetti carbonara, which I did select for my entre – and preceded by an appetizer of fried oysters.
Mom’s cell phone, which she swears is on silent, just let out a jungle roar from a game she is playing, and scared the beejeebers out of me. No, it wasn’t a jungle roar, it was an X-Wing fighter swooping down on a Star Wars Angry Bird. Holy cow!
The production cast did their 80s music tribute show which we watched from our regular seats up on Deck 3. It was the second show since we went to supper late, and because both were late, and I have a 10 o’clock talk tomorrow, I’ll wrap this up. She says she’s blogging, so ...
TTFN
Happy early Birthday Luke (and Elvis, haha). Sorry Mac but you have to go to school in the morning. Tate glad you are enjoying the minions Legos.
Well, I walked around inside today because it was very cold and windy outside and they had the decks closed except for a part of the port side where the smokers go out. It was a nice walk and I got my 2 miles in. I just got short of 10,000 steps today.
The Butterfly Lounge where the talks are located is FREEZING!!! And you know it must be cold if I said so. We went to the brunch today for lunch and I had wide pasta noodles with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. It was one of the best meals I have had on Carnival.
Yes I bought a new purse and it is a Guess purse. Nice!! The Nine West purses were on sale for 50% off and I liked some of those but we decided the Guess was better. It is my birthday present, go me. I will keep it and use it when we leave Kyle’s when we come home.
I think I may spray it with scotch guard before I use it as it is off white in color. It is large and will make a nice traveling purse.
We went back to the room after lunch and napped before we dressed for supper and went to his second talk.
Tomorrow after breakfast and my walk I am going to go to the Creativity at Sea to see what crafts they have to offer. I should have time as it is at 9:30 and his talk isn’t till 10.
Well, nothing much exciting here. Our room steward did bring us some more hangers and was able to find an ice bucket for us. This is one of the best rooms, as far as drawers and space to store stuff, that we have had on the Carnival ships.
Love you all. Mac be careful at school and Luke enjoy your day even though you have to go to school.
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
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