BUYING OR NOT BUYING!

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, January 29, 30, 31, 2017           

Ft. Myers to Estero to Dade City, Florida (Travelers Rest Resort)

Sunday: Cool and rainy

Monday: low to mid 60s, cooler, sunny

Tuesday: warming up, sunny!

Sunday: The first highlight was we were able to Facetime with both our dear Erie and our Jamestown families! It was so good to see them and hear what they were doing! Both sons R and B have been following the blog and I know this because they reported back all they knew! I decided I should go a little easier on them. I will create the test for B1 who thought up the idea of a test. J The miracle of technology--

We met up with TK’s sister and BIL Mary Lou and Scorchy and we drove together to a nephew’s home and met up with TK’s brother and SIL, Tom and Carol, to play the traditional game of Trivial Pursuit (4 hours, one game to be precise), the family favorite. We all held our own, but the boys won. It was great to see everyone—we only see TK’s brother once a year now.

Monday: After visiting the mall at Coconut Point (so much great shopping in this area, so little time), TK and I headed to Pinchers, The Marina at Edison Ford, further north in Ft. Myers Beach to meet TK’s buddy from Erie East High School and the EFD (Kevin and Jan) for lunch. This restaurant has such a nice view of a river that flows into the Gulf. The fish and chips lunch was tasty and we enjoyed conversation with old friends.

The trip north to Dade City took a little less than three hours and the cabana at Travelers Rest Resort was warmed up and waiting for  us.  Mary Lou treated us to a slice of kumquat pie and then we were ready to settle in for the evening. It is definitely cooler in this area, but we have a promise of warmer weather coming soon.

Tuesday: The morning coffee seminar at Busch Hall was about crime prevention with Brian MacNeel, a Task Force Florida State Police officer. He covered identity theft, fraud, scams, and other safety issues. Very informative.  After visiting TRR for so many years, we fit right in, we even have name badges!

I am always so amazed at all there is to do here. The list of activities and clubs in the weekly newspaper covers two full 11x17 pages, from Amateur Radio Club to Yoga, including ballroom dance lessons, birding, bowling, garden club, genealogy, all kinds of card games, computer clubs, digital camera classes, golf scrambles, remote control cars, boats, and airplanes, travel club, tennis, horseshoes, quilting, sewing, singing, brass ensemble, wood shop, motorcycle club, painting classes, geocaching, and so many more.

10 a.m. more later

SHOPPING AND MORE SHOPPING

Saturday, January 28, 2017         Sunny / 71 F

Homewood Suites, Ft. Myers, Florida

Less than a month ago we hosted Denise’s brother Jeff and family, Teresa, R, and C, for Christmas and New Year’s and today we visited them for a short while to return some things they left in Erie.  The kids were excited to see us and call us Nana and Poppy. Teresa and Jeff are both teachers in a school system near where they live, in fact, Teresa can see her school from her backyard!

Janie and B1's cousin C--photo taken by his sister R

Janie and B1's cousin R--photo taken by her brother C

From there it was shopping and shopping at Miramar, Costco, and Gulf Coast Mall—so many choices!!

One happy shopper at Miramar Mall!

Miramar Mall

Miramar Mall

Dinner at Carabba’s Italian Grill at Gulf Coast Mall (across the street from our hotel)—way too much food. 

EASY RIDE TO FT. MYERS!

Friday, January 27, 2017         Sunny / 75 F

Disembark ms Oosterdam / Homewood Suites, Ft. Myers, Florida

Sunrise over Tampa today--a sort of homage to Friend MJ who takes lots of Tampa sunset photos!

TK says except for the oil tanks!

Disembarkation was the most low key ever! We ordered room service for 6:30 a.m. By the time we were showered and dressed (passengers were directed to remain in their staterooms until they disembarked or go to the buffet for breakfast), it was time to leave.  No lines, no elevator jam ups, just walk off! Of course we had to find our luggage from last night in the terminal, go through customs and declare souvenirs-we breezed through without a porter. Right outside the terminal we hailed a taxi and we were on our way to the hotel where TK’s truck is by 8:30. We were on the road to Ft. Myers by 9:14 a.m.! Fastest ever!

By the way, Uber ride to the ship from the Mariott= $8. Taxi ride back to the same hotel, $25.

I was ecstatic when TK said he wanted to stop at Fleamasters Fleamarket near North Ft. Myers, the best flea market in my world!  I will admit that before we separated to shop, we had a big glazed donut—world famous and mentioned in previous years’ blogs. I will also admit that we did not share, we each had one. Then off to shop. For four hours. When TK and I met up again I could hardly carry my shopping bag.

This beautiful standard poodle was just one of the MANY dogs shopping today.

After all that work we were hungry so we headed to Millers Ale House for fried shrimp – healthy eating will have to wait till Erie.

At Miller's Ale House, just for DDIL Denise!

We checked into the hotel and took all our luggage to the room so we could sort out the mess and do some wash—three loads to be exact.  I’m tired.

TK’s Takes: Traffic good around here (Ft. Myers) even though others say it’s bad—the infrastructure is outstanding. Gas is cheaper here too, he paid $2.27/gallon today.

SAILING SLOWLY BACK TO TAMPA

Thursday, January 26, 2017         Sunny / 73 F

At Sea / ms Oosterdam

This morning I am writing from the balcony as I overlook the vast sea and listen to the gentle waves that reflect a gentle sun. The Oosterdam sails slowly back to Tampa and I am truly enjoying the time to reflect and read and write.  This cruise has totally erased the “madness” of the Getaway cruise last January/February, so peaceful, so accommodating.

We definitely miss our dear family, but this is sure easier than facing ice and snow every day. Even if Erie has had some thaws, I would be wearing layers and layers of shirts and leggings and pants and thick downy coats, and boots, peaking out my upstairs balcony onto a snow covered street and a driveway that my car slides down when I leave. Instead, I can wear a swimsuit on a balcony on the sea. Our peaceful getaway!

The everyday routine has been getting up at 7 or 7:30 a.m. with coffee, croissants, and fresh fruit. On sea days I have enjoyed the balcony while TK swims. Our daily “guide,” On Location, reports the schedule for the day.  There is Mass every day, a fitness class, sales in the shops, seminars on jewelry-watches-bamboo-ports-shopping in the ports depending on the day, card and bridge player meetups, spa seminars, ping pong challenges, cooking shows with the chefs, trivia games, afternoon teas, dance classes, movies, art auctions, and the Windows 10 classes, all scheduled in varying forms every day.

On this ship there is a “music walk” each day at Lincoln Center, today’s options are the violinists, “Fresh Perspectives,” and “French Connection.” Three different performances.

The Billboard Onboard venue has “Hot Country,” Piano Celebration,” and “All Request” scheduled today. The “BB King’s Blues Club” features BB King’s all stars today.   Usually there is a show on the Main Stage twice a day (the singers/dancers/the comedian/the “Five O Clock Somewhere duo”) twice an evening but today’s show will be done once at 3 p.m. A recent movie is shown in the movie theater four times a day. After it is shown onscreen, guests can access the movie in their staterooms. (e.g. Sully, Criminal Intelligence, the Jason Bourne movie)

You can see that we have plenty of choices of things to do, but we have done very little!

We have not tried any of the specialty restaurants aboard, Pinnacle (steak and seafood--$10 pp lunch; $35/ pp dinner) and Canaletto (Italian--$15/pp).

The Vista is the 2 floor main dining room where we have eaten every evening. Dive In is the hamburger, hotdog, and chicken sandwich restaurant at the pool—where I like the burgers and fries just a little too much.

The Lido Market is the breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet—I have only sat with TK there, but every day there is a carving station with turkey, pork, or beef. On this ship the servers handle all the food and give the guests what they want, so it is a buffet, but controlled. One can eat as much as one wants, but I think this is for health reasons. Other offerings at the Lido include Asian cuisine, Italian pasta bar, and all the accompaniments with all of the above, vegetables, breads, fruits, desserts, ice cream, pizza of all sorts, and on and on.  There is food for gluten free, vegans, and vegetarians, too.

Hold on, the sea is calling me!

Large black pelican soaring by our balcony

I listened to the sea and read until TK returned to the room—pelicans were circling the ship, and a large black one was most unusual. Probably freighters and other ships toss food to them and they follow ships.

The last Windows 10 class covered Movie Maker. Hopefully I will remember at least some of what I have learned! While I was studying in class TK was packing. When I returned I decided to pack after dinner—long ago I said packing was not going to take a day away from the fun.

After the best genuine mushroom soup, the prime rib at dinner was absolutely great! The Baked Alaska was tasty too.  It’s a good thing dinner was so good because we got really attached to Mariyadi and Haris.

A new take on Baked Alaska

Haris, Janie, Mariyadi in the Oosterdam dining room

We returned to the room and I was in for some heavy duty packing. The room was a mess and I did not exactly throw things into any suitcase, but it was not pretty. We had to put four of the suitcases outside the room for the porters to carry off the ship in the morning.  It is very important to make sure one keeps the clothes one needs for the next day in the room. I almost packed all of my shoes, but thankfully I remembered to check for them.

Four suitcases ready to be placed in the hall outside stateroom's door

We really enjoyed this cruise. Sometimes it is a good thing to be among the youngest on the ship!

TK’s Takes: Room service was good. He did not see many sea birds or fish, except for a few flying fish. The bath towels were as big as beach towels. We had very good weather. There were so many electrical outlets and USB charging ports [generally speaking there is one outlet in the room with the right voltage for Americans and he has to bring an extension cord for his C-Pap machine]

He also told me that water started sprinkling on the pool deck—he knew just what it was, but people were scrambling to get out of the “rain.” Because of his service and job in the U.S. Navy, he knew they were cleaning the smoke stacks.  He was very talkative while I was packing tonight!

TENDER GRAND CAYMAN

Wednesday, January 25, 2017         Sunny / 73 F

George Town, Grand Cayman (480 miles south of Miami) / ms Oosterdam

Grand Cayman’s population is 37,716 according to HAL literature.

Last night we set our clocks back to EST so our extra hour of sleep was helpful when we heard the room service knock at 7 a.m. with fresh strong coffee. Grand Cayman is very conscious of the environment and its coral reefs, so all cruise ships must tender ashore and the Oosterdam uses its life boats to do so. We were on the first tender at 8 a.m., but we did not realize the sea’s chop and wind conditions meant the tenders were going to take us to Spot Marina instead of George Town. Only two cruise ships were able to tender off George Town and two were at this marina.

After getting off the tender, we had to take a van taxi to George Town with 14 other people, each paying $5 a piece one way. Roundabouts, ambulances, and morning traffic slowed down the process so it took an hour to get to our destination. We observed villas, resorts, gas stations, bougainvillea blossoming, lush vegetation, shortcuts, and windy roads we probably would never have seen.

Our favorite memory of this island is when we went snorkeling with the sting rays at Sting Ray City-an area where sting rays congregate, mostly because tours have been feeding them for years. TK is like a fish and was a rescue diver on the Erie FD, so he is a great swimmer and loves the water. I am not a swimmer and mostly like looking at water, but I can snorkel until I realize what I was doing. I had convinced myself that the sting rays were going to be just like horses as they approached. The tour guide told us to cup the food in our hand and let them approach. Easier said than done. Fortunately, the warm water was only chest high so I did not have to think about that. When I saw the sting rays approaching, most as big as the top of a card table or larger, I started to almost panic. But, my better sense came through, and anything for a photo—I actually gently held the one that approached me. We have two photos, the panic and the model.  Once was enough and I returned to the tour boat, but TK played and played. There is an exhibit of sting rays at the National Aquarium in Baltimore called “Wings on Water.” They are absolutely beautiful as they glide in the sea.

We had no purpose today, just walking around George Town. We especially like the Guy Harvey shop—he is a scientist/artist and his worthy mission is to preserve the oceans and the environment.  All the usual shops are here as well as the colorful souvenir shops. We always take a little tour of Margaritaville which has a swimming pool on the 2^nd floor!!

To return to the ship, TK very wisely hailed a van taxi with air conditioning. Another thing we are particular about is making certain we do not have to sit on fold down seats. Anyone reading this blog knows that TK and I are not tiny people. It did not take long for 16 people to fill the van and off we went.

About 5 minutes down the road, the driver stopped to put air in his tires. The air pump did not work. In my mind I wondered just how deflated the tire was, why was he taking on passengers in such a situation, and would the crowded van be a problem on the side of the road? In another 10 minutes the driver stopped at a brand new gas station/Burger King for air and this one worked. No worries! Thank goodness for air conditioning! Chickens roam all over the islands and Key West, by the way, and a rooster was strutting at the gas station and almost became a casualty while we watched helplessly.

The rooster is a survivor! 

The return to the ship only took about 25 minutes—we had those great burgers and my favorite kind of fries. TK went to the pool and I read on our deck the rest of the afternoon while Grand Cayman watched me. I could see the tenders going back and forth with passengers. We only had 4 ½ hours at this port. I watched the tenders lifted on board with a system of pulleys.

The view from our balcony--Grand Cayman in the background, the ship's llifeboat/tender

Lifeboat #16 is pulled aboard near our balcony

Tonight was another “Gala Dinner” and we enjoyed another evening with Mariyadi and Haris. Since the menu was given to us for a souvenir, I will be specific about our choices tonight. There were six entrée choices, including surf and turf, basil crusted veal rack with morels, Asian-style rotisserie duck, mushroom ravioli, pan-seared sea bass, walnut and cheese –crusted eggplant piccata.

Our choices:

Appetizer:   Papaya with a Rainbow of Fruit, banana liquer, coconut shavings—Janie;

Seafood Cocktail, crab leg, jumbo prawns, scallops, mussel, and shrimp---TK.

Soups and Salads: Apple, Pear, and Cucumber Salad, frisee, dried cherries, bleu cheese, crouton—TK.

Entrée: Surf and Turf, filet mignon, lobster tail, herb garlic butter, porcini basmati rice, sautéed vegetables (carrots and asparagus)—Janie and TK.

Desserts: Almond and Orange Cake, poppy seeds, cream cheese frosting—Janie;

Warm Flourless Chocolate Cake, molten chocolate center, whipped cream, assortment of berries---TK.

The filet mignon and lobster was very good.

After dinner we went to the movie theater to see Central Intelligence starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jason Bateman, and Melissa McCarthy. It was funny, but I think it would make a good firehouse movie.

           

What a great surprise in our room tonight!!!

TK’s Takes: Another town with free Wi-Fi almost everywhere. [To be fair, I think Erie has free Wi-Fi downtown-Janie]  The weather has been great. HAL has not said anything about the disembarkation process on Friday. The officers and crew seem pretty laid back, not many announcements—we did not even know that we would not be near downtown George Town today, but in the marina further away. The ship is quiet, more so than any other ship we have been on.

AT SEA MAKING FRIENDS!

Tuesday, January 24, 2017      75 F / sunny / calm seas to rough

At Sea/ ms Oosterdam

Today I was resolved to enjoy coffee on the balcony all morning and so I did, almost finishing my book about the Clark family of Virginia, of the Revolutionary War, and Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Caribbean was peaceful, the sun was shining, the balcony had shade, and the temperature was just right.  TK went to the pool, but returned with croissants and a Danish just as I was getting hungry.  I will need to get back into WWI mode when I get home,

I stayed on the balcony until 12:30 when we went to the Captain’s luncheon (by invitation). This was a situation where we could not opt to sit alone, so fortunately we sat with two delightful Canadian couples, one from Ontario on Lake Huron, the other from British Columbia.  No politics! We shared cruise stories, about the Panama Canal, Acapulco, Hawaii, even Egypt. We each received a Delfft Holland America tile as a souvenir.

About the food: Thank goodness our Mariyadi was the server. So I do not appear to be negative, let me ask you how much would you like a fish (Pontano-whatever that is) with its skin still on?  The coconut pie was delicious. More on food later.

After lunch we met a couple from Akron, Denny and Reggie. She is an Ohio state director for DAR and we talked a long time about that. TK and Denny were engaged in conversation about Akron, gas prices, and Longaberger baskets.

After that I hurried to the “Making Windows 10 Your Own” class. I have really learned a lot from Georgia and will be anxious to try all that I have learned on my Desktop at home, even the laptop I have with me—when we have free Wi-Fi!!  I will be so organized, with my own special tiles all named according to my system, my clean desktop (Georgia says nothing should be on the desktop except the recycle bin), and an efficient task bar!!

By now it was time for dinner and a good thing because I was hungry—I really did not eat anything at lunch except the pie. We ordered the shrimp and a spring roll for appetizers—who would like passionfruit jam on their shrimp??? Have you ever tried a spring roll with barbecue sauce? Just asking. Even the strip steak had a sweet sauce on it.   Haris emphasized how much he liked the banana crisp, so I ordered that—it was warm and very good!

Right now we are sitting in the Main Stage auditorium waiting for the show to start—we are actually giving the comedian, Mike Robinson, a chance!! And as it turned out, this comedian was also a ventriloquist.  That meant that we heard about three jokes in 45 minutes. The puppet had his eyes on a man in the front row who turned out to be a police officer. Comedian Mike asked how long he and his wife had been married, the answer was 33 years. Mike said, “That’s not a big deal on Holland America, just look around.” That was funny.  At the end, Mike said he was a politically correct comedian and didn’t use the word dummy, that “Terrence” was a Mannequin-American. As ventriloquists go, he wasn’t bad.

As we were walking out of the theater, we overheard an older man asking another older man how he liked the show. That man replied it wasn’t bad. The first man replied that he liked it a whole lot better than the music show on Wednesday (the Irish and Danish duo)—he said he did not like and could not understand the music.

I will add that we are definitely enjoying this cruise—our suite is phenomenal, the ports we are visiting are favorites on the Caribbean, our dining room servers are perfect, TK is enjoying the pool, and I am really happy with the Windows 10 classes, among other things!

TK’s Take: When he was talking with Denny today, he learned that three people had been taken off the ship already (hopefully nothing dire) and the average age of the passengers is 68 years old. Hmmmm. You can read between the lines here!

Tonight's towel animal--a rabbit with attitude!

WARM AND SUNNY ARUBA!

Monday, January 23, 2017         Sunny /  81 F at 8:30 a.m. which is 7:30 a.m. EST

Last night I forgot to logout of the HAL Internet so I probably lost about 60 minutes. One has to type "Logout.com" into the Internet bar. I am upset with myself, but I am saving a place now for today's blog and will download/upload tomorrow. We are sitting at Starbucks in Aruba right now with free Internet. Aruba is a very pleasant port town, but we are here for only 5 hours so we have to make the best of it!

Blogspot is in a language that I think is Dutch, but fortunately I can understand the tabs well enough.  TK is enjoying a frappuccino (he got up to check the spelling for me) and I have a Chai tea latte. I can see palm trees, the Caribbean Sea, fountains, and a small bridge from our table. There is an little "inlet" in this Renaissance Hotel about 25 feet from where I am sitting and a small boat just picked up some hotel guests to take them to an island off Aruba.  I could probably do a lot of writing just from here!

TK is happy to be at Starbucks in Aruba. Just  behind the trash barrel, 

placed so beautifully, is the little inlet that just picked up passengers. More seem to be waiting. Doesn't TK look like he is in paradise?

Several years ago we went to the Aruba Aloe factory in Aruba and ever since we have been using their sunscreen and hand cream, even ordering online.  At their shop at the Renaissance Hotel Plaza, they mentioned their soap factory was just a free trolley ride away so TK and I hopped on it outside the Plaza. We soon learned that the trolley is a brand new feature in Aruba and very popular. It turned out that the factory was really not far—what wonderful smells of citrus, lavender, cinnamon, and more. Of course we bought some soap—my favorite was the crisp lemon. We walked back to the center city and shopped at the straw market and soon it was time to board the ship. By 1 p.m., our stateroom was still not finished so we sat on the balcony anyway and watched Aruba pass by as we sailed away.

At dinner each evening Mariyadi tells us stories of his home in Indonesia in a rural area. His wife, two sons, and father in law live there and they do the farming. They have papaya, banana, coconut, and bamboo trees. They use what they can, but the rest is sold at market. He said every 35 days they have 250 coconuts to sell.  He showed us photos of his farm, home, and the rice field on his property. On the farm they have tomatoes that are a small variety, cucumbers, durian (“smelly fruit”), peppers, chickens, and a cow to do the plowing, and so on.  He told us of special desserts, lemper (rolled in a banana leaf) and klepon (flaked or shredded coconut rolled into balls with brown sugar and steamed). I hope to ask our friend Ann from the Philippines if she knows of these delicious sounding dishes.

After dinner TK and I went to tonight’s show on the Main Stage with “Five O’Clock Somewhere,” a duo that the daily news said was “the ultimate musical entertainment experience.”  We usually do not seem to go to shows, but after this one we decided we should!  Bridgette from Denmark and Aaron from Ireland met in London. She was classically trained and he had picked up his musical skills from watching and listening to others, virtually untrained, but a “tinkerer.”

We liked their sound immediately, songs of U2. The ship’s band accompanied them, but they played several instruments, like the piano, electric guitars, and a portable keyboard.  He demonstrated a “loop around.” I am not sure I heard the name correctly, but he would play a sound and then that sound would play in a loop. To demonstrate, he made sounds with the following as an example: briefly flicking a lighter, unrolling a strip of cellophane tape, and strumming the top of a blown up balloon. He captured each sound on the “loop around” and then she sang “You Give Me Fever” or it could just be called “Fever,” an older but popular song accompanied by the loop around, the band, and Aaron on guitar. The song was wonderful.

She sang an old Swedish ballad taught to her by her father—“who can sail without wind, who can row without oars, who can leave friends behind without tears? You can sail without wind, you can row without oars, but you cannot leave friends without tears” Her a cappello voice was fabulous and the song, sung in Swedish, was very powerful. They also played a beautiful rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”  To conclude, the duo performed 22 songs in 6 minutes in a sort of duel, each trying to get more acclamation as the audience recognized the song. I heard songs by Blondie, Eurhythmics, Charlie Daniels, and many more! Their finale was “Hey Jude.” We enjoyed this show very much.

CURACAO HAS REPTILES!

Sunday, January 22, 2017                                78 F / sunny / calm seas

Curacao / ms Oosterdam

The Oosterdam docked  very quietly at Santana Bay, Willemstad, Curacao, at 7:30 a.m., but this morning we were up before the ship arrived and room service gently knocked on our door with our morning coffee and cranberry juice. We sat on the balcony to enjoy the Dutch architecture along with our coffee. [To side step a little, I ask myself on every cruise why on earth cruise lines cannot make a decent cup of coffee. I drink it black and can tolerate strong coffee, but mostly cruise coffee tastes like it was brewed at five times the strength three weeks ago. It would be different if European passengers were prevalent, but most passengers most of the time are American.]

Santana Bay area, Willemstad, Curacao

Yesterday at the port talk, I learned that Curacao’s climate, which is out of the hurricane belt, is desert-like, with little rain. Today was sunny and warm and I notice that we move just a little more slowly in the humidity.

It did not take long to go ashore. We walked to the swinging Queen Emma Bridge, originally built in the 1880s. It is suspended on floating docks and opens and closes for boat traffic about 20 times a day. We were only stranded on the bridge once in the past, but it does not take long to close so walkers can continue on their way. The small downtown area has the usual shops, but today was different—on Sundays the shops can only be open for four hours, by government regulation, and not all the shops were open. Since we have been to all the islands on this cruise several times before, we were not doing any tours. We walked through the fish, vegetable, and fruit markets. All of these items are brought over in small boats from Venezuela.

Swinging suspension bridge in foreground, Willemstad shops in background

We were very happy to discover that the downtown area has free Wi-Fi, so we were able to check phone messages and emails. TK found out that it is 55 F in Erie-oh my. Must be the January thaw. I hope that Brother B is not worrying about the sugar maple sap running!

I finally found some little gifts to bring home—everyone already has enough t-shirts and beach towels. TK bought some more bamboo shirts at Cariloha, his favorite.  After these purchases we walked along the shore to Starbucks (Friend MJ take note!). TK had a latte and I synced my Fitbit.

Janie and a Dutch shoe!

On our return walk, we saw something B2 would love, a lizard larger than I care to cuddle up to, with white dots on its side and two blue feet. It thought it was blending in, but we saw it! A little further up the path I saw a lady taking video of a shrub. When I looked closer, I saw what I consider a GIANT iguana right there among the branches. Even more for B2 to love! As for me, not so much.

Small lizard with blue toes and tail, just for B2

Or maybe B2 would like this one better.

The ship arrived at 7:30 a.m. this morning and is not departing until 11 p.m. At first we thought the ship was staying so long because it was refueling (it was), but actually the sail to Aruba is very short so the ship is just passing time. As I type, I can see the city lights and how they reflect in the water. Paradise. Except for lizards.

TK’s Takes: Free Wi-Fi, now that’s a thought.

Last night's towel animal, a squid!

AT SEA, THE CALM CARIBBEAN!

Saturday, January 21, 2017, 2017                                            86 F / sunny / calm seas

Passing near Venezuela

TK and I have decided that this ship is sort of unremarkable. It does not have the glitz of a Carnival ship nor the grand atrium of a Princess ship. There are sculptures and art features, but they are understated. We have not been on Holland America for a while. We are having a very fine cruise, but the passengers are keeping to themselves just as we are. I do not think our cruise buddies would like this cruise line as much at Princess, NCL, or Carnival—as TK said there are no pool parties or barbecues on deck, no “White Hot” nights. Tonight is formal night and the ladies are beautifully dressed, but not glitzy, only understated. Thankfully we enjoy each other’s company—TK is a pretty funny guy!

The crew is very friendly. We did ask our cabin stewards today how many cabins they must clean twice a day—28. I think that is more than any other ship has required of two cabin stewards. In the morning they come in and clean the bathroom, change towels, straighten up and vacuum the room, refill the ice bucket, clean the balcony and put the cushions out.  Sheets are changed 3 times on a 14 day cruise.  In the evening they turn down the bed, make the nightly towel animal, clean the bathroom, change towels if needed, and bring the balcony cushions in. They probably do more than I am aware of too. I won’t go into my housekeeping schedule, but one might imagine I don’t do those things quite as often. Plus, I do not make towel animals for TK’s amusement.

We decided to go to the shopping presentation for Curacao and Aruba. Our ship will be in Curacao from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., an unusually long time for a port stop, especially on a Sunday when shops are open for only 4 hours, by government regulation.  Michael, the “Port Shopping Ambassador,” said that most ports welcome about 40,000 cruise passengers per week. One has to ponder how much the tourism industry impacts the Caribbean!! Tonight when I ran into Michael at the Guest Services desk, he let me try on a Crown of Light diamond ring valued at $500,000. I am sure there are skeptics out there, but he said that at least one such ring is sold on Aruba each week. Sadly, TK refuses to buy it for me.

I read my book about George Rogers Clark on the balcony for the rest of the afternoon in the shade. TK swam enjoyed the pool and tried out the slots tournament with no luck. Actually, I won an Effy gemstone necklace and earrings at the shopping talk. I also won an Effy keychain (jeweled leopard) in St. Thomas at the ship’s drawing.

We have had virtually no news from home since a week ago Friday. I hope everyone is fine and that the weather is not too bad. TV on ships is limited and there is a “world news newspaper” each day, but no Erie or Jamestown news!

For formal dinner tonight I had filet mignon with lobster ravioli and TK had Alaskan King crab and filet mignon. Tasty, but I truly like simpler meals—TK might feel differently.

TK’s Takes: I can’t believe it takes our cabin stewards so long to clean the rooms. I asked him for more and he kindly said, “I’m not writing your blog for you.”  Then we talked for a moment about how overworked the cabin stewards are on this ship. 

Adding four images tonight took about 15 minutes, so I will wait to add more! Note to B1: How is the photo class? 

CHILDREN’S VOICES WELCOME US TO DOMINICA

Friday, January 20, 2017                                             82 F / sunny

Rouseau, Dominica, W.I. / ms Oosterdam

Early this morning we arrived in Dominica, an island we have visited twice before. Our balcony faces the sparkling blue Caribbean Sea for this port. Dominica is a small volcanic based island that has not been as developed as many other islands. We were anxious to see if it had changed since our last visit.

On the pier at the shore we were greeted with “Welcome to Dominica” chanted by a chorus of 15 or so darling preschool age children dressed smartly in crisp white polo shirts, light blue pleated skirts or shorts (the boys), and the cleanest white sneakers, as they waved the green flag of Dominica with a double striped cross of white and yellow, red at the center. A teacher nearby was offering handmade paper flowers for a donation to buy books for the school.

We walked the main street just off the shore to the Rouseau Fish Market. We could not identify the fish, but they were processing the fresh catch—ten stations with sinks, five scales, and sharp, well-worn knives of all sorts. The fishing boats had returned to port already (9:30 a.m.)

Across the street 30-40 vendors artfully displayed their fruits and vegetables. What a sight! Fresh lettuce, cabbage, yellow cooking onions, eggplant, garlic bulbs, fat carrots, potatoes, short cucumbers, sweet potatoes, small green peppers and tiny tomatoes, melons of all sorts, lemons and limes, pineapples, plantain and bananas, grapefruit, oranges, and unidentified fruits too. Flour was packaged in plastic bags, as well as dried spices like cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and nutmeg in the shell. Ginger root and cinnamon bark were fresh. What an experience for the senses! 

A sign reported the hours of this market-Friday, from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m.! I could picture the farmers/vendors packing up their goods for the market this morning, driving in, and setting up the booth before 4 a.m. Other days the market opened at 6 a.m. These markets are not for cruise passengers, of course, because we are not allowed to take such items back on board. I wonder if the household cook visits the market each day for the food needed. I doubt they have the luxury of 20 cu. ft. refrigerators. From past experience we have seen the small cottages the islanders live in.85

Since this island has no airport, visitors must come by ship or ferry boat. We saw an English springer spaniel being used as a drug sniffing dog at the ferry entrance.

Colorful straw markets appeared in several places, along the main street, and behind it—the usual souvenirs for tourists, goods made of wood, shells, and leather, beach towels, t-shirts, skirts, summer dresses, silk scarves, bags.

By 10 a.m., the sun was really warming us up, so we decided to return to the ship. Since our stateroom was not yet ready I went to the dining room and TK went to the Seaview pool (aft).  There are three churches in view, as well as a couple older and newer hotels—all small. I am not sure what the large pillared white house is in the distance is. TK spotted a soccer stadium and homes are perched on the hills.  On the other side of the ship small boats sail or motor by. 

TK’s Takes: The pool is 85 F now. The furniture on this ship is better and more comfortable than most we have been on. (Translation: seats and lounge chairs are padded)

WARM AND SUNNY ST. MAARTEN

Thursday, January 19, 2017                                         78 F sunny

Philipsburg, St. Maarten / ms Osterdam

Last year when we visited St. Maarten, we went on a windy, rainy, and wavy boat ride tour around the island with Donna, Lawrence, Gwenda, Colin, Nancy, Brian, and Denise. It was quite an adventure, arranged by Colin. Today we had a very calm and sunny day.

I forgot that we had to take a water taxi to the main part of the town, a five minute ride ($7/per person--round trip). TK and I visited our favorite spots, but we really enjoy walking the streets and talking with the citizens. I mentioned my blog to a young lady who worked at Little Switzerland. She studied in the Netherlands for five years, came home this year, and is headed to Tallahassee’s Florida State University for school in the fall. She said she is a writer and wants to start a blog—I showed her mine.  I told her blogspot.com is really easy to set up, but I do not do the blog to make money, only to help me remember our trips and let family and friends know what we are up to.

First thing this morning, TK heard rolling thunder—he looked outside the balcony and saw over 26 motorcycles with 20 riders roaring down the pier toward the port—they had disembarked from the Celebrity ship!  This was brand new sight for us!

The motorcycles return to the Celebrity ship

St. Maarten/St. Martin is the smallest island in the world with two countries, Netherlands and France. It is 37 sq. miles—need to check—that is what the boat operator said. This is my 2^nd favorite shopping island.

We had a light lunch at the Green House (restaurant), but the Wi-Fi was very poor. We continued our walk along the beach, stopping in a few shops that a caught our interest. TK spied something that Friend Donna would like so we purchased it—need to send it as soon as we get home so she has it on her Caribbean trip!

TK at the GreenHouse restaurant

We returned to the ship by 1:30 p.m.—TK wanted to go swimming and I wanted to enjoy our great balcony. There were four other ships in port and one of the onboard servers told me the RCCL Allure of the Seas has 6000 passengers. I cannot even imagine that. It is a large and glorious ship with so many outside balconies as well as boardwalk balconies (inside overlooking public areas). The Allure on the next pier over from our ship.  I watched as people began returning to the ships. The Carnival Vista and the Celebrity Equinox shared our ship’s pier. As I was people watching I decided to count the distinctive red striped bags that Little Switzerland uses (LS sells high end watches and jewelry). In a little over an hour I counted 46 bags and because of my vast experience I know those bags were worth at least $23,000 minimum, probably much more. That count does not include people from our ship because I could not see passengers boarding our ship from the balcony, nor could I see passengers for the Allure. Not bad for one day!

 Tonight’s dinner was very good, apple soup and prime rib. Dessert was strawberry crisp-TK had snickers cake. Mariyadi told us tonight that his family also grows papaya, bananas, and bamboo, as well as coconuts.

Georgia, our Windows 10 instructor, is from Leicester, England. She majored in photography and has a degree in photography from the New Hampshire School of Art.

If anyone is really reading this, I must add a disclaimer. Our life at home is not that exciting either. However, we have a lot of fun wherever we are and whatever we do.

Late addition: I was able to connect to the ship’s Wi-Fi, but I could not access any browser—not a good sign for my blog.

Lobster towel animal!

TK’s Takes:  It was hot but not humid—very pleasant today. Not many people are using the pool. 

SHOPPING AND SHOPPING IN ST. THOMAS

Wednesday, January 18, 2017                       mid 76 F, sunny

St. Thomas USVI / ms Oosterdam

It was a beautiful day in St. Thomas, sunny and warm. Someday I may be less interested in window shopping in this seaside town, but that has not happened in the past 26 years. There are so many small shops and big name shops, jewelry, watches, cameras, souvenirs, clothing, it all is just irresistible to me.  For some reason TK still likes to go with me. We try on a watch or a ring or earrings, most times not buying.

We had lunch at the Green House, where we always go-and this is one reason it is hard to make the blog exciting. We do the same things! St. Thomas (the old port) is easy to get around, level sidewalks and streets, the vendors do not push too much, there is so much variety, so many items to choose from, e.g. styles, colors, gemstones, watches. We never see this many choices in any mall we have been to, even the most exclusive. With at least 4 ships in port today that would translate to at least 8,000 visitors. Even if only a small percentage shopped, that is still a lot of people who want lots of choices in one day.

So what was different today? Today I met a designer of wooden framed sunglasses which were very beautiful. He does not use maple or willow though. TK made the first purchase-he really likes the bamboo fabric shirts, cooler and lighter. Green House Internet was not very strong and I could not download the Windows 10 update. We were back on the ship earlier than usual.

Upon our return to the ship, I had an invitation from Guest Services desk to see them about the Internet and they gave me 70 extra minutes without a hassle, thank goodness.

Dinner tonight was very tasty—chilled coconut soup, Wiener schnitzel, and rhubarb crisp. 

What I learned tonight from Mariyadi: He told me that at his home in Indonesia the family has many coconut trees. There are red, green, and yellow coconuts. He said the best were the green ones-they are sweetest. The yellow ones are very small as are the trees. He continued that his father finds a bud on a tree, slices it, then binds it to a bamboo stick and drains the sweet coconut water for several hours. Then they boil the sweet water for 3-4 hours to make a candy. Each day his father makes another slice and repeats the process for a month per coconut bud. I told him this process sounded somewhat like making maple syrup. He told me he knew what maple syrup was and that the process was indeed similar. 

After dinner we strolled the ship and enjoyed the music in various bars.

This afternoon when the Disney Fantasy (playing Disney music like “It’s a Small World” and “When You Wish upon a Star” with their air horn) and the Aidavita left port ahead of us, they turned just by us and were so close to our balcony!

TK’s Takes: The ship’s pool temperature is higher by 5 degrees today. Now we are on the Caribbean Sea headed to St. Maarten. Janie won an Effy key chain at the store’s raffle today.

WALKING AROUND OLD SAN JUAN

Tuesday, January 17, 2017                mid 76 F, sunny

San Juan, Puerto Rico / ms Oosterdam

Room service knocked at our door and we awakened to Continental breakfast, lots of fruit, and a few pastries, including croissants.  TK headed straight to the pool and I learned more about how to make Cortana my personal assistant.

We met for a modest lunch in the buffet—fresh fruit is always so plentiful on a cruise. I tried a slice of pizza and it was remarkably good. As I have said before, food on a ship is never what it seems, but the pizza and burgers are good. I am a fan of simple dishes.

The Oosterdam sailed by El Morro, the old Spanish fort from the mid-1700s and we knew we were at San Juan, about 12:30 p.m. Our balcony faced the city this time and we could see two other ships in port—cruise lines we had not seen before-Aida and Viking (Viking is expanding from river cruises).

We disembarked at 1 p.m. and walked right past the El Galeon, the Spanish ship that visited Tall Ships Erie 2016 in September.  No lines! Our family waited 2.5 hours to board this ship in Erie! I wish I had brought the El Galeon t-shirt with me that D, B, and B1 gave me for my birthday!

We visited some of our favorite shops, Del Sol (items all change colors in the sun) and Cariloha (bamboo fabric). TK did a good job of scouting for maps and information for Friend H who will be in Puerto Rico at Easter.

The traffic was terrible—old one lane streets backed up for at least 10 blocks, probably more. We were told that PR is still celebrating Christmas and tomorrow is a festival day. I’m not sure how that explains the traffic, but so it goes.

We walked up hill and downhill on uneven bricks and sidewalks without mishap to see El Morro up close. It is a U.S. National Park and we toured it awhile back. On the way back we had Pina Coladas at Barrachina Restaurant, known as the origin of the Pina Colada. We have been there before in the beautiful courtyard with lush vegetation and live parrots.

By the time we returned to the ship, it was time for dinner. We have settled into a routine with standing reservations for a table for two in the Vista dining room at 5:30 p.m. with Mariyadi and Haris, both from Indonesia. Mariyada explained that all servers are from Indonesia, all kitchen people and the cooks are from the Philippines, and the cabin stewards are from both countries.  I had Southern fried chicken and TK tried seared corvana, a delicate fish that he decided he really liked.

After dinner we decided to go to Walgreen’s right near the port to get large bottles of water – 1.5 L for $.99 vs. the ship’s 1.5 L for $3.95. The temperature is still in the 70s and warm!

I’m closing now because I have to get ready for St. Thomas tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TK’s Takes:  Donna, we went to Walgreens just for you!  Two more ships came into port in the afternoon, the new Carnival Vista and the RCCL Anthem of the Seas.  These two ships are much bigger than the Oosterdam, behemoths! We walked all the way to the fort (he did not mention his knee replacement in March 2016—so happy that he is walking well!) We really like our waiters. It is really warm.

UPDATE: First, when I logged in yesterday I found that my Internet usage was over 150 minutes for 3 times uploading my blog. HAL does not have an Internet desk, but I am investigating this issue with customer service. I have logged off each time and all that I do is download the document into the blog and place the photos in, timed at 17-20 minutes per day. We shall see what develops. This is not a huge concern in the scope of things.

We are at the Green House in St. Thomas with sketchy Wi-Fi and I am trying to download the Win 10 update, hahaha.. However, without Donna and especially Gwenda, I am shopping and shopping, oh no!

If I do not continue the blog, you will know that my technical difficulties have not been resolved. Stay tuned!