SHOP SHOP SHOP IN ST. THOMAS!

Friday, January 31, 2014
Sunny, breezy, 80s F

We are sitting in the Green House, our favorite St. Thomas restaurant where we sit by an open window, cool breeze, right on the bay, to have our cheeseburgers in paradise. I practically begged the waitress to let us move to a lesser section after we ate while I did my blog, but she insisted we stay right at this lovely open window. 

We had a bit of a misstep this morning when we left the ship. The locals “herded’ us to what we thought was an open air bus headed for downtown. After 10 minutes we figured out we were on the bus to the beach. So we had a little detour, saw Magen’s Bay and the golf course one man was headed to. Finally we got to the shops. Heaven forbid we weren’t there when the stores opened! 

We will be off shopping again soon!

TK’s Take:  The nice cool breeze is really fine!

Janie’s Take: In case you did not get our email, we do want the Seawolves tix! We miss our family!
We are divided as far as the Super Bowl goes, so we wish both the Broncos and Seahawks luck. Go Denver! We won't be back on for at least 5 days, so if anyone wants to email, it easier on the yahoo address. Some islands I cannot get on the Verizon account.

TORTOLA AND SUNNY CARIBBEE!

Thursday, January 30, 2014
Sunny with a few drops of rain, 82 F

We get up about 7 a.m. each morning so we are ready to go off the ship quite early. The shops on the islands so far open about 9-10 a.m., so we usually take a walk while waiting. We have visited Tortola several times. If we visit again we are definitely going to go to Virgin Gorda. We have heard so much about that area, but have never gone—it is only accessible by boat.

Road Town, Tortola does not have too many shops, but the one we always go to is Sunny Caribbee, a shop that sells the spices we love. Today, we made a few gift purchases here J. I have ordered their “Salt ’N Spice” online, we like it so much—tomatoes, mozzarella, oil, and this seasoning, sumptuous. A small market area has been developed with small, sturdy wooden buildings for the vendors who were formerly in canopies the last time we were here.  I love the bright colors---oranges, yellows, greens, blues that we see in the Caribbean on clothing, buildings, even the flowers.

Tonight I went to the show with acrobats, “Soul Duo.” They are extraordinary performers from the Ukraine. As the NCL Freestyle Daily said, their show is a fusion of acrobatic feats, circus art, aerial ballet, and beautiful choreography. They did things I did not know the human body was capable of.

ST. MAARTEN AND YODA GUY!

ST. MAARTEN
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Philipsburg, Dutch St. Maarten
Sunny with a couple drops of rain, 81 F

 About 8:30 a.m. Caribbean time, we took a water taxi from the area where seven huge cruise ships are docked to the main area of town. Seven cruise ships—that means at least 15,000-18,000 extra people on the island! To tell the truth, we were not jostled nor did we feel crowded. We hadn't been in St. Maarten for a while, so everything looks different. The main shopping street is narrow and quaint. One block off Philipsburg’s main street there are more shops, restaurants, and hotels right on a white sandy beach. We are returning to Philipsburg on February 10^th, so we decided to have lunch on the island then.
 

We discovered a shop owned by “Yoda Guy.” Nick Maley opened a Star Wars museum right on the main street. He was the designer and creator of Yoda and got an Emmy nomination for his creation of Anthony Hopkins' Hunchback of Notre Dame in the movie of that name. He is a personable guy who told us he sold his Ferrari three years ago and moved to the Caribbean. Smart!  He signed some items for usJ. 

We stopped in and out of other shops, like Diamonds International, Boolchand’s, Aruba Aloe, Tommy Bahamas, Tissot, and Del Sol. We do love looking at watches and I don’t mind looking at diamondsJ.  I don’t think I will be buying the $11,000 Crown of Light diamond that I looked atJ.

A candy shop offered free Wi-fi, not as convenient as Starbucks.  I loaded the blog (updated as of now) and saw that Erie is 3 F.  I sure do hope my dear family is doing OK in that cold weather.

After some gelato (me: lime and coconut; TK: coconut and mango), we boarded the water taxi to the area where the cruise ships docked. One cannot imagine what 7 gigantic cruise ships look like, back to front, four in a row, 3 behind. The towering behemoths make me feel like very very tiny!

We went to the comedian Chris Alpine’s show tonight. Definitely funny. E.g. he narrowed in on people from south Florida. He asked, “Why do you go on cruises to the Caribbean? Just walk outdoors.” Another: The comedian said his sister had a baby. “She named him after his father, ‘Who.’” One more:  “My sister told me not to get her son any toy guns. So I didn’t. I bought him a real one.”  Finally: Alpine said the first time he boarded a cruise ship he made the mistake of calling it a boat in front of the captain. The captain said to him, “Tomorrow morning how about I put you on a boat out in the Atlantic? I bet then you will know the difference between a ship and a boat.” That joke really tickled me—it’s so silly when people call a ship a boat. Really.  I’m surprised that I remembered that many of his jokes.

St. Maarten:  144 miles east of Puerto Rico. Population, 69,000. French, Dutch, English.

AT SEA

Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sunny, 83 F, windy with 6-10 ft. swells

Today was a lazy routine, reading by the pool, a digital photography class, shopping presentation for St. Maarten, Tortola, and St. Thomas.  If I keep taking photography classes, I may learn more about my camera! I think I have “white balance” mastered!  Tim tell me I could give the shopping lecture—no doubt! Today’s shopping “talk” lasted for 1 ½ hours. That is way too long. Everyone stays because the presenter raffles off nice gifts.

Tonight, Cruise Critic members, Peggy and Steve from Virginia, organized a “Celebration” dinner in the Seven Seas Dining Room. Tim and I are celebrating our 30^th anniversary all year long, so we definitely counted ourselves in. Over 70 Cruise Critic people attended this enjoyable dinner. We sat with Kevin and Linda (screen name--Scotnadian) and Peggy and Steve (screen name--Plank). We discovered that Linda, Peggy, and I are all educators, so we had a lot in common. We shared cruising tales too. For one thing, Peggy and Steve were on the Royal Caribbean _________ of the Seas when it caught fire last year. 

We saw on MSNBC news last night that another Royal Caribbean ship had to return to Miami with 500 passengers who had norovirus.  Cruise lines really try to prevent norovirus—there are hand sanitizer stations throughout the ship, especially at all the restaurants. Crew also stand by the restaurants’ entrance and spray your hands with hand sanitizer. All the ships we have been on do this.  We notice other precautions, too. Passengers who have norovirus are quarantined in their staterooms for over 24 hours.

We are quite sure it is still snowing and cold in Erie. We are grateful that we are enjoying sunshine daily. 

Tonight’s towel animal was a darling elephant. Alit Setiawan of India, our cabin steward, says it takes him about one minute to make one towel animal.

TK’s Takes:  The biggest pool today was closed because of the wind—too much water splashes over the side.

CURACAO WELCOMED US WITH A WARM BREEZE!

CURACAO
Monday, January 27, 2014
Willemstad, Curacao
Partly Cloudy, 85 F

What a breezy day Curacao has welcomed us with! Right now I am writing in a Starbucks while Tim drinks coffee. We have shopped already, the usual jewelry stores (Diamonds International, Effy, Milano), his favorite occupation. J This trip I am only looking for special gifts for other people. Tim is still looking for coffee filters so we meandered into a less desirable neighborhood.  I meandered out by myself and found more shops.

One of Curacao’s most interesting features is the “Swinging Lady,” the bridge that crosses the river to the main shops. Remarkably our ship docked on this river----to me the river is narrow, but large enough to accommodate the container ships and our cruise ship. The bridge is engineered to swing to the side when ships and tugboats are passing through. When the whistle blows you have to hustle to cross because it does not wait for anyone.  We were caught on the bridge one year and only waited about 10 minutes for both sides of the bridge to reconnect.  Anyway, when we were ready to cross back over to the other side of the river today, the bridge separated. Many people were stranded on the bridge. After waiting a half hour we decided to take the free ferry across. In the meantime, the USTS Kennedy (Port of Cape Cod—U.S. Navy training ship) and a barge passed by. Our ferry crossed and the bridge was still separated/closed—one hour. People were stranded on that bridge in the sun for one hour! I’m glad we weren’t! Later, at 5 p.m. we found out that to leave Curacao and return to the Caribbean, the ship backed out that narrow river, about ¾ mile.

Starbucks offered free wi-fi and coffee for Tim, so we sat there while I wrote and then posted the blog. We headed for lunch and then the pool when we boarded the ship about 1 p.m. I love that NCL welcomes us back before boarding with refreshing wet towels, water and juices, and cookies and sweet breads. On the hottest day they even provided ice cream. A tent is set up just outside the ship for this warm welcome. I do commend NCL for customer service.

I have made a horrible discovery. The desserts on the Sun are delicious. Six days into this cruise and I finally took a chance on dessert--carrot cake. Wow! This discovery is not a good thing.  On the Ruby Princess I rarely ate dessert—they always looked so good but when I tasted them they weren’t good at all.

We had dinner tonight with Kevin and Linda, originally from Scotland but living near Toronto for the past 16 years. They are also going on the next cruise. They are a lively couple with lots of personality. We really miss our friends Donna and Lawrence (Wisconsin) who were going to take this cruise with us. At the last minute they were unable to cruise and we want them to know we are thinking of them.

Curacao: A volcanic island first inhabited by the Arawaks. The island was discovered in 1499 by Spaniard Alonsa Ojeda. In 1634 the Spanish occupiers were defeated by the Dutch. In 2010 the country of Netherland Antilles was dissolved and Curacao became a stand-alone country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Kingdom consists of four countries, Bonaire/ St. Eustatius/Saba, Aruba, St. Martin, and Curacao. Curacao lies outside the hurricane belt.

 

JANIE ON THE SWINGING BRIDGE IN CURACAO-NCL SUN IN BACKGROUND

 

CARTAGENA, FRENCH CUISINE, A LOOSE TOOTH!

ARUBA!
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Oranjestad, Aruba
Sunny, 84 F, pleasant breezes

Our ship did not arrive in Aruba until 1 p.m., so we had plenty of time to have breakfast and get ready. From our balcony we saw about 20 bicycles taken off the ship by the crew and soon the helmeted riders disembarked. We surmise that this is a cycling club that booked a cruise.

 We have been to Aruba many times so we took our time walking off, shopped a little, and got $30 vouchers for the Casino from the Aruba information booth. Since I don’t understand what pays off on the slots, Tim used the vouchers and won $37.27. He told me he would buy me lunch in St. Thomas.  There is a Starbucks near the casino so I used that for free wi-fi and posted the last four days of the blog.
 

Tim decided that he spotted a grocery store down the street (he was looking for coffee filters for the room’s coffee pot and his newly purchased Colombian coffee). The alleged grocery store looked far away to me so I stayed downtown to shop a little more. I was back on board and in the room about ½ hour before Tim got back on the ship. The grocery store was really a gas station and he said it was further than it looked. I made a good choice.

 

After a prime rib dinner, we went to the Michael James show billed as Action Comedy Juggling. James has worked with Ringling Brothers and the Flying Wallendas. I have to say that I never saw anyone climb up a 10 ft. unsupported ladder and then juggle machetes while balancing on the ladder. He also balanced an audience member on his back while riding a unicycle around the stage. He actually was quite funny, e.g. he said he once knew a fireman who named his first son Jose. He named his second son Hose B. I have no idea how this joke plays out in writing. J

The towel animal was an adorable rabbit holding a card reminding us to turn our clocks forward an hour tonight.

 
TK’s Takes:  The water in the pool was 5 F cooler than yesterday. Since it was Sunday most of the shops were closed  in Aruba.

OLD WORLD CARTAGENA!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Cartagena, Colombia
Sunny, 85 F, humid

We awoke unexpectedly at 5:45 a.m. to a room service call! Breakfast room service was not supposed to start until 6:30 a.m. and that is the time we requested our coffee, croissant, and fruit. J  The bonus to waking up very early was that just as we were arriving in Cartagena Bay and the sun was already beautifully glinting in the windows of high rise buildings. I had arranged a tour with Lee Miles’ (Mr. Emerald’s) Tour Company so we were all set to see Cartagena by 7:30 a.m.

Cerro de la Popa: JJ met us by the ship and off we went to Cerro de la Popa, a former monastery that overlooks the city. There were of 12 of us on an air-conditioned bus that held 22. The monastery, built in the 1600s, is still standing. The monastery church, still in use, had very old wooden statues of saints in a sort of museum, as well as oil paintings from the 1600s. I was amazed that everything was out in the open with seemingly no thought to humidity. Palm trees and other foliage grew in the courtyard of the monastery. We could see our ship, the bay, and all of the city from this excellent vantage point.

 

JANIE IN CARTAGENA

Statues representing the Stations of the Cross are situated along the windy rode up to the top, the monastery. JJ, our guide, told us that from January 24 to February 4 every year there is the celebration of the patron saint of Cartagena. On the next to the last day of the celebration, a large wooden cross is carried down the road, easily a mile. The person carrying the cross takes three steps forward and two steps back all the way down the hill. The Cartagena people follow the procession. On the last day of the celebration, the cross is carried back up the hill.

Rosaries were being blessed by a monk or brother.

Cartagena has a population of 616,000 people; Colombia’s population is 4.5 million. It is the 4^th largest country in South America and the only South American country with coasts on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Colombia is noted for its gold and emeralds. It is a democracy with two major political parties, Conservative and Liberal.  JJ told us they are really trying to clean up the Colombian cartel drug issue. The U.S. Navy and the Colombian Army and Navy work on it.

We rode around for a while to get our bearings in the old city. There were very narrow streets and some more modern areas.

Pierino Gallo Plaza: Mr. Emerald’s shop is in this shopping area where we had beverages and a bathroom break. I studied emeralds for a while; this is where I made some purchases a couple years ago for a May birthday girl. Then we were on a mission for coffee made in Colombia (Juan Valdez lived in Cartagena) and other souvenir items. Tim bought two packages of 100 % premium Colombian coffee. I bought some surprises.

Palace of the Inquisition/Plaza Bolivar/Walking tour of the Old Walled City:  This city is another Francis Drake victim. People also suffered through the Spanish Inquisition here too.  However, restoration has been going on since 1900. We all loved the balconies, small and large, often with flowers and vines spilling over. JJ said that the people who owned these buildings/palaces/homes in the 1800s wanted to show off their wealth. The larger the balcony and doors, the more wealth. The doors were at least 4 times the size of our doors and when we could peak inside we saw fabulous marbled or tiled courtyards, columns, and gardens. Now, if anything is for sale in the Old City, the cost is over a million dollars, and the new owner has to renovate in 3 months or pay $60,000/month fine, according to JJ. The Old Walled City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We passed a street artist using his hands and fingers to paint images on mirrors, 5 x 7. I bought two for $10—very nice images of tall ships on the sea. He finished an image in 2 minutes while we watched. On another square we watched 5 young men about 20 years old perform, like break dancing (no music), acrobatics. One of them had polio. JJ said he encourages them because it keeps them busy. We enjoyed their performance. Street art is everywhere amidst the architecture of the ages.

 San Pedro Claver:  And TK thought he saw enough churches in Europe. We visited San Pedro in the Old City, a centuries old church in Cartagena, named for a priest (now a saint) who founded the church for the slaves.

Even though it was Saturday there were construction workers scraping, painting, and plastering. Probably trying to meet the 3 month deadline on renovating a newly purchased building.

As we were returning to the ship, we passed through a botanical garden with monkeys, peacocks, flamingos, other exotic birds, and huge rabbits. B1 and B2 would love to play hide and seek in this garden!!! Me too!  We enjoyed returning to Cartagena.

We cooled off on the ship, entered the emerald drawing (we did not win), had veal Marsala for dinner. We went to the 9:30 show, Encore!  There are very skilled 16 dancers/singers in the troupe in a show featuring Broadway music from Move On!, Wicked, Mama Mia, and The Producers.  A very enjoyable show!  I think NCL’s shows eclipse Princess.

Towel Animals: So far we have seen a puppy, a seal, and a frog. At the Meet and Greet on Thursday the Hotel Director said he was in charge of the zoo. I wasn’t sure what he meant until I realized he meant the towel animals!

 

TOWEL PUPPY

TK’s Take: It was very hot and humid in Colombia.

FRENCH CUISINE

Friday, January 24, 2014
At Sea/Caribbean
Sunny, 80 F

It was a beautiful warm, sunny day on the Caribbean Sea and we headed for the “beach.” Our room is on Deck 10 so all we have to do is walk a few steps aft and walk up one set of stairs—the pools are right there, as well as the Garden Café.  Tim always does the best job choosing our room.

After I recently learned that a sun tan or sun burn would change my skin’s DNA (confirmed by our Erie dermatologist), I decided to try to stay out of the sun more than usual. I never really tried to tan, but that magazine article hit home for me. It was easy to find a nice shaded area by the pool to lounge in, read my book, and listen to island music. I finished John Grisham’s Sycamore Row, a very good book about an intriguing contested will in the South, while Tim enjoyed the 80 F pool.

When we were getting ready for dinner, Engineering called to ask me about the ship’s air conditioning. Last night I called Guest Services to casually mention that the public areas (theater, shops, and lounges) were freezing cold, colder than walking by the freezers in a grocery store. One of the ladies who worked in the jewelry shop even asked me to please tell someone! I couldn’t believe engineering actually called me back. That confirms my belief that NCL is really responsive.

NCL’s Platinum perk includes two vouchers for two at one of the specialty restaurants. The main dining rooms have no added fee but ordinarily one pays $20 per person for dinner at one of the specialty restaurants, Le Bistro (French cuisine), Il Adagio (Italian), Moderno (Brazilian Churrascaria), Teppanyaki (Japanese), and East Meets West (Steakhouse). Tonight we had reservations at Le Bistro. Tim loves escargot and I tried the mushroom soup (no resemblance to Campbell’s). We both had tender, perfectly grilled filet mignon with cheesy scalloped potatoes. For dessert Tim had Napoleon and I had small cream puffs. We enjoyed the dinner, but we would not eat in the specialty restaurants without the vouchers.

TK’s Takes: The pool was crowded today. It’s a good thing we went there early (8:20 a.m.).

JK’s Take: About the Pepsi Card—NCL’s fountain drinks taste just like they do at home. I am noting this because of the recent Princess situation with fountain drinks. (note December 7, 2013 blog)

Favorite Packing Tools: We sure do like the Ebags packing cubes and the Travelon bag bungee. We use the cubes to organize our bags. With the bag bungee we can securely strap another bag on top of our carryon bags or any other bag. For example, I strap the “briefcase” that holds my “office” onto my carryon bag without worrying that the briefcase will fall off.

 

LOOSE TOOTH!

Thursday, January 23, 2014
At Sea/Caribbean
Sunny, 77 F, turned to cloudy in afternoon

I am really wondering about B2 and her loose tooth. By now it has probably come out. I know she was excited about this new experience! I hope the Tooth Fairy was good to her!

The Cruise Critic “Meet and Greet” was scheduled this morning in the Observation Lounge on Deck 12. Cruise Critic is an online site with a “Roll Call” board where people connect with other people from all over the world who are going on their cruise.  Cruise Critic has other “boards” where people discuss ports, ships, packing, luggage, safety, or anything else that has anything to do with cruising. Over 100 people attended the Meet and Greet, as well a number of senior NCL officers who welcomed our group.  Many U.S. states were represented, as well as many Canadian provinces. Others were from Australia and Scotland. NCL provided coffee, juices, and delicious sweet breads. I believe cruise ships acknowledge the value of the Cruise Critic site and want to make a good impression!  I usually wear a t-shirt with a map of Pennsylvania and Tim wears an Erie firefighter t-shirt. We always meet fellow Pennsylvanians, people from Ohio and New York. Steelers fans, Browns fans, and Bills fans, too!  I loved it when the Hotel Manager said he was responsible for the zoo. He meant all the towel animals that magically appear on our bed at night—it sounded funny the way he said it.

Tim was involved in the ship’s slot tournament, with no luck. We both picked squares in the Casino for the Super Bowl pool. We are getting more acquainted with the ship. The public areas are actually very cold so I returned to the room occasionally to warm up.

 Formal dinner on NCL means something a lot different from Princess.  On Princess, men could not dine in the dining room on formal night without a jacket. Tonight at NCL’s formal dinner we saw just about everything but shorts and swim suits. We both had steaks tonight.

After tonight’s formal dinner, we went to the Stardust Lounge for the show with El Gaucho. Originally from Uruguay and Argentina, he played what I would call Spanish music on the guitar—he could really make it sing. He was accompanied by the ship’s orchestra. He also danced while cracking a bull whip. The show was impressive.

I really loved one of his interplays with an audience member. He pointed at a guy in the audience and asked him if he was having a good time. The man answered yes. El Gaucho said, “Well, then… tell your face.”  Friends will know why I thought this was so funny. J

JK’s Take: I truly think the NCL crew is much more responsive and friendly to passengers than those on Princess.

 SUN ON THE NCL SUN!

At Sea/Atlantic
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Sunny

Boarding the NCL Sun was uneventful—we were on the ship by noon and eating lunch in the Four Seasons Dining Room by 12:30 (chicken noodle soup-Cobb salad). Our stateroom is #10043, balcony on the port side.  The room is smaller than our room on the Ruby Princess, but all of our luggage and the contents fit in the closet and ample drawers—what more could we ask! The room layout is much better than the NCL Epic, so Tim and I won’t need to do any ballet jumps over each other to get from one side of the room to the other.

 After the safety drill, we toured the ship a little and unpacked. The Sun has 14 dining options (including main, buffet, French, Brazilian, Italian, Steakhouse, and Japanese), 11 bars and lounges, a spa and beauty salon, fitness center, the Stardust Theater, a casino, an internet café, a nightclub, 2 swimming pools, a kids’ pool, and 5 hot tubs. The ship’s length is 848 feet with a beam of 105 ft. Guest capacity is 1,936 people and 953 crew.

We went for dinner at 6 p.m. (surf and turf tonight!) Our table for two was by a window, a definite treat. After dinner we went to the theater for the “Welcome Aboard Show.”  A Ukrainian couple (Soul Duo) performed a Cirque du Soleil acrobat act, we were introduced to the Sun Production Dancers and Vocalists, and a comedian (Michael Ziegfield) entertained us. The Cruise Director, Richard Matic, discovered a couple (from Minnesota) married 65 years in the audience—they were sitting right behind us. Amazing endurance!

This Norwegian cruise is sure different than our last Princess cruise. People seem to be more our age and younger and quite a bit livelier. When we walked through the casino we saw more people than we saw in the Ruby casino the entire cruise! A lot more beer drinkers, more drinks, more vibrancy!  Definitely a fun group! I think most everyone is sailing to get away from the cold. We did learn there are about 1000 Americans and 400 Canadians on board.

 NCL SUN ROOM 10043

I decided not to pay $.55/per minute for Internet this trip so I am going to write but not publish my blog until there is free access. Internet packages are $55 for 100 minutes or $100 for 250 minutes.  We did buy the Pepsi package, $89/per person for 12 days. There are alcohol packages for $49/per day –everyone in the stateroom must purchase the package. Tim says that’s $1200 per couple for 12 days (plus 15% gratuity). That might be a deal for some people! Carnival Cruise lines (Princess, Carnival, Holland America, Celebrity) use Coke products.

Today in Miami it was cool, but we are headed for the beautiful Caribbean where it is always warm with cooling breezes.

RED VELVET CHEESECAKE AT THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY

Miami, Florida
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Rain off and on, 70s

We left Estero early and traveled Alligator Alley to Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, Florida.  The first stop was Tommy Bahamas and Tim found killer deals on his favorite shirts. I might have found something for R that I hope he likes. We spent several hours in this huge mall, but really did not buy anything else.  We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory—we shared the red velvet cheesecake, truly delicious.

Erie has a wind chill advisory and 8 F so we are much better off here in Florida. Right now (5 p.m.) it is 64 F and the rain has stopped. We are at or hotel organizing for takeoff tomorrow. Caribbean, here we come!

IT’S WARM IN FLORIDA!

Estero, Florida
January 20, 2014
Sunny, 70 F

Now it feels like we are in Florida! Today was gorgeous, just the right temperature and lots of sun. We spent the day in North Ft. Myers visiting Tim’s Erie firefighter buddy Kevin and his wife Jan.

 

TK and Kevin

 

They sold their house last summer and bought a house in Buccaneer Estates in North Ft. Myers. We took a golf cart drive around the gated community which had all the amenities, two club houses, two swimming pools, several “lakes,” lots of beautiful palm trees, and even Erie people Tim knew from the old neighborhood!  There are two bald eagles living in an area across the street from Kevin, too! This is an older community, so prices are extremely reasonable. North Ft. Myers is about 20 miles from Estero.

 

Cactus Jack's, North Ft. Myers

If we ever move to Florida, now I would want a palm tree in front of the house AND bald eagles!

The four of us went to lunch at Cactus Jack’s on a nearby marina. We ate on the patio while watching pleasure boats go in and out of the marina. This is the Florida we enjoy!

 

TK's Takes: He wants Brian to know that he's sorry he won't be in Erie for the big showdown with the Broncos vs. the Seahawks. And, he's happy it finally was a nice warm day.

WHO'S GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL?

Estero, Florida
January 18, 19, 2014
Sunny, 66 F

Saturday: Thank goodness Carol is all right. We all need to remember to drink lots of fluids so we don’t get dehydrated. We visited her yesterday in the hospital in Naples. She looks good and was in good spirits. We hope she is released on Monday.

We headed to Tim’s nephew’s brand new house in Estero---4 bedrooms, 4 baths, all granite counters, and all tile floors. It is a gorgeous new home with a swimming pool and is located right on a small lake/big pond. Quite a gathering place. Before we knew it, Tim’s sister and brother in law (Dade City), their daughter Kathy and her husband Jeff (Punta Gorda), and son Michael and his wife JoAnn (Erie) all had arrived. With Jeff’s two daughters and a boyfriend, it was like a family reunion. We even watched home videos from the 80s.

Sunday: Tim and I went to Fleamasters Flea Market, the biggest I have ever seen. We also went to Gulf Coast Mall and had lunch/dinner at Ford’s Garage at Miramar Outlet Malls. Lots of shopping, but no purchases. This is not going to be an exciting day as we are back at the hotel doing laundry and watching football. Go Seahawks, Go Broncos! I wonder what Denise is cooking up for the game today.

Ford's Garage is your neighborhood burger and beer joint, where everyone is welcome. Located in Historic Downtown Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Miromar Outlets in Estero. Ford's Garage will give you the vibe of being in a 1920's service station/prohibition bar with its old style brick, dark colors, rich wood and hand-hammered copper bar top. With many more unique features too numerous to list, really making The Garage a fun place to visit! Model As and an old Ford truck are part of the décor, similar to Quaker, Steak, and Lube in Erie (and in Tampa).

TK’s Takes: It is still a little cold. Hopefully the weather will warm up!

 

Janie's Take: We were excited that B1  went skiing at the Peak last night, after her basketball game where she made a basket!! Her team won 2nd place at the St. Luke's tournament!  We loved seeing photos of B2 at Peak n Peek, as well Chapman's Dam Winter Fest!

SHARKS AND GARAGE SALES

January 16, 17, 2014

Thursday, on our way Stuart on the Atlantic we drove A1A, the scenic route. We arrived at Gary and Diane A’s new home and spent several hours catching up on Lake Erie charter fishing and old friends. Gary is still booking fishing charters on Lake Erie, but only for July and August these days. Even though they still have their lovely home and sport fishing boat in North East, they bought a house and a boat for fishing on the Atlantic in Stuart, Florida. He shared lively tales of swordfish, man-eating shark, tuna, and dolphin fish (not the same as porpoise) that he has caught on the Atlantic and released.

(I forgot to mention on Wednesday that I read in the USA Today about a 2300 # great white shark that was being watched off Cocoa Beach, where we were. It had been tagged and seen off Massachusetts in August, I believe, and made its way to Florida. It was a little too cold for swimmers and surfers when we were in Cocoa Beach. I don’t think Tim would feed me to the sharks…)

After a ride to their marina just off the Atlantic and Inland Passage, we went to dinner at Jensen’s Ale House with Gary, Diane, and their neighbors, John and Sue. Third day in a row that I had excellent fried shrimp!!

Today, Friday, we went to several garage sales with Gary and Diane. They showed us killer deals they found in the past and we were all in! However, we did not find deals today! They also showed us a beautiful white sand beach (guarded) and fishing area in Hobe Sound. Tortoises are laying eggs now and the area is protected. The weather is mild to us, 57 F, and still lots warmer than Erie!  We had lunch in Hobe Sound at Scooter’s—fourth day of melt in your mouth fried shrimp. Tim had a very good flounder sandwich.

Diane, Janie, TK on Hobe Sound, Florida

After lunch, we started for Estero. On the road, we got a text from our dear Wisconsin friends that they had to cancel the January 22 cruise-Lawrence’s mother has unexpected health issues.  About an hour later Tim’s brother called and he was at the emergency room in Naples with Carol. We are very concerned about this---we checked in to our hotel and are still waiting to hear.

Along the highway away from Stuart, a beautiful awning  of trees

COCOA BEACH AREA IS GROWING!

TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA
January 15, 2014

We had a great 2 hour drive this morning to our hotel in Titusville, Florida. We had one stop in Ormond Beach for my favorite shoe store, now under new ownership. We really liked the manager, a licensed orthotics maker, but the new owner turned out to be very nice.

After checking in at the hotel, we headed right to Cocoa. I keep thinking that I am so glad we were here with Randy, Coleen, and B2 in 2012. Great memories keep coming back! 

Years ago we visited a Victorian village in Cocoa and could never find it again. Now I suspect Tim didn’t want to find it J. There are so many fine boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, cafés, and antique shops (even a hardware shop in business since 1885), that we easily spent a couple hours there. There were lots of people visiting off cruise ships as well as others. In fact, we noticed the area was bustling more than ever. After NASA left, the area was devastated.

Of course we stopped at RonJon’s and I found something perfect (I hope) for D. 

 

 

We found out one of our favorite restaurants, Corky Bell’s, has closed for good. We have gone there since 1985.  Since we hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch, we drove to Dixie Crossroads for our shrimp fix of the day. Dixie owns shrimp boats and the shrimp is always fresh.

People were complaining today about how cold it was. Frankly, I was hot—jeans, ¾ length sleeve cotton shirt, and a sweater. It was 67 F.

TK’s Takes: He does not think it is warm enough yet. (He’s wearing shorts, by the way) It is supposed to get colder tomorrow.

SO WHAT IF IT’S RAINING!

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA
January 14, 2014

This morning we started off about 8:30 a.m. with light rain. The drive was shorter today with little traffic and no other issues—it only took 6 ½ hours to get to St. Augustine. This will be a brief blog because we did not do anything exciting, but we did find a terrific restaurant in St. Augustine, O’Steen’s. It was a home spun regular restaurant on A1A over the big bridge from the city, rated #15 on Trip Advisor. The fried shrimp, lightly breaded, melted in my mouth, the fries crispy and hot, the best hush puppy (warm) I ever ever had, and a warm biscuit. Tim shared his corn bread, again the very best. He had fried chicken which was very moist. He did not share that.

After we ate, we “toured” the Premium Outlet Malls, but I’m saving my money for Sawgrass Mills (Ft. Lauderdale), Fleamasters Flea Market (Ft. Myers), and St. Thomas.

TK’s Take:  He said that when we stopped at the Florida Welcome Center it looked like a convention meeting for old people. J  Today's temperature was 67 F, but he says it is getting colder the next few days. I bet there won't be snow!

 

TK and Janie at the Florida Welcome Center

SUNSHINE AND WARMTH, HERE WE COME!

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA
January 13, 2014

We were right on schedule when we left Erie at 7:30 a.m. The sky was gray, with a temperature in the 40s. Right out of the gate we were fooling around with Tim’s new dash cam. Tim could not turn off the voice recorder. He promised that he would not hold me responsible for any bad words I might say. I think he and B1 are cooking up a scheme to make money off my use of bad words.

Anyway, we swung around to Mike’s house (one of Brian’s friends), but he was not outside ready to go with us, so we were on our way down I-79 in record time.

We stopped in Flatwoods, West Virginia at the Fiesta store. Beautiful blues and greens dominate. Next time I have to ask D and C what colors they want before we leave!! By the time we reached our favorite lunch spot, New River Gorge Overlook, at about 1:30 p.m. it was in the 50s, although there was a little rain and we could not eat outdoors. After lunch and our usual “selfie,” we were on our way. Tim is such a good driver (except in traffic), we were able to sail along easily.

This year we are listening to books by Greg Iles again. Quiet Game kept us occupied until we were north of Charlotte, North Carolina.  THEN, traffic kicked in-it was a little after 5 p.m. We love Randy’s new app, WAZE. It really showed us the traffic patterns, incidents, and caution areas in while driving.  Now we are resting at the Hampton Inn in Rockville where we have stayed many times before.

I’ve got to post this and get on Words with Friends!!!

New River Gorge, West Virginia

TK’s Takes: He is tired. Good weather for traveling!

 

Wytheville, Virginia

WE WILL BE THAWING OUT IN FLORIDA!! ANOTHER B2B CRUISE, TOO!

Away we go again. It makes me dizzy to think of the traveling we do!  We are so blessed to be able to do this!

Here is a draft schedule of January and February 2014:

January 13                     Erie to Charlotte, NC

January 14                     NC to St. Augustine, FL
January 15                     St. Augustine, FL to Cocoa Beach, FL
January 16                     Stuart, FL                       Gary and Diane A, our charter captain friends
January 17-21                Ft. Myers, FL                   Tom and Carol
January 22                     Miami, FL                       NCL Sun
January 23, 24               At Sea
January 25                     Cartagena, Colombia       Emeralds!!!!
January 26                     Aruba
January 27                     Curacao
January 28                     At Sea
January 29                     St. Maarten                    Star Wars artist’s shop
January 30                     Tortola                          Sunny Caribbee—our favorite seasoning
January 31                     St. Thomas                    Don’t let me shop J
February 1, 2                  At Sea                           Super Bowl Sunday!!!
February 3                     Miami
February 4, 5                  At Sea
February 6                     St. Thomas                    Oh No!
February 7                     Dominica          
February 8                     Barbados
February 9                     St. Lucia
February 10                    St. Maarten                   
February 11, 12              At Sea
February 13                    Miami                            We may return to Ft. Myers, if not, then Dade City
February 14                    Dade City or Ft. Myers
February 14 or 16                       Mt. Dora, FL Antique Extravaganza
February 16-19               Dade City/Travelers Rest
February 20                    Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden, 145 Broad Acres, Bishopville, South Carolina
February 21-24               Williamsburg, Virginia
February 25 or so            Erie!!