SUPER BOWL AND SUPER DRIVING ON GROUNDHOG DAY!

Hampton Inn

From St. Augustine, Florida to Fort Chiswell, Virginia

02.02.20 [Sunday, February 2, 2020]

55F, sunny

Friend Judy treated us like royalty during our stay, with stellar restaurants and great historic sites and activities. She has been my friend since 1967 when we studied together in Aix en Provence, France our junior year of college. Nebraska meets Pennsylvania!

Besides being tour guide par excellence, she decided that I needed to purchase some clothes that are out of my comfort zone. She talked about yoyos and oyos—young old people and old people acting old.  We had a lot of laughs this trip! This is a warning to Erie friends—be prepared!

Judy and Janie

One other item. This is not a movie blog by any means, but each night we chose movies to watch. Thursday night we watched Spotlight, Judy’s choice.  This is not a light subject matter and despite being a very good movie, it would not have been my choice. 

From the beginning I wanted to watch They Shall Not Grow Old again, the World War I movie/documentary by Peter Jackson, but it is not on Netflix now. So, since I liked the song, “There Won’t Be Many Coming Home” by Roy Orbison, a song in the movie The Hateful Eight, I opted for that movie on Friday night.   I sort of forgot the premise, the violence, and lots of other things in that movie. Oh my oh my. Quentin Tarantino is an amazing filmmaker who is not afraid of violence, exploding violence. Samuel L.  Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins star.

On Saturday night, TK got to pick, but we all decided to go with a comedy. Right away he chose The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a Coen Brothers movie with Liam Neeson and James Franco, among others.  After watching about 75% of this movie of vignettes full of violence, blood, and nudity, we called it quits to review the definition of COMEDY. It appears that none of us knows the definition of light and comedy.

At that point, TK figured out that he could use his Samsung phone with Judy’s Roku to get access to They Shall Not Grow Old and we watched that truly great achievement by Peter Jackson after all. Of course, that movie is not a comedy either.

On this palindromic morning we said goodbye to a great hostess and her dear little dog, Sunny. On the road again! Thank goodness it was Sunday so traffic through Jacksonville, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina was quite easy. By 5:30 we arrived in Wytheville, Virginia, with similar temperature to St. Augustine.

Every year we say we push ourselves too hard and end up going all day without eating and so on. TK does a stellar job of driving, but it is tiring. We found a small Mexican restaurant near the hotel, Happy Cinco de Mayo. The cuisine was fine and the restaurant was not busy. Lexie, our server, was cheery.

Now we are settled in to watch Kansas City win! We hope!

ST. AUGUSTINE IS KEEPING US BUSY

World Golf Village at the home of Friend Judy

St. Augustine, Florida

Friday, January 31, 2020

63F, rainy

I have not been writing because we have been very busy! Friend Judy has been a tour guide extraordinaire and we have done so many things in this charming town of St. Augustine. 

How I could have forgotten to mention that we went to Fleamasters Flea Market in Fort Myers on Sunday when we arrived?  Nine hundred stores and 400,000 square feet, a shopping experience we never miss when we are in the area. https://www.fleamall.com/

On Tuesday  we ate at Mel’s Diner, a sweet spot in Bonita Springs, and then visited TK’s brother again.  TK indulged me with visits to another outdoor mall.

We left Fort Myers on Wednesday morning for St. Augustine (4.5 hour drive) and when I saw that our route took us to Orlando, I asked TK if he could make a stop for me.

This will show you what a wonderful person he is: Orlando is a VERY high traffic area-no matter where, highway or otherwise, but he got off the highway and drove to a special outlet mall where a certain outlet store is—there are only 4 such stores in the U.S., one in Palm Beach, one in Orlando, one in Texas, and the other in Massachusetts. We made this stop for this only one store---and I don’t think anyone else would do that, so I am a very lucky girl!!!

After that stop, we headed straight to Judy’s.

A sampling of what we have done:

Dinner at Schooners on Wednesday

Thrift Store-- Judy volunteers at Hospice as well as the Hospice Thruft Shop. We looked for bargains, but all we found was an apple pie dish!

Potter's Wax Museum is housed inside the oldest pharmacy in the U.S. and is also the oldest wax museum in the country.  https://www.potterswaxmuseum.com/

Davy Crockett in wax

Metro Diner-we had lunch here on Thursday.

Ponce De Leon Hotel  was an exclusive luxury hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler and completed in 1888.  The cost was $4000 for 3 months, which we were told would be $100,000 today. The hotel is now home to Flagler College. Students act as tour guides.

Early Tiffany windows in the dining room

A clock above the fireplace made by Thomas Edison, a friend of Flagler.

This dress was made by a student at Flagler College. In the Ladies' Salon

Standard glaze pottery, turn of the 20th century

TK's favorite. In the Salon

Courtyard, Ponce de Leon Hotel

Now Flagller College

King Fish Grill--we had dinner this seaside restaurant on Thursday night

After dinner we walked to the Marina to take a Florida Water Tour at night--

St. Augustine is known for its night time light show during the holiday season 

and lasts till the end of January

Watched Spotlight the movie when we returned home from the water tour.

On Friday we saw Judy’s camper--it is a self contained camper and sleeps six. She enjoys camping with her grandchildren, especially at Disney World.

We briefly hit the Outlet Mall, and then went to downtown St. Augustine to take the Old Town Trolley Tour.

We had dinner at the Raintree restaurant on Friday night.

Raintree, a beautiful restaurant

white tablecloths!

After a day at St.Johns Town Center on Saturday, we had dinner at Seasons 52.

I know Friend Ann would have liked this restaurant.

Fresh organic ingredients

https://www.seasons52.com/home

FROM FORT LAUDERDALE TO FORT MYERS!

Saturday, January 25 to Monday, January 27, 2020

Regal Princess to Fort Myers, Florida

At Sea. Atlantic Ocean—in Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s port Sunday, January 26, 2020

Homewood Suites, Fort Myers, Florida

73F, sunny

The last day of a cruise is when everyone tries to do all the things one did not do. TK and I spent the morning poolside, enjoying the sun and shade.  Packing is the most dreaded task, but we saved that till after dinner. It did not take long because we use packing cubes, great innovation! Plus, we had fewer clothes for 7 days.  We did decide to walk off with our luggage on Sunday—we thought each of us could handle a large case and our wheeled carry on.

We will miss our thoughtful, efficient waiters, Nadia from Argentina (but Romanian), and Serhii from Ukraine, as well as Maria from the Philippines, our stateroom steward. I wrote individual notes on their behalf for human resources. We also gave them extra tips beyond what is required. 

On Sunday morning we were up by 6:30 a.m. so we could be out of our room before the suggested time, 8 a.m.  Unbelievably, even with customs [which no longer requires filling out a form  to state purchases], we met our Park n Go shuttle and were in our truck by 8:23 a.m. off to Fort Myers!

One of the most interesting roads we have ever traveled is “Alligator Alley,” an 80 mile stretch of the I-75 that passes from Fort Lauderdale to Naples through the Florida Everglades.  Now, there are fences that separate the road from the marshland/swampland where one can see canal-like pass ways through the tall grasses.  I spotted 39 huge alligators along the way, and numerous white herons, ibis, Great Blue Herons, egrets, and other birds I cannot identify.  This area is a wonder to see!

Many years ago, we took a boat ride on the Everglades—a great remembrance. We were told at that time not to put our arms or hands outside the boat, under any circumstances. Of course, we did not, but that is when I learned that alligators are FAST swimmers-we saw one in action!

We drove to TK’s brother Tom’s home and spent several hours there with Tom, Carol, and Thomas, TK’s nephew. They have lived in Florida since 2011 and would not return to Erie’s winters! Another son and his family lives in this area too, another reason they stay.

On Monday, we spent time shopping (again)—it is a good way to walk around and we did not make many purchases. We had lunch with TK’s Erie Firefighter friend, Kevin and his wife Jan, at Pincher’s. They moved to the Fort Myers area after retirement, but they moved to Tennessee after Hurricane Irma hit this side of Florida in 2017. Jan wanted nothing more to do with such storms.  They bought a house near Knoxville and now return to Florida for a month or two in the wintertime. 

After a long lunch we went to Miramar Outlet Mall—one of the very best outlet malls we go to. I did not buy anything.

Flowers bloom, turtles sun themselves

Miramar Outlet Mall

Another area of Miramar Outlet Mall

TK’s Takes: The Regal Princess had better food than the Emerald Princess. He did not see any alligators on Alligator Alley [and he does not believe that I did].  There are a lot more people around in the Fort Myers area than ever before.  Traffic is not as bad in Fort Myers as it was on the eastern part of Florida.

[Note to Brother B and DSIL M: He  is also wondering how the Erie weather is affecting the sugar maple trees]

AT SEA IN A SANCTUARY!

Friday, January 24, 2020

Regal Princess

At Sea. Atlantic Ocean

75F, sunny, windy

There is not much to say to say except SANCTUARY! TK can treat me to this any day!  Because of he still has extra onboard credit, TK decided to “rent” a private canopied spot on Deck 17 at the Retreat Pool. We arrived on deck by 9 a.m. ready for a retreat!

The Retreat-Deck 17

We had one of the covered areas for the day

The chaise lounges are larger and have thick cushions on them.  Attendants put large fresh towels on the cushions for us and we lounged there for almost an hour and a half—I continue to read, now my 6^th book, Exile, by Richard North Patterson. It is somewhat more complex than the others but I am engaged.

It was very very windy there, but I was in for the long haul—just way too comfortable and the book was good. TK was settled in too with his Kindle. But an attendant approached and asked if we would like to go to the Sanctuary, where there was less wind. YES! Of course, we would move.

The Sanctuary is more exclusive and costs more money, but we did not have to pay more.  The attendants even carried our bags and drinks to the new spot.  And what luxury it was. The wind was much more subdued, and we were near the glass enclosure with full view of the ocean.  In the distance, the Adventure of the Seas was sailing the same route. The attendants brought us lunch (salad, pizza, and crudités with a creamy dip with dill.) Our sodas were delivered continuously. All we paid was $3.00 service charge for lunch.

One area of The Sanctuary

Chaise Lounges in The Sanctuary

We could have sat in this covered area in The Sanctuary

Water available, as well as tea and coffee

Sodas were brought to us

About 2 p.m., the attendants offered coffee, tea sandwiches, cookies, cakes, and scones. This is the kind of service I would like by my pool at home in the summer!  I hated to leave at 4 p.m., but we needed to prepare for dinner—formal tonight.

After lobster (me) and Beef Wellington (TK), we went to tonight’s show, “Born to Dance,” with the Regal dancers and singers.  This show highlighted some of the history of Broadway choreographers, including Agnes DeMille (Oklahoma), Jerome Robbins (West Side Story), Bob Fosse (Sweet Charity), Gillian Lyn (Cats), Gower Champion (Hello Dolly), and a few more. There are 4 vocalists and 14 dancers on the ship—more than we have seen in a long time.

It was a good day—the seas are not too rough and there was sun!

Tomorrow is another sea day and unless something unusual comes up, I will probably not blog till Sunday.

TK’s Takes: He spent too much time in the sun today and it was very windy!

JK's Take: TK said he won't be my pool attendant at home. Darn!

WASHED OUT IN ST MAARTEN!

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Regal Princess

St. Maarten

77F, rainy

We were not in a hurry to leave the ship this morning since we had no major shopping or touring plans.  In Philipsville, St. Maarten, there is a shore side shopping area (built by cruise lines) right off the ship, but to get to downtown, one takes a short water taxi ride($7pp/roundtrip).  Lizards of varying sizes greeted us just before we boarded the water taxi!

Guess how many lizards are in this photo!

This is an enlargement of the biggest lizard

They were actually still in the same area when we returned from downtown

In the downtown area on the boardwalk, TK spotted a coffee shop, so we stopped for a coffee. At that point the rain started, about 10 a.m. At first it wasn’t too bad, so we continued walking in and out of shops along the way. One of the shop owners mentioned that it was unusual to have 4 large cruise ships (Regal Princess, Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, and Costa Favolosa—about 15,000 people) in port and hardly anyone in the shops.

L to R: Regal, Favolosa, and Adventure of the Seas

The Oasis arrived about an hour later

TK took this photo of the two Royal Caribbean ships, the Oasis on the left

Oasis: about 1200 ft. long, 198 ft. wide, and holds up to 6780 passengers max +crew

Regal: 1083 ft.long, 126 ft. wide, holds up to 3560 passengers max + 1346 crew

St. Maarten is beautiful despite the rain

Sea, beach, lounge chairs and umbrellas, then a large boardwalk/sidewalk, 

then hotels, restaurants, and bars

The main street is parallel to the boardwalk behind the hotels, etc. (I hope I explained this well)

We finished picking up a couple things for friends and family about noon (between raindrops). Instead of having lunch at the Green House, our favorite restaurant in both St. Thomas and St. Maarten, we decided to take the water taxi back to the ship area. By the time we motored back to the port area, it was pouring rain. Because TK is such a good weather predictor, we did have our umbrellas. I felt bad on several levels—for those people planning a beach or tour day, and those who did not have umbrellas in the hard rain. [the water taxis were covered]

The Regal Princess was in port from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and it rained from 10 a.m. to 5:10 p.m., when the glorious sun returned.  In all our cruising (about 60), we have never experienced rain for the whole day like we did today.  Last year when we were in St. Maarten, we visited both the Dutch and the French sides of the island. We also visited the airport beach where the planes fly over the beach (because the airport is basically right by the beach).

After dinner we watched Will Smith in Gemini Man “under the stars,” with lots of wind.  The movie was predictable but full of action. The stars were out!!

TK’s Takes: He saw more dogs than he ever saw on any island before.  Rainy day. He wished he had recorded the horn blowing as we left port. On a Princess ship the song played is always the theme from Love Boat.

I'M ALWAYS GOING TO SHOP IN ST. THOMAS!

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Regal Princess

St.Thomas

84F, sunny

I am in our Regal stateroom as I write, and live Caribbean music is wafting through the open sliding door to the balcony. Now this is the way to write!

The title of this day’s blog has always been a clear message to TK, so that is what we did today! The ship docked by 9:15 a.m., the ship was cleared (every port’s customs officers must clear the ship before passengers disembark), and we were among the first off. The Norwegian Encore was already in port, competition for the great deals!

We prefer docking in the Havensight area because there are many shops right near the dock, just in case we missed anything in downtown St. Thomas before we leave. After securing an open air bus ($4/pp, one way), we were on our way downtown.

We can see that some shops are still not open after the two Category 5 hurricanes hit in 2017, Maria and Irma. Note to Friend H: We checked on the beautiful Marriott resort that was perched atop a hill on the peninsula and was ruined at that time. It has not reopened, but work is being done on it.

TK and I sauntered along Dronnigens Gade (main street), and I popped in and out of old favorites until I reached Alpha Jewelers where I bought a ring about 4 years ago. I wanted Sonny (first name basis) to check out the prongs and tightness of the gems.  I wanted to look at other rings too. I may have purchased a simple ring there.

King TK at Alpha Jewelers, patiently waiting

After stopping at Alpha’s, we went to lunch at The Green House, our favorite spot here. It is located right on the bay and we were early enough that we got a window seat with a view of the Regal.  Cheeseburgers, fries!

TK at lunch at the Green House

We love the open window seats!

It was easy to grab a taxi back to Yacht Haven Grande, near the marina next to our ship. That area was hard hit by the hurricane too and many of the upscale shops have not yet returned. After a short walk to Havensight, I finished looking.TK abandoned me here and went back onboard the ship.

The Regal Princess is obscured by one of my yachts at Yacht Haven Grande

From this view, the Regal Princess is intimidating!

I left my writing for dinner and then we went to another show with the comedian, Troy Thirdgill. He is very very funny. We must go to his show when he returns to Erie, even if he tells some of the same jokes. We wandered around the ship a bit and watched the end of Wrecking Crew.

TK’s Takes: St. Thomas did not seem as busy as usual. Three cruise ships were in port with at least 10,000 passengers.  [Note: Our time in port was 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., but we can tell the shops at Havensight have not closed.]

TK's Surf and Turf last night 

More about Wrecking Crew, a movie I think I will watch in its entirety on Netflix------

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrecking_Crew_(2008_film): “Popular music of the 1960s was dominated by young bands like the Beach Boys, the Mamas & the Papas, Jan and Dean, and the Monkees. 

Record companies happily supplied the public with new songs and musical groups, all packaged with artistic photographs and biographical profiles. Left out of the story was an important historical fact: the bands, in some, but not all, cases, did not play the instruments heard on their records. Instead, the task of recording the perfect tempo, pitch, and timbre fell to a small group of accomplished session musicians.

“The Wrecking Crew documents the work of studio players who recorded the tracks for such hits as 'California Dreamin,'  'These Boots are Made for Walkin, and 'Good Vibrations' "

A QUIET DAY BY THE POOL!

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Regal Princess

At Sea

78F, sunny

The seas are quite smooth as we make our way south on the Atlantic toward St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. We spent the day by the pool, a shady spot made just for me. Usually I keep moving but a book can settle me down. On this trip I have been reading some good ones!

TK  took a great photo of the main pool. In the background you can

see the Movies Under the Stars screen

 

This is the cabana area, another pool. TK  has made arrangements to 

be here on Friday, At Sea

When TK booked this cruise, we did not know that this was the 27^th Annual Concerts at Sea / “Rock n Roll” cruise. That means there are bands on board providing concerts for those who paid about $300-$400 extra for the cruise. Here are the groups on board:

Paul Revere’s Raiders, The Yardbirds, Peter Rivera (formerly of Rare Earth), The Flamingos, The Lettermen, Jay Michaels, The Grass Roots, Ron Dante of the Archies, Tom Garrett of Classics IV, Jackson Haney, and J.R. & The Stingrays. 

A  lot of stateroom doors have this poster on them

Sadly, I never paid attention to names of groups or individual band members in my younger years, except for my favorite songs/singers, so I don’t recognize all these names, except Paul Revere and the Raiders-Yardbirds-Lettermen, and that’s about it.  TK does recognize more of them. I was thinking that we are amongst famous people, but I don’t know them!

Because we had to wait 30-40 minutes for a table at dinner the last two evenings, I went to Guest Services to mention that it is really better for me to eat before 6 p.m. Anna said she would get in touch with the Maitre D’ and let me know if that was possible. This morning when I called for reservations, I was told that the only available times were 7:45 and 8 p.m.  About an hour later the Maitre D’ actually phoned and asked me if 5:30 would be OK. Of course! 

Tonight was a formal evening. When we got to the dining room, we were taken straight to our table for the rest of the week where we met Nadia from Argentina. What a pleasant person she is! She said the Maitre D’ wanted us to have wine for the evening, but we told her we did not drink. I ordered my soda, TK his iced tea. Before we knew it, an Assistant Maitre D’ was at our table—he said he heard that we did not care for wine and asked if we would like to order from the special menu. Yes! So, I ordered filet mignon and baked potato and TK ordered Surf and Turf-lobster tail and filet mignon.  That was certainly an extra surprise, because when guests order from that menu, there is an extra charge!

The menu we were able to choose from,

compliments of the Maitre D'Hotel!

The area where the Maitre D' was making Bananas Foster tonight,

across from our table

After dinner we went to the show in the Princess Theater, “Bravo.” It was a mixture of classic light opera and popular music, complete with a 9 piece orchestra, dancers (including ballet), and singers, even a guest soprano.  Numbers ranged from Unchained Melody, Queen’s Somebody to Love, and I Dreamed a Dream from Les Misérables, to James Bond’s Skyfall. We thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Princess Theater before the show

I have to get a good night’s sleep for shopping in St. Thomas! Where are Donna and Gwenda when I need them!

TK’s Takes: He found two new pools, one aft and one forward which were warm! He also thinks that cruise ships should have more electrical outlets in the rooms.

A SUNNY DAY IN PRINCESS CAYS!

Monday, January 20, 2020

Regal Princess

Princess Cays/At Sea

78F, sunny

It was a beautiful sunny day for a cruise picnic on the beach at Princess Cays today. We took the 2^nd water shuttle to Princess’ private resort on Eleuthera, Bahamas, 38 acres of palm trees, tropical shrubs, and beach!  We found the most perfect spot near the covered bar area and live music, under a tree with full shade and an unobstructed view of the beach, the sea, and the Regal Princess anchored about 15 minutes away.  A cool breeze kept us comfortable.

The view from our lounge chairs all day

The Regal Princess is at sea

Lots of people passed us by, but we were virtually alone in our sweet little private area. I was reading my 5^th book (another Baldacci) and TK was observing the passersby. Island music set the atmosphere. I do know that at one point he commented, “Where is Lawrence when I need him?” Something to do with skimpy swim wear I believe.

TK spotted this little hermit crab scurrying by our chairs

Photo by TK

Photo by MJK

The ship’s cooks prepared a delicious barbecue with burgers, dogs, chicken, salads, beans, and fruits. I truly hated to leave this paradise to return to the ship--

We do “Anytime Dining” and last night we were able to easily get a table for two. Tonight there was a long line to get into our dining room, so I think we will make reservations from now on—sort of counterintuitive for “anytime.”  Spaghetti and meatballs for me with cold peach soup as an appetizer. Very good.

Tonight's menu-I hope you can enlarge the image to read it

Every night there is a main vegetarian main dish, fish, chicken, beef/veal/or pork

A dish can be tailored for vegan

This menu is available every evening

After dinner we went to the Princess Theater to see Troy Thirdgill, the stand up comedian. We have seen him before on ships and he has been to Jr’s. Last Laugh Comedy Club in Erie. He is very funny.

[Thirdgill was in Beverly Hills 90210 and In Living Color, and other TV shows]

In his last story of the show, he said that Princess Cruise Lines had him sign a contract that says that the entertainers must help guests in case of an emergency, like getting into lifeboats. He told the audience not to count on him being like the band on the Titanic that kept playing till the bitter end. Thirdgill said he did not see himself telling jokes while helping people into lifeboats when the ship was sinking. He said that once he was in the lifeboat with his own seat, he would tell all the jokes anyone wanted to hear. Now that was funny! That is my kind of humor!

TK’s Takes:  There were lots of people on Princess Cays today, more than usual-seemed like everyone got off the ship. It was a nice day-everyone thought it was going to rain.