Random pics.

Day two of three at sea.  So how are we doing?  Are we true "cruisers"?  Or have we become lazy travelers who like the convenience of unpacking one time?  I think it is safe to say we aren't true cruisers.  But we are getting lazier!!

So, here's a typical day at sea ... for us.  I actually have to start the night before.  In the evening the ship's daily newspaper, The Princess Patter, is delivered to our room.  The 4-paged paper consists of  the Officer's Daily Log on the front, dining and bar locations and hours on the back.  And tomorrow's daily schedule in the middle.   We usually review the show schedule and any other presentations that we may want to attend the next day.

When at sea, we're not concerned when we get up.  And with the heavy curtains drawn,  we've been sleeping 'til 7:30 or 8.  And we're in no hurry to get up.  We usually re-read the "paper", then get dressed and head to breakfast.  We have a couple of breakfast options 1) Room Service - we've done that a couple of days, usually when we're at a port.  2) Horizon Court - the cafeteria style dining room, and 3)Sit down breakfast served in the Bordeaux Dining room.

This morning we went to the Bordeaux dining room and were seated with 2 other couples, both originally from LA.  This is alway an interesting experience.  It can be pleasant and informative, or sometimes downright painful.  True "cruisers" love to talk about themselves.  And the conversation goes something like this:

Good Morning.
Good Morning. (me)
Where are you from?
San Diego, how about you?
LA originally, but now we live in our moterhome.  Well, actually a converted bus.  We cruise whenever our bus needs work, or we just want a change of pace.  Do you cruise often?
No, not really.  This is our fourth cruise in 11 years.  How about you?
Oh, we love to cruise!  This is our 16th cruise.  We're Elite level cruisers for Princess line.  That means we get free internet connection and laundry.  What about you?  Do you just cruise Princess?
We've cruised on Celebrity and Carnival.  This is our second Princess Cruise.
Oh, nice.

Seriously folks.  True cruisers are a cult!!!!  We're enjoying ourselves, but I don't think we'll EVER make that Elite level!  UPDATE 10/31/18 - We are now at the Elite level cruisers on Princess.  Not sure we've joined the "cult".  But we do enjoy the cruising experience, love the care and kindness of the crew and have made some wonderful new friends (who don't boast about their number of cruise days.)

So, after breakfast we usually head to the theater or lounge (at opposite ends of the ship) to catch either a port lecture, or some educational type lecture.  We've also made it to the gym, walked the promenade deck 10 times to get in a 3 mile walk.   There's been plenty of eating and drinking on this trip and we've been a bit lax on the exercise.

Today we headed to the theater after breakfast to catch the shopping presentation on Cabo San Lucas.  Oh my, it was all about diamonds and other jewels.  If you know me, you know we won't be doing that type of shopping in Cabo.  We're actually looking forward to some tequila and Mexican food!   So we made it through the 45 minute lecture and then headed back to our cabin (opposite end of the ship), got on our swim suits and then headed to the pool.  We found a couple of lounge chairs - in the shade - and settled in.

It's around noon, the humidity is becoming manageable.  It's been incredible on this trip, both in ports and on the ship.  The tropics are heading into their rainy season.  With humidity hanging in the 90's, rain would have been welcome.  But our rain gear has been unused this trip.  There are two pools on the Lido deck.  One covered, and one uncovered.  The uncovered pool is a bit more active.  The jumbo TV screen is located in that area and the Master's Tournament is being broadcasted.  We opt for the covered area.  It's actually a bit cooler.   The Lido poolside buffet is serving Mexican food.  I'm absolutely not hungry, but Tony wants to give it a try so he heads over while I catch a short poolside nap.

We end up spending a couple of relaxing hours poolside.  Jumping into the water occasionally to cool off, lounging port side to watch cargo ships sailing on the horizon, and looking for dolphins.  We saw lots of dolphins a couple of days ago.  And sea turtles.  The dolphins were active and gave us quite a show jumping and racing alongside the ship.  We don't see any dolphins today.  Hopefully we'll spot a few before we get to Cabo.

Now it's 2:30pm and we head back to our cabin to change.  Our cabin is the last port side cabin on the 10th deck.  In the past we've liked this location.  It's quiet, and we knew there was an aft balcony on this deck that was rarely used by cruisers.   The disadvantage of this cabin is that it is that all restaurants and the main theater are at the bow of the ship.  So any time we need to go back to our room, we walk the entire length of the ship.  Mmm, with all the eating and drinking we've done on this trip, that may not be a bad thing!  Another disadvantage is that the balcony is uncovered making it quite sunny during the last half of the day.  This really hasn't been an issue because the heat and humidity have prevented us from spending much sea time outside anyway.  Now that we're further north and out of the tropics, we hope to use it a bit more and hopefully catch a sunset or two before we reach San Pedro.

OK, back to our daily schedule.  There's another Cabo lecture at 3.  This one is not shopping oriented.  Prior to each port a lecture covering history, attractions, do's and don'ts is offered.  We've tried to attend all port lectures on this trip.  They've prepared us on what to expect in countries we knew nothing about.   So back to the front of the ship we go.   Then after the lecture we head back to the room to relax and get ready for the evening.  Phew!

Back in our room by 4, we catch a movie on TV and dress for the evening.  Tonight, dinner dress is smart casual, but just about any dress, excluding beachwear is is acceptable, and seen.   There are 3 formal dress evenings on this cruise.  About 15% of the guys, including Tony, are in Tuxes.  And most women are in cocktail dresses.  This has been one of the many packing delemas for me.  I ended up with 4 dresses.  I really only needed one with a change in jewelry.  Nobody really pays attention.

Shortly after 6 we head back over to the Princess Theater.   Tonight Gary Delane. a musical commedian is performing.  He was great!  The entertainment on this cruise has been excellent.  Most evening shows are backed by the ship's band, an amazing group of musicians.  And every evening a group called the Rapsody Trio (piano, base, and viola) plays classical music in the atrium.  On our way to dinner after the comedy show we usually find a place to sit in the atrium, have a glass of wine and listen to the trio.  By the way, the atrium is the center social area of the ship.  It's 4 floors high, with glass elevators and marble staircases between the floors.  On each floor there are lounge areas, shops, bars and service counters.  It is the hub of activity on the ship.

We usually eat dinner anywhere between 8 and 9.  If there's another show we want to catch, we'll eat a bit earlier to get back to the theater in time.  Otherwise it's closer to 9.  Good thing all eating establishments are at the front of the ship.  At least we have a little bit of a walk before crawling in bed and reading the latest edition of the Princess Patter.

Well, that's it.  A day at sea.  It's fun, it's relaxing.  But we're on day 3 and we're  ready to hit some terra firma.

Here are some pics

Day 8 - Nicaragua

Yesterday, when we returned to the ship, we weren't quite sure what we were going to do in Nicaragua today.  None of the ship tours really intrigued us.  But when we went to dinner, we shared a table with a couple of women who started telling us about their plans to get off the ship.  They reminded us that we would be at sea for 3 days.  That was enough to persuade us to book a trip.

We  ended up with an 8 hour tour from San Juan del Sur, our tendered port, to Granada, an historic town along the west shore of Lake Nicarua, also known as La Mar Dulce (The Sweet Lake).  It is the 18th largest fresh water lake in the world and has two volcanoes located in the lake.

There's alot of fairly recent violent history in this country - civil wars, and as recent as the 1980's, the Sandanistas attempted to overtake the government.  Initially the US supported them, but then changed position and supported the Contras.  But the people in power now are former Sandanistas - Ortega.  So with that being said, we never felt in danger.  Tony quickly befriended the bus driver and tour guide, and the bottom line is we all want the same thing - peace and prosperity.  One last cruise ship port trivia, Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America.

After a two hour bus ride we boarded small outboard boats to tour La Isletas, The Little Islands.  There are 365 islands formed by the extinct volcano, Mombacho.   For years the islands have been inhabited by fishing families.  But recently some of the larger islands are being purchased and developed as vacation homes.  Check out the posted pics.  It was pretty cool.  The children of the island row their wooden boats  (chalupas) to school.  Only one island has electricity - until last week.  Now there are two!  The other 363 island have either solar power or nothing!

After our boat ride, we headed to the heart of Granada and toured a convent/museum and then headed to the town square for the obligatory shopping hour.  Tony & I headed to the Hotel on the square and had some local beer.  The town of Granada is very clean and colonial.  And no new buildings can be build unless they are colonial style.

We also had lunch at a local restaurant and then headed back to the bus for our 2 hour ride back to the ship.  On the way our bus stopped at a point where we could view both volcanoes in the lake.  And just  a few miles from port we were treated to a group of howler monkeys feeding in the trees along the roadside.

We're back on the ship, heading for Cabo San Lucas.  But first we have  three days at sea.  This will be the ultimate test to see if we are truly cruisers.

Here are today's pics:

Nicaragua

Picture update

So we broke down and purchased some internet minutes on the ship.  Because of speed, I've reverted to posting pics on picasa.  Here are those links:

Cartagena

Panama Canal

Costa Rica

Day 7 - Costa Rica

I'm sitting at an internet cafe in Puntarenas, Costa Rica and I would be sweating them off if I had a pair!


We just got back from our excursion. We bused up to Naranja to tour a coffee farm.  They showed us everything from planting the new plants to the roasting.  Lots of good information to support my coffee habit.  This plantation is ecofriendly and grows only arabic coffee.  What that means is the coffee beans are a bit smaller with more flavor.  And the smaller the bean, the more flavor.    The guide actually recommended drinking arabic coffee if you have an issue with the caffine because decaffinated coffee still has some caffine in it AND there are residue chemicals in the coffee from the decaffination process.  It was really informative.

After the coffee farm we headed over to Sorchi, the city of painted ox carts.  We got to tour the plant which is run entirely by a water wheel, the same way it was 100 years ago.  The carts are painted by local artists and still used in some Costa Rican farms.  Their original use was to hall coffee down the mountains to waiting ships.  It was pretty cool.  They also provided some fresh fruit for a snack.  Jen Charles, you are correct, nothing tastes like a Costa Rican pineapple.  I've had them in Maui, and these were much better!   And the papaya was delicious!!!!

So it took about 1.5 hours to get back to the ship.  We went to our room to drop our bags nd then headed back to town to spend some time at the internet cafe - and have a cold local beer.

After we're finished we'll head back to the ship, freshen up a bit and grab something to eat in the cafeteria. Tonight we're going to try to catch the movies on the lido deck under the stars.

Here are today's Pics:

Costa Rica Pictures

Day 6 - At Sea

A quiet day at sea.  We got up and actually head to the gym!  Then head to the cafeteria for breakfast!  Haha!!

By 10 were in the lounge listening to a lecture on future cruise venues - ah, no we didn't book anything.  We then catch a lecture on Puntarenas, Costa Rica, tomorrow's port of call.

Tonight is our 2nd formal night. Believe me, I won't have trouble finding something to wear.  I really overpacked for this trip!

That's it for today!   Will check in after tomorrow's excursions in Costa Rica.

Day 5 - Panama Canal

Today's the day. We transit the Panama Canal. Six locks, two lakes and 10 hours later  we'll be in the Pacific Ocean.

Here are a couple of Panama Canal tidbits:

The canal runs north/south.  I never realized that!

Engineering for the canal was begun in earnest in 1880 by the French.   The original plan was to make the canal sea level like the Suez Canal.  The rock landscape of Panama made that nearly impossible and the French abandoned the effort in 1903.  The US then purchased the rights to develop the project.  US engineers then redesigned canal to include 3 locks on either end.

It takes 10 hours to transit through the canal.

The cost for the Island Princess to transit the Canal was $483,000, roughly $250 per passenger.  That amount includes an additional $36,000 for a reserved time and another $30,000 for a daytime passage.

Each lock takes approximately 30 minutes from enter to exit. But only 5 minutes for the water level to change.

The actual 50 mile transit began around 7:30 am.  We were dressed and ready to begin the experience.  The Canal pilots boarded the ship - two for the bridge and 1 for the aft.  By 8:30 we were waiting our turn to enter the first lock.   Our room is at the aft of the ship. And we're able to see a lot of the action from out balcony. But we want to see the entering of the first canal from the bow.  So we head forward to the hot, humid and very crowded decks 14 and 15. It was difficult to see anything clearly and there is a blue glass preventing any good photos unless you could squeeze the camera between the glass frames.  After the first lock, hot and sweaty, we walk around to different areas of the ship to get different views and end up back in our room for some shade, water and air conditioning.  The Atlantic, or Caribbean side locks are one after another.  By 10:30 we were sailing into man made Gatun Lake, approximately 150 above sea level.

For the next 4.5 hours we slowly, very slowly sail throughout Gatun Lake. It's a very narrow channel and the ship is always escorted by a couple of Canal Pilot boats. During this time we break for lunch and grab a pizza at one of the restaurants. During lunch our table mates tell us about 2 observation areas just below the bridge on decks 10 and 11.  Most folks don't know about them and there's no plexiglass inhibiting the view.    We decide we'll head up there when we get to the first descending lock.

As we near the south end of the lake, we sail under Centennial Bridge, the only permanent bridge to span the Canal between the locks.  The south, or Pacific locks are in two locations.  The first one, Pedro Miguel separates Gatun and Mira Flores lakes.   So we head up to the newly discovered decks to view the transition of Pedro Miguel lock. It was great!  Minimal people, and a great view.   It was still hot and humid, but a much better than the higher decks.

Hot and exhausted from standing in the 90 degree weather with matching humidity, we head back to our room.  We can watch the view from the front of the ship on TV while seeing the action in the back from our balcony.

Mira Flores is approximately 1.5 mikes long so it doesn't take a lot of time to reach the 2nd set of the Pacific side locks. Roughly an hour later we're through the two Mira Flores locks and we are technically out of the Panama Canal. As we sail toward the Pacific, we sail under the bridge of the Americas and view Panama City on the skyline.  It was a hot and exhausting transit and a lifetime experience.  We feel like we were on a ten hour tour!

Back in our rooms we freshen up for dinner and catch one of the entertainment venues. Exhausted, we head to bed, and remember to turn our clocks back a hour. We're in mountain time now!

Here's a link to some Panama Photos.  I've reverted back to Picasa 'cause it's just the quickest to upload!
Panama Pics

Day 4 - Cartagena, Colombia

Sailing into Cartagena this morning was slow. The ship had to stay within a narrow shipping Chanel while sailing past a number of outlying islands. I have to be honest, I didn't do a lot of research for this trip, so I don't know a lot about our ports.

We decided to do a ship tour in this port. The city is very large (1,000,00) and spread out.  And with average temps hovering around 90 with humidity to match, getting into the air conditioned bus was ohh so nice.

We started out trip by climbing to the top of Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, a fortress built by Spaniards in the 1600's for protection against pirates while shipping gold back to Europe.   It was a hot and humid climb, cooled only by an occasional hot breeze. But the view from the top was worth the climb.  From the fortress we drive over to the old town.  Our second stop, Las Bovedas, dungeons initially built for military purposes, and later a market for slave sales.   Unfortunately the building is now used for tourist shops. So shop we did.

Back in the bus we circle around to the other side of the old town.   Here we tour the Palicio de la Inquisition (torture museum), Petro Claver Church, the Naval Museum for a quick folklorico show, and then one more stop for emerald shopping.  Columbia is the major producer of emeralds. We don't buy any emeralds.  But we do buy two beers from a guy from Philly, and get to use his wifi for a few quick picture posts on Facebook.

We're back on the ship by 2:30 and grab a quick lunch. Then back to our rooms to freshen up and watch us leave the harbor of Cartegena.

Later this evening we head to the theater to catch the evenings entertainment. A vegas singer of Nat King Cole songs.  I have to say, the entertainment has been great on this ship.

After the show we head for dinner.  I had a great surf and turf. Tomorrow we begin our Panama Canal transit at 7 am. We don't want to miss that. So off to bed we go.

Will get pics posted later today   Look for a separate post with address. 

4-4 Aruba

We're in Aruba this morning.  We decided not to do any tour here, so we just walked the main street.  They just happen to have a Starbucks, so we're taking the time to upload my blog text.  Not sure if I'll get any pictures uploaded.  Connection isn't super!

There's really nothing to report from here.  Food is good, entertainment is great, and we're sleeping like babies.

Check back to the Flickr photo page to check if I got any of the photos to upload:

Cruise Photos

4-3 Day 2 at Sea

Again we start out slowly.after having breakfast at the Bordeaux dining room, we head to the $10 Holiday Store sale in the province dining room. All items are $10.  I end up buying a watch and wallet.  Tony.'s find is a manicure set.  Then back to the room to catch a morning siesta - just 2 hours out of bed!!!

Around noon we head back to the. Atrium to listen to the Rhaposdy Trio play classical music.  We also take some great photos of the atrium area.  This is the center of the ship which serves as a meeting place for cruises and hosts many of the social events on the ship.

At one we head into the princess theater to listen to the informative lecture on Cartagena.  The lecture include historical background of the city and logistics on how to Manuver when in the city.  It actually didn't start until 1:30 so we get up and walk around a bit, stopping at the art auction hoping to cash in on hue free champaign. Nos core on that, so we head back to the theater. I leave the lecture around 2 and head over to the advanced photography class, and Tony stays for the remainder of the Cartagena lecture.  Later we meet back at the room.  Time for a bit more R&R. Then at 4 I head back to the princess lounge to listen to the returning cruisers presentation.   This is our 2nd cruise on Princess.  The presentation consists of music, videos on the new cruise ship design, and a drawing for elite status during the cruise. Darn, the luck winner get free laundry for the duration of the cruise.  Something to work toward!

Tonight we'll head to an early dinner.  Tomorrow we'll be in Aruba.

4-2 Our First Day at Sea

What a great night. For the first time since we've left home we slept like babies.  The rocking of the island princess was a lullaby to us.  We woke to room service with a pot of coffee and croissants with preserves.

BTW, happy birthday to me!   So after a slow start we he'd down to the buffet for breakfast. The tour the ship to get familiar. At 10 we headed to the theater to catch an education presentation of "when icebergs were seen on the. Florida coast".  The presenter spoke about the origin of the sand on the beaches of Florida and scientific evidence of origin of the quartz based sand- the Appalachian mountains. Interesting.

 At 11 we head over to the wheelhouse bar to meet with the cruise critic gang.  This group is nothing like our Mediterranean group on the legend. There were roughly 20 people.  We spent the majority of the time with a gal from Tucson. She had singled me out because on the cruise critic roll call she had mentioned it was her husbands birthday on the 2nd.  And I had responded that it was my birthday too and we needed to celebrate. Well, there wasn't a lot of celebrating with the group, but we had a nice conversation with her and her husband and then decided to head out for a bit more exploring.  We needed to change our dinner reservations fro 8 to 7:30 because we wanted to have enough time to make it to the Piano Man performance at 9:45.

At 1 we headed to the aft lounge to hear an intro to photography lecture. It was actually quite interesting. Basic, but interesting. The presenter spoke about the special setting ps on an slr camera. The nice thing was that it was a Nikon lecture. Past photography classes I've attended we're always canon based. Although similar, it was nice to have a Nikon lecture for a change.

Later, we ended up back in our room for an afternoon nap. The seas were a bit rough today and we both were a bit tired so we ended up watching superman, Man of Steel.


We had dinner reservations at the bayou cafe at 7:30.  I had filet and t had chicken. I ordered the filet medium well.  Note.  Order medium next time.  This one was too well done. But the dinner was wonderful and the piano man and waiters sang happy birthday to me. Good memories.

after dinner we headed to the theater to watch the musical group perform Billy Joel, Barry Manalow and Elton John music.  Even with a rocking boat the show was great. And afterward we decided to catch the Scott Walker comedy show too.  He was a hoot.  So it's almost midnight and it's time to hit the sack. The ol' Island princess will be rocking us to sleep tonight.

The Atrium

4-1 Setting Sail on the Island

So I found my sanctuary. We got on the Island Princess around noon, had a cold beer and some lunch. Then walked around the ship to get the lay of the land. Our room is the last room on the port side of deck 10. Just behind us is a ship width aft deck. This will be my sanctuary for the next two weeks.

We should be setting sail about 330 this afternoon. I have a beer in my hand and I'm ready to watch us leave the Port of Fort Lauderdale.

Before we loose our data connection, here are a few pics of the ship.  Island Princess

3-31 Miami and South Beach

Our time is running out, and getting around down here is difficult for us spoiled Southern Californians.  The freeways are a mess with lots of construction, and drivers are incredibly aggressive.  Yes, this SoCal driver did say that!  I've seen more people cut off and flipped off over the past few days.  So we opt not to go to the Everglades and instead do some laundry and head down to Miami to check out the beach area.

We found the Art Deco area of South Beach, and it probably took us more time to find a parking spot than it did to have lunch and walk around (note strong German sarcasm).  The beaches are beautiful and were quite crowded as it's spring break season.  That means lots of young scantly clad bodies floating around, many that were a bit intoxicated.  It was quite a site.  OK, back to the buildings, which were beautiful.  But I think their real beauty is displayed at night with all the neon lighting.

That was about it for our day.  On our way back to FLL we stopped at LensCrafters to have a nose pad replaced on my sunglasses.  Oh, you're probably not too interested in all that housekeeping stuff.

Well, that's it folks.  Tomorrow we board ship around noonish.  And set sail around 3.  Check back occasionally.  I'll try to post an update somewhere along the cruise. Neighbors are sitting outside.  

Here are a few pics from Miami:  Day 5 - Miami

3-30 Driving back to FLL

Today we took our time getting out of bed.  The only things we had on our schedule was to visit the Hemingway House or Truman's Little White House.  Then we were heading back up to Fort Lauderdale.

We decide on Truman's Little White House and we're glad we did.  The conch style home, (1-2 story rectangular with full width porches on each floor) was built in 1890 and initially served as the naval stations's Command headquarters.  In 1946 President Truman began using it as a winter White House.

In 1974 the Naval Submarine Base closed and the house sat unused or years.  Then in 1987 the museum was transferred to the state of Florida where it became a protected property and it is entirely supported through donations and tour sales.  The home can still be rented by current and past US presidents, their children and grandchildren.  But a fee is charged because every time someone stays overnight, all the original antique furniture is removed and replaced with functional furniture, and then reversed after the visit.  The last person to stay there was Susan Ford and her children a few years back.  The Obama's have never vacationed there.

It was nostalgic touring the house.  Bess Truman's bedroom furniture was blond wood, the same color of the bed set I still sleep in when I visit my mother.  Another deja vous item was the studio sofa in the president's bedroom.  I remember my mother having a "studio sofa" in her den after her 1950's remodel.  The studio couch was used for daytime naps because back then one didn't climb back into one's bed during the day. Perhaps that why I don't like to nap in my bed during the day.  It's an old cultural custom!  Unfortunately no photos were allowed in the building, so I've had to rely on the internet for some pics of the interior.

The Little White House - Key West

Bess Truman's Bedroom - Note the blond furniture

Harry Truman's Bedroom - He made his own bed 

and napped on the studio sofa.

So after our tour we headed back up Highway 1 to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale.  Tomorrow is our last day in Florida and then we set sail.  Not sure how much I'll be blogging during the cruise.  Out of the 15 days, half of them will be at sea.  Don't think there will be a lot to report ... or if we'll even have internet.

Here are a few pics from our drive back up Highway 1:  Day 4 - Overseas Hwy

3-29 Dry Tortugas

Wow!  What a day!  First off, we had great night's sleep.  I think our colds have finally decided to take leave AND we've adjusted to the time difference.  On to vacation! 

After a quick hotel breakfast we head back down to Duval Street.  We wanted to walk around without the crowds.  One of our stops was Kino's Sandals, a Cuban sandal maker who's been making sandals in Key West since 1966.  Pretty cool.  Everything is made locally. Their sandals are on a counter, you select a style, give them your size, a pair is grabbed out of the appropriate box (mostly discarded beer cases), you try them on and then either buy or not!  Check it out:  Kino's Sandals 

After our brief shopping excursion, we return to the hotel to prepare for our big outing of the day - boarding a seaplane to Fort Jefferson located in the Dry Tortugas National Park.  The Park is located on one of the seven Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most isolated of the Florida Keys.  Although never completed the Fort is the largest brick structure in the US. 

Dry Tortugas National Park 

At 1:30 we head over to the Key West airport, sign our liability release forms and join our fellow passengers on the 10-passenger seaplane for the 30 minute flight to the Dry Tortugas. Liftoff was surprisingly quick and before we knew it we were skimming only 500 feet above the Gulf of Mexico.  Throughout the flight we skim over the shallow flats of Key West, an area off the coast that's less than 5 feet deep for miles off the shoreline, see underwater sand dunes, and the wrecks of two sunken ships.   The weather was a bit hazy, not bad considering rain was predicted.  We didn't know what to expect with a water landing in a sea plane.  But this one was incredibly smooth.  I've never been on a flight where the pilot encourages the passengers in back to open the back doors for some fresh air.  

Once on the island we were on our own for 2.5 hour.   Our first objective was to Walk through the ruins of Fort Jefferson.  And if time permitted, we planned to do a bit of snorkeling.  So we headed out to explore, walking through the 150 year ruins of an attempted fortress.  Check out the pics on my Flickr site.   

Did I mention it was really hot and humid (98%)? By the time we ended our tour we were both drenched. So we headed to the beach for a quick dip.  We did attempt to snorkel, but the water was quite rough making the water quite murky.  But the dip was very refreshing.

On the flight back to Key West, Tony got to sit up front with the pilot.  He was all smiles and was able to film a bit.   Will try to upload the video - if I can figure it out!

Time for bed.  Tomorrow we head back to Fort Lauderdale.

3-28 Driving to Key West

One of our bucket list items was to drive the Overseas Highway to Key West - all 127.5 miles of it! Check. I had this vision where the majority of the highway was indeed over water.  Well, it's not.

http://www.fla-keys.com/highway.cfm

Although there are 42 bridges, 113 miles of the road travel through the small towns of the Florida Keys, and the road often narrows to one lane in each direction.  I mentioned a number of times that the landscape reminded me of Cancun - flat, ground-hugging vegetation, and lots of limestone.

So my favorite part was driving over (yes, I was driving) the 7 mile bridge as we closed in on Key West.  There are actually  two bridges here, the original bridge built in 1912, and it's newer replacement bridge completed in 1982.  Mmmm, don't remember that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Mile_Bridge

So after leaving Fort Lauderdale at 11, we reached our hotel in Key West around 4 pm. Ahh, I forgot to mention we had a little car rental issue first.  This morning, when we tried to put our luggage in the trunk, it didn't open.  Fortunately the car rental was just across the street from our hotel and the clerk was very accommodating and exchanged our car within minutes and we were on our way.

Back to Key West, after checking in we head down to the action on Duval Street - just envision Revolution in Tijuana!  Lot's of people, all shapes and ages, and many of them very drunk!  After walking around a bit, we settle on an Italian restaurant for dinner and immediately fall into a pasta coma.  Still too early for bed, we head to Mallory Square to watch the sunset and then head back to the hotel for an early night.  Tomorrow we fly over to the Dry Tortugas.

Click here to see a couple of DAY 2 pictures from our drive.

3/27 - Fort Lauderdale

Thank goodness yesterday is over.  It was a very long and tedious travel day.  Our flight was delayed out of San Diego making our connection in Atlanta very tight.  But we made it to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) exhausted, and in my case very cranky!!  But we're  on vacation, so on to better things.

After decent night's sleep, we picked up our rental car and drove east to the beach. The Atlantic water is so blue and inviting compared to the Pacific.  But not inviting enough for us to get wet.  We walked along the beach soaking in the sights and smells and then headed over to Las Olas Boulevard, the riverfront area of downtown Fort Lauderdale.  Lots of shops, restaurants and bars, but we didn't stop.  Our destination was the Carrie B Cruise dock.  This was just our speed today, a 1.5 hour paddleboat tour on the New River and Intracoastal  waterway checking out the life of the rich and famous.  Yachts, yachts and more yachts. And amazing homes in an area called the "Venice of the US".  Pretty amazing.

After our exhausting cruise we headed to a local Italian restaurant for a late lunch and glass of wine.  Then back to our hotel to rest.  We're both trying to shake off the remnants of colds.

Click here to see some pics from today.

Tomorrow we drive down to Key West, check one item on the bucket list.

We're Off - Again

It's been a crazy couple of months...

• Hosting a 50th birthday party in our back yard
• Caring for our granddaughter in Monrovia
• Business trip to Central Valley, CA
• Business conference in Las Vegas
• More grandchild care in Alamogordo, NM

… and all the other family and daily stuff that goes on.  But we're ready!  Almost!

We returned from Alamogordo on Sunday night.  Unfortunately both Tony and I have a bit of a cold.  Nothing major, just an annoyance.  Hope we're better by the time we get to the Keys.

Although we've cruised before, this one is going to be different.  We spend half of the 15 days at sea.   The great thing about cruising is unpacking 1x - oh, and having someone make the bed!  So we'll let you know if we like cruise life at sea.

So here's our room location on the Island Princess.  We love being on the aft of the ship and because this ship has no aft facing rooms, this is the closest room we could get.  Drawback: the balcony is not covered.  That should only be an issue for half the day, right?

Island Princes - Room C728

Nine Weeks and Counting….

We're nine weeks out from leaving for Florida.  Yep, we're doing it again. Cruising!  This time we're cruising the Panama Canal.  But first step is Fort Lauderdale, Miami and the Florida Keys.  Lots to do before then.  See ya in a couple of months.