Tucson
After arriving home last Saturday, things have been a bit of a blur!
First of all, I am typing this with just my left hand. I had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand last Tuesday, All in all it is healing nicely. I removed the big bandaid on Friday and I do have a little feeling coming back into my fingers. I have discovered there are quite a few things I can do with only one hand & the left one at that! Then there are just things that absolutely cannotbe done -- don't ask.
More when I can type.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
More of New Orleans
Jan 19, Tuesday, New Orleans
The condo we are staying in was built in 1842….and yes, it has been modernized over the years, however, the exterior looks like 1842. We are right in the middle of the French Quarter as well. In the French Quarter you can modernize the inside of a house/townhouse/building, but you can not change the exterior. You have to maintain the old French Quarter appearance. I find it very charming.
Ron and Melanie left today, heading back to Portland. Little by little our group is dwindling down. We have two more full days in New Orleans after today. Time flies when you are having fun. We reallly enjoyed having all of our kids with us on this trip.
Ric, Janet, Jenn and Jerry are off to explore the cemetaries today. I was going to go with them, but decided to take a break today. We had lunch at Clover’s Café…a true 1950’s diner on Bourbon St. and St.Louis St. in the heart of the French Quarter. The hamburgers are cooked on a grill and covered with an old hubcap!!! Very good and worth the walk. Right now Jack and Suzi are off on a walk and Al is resting. He seems to be doing a lot of that lately.
Tonight we had dinner at the Crazy Lobster, which is at the end of the River Walk. Jerry had the “Seafood Bucket” which is what they are famous for. It contained a full lobster, shrimp, crab, mussels, corn, potatoes and was huge. He managed to eat most of it with a little help from his dad! Janet and I had red beans and rice; Jenn had jambalaya…all was very good. So I have tasted this trip beignets, hurricane, pralines, jambalaya, po boy sandwich, etouffee, gumbo, red beans and rice, and only have a muffelatta left to try. UGH…I am full!
Jan. 20, HAPPY 70TH BIRTHDAY GARY
Up late this morning, guess I was tired! Woke up to rain and mist and fog…eerie!
Jack, Suzi, Jenn and I took off walking this morning to Café DuMonde for yet another round of coffe au late and beignets. Then it was shopping time…through the French Market and the shops that surround them. The French Market is comparable to Pike Place Market in Seattle…a little smaller, but not all of the vendors were out today. Loved walking around in the fog and mist however. The sun came out later this afternoon. I think I will take a walk around the French Quarter this afternoon….just can’t get enough! For someone who didn’t expect to like New Orleans, I am really liking it.
After a lunch of a quarter muffalatta sandwich, which was exceptionally good and they are huge; Jenn and Suzi conned me into taking a walk with them. What they forgot to tell me is that I was going to be walking all over the French Quarter. Actually, it was fun, but I had to give them grief about it. They were doing a walking tour from a book Suzi bought today. There was really a structured tour in the book, but we didn’t discover that until the VERY END of the walk!!! We kinda’ zig-zagged all over the French Quarter. At one point we had just visited the cathedral and were standing on the corner trying to decide which place to go next and the heavens let loose and it poured. Of course, we had left our umbrella’s and poncho’s at the condo….so we found a store selling ponchos, put them on and it stopped raining!!! It figures! We didn’t let a little rain stop us….we continued our walking tour. We stopped for a cup of coffee and to let our feet rest for a while, and then we were off again. Finally, just as it was getting dark we returned to the condo. Tonight for dinner we went to Mona Lisa’s restaurant, right around the corner…excellent Italian food. Fun day….
Jan 21, THURSDAY
Our group here is dwindling rapidly here….Jenn, Janet and Ric left today…what was 12 is now down to 5!
After Jack took them to the airport, he picked us up and we went to the WWII Museum….all I can say is WOW. That was a great museum. I learned more there than I learned from the school books about WWII!
After that we set out to find a Sam’s Club (since there is no Costco anywhere around!!) for a broasted chicken. Well, it wasn’t exactly as easy as we thought! Lucy, my GPS, wouldn’t, couldn’t find a Sam’s club here …. The gps on Jacks phone said one place and the gps on my phone said another….after many wrong turns we finally found it. When we got in, they were out of broasted chickens and we had to wait 20 minutes for one…..we could have stayed lost for a bit longer I guess.
Tomorrow we are headed home…well back to Phoenix. We will stay overnight in Phoenix since I don’t like driving in the dark and especially through the desert. I talked to Denise at home and we are really having the wind and rain….winds up to 30 mph and 50-60 mph gusts…ugh.
The condo we are staying in was built in 1842….and yes, it has been modernized over the years, however, the exterior looks like 1842. We are right in the middle of the French Quarter as well. In the French Quarter you can modernize the inside of a house/townhouse/building, but you can not change the exterior. You have to maintain the old French Quarter appearance. I find it very charming.
Ron and Melanie left today, heading back to Portland. Little by little our group is dwindling down. We have two more full days in New Orleans after today. Time flies when you are having fun. We reallly enjoyed having all of our kids with us on this trip.
Ric, Janet, Jenn and Jerry are off to explore the cemetaries today. I was going to go with them, but decided to take a break today. We had lunch at Clover’s Café…a true 1950’s diner on Bourbon St. and St.Louis St. in the heart of the French Quarter. The hamburgers are cooked on a grill and covered with an old hubcap!!! Very good and worth the walk. Right now Jack and Suzi are off on a walk and Al is resting. He seems to be doing a lot of that lately.
Tonight we had dinner at the Crazy Lobster, which is at the end of the River Walk. Jerry had the “Seafood Bucket” which is what they are famous for. It contained a full lobster, shrimp, crab, mussels, corn, potatoes and was huge. He managed to eat most of it with a little help from his dad! Janet and I had red beans and rice; Jenn had jambalaya…all was very good. So I have tasted this trip beignets, hurricane, pralines, jambalaya, po boy sandwich, etouffee, gumbo, red beans and rice, and only have a muffelatta left to try. UGH…I am full!
Jan. 20, HAPPY 70TH BIRTHDAY GARY
Up late this morning, guess I was tired! Woke up to rain and mist and fog…eerie!
Jack, Suzi, Jenn and I took off walking this morning to Café DuMonde for yet another round of coffe au late and beignets. Then it was shopping time…through the French Market and the shops that surround them. The French Market is comparable to Pike Place Market in Seattle…a little smaller, but not all of the vendors were out today. Loved walking around in the fog and mist however. The sun came out later this afternoon. I think I will take a walk around the French Quarter this afternoon….just can’t get enough! For someone who didn’t expect to like New Orleans, I am really liking it.
After a lunch of a quarter muffalatta sandwich, which was exceptionally good and they are huge; Jenn and Suzi conned me into taking a walk with them. What they forgot to tell me is that I was going to be walking all over the French Quarter. Actually, it was fun, but I had to give them grief about it. They were doing a walking tour from a book Suzi bought today. There was really a structured tour in the book, but we didn’t discover that until the VERY END of the walk!!! We kinda’ zig-zagged all over the French Quarter. At one point we had just visited the cathedral and were standing on the corner trying to decide which place to go next and the heavens let loose and it poured. Of course, we had left our umbrella’s and poncho’s at the condo….so we found a store selling ponchos, put them on and it stopped raining!!! It figures! We didn’t let a little rain stop us….we continued our walking tour. We stopped for a cup of coffee and to let our feet rest for a while, and then we were off again. Finally, just as it was getting dark we returned to the condo. Tonight for dinner we went to Mona Lisa’s restaurant, right around the corner…excellent Italian food. Fun day….
Jan 21, THURSDAY
Our group here is dwindling rapidly here….Jenn, Janet and Ric left today…what was 12 is now down to 5!
After Jack took them to the airport, he picked us up and we went to the WWII Museum….all I can say is WOW. That was a great museum. I learned more there than I learned from the school books about WWII!
After that we set out to find a Sam’s Club (since there is no Costco anywhere around!!) for a broasted chicken. Well, it wasn’t exactly as easy as we thought! Lucy, my GPS, wouldn’t, couldn’t find a Sam’s club here …. The gps on Jacks phone said one place and the gps on my phone said another….after many wrong turns we finally found it. When we got in, they were out of broasted chickens and we had to wait 20 minutes for one…..we could have stayed lost for a bit longer I guess.
Tomorrow we are headed home…well back to Phoenix. We will stay overnight in Phoenix since I don’t like driving in the dark and especially through the desert. I talked to Denise at home and we are really having the wind and rain….winds up to 30 mph and 50-60 mph gusts…ugh.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Back to New Orleans
Jan 17, Sunday New Orleans
We arrived back in New Orleans early this morning and by 10:00 a.m. we were off the ship and on our way to our condo for the week. After checking in and discovering our condo was on the second floor (I had requested a handicapped, first floor unit) it was a question as to if Al was going to be able to handle the stairs; however, he did fine. We dumped our luggage and went in search of lunch and a WalMart for supplies for the week. We will probably eat breakfast in the condo and lunch and dinner out. Way too many good restaurants in this town and way too little time!!!
After the carriage ride it was to Café DuMonde for beignets and café au late for a snack. Then we all scattered again. Jerry took off to just look around, Ric, Janet and Jenn walking through the French Market; Mel and Ron back to the French Quarter; Jack, Suzi and I back to the condo.
After lunch at the condo we took a private van tour of the city, Katrina devastation. I had no idea of the true devastation that Katrina did. The media didn’t exactly cover it properly or report it properly in my mind. They only covered the big items, leaving out valuable information. Did you realize that some area’s were under 15 feet or more of water? Or did you know that New Orleans has about half of the population that they did before the storm? Some of the people just walked away from their houses, never to return. New Orleans is suffering from a lack of workers, especially entry level workers. Families moved and have never came back, thus the lack of workers is really slowing down the recovery efforts. I was totallly amazed at the amount of devastation; still very obvious in places. Our tour driver lost his house, but fortunately he had flood insurance and was able to rebuild. He lived in the upper 9th ward. We toured not only that area, but the lower 9th ward as well and saw the work that Brad Pitt is spearheading in that area. We saw where the levee’s broke and the canals that carried the water into the city; where they have rebuilt the levee’s which have not been tested as of yet. Just totally amazing to me. How much or little we actually know about the damage of Katrina. What didn’t get damaged by water got damaged from the wind or fire. I have a new appreciation of the rebuilding that is going on.
Houses that Harry Connick Jr is building
We arrived back in New Orleans early this morning and by 10:00 a.m. we were off the ship and on our way to our condo for the week. After checking in and discovering our condo was on the second floor (I had requested a handicapped, first floor unit) it was a question as to if Al was going to be able to handle the stairs; however, he did fine. We dumped our luggage and went in search of lunch and a WalMart for supplies for the week. We will probably eat breakfast in the condo and lunch and dinner out. Way too many good restaurants in this town and way too little time!!!
After finding Walmart we decided to eat first so went back to the VooDoo BBQ for lunch. All I can say it this place is advertised as the best bbq in New Orleans and we agree.
This afternoon Jack, Suzi, Ron, Mel, Jenn all took a long walk. Al and I just rested and I got caught up with emails. For dinner all of us went to Landry’s Seafood. It was good, however, the dirty rice was way too spicy for this wimp! Sadly after dinner we said goodbye to Mike and Bev as they fly home tomorrow morning. Ric, Janet and Jerry took off to their condo; the rest of us back to ours. Nite all!
Jan 18, Monday, Happy Birthday Shirley; New Orleans
Up this morning to a beautiful day! After breakfast all of us but Al, who didn’t feel like tackling the stairs this morning, took off walking to Jackson Square to jump on a carriage ride around the French Quarter. I was really amazed about some of the facts we learned about New Orleans. Katrina did some damage to the French Quarter, but didn’t do the damage that it did other places.
Wraspirs and Waddicks on the Carriage Ride
After lunch at the condo we took a private van tour of the city, Katrina devastation. I had no idea of the true devastation that Katrina did. The media didn’t exactly cover it properly or report it properly in my mind. They only covered the big items, leaving out valuable information. Did you realize that some area’s were under 15 feet or more of water? Or did you know that New Orleans has about half of the population that they did before the storm? Some of the people just walked away from their houses, never to return. New Orleans is suffering from a lack of workers, especially entry level workers. Families moved and have never came back, thus the lack of workers is really slowing down the recovery efforts. I was totallly amazed at the amount of devastation; still very obvious in places. Our tour driver lost his house, but fortunately he had flood insurance and was able to rebuild. He lived in the upper 9th ward. We toured not only that area, but the lower 9th ward as well and saw the work that Brad Pitt is spearheading in that area. We saw where the levee’s broke and the canals that carried the water into the city; where they have rebuilt the levee’s which have not been tested as of yet. Just totally amazing to me. How much or little we actually know about the damage of Katrina. What didn’t get damaged by water got damaged from the wind or fire. I have a new appreciation of the rebuilding that is going on.
Just steps left after Katrina got done
Houses that Harry Connick Jr is buildingWe also toured the Garden District, which pretty much escaped major damage, however, a lot of the wealthy area’s were also heavily damaged, not just the poor area’s. We toured the cemetarys as well and we plan on going back to them tomorrow. They are so interesting since most of them are above ground crypts.
Dinner tonight was at Irene’s Italian Restaurant, only 2 blocks from the condo. Al decided he could walk the two blocks, however, the blocks were very long and he was in pain by the time he got to the restaurant; after dinner Jack went and got the car to bring Al back to the condo.
Tomorrow is another day of exploring….can’t wait. I am really loving New Orleans….who knew I would?
Ron And Melanie, aboard NCL Spirit
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Belize, Cozumel, Tropical storm Wraspir!
Jan 14, Thursday Belize
While the kids scattered to do various shore excursions, Al and I stayed on board the ship. Ron and Melanie did Al-Tun Ha ruins and Belize River tour; Jenn, Janet and Bev did Al-Tun Ha Ruins and Belize City Tour; Mike, Jerry, Ric did Jungle Trek and cave tubing; Jack and Suzi did Jungle Trek, Cave tubing and Zip Line. I did walk into the Ships’ Tourist Trap at the end of the pier, however, it was too crowded for me.
Tonight we all scattered for dinner as well. Some went to the dining room, some to the buffet, and some to the hamburger place. Fairly quiet day for me.
Jan. 15, Friday, Cozumel
All of the kids went to Tulum today, since they have never been there. Jack, Suzi, Al and I have been there, done that and decided we didn’t need to do it again. Jack went to the gym, Al stayed on the deck and read; Suzi and I walked to the Ship’s tourist trap at the end of the pier and boosted the local economy a little bit. Reminded us of being in Mexico, oh, wait, we are in Mexico…hey lady, buy from me! “Almost free”…ha!
This afternoon Suzi and I pampered ourselves with a massage and facial….ah…..much better.
We all had dinner tonight in the Shogun Asian Fusion restaurant on board. Somehow, it wasn’t as good as when we had dinner at the same place on the NCL Pearl on our Panama Canal cruise. After dinner, we all scattered again…some to the show, some to the casino, some to their rooms.
Jan. 16, Saturday, At Sea
BOOM! WHAT???? BOOM!!! We were awoke to a great tropical storm. The ship was a rockin’ pretty good last night, but this morning around 7:00 a.m. we were treated to a real storm. Thunder, lightning, wind, rain and high swells. WOO HOO! I love a good storm at sea. Jenn and I sat on the bed with the door open and watched it….rain coming down in sheets….big flashes of lightning and loud claps of thunder; high waves and lots of wind. LOVED IT! The ship was literally crawling through this storm….and was sounding the fog horn every two minutes as visibility was nil. We did pass another ship in the distance during the storm…we could barely see it. The storm lasted a good hour or more and this ship is still doing a bit of rocking now.
After breakfast we had our family pictures taken .. Jack being the photographer for us. The rest of the day is free to do “what ever” And I think I will do just that…read and what ever!
While the kids scattered to do various shore excursions, Al and I stayed on board the ship. Ron and Melanie did Al-Tun Ha ruins and Belize River tour; Jenn, Janet and Bev did Al-Tun Ha Ruins and Belize City Tour; Mike, Jerry, Ric did Jungle Trek and cave tubing; Jack and Suzi did Jungle Trek, Cave tubing and Zip Line. I did walk into the Ships’ Tourist Trap at the end of the pier, however, it was too crowded for me.
Tonight we all scattered for dinner as well. Some went to the dining room, some to the buffet, and some to the hamburger place. Fairly quiet day for me.
Jan. 15, Friday, Cozumel
All of the kids went to Tulum today, since they have never been there. Jack, Suzi, Al and I have been there, done that and decided we didn’t need to do it again. Jack went to the gym, Al stayed on the deck and read; Suzi and I walked to the Ship’s tourist trap at the end of the pier and boosted the local economy a little bit. Reminded us of being in Mexico, oh, wait, we are in Mexico…hey lady, buy from me! “Almost free”…ha!
This afternoon Suzi and I pampered ourselves with a massage and facial….ah…..much better.
We all had dinner tonight in the Shogun Asian Fusion restaurant on board. Somehow, it wasn’t as good as when we had dinner at the same place on the NCL Pearl on our Panama Canal cruise. After dinner, we all scattered again…some to the show, some to the casino, some to their rooms.
Jan. 16, Saturday, At Sea
BOOM! WHAT???? BOOM!!! We were awoke to a great tropical storm. The ship was a rockin’ pretty good last night, but this morning around 7:00 a.m. we were treated to a real storm. Thunder, lightning, wind, rain and high swells. WOO HOO! I love a good storm at sea. Jenn and I sat on the bed with the door open and watched it….rain coming down in sheets….big flashes of lightning and loud claps of thunder; high waves and lots of wind. LOVED IT! The ship was literally crawling through this storm….and was sounding the fog horn every two minutes as visibility was nil. We did pass another ship in the distance during the storm…we could barely see it. The storm lasted a good hour or more and this ship is still doing a bit of rocking now.
After breakfast we had our family pictures taken .. Jack being the photographer for us. The rest of the day is free to do “what ever” And I think I will do just that…read and what ever!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Guatamala
Jan 13, Wednesday, Santo de Tomas, Guatamala
Still cloudy and a bit cool today as we arrive in Guatamala. Since Al has such a difficult time walking we did a town trolley tour today. Ron and Melanie went with us. The rest of the gang scattered; some doing the old fort tour; some doing the town and beach tour and yet others doing a river trip.
Our tour through the town made us glad of where we live and what we have. The average wage here is $250 month and gas is $5 plus a gallon…you do the math! No large super markets here either, you mostly do your shopping daily at the local outdoor market. We saw a lot of fresh produce that looked really good, however, our tour guide said most of the good produce is exported to WALMART! Their main export in Guatamala is sugar cane and most of it goes directly to Coca Cola; the second export is coffee and the third is banana’s, which once again goes mainly to Walmart. The other major industry here is tourisim. And yes, they LOVE the cruise ships. Poor is the only word I can use to describe what I saw today. However, the port seems to be very busy, lots of activity all day. And I had to laugh at our tour guide, Jorge, he was freezing today! He said it is the coldest it has been here in over 40 years -- it is about 65 degrees. The normal temperature for this time of year is 85+, so yes, the locals are cold.
I did contribute a few dollars to the local economy however. Right outside the cruise ship is a small shopping area….one more touristo trap! I bought a few trinkets to take home and some beautiful place mats…I love the vibrant colors.
Tonight after dinner we all scattered in different directions….some to the comedy show, some to bed, some to the casino; Suzi and I did some minor shopping on board and looked at the pictures the ship photographers take at every opportunity! I don’t know who that woman is with Al all of the time…she sure looks old!!! Tomorrow is Belize.
Still cloudy and a bit cool today as we arrive in Guatamala. Since Al has such a difficult time walking we did a town trolley tour today. Ron and Melanie went with us. The rest of the gang scattered; some doing the old fort tour; some doing the town and beach tour and yet others doing a river trip.
Our tour through the town made us glad of where we live and what we have. The average wage here is $250 month and gas is $5 plus a gallon…you do the math! No large super markets here either, you mostly do your shopping daily at the local outdoor market. We saw a lot of fresh produce that looked really good, however, our tour guide said most of the good produce is exported to WALMART! Their main export in Guatamala is sugar cane and most of it goes directly to Coca Cola; the second export is coffee and the third is banana’s, which once again goes mainly to Walmart. The other major industry here is tourisim. And yes, they LOVE the cruise ships. Poor is the only word I can use to describe what I saw today. However, the port seems to be very busy, lots of activity all day. And I had to laugh at our tour guide, Jorge, he was freezing today! He said it is the coldest it has been here in over 40 years -- it is about 65 degrees. The normal temperature for this time of year is 85+, so yes, the locals are cold.
I did contribute a few dollars to the local economy however. Right outside the cruise ship is a small shopping area….one more touristo trap! I bought a few trinkets to take home and some beautiful place mats…I love the vibrant colors.
Tonight after dinner we all scattered in different directions….some to the comedy show, some to bed, some to the casino; Suzi and I did some minor shopping on board and looked at the pictures the ship photographers take at every opportunity! I don’t know who that woman is with Al all of the time…she sure looks old!!! Tomorrow is Belize.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Cruisin' we are...
Jan 8, 2010 Friday
Left Phoenix at 1:00 p.m. direct flight to a very cold, New Orleans. Or as they say it N’awlins. Picked up our rental car and after a few wrong turns, (GPS not familiar with this part of the world obviously!) we found our hotel. We are staying 2 nights before the cruise at the Hilton Gardens, Convention Center. Out our window we can see the cruise port and currently Carnival is in port.
Mike and Bev arrived earlier today; so after we dumped our luggage we promptly went in search of somewhere to eat. We found “Mothers”, best ham in N’awlins. Mike had the ham, Al and I had fried oysters and they were excellent….some of the best we have ever had. We drove through the French Quarter for a bit trying to get our bearings. After that we headed to the airport to pick up Jerry. Half of us are now here…the rest arrive tomorrow.
Jan 9 Nawlins Saturday
MY, IT IS COLD HERE! 23 degree’s this morning. Very unusual for New Orleans. The locals are just about frozen stiff!!!
After breakfast at the hotel we hopped in the car and drove around the French Quarter again and the French Market area. We stopped at Café DuMonde for bengiets and café au late….YUM. Bengiets are nothing more than fried sweet dough with lots of powdered sugar….but oh so good. We wandered around for a bit, then jumped back into the car to the garden district. The houses are amazing! We stopped at VooDoo BBQ for lunch and it was amazing. Want to go back there again.
Later today we started picking up the rest of the family/friends from the airport. Ric, Janet and Jennifer came in first; got them back to the hotel in time to turn around and go back and pick up Jack and Suzi. I promptly got lost coming back from the airport, so Jack and Suzi got an improtu tour!!! Then it was off to Mulata’s for dinner. Interesting place, very loud and all cajun food. I had the stuffed shrimp, which I didn’t really care for. The fried alligator appetizer was pretty good tho. After dinner Jenn and I took off for the airport to pick up Ron and Melanie. And, I made the same wrong turn coming back to the hotel again; but at least I could find my way back to the hotel in one shot this time. Now, all our kids are here; we are ready to cruise!
Jan 10, Sunday aboard NCL Spirit
Did I mention how cold it is here? The artic air has hit places where it isn’t suppose to be!!!
I started shuttling everyone to the ship around noon today – then Melanie and I took the rental car back to the airport and hopped a taxi back to the ship. After eveyone is on board, we all met up for lunch. Our group is 12, so getting tables together we thought was going to be hard, but so far we have managed just fine.
The weather is still cold, but sunny. We will travel down the Mississippi River for 100+ miles before getting into the Carribbean. As I said, it is cold, probably the coldest cruise we have ever been on so far, but the promise of warm weather awaits. All of us but Al went up on deck to the “Bon Voyage” party…sailing, sailing, down the muddy river!!! Dinner was in the dining room tonight, as usual very good, however, I am already tired of the food! For whatever reason, usually after a few days of a cruise I get tired of the food; but this trip I started out tired of it! Don’t ask! But I am not complaining, just stating a fact.
Jan 11, Monday, somewhere in the Carribbean
It is still a bit cool….especially when you get in the wind, but I do see a few sun breaks between the clouds this morning. The sea is calm and very relaxing, rocked me to sleep last night.
I should mention here that Jenn is sharing our room on this cruise. The room is very small, so last night it was very interesting sleeping. I don’t know if any of us got a lot of sleep!!! We all had breakfast together this morning and now everyone is off doing their thing. Al is resting, and I am about to go for a walk.
Later in the day…..I have done a lot of walking around the ship….this is one of the smaller ships in the Norwegian fleet at 882feet long and holds 2878 people, passengers and crew. It has recently been refurbished, however, it entered service in 2000.
This afternoon Al and Jerry went to the martini tasting; the rest of us gathered in the lobby and just visited. Some went to play shuffleboard, to the casino, the gym and various other activities on board today. We all met up for dinner tonight….this family is crazy when we all get together…lots of laughs.
The weather is turning a bit warmer tonight, however, the sea’s are a little rough today. I don’t mind it at all. It does make walking a bit of a challenge however and especially with Al and his cane. It takes at least two of us to help him walk when the ship is like this.
Jan 12, Tuesday, Costa Mayo Mexico
The ship arrived at 10:00 a.m. and pulled in next to the Royal Carribbean Liberty of the Sea’s….quite a bit larger ship than ours!
Al decided he didn’t think he could do the tour here, so Melanie went with me instead. Jack, Suzi, Ric, Janet, Jenn, Melanie and I did the Chocchoben Mayan tour. Good thing Al didn’t do it…lots of walking over rough ground. When I booked this tour it was described as an “easy” tour…not! Lot’s of Mayan ruins and good history. We also got to see a couple of howler monkey’s in the trees.
Costa Mayo was completely devestated by hurrican Dean in 2007 and we could see evidence of it still. The tour dock and pier have been completely rebuilt and the little “tourist trap” at the end of the pier is brand new.
Dinner tonight for some of us was in Cagney’s Steak house…good, but no one can beat a steak cooked at home!!! Al returned to the room after dinner and I went with Jack, Suzi, Mike, Ric, Janet to the show….a rock and roll revue…which was very good and very high energy. Nite all...more tomorrow.
Left Phoenix at 1:00 p.m. direct flight to a very cold, New Orleans. Or as they say it N’awlins. Picked up our rental car and after a few wrong turns, (GPS not familiar with this part of the world obviously!) we found our hotel. We are staying 2 nights before the cruise at the Hilton Gardens, Convention Center. Out our window we can see the cruise port and currently Carnival is in port.
Mike and Bev arrived earlier today; so after we dumped our luggage we promptly went in search of somewhere to eat. We found “Mothers”, best ham in N’awlins. Mike had the ham, Al and I had fried oysters and they were excellent….some of the best we have ever had. We drove through the French Quarter for a bit trying to get our bearings. After that we headed to the airport to pick up Jerry. Half of us are now here…the rest arrive tomorrow.
Jan 9 Nawlins Saturday
MY, IT IS COLD HERE! 23 degree’s this morning. Very unusual for New Orleans. The locals are just about frozen stiff!!!
After breakfast at the hotel we hopped in the car and drove around the French Quarter again and the French Market area. We stopped at Café DuMonde for bengiets and café au late….YUM. Bengiets are nothing more than fried sweet dough with lots of powdered sugar….but oh so good. We wandered around for a bit, then jumped back into the car to the garden district. The houses are amazing! We stopped at VooDoo BBQ for lunch and it was amazing. Want to go back there again.
Later today we started picking up the rest of the family/friends from the airport. Ric, Janet and Jennifer came in first; got them back to the hotel in time to turn around and go back and pick up Jack and Suzi. I promptly got lost coming back from the airport, so Jack and Suzi got an improtu tour!!! Then it was off to Mulata’s for dinner. Interesting place, very loud and all cajun food. I had the stuffed shrimp, which I didn’t really care for. The fried alligator appetizer was pretty good tho. After dinner Jenn and I took off for the airport to pick up Ron and Melanie. And, I made the same wrong turn coming back to the hotel again; but at least I could find my way back to the hotel in one shot this time. Now, all our kids are here; we are ready to cruise!
Jan 10, Sunday aboard NCL Spirit
Did I mention how cold it is here? The artic air has hit places where it isn’t suppose to be!!!
I started shuttling everyone to the ship around noon today – then Melanie and I took the rental car back to the airport and hopped a taxi back to the ship. After eveyone is on board, we all met up for lunch. Our group is 12, so getting tables together we thought was going to be hard, but so far we have managed just fine.
The weather is still cold, but sunny. We will travel down the Mississippi River for 100+ miles before getting into the Carribbean. As I said, it is cold, probably the coldest cruise we have ever been on so far, but the promise of warm weather awaits. All of us but Al went up on deck to the “Bon Voyage” party…sailing, sailing, down the muddy river!!! Dinner was in the dining room tonight, as usual very good, however, I am already tired of the food! For whatever reason, usually after a few days of a cruise I get tired of the food; but this trip I started out tired of it! Don’t ask! But I am not complaining, just stating a fact.
Jan 11, Monday, somewhere in the Carribbean
It is still a bit cool….especially when you get in the wind, but I do see a few sun breaks between the clouds this morning. The sea is calm and very relaxing, rocked me to sleep last night.
I should mention here that Jenn is sharing our room on this cruise. The room is very small, so last night it was very interesting sleeping. I don’t know if any of us got a lot of sleep!!! We all had breakfast together this morning and now everyone is off doing their thing. Al is resting, and I am about to go for a walk.
Later in the day…..I have done a lot of walking around the ship….this is one of the smaller ships in the Norwegian fleet at 882feet long and holds 2878 people, passengers and crew. It has recently been refurbished, however, it entered service in 2000.
This afternoon Al and Jerry went to the martini tasting; the rest of us gathered in the lobby and just visited. Some went to play shuffleboard, to the casino, the gym and various other activities on board today. We all met up for dinner tonight….this family is crazy when we all get together…lots of laughs.
The weather is turning a bit warmer tonight, however, the sea’s are a little rough today. I don’t mind it at all. It does make walking a bit of a challenge however and especially with Al and his cane. It takes at least two of us to help him walk when the ship is like this.
Jan 12, Tuesday, Costa Mayo Mexico
The ship arrived at 10:00 a.m. and pulled in next to the Royal Carribbean Liberty of the Sea’s….quite a bit larger ship than ours!
Al decided he didn’t think he could do the tour here, so Melanie went with me instead. Jack, Suzi, Ric, Janet, Jenn, Melanie and I did the Chocchoben Mayan tour. Good thing Al didn’t do it…lots of walking over rough ground. When I booked this tour it was described as an “easy” tour…not! Lot’s of Mayan ruins and good history. We also got to see a couple of howler monkey’s in the trees.
Costa Mayo was completely devestated by hurrican Dean in 2007 and we could see evidence of it still. The tour dock and pier have been completely rebuilt and the little “tourist trap” at the end of the pier is brand new.
Dinner tonight for some of us was in Cagney’s Steak house…good, but no one can beat a steak cooked at home!!! Al returned to the room after dinner and I went with Jack, Suzi, Mike, Ric, Janet to the show….a rock and roll revue…which was very good and very high energy. Nite all...more tomorrow.
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