St. Maarten We Docked At 7:00 AM

It rains nearly every morning in the Caribbean. No wonder it's green.

We arose at 6:00 am in anticipation of our 7:00 am docking. We met the rest of our gaining at breakfast and decided to meet on the dock at 8:30 AM. Six of us decided to arrange a cab for a tour of the island, while John and Cheryl and Holly and Barry decided they were going straight to Orient Beach. The plan was, that we were to meet them at around noon at the beach. We continued down the dock to where the taxicabs were waiting. As usual the farther down the waiting line of cabs the less expensive they become. The first fellow we spoke with wanted $40.00 so we continued on. The next one I asked offered us a ‘two city tour’ for the reasonable price of $25.00 each.

Joey explains how Guava Liqueur is made. Originally the poor mans' rum.

Our young driver was named Joey and he proved to be a most capable tour guide. He took us first past The Great Salt ponds, then we drove the entire length of Front Street and Back Street in Phillipsburg then we’re off to the look out point at Cole Bay Hill.

Wiring is just one more thing that appears to be less structured in the Caribbean!

Million dollar view in ritzy subdivision.

One of the nice things about having your own driver is they will often take you to little spots where you would not have gone to on regular tour. He took us through a new small subdivision, up the winding road to the top of the hill for what he termed ‘a million dollar view’ of the bay and the Airport below. We made our way through the several little villages past the border between St. Maarten and St. Martin to the French capital of Marigot.

Wendy bought a dress.

Travelling the wrong way on the beach main drag. We got lots of stares.

On the way from Marigot to Orient Beach Joey decided to show us a small beach resort known for its many gourmet restaurants. Our easy going driver took us down to the main drag on beachfront and proceeded to turn onto the beach front road going the wrong way on one way street. You can imagine that looks we got from the people on the sidewalk cafes and the other motorists traveling in the correct direction. Joey was not fazed however as he explained to us that in order to save several miles of driving, it is sometimes necessary to cheat a little. He said that he wouldn’t have to go all the way around toget to this point, so this was the best way. “Go easy on me man” Joey calmly exclaimed to another French driver who was honking his horn at him.

 
Around noon we arrived at Orient Beach and met up with the others for a lovely afternoon in the sun and surf. Although I didn’t go to the nude beach there was still plenty of topless sun-worshipers to keep me amused. 

Goodbye Joey, and thank you. We had a great time!

San Juan, Puerto Rico

This picture was drawn on the wall of the Dungeon by a Spanish prisoner condemned to death. He drew one of Columbus' ships and was possibly a crew member.

Pete explains mortar balls. The ranger told me they weigh 250 lb. ea.

The old forts are really well preserved and are very facinating to explore.

Morning came too quick as I was up at 6:15 hoping to see our approach to the dock in San Juan. Unfortunately we were all tied up even though our ship wasn’t supposed to dock until 7 AM. After a croissant at the breakfast internet wireless spot (the Pergola Bar), we met the rest of the gang as previously arranged at 8:30 on the dock. We made our way through Old San Juan to Castillo San Christobal , a 1765 fort that was the largest fortress to built by Spain in the new world. After touring the amazing fort with its underground tunnels and dungeons we walked along the wall to the second fort El Morrow. We walked all day long and although the high temperature for the day was 87F, we didn’t really feel too hot because there was a rather stiff breeze blowing from the north east. All the while I was continuing to burn in the tropical sun Fortunately Donna brought some sunscreen, because I forgot my special Bullfrog brand that we proved to work on our last cruise.

By around 1 pm Wendy and I and Holly and Barry did a ‘time out’ back to the ship for a salad and a sandwich back on the Lirica. Since the ship didn’t sail until 5 pm, we had time to head out on foot again after lunch. Wendy stuffed the ‘Bullfrog’ into my back pocket. We met Deb and Chris on the dock and they decided to go with us. As we walked along in the searing tropical sun I lathered on the sticky sweet sunscreen to stave off the burning effects from my already red ears, cheeks, nose and chin. It wasn’t until an hour or so had gone by that I pulled the bottle of from my pocket to apply more ‘sunscreen’. Barry and I were sitting on a bench in a central courtyard while Chris, Deb, Holly and Wendy went into Marshall’s Department Store.



I never remembered the ‘Bullfrog’ to be so sticky and sweet, so I began reading the partly obliterated label. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered Wendy had NOT given me Bullfrog but in fact had grabbed Defog. I had been rubbing scuba mask defogger all over my ears, face and arms. My pepperminty hands were coated with the persistent, gooey, sticky paste! “Is this what it’s all coming to?” Barry mused aloud. Of course mask defogger is not formulated to offer any protection from the sun, but strangely enough, it seemed that my burn was no worse! At least I tasted minty sweet! Above: US Coast Guard Officers wave goodbye as our ship sails away.

Below: A dice game, Yatzee was a popular afternoon recreation. John won often!

Undisputed dice winner!

The feature entree tonight was rack of lamb, and again my bottle of mint sauce that I brought from Canada was a big success at our table. Unfortunately it’s nearly gone. No show for us tonight. We were off to bed by 10:30 in anticipation of St. Maartin tomorrow.

At Sea

This man has been carving since he was 6 years old - 25 years experience!

Awoke later (8 am) and decided to try the a la carte menu at the main dining room. We noticed yesterday, the buffet became crowded after eight and maybe we’d eat less if we had to order it. NOT! It was a very relaxing day with lots of sun as we glided by with Haiti and Dominican Republic on our starboard side all day. Roast leg of lamb was featured and I broke out my bottle of Cross and Blackwell mint sauce that I brought all the way from home. Excellent! During the afternoon everyone was sunning and finding things to do. There are lots of places on this ship to snack so one must try to keep busy and get one’s mind on other things. Wendy and I played Bingo and narrowly lost. The prize was $40 per line and $200 per card. . Oh well, we were never big winners in the gambling games. Foosball is popular on this European ship. Pete and I took on John and Chris and I became known as the Foosball champ. Later we played a dice game similar to Yatzee and John beat everyone. Dinner was ho-hum. I had some tough, overcooked Halibut most of which I didn’t eat. Good thing the lunch was so good! We finally make shore tomorrow in Puerto Rico.

At Sea

This is about the extent of our golfing ability.

John's brother Chris and his wife Deb. Newest additions to our cruise gang.

A new aquaintance, Tony (from Frankfort, Germany) with Donna and Pete.
Tony sports a fine pair of Lederhosen ya.

Foosball team in action. Chris, John, Me, and Pete.

Donna is no slouch either

Our cabin on Deck 9 is right below the buffet. How convenient. Not too good for losing weight even after the two flight walk up. We awoke around 7 am and ascended to the breakfast. We met several of our gang and enjoyed good conversation and a great view of the Cuban coastline. Coincidently, as we passed Cuba, Fidel Castro relinquished his tenure to his brother Raul Castro, who assumed Cuba's presidency after his ailing brother Fidel, who ruled for decades, stepped aside. Several fishing boats and what appeared to be sportfish boats dotted the horizon.

Slight overcast in the morning allowed us to burn on the sun deck without feeling it.
Tonight is the gala formal night.

A little red?

Detroit to Fort Lauderdale

The plane was completely full. No extra seats, which meant we were jammed in pretty tight. (so much for my elbow room plan) In order to skirt around some weather we ended up flying over the pan handle and down the gulf side of Florida right over Tampa, Sarasota, Venice and Fort Myers before swinging over to Miami and back north to Fort Lauderdale. This put us ½ hour late.

Upon landing and retrieving our bags, we hailed a cab and headed over to the liquor store and Publix for supplies on our way to the pier. Our theory was that since this cruise doesn’t leave until 7 pm it would make for a less hectic day. Still, we were up at 7 am and after checking in, meeting the gang on the pool deck, then dinner, then the show, we retired tired around midnight. Seems the first day is always pretty strenuous no matter how you do it. Tough life eh ?

On Our Way

The freezing rain ended early Sunday morning so the drive down was uneventful. We left London around 2:30 in the afternoon so we could stop in Windsor to go to dinner with our daughter Erin who is still working at the IJC for another 6 weeks. We went to the same great spot that we went to last time we were here for Erin’s convocation, the Chatham Street Grill. I had a fine strip loin steak and Wendy had an excellent grilled tuna steak.

Later, around 6:30 we continued on our way across the border to the Howard Johnson’s near the Detroit Airport. I chose this location because they have an attractive Park n Fly Package. For $100 we got a room and 11 days parking. Hojo is one of the few hotels licensed to offer ‘on site’ parking in a fenced compound. Unfortunately their lot was full at this late time (8:00 pm) so they gave us a voucher for tomorrow to park at the Quik Park next door. I think they might have a very small lot of their own, but use it as a 'come on'. Remind me never to stay at a Howard Johnson's again. I have just not had good experiences there. It worked out fine though, because we got to park right at our door for the night. This allowed us to finalize the luggage and sort out what we are leaving in the car. A crumby free breakfast and transfer to/from the airport are also included.

On other occasions we have taken the Shuttle service but since our plane leaves at 10:30 am, we didn’t want to risk bridge traffic and Detroit rush hour. The shuttle isn’t cheap at $109 x 2 + Taxes and tips. Of course it isn’t ‘free’ driving one’s own car either so you can see they have it pretty well figured out that one way or another it will cost you around $200+ if you factor in gas and 300 miles of wear and tear on your car.

Oy Vey!! - WINTER STORM WATCH UPGRADED TO FREEZING RAIN WARNING

What next? Hope the drive to Detroit tomorrow is OK. I'm worried about a possible backlog of flights on Monday. Freezing rain and airplanes don't mix. Now do you see why I entitled the blog "Adventures".

Freezing rain warning for London - Parkhill - Eastern Middlesex County upgraded from winter storm watch..Several hours of freezing rain developing overnight or early Sunday morning..This is a warning that an extended period of freezing rain is imminent or occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements.

They have "cried Wolf' so many times this winter, I'm inclined to take my chances! I suppose if they don't scream out the problem, they would be blamed for not saying anything. Easier for them to be over-reactive. Nobody probably ever sued anybody for being warned too much.

Anyway, all the more reason to want to get the heck out of this place!!!

A Strategy For Elbow Room

Here's our flight home from Ft. Lauderdale to Detroit on the 28th

I have a ‘seat strategy’ that seems to be paying off. For most of the last dozen or so flights we’ve taken, we have had an empty seat between us more times than not. Neither one of us are tiny, so the extra knee/elbow room is very welcome, not to mention the uncomfortable squeeze factor on the poor, unsuspecting fellow passenger. Here’s what I do:

If the air line allows 'on line' seat assignment, I choose 2 seats in a 3 seat group, 3 rows from the very back. Everyone wants to sit near the front, I guess so they get there/get off first, but if you have checked bags, what does it matter? Seems like the bookings always fill up from the front to the back, so you have a good chance there will be that extra seat beside you vacant; if not, maybe nearby. Spirit Air will only allow you to book the seats beside each other, so I take the isle and the middle. As soon as they close the door for takeoff, I take another vacant seat of my choice.

Here's our seats leaving Monday the 18th. Of course if the plane is full my plan won't work.
CAUTION: The very back seats are not too good since they usually don’t recline very much if at all (as they hit the rear bulkhead.) If you get some jerk reclining in front of you, it can be a little tight with his head in your lap. I’m not the only one - try Googling ‘recline into my lap’ and you’ll see 10 hits. I personally don’t recline if the seat behind me is occupied, out of consideration for that person, so if there is no one behind me so much the better. The Florida run is only 2 ½ hours in the air so it’s not the end of the world anyway, but better to be somewhat comfortable.

Happy Valentine’s Day

There was a pert young lass from Madras

Who had quite a remarkable ass.
Not rounded and pink
As you'd probably think.
It was gray, had long ears and ate grass.

Do you remember Benny Hill?

It was so cold...

The politicians had their hands in their OWN pockets!

The fake Rolex sellers were selling fake heaters!

Hitchhikers were holding up pictures of thumbs!

Packing Again!

What happens if Customs opens it? I'll never get it shut again!

I had another idea. You know me, always thinking! Maybe Customs could use one of these to re-close bags like mine.

Semi-automatic luggage-closing press. Great investment potential. Contact me!

I Had An Idea For My '48 Olds.

Click on Picture to enlarge
Hey, this could work! Very practical for winter, don't you think? Who would ever need snow tires? I'm willing to bet it would work on water too! Contact me for investment opportunities.

I Trust My Investment Advisor. Am I Nuts Or What?

Groundhog Day

The late Wiarton Willie 1977-1999 (albino groundhog)

Not to be outdone by the North Americans, UN officials held their own Groundhog Day.

In their own Groundhog Day ceremony, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), tying in reports on global warming, announced that there would be six more weeks of winter.

... followed by 1000 years of summer!!!