Kennedy Sapce Center

Wow, Kennedy Space Center was amazing. Although it was not on my wish lost of things to do it certainly did not disappoint.  I see why they sell tickets good for 2 days because it is impossible to see everything in just one day. We stayed right until closing and I would love to go back again and see what I missed. Roger said he had seen enough to get what he needed from it, but I know he would enjoy it if we went back for a second day.  The shuttle was already on the launch pad awaiting the take-off on February 24^t.h  and the preparations are well underway.  I could not get over all the space suits and gear they use in space along with all the different sections of the space craft.  To see all the past space gear form history was neat and you can really see how space travel has evolved over time.  Not being a space buff I was not expecting to enjoy the day that much, but the experience proved me wrong.  

The wildlife in the area is also very interesting. We saw many different varieties of birds, including a huge eagle’s nest, a massive unbelievable size, and the eagle sitting on top. There was an alligator in the ditch, along with pink spoonbills, cranes, ibis, pelicans, and various ducks and birds that I did not recognize. They say there are thousands of wild boars, but we did not see any.

It was late when we arrived home and we were both tired after our long day.  The plan is to head to Orlando for Disney World so best rest up as it could be a busy week ahead.

Cheers!

ps. internet to slow today for pictures....will post later.

the only mantatee we saw



path to the beach through the dunes
Roger chats with a local



I can say with certainty that Vero Beach is not for me as far as a winter destination.  It is a lovely place to visit and has some endearing features, but it does not have the southern Florida charm of the other areas we have seen.  The beaches are nice, but are hidden behind large dunes covered in bush and mangrove trees. I miss the openness of the south where the ocean is visible from the road. The weather is a little cooler here and we can see the temps drop quite a bit as we head to northern Florida.  On the up side it is very cheap here and long term rentals are easier to get. Today we drove around the area just to the south to get a sense of what is available here. We talked to a few people who are vacationing here and they seem to like it, but thought I was too young for the crowd here. Got to love that!  I think they may be right though as it is pretty sedate here compared to where we have been. I think a little more action would be good. 

We stopped at the manatee observation center today and visited the education center, but the manatees were nowhere around.  I was hoping to see one so maybe we will go back another day.  We did have a lovely picnic today at a park by the water and enjoyed eating outside just like at home except without the bugs.

Tomorrow we are going to Cape Canaveral to see the Kennedy Space Center.  I have not been into too much of the space stuff, but I am told it is a great place to see so I will keep an open mind.  Roger is looking forward to it as he remembers watching the launchings as a kid.

Cheers!

Good- bye Keys .......

Love the Keys!

oh, this is the life....a morning nap!

You never know what you might find at the roadside markets.

It was time to leave the Keys and start heading back up north. Today we arrived in Vero Beach after a leisurely drive up the coastline checking out the various little beach communities on the way.  This place seems nice, but not quite as quaint as some other areas we have seen. Tomorrow we will look around a bit more and see what the area has to offer. The temperatures are to drop as a cold front moves through so we will not do too much in the beach department for next couple of days.  Tomorrow we hope to plan out the last of our trip and decide what places we have left on our wish list to visit.

Neither Roger nor I slept well last night so it will be early to bed tonight.  The traveling is starting to catch up I think, irregular meals, different beds, and the past few day the intense heat.  I know it sounds weird, but a couple of cooler days will be nice.

Hope all is well at home. Take care all.

Cheers!

Last day in the Keys...

Here we are again finishing another great day. It was a lazy one in the sun with not a lot of activity today. Roger has a blister on his foot that has started bother him the last couple of days so we favoured it today and took it easy. All this walking is taking its toll on his poor feet. I have calluses from years of walking at work, but Roger feet are starting to protest. It was nice to take a break though and just relax by the ocean and the pool. We did explore a bit this morning to see a few sites, but it was way too hot for too much activity. I spent the first part of the afternoon in the pool staying cool and then fell asleep in the sun. Roger woke me just in time to prevent a crispy Carol.

Tonight we strolled down to the beach to look at the stars and to catch some fresh air. It was a warm and muggy night with a light breeze coming off the ocean.   I will miss this place when we leave tomorrow, but the budget says we move on. We hope to land just north of Fort Lauderdale to a less expensive area and enjoy more good weather and great fun.

Cheers!

The Keys...

across the seven mile bridge

Another busy day for us traveling folk. We headed down the Keys to Marathon to visit a couple we know from the sailing club who live on their boat in boot key harbour for the winter. We met them at the harbour and they took us out to their boat by a motorized dinghy. They gave us a tour of the sail boat and after a short visit they took us to lunch at a great little local place to eat. The food was delicious and cheap, even better. About mid-afternoon we made our way to Key West to see the sunset.  We enjoyed the trip down the keys taking in the wonderful views and experienced the wonder of the seven mile bridge.

Key West was quite the place with all the art shops, boutiques, eateries, and bars. Mallory Square is the o mile marker where you can walk along the walk and watch the sunset. There are performers in the square which are amazing, including sword swallowers, one man bands, flame throwers, gymnasts, and singers. It is also a market place with lots of crafts, art, jewellery, clothing and of course various food outlets. Roger tried the fried conch today as it seems to be everywhere we go. It is deep fried and you put key line sauce on it.  It was different, but good. I think the taste would grow on you once you had it a time or two. The sunset was worth the wait as it was gorgeous with the sailboats going by as the brilliant orange sun dipped below the horizon. As the sun makes its final dip people “blow out the candle” and when it disappears everyone claps and cheers. A fun experience at mile 0.The trip back in the dark seeing the lights in the harbours along the way was very pretty.

I felt very hot and sticky when we returned so it was straight to the pool for me. Roger watched and read his email not wanting to get an evening chill. There was not a chill, the pool was heated, but none the less I could not coax him in. Swimming in the pool at night with palm trees all around and looking up and seeing all those stars, well, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Cheers!

Everglades...

alligator in the mud

swallowing a live snake

After disembarking from the boat at 8 a.m. we decided to head to the Everglades. It took us about an hour to get there as traffic was backed up on the interstate due to a fender bender.  We drove a short distance in to the back country to Everglades National Park and this was amazing. The interpretive center is much like Clear Lake, only the content is different, and of course the building is not as beautiful.  That said it was very informative and we were able to gather maps for our trip through the park.  A great surprise was the cheap cost to enter the park, a mere $10.00 a car for 7 days of visiting.

The first stop was the Royal Palm, a boardwalk through the swamp.  It was hot and humid, (again) but definitely worth the trek. We saw so many different types of birds and fish. The ultimate was the alligators.  The nesting of the different bird species and the whole eco system of the swamp was very interesting. It happened to be vintage days at the site so there were park staff around explaining, not only the history of the everglades, but all about the swamp and what lives there. I did not know that the Florida everglades were unique and that there was nowhere like it anywhere else in the world.  I am so glad we took the time to see it. We continued down the park road taking in the scenery and the beautiful river grasslands. There were view points along the way and the one I particularly liked was called nine mile pond. It reminded me so much of Lake Catherine with the nesting birds, ducks and grasses.  You could sit for hours just looking at it. People were kayaking and canoeing( no motor boats)  and taking pictures with huge cameras.  We drove to the end of the road and there was another area that had been hit hard by Hurricane Wilma, but has managed to kind of regroup and open up a small visitor center.  The park staff pointed out the crocodile for us and oh my gosh, it was so neat. It slithered under the water without a ripple in the water and disappeared. I am glad we were on the bridge and not the bank of the river. After seeing the crocodile in the water we decided not to rent the canoes.lol.

On our way back we stopped at a Fruit and Vegetable Market like you have never seen. It had fruit I did not know existed.  I asked a man what a fruit was and he looked at me strange and said, “that there is a Papaya mame”. It was massive and did not look like papaya, but when they split it open, yes it was. They had avocado the size of large grapefruit and grapefruit the size of large melon.  It was like everything had gone mutant. On the way back to the car I noticed a man with a bag of onions, and yes they were oversized.

Once out of the everglades we continued on down the keys until we settled on Islamorada. It is lovely here and we are staying a couple of days before heading further south.

Cheers!

The Cruise....

I will post some pictures of the cruise in a day or so when I have time to upload them. For now here is the blog.

January 29, 2011

All I can say is WOW, what a ship this is. It is huge and a bit overwhelming. We have explored the ship so are starting to get a sense of where things are, but there is just so much to see. At first, I was not sure that I would like the cruise because it was so big and there were so many people and everything was so different form an all-inclusive, but as the evening wore on and we got the hang of things it got better,

The food is to die for and I see how one has to pace themselves in order to keep standing by the end of the day.  There is lots of walking on the ship so we are definitely getting our exercise. I am sure we walk miles in a day.

The entertainment we saw tonight was phenomenal, the blue man group performed and it was hilarious and the drumming was amazing. Following that we went to a comedy bar and saw Howl at the Moon which was duelling pianos and singing along with a comedy act all twined in. My sides hurt when we left I laughed so hard. The later it gets the funnier it gets, but after 11 it is adults only for a reason. We were on the way back to our cabin when we passed a Jazz club so we popped in there as well. We did not stay long as it was getting very late, but we will certainly go back there another night as it was great music.

It has been a full day with packing, getting to the ship, embarking and learning the ropes of cruising, not to mention the late night activities. A whole new experience for us so we will see what tomorrow brings as we spend our first full day at sea.

Oh, and by the way I am not seasick. Roger had a harder time adjusting to the movement than I did. Go figure. No one sick though and all is well.

January 30^th, 2011 *

The 1st^nd day of cruising complete with a full day of activity right through until a late night bedtime.   We slept well and neither of us awoke to any rocking of the ship.  We can definitely feel movement at times, but seem to be managing it well. We slept in and it was heavenly.  It was lovely and quiet here and we were certainly tired from the night before. The night life is pretty good and although we are not usually night hawks when we travel I can see how this could change

After a light breakfast we wandered the ship taking in all it has to offer. We watched a Japanese cooking demo which was very fun, interesting and informative. We gathered a lot of tips for Asian cooking like what you need to add and what is okay to leave out. Can’t wait to try it. The information on the port stops ended up being more advertisement for the shops than anything so we did not stay but moved on to the martini making demo. That too was great with lots of good tips to take home about different types of martinis.  Tomorrow is beer tasting, which I think Roger is talking about going to.   We spent some time out on the sundecks although it was very gusty up there even though it was very warm. By late afternoon I needed nap if I was going to make out for the evening.  Roger went to find a place to read and I settled down for a good hour rest.

Our supper was delicious as all the food seems to be. They have some of the best East Indian food I have ever tasted.  Yes, another late night we had on the high seas.

We turn the clocks ahead tonight so will lose an hour sleep that is unless we sleep in!

January 31^st.

We slept in until 9:30 this morning and would still be sleeping if there was not a knock on the door rom the cabin steward. Lesson learned; turn the knob to do not disturb before bed.

Our 3^rd day aboard the ship and starting to feel tired and a bit hemmed in.  It does not seem to bother Roger, but I need a bit more quiet than he does. The mass of people and the noise is kind of getting on my nerves. Perhaps I just need more sleep with earlier bedtimes. I am enjoying what the cruise has to offer, but I think if I did another cruise it would be on a ship with less people. I like smaller resorts so I guess it stands to reason I would like a more intimate ship. That said we are having a great time.

After lunch we went to view an art auction which was very interesting. We were not bidders, but it was still fun to watch. It is put on by Park West auction house of England and the art was quite diverse. They included large pieces of photography by famous photographers, although I did not know them. They did a fair bit of history behind the artist and the type works they did which I found very fascinating. They had a few Picasso pieces that went for very large sums of money. They also sold Picasso copper plate drawings which are quite different than a normal Picasso. The art show display today was Peter Max. Very colourful and very sixties.  They show cased a sculptor named Nano Lopez who worked with different mediums. So cool, I loved his stuff. Tomorrow they are changing the artist in the gallery and it will be must see on my list.

Later this afternoon we went to a beer sampling and after 5 glasses of different beer I could not remember the first one. I do remember  that I did not like Guinness.

We hit the Jazz club after supper and really enjoyed the band there.  We could see the lights of Puerto Rico from the upper deck tonight and tomorrow we dock at  St Maarten.  Early to bed for us tonight.

Feb. 1^st, 2010

We did not sleep well last night and I am not sure why as it was calm at sea. We had a wakeup call so we could be up early and ready to leave the boat in good time. I could hardly wait to hit the beach of beautiful St. Maarten. We even had room service breakfast this morning so we would have time to pack up our bag. The view was stunning as we stepped off the boat and the heat hit like a blast.

Hot ! Hot! Hot! St. Maarten is unbelievable hot. We skipped the shopping and went directly to the beach.  Two lounge chairs with cushions, a beach umbrella and 5 drinks for $20.00. Not bad.

We had a great spot on the sand right off the water, just three steps to the ocean. The water was warm and beautiful for swimming. Oh how I love to swim in the ocean. Roger and I both got a burn today even though we wore sunscreen. Normally I wear and 8 and today I wore a 15, think I needed 50. Roger was under the umbrella the whole time and he is crispy. The sellers walking up and down the beach were a bit annoying although I do understand it is how they make their jewellery to buy if you have the money. Apparently it is a real bargain, but it is still expensive for my budget.

We were glad to get back to the air-conditioning on the ship and get a cool shower to rinse off the sand and salt. Nothing like a little sun to make you tired.

Tonight’s comedy show was great with the second city comedy troupe.  The improvisation  was remarkable.

Well we had besrt get rested up for St. Thomas tomorrow.

Feb.2, 2011

We left the boat this morning for a day in St Thomas. Man was it hot. 38° C. degrees today and lord knows hot it actually was in the direct sun. All I know was that it was too hot. We strolled the shops and did a small bit of sightseeing and then headed back to the ship for some air-conditioning. We were not alone as there was a steady stream of people back to the boat because of the heat.  Even the locals thought it was hot.  After quick bite to eat I had to take a nap while Roger went to find a place in the cool to read.

Tonight’s entertainment was Legends in Concert from Las Vegas. It was excellent and the Aretha Franklin Impersonator was unbelievably good. What a set of pipes that girl had, wow. After the show we watched a piano show for a short while and then up to our stateroom. Tomorrow is a sea day and we plan to sleep in. The clocks set back tonight so that will give us back the hour we lost a couple of days ago. I could use that extra hour of sleep. This cruising life keeps you busy. 

It should be an interesting sleep tonight because the ocean is rough and the ship is rocky.

Feb, 3rd, 2011

Today we spent enjoying what the cruise has to offer. It was a slow morning and we just had coffee and muffins in the atrium watching the fruit carving. Very neat actually. Then it was time for the murder mystery with second city cast. This included a lunch and it was interactive with the cast. It was a lot of fun and the time seemed to pass quickly. They are a very talented group of people that improvised on the spot.

Next up was another art auction, for me, which I enjoyed immensely. Roger was not interested which is strange since he is the artistic one. I enjoyed the commentary on all the artists and what collecting is all about.  Believe it or not it is very interesting to hear about the different art mediums the artist use and how to display different styles of art. It was very educational and you can see the passion of the art historians and in particular a young graduate of art history from Leeds University.  Roger spent the afternoon walking around and then watching a conversation with the Blueman Group which her said was great as well.

Then came the Martini Clinic. OMG, 5 cocktails in an hour is too much for me, but we sure did enjoy them. Whew, we needed food after that as our heads where spinning. The espresso Martini was to die for. Oh, yum!

The eveing was a quiet one with stopping at few entertainment venues, finishing with the duelling pianos and then off to bed as Nassau tomorrow. 

 Feb.4^th, 2010

Another hot day, this time in Nassau, Bahamas.  It was a very busy city with lots of people crowded together. We took a ferry ride over to Paradise Island and looked around a bit. It too was crowded together, but very luxurious. The Atlantis hotel and casino was something out of this world with marble everywhere, huge sculptures and beautiful chandeliers. The yachts in the harbour there were also quite luxurious and it was definitely the place for the rich and famous.  The straw market was jam packed with people selling their wares and it is unbelievable how much stuff there is in there. You could hardly move down the rows to see what was there and everyone was at you to make a deal. Too closterphobic for my liking, but neat to see. It got its name, the straw market, from a time when people only sold handmade woven straw baskets. They still sell them, but have added lots of other stuff as well.

The main pier area had a very Caribbean feel with the boats coming and going, buskers, food trucks and small restaurants callings you in. We returned to the boat early as both Roger and I were hot and tired. We thought of going to the beach but both of us were done with the crowds. From what we saw the beaches were beautiful though.

Late this afternoon we packed up our suit cases as tomorrow morning it is off the boat and back to reality.  It has been a wonderful cruise with lots of new experiences and has given us new ideas for future vacations. We are excited however to resume our Florida tour and will start by staying in Miami for a couple of days, before exploring the Everglades and then heading to the Keys.

I will be happy to be back in the U.S. so we can be in touch with everyone again.

Feb. 5th.

Arrived in Miami port this morning and off the ship by just after 8 a.m. and heading off to the Everglades.