ok, so it isn't really a new life, just a new chapter of life...
I was so busy with "things" - with life - that I didn't finish blogging about our cruise(s).
Here are some more pics... first the end of cruise one...
These are from Tortola. My fave cruisin' website cruisecritic.com had no real recommendations for tour guides in Tortola, so we hopped on an open air taxi. Tortola is a pretty island, hilly, curvy roads, beautiful water.
During a previous trip to the Bahamas, we did a lot of sightseeing. So we didn't do much this time - we just walked around town, did a little shopping. It was amazing how close we came to the reef as we sailed in - and it was neat seeing Atlantis (a mega-resort) and the cruiseships all lined up.
Now the ship...
Wow - we must be rich... We had the ship to ourselves! Funny gal I am. Most of my ship pictures were taken while we were between sailings, after the week one folks got off the ship and before the week two folks got on.
The Lido (buffet) restaurant area is themed "Freedom" - with the obvious decor.
The Victoriana Theater is a three deck showroom. The "big shows" in there were really good; for effects they had laser lights, fog, confetti and even open BIG flames.
This is one of the two main restaurants. This one is at the aft (back) of the ship. We ate our dinners here the first week, back by the windows.
Love the barstools in the Habana Bar. And yes, it's a cigar bar! :-)
Scott's Piano Bar has some major wild decor going... too bad the sing-a-long piano dude wasn't major wild to match. Ho hum boring.
This picture is taken from the third deck of the main atrium - I believe it's a total of 9 decks high. If you notice how the walls are red at the bottom, then become more pinkish purple towards the top of this picture - the walls changed colors! Well, ok, the lighting changed color. Through most of the colors of the rainbow. COOL.
Our cabin was a little smaller than I'm used to from Carnival. They have shifted things around a bit, so it's still workable. There is a chair instead of a couch, and it's in an awkward place. And the vanity/bar area is about half the size it used to be, so less drawers too. I would venture a guess that Carnival still has the largest standard inside cabins of the mainstream cruiselines, but I was disappointed that they have shrunk things a bit.
Do you notice that stuff hanging from the wall on the left? I bought a cheap hanging thingie from the dollar store to use onboard. And omg, I loved it!! Since I generally get ready in the main part of the cabin, versus in the bathroom, it was nice having a place for my stuff. Everything had its place and I felt so organized.
So now I will try to post pictures from the second week of our cruise soon. But don't hold your breath... there is just way too much to do for the upcoming extended vacation. Or is it home away from home?
The timing works well for Greg and I to do a little "dress rehearsal" for retirement. We've talked numerous times about retirement... getting an RV, driving it around North America towing the motorcycle... park the RV at a nice campground, do day trips on the bike, then when we are "done" with that area, we'll move the RV. Just taking it nice and easy, traveling, seeing the beautiful U.S. (and Canada?).
So we decided to do a trial run this spring. Maybe summer too. We bought the RV on ebay and Greg is flying down this Wednesday to pick it up. We really don't have any set plans yet as to where we'll go - no schedules. We hope to leave around April 1, if we're ready by then. Greg has been thinking of going first to Colorado to do some spring skiing with his brother Tim and perhaps our friends Dave and Judy who recently moved to Denver. We could also visit Greg's aunt and cousins. There's a mini family reunion (Greg's side) in Tennessee the third weekend in April, so we may aim there. I'm hoping to head to Texas, work our way through New Mexico, Arizona, over to the California coast and then up the Pacific Coast Highway, as we were supposed to do on our ill-fated bike trip last year.
So now if you're wondering - why don't we just ride the bike and tow the trailer (like last year) and stay at hotels and/or tent camp? Well, we're thinking this will be a more extended timeframe. And don't ask what that is, because we really don't know yet. :-) So it'll be nice to have a "home" with us, so we don't have to unpack and pack every night, deal with tents in rainy weather. Setup and takedown will be lots easier with an RV; we just have to pull in to our spot, level the RV, connect a few tubes and cords. When it rains, we aren't stuck in a hotel room bored silly, we'll be in our own home, with things to do (I'm SO looking forward to more time for reading!). And we won't have to eat out every meal - we have an almost full kitchen with us, plus a grill and the campfire.... speaking of which... s'mores. NUM!
Oh, and yes, we're taking the boys. And THAT will be quite the adventure. They aren't exactly fond of moving vehicles. Henry howls, Alex cries. But I have a plan... hopefully they'll quickly learn to love their new temporary home. I hope that being with their Mama Human will keep them happy.
So there you have it. This is the big news. And no, we haven't been hiding this for months. We only started thinking about it maybe two - three weeks ago. Yes... when we make a decision, we move quick!
My spare time (and most of Greg's time, since he's not working) is being spent researching RVs...
Stay tuned...
Oh, I’m so glad we decided to extend our cruise by doing a back to back! Otherwise it’d almost be time to pack up to go back to the wintry freezing snowy nort’. UG!
I’m definitely trying to relax and enjoy. It’s hard to get out of go-go-go mode, especially after how work has been the past couple months. But I think I finally hit vakay mode yesterday. Thought I’d post a few pictures of the trip so far.
We left Friday Jan 30 for Ft Lauderdale and spent the night there – you never know if there’s going to be a problem with flying and airports at this time of year, and we wanted to take no chances with this trip! We ended up cruising out of Ft Lauderdale a little later than expected, so we saw a pretty sunset.
We didn’t get into our first stop, San Juan, Puerto Rico until around 3:30-4pm. Since we’ve been there numerous times, we decided to try a different type of tour. We were to start at 9pm, so we had time to walk around a bit ourselves, go back onboard for dinner, then head off for our Segway tour. Any idea what that is? It’s kind of like a scooter on steroids. It provides the horsepower, you just have to increase/decrease speed and steer. It was TOTAL fun!! But we hadn’t brought the camera to our tour, so no pictures to share of that. These pictures are from our earlier wanders-on-our-own.
Again, we’d been to St Thomas numerous times, so we decided to hop the ferry and head over to St John. The ferry ride was FUN and FANTASTIC! …to me, anyway. It was pretty rocky, and I got pretty durn wet. LOL It was like a rollercoaster ride without the upside down part. At St John we grabbed an open air taxi and took a 2 hour tour. It was only Greg and I, which was really nice. We saw lots of beaches, went to Annaberg Plantation.
In Antigua we had prebooked an excursion with a local guide, highly recommended by the cruisecritic.com board. He was nice, informative. We went to some of the highlight sites: a 200+ year old church, Nelson’s Dockyard, a nice overlook, Shirley Heights.
Yesterday we were in Tortola – more on that later when I have pics to share.
About the ship… it’s big, as expected. Lots of people, as expected. Flamboyant, as expected. Round the clock food, as expected. LOL We really haven’t enjoyed the big screen tv on deck yet, the timing of the events there coincide with the timing of other things we’re doing. The shows have been good – the last two nights I would even have to say GREAT! Last night’s comedian had me totally laughing. The big production (music/dance) show the previous night had smoke, laser lights, flying streamers, audience interaction, even fire! Our cabin is smaller than expected, a minor disappointment to me – apparently Carnival has decided to reduce the size of the inside cabins in the newer ships – this seems backwards of other lines which have been increasing the size of their insides. But it’s all ok – we don’t spend much time in the cabin.
The one really unexpected thing – the motion of the ocean has been pretty bad. It doesn’t really bother me. But it’s still kind of weird. Well, not weird, because if I’d have thought about it, I would have expected it. We are used to sailing in the Caribbean, which is pretty calm. Well, we’ve actually done most of the cruising on the Atlantic side, so yes, it is going to be rougher. Funny – they even had the barf bags hanging by the elevators the first couple days.
I haven't been on for a while, I see. I've been working hard - many hours. Our work project deadline is looming, so OT became normal. It's been a fun and interesting project, not my usual number crunching. That's a good thing! But I also always felt so under the pressure, under the gun. So much to do, so little time.
BUT... I'm now in a hotel in Ft Lauderdale, waiting for my ship to come in. Oops, it's already here. I just have to go find it! Good things come to those who grab the bull by the horns. wow - mixed metaphor... LOL.
I'll try to post occasionally live from the ship. However, internet prices are expensive, so we'll see if that happens!
This first post - thanks Jean and Sue for taking care of the boys while we're gone! Without kitty sitters, we would never be able to take some of these vacations.
I hope my four readers (or are there five now?) have had a great beginning of 2009!
Chat with ya soon...
Last Friday we were driving with a couple (friends from our bike club) to a party. We were talking about New Years Eve, and the guy mentioned that he thought it'd be fun to go to Beale Street. As in Memphis, Tennesee. It's kinda like Bourbon Street in New Orleans, or the old downtown part of Nashville. He just said it casually, not really thinking about going. Well, Greg started egging him on and getting him excited. Then we saw another couple (bike club friends) at the party and Greg started talking about Beale Street with them. Within a couple hours, the guys were looking online at hotels. Sunday morning at 8am we left to drive on down to Memphis!
Monday we went to Graceland - I'm not a huge Elvis fan, but it was definitely cool, definitely the thing to do while we're here. Today we went to a famous store here on Beale Street, A Schwab. Then we girls went to an Underground Railroad museum - actually a house that was a major stop on the route. That was really neat, it was a guided tour, very informational. Did you know that the different quilt patterns had specific meanings to slaves who wanted to run away? Did you know that "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" was a song in code for slaves?
Our hotel is one block from Beale Street, so we walk over for meals at various hotspots. The "fun" part of Beale is only two blocks long, but it's packed with fun. They have the road closed to vehicle traffic all evening/night. There are lots of bars and restaurants and great blues music everywhere. We had deep fried burgers for dinner last night... today for lunch four of us shared a FOUR pound cheeseburger! So oops, the diet is really not happening on this trip. LOL
No pictures this time. We didn't bring any way to download from the camera to the PC. So photos have to wait until we get home. :-(
Happy New Year to all!! I hope everyone has a wonderful New Years Eve.
I saw that phrase on Kal Barteski's blog and thought it was great. Not holiday or even season specific. Very appropriate all the time. :-)
So Spread Joy!
I was telling someone a while back how much my boys had grown, and she was asking about comparison pictures. Well, I finally have something that shows how much these guys have grown since we got them - they're laying on the same kitty bed in both pics. Well, ok maybe "on" is not the correct word anymore... Over? Near? LOL
February 2006
December 2008By Mike Johnson of the Journal Sentinel
This December is already the second snowiest on record in Milwaukee, the National Weather Service said today. So far, 30.1 inches of snow have fallen at Mitchell International Airport, but that is still well off the record 49.5 inches that fell in December 2000.
Three snowstorms are heading Milwaukee's way this week, but it's still too early to know whether they will produce enough accumulation to break the record. The forecast calls for 2 to 4 inches on Tuesday, 1 to 3 inches on Tuesday night and 4 to 8 inches on Wednesday. McMahon said a snowstorm also could hit the area on Friday, but it's too soon to tell how much might hit Milwaukee.
Here are the top three snowiest Decembers, compiled by the National Weather Service:
I really don't like to post here unless I have pictures. I guess I feel pics are more entertaining than just my blah blah chat. ;-) I do have pictures this time, but first...
It's been a wild December!
Snow, snow and more snow. As of this morning, this month ranks as the fourth snowiest December on record in Milwaukee!! omg, kinda crazy, isn't it? - the month is only 2/3 over. The rain and somewhat warmer weather this past week had melted just about all of it, and then BAM, Fri we got pelted with another foot. We're supposed to get 4 - 7 inches more tonight, and then the temps are going brutal, with wind chills to 30 below. What's up? Like last winter wasn't bad enough?? Ok, enough bad news...
Events and parties seem to be at an all-time high this year. We've been going just about every Fri and Sat night since Thanksgiving. Definitely lots of fun. One fun event was the Trans-Siberian Orchestra last Sunday - they rocked the house - and best light show I think I've ever seen at a concert!
Ok, ok, already. You want pictures? Here's some pictures... well, first the story. Greg shouted from the downstairs to come down. I got halfway down the stairs, and he said "stop." I'm wondering what he's up to, and then I see a deer out the side window. And Greg's still saying "in front of you, look forward." Well there was another deer right by our patio. So we watched them for a while, I grabbed the camera and we took some pictures. They were chomping on the rose bush leaves, which was ok since I'll be hacking them back in spring anyway. One of the guys had his nose almost touching the house at one point. The deer were absolutely beautiful. Enjoy!
This album will be fun!! It will be all about the "new thing(s)" I do every year. I am including all the "new things" that I've highlighted in our holiday newsletters over the year. I am also including other "new things" that didn't make the newsletter. So basically, I'm going through the old dusty memory banks (yes, my brain) and photos to find activities that I did for the first (and frequently only) time. It's been hard for me, deciding what is interesting enough to make the album. Hopefully since it's a mini, only 8.5 x 8.5, it'll go quick. I have three LOs done and 2 in progress. No photos to post tonight - I'll try to do that soon.
Now I'm off to bed - sweet dreams!
guess I'll try this blog color scheme... I've tried a few now, and I'm just not liking 'em. I may end up going back to my cool one that I "thought" I was getting tired of! ;-)
wow - my new blog scheme is rather pink, don't ya think?! We'll see how long THIS lasts!
I haven't really been doing much recently. Work, watch t.v., cuddle with my boys... that's about it. Boring, boring. lol That's why not much for blog posts.
Well, I guess I shouldn't say life is all that boring. I'm actually in the planning stages for our next cruise. Or should I say next cruises. As in plural. As in more than one. :-) We already had our annual winter cruise booked, but then we saw that prices were dropping, and the price for the cruise right after ours was really good... and we couldn't resist! We're taking an 8 day and a 6 day cruise on Carnival Freedom, one right after the other. It's what they call back-to-back. Same ship, same cabin even!! We don't even have to move our stuff out of the cabin "between" cruises. The ports are different each week, one week is Eastern Caribbean and the other is Western Carib. So this is basically a 14 day cruise - omg!! I am SO excited, you just wouldn't believe. I love cruising so much, I wish I could just live on a cruise ship.
Anyway, most of the ports we've already been to, except Antigua and Tortola (we went to its neighbor Virgin Gorda). But there are so many things to see and do in most places that this is totally ok. Maybe this year we'll actually make it over to St John when we're at St Thomas! - that would basically make that a new port as well. Jamaica has a new tourist attraction that we think we'll do - if so I'll get my "new thing for the year" done and over early in the year again. When we were in the Caymans previously, our entire excursion was water-based, snorkeling and going to stingray city. So this time, we'll tour on land. ALWAYS love Key West - so no problem stopping there again - we can walk around, take the trolley.
so yay! I love to cruise and I have 14 days to look forward to.... :-D
let it snow, let it snow...
But not much, just a dusting please.
Can you believe?! - snow already?! Less than two weeks ago the temps were in the 70s; we actually had at least one high record day. And now... snow. I have a feeling it's going to be a rough winter.
roflmao
This blondie ain't so blonde no mo'.
And dang, every time I try to go dark, it goes red too.
What up with that?!
The U.S. is a democracy... it is our right and responsibility to vote...
happy election day 2008!
in general...
Something cool that blogger added a few months ago - it is possible to become a "follower" of someone else's blog. The absolutely best reason to me for this - blogger creates a Reading List of all the blogs that I follow - and any updates to any of those blogs are listed in my dashboard (look in the top right corner of your blogger Manage Posts screen when you're logged in). So I no longer have to go to every single blog I like to see if there were updates. I just goto my dashboard screen and see the list of who updated when, and I can click on a link right there to goto the new update.
For more info, see the blogger pages on Followers and on Reading List. This rocks!
I have to hand it to blogger. When I started using their service in 2005, it was very UN-user friendly. Adding a picture at the top or sidebar was tough - I literally had to learn to do it in html. Making any change was very manual, including things as minor as adding another item to a list in a sidebar, or even having something in the sidebar - again had to do it in html. UG horrible!! But now... omg... now it has become super easy to do these things. And I'm really loving this new feature.
yes, it's all about the small things in life. ;-)
