Adventure Logan

Christmas on the Carnival Inspiration

The cruise began at 4 PM on December 23rd as we boarded the Carnival Inspiiration and enjoyed welcome champagne and lunch on the Lido deck.

We were very pleased with our “stateroom” and pleasantly surprised at its size – king size bed and very decent sized window.

The best part, of course, was Emmanuel who tended that room like a mother hen. We didn’t realize how well until the second night when I bought a soda water to bring to the room. Dave scouted for an ice machine down the hall when I decided to lift the lid on the ice bucket – voila – Emmanuel had been doing that duty all along. Newbees we surely are.

The ship was decorated beautifully for Christmas – including food sculptures.

The evening treat is the folding down of the bed and the chocolates on the pillow -plus the towels made into cute animals.

We dressed-up for dinner and ate in the dining room each night – and more formally on Christmas Eve. We met interesting people at our table 202 in the Mardi Gras Dining Room – especially the couple who came to dinner each night “well lit”. The other two couples at our table were great and we had lots of laughs.

In addition to eating we walked and walked and attended the shows – 3 broadway type shows (in the Paris Lounge) and 2 comedians – a bingo session and of course a little gambling.

Our second day of the cruise (Christmas Day) we had our port visit in Cozumel, Mexico. It was a gorgeous 80 degree day and we spent the morning walking and shopping along the main road by the dock followed by lunch on the ship. We noticed a Starbucks so we came back ashore after lunch to use their free WiFi. I took shots of Christmas decorations while in the town. We even found the Bank of Nova Scotia.

The last day of the cruise was a rough one – lots of sick people – after breakfast in the dining room I felt a little iffy so I took a gravol and had a nap. Dave watched a movie and then when I got up I managed to go to the Lido deck for lunch. The lounge chairs were filled with blanket wrapped folk – reminiscent of a refugee boat LOL!!! I managed to hold my own – spurred on by sailor Dave who had lots of advice for walking without falling. I did however look drunk as did most everyone. The evening show was cancelled as the dancers just could not have managed at all. We had dinner and then packed and put the suitcases outside the door. Before bed we met Diane and Dan for a last night drink.

It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas and we thorougly enjoyed it. The only little glitch was a dead battery when we arrived in the car park. Along with several others, we relied on another good passenger to give our cars a jump.

Week Three – Settling In

Another busy week is over and we are almost settled into Florida routine – not that there is anything remotely routine here LOL. Dave golfed 3 times and one of them included a 1 hour frost delay. The weather is more seasonal now compared to some days when we were the same as Dartmouth – yuck! Peggy’s brother Lloyd and wife Maude bought a trailer in the park making the Nova Scotian contingent stronger. (We aren’t quite ready to suggest a name change to Maple Leaf Park just yet.) Dave and I hosted a “fun supper” for eight. It was a 5 course meal with 25 items that had to be selected (5 per course). Since they were not sure what the items were – Jack was a knife, beau’s delight a spoon and liquid gold as orange juice etc. some courses they were served were interesting. Carol Anne got a great first course meatballs, beef, chicken, fork and water while someone else got a toothpick, 2 spoons, a knife and an orange juice. There were lots of laughs coming from the table and some hidden utinsels were detected.

Dave’s project this week was the backyard. After some consultation, we decided that we would move the shed close to the trailer and spin it around so that it opened toward the Gallant’s. This will give us a view of the large rubber tree and the expanse of grass behind our trailer. So with Jimmy’s guidance and Charles’ help it was spun and repositioned. Then work on laying patio blocks began. Dave buys and lays about 10 per day so that he doesn’t throw out his back for golf.

Peggy and I spent Wednesday afternoon at the movie “Tangled”. Dave cut Jimmy’s hair. Friday we were all off to Pineapples Island Grill a new restaurant on the island. Ellen and Carol Lombardo joined us for dinner and dessert at the MacIntyres.

By tomorrow everyone will be gone for Christmas except the Bailey’s (Lloyd and Maude) and us. We are going on a 4 day cruise leaving Tampa on December 23. The only port is Cozumel, Mexico on Christmas Day. We have lots of great cruise wear bought and ready so it will be a fun experience for us a first timers.

Week Three – Pics

Jimmy gets his ears lowered by barber Dave.

After supper at Pineapples we went the Mary Evelyn’s for dessert. The gals are shown in her kitchen. ( Mary Evelyn, Ellen, Molly and Carol)

This darling dog is HUDSON – he lives around the corner in a condo and his parents, Bob and Sarah, walk past here everyday. We have gotten to be their friends and even went there for cards. Of course, my favourite is his daily visit. He walked past here today with a dried up leaf in his mouth – so no I am not choking him in this pic and that is not his tongue.

Week Two – Busy Times

We have had another busy week at the beach house. Dave golfed Tuesday and Thursday. On Monday evening we were invited to Carol Ann and Charles’ place for supper and dominoes. It was an interesting change to play with only 4 people. I found the local Weight Watchers location and joined for the winter. They are rolling out a new program and I hope that it is one that will work while we are in socializing mode. Wednesday we (the MacIntyres/Logans/Gallants) went to Applebees for supper and then were off to the movies to meet up with the Laidlaws. The movie we chose was Burlesque and we all enjoyed it. On Thursday I went to Weight Watchers again as they were having a special grand opening at their new location. We all got a WW lunch, backpack and then to top it off I won the first door prize ($20 gift certificate for TJ MAX). At the end of the session I won the last door prize – a beautiful Christmas vase of pine and spruce branches, white lilies, white roses, holly and gold strands. Throughout the week Dave (and Charlie) worked on redoing our side yard between the two trailers. Next week we will revamp the back yard – plans are still perculating in my head. I shopped this week for “cruise wear” for the Christmas cruise we will take between Decemberr 23 and 27. Now it will be Dave’s turn to get outfitted – that ought to be interesting. Mary Daniels always requests sunny pictures so I have included a few from the beach, Sharkey’s, and Gallant’s yard. Today we checked out the yard sales and then finished the side yard. Before we headed out to the Brunes for a party this evening, Dave decided to make a change and ridded himself of his beard – this is the first time in 28 years that I have seen him without one. It was getting so white that it was making him look old. LOL

Pics from Week 2

Carol with her Weight Watchers prizes

Side Yard Work

Finished Side Yard

Sharkey's Beach looking north from Venice pier

Palms at Sharkey's Restaurant

Carol Ann's hibiscus plant

Good Bye Beard

Annual Venice Boat Parade

We (Peg/Jim, Mary Evelyn/Gus, Molly/George, Carol Ann/Charles and Carol/Dave) headed to the north jetty (the jetty to the far left when you come over the bridge to Nokomis Beach) to have a BBQ and to watch the boat parade. Dave cooked us hamburgers and sausages while we waited – the weather cooperated with a nice sunset and very little wind. It cooled off when the sun set but we all had hoodies so were warm enough. Our chairs were lined up along the jetty so we had perfect front row seats. I also managed to get some pics of the sunset, wildlife and the end of Nokomis Beach. After the parade we made our way to the Laidlaws for dessert – homemade pecan and lemon meringue pie from the fellowship club bakers.

First Yard Sale Day

I have been waiting 6 months for the fun experience of yard sales in Florida and it didn’t disappoint. As usual you can often get just what you want – like real shopping – or another item you don’t really need. I tried to curtail purchases so passed by lots until I saw a small silver revere bowl (about 3 in diameter) for a $1. Since I use them at home for nuts or candy I decided to buy – when I went to pay, the lady pointed to the small pile of silver plates and indicated that the one on top went with the bowl – so I got a 12″ silver plate with a niche for the bowl too (like an old fashioned dip and chip set). The best purchase of the day was a large black bar fridge for Dave to keep his beer and coke. We had intended to buy one as the main fridge always overflows with the beer and it became a problem. The other bonus was that it cost only $25.

Jiminy Cricket

When we arrived here last Wednesday night, one of the first things that greeted us was a noise that we identified as a cricket. A cursory check did not reveal his location but since we were so tired we went to bed vowing to find him in the morning. The next morning he chirped away with great regularity and we began our search in earnest. He appeared to be by the door so we began a search of the wicker cabinet there and even moved it outside convinced that he was hiding there. Once outdoors we heard the chirps continuing inside. So it went with several pieces of furniture and lots of containers with stuff in it. Calling it a day we were convinced that he would be captured on Friday. Friday morning and the chirps continued and we decided to name him Jiminy and to cope until he escaped. Whenever he really annoyed me, I talked to him. Finally by Friday night we figured he was in the vent and Jim Laidlaw brought me a bug bomb that we were planning to use. Saturday dawned and he continued to chirp. Carol Ann came over for a minute and asked “what is that noise” and we told her the story of our pet cricket. She waked toward the vent saying “that’s not a cricket that’s an electronic beep – is your smoke detector working” . Well we were most surprised when Dave took the detector off the wall and I removed the batteries – Jiminy died at 2:45 pm. Carol Ann assured us that she hadn’t been a director of 3 nursing homes without knowing about beeping detectors. That is so much better than getting a gecko to eat it followed by a snake to eat the gecko and an alligator to eat the snake and so on and so on. It was lots of fun and I wish I had a dollar for each time I actually spoke to poor old Jiminy.

Pictures From Laidlaw Party

And So It Begins

We had only been here 24 hours when we were invited to a party at Peg and Jim’s (Laidlaw). They had put up Christmas lights and we were all invited to witness them being turned on. It was a great Venice event and a good start to the season.