Adventure Logan

Central America

We travelled to Puerto Corinto, Nicaragua and Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica on our way to the Panama Canal. The terminal in Nicaragua was small and we decided to stay close to the ship – so we walked to the town and did a little bartering and took a few pictures.

Dave particularly liked the big gun!

The scenery was very interesting and the coastline rugged and beautiful.

In Costa Rica we took a 5 hour excursion called Tropical Train Ride and Exotic Mangrove Cruise. It did give us a great chance to see the countryside and the seashore – as well as – to get close to nature in the mangroves. On the cruise we saw crocodiles, macaws, iguana, and lots of birds. To see a pair of macaws in the wide was awesome.

During the train ride, we saw howler monkeys in the trees and miles and miles of cantaloupe fields.

Guatemala

We arrived in Guatemala this morning at 8 AM. It is sunny and about 81 degrees. Since the largest town was a 3 hour return trip, we opted for a day dockside and then went back to the ship for lunch and the pool. It is a rough life but someone has to do it eh! The high sales pressure is almost unbearable – if only they would let a person look at the stuff for a few minutes they might get sales. When I want something,  I will buy it but the constant badgering to be their “first sale of the day” is annoying.

Panama Canal Days 2 and 3

We have spent day 2 and 3 sailing south along the Mexican coast as we head for our first port Puerto Vallarta. Late this afternoon we passed Cabo San Lucas.

Yesterday the weather was warmer 16C (some people were still bundled up and made me think of the people in Florida when the temperatures drop below 70F). Today was about 20C and we found an almost empty spot with 20 empty lounge chairs. The view was super and the sun wonderful.

The one constant in cruising is planning were to eat the next meal. We eat dinner each night at 5:45 in the La Fontaine dining room with 2 other couples (from Phoenix and Amsterdam) but the other meals we have been eating at the lido buffet. It is so much nicer than the one on Carnival that we have been very happy to scout out all the selections and even try some new items. Last night was one of the four formal nights and it was interesting to see everyone so nicely dressed.

The staff on this ship has been scrubbing things constantly and there was even a 48 hour ban on allowing guests to serve themselves after the ship took on the new passengers in San Diego. Hand sanitizer is everywhere and they even have staff stationed around the food areas with bottles of it.

In addition to sunbathing we have attended 2 briefings on the excursions and on future cruises – wow they even had a 90 day one around Africa. Holland America is known for their long cruises so it was interesting to see the kinds of trips they offer. Of course no cruise is complete without the casino and although neither of us could care less it is a neat place to stop sometime during the evening as we wander from venue to venue.

There are lots of neat spots for sitting, sunbathing, reading and eating so we have been finding ones that suit us. We really like the Crow’s nest which is at the highest point forward. They have lots of seats but our favourite are large gold leather swivel chairs with matching footstools. They face the windows (moon and stars) and we usually end the night there with a drink – they serve Myers rum and coke which he tells me is poured generously.

Perhaps the funniest item that we see daily is the mats in the elevators. They are perfect for us seniors who never know what day of the week it is. I think I would like a set for home.

The two story Queen’s Lounge is the location of the big nightly shows. Last night we were entertained by a soul and Motown review called Groove Tonight and tonight we saw a ventriloquist and comedian.

Panama Canal Day 1

Our cruise began (sort of) when the ship arrived Friday morning and docked directly across the street from our hotel. With a suggestion from a tour guide we met in San Diego, we had breakfast at the hotel and then resisted the urge to race across the street to board. (According to her the masses try to get on board for the noon meal and if we waited until 1 we could avoid the line-up. So we did. We managed to sit by the hotel pool and get a few rays until the line died down).

The ship is mid-sized (1350 passengers) so there is no fighting for deck chairs or even chairs by the windows. It is tastefully decorated for Christmas and some of the piped in music is seasonal. We are pleased with our room (king bed, sofa, desk and lots of closet space).

Once we were safely on board we did a self-tour to see where things were and just happened to squeeze in a couple of delicious desserts.

I was quite concerned that one of our large bags hadn’t arrived and we were pulling away from the dock. When I packed, I had separated our clothes into the two big bags so that if one got lost (by Delta) we would each have clothes for the 2 weeks. We called the main desk and they informed us that the missing bag was confiscated and that we needed to check at the office. It was there with a sticker on it because I had packed a 10 inch electric fan – apparently a no-no.

Dinner was delicious – chicken with cranberry sauce for me and prime rib for Dave. The couple who sat with us were interesting and we enjoyed their company. After dinner, we went to the Queen’s Theatre to see a performance by a comedian. Lots of laughs!

San Diego, California

We arrived in San Diego on Wednesday night  at 7:30 PM (about 11:30 PM Dartmouth time) after a great day of travel. Both flights were good and the first one from Sarasota to Atlanta included an offer to take our carry-on bag along with the other luggage and to send them through to San Diego. I quickly moved the drugs and jewels (LOL) into my purse and we only had my purse and the laptop bag to handle.

Having supper at the Atlanta airport (please note,Trevor my nephew from Coke, that I stayed with the drink Coke products only rule – but then again it was hard to avoid – the Delta service was all Coke products including the festive Coke bears napkins but then again Atlanta is  the headquarters for both Coke and Delta)

Dave with the luggage was we waited for the courtesy shuttle to take us to our hotel.

The Star of India (150 year old steel ship) that is part of the San Diego Maritime Museum. This pic was taken from the glass elevator in our hotel.

After breakfast this morning we took a walk to see the USS Midway which is another museum along the bay front area outside our hotel.

Along the same walk was a statue The Kiss based on the Life Magazine picture (there is one in Sarasota as well but I am not sure if they are done by the same person)

On our return to the hotel we booked seats on the Historic Trolley Tour of San Diego. It is a 2 hour tour that allows passengers to get on and off at its 11 stops. Since the weather was threatening showers, we opted to stay on for the whole 25 mile loop and see all the sights from the trolley. Our tour guide, Richard, a former (possibly retired) minister did a super job of telling the interesting history of this city.

Coronado Beach

View of city from the Coronado Bridge

Balboa Park

Balboa Park

Old Town

Tomorrow we head out on our cruise (15 days through the Panama Canal). I am hoping to be able to post while on the ship but on the chance that I cannot Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!

Opening Night at Fins Restaurant

This evening we headed out to the new restaurant called FINS which opened today. Located next to laid-back and beach friendly Sharkys, FINS is a totally different experience.  As per the new rules for seaside building, this structure is raised a story above the beach so the balcony area has superior sight lines to the ocean. It is very modern and more high-end than its counterpart next door. We wanted to eat here on the first night and weren’t disappointed. I had a filet that just may be the best I ever ate (except for one my sister, Valerie, made me last month). This will be a place to bring our visitors for sure (Mary and Bob you are going to love it!)

This picture doesn’t do justice to this one story high waterfall at FINS.

This aquarium is the first thing you see when you enter FINS.

We ate inside but the outside balcony would be spectacular later in the season when the sunsets are at better times than the current 5:30!

My filet!!!!!  YUM!

Mary, Carol, Molly, George, Dave and Gus

Drums / Boats / Eats

Today was a busy one with our annual trip to see the Venice Boat Parade. Dave placed 7 chairs at the dock side in Nokomis yesterday and amazingly they were still there when we arrived tonight. Prior to the boat parade we spent an hour on Nokomis Beach – first time this year. I even managed to get my feet wet.

While we waited for the parade to start at 6 PM, we got to see the drumming ceremony get started. The weather was spectacular today – 80 degrees at 5 PM – and still 75 degrees at 9 PM. The usual “stars” were getting the event underway.

We only had to walk across the street to where our chairs were waiting and there we settled in to wait for the first boats to motor past us. It is hard to imagine that this was our 6th parade and by far the warmest night. Over 50 well lit boats participated in this year’s event. It’s estimated that upwards of 60,000 people lined the route from Nokomis to Venice. This 25th year of the parade almost didn’t happen – clearly not from a lack of spectators, but because there were not enough vessels. A campaign to get more participants worked!

To finish off the night we headed to Sharkys for a late supper and a mango bango!

Molly, Carol, Mary Evelyn and Debbie

Gus, Dave and George

Beach at Last

Today we finally made it to the beach! We have been here two full weeks so we made a point of visiting the beach just to remind ourselves that we are truly blessed to live here half the year. When you can drive to the beach in 2 minutes, it is fantastic. With only 2 weeks before we leave on our cruise we need to get as many beach days as we can – need a tan for sure!

Thanksgiving USA Style

It has been another great week here – and Thanksgiving was a big part of it. Earlier in the week we played dominoes with Molly/George at Gus and Mary Evelyn’s. On Tuesday we headed to cheap night at the movies – Dave saw Thor while the MacIntyres and I saw Delivery Man. Whenever we were in the mood, we continued to work on the yard. Dave began the big task of pressure washing the stone patio so that is a work-in-progress. Last year I bought fabric for the outdoor chairs and it sat in a bag all season. For some strange reason I became motivated to sew them up sometime in early May so when we got here this year they were ready for use. Once we get the pressure washing over, we will be able to set up with all those nice new cushion covers.

For Thanksgiving we were invited to dinner at Doreen and Bob’s next door neighbours of Molly and George.

Fourteen of us dined on turkey, dressing, ham, potatoes, asparagus, roasted tomatoes, zucchini, squash, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potato casserole, creamed corn, green beans and mandarin orange salad. All of that was topped off with pumpkin, pecan and apple pie.

Sadie, their dog, likes to hide under the table and in the hope that things will be slipped to her.

By 3PM we rolled ourselves home and would have stayed there except the need to walk off some of that meal sent us to Grey Thursday at Sarasota Square Mall at 8PM. Are you having as much trouble imagining Dave voluntarily going shopping as I am? I actually chuckled when we sat outside Sears for 10 minutes with about 20 others waiting for the doors to be opened. He bought himself a great new cordless drill for 50% off and new sneakers to boot. On Black Friday we also made a few stops and got some small items at good prices. We saw many carts loaded with huge TVs in Walmart. The mad rush of Black Fridays of the past was certainly tempered by the Thursday openings.

Today we met with Carol and Stephen Hiltz for lunch at the Red Lobster. They are headed home tomorrow (Sunday) for Christmas. We will be sure to do some things with them when they return in the new year.