When you read this, I will probably already be in Germany with Anneliese. We will have gone through the airport craziness and then flown over 3500 miles to Berlin! We’re ready!
The last few days Anneliese has been such a great little traveler, that I am hoping that this BIG trip will have gone okay. As soon as I get to a computer, I will write and send pictures!
Meanwhile be sure and leave a comment so I know I am not talking to myself! LOL!
I spent most of the day doing laundry, making appointments and confirming reservations for my trip to Berlin with Anneliese. I’ll be leaving on the 14th and getting back 2 weeks later.
The best part for me will be the time I get to spend with my friend, Uschi. It’s been nearly 5 years since we have seen each other and that is just too long!
I will be posting each day, so I can bring you all with me. I’m taking the new little camera that I bought Hubby for Christmas, and so far have found that I use it far more than he has. I just love my (his) little mini Cannon camera!
Besides making my travel plans today I was scheduled for a dental visit. I needed to have an old filling replaced. There were three things that depressed me about this. First, I hate going to the dentist. I get such anxiety attacks! And second, my mouth hurts like heck tonight after having the old filling drilled out and the new one put in. And lastly, I’m depressed because I am old enough to have a filling that actually needs to be replaced because it is old!
I came home and was all set to make dinner, but my rotisserie oven has bitten the dust! Shoot! I love that thing!
Then the ultimate, I couldn’t eat dinner because my mouth hurt!
Now I’ll spend the next few days finishing up the preparations for the journey. Anneliese goes in for her physical on Thursday and will be all cleared to go, I am sure.
Break out the suit cases!
When we arrived home last night the first thing we noticed (after our herd of happy doggies), was that we needed food. The local grocery store was closed, so I scrounged around this morning and was able to make breakfast for Hubby and myself. However, the cupboard was bare for anything that might pass for a lunch.
A new grocery shop opened in our town, so today we decided to get our food and the last things needed for Thanksgiving.
It’s just going to be Hubby and me for turkey day, but since I love Thanksgiving more than anything (I LOVE cooking it), I am more than excited that it is almost here!
In other news, Greta is at the height of her heat and driving Arnie wild/ It got so bad today that we finally had to put Arnie in a crate at the other end of the house with the door closed. We had to listen to the howling, the barking and the call of the wild for a while, but finally, thank goodness, it is quiet!
I do miss the laziness of the cruise ship. How lovely it was to wake up in the morning and have coffee and breakfast all ready for you.
We would sit next to a window and sip our coffees and enjoy the beauty all around us. Yes, I miss that ship!
Now onward to Turkey Day!
We’re home again and after a day of traveling, which started at 5 AM, we are both really tired. The doggies were all happy to see us and of course we were happy to see them as well.
As good as it is to go away it is twice as good to come home!!
St. Thomas was our last stop.
We decided that instead of touring St. Thomas we would take the ferry over to St. John for the day. What a beautiful island! We got a cab with a group of women, also from our ship and Smitty showed us the sites of this small island. Not only does this have a beautiful interior, but some of the prettiest natural beaches that I have ever seen.
Where did this last week go?
We were up quite literally with the sun. We needed to shower, dress and go upstairs for breakfast, then be down on the pier by 7:15 AM. No worries, really, the sun rose and woke me and then the wake up call came and we got into action.
Breakfast was the usual, and then we grabbed our things from the room and got down on the pier nice and early. We were on the Dominica’s Favorites tour with Mr. Gary (driver) and Cori (our guide).
First we all were a tad wet because it was raining like crazy when we got off the ship. Let’s just say I was very glad that we packed our umbrellas and rain ponchos, as today we had another day filled with rain. (Although as I write this, the sun has come out and things are drying up a bit.)
Dominica is truly an island rain forest! With the highest mountain measuring 4750 feet. They get a lot of rain here, as well as hurricanes, so the entire island is lush and green and is quite beautiful.
The roads were terrible, very narrow and at times with sheer drop offs on the side. I was glad that Mr. Gary was driving.
First stop was Morne Bruce, an old military garrison, that afforded us some splendid views of the city. While there, I met the sweetest little native doggy. I never asked his name and he never told me, but it made me miss my four dogs a great deal!
We stopped for some drinks and a bathroom break and were rewarded with singing and dancing in the classic West Indies style.
Next we drove to Trafalgar to the smaller waterfall viewing area. I’m certainly getting my exercise on this trip as we walked (yes we walked in the rain about 15 minutes both to and from a lovely waterfall.
As you can see by the pictures it was really raining quite about, and just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse we drove to the rain forest to see the waterfalls in the Trois Piton Park. It was another 15 minute hike in and out, but I wanted to see this waterfall area as it dumps into the Emerald Pool, thought to be the true “Fountain of Youth”. I did not get in, but this woman did.
And to think, she is actually 100 years old! LOL!!!
You can see how hard it was raining there. It was one of those times when even an umbrella doesn’t help!
As we walked out of the park we saw this crab just crawling along the path. I was so surprised that I quickly took this picture!
Our tour lasted from 7:45 until noontime when we were dropped off at the ship. Hubby and I came in and had some lunch and then went out to walk around the downtown area. We walked the crowded streets and poked our noses into different shops. Then I wandered around a bit more while Hubby walked uptown to a church he wanted to see.
Tonight is our second formal night. The last time I wore my cream colored Ann Taylor sheath, but tonight it is a silk Liz Claiborne top and skirt. I’ll also be wearing the new shoes that I searched high and low for.
Tomorrow (Saturday) we will be in St. Thomas for the day. We have a tour planned to St John Island, so perhaps we will poke around St. Thomas in the morning.
I simply cannot believe that the trip is nearly over! It has been such a wonderful break for me and for Hubby too. I think that turning 50 has given me a little perspective on life. More than once along the way I have not had thinks work out the way I thought they should. Instead of getting upset or obsessing with them I have created a small list of things that simply are not worth getting upset about. This has made our trip truly a restful time!
Oh yes, cruising for me is the ultimate vacation as well as the very best of birthday gifts!
Today we arrived about noontime in Granada. The winds were blowing hard and the rain was falling, but that did not stop Hubby and me from having an enjoyable day!
We were greeted by our tour guide, Pam and her driver, Lloyd. They took us all over the Island showing us the natural beauty of Grenada. One thing many people don’t know is how many spices are produced here. Nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and mace.
We went to small pull-overs where we could stretch our legs and soak in a little of the local flavor as well as some of the warm, wet, rain. We stopped on the Atlantic side of the Island and saw the beach of black sand.
We went to the rain forest and met a Mona Monkey, which is indigenous to the Island. I was lucky enough to get quite close to him for this picture. Isn’t he beautiful? He was very friendly and I think he has discovered a way to get snacks all day long! He just acts sweet and people start giving him bananas and then he is a happy little monkey!
We were stuck in traffic for a few minutes due to a land slide across the road. Our guide told us it has been raining there for the last week and the ground is so saturated that it was letting go. As we sat waiting this cute little dog stood above the bus looking down on us. I sure do miss my doggies back home!
We returned to town and stopped at a few shops before heading back to the ship. As we neared our ship we saw a fantastic site. Two sister ships side by side! Hubby grabbed the camera and took this photo.
Tomorrow we are in Dominica, and we must be up early to make the tender boats to shore. We ate our dinner early and now we are getting ready for bed.
We arrived in Bonaire bright and early on Wednesday morning. The skies were full of clouds. We did get spit on by the heavens a few times, and experienced a heavy shower as we worked our way back to the ship. I needn’t have worried about curling my hair, since the humidity and the rain did a good job of curling it naturally!
We joined our tour group at 9:00 am and headed off. It was a driving tour of the Island of Bonaire and we both enjoyed it.
We stopped at several vantage points and took pictures of their small mountains. They look upon them reverently, but as a New Hampshirite I saw them as little more than hills. Anyway, it was lovely tour and the views of the Island were quite nice. They even had a small shop with post cards out in the middle of nowhere!
On our way to Washington National Park we saw Flamingos and I quickly got two pictures. We had the world’s grumpiest bus driver and while I was standing to take a quick picture she gunned the engine and I went flying. Still, I got these two shots!
We went to a small museum and naturally this skeleton of a whale wanted to kiss my face. I had to go along! Further down the road we got this picture of our ship from the top of one of the hills.
When we were dropped back at the ship, we decided to go out to a small fruit market near the dock. We got a red papaya and some limes for a treat later on in our cabin, and quickly made our way back to the ship. By then it was raining hard, and we were getting just a bit wet!
After tossing our things back in our room we went up for lunch. It was Mexican Day and so we went to the Café Caribe for our meal. While we were sitting with another couple, Tom and Lisa (Lisa was from Australia!), the Cruise Director began to page three people who had not yet returned to the ship.
We were due to leave at 1:00 and at 12:45 these people still had not returned. After about 20 minutes the gentleman was found, but two women were still missing. At 1:30 the ship pushed away from the dock. I said I really wanted these two women to come running up to the ship and see it sailing away without them! They delayed the departure of over three thousand passengers and fifteen hundred crew members!
We had only moved 100 feet from the dock when we saw two women running toward the ship! (My prayer had been answered.) All the passengers in the dining room watched and speculated on what would happen next. Well, the small boat that picks up the local Pilot and returns him to shore picked up the two women and brought them out to the ship! Some luck, eh? And do you know what they did once they got close to the ship? They started waving at everyone like they were the Queen of England.
Some gall, eh? They’ll get a round of applause the next time they show up in a dining room.
If it had been me causing the delay of departure of over 3000 people, I’m positive the local Princess employees would have told me to swim to the ship!
Our ship arrived in Aruba very early on Tuesday morning. Once we had tied up Hubby and I glanced out our balcony and say another ship docked right behind us. This was totally amazing because it almost looked like we were on top of each other! I assure you, no tourist was hurt during the dockings of these two ships!
Once we’d had breakfast, we headed down to get off the boat. Today was our submarine day. I think I have mentioned that I am terribly claustrophobic. Well, instead of thinking of all that water being on top of me, I just kept looking down at the beautiful fish and coral as we had our tours.
The trip brought us down 130 feet before returning us to the surface. As we were waiting to leave and go in on the speed boat, we watched tour #2 load and then submerge. I told Hubby that it was a good thing I hadn’t seen it before we actually did it because I would be totally ill!
I wish the pictures had come out better, sadly it just wasn’t light enough, but we got a few.
On our way back to the Caribbean Princess we got this great shot of the ship! Isn’t it lovely? Hubby sure does excellent work!
After lunch, we headed out to down town Oranjestadt, Aruba. We were here last year during our Panama Canal trip and I wanted to go back and get a couple of table linens for the house.
It was hot, however! Very, very hot! We walked up and down the streets and finally found the little linen shop called “Little Holland”. I got my table clothes and then we stopped in and picked up a couple of six packs of diet soda for our room.
Hubby took these pictures as we headed back to the ship. You can see me with my sunhat and tan shorts and blue tank top on in the pictures. Despite covering up and using sunscreen, I did get quite a bit of sun today.
Tonight our plans include dinner in the Island Dining room and perhaps a show afterward. It’s a casual night so I can slip on a pair of casual pants and blouse to attend the meal. Last night we dressed for dinner complete with my new shoes! I looked marvelous! (LOL)
Sunday we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to check in and get to our gate. We went through the usual rigmarole, with Hubby’s artificial knees and my laptop computer, but soon enough we were sitting at the gate…waiting.
Just about the time that we expected to board our flight we learned that there was a mechanical problem with the plane, so they were moving it and bringing in another one. This took about one and a half hours, but once done we were quickly loaded onto the plane and off we went.
I must say that Jet Blue was terrific. Comfortable seats, friendly flight attendants and “free snacks”. The flight was so pleasant it reminded me of days gone by when air travel was a pleasure.
When we arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico, we picked up our bags and as we headed to the taxi stand we noticed another couple with “Princess” tags on their bags. We started talking and ended up splitting a cab to the ship!
Our room is beautiful! It’s large with a balcony, queen size bed and sofa. Hubby and I each have our own TV’s although it seems rather odd to have two of them in the room.
Lunch for us was very late and I was able to stay nice and strong and not go off the deep end and eat countless pieces of cheesecake! After lunch we walked all over the ship checking out nearly every nook and cranny! The neatest thing is a jumbo screen TV in the pool and hot tub area! I plan to go tomorrow and watch “The Bucket List” while we swim.
We had, of course, the safety check where everyone meets at their “Muster Station” to go over all the safety tips on the ship. Immediately after that we headed up to the top of the ship for a seafood special buffet. Wonderful shrimp, crab, and lobster! Yes, I was a very happy girl. Dessert was sweet melons.
We’re due to depart in about an hour. We’re unpacked, and all settled into our room. It feels wonderful!
We departed San Juan just after 11 PM. I went outside on the balcony and watched us depart and just as Hubby began to come out it started to rain. So we came in and watched the departure on TV.
November 17th
We slept until 7:30 and woke to a bright, sunny day with almost no wave action. Good thing I have my patches. This is just the sort of slight rolling seas that will make me feel sick! However, my stomach feels great!
We went up to the sprawling Breakfast buffet, where we each ordered different foods. I ordered a Spanish Omelet, and selected many slices of fruit, while Hubby enjoyed a more traditional breakfast of sausage, eggs, and pancakes!
After breakfast we went to the promenade deck and walked around it for a while. The seas began to get a little more chop to them. So far, so good, no seasickness!
After checking out the ship we came back to our room for a little water and coca cola. All that walking sure made us feel dry.
We have a really great cabin steward named Dennis. He has the sweetest personality and seems to always be there when we need him, and then disappears again when we want to be alone.
We went to the sit down luncheon today and sat with a nice couple from Scotland. We shared stories of our trips to Scotland with them and they told us all about their travels in the states.
After lunch we got into our swim suits and went to the Jumbo TV where we watched “The Bucket List” and swam in the pool. It rained a little, mostly just light mist, so no one left the area. The movie was really a good one.
Tonight we will dress up and go to The Captains welcome party. It a gather amid ships of all the other passengers and the senior crew to welcome everyone on board. After that we head to the dining room for our first formal dinner.
I think we will walk again once we finish our dinner and then go to the Jumbo screen TV and watch “Mama Mia” under the stars!