Royal Caribbean Cruise–April 1, 2012

2012-4 Winter Journal – RCI Freedom of the Seas Cruise to Western Caribbean

April 1 - Sunday – we used our new “Sun Pass” and the GPS took us the wrong way – straight through the center of Orlando. On the bright side, there was no traffic on a Sunday morning. We parked at Park & Cruise, again, and it worked well this time.

We arrived at the terminal around 10:30am and the line was short. We sat in the terminal and waited..and waited for an hour. The place was packed and everyone was unhappy. The excuse was that the ID cameras were broken. We finally boarded and had a delicious lunch in the Windjammer Café. I needed to use the ladies room – “sorry – out of order – go up one flight, please.” 2pm – time to go to our cabin. Whoa! The 6 elevators at our end of the ship were out of order. And we weren’t about to walk up 5 flights with our carry-ons. 30 minutes later they were repaired. That was the end of any problem on this ship.

The Weather – we had wonderful weather on this trip. On the 2^nd day the sea was as calm as glass – very unusual.Freedom of the Seas

Our balcony stateroom was adequate for the 2 of us. The bathroom was a little small, but the balcony was large with 2 chairs and a little table. The closet was large with plenty of hangers, a small safe and several shelves for storage. The desk/dresser had 6 drawers and a hairdryer. In all, plenty of storage and the suitcases fit under the bed. Our room stewardess GEORGIANA – was the absolute BEST! She gave us suburb personalized service with her ever present smile. Kudos to her! I love the “towel animals” that she made for us – here are a couple.  Monogramed sheets!!

The Windjammer Café – was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was amazed at the variety of delicious food and on-board baked bread. So many great choices! There were never any lines as the layout accommodated everyone. You could always find a comfortable seat with an ocean view. Best of all – the wait staff came around asking if you needed anything – chatting with you – and making it a very personal experience.

The Dining Room – we opted for the 5:30pm dining time. A little early, but it worked out well. We were on the main floor. The décor is elegant and rich with plush red velvet covered chairs and white linens. The main staircase is right out of “Hello Dolly”. Our waiter Raymond Santos is a 5 star waiter from the Philippines and an expert in napkin folding design. His food recommendations were always right on target. His table-side manner included de-shelling my lobster tails and the broiled shrimp. Thank you Raymond. Our assistant waiter was Rajat from India. He brought the fresh rolls and bread and everything in between – and always the coffee for a happy ending. His great smile and good humor made every meal a happy one. We rate the food excellent!

The Ship – I was so impressed with the elegance of the ships interior. The layout is easy to get around; the artwork is amazing; the Royal Promenade is the heart and shopping area of the ship; the pools are wonderfully laid out with something for everyone; you never feel crowded even among so many people. Speaking of people – this Easter Week cruise had over 1,400 children (under 18 years) aboard. As far as we could tell, they were all well behaved and a joy to be with. We especially liked to see the young teens all dressed up in the latest fashion – Oh to be young again

Since this was Holy week there was Catholic Mass every day and a Jewish Seder was held for Passover.

The Shows – We were very impressed with the high quality of the shows. The Freedom – Ice show had Olympic skaters that put on a fabulous program. I truly enjoyed the “Marquee” show that highlighted scenes from famous Broadway productions. “Once Upon a Time” was not my kind of music – except for the “Little Red Riding Hood” segment. The 42Five singers from Tampa were great – very innovative and enjoyable. The “Now You See It” magic show was great.

Labadee, Haiti – private beach owned by Royal Caribbean. The free buffet, the shops, bathrooms, beach chairs & cabanas were very nice – I thought I was in Disney.

Falmouth, Jamaica – Just the 2 of us took a 4 hour private tour with Lambert Miller (MillerHighLifeTours) in his older, 8 passenger, air-conditioned van. Jamaica’s small mountains catch the breezes and keeps it cool. We saw many lovely homes and several unfinished ones. Brilliant flowers everywhere. We saw Kingston harbor from the Dewar’s great house and watched the bamboo rafts floating on the Martha Brae River. Lambert stopped at a coconut stand where they hacked off a piece of the shell and we drank the coconut water with a straw. The vendor then split the coconut in half and we scooped out the soft, white meat with the small shell piece. A natural & refreshing snack. We passed several harvested sugar cane trucks.

Georgetown, Grand Cayman – the weather was hot and humid. The tender into port was a nice boat ride on such a hot morning. EZ on & off. There were just upscale jewelry shops at the port. We aren’t beach people, so we headed back to the ship before noon.

Cozumel, Mexico – another really hot & humid day so we decided to stay in the air conditioning aboard ship. The Norwegian Pearl was docked at the same pier and they gave us a rousing sendoff as we pulled out at dinner time.

Sagamore Lake–Adirondack Road Scholar Program

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Hurricane Irene hit the East coast today. We were all packed for our trip to Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks. We had put all the porch furniture away and prepared for the big storm yesterday. This morning we took our showers and went to the Blue Ribbon restaurant for breakfast. We both had Western egg sandwiches, which were pretty good – not great.

It was raining pretty hard and the wind blew 18 mph with gusts to 40mph. There was one tree down on Pearse Road. Back home, I made the bed and was looking out the bedroom window - - and right before my eyes – our beautiful Blue Spruce tree came crashing down. It landed softly on our white picket fence. It took down our power line and phone lines.

Hurricane Irene claims our 60 year old Blue Spruce. VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Sagamore Great Camp of the Vanderbuilts

We checked in – got our name tags and program and have a very convenient room on the first floor of the main lodge. We have a nice view of the lake from our room. We have twin beds, a large stone (non-working) fireplace; one dresser, one small chair and a closet. The heat is on so we are not cold. The beds have real, homemade quilts and one wool blanket. I had to make the bed up with the sheets. It looks like we won’t have to share the bathroom as stated in the brochure, but I’m shocked that there’s no shower – only a tub. A step back in time.

Exterior VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Interior VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

At 9am, Dr. Jeff Flagg gave us a guided tour of the upper camp, which was the buildings of the workers – the barn, blacksmith, carriage house, school house, etc.

Dr. Flagg is assistant director here at Sagamore and in the winter he’s a Professor at Siena College in Loudonville. After an excellent lunch, we had an in-depth tour of the Main Lodge (where we’re staying) and of the dining hall, play house and the amazing bowling alley.

Tueday -

After a good night’s sleep and a pancake breakfast in the dining room, we packed up our “picnic lunches” and drove 2 miles on a dirt road to JP Morgan’s Great Camp Uncas.  Dr. Michael Wilson gave us the lecture and tour which focused on architecture, history and preservation of the Adirondacks.  We’ve had lovely weather which made the tour very enjoyable.  We ate our picnic lunch sitting in the Adirondack chairs at the lake side beach.  Photos of the day:

		JP Morgan’s Camp “Uncas” VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

First signs of Spring in our Hometown

We arrived home on April 10th and there wasn’t any sign of spring.  It looked like winter without the snow – the earth was asleep.  And then we had nothing but rain, rain, rain.  So much that the rivers up north of us – already full of snow-melt have overflowed and severe flooding has caused serious damage.

BUT – finally the sun came out during the last week of April and BAM!  Spring Exploded !!  It only took 2 days of warmth and these are the photos of our area. Daffodils are always first.  Forsythia bushes are everywhere – a very early bloomer.

Tulips are always welcome  and heralds the huge “Tulip Festival” in Albany.

Phlox always shows us a beautiful display.  An ornamental flowering cherry is an eye-catcher in our neighborhood.   And wild violets are already in our yard.

But the “It’s Spring Prize” goes to the dandelion – It’s EVERYWHERE!!

Next week, we’ll have a whole new crop of Spring Flowers – hope you enjoyed this.

Prattville, Alabama–with the Taltons

Sweet Home Alabama and pure Southern Hospitality from Mary Patt & Joe Talton.This property has been in her family since the 1830’s and has extensive land that is timbered and used for hunting.   Here we are in our RV following them down their driveway.

We had a covered shelter, plus electric and water AND use of their Guest house. 

Mary Patt & Joe in their dining room. Next are photos of the exterior of their home.

The sun room was my favorite spot and it overlooks the lake. The amaryllis was in full bloom!Time to head home to NY.

Rockport, Texas–lots to do & see

Sunrise is at 7:30am and just a few steps from our door is this incredible view and a new day.

The Bluebonnets are in bloom.  This photo was taken in the local cemetery – next to our RV park.  Even Burger King has a nautical theme and you have a view of Aransas Bay as you eat your filet of fish.

The local supermarket, HEB, has a great selection of fishing gear.  Here’s Don in the nature park that’s across the street from the Super Wal-Mart.  Note the little green lizard that’s “all puffed up” trying to attract a mate.  It’s Oyster season and we watched them unload the 100+ pound bags.  One man said that “this is like Florida in the 70’s”.  Undeveloped – and we hope it stays this way!