Enjoying St Thomas

Thursday and Friday were days to rest. We were going to go to Magens Bay on Thursday but Carol felt a little punky so we just loafed around the pool here at the Castle. There were very few people around probably because of the large number of rooms being renovated here. I did get to look in one of the rooms being renovated and they are doing a major renovation; moving partitions and changing plumbing etc. The pool bar is still closed but getting ready to open up shortly.

Friday we picked up Hank and David and went to Magens Bay for the afternoon. David never had been there and if you have not seen it it is worth at least one trip. There were no crowds because there were no ships in. While in the water at waist depth I did see a 3 foot long barracuda swim by. There were not many other fish around and maybe that was why!!!

Carol and went to the Room With A View for their new happy hour. Five dollar wine and $5 appetizers. Too good a deal to pass up. Carol had some fried fish and I had the Calamari Provencal. Both are excellent.

This is Halloween and we plan on going to the Green House for dinner and may get to see some good costumes. It will give us the chance to see our friend Doug who is the night manager there.

Tomorrow is moving day for Hank and I will pick him up to bring him here to the Castle. We are lucky because we are going to be able to stay in the same unit and will not have to move. Hurrray, no packing and unpacking to do.

Dive, Dive!!!!

On Monday Hank and I met up with Peter at Coki Beach and went on our first two dives of ten planned. There was only one other diver with us but Peter and his new “helper” dove with us. The water was a little rough and we went to Grass Cay and dove on Mary’s Mounds. Down to 65 feet for 42 minutes. Got some decent pictures with the new camera and here a couple.

　

We then went to Mingo Cay and dove the Mingo Mounds. Another good dive for 40 minutes.

On Wednesday I had a new battery in my dive computer so I got good information on the dives. We dove a Congo Cay and Mingo again. At Congo there was a lot of surge and the bottom was covered with Coral fans and other soft coral waving in the surge. Very pretty but I didn’t take any pictures of it. I did see about 6 nice big conch but each one had a resident and I had to leave them on the bottom. We went to 77 feet, my deepest dive to date.

At Mingo we saw a sea turtle and several barracuda. Went to 64 feet for 43 minutes. Water temperature is at 83 degrees and I have not been using a wet suit.

We now rest until Monday and will do 3 days of diving next week.

The Day of the Dolphins

We were up early and caught the 830 AM ferry to Tortola BVI so we could swim with the dolphins. We got to Tortola about 945AM and our scheduled time with the Dolphins was 10 AM but we got a cab and arrived a minute early!! No problem, mon!!!



This was a really fun thing to do. There was only one other couple with us and it made it like our own private show. They had us put flotation vests on and we stood on a platform about waist deep in the very large pool. We got to pet the 2 dolphins. Shake hands with them, kiss them and even dance with them.



The real fun part was going out from the platform and floating with our arms extended and then the dolphins came up from behind on each side of us. We grabbed to their dorsal fin and they towed us back to the platform. Quite a ride. It got even better though.



The next time we floated lying flat with our legs extended behind us. The dolphins then came up from behind, placed their noses on the soles of our feet and pushed. They pushed you so you could actually stand up while being pushed along in the water. The one gal got pushed so high it looked like she was standing on the water.



Naturally they took video of this entire episode and it was so good we could not resist getting one. They did a high class job on the video and we will enjoy looking at it.



Tomorrow, Hank and I will be going on our first of 10 SCUBA dives.

A Great Start

We went to Bluebeards Beach Club to visit with Hank and his brother. Naturally the weather was great but there was a little higher surf and it was not very good for snorkeling as I found out later. Saw our friends from Albuquerque and visited with them also. We attended the Vendors presentations for the various trips and things to do while here. And wouldn’t you know it, Carol won a 2-for-1 trip to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. We have been there in the past but it is a good trip and worth going to see again.

We had lunch there and then came back to rest up for our next day of fun.

Bluebeard’s Castle Arrival

Wow, we got a fine room at the Marriott. We got a room at the section called Morning Star. It is right on the beach and we spent most of our time under an umbrella on the beach reading and snoozing. I did go snorkeling some and took some pictures of the stuff I saw. It was a little tough getting good pictures because of the surge of the surf and it was tough seeing the picture-to-be in the display of the camera. I did see some squid and got a few good shots of them.

Last year Carol won a buy-one-get-one-free “Swim with the dolphins” at Tortola in the British VI. She called and got us an appointment for Monday. Sounds like it will be fun.

They had a cocktail party Friday evening and of course we took them up on their margaritas and snacks. They were trying to get people interested in their very nice timeshare which of course was of no interest to us.

On Saturday morning I went to the airport and picked up or rental car ….. It turned our to be a Jeep and is the best car I ever had in St Thomas!! Went back to Morningstar and checked out and then we stopped at Havensight to do a little shopping. I could not resist a new underwater camera that I feel will be easier to use underwater.

We then went to Bluebeards Castle about noon and lo and behold our room was ready to check in to. After unloading the car and getting set up in the room we went to the airport to pick up Hank, the fellow who bought our timeshares. He also brought his brother with him. On the way to the Beachclub where they are staying, we stopped and did grocery shopping. After dropping them at the Beachclub we came back to the Castle. We had a very light dinner in the room and watched the one ship depart.

Tomorrow we will go to the beach club and loaf at the beach.

Old Folks Fun

So far we have just been chilling in Puerto Rico and recharging our batteries. But we did take advantage of the sliding board at the pool that is for both kids and adults.

We left the resort at 730 AM to head for the airport and go through the morning rush hour traffic. It took less than an hour and it was not a bad ride. The airport was very low in activity and we sailed through the check-in and security. Our flight departed at 1015 AM and we landed at St Thomas at 1045 AM. Not even time for a cup of coffee!!

Naturally when we got to the Marriott so early our room was not ready so we checked our bags and had a light lunch. Carol is now napping in a comfortable chair in the lobby while we wait for our room.

More later!!

In sunny San Juan

We arrived in San Juan Saturday afternoon, after a short delay taking off from Miami, with good weather and warm temperatures. The Rio Mar Beach Resort is a very nice resort but we expected a Studio rather than a hotel room. It is a nice room but no refrig or stove as we like to have.

They have a casino and 5 places to eat right here at the resort. We are right on the Atlantic beach and have 2 pools also. We plan on staying here at the resort the entire time rather than taking any tours etc.. We just want to have some time to really relax and we are getting it.

Spent most all day at the pool today and had lunch there also. Good Rum punches were also available. We did take a short dip in the Atlantic and Carol got dumped over by the surf a couple of times. Luckily she did not lose glasses which she forgot to take off!!

We will depart Thursday for our 2 weeks plus in St Thomas.

Here we go again!

We just got back from Las Vegas last Thursday night and we are now filling up the suitcases getting ready to head for the "Islands" on Saturday. We depart from Miami Saturday and go to San Juan for 5 days at a high class resort ... at least that is what they told us!! I have looked at their website and even looked at it using Google Earth and it does look like a 5 star place. Naturally they are going to try to sell us something but they are not going to have any luck.

After 5 nights we leave and fly to St Thomas and will be there 16 days. The first 2 nights we are going to stay at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef because our reservations at Bluebeards Castle doesn't start until Saturday 10/24. Even though our stay will be at the Castle, we will probably spend a good bit of time at Bluebeards Beach Club because of their great beach.

I am planning to do a lot of SCUBA diving with my friend from Lake George, NY. I am expecting to get in at least 10 dives and maybe more. I expect to take some underwater pictures with a camera I got earlier this year and if they look good I will put them on this blog when we return. I am not sure if I am going to have Internet capabilities while there so you may not hear from me for a while.

Last year we won a "Swim With The Dolphins" deal in the British Virgin Islands so we are going to work that into our schedule too. I have a feeling Carol will find some time to go shopping too!!

We get home on November 7 and will rest up for a party at our clubhouse on the 14th.

Retirement is sure a busy time!!!!!

Las Vegas

We left Tampa at 720 AM on Tuesday morning to head to Las Vegas for 2 nights and catch a couple of shows. After arriving about noon and checking into the Riviera we wandered the strip a little. I had already made reservations for the Terry Fator show at the Mirage for this evening so we didn't go very far. We did sign up for our Riviera gambling cards and that got us 2 free tickets to the Russian Ice show at the Riviera for the following evening. That was a good deal ..... Since we did not intend to do any gambling anyway. The tickets normally cost $90 each. Carol did some relaxing before we went out.

From Las Vegas 10-2009

We had an early dinner and walked down to the Mirage to see the show. It was an excellent show. Terry Fator won a Million Dollars on the America's Got Talent show and he is a big hit in Vegas. Show was sold out.

The next morning we decided to walk all the way down the strip. We wandered the Venetian and it is beautiful place. Also took a ride up the Paris Eiffel tower (replica) for a great view of the city.

From Las Vegas 10-2009

By the time we got to the MGM Grand we were getting tired and stopped for a late lunch/early dinner at the Outback. Even carried some leftovers back since we had a refrigerator in the room.

The Ice show started at 8 PM and was excellent. They did more strange and different things on skates than we expected. Not the normal Olympic type skating. Gals were skating on stilts, guys were juggling and skating, they did circus type springboard jumps to a chair on a pole, one gal was spinning hoola-hoops while skating around.

We got to bed early and left LV at noon their time and arrived back home around midnight. A fun 2 days in Vegas but I had to "wave" goodbye to the Crazy Girls at the Riviera.

From Las Vegas 10-2009

The A/C Caper

In January we had an air conditioning company check out our unit since it was such a good deal!!! Only $49 for a complete check. When they were checking they said I had 2 electrical relays that showed signs of significant arcing and should be replaced to prevent any major failure. I should have been suspicious when I was told it would be $250 per relay!! I agree to replace one, cheap ole' me!! The relay's final price was $216.00 (He gave me a discount!!)

About 2 weeks ago we had some other problems with the unit and I called a company recommended by friends of ours. While servicing the unit Carol told them about the relay being replaced (I was not at home). She showed him the relay that had been removed and I had kept and he said there was nothing wrong with it and they rarely fail. He also said we had been overcharged since they should only cost about $50.00.

I went to a local Trane service center and got the price of a new relay and found it was $56.25. I then called the A/C company and asked if they had a copy of the invoice as I had only my credit card statement. When I drove to Bradenton to get it, I asked to see the manager because I was not satisfied with their service. He was not in but would call me in about an hour.

After 24 hours and no phone call, I wrote a letter with all of the details and asked for a refund since they: 1. Did a telemarketing call to us even though we are on the Do Not Call List, 2. Used Bait and Switch to get me to buy a relay that was not needed, 3. Priced Gouged me by charging $216 for a $56 relay. I sent the letter Certified with a return receipt and also sent a copy to the Better Business Bureau. I asked for refund of the $216.

After three days and no response I called but he was not there and I asked for him to call me. I about an hour I got a call and was told my credit card would be credited for the $216. HOORAY!!!!!!

After 2 more days the credit finally showed up on my on-line statement.

Just another day in the life and times of of the Julian's!!!!

By the way the service by the second company was far superior to the first and was a lot less costly. I will continue using them.