A Faux New Years Eve Party

While we and most of our closer friends do not act as many OLD folks do, there is a contingent in our community that does!!

For the last several years our community has been having a new years eve party that started about 5 PM. Since entertainment on that night is very expensive, no entertainment was arranged except for records being played.
They also set the clocks ahead three hours at the start of the party!!
Then at 9 PM, (midnight on the clock) they celebrated the coming in of the new year!!! And of course then everyone went home by 9:30 PM. Carol and our friends Gus and Marilyn went to some other party because we  wanted to really bring in the new year.
This year they wanted to have live entertainment but that would have cost $3000.00! That is not a typo .... yes $3000.00. So they arranged for live entertainment on December 30 for only about $300.00.
Rather than having a catered or prepared meal, each couple brought their own steak or whatever and grilled grilled it themselves. A baked potato and other meal accessories were supplied for a small fee which included the cost of the entertainer.
Since the entertainer was Kim Jenkins, one of our more favored ones, we and the Lopes went to the party.

Here is our group. Marilyn's mother Mazie, Carol, Sonya Nolin and Gus and Marilyn Lopes.
And Carol and I were home before 10 PM but of course we are still going out to bring in the new year on New Years eve!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR

SCUBA at St Thomas 2011

My dive buddy Hank from Lake George, NY made his trip to St Thomas to coincide with ours again this year. I really appreciate diving with Hank because he is a Rescue Diver at the Lake George Fire Department. He watches over me while we dive so I feel very safe diving with him. We normally do all of our dives with the Coki Beach Dive Club but their boat was being repaired. We can do beach dives at Coki Beach and we did 3 there, but we wanted to go to some other sites that were more interesting.

We scheduled some dives with Blue Island Divers and got to dive on two different wrecks. The first day we dove on a reef off Bluebeard's Beach Club plus a second dive on sunken Navy barges. We saw a small (2 1/2 ft) nurse shark but I missed any pictures of it as my camera battery did not last long enough.

I got disgusted with my camera so I bought a new one and on following dives I got some decent pictures. The second wreck we dove on was a 300 foot long barge that sat upright in 100 feet of water. The main deck was at only 50 feet and when our boat anchored it's anchor was on the deck attached to a fitting.

Here, I am following the Dive Master along the edge of the deck at 50 feet. We then dropped down to the keel level and 100 feet.

Here you can see the other divers following behind me at the 100 foot depth and you can see the side of the barge. We went to the stern of the barge and then entered it and swam up to the main deck going through compartments that were actually open due to the explosions to sink the barge. I chickened out and did not go up through all of the compartments but went up on the outside and met them up near the main deck (50 ft).

Here I am in what is left of one of the compartments at about 60 feet. We all then swam around the main deck inspecting the various parts of the ship and going in other compartments that were somewhat open. While we were there a turtle came out of one of the compartments and I got several good pictures of it with Hank in the background.

The turtle finally headed for deeper waters but Hank and I did not follow him.

On Thursday of the second week Hank and I did one last dive from the beach at Coki Beach. It was just Hank and I (no dive master with us) and it gave us an opportunity to do a little practice in safety procedures like, removing your mask and putting it back on and clearing the water from it and sharing air from the others tank. We also got to see some of the novices out for their first Discovery Dive. An instructor takes a few first time divers out to introduce them to diving after giving them sufficient instruction, of course.

Back From St Thomas

Carol and I got back yesterday from our annual 2 week stay in St Thomas. It was great time and we got to see some friends we have not seen for several years. However, in the past 8 weeks we have been away for 6 of the weeks! We both are glad to be home so we can get back into the routine here in Riverwalk.

Naturally we had some pool time, Carol got some shopping time and I got enough SCUBA as you will see in another post.  One of fun places we eat at is the Room With a View since they have $5.00 wine and appetizers at the bar from 5 - 7 PM.

 

The appetizers are large enough that one is like having dinner for Carol or I. If it isn't large enough you can always order an additional one!!

During the second week, we got to visit with friends that have not seen for several years at St Thomas. It was a good reunion and we all went out to dinner at Iggies at Bolongo Bay.

Here are Steve and Shelly Berman with us at Iggies. We sat at a table right next to the entertainer for the evening and when he started playing it hampered the conversation considerably.
On Thursday, while I was SCUBA diving, Carol was taking another walk downtown and tripped over a speed bump in a parking lot and fell. She skinned her left knee quite a bit and also put lesser scrapes and bruises on her right knee and elbows. Thank goodness she did not break any bones or do any more serious damage.
When I finished my dive I called her, as usual, and found out about her accident. Rather than walking back to the condo she stayed at a shopping area and I picked her up on my way back.
On Saturday we caught our early flight to Miami and arrived early, about 11 AM, picked up our car, got gas and headed back home. On the way home we stopped for about 2 hours and visited my college classmate in Naples. It made a  nice break for the drive. Jim and Nancy are going on a cruise with us in January so we had some time to talk about that. It will be their first cruise and they are looking forward to the experience.
It sure was nice getting in bed and sleeping with my own pillow. We both slept very well!

OUCH and #*%#@##+?

When we got home I got some boards to work into signs for the gal that paints and sells them. Even though I got the material on Sunday I did not start working on them until Tuesday morning because Carol and I were so tired.
In all of my many years doing woodworking I have never cut myself but that ended on Tuesday. Somehow I bumped my finger into the table saw blade and cut my left small finger at the outside base of it. I  had leather gloves on and that may have helped prevent more damage or the gloves may have pulled my finger into the blade. Either way, I am sure everyone within a block or two heard my cussing at myself for my stupidity.
We got to a local emergency room and we confirmed what I felt I already knew. I had not damaged any tendons and the nerves seemed full intact. The flesh wound did take 10 stitches to close though.

Here is what it looks like after 5 days of  healing. The redness seems to be bruising and not an infection. There is Neosporen on it for infection control and I have been taking an antibiotic.

Nearly Home - Key West

After two days at sea we arrived at Key West, FL on a dreary and drizzly day. We had to clear immigration on our arrival so it was not until about 9:30 AM before anyone could leave the ship. Carol and I went ashore dodging raindrops but came back on board before 11AM. The rain never eased up but instead became more intense.
We went by Captain Eddies Bar to see if we could see a nephew of Jim and Donna Henry but were were there before their opening time. Captain Eddies is the original location of Sloopy Joe's Bar from 1934 to 1937 (I think). We did stop in at Sloppy Joes and it reminded me of the times the officers of the Hazelwood gathered there over 50 years ago. It was early enough in the day and the bar was not crowded like it gets with all the tourists so it looked like it was 50+ years ago!!
The ship pulled out of Key West early, 2 PM and we headed for our last stop, Tampa. Jim Henry will pick us up at the pier, we will get our car and head home to recover from our vacation.

Cartegena, Columbia

We arrived at Cartegena about 10 AM and we were surprised to see that we were at a large container port. The pier was not near town at all and  it was not going to be possible to walk to town as we planned to do. I was able to get the last available tickets for a town tour that left at 3 PM. Since we had time we walked to the end of the pier and there were a few very small shops there.

At least they had the pier nicely decorated with potted flowers!!
We had lunch, played gin rummy and napped waiting for the tour. The ship was not scheduled to depart until 7 PM so we had plenty of time for the tour. I took no still pics of Cartegena but took video instead.
Our tour guide said that Cartegena is much safer since they got the drug cartels out of Columbia. I guess they are now in Mexico. Columbia is the emerald mining capital of the world and they have some real beauties. Carol was looking at one bracelet and found out that the price was $27,000!! We had a very nice walk through the street of old Cartegena and in a park music was played by a group of policeman!! Also, Columbia is know for their coffee and we  had the opportunity to buy some but they had no decaf!!

Panama Canal Transit

We had another day at sea while going from Puntarenas to the Panama Canal. It was a rainy and even a little cool. We got word that there was a hurricane hitting Mexico City and this probably was the cause of our weather.

We arrived at Panama City and the entrance of the canal early in the morning as we were scheduled to enter at 8 AM. I was surprised at the great number of ships anchored waitng to go in or had come out. Another passenger counted 45. I took more video of our transit than still pictures. We also purchased a video from the ship photgraphers that shows the transit better than I could do. Here are a few of the pics that I did take.

There are three locks to lift the ship and three to lower the ship. The total lift is about 27 meters or 90 feet. The distance through the canal is about 50 miles and it takes about 5 - 6 hours for the transit. The canal authority has 2 rules that must be followed. Each ship must carry a qualified canal pilot and the ship must pay the toll in cash prior to entering the canal. Naturally agents are used for the money transfer.

The day before we went through,  a sister ship, the Norwegian Pearl transited the canal and set a toll record of $419,000 for the canal.

Here we are in a lock with one of the "mules" that pulls the ships through the locks. These are not the orginal mules as they were replaced only a few years ago. That's Carol supervising the operation! You can see that there is not much clearance between the lock and the ship. We were told that this ship and it's sisters are the largest size allowed through the locks. There is a major project ongoing to add wider and longer locks.

Here is one of the tour boats that are operated on the canal, loaded with passengers.
After exiting the canal we headed for Cartegena, Columbia and will be there tomorrow morning.

Puntarenas, Cost Rica

We had a day at sea yesterday on our way to Costa Rica. It was a lazy day reading, loafing, doing puzzles and playing gin rummy. The evening show was excellent with a group of four tenors called Fourever. They sounded a lot like El Divo.
The weather this entire trip so far has been quite good. The seas have been smooth even though there was a hurricane in the Pacific several days before our departure from LA.
We did get off the ship and walk around the flea market shops at the end of the pier and Carol did some shopping. She did find a necklace of native variety but we found no appropriate shirt for me.

We will have a day at sea before we arrive at the Panama Canal. It rained most of the day while heading toward the canal. We are hoping for a clear transit of the canal.

Hautulco, MEX, and Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Both of these ports are quite small and we stayed on the ship while at both of them. Huatulco did have some flea market shops near the pier and the beach near the pier looked nice but we just loafed and I shot some video from the ship.
The evening were spent dancing in the Spinnaker lounge or listening to music in the atrium. They have a real good trio that plays music we really enjoy for listening or dancing.

The previous evening was Dress Up If You Want and we did. Not many dress up on NCL with their Freestyle Cruising though. We had our picture taken and here it is.

Acapulco, MEX

Rather than walking around on our own we got a tour that would allow us to see the cliff divers. It gave us a good view of many parts of the town but I took more video than still pictures. Here is the cliff. It is 136 feet from the small shrine at the upper right. Several divers dove from lower spots but the one that dove from the top spot did a back-flip from there. It is on my video so you will have to visit to see it!!

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Naturally there were stops for shopping and Carol was interested in this statue. I wonder why??

During the tour our guide was telling us of how the tourist business has dropped. The number of ships coming to Acapulco is nearly dried up. During October only 2 or 3 were coming in rather than a dozen or so. Many of the hotels that were owned by major firms have been sold to local interests. The drug cartels are causing problems in the countryside. In fact while we were there the teachers had a protest parade demanding more protection from the cartels for them and the students in the more rural areas.
The next day were are scheduled to be in Hautulco, MEX, a small port.

Panama Canal Cruise - Cabo San Lucas

After spending a week in LA, on OCT 1 we boarded the Norwegian Pearl at Long Beach, CA to cruise back to Tampa going through the Panama Canal. We had stops in Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Huatulco, MEX, Puerto Quetzal, HON, Puntarenas, CR, Cartegena, COL and Key West, FL.
We were at sea 2 days before we got to our first stop. In Cabo San Lucas we just walked around the marina area and the part of town nearby. It was really hot, so we stopped and had a drink at a local spot.

On our way back to the ship Carol saw the largest Caribbean lobster ever!!

We spent the next day at sea on the way to Acapulco.

LA Visit

On SEP 24 we flew out to to spend a week visiting with my sister and seeing the rest of the family in the area. Carol, also got to see her long time friend Becki.This gave us a week of time to visit before getting on a cruise ship to return to Tampa via the Panama Canal.

My niece Sue had a get-together at her house for most of the family to gather and visit. This allowed us to see a lot of the relatives without traveling too much.

Here is Sue and Steve Besch with my sister, Jeannie.

Carol is visiting with my niece Nancy and her husband Gregg.

We got the opportunity to go to dinner with nephew Jack and here is Jeannie, me and Jack at the restaurant.

Being in the LA gives Carol the opportunity to visit with her friend Becki. We got to go to lunch with her and her husband Don and had a good time visiting. Then on Saturday morning OCT 1 my sister drove us to Long Beach and we got on the Norwegian Star for our 15 day cruise to Tampa via the Panama Canal

More on Carol's birthday

We were able to surprise Carol with a little party given by Marilyn and Gus Lopes. I was going to get Carol to go over to their house and surprise her there .... but .... their air conditioning went on the fritz. So Marilyn brought all the stuff to our house and we had our surprise here. The surprise to Carol was apparently complete as it brought her to tears when she realized what was going on.

Here is the crew. Angie, Gail, Gus, Carol, terry, Marilyn and Mazie. I am behind the camera!

Marilyn brought enough food to feed plenty more than we had attending. She even did a cake and Carol got to make a wish and blow out the candles after a rendition of Happy Birthday.

Both Carol and I appreciate such great friends as Gus and Marilyn.

Carol's birthday

Today is Carol's birthday but earlier in the week her sister Gail brought over a cupcake birthday cake. It was so cute I took a picture of it. It still looks good even though there were 4 pieces cut from it.

Today, after she went out on the carport, she  came back in to tell me she saw something that looked thin and shiny by the garbage can. She thought it might be a snake skin but when was not going to investigate!! I went out later and sure enough, it was a snake skin. Here is a picture of it. That is a 2 foot ruler beside it!! So we have a good sized snake roaming around our neighborhood. That is no surprise in Florida!!

Birthday for Jim

Yes, August 1 was Jim's 76 birthday. The calendar may tell me I am 76 and my body may tell me that I am 76 but my mind still thinks I am only about 45!!!

We went out to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner with our friends Gus and Marilyn to celebrate the occasion. It had been a long time since we  had been to an Outback and I overate to the point I really felt  uncomfortable. But it was hard to stay away from things like the Blooming Onion, the bread, a lettuce wedge salad with bleu cheese dressing and an Outback steak. Then when I felt really stuffed they brought an ice cream sundae for my birthday!!!

At least Lori and Dawn sent me a sensible gift. Here is a picture of it with me ready to eat it.

The fruit was really good too!!

A week in Orlando

We spent last week in Orlando since we had an RCI Timeshare exchange that was going to run out. We were lucky enough to find a resort that had a 2 bedroom unit available. That being the case, we invited our friends in Tampa, Jim and Donna Henry to join us. They arrived several days after we did but we got plenty of time to visit, sight see, shop and dine together.

Carol and I found an Elks Lodge in Orlando that was quite active so we went there for dinner on 2 evenings before Jim and Donna arrived. The Lodge had music for dancing both evenings. The Saturday evening was very nice since they had a ballroom dance group attending and we got to see a lot of really good dancing. One couple did a Tango demonstration which was quite professional.

We also went there with Jim and Donna one evening for dinner and entertainment. The members put on a variety show which was very good. They have some excellent talent in the lodge. Here we are at the Lodge.

Later in the week the four of us visited the Catholic Basilica in Orlando. It is know as Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine.A very beautiful church and more modern than I expected. Here we all are at the shrine.

The most exciting event of the week was on Wednesday when I realized I had left my credit card at the Olive Garden restaurant the on Monday!! As soon as I realized it we drove to there and they had the card in the safe waiting for me ..... along with a whole stack of other cards according to the manager!!

All in all it was a good week and visiting with Jim and Donna made it all that more enjoyable.

Trafford visit

Our last stop before heading  home was Trafford, where I was raised. Rey and Bibi Peduzzi were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and we did not want to miss it. I have known Rey for over 70 years!!

We normally park the motor home at the school lot but we decided to park at the Norwin Elks near Harrison City since they had power and water for us. My sister was going to be staying with us and since the generator was not starting easily I did not want to have any problems when we needed air conditioning.

It was really nice being there since we had a bar and restaurant right at our back door. I am sure we will use this camping spot in the future.

The other main reason for me stop in the Trafford area is to go to DaLallos Italian Store. We got over $50.00 of various food items. The main item I like is their sandwich size pepperoni. Their hot an mild Italian sausage is second to none. So we are now stocked up on Italian foods for a while.

The anniversary party was followed by a picnic the next day. I got to visit with a number of folks that I grew up with and of course got to visit with my sister a lot. It was a great week overall.

Sorry but I only took videos of the party so there are no pictures to post here.

Gettysburg, PA

Our next stop was Gettysburg and we toured the battlefields by getting an audio CD that allowed us to drive around from site to site at our leisure. I found Little Round Top one of the more interesting points of the battle. In the background of this picture you can see the Devil's Den where some of the toughest fighting swayed back and forth.

This is the view from the Devil's Den looking up to Little Round Top. Just imagine trying to make an attack up that hill in all of that open space.

Carol and I did get to sit with Abe for a while but he was not very talkative.

Since Abe would not talk to us we went to visit Ike's farm which is close by. Sorry, no pictures of it but we did find it to be a very nice visit.

Washington DC

We went from NYC to Washington DC and got a two day bus tour of the city. Even though we stopped by the White House we did not get an invitation to go in.

We did tour the interior of the Capitol and even saw some of a session of the House of Representatives. I don't know who was speaking but there was no one there to listen to him except those 25 or so in the gallery with us. Our government sure does operate strangely!

At Arlington Cemetery we did see the tomb of the unknown soldier and Kennedy's grave site. We found it interesting that not all the tombstones are like these shown below. These are the standard grave markers but prior to about 15 years ago it was permissible to use other than the standard marker. There were plenty of markers other than those you expect to see.

One of my classmates is buried in Arlington and I found out where he was buried and our last day in DC we drove to Arlington and located his grave site. As you can see, his marker is not the standard style. I did get surprised when we found his grave that his wife had also passed away 2 years ago.

More of NYC

Since we had been up the Empire Sate Building in the past, this trip we went to the Top of the Rock. From there we could see the Empire State Building as well as a great view of the city. It was a little hazy but we still had a great view.

Carol loves lions, being a Leo, and this is one we found at the FAO Swartz toy store.

In the Financial District they have a large bull for those aggressive investors. It is one of the most popular places to have your picture taken and we did not want to miss that opportunity.