Since our 53rd anniversary is coming up in January we are going to go on a cruise to celebrate it. We will be departing from Miami on January 23 and stopping in Samana (Dominican Republic), St Thomas, Tortola (British Virgin Islands) and NCL's private island Great Stirrup Cay. We return to Miami on January 30.
I am already making arrangements to make a couple of SCUBA dives in St Thomas and Tortola. In Tortola I will dive down to the wreck of the RMS Rhone. The RMS Rhone was a British packet ship owned by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She was wrecked off the coast of Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands on 29 October 1867 during a hurricane with the loss of approximately 123 lives. It is now a leading Caribbean wreck dive site. I am looking forward to that dive and hope to get a lot of good pictures.
We have been to all of these places except Samana but we are still looking forward to the whole cruise. I guess you could call it our anniversary present to ourselves.
Earlier in January we will be spending 5 days at the Tampa RV show RV camping with friends. The show is held at the Florida fairgrounds and is very large show. We look forward to seeing our RV friends more than wandering the show though.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Carol's eye - Update
Carol went to the doctor on Monday 12/13 to have her left eye checked and it is doing very well. She is able to see at close to 20/20 near and far and it is still improving. Quit apparently she will not need any glasses which is going to make her very pleased.
The doctor's appointment Monday was also in prep for the operation on the second eye which was done on Tuesday 12/14. That operation went even better than the first. That eye had better vision on the next day than the first eye did at that time. This has made her feel much better about the whole situation.
She will go back next week to have two small stitches removed. Prior to that appointment she will stop taking the medication that dilates the eye. The dilation is needed for the type lens she got but it does cause the vision to be less than normal.
We are both pleased that all is going so well.
The doctor's appointment Monday was also in prep for the operation on the second eye which was done on Tuesday 12/14. That operation went even better than the first. That eye had better vision on the next day than the first eye did at that time. This has made her feel much better about the whole situation.
She will go back next week to have two small stitches removed. Prior to that appointment she will stop taking the medication that dilates the eye. The dilation is needed for the type lens she got but it does cause the vision to be less than normal.
We are both pleased that all is going so well.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Carol's eye surgery update
Tomorrow is Carol's surgery for her second eye. She was a little upset about the first surgery because she was not able to have improved vision right after surgery.
The doctor did not really fill her in with all of the information which would have helped Carol and I understand the situation. The lenses that Carol got are "crystaline" and somewhat different than the basic lenses normally used. With these lenses she is virtually guaranteed to have vision good enough, both far and near that she will not need any glasses.
She and I were concerned in the first week because her vision had not improved as we expected. However the doctor was very pleased with her progress. At the end of the first week there was one stitch removed from the lens and the drops that dilated her eye was stopped. Those two changes made a significant change. She is able to see better than 20/20 reading and very good at a distance but we don't know the actual numbers.
Today she went and had the second stitch removed from the lens and is seeing quite good. Of course she is having the second (right) eye done tomorrow morning and will go through the same "recovery" situation with that eye. There was a time she was having some real apprehension about her vision since she did not know what to expect. Now that she understands the process she is feeling a lot better about her vision and the operation on the right eye.
Other than the eye situation, things are somewhat normal here except for this darn cold weather. We wish the Canucks would keep their cold air up in Canada where it belongs. Last week it got down to the mid 30's a couple of nights and now tonight it may get into the low 30's. At least we had a couple of very nice days between these cold spells.
We are trying to get ready for Christmas and have some basic decorations up. Cards are coming in and we have to get some out but time is flying and with Carol's eye situation the task may fall to me!!
So Merry Christmas to all until my next post.
The doctor did not really fill her in with all of the information which would have helped Carol and I understand the situation. The lenses that Carol got are "crystaline" and somewhat different than the basic lenses normally used. With these lenses she is virtually guaranteed to have vision good enough, both far and near that she will not need any glasses.
She and I were concerned in the first week because her vision had not improved as we expected. However the doctor was very pleased with her progress. At the end of the first week there was one stitch removed from the lens and the drops that dilated her eye was stopped. Those two changes made a significant change. She is able to see better than 20/20 reading and very good at a distance but we don't know the actual numbers.
Today she went and had the second stitch removed from the lens and is seeing quite good. Of course she is having the second (right) eye done tomorrow morning and will go through the same "recovery" situation with that eye. There was a time she was having some real apprehension about her vision since she did not know what to expect. Now that she understands the process she is feeling a lot better about her vision and the operation on the right eye.
Other than the eye situation, things are somewhat normal here except for this darn cold weather. We wish the Canucks would keep their cold air up in Canada where it belongs. Last week it got down to the mid 30's a couple of nights and now tonight it may get into the low 30's. At least we had a couple of very nice days between these cold spells.
We are trying to get ready for Christmas and have some basic decorations up. Cards are coming in and we have to get some out but time is flying and with Carol's eye situation the task may fall to me!!
So Merry Christmas to all until my next post.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Time Flies
It has been quite busy since we got back from St Thomas and it nearly month since me last post! Shame on me.
After we got home we hit the ground nearly running! The Saturday after our return we went to Marilyn and Gus Lopes party at the clubhouse. John and Mary Lou Serafin joined us for the party. It was a dinner-dance with a great meal prepared by Marilyn. Roasted pork loin with a fantastic dressing and gravy with champagne in it!! All of the other trimming were just as tasty.
Dancing was done to the music of Jay Smith, our favorite entertainer. Everyone else at the party must have enjoyed him because more than half stayed until the very end. For this old-timer group that was a pleasant surprise.
The next Saturday was the Pancake Breakfast which Jim is the chairman of. A volunteer crew served about 95 meals of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, toast, coffee and juice. The breakfast is held once a month during the winter (snowbird) season.
Thanksgiving was the next week and we did a 16 pound turkey and had Carol's sister, Gail and her friend Angelo over of dinner. Chef Jim make his usual great dressing and Carol did the other veggies. Angelo and Gail brought one of the best cheesecakes we have ever had. It was topped with huge strawberries and had all of the calories removed from it ... I wish. The next day Jim stripped the carcass and made a large pot of turkey soup. It was very tasty as usual and we took some to Gail as she likes it also.
The next week on Tuesday was Carol's day to have her cataract eye surgery on her left eye. In to the surgery center at 730 AM and out about 11 AM. The actual surgery was only about 20 minutes but the prep and waiting took all the other time. She wore a patch over the eye that night and we went to the doctor the next day so the patch could be removed and the eye checked. We both expected that she would immediately have greatly improved vision but it did not happen. The doctor said everything is just fine but it takes time for the vision to improve. She is also taking drops in the eye which keeps it dilated. She will stop those drops about 3 days before her next appointment on Friday 12/10. Her right eye will be operated on the following Tuesday 12/14.
Of course Jim calls bingo each Monday evening at the clubhouse so that is just one more thing that keeps on the go. We have not been at the YMCA as much as usual because of Carol's eye surgery but we will be getting back at that also. Carol keep busy being the treasurer of the Co-op and she is glad it will end in January when they have elections. She is not running for re-election.
Jim's work on the ship reunion has been keeping busy also. There are now about 56 shipmates planning to attend the reunion which is in April of 2011. You can look at that blog by clicking on my profile on the right side of this blog.
I may have to retire from retirement as it seems we are busier now than when working.
Merry Christmas to all
Jim and Carol
After we got home we hit the ground nearly running! The Saturday after our return we went to Marilyn and Gus Lopes party at the clubhouse. John and Mary Lou Serafin joined us for the party. It was a dinner-dance with a great meal prepared by Marilyn. Roasted pork loin with a fantastic dressing and gravy with champagne in it!! All of the other trimming were just as tasty.
Dancing was done to the music of Jay Smith, our favorite entertainer. Everyone else at the party must have enjoyed him because more than half stayed until the very end. For this old-timer group that was a pleasant surprise.
The next Saturday was the Pancake Breakfast which Jim is the chairman of. A volunteer crew served about 95 meals of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, toast, coffee and juice. The breakfast is held once a month during the winter (snowbird) season.
Thanksgiving was the next week and we did a 16 pound turkey and had Carol's sister, Gail and her friend Angelo over of dinner. Chef Jim make his usual great dressing and Carol did the other veggies. Angelo and Gail brought one of the best cheesecakes we have ever had. It was topped with huge strawberries and had all of the calories removed from it ... I wish. The next day Jim stripped the carcass and made a large pot of turkey soup. It was very tasty as usual and we took some to Gail as she likes it also.
The next week on Tuesday was Carol's day to have her cataract eye surgery on her left eye. In to the surgery center at 730 AM and out about 11 AM. The actual surgery was only about 20 minutes but the prep and waiting took all the other time. She wore a patch over the eye that night and we went to the doctor the next day so the patch could be removed and the eye checked. We both expected that she would immediately have greatly improved vision but it did not happen. The doctor said everything is just fine but it takes time for the vision to improve. She is also taking drops in the eye which keeps it dilated. She will stop those drops about 3 days before her next appointment on Friday 12/10. Her right eye will be operated on the following Tuesday 12/14.
Of course Jim calls bingo each Monday evening at the clubhouse so that is just one more thing that keeps on the go. We have not been at the YMCA as much as usual because of Carol's eye surgery but we will be getting back at that also. Carol keep busy being the treasurer of the Co-op and she is glad it will end in January when they have elections. She is not running for re-election.
Jim's work on the ship reunion has been keeping busy also. There are now about 56 shipmates planning to attend the reunion which is in April of 2011. You can look at that blog by clicking on my profile on the right side of this blog.
I may have to retire from retirement as it seems we are busier now than when working.
Merry Christmas to all
Jim and Carol
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
SCUBA at St Thomas
One of my main enjoyments at ST Thomas is SCUBA. Hank and I get a 10 tank package from Coki Beach Dive Club and this gets us 5 boat trips to various locations. It is a small boat and is licensed to carry only 6 paying passengers so it is a nice personal situation. Here is Pete the owner, Hank and me at about 40 feet under water somewhere around St Thomas.
Here is a spiny lobster, one of many we saw. If you click on the picture you will see it larger and if you look closely you will see there are actually 3 lobsters in the picture. We saw plenty of other sea life such as a small nurse shark, sting ray, eels, barracuda, sea turtle and a shovel nose lobster.
Yum Yum. Can't wait until next year and maybe I can talk them into several lobsters.
Here is a spiny lobster, one of many we saw. If you click on the picture you will see it larger and if you look closely you will see there are actually 3 lobsters in the picture. We saw plenty of other sea life such as a small nurse shark, sting ray, eels, barracuda, sea turtle and a shovel nose lobster.
We do not normally do any "hunting" for sea life, but on one of the dives the dive master brought up a spiny lobster for me. I had told him how Carol was wanting to have one for dinner and he got it for her, not me!! Here it is back at our condo waiting to be dinner for us!!
And here it is ready to be eaten for dinner!! Caribbean Lobster do not have claws as do Maine Lobster and I was surprised how much better the tail meat was on this lobster. Much better than Maine Lobster. It was a large enough tail for us to share with a salad and have enough .... with some rum of course!!!
Yum Yum. Can't wait until next year and maybe I can talk them into several lobsters.
Partying at St Thomas
We always have a great time at St Thomas but his year was even more fun as Hank, Jim's dive buddy, had his sister visit for about a week. Also Rich and Wendy were there during our second week and we had not seen them for several years. Here is Carol with Hank and his sister.
The Room With A View is our favorite place to have happy hour appetizers and drinks. Here is Carol, Wendy and Rich (plus some others ?? in the background) getting ready to party. How can you go wrong for $5 drinks and appetizers. The appetizers are large enough for Carol and I to make them our dinner.
One of the evenings we went to Red Hook and had drinks and dinner at Duffy's Love Shack. Here we are in the outside dining "room", a parking lot!!!! It get to be a little wild there at times so we did not spend the entire evening. We did run into a fellow that works at the Ritz Carlton (very plush place) and he invited us to come over to use their beach and pool.
Here we are at the Ritz Carlton enjoying the style of the Rich and Famous. You know it is a plush place by the price on a hamburger .... $21 and drinks for $9 to $12 and more!!! They also have their own beach and the grounds are quite beautiful. A fun day for all.
After rubbing shoulders with the Rich and Famous at the Ritz, the next day went to Sapphire Beach and hung out with the more common folks!! The beach was in good shape but the condos and other facilities were run down and in need of a lot of work. At one time this was a fine place but time and lack of money has taken it's toll. And then while Carol was lounging under the trees, an Iguana above her in the trees decided to relieve him self on her!!!! At least the poop was small round pellets but there was some juicy stuff at first!! Naturally she went into the water to get washed off.
Of course we always have fun in St Thomas and are already looking forward to the next trip.
Virgin Gorda, BVI Trip
Last year Carol won a two- for-one trip to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. So we took the trip this year. Baths does not refer to taking a bath in a tub as you do at home. Baths is a shortened term for the gigantic volcanic rocks but I do not recall the proper name for them!! You can see some of them in the background of this photo. There is a trail which winds through these rocks and some of the caverns formed by them. It is an interesting and rigorous walk as there are some really tight places to squeeze through.
After leaving the baths we went to Norman Island and did some snorkeling. There were three caves you could snorkel into but they were not deep enough to be scary!! Carol, did get off the boat and did some swimming while I was snorkeling. When I got back to the boat there was a large Barracuda swimming around under the boat. It was about three feet long but was not bothering anyone. It is a frequent visitor and they have named it Homer!!
After leaving Norman Island we went to Jost Van Dyke Island home of the world Famous Soggy Dollar Bar. It is named that because there is no boat dock there and you must swim to the beach to get to the bar. It is said that this island is one of Jimmie Buffet's favorite places. Naturally we had to have at least one drink there and you can see Carol getting ready to head for the bar!!
The following two pictures show us in the water with our boat in the background. The water is deep enough that you have to swim in very close to the beach before you can stand up. Getting your drink back out to the boat is the real challenge!!
After having left at 8 AM and returning at 5 PM we were tired!!
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