St. Maarten

We had very rough seas during the night.  Don won’t admit it but he has some motion sickness.  When we sail again tonight I’m going to talk him into using one of my motion sickness patches.  I’m doing fine.  We are pulling into St. Maarten right now about 10AM.  We plan to get off the ship and walk around.    For breakfast I steak with mushrooms and eggs and some orange sections.  Don, not feeling well had oatmeal.  I know how he feels and it’s not any fun. 

Later - We had a light lunch at the buffet and then took naps.  I did talk Don into the motion sickness patch, he says he feels better.  For dinner I had eggplant parmesan, peach soup, caser salad and pot roast, Don had salmon.  We tried to get into the evening show but it was packed, so we people  watched for awhile and then went to the top deck for their “Beach Party”.  There was good music, we had an ice cream cone and ice tea.

St. Maartin

San Juan

The sea got rough in the middle of the night.  You can really feel the movement in the shower.  It’s foggy and cloudy today. 

We went to breakfast in the dining room, I had a nice fruit plate and pancakes and bacon.  We sat in the Piazza for awhile and walked around the ship.  Lunch was Gazpacho, my favorite soup,  Then I had a stuffed bell pepper and a blueberry dessert.  We took a nap but got up to see the ship entering the San Juan harbor.  We dedided to stay on the ship as we could see everything we wanted to see from the ship.  We walked around the top level.  For dinner we had a cold pear soup, seafood cocktail and fajitas and I had key lime pie for dessert. 

Later we went to a show of a flamenco guitarist and his dancers – good show, much better than I expected. 

Sunday on the water

Neither of us slept very well last night, perhaps over-tired.  We went to breakfast in the dining room, had their “Alaskan” breakfast which was scrambled eggs with herbs and smoked salmon.  It was very good.  We didn’t do much more than walk around the ship and came back and set on our balcony and read.  Don did manage to visit the free bakery.   At noon we had bean soup, a salad, steak sandwich and a walnut, pear and chocolate turnover.  (This may not sound good but it was very good.)  After lunch I pressed Don’s suit and shirt as tonight is a formal night.  We then took a long nap after which we had ice tea and some good fancy dessert.   We ate an early dinner so we could partake in several of the events of the evening.  For dinner we had shrimp cocktail and asparagus soup.  For the main course we had halibut and I had a pear puff pastry for dessert.  Don had bananas flambé for dessert. 

After dinner they had the Champaign fountain and we had a glass of Champaign.  We went to the song and dance show which was good then we went to see a comedian.  He was OK I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t so tired.

On board the Grand Princess

After driving 5 hours we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, got the car parked and rode the bus to the pier.  It seems like things happen so fast and you have to keep moving that it was good to finally get to our cabin.  We went for some fruit at the buffet and then to the emergency drill.  Everyone was very quiet during the drill, the accident was probably on everyone's mind.

We sat at dinner with two couples traveling together from Seattle, they were pleasant and fun.  Don and I had melon balls for an appetizer, rum infused Pina Caloda chilled soup and prime rib as our main course.  The prime rib was excellent.  Don got a HUGE hunk.  We had hazelnut ice cream for dessert.  We are getting ready now to go to see a comedian.

Why is having fun so much work?

I'm been too busy to post!  Yesterday I pulled out our dress clothing and ironed,  (I never iron so this was a concession.)  Also located all the incidentals one needs in a week.  Today I packed and packed.  I sit down and something comes to mind that I need -  I just remembered I need my eye glasses for backup when my contacts are dry.  The big question is WHAT DID I FORGET???  When you are out in the middle of the ocean you can hardly run to Walmart!  Now I need to pick up the junk in the motorhome and I should be about ready.

We're going out for dinner tonight, I always insist that the vacation start the night before.  Then it is up early for the 5 hour drive tomorrow.

It has been raining off and on all day but the sun just broke through.  It has been record breaking heat this week.

Busy day!

After having a good 10:00 coffee visit with some friends we went to Brooksville for hair cuts.  Then it was to Sam's Club and a couple more stops.  We had pizza for lunch and brought home sandwiches for dinner.  The motorhome was hot inside when we got home so opened up, turned on the vent fans and then went outside to sit in the shade.  It cooled off nicely inside later in the day.

We are in the "getting ready for the cruise mode".  Which means whatever we do is somehow related to getting ready to leave on the cruise on Saturday.

Sunday, a day off from all our cleaning

We went out for breakfast and then came home to read our two Sunday papers as usual.  We have been having such nice weather - warm days and cool nights!  We sat outside most of the afternoon and read.  We grilled steak for dinner.

More yet housecleaning

Went to breakfast at the clubhouse and then came home and went to work.  I cleaned out kitchen cupboards and drawers while Don sealed around edges on the roof of the motorhome.  He also changed the oil on the generator and bleed the air shocks.  We went for dinner at Steak and Shake, came home and watched the DVD "Ides of March" which was a fitting movie to watch during the political season.

More work

Today we cleaned the windows inside and out including the screens, window frames, etc.  It was a job but it was worth the time.

We went to dinner at the clubhouse, they had stew with chocolate pie for dessert.

Working hard

It's about time we get something done around the Motorhome, today I cleaned then put leather protector on our furniture and then cleaned the refrigerator including the aluminium door (which needs special polish).  Don did the leather in the car and we both worked on the inside of the car windows.  In the evening we watched the movie Hangover II, wasn't nearly as good as the original - actually not at all good.

Busy day

First we went to Best Buy with our computer.  We have an extended warranty - the battery is all but gone and we wanted to get a new one.  Turns out it has to be ordered, but at least now we have phone number and know what to do.

We were half way to Tampa so decided to go to Sweet Tomatoes there for lunch.  It is always so good and we (I) eat too much.  We went to Target, Camping World and finally to Parksdale farms.  This was our second trip to Parksdale Farms in a week but good to get restocked on their very fresh vegetables.  This time we also got a egg plant which we will have for dinner tomorrow.

Sunday

We went out for breakfast as usual and came home to read our two big Sunday papers.  I like the ads, like window shopping for me!  We grilled steak for dinner and had corn-on-the-cob.  Talked to my daughters in the evening.  Now I know how to answer my new phone!

Cold in Florida

It was in the 30's last night and will be again tonight.  The sun has warmed the motorhome to mid 70's today.  We watched the DVD "Cowboys and Aliens"  - was good!  I'm still figuring out my new Razr phone.

Long, hard day

We went to the "World's largest RV show" today.  Like a state fair and I'm worn out like I went to a state fair. I bought a Droid Razor phone today, talked them down about $100.  Now I have to learn how to use it, probably can't even answer a call right now.  We also ordered new blinds for the motorhome to replace these stupid ones that keep having strings break, they won't be here until Feb.

This evening we went to a supper at the campground clubhouse, good food and good visiting.  I could feel my eyes closing.

Good moving day

We left Thousand Trails by Orlando a day early because of rain forecast for tomorrow.  We had a good move and for once picked the place with the lowest price diesel ($3.79 a gal) and filled the MH tank for $260.  Then it was fill the propane tank, we got the last fill before the price raised 55 cents a gal.   Our MH plans to sit here until late March.  We plan to be gone on a cruise a week of that time.

Just signed up for Netflix and watched the movie last night "Unstoppable" which was good - ant tense most of the show.

Warming tread

It is warming up in Florida, mid 70's today!  Don joined in the campground yard sale and did good.  Then he went on the roof of the motorhome and sealed some areas, needs still more sealer to finish the project.  While he was so busy, I surfed the internet, read and did a couple things around the house.  Later we went for dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, a favorite place of ours.

Meeting

We went to a Meet the Manager meeting here at Thousand Trails.  She kept it moving and we got some good information.  Later we went out for dinner.

Escapees Luncheon

We went to the Escapees' RV Club lunch toady at Golden Corral, good to see friends we haven't seen since before Christmas.  I also went to Verizon and looked at smart phones, the salesman was very knowledgeable and gave me a lot of good information.  I have to wait until Jan. 12 until I can get a new phone, I hope I can decide which brand by then!

It was another cold night last night and cool day again but we are promised it will warm up now.  Rapid City, SD was warmer than we are here in Florida!

Brrrrrr!

Temps got down to 27 degrees last night, mid 50's today - too cold for Florida.

We had lunch at Red Lobster - good lunch but it was cold in the restaurant.  I kept my wrap on but my legs and feet got cold.  Hard to enjoy a nice lunch when you are shivering!

After the lunch we went to a movie in an actual theater and a very nice one with reclining chairs and a super great sound system.  We saw Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol with Tom Cruise.  We really enjoyed the movie.

Changing seats

We almost never ask for a different table at a restaurant than the one the host has set us at - BUT:

Today we went out for breakfast and were seated by a young mom, her baby and two pre-schoolers.  The kids were doing the normal thing kids do - moving around, pestering each other, etc.  The mom was constantly yelling at them, yelling so loud other people were turning around and looking.  We couldn't take it and asked to be moved and were relocated in the opposite side of the place - we could still hear her.  Poor kids with a mom who thinks the only way to discipline is to yell.

Then in the evening we went to a steak house we usually go to while in the Orlando area (yes, we eat out a lot).  Almost every time we eat there they try to seat us in the bar which is unacceptable to us (bad experiences).  We always laugh about this wondering if we look like drunks.  The hostess began to lead us to the bar and so I told her not the bar.  No she was leading us to a back room, the only other people there were staff eating their dinners.  The room was cold, I hate being cold and also knew service would be sparse back in that room.  One of the staff eating in that room told the hostess to seat us elsewhere at about the same time I said we wanted another table.  She sat us in a nice area of the dinning room.  My question?  Was she trying to hide us, do we look that bad or appear to have poor manors that would upset the other guests?

January 1, 2012

The first time I've typed 2012!  Happy New Year!!!

We went out for breakfast today and then stayed home the rest of the day doing odds and ends.  Don fixed the night light in the bathroom.  I mostly read.

We had four hot air balloons go over our motorhome this AM: