Surf's Up!

How about this for the perfect beach car? In case you are wondering, it's a 1950 Packard Woody...and she's a beauty! Her wood is super shiny, as is her fit and finish. Almost too good for surfers!

Look at the vintage details. Real wood, not contact paper. The latch on the truck looks like it came from an old steamer trunk.

Can you see the fender skirts? When was the last time a car had them? This beauty is 65 years old and she's in tip top condition.

I really like her hood ornament. No car manufacturer would think of putting that much decoration on the front of a car nowadays. I'd like to think the bird will help the car take "flight" but I'm a hopeless romantic too.

She hails from Montana...no beaches there...maybe that's why she looks so pretty!

Modern Library

One of our favorite haunts is the little library in Solvany. It has 5 tables, 10 computers, and the usual stacks and stacks of books. It also has a lot of customers who wander in and out during the course of the day. We are lucky enough to have a library card, as we are regular customers in the wintertime. 

The modern library is not a stone cold quiet place of the past. It's alive with stuff to do. Kids come in after school and work on the computers. During the week there are story telling times for very young kids, as well as arts and crafts for them. At night there are lectures and programs. Throughout the day, there's free wifi and places to sit and use it.  We stop by regularly to check email and get caught up on the news. It's perfect for us. 

Gone is the card catalog, which has been replaced with a computer. It's great fun to see a tiny person sit at the keyboard, and type in a request. Today I watched a little fellow, barely large enough to sit in the chair before the keyboard, grab the mouse, peck in a couple of words, and then read what he wanted...when he found it, he called the librarian over to help him find his book. He had it all organzied and I doubt he was 4. I often wonder if the little kids know what they are doing when they are on a computer, but today I discovered one more time, the little folks can! If all the adults could handle a computer as well as this little guy did...now that's another story!

Oh...did I tell you it has a pterydactl too!

Idle Hands

We might be camping in the "wild" but I'm still crocheting blankets for Project Linus. I have no idea how many I have made as I stopped counting after I made 200. I've made a lot for them. The nice folks at Project Linus are now giving me whole skeins of yarn (instead of scrap yarn as in the past)...so I was able to make 2 blankets from one bag of blue, winter white, beige and a blue/beige/white varigate yarn.

                 

I have a little bit of yarn leftover, so I'm thinking I'll make a matching pillow. It's nice to have a pillow to hug too! I've already started another blanket. You know that saying about idle hands...well I don't have that problem.

Guess What?

See the little puddles on the step? That was caused by RAIN! It rained most of yesterday and a little bit today. It's not enough to bring the water level of the lake up an appreciable amount, but every drop helps! Please send some more!

Sunset

Sunsets are ephemeral things. They last five minutes or less, yet their beauty is remembered far longer. When I see a stunning sunset, I try to capture it ... Sometimes I succeed. This was one of the good ones. 

Gone...but not forgotten

The new satellite dish we bought has been returned to Camping World. Kudos to Camping World for a hassle-free return. I hope we don't have to go thru that type of ordeal for a long time!

In the meantime, I've made a baby blanket, cap and booties for a soon-to-be born little boy in Kentucky. One of my teddy bears just had to model it, just to make sure it was all right. It has the teddy bear stamp of approval. I sent it off today.

           

It Wasn't Us!

Kevin at Winegard called this morning at 8:30, a half hour ahead of schedule. He told us the same set of instructions that we had been following and once again the dish did not work! He had us try with the secondary connection, thinking that might work, and it was even worse (if that's possible). Then we told him that the dish was not symmetrical and we took a picture to explain what we were talking about. He sent the picture to his "spec" guys and they said the dish was faulty. 

When Kevin saw the picture and heard what his "spec" guys had to say, he told us to set the elevation at 40. We had been setting it at 46. Still nothing. So we tried 41---and finally 42...and then we got a connection. The dish was misaligned by 3 degrees. While that does not sound like a lot, it is when you are trying to connect with a satellite 28000 miles away. We got a connection, but Kevin said, the dish is faulty, so it will go back.

In the meantime, I told him that the dish on the roof of the RV was not working, and since I had him on the line, would he help me troubleshoot it. He was very gracious and told me a few things to do. We discovered the connection inside the RV was working...so that meant we had a problem was on the outside. I climbed up the ladder and took the dome off the dish and discovered that 2 wires were not connected. This is when I called Ron, my RV repair guy at home, and asked for a few more directions. He gave me even better clues as to what needed to be done. After finding a teeny-tiny screwdriver, I reconnected the wires. We turned on the power and the dish started to rotate! Eureka! I put the dome back on the dish and crawled off the roof and set up the receiver box for the roof mounted dish and within 2 minutes we had a signal. We started the process at 8:30 in the morning and we were finally connected at 12:45! 

We now have TV...and we are going to return the faulty Anser Carryout Antenna to Camping World tomorrow. It is so nice to know that we are not inept...the problem was with the unit itself! On the downside, it's a 4 hour drive roundtrip to Camping World.

As an aside, Winegard has a bad (online) reputation for keeping you on eternal hold and for never returning calls. Given that, I followed one of the online instructions I read--that of sending a text message to the Winegard help line. I also left two voice mails. It turns out all of the messages I left were answered. Kevin told me he was supposed to call my other cell phone number at 11 AM. The take-away from this experience is to TEXT Winegard with your problem OR use a male name on a voice mail to get attention. Maybe the fact that I had 3 messages to them did not hurt either. Whatever the case, Winegard gave me 2 hours of their time this morning, while we trouble-shot 2 satellite systems. Kevin was knowledgeable and friendly. Thank you Winegard!

Another take-away is the usefulness of smart phone cameras. I sent pictures of the problems to both Kevin and Ron. After seeing the pictures, the fellows knew what to do. Once more, a picture is worth a thousand words. I use my smart phone camera for fun pictures all the time, but using it to troubleshoot a problem is a very good thing!

Satellite Drama Continues

I did a little internet troubleshooting today regarding our Anser Carryout Dish. I discovered a few more "things" to try with the hope of getting our dish to talk to our system. And, guess what...it did not work. I did contact Winegard and instead of waiting on eternal hold, I opted to have them call me.

I left two messages...one with my name and one with the other DrC's name. The message I left with my name was NOT returned, but the message with my husband's name, was returned! Both messages were recorded in MY voice. I wonder what that has to say about the company? 

Low Lake

Just another point of documentation...Lake Cachuma is LOW.

The cement area by the trees is very new. I've never seen it before. It looks like it might be part of an old road, but I don't know for sure.

In a normal year, the inlet to the left of the picture is filled with water. Today, it's filled with weeds.

To add to the equation, we went to a local restaurant for dinner and there were signs on each table indicating they would serve water only if it was requested. I've not seen that sign since the last big CA drought in the 1970s.

10 Easy Steps

Our permanently mounted satellite dish on top of our RV has decided to stop working. After trying to get folks to fix it and striking out repeatedly, we purchased a replacement dish. After some research, we decided that the Winegard Anser Carryout would do the trick. We bought it yesterday.

We hooked it up today. Well, we tried to hook it up today. According to the directions it is EASY to do! We read the book, downloaded the app to find our exact location, hooked up all the wires, and got no where. Then a neighbor came over saying she did all sorts of computer and satellite stuff for a living. 

She reset the dish following the same directions and alas, we got nowhere. That's when we called DirecTV thinking they might have some experience with our new dish. 

We talked to Roxanne for over an hour. She knew the Anser dish specs and walked us thru the process. She was patient, knowledgeable, kind, fun, encouraging... And after an hour, and maybe 10 different solutions, we still could not get the satellite to talk to our system. 

We tried different elevations, different settings, different wires, different connections...all to no avail. As of now, we have a fancy paperweight holding down a portion of our outside table. Winegard's offices are "on vacation" till January 5. They open at 7:30 AM central time. Guess who is going to call them first thing in the morning!

2015

We started 2015 by looking at the Rose Bowl Parade from Pasadena. It's a tradition...we see it every New Year's Day if we can. 

Many years ago, we actually went to the Rose Parade! What an adventure. My mother-in-law secured tickets for a day-trip to the Parade from a friend of hers. My parents, my mother-in-law and the two of us got up way before the sun and boarded a school bus filled with other folks, and we made our way to Pasadena. Along the way we ate a boxed breakfast and talked excitedly about what we were going to see. We arrived at the parade before it started and found our way to the folding chairs on Colorado Avenue that were designated for our group of 50 cheerful souls. We had a good view of the floats as they came by. We heard the bands, we saw the flowers. It was exciting and fun to see the floats up close and personal. Before we knew it, the parade was over and now we needed to get back to the bus and head back home. 

The streets of Pasadena were crowded with people and trash. Some folks had been camped on the streets for days, leaving behind a myriad of stuff, from mattresses and sofas, to tables and chairs,...you name it and I bet it was left behind. What a monumental task Pasadena had in cleaning up the mess of a million visitors! Anyway, our school bus wended thru the streets and finally entered the freeway. We ate a boxed snack but this time we were not as excited as we were on the way down. The bus was cramped. There was not a potty on board. All of us were tired and we wanted to get home. I think we arrived around dinner time, and thankfully my mother-in-law had everything ready. She knew we were going to be pooped, and she had a dinner prepared before we left. We chowed down and talked about the wonderful parade. It was a long, fun, yet exhausting, day

We've never made a return visit to the Parade. In fact, we've never even talked about going again. I guess one time was enough.

Happy New Year

It's going to be 2015! Do you remember 15 years ago we were worrying about Y2K? Somehow the world did not stop just because computers did not know how to change the date. A lot has happeneid in those intervening 15 years. Y2K was during a time of innocence. Before the 9-11 disaster and all the "stuff" that brought about. It was before the burst of the stock market bubble that brought down the economy. It was before the current political lunacy. It was definitely before ISIS. How could so much go wrong in such a short time? For that, I cannot answer.

As for the last year, a lot has happened too. On the personal front, it was a year that started and ended at our little lake in southern CA. In between we traveled half way round the world. We met new friends and visited old friends. We are another year older, and maybe we are another year wiser. 

My wishes for 2015 are for health to enjoy what we have; for imagination to think of new and wonderful things; for good friends to love; and for some peace in this tired world. I  hope that your wishes for 2015 are granted too!

Still Pretty

Given my last entry, that we need water, the views are still pretty

If you look carefully, you can see steam rising from the lake. It looks a little bit like Yellowstone 

in the early morning. 

Except, the boat ramps are closed and the water is really low! Several years ago, we were here during a rainy winter. One night it rained and rained and filled the lake. I wonder if that will happen this year? 

At the Lake...or should I say puddle?

We are at the Lake. The water level is even lower than it was last year. While we had some rain in the north state, the south state is still relatively dry.

Look at my blog for last January 2 and you will find a picture like this

Last year this was at waters edge; this year it's different....

and the boat ramp cannot be used. 

The big boat ramp the nice folks built two years ago, when there was water is higher and drier

and it looks like it has a broken back. 

Last year, this spot was not covered with 5 foot tall weeds. Send rain, please!

Riddle?

What do you call a generic fast food place?

McTacoKing Jr!

On The Road Again

Well, we are camping in the wintertime again. Right now we are in the CA Delta where we will celebrate a late Christmas with our family...then on Monday we will head to the southland and the lakeside campground we like so much. Watch this space, as we are on the road again.

Bridge of my Youth

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, it was not uncommon to see the Bay Bridge spanning the way between east and west. We all knew that the pretty silver towers were on the way to San Francisco. No one paid much attention to the east side of the bridge until it lost part of the roadway in the earthquake of 1989. Then the folks in Oakland started to wonder if their half of the bridge was safe. 

After years of planning and construction a new Oakland Bridge was built on the east side of the Bay. But, what to do with the old span that was deemed unsafe? It needed to be taken away. Slowly, one piece of metal at a time, one span at a time, the old Oakland Bridge, is fading away.  

Today parts of the old bridge are hanging over the bay, as monster cranes are dismantling it piece by piece. Slowly, the bridge is disappearing...the scrap has been bought by China. It is being discarded like an old shoe...out of style and not good any more. The bridge I grew up with will soon be a memory.  

The view thru the front window of my truck shows the old and the new, side by side, but not for long, as progress marches on. It makes me wonder what else we are selling to China. Is it more than just scrap metal that used to be a bridge?

Almost Christmas

Are you ready? Are your presents wrapped? Are your cards sent out? And for us...is the RV ready to go? The answer is just about! 

                

My little snowman wishes you and yours a Merry Christmas!

From TN

We spent 2 short days in Tennessee visiting old friends. While there we saw the beautiful Christmas lights that decorated Pigeon Forge. Alas, the only decent picture was not of Christmas, but at Patriot Park, off the main drag. Here we saw patriotic displays aglow in light. Very moving. 

The next day we went to Oak Ridge, sight of the "secret" city during World War II that made the uranium needed for the first atomic bomb. How 75,000 people kept this facilty a secret is mind-boggling. We have all heard of the Manhattan Project, but It would have not been possible without the men and women who worked at Oak Ridge. I became interested in Oak Ridge after I read the book "The Girls from Atomic City" by Denise Kiernan (see http://girlsofatomiccity.com for more info). Since our friends live close to Oak Ridge, I asked if we could see the site. It's housed at the American Museum of Science and Energy. 

Nowadays it's a museum/exploration with excellent displays about their WWII a effort to win the war. 

With signs from the era, we learned about the Top Secret nature of the facilty.

We saw extensive coverage about the effort that went into the making of "the bomb" and the dramatic aftermath.

And we saw the human side of the story by looking at the day to day life of the workers who were not allowed to talk to anyone (not even their spouse) about what they were doing.

Because 75,000 people lived at the top secret site, housing had to be provided quickly. From 1942 to 1945, thousands of dwellings were built at break neck speed. Above is one of the few remaining "flat top houses" that were rented to lucky residents...others lived in dormitories, or 16x16 hutments, or 8x12 travel trailers. Housing was so critical, the folks in the dormitories shared rooms in shifts...the morning shift would go to work while the night shift used the rooms for sleeping. 

The inside of a flat top house revealed 2 tiny bedrooms, a larger living/dining area, a kitchen and bath. 

It was bare bones living in less than 600 square feet. The hutments were one room houses with the bathroom down the street. Dormitories consisted of a small room with a bed and 2 chests one for day shift, the other for night shift folks. 

The human side of the story caught my attention. The folks who worked here had no idea what they were making. They knew it was important--and they did not ask questions. An interesting page in our history. 

Scenes From Universal Studios

Today was our third day at the two Universal Parks. I think we have now seen every exhibit and ride and play we are interested in. We did miss a few like the Pteradon ride, as all adults have to be accompanied with someone who is 36-56 inches tall. 

We did stop to see some street performances 

This was a Sponge Bob Square Pants extravaganza.

A few giant balloons were on display including this Tedfy Bear who's about 20 feet tall 

And a giant Garfield. I wonder how much lasagna this huge Garffy would eat?

We saw one of the stars in Men in Black. He was part of an animal show that showed the abilities of many animals from otters to skunks to cats and vultures and red tail hawks.

We also looked at some architecture we really like ...that of Mediterranean Spanish.

Both of us would like a house in this style, but I fear it won't happen. 

I'll leave my musings on the Parks with a picture of The Hulk coaster. If you look carefully you will see the cars clinging to the track while hanging upside down on a twist. There are 5 upside down twists on this coaster, not to mention a splash at the bottom of the first downhill drop. Not my idea of fun, but folks were lining up for an hour for 90 seconds of terror and going back for more! It takes all kinds of people to make the world go round.  

Diagon Alley and More

We've been playing in Orlando, at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure Theme Parks for 2 days. We are pooped, but happy. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was recently expanded and now includes 2 venues: Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. The new venue, Diagon Alley is a delight to the eye. The attention the Universal folks paid to detail is amazing. We spent hours looking at the store fronts, wandering inside stores, looking at quiddich brooms, Griffyndor apparel, wands, candy, wizard wheezes, and the like. The dragon atop of Gringotts spits fire every so often and the whole place shudders when it roars. We dined at The Leaky Cauldron and tasted hot butter beer which is yummy!

We played in the other part of the parks too....great fun. My feet are tired but my smile is still working! Last night we saw the Macy's parade with giant balloons...wonderful!!!!

We are having a grand time!

Last Day

We've been on the Allure of the Seas for 7 days, Sunday thru Saturday. We've sailed a total of 1878 nautical miles as of 5 PM on Saturday. The weather has been wonderful...about 75-80 degrees, a little sprinkle of rain now and then, but mostly wonderful sunshine (and of course, humidity)! We've been in 3 different countries, Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico. We discovered that the part of Haiti we went to was basically the "country of RCI" as it was a sanctuary unrelated to the nightmare life that folks have on the western half of Hispaniola. 

At all three stops we docked at a new-ish "cruise port" that was a self-contained little village. Each cruise port village is filled with shops and food to entice the cruiser never to go any farther. You can get all the diamonds and tanzanite you want at these villages. (I've never figured why you need to buy diamonds or tanzanite on a cruise...have you?) You can also go to Margaritaville or shop in a "local" kiosk that has trinkets from that specific stop. (The local kiosk sells the same stuff at each stop...the name of the stop is changed. After discovering that, it's senseless to buy any of the trinkets as you have no idea where they were made--but it's probably China or Bangladesh!) To get a "feeling" for each of the islands, it is necessary to get outside of the cruise port village. Even then, you might not know what the place is really like, as so much has been "made nice" for the tourists.

Of the 3 stops, I liked Cozumel the best. It is an island, slightly smaller than Guam, that has one purpose -- tourism. The people know that tourists are their bread and butter and they cater to tourists. This was our second visit to Cozumel and I liked it better this time than last...I have no idea why? Maybe because it was not as crowded as it was the first visit. 

Jamaica was a good stop, but not a place that I would venture out on my own. I saw the maddening crowd of market day and after seeing that chaos, I determined it was not for me. It was not like the chaos of market day in Dakar, but it has a similar frenetic feeling that is not in my comfort zone. Some folks might like the adventure of such a market day, but I'm not one of them. I was very content with my bus ride from Falmouth to Montego Bay.

Haiti was a joke. If I had known it was a beach stop and not much else, I would have stayed on the ship. I thought we might get to see what Haiti looked like...and all we saw was the tiny peninsula that RCI leases. It's sterile and clean and could be anywhere in the Caribbean, except it was far cleaner than most any place in the Caribbean. 

We just got our laundry, so we'll spend a few minutes packing before we go to dinner. We don't have any scheduled entertainment tonight, but I know we'll find something to do. The ship has a lot of entertainment. Today I saw a Diving/Acrobat show that featured the cartoon characters of Madagascar. It was really cute. Last night we saw something called "Blue Planet" what was not as good. It was an original to this ship production that featured far too many singers, dancers, high flyers, gymnasts, and acrobats to easily follow. The reviews all say the show is "fantastic" but our small party of four thought it was so so. Nevertheless, we all stayed to the end, in my case, hoping it would get better. 

Tomorrow we disembark about 8 AM. It's been a very relaxing 7 days. All four of us have had a grand time. The Allure of the Seas is a "Party Barge" that can be as active as you want it...or not...it's up to you. The nice part is the food is good, the service is good, and it's a great escape. (Sorry RCI, I know that's a Princess thing, but cruising is a great escape.

Next stop--Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I 

Sea Day 2

We and our second sea day. After room service breakfast (I can get used to that in about a nanosecond) we cleaned up and explored some of the games. First stop was the Allure Dunes on Deck 15, a peewee golf course that is harder than it looks. We did not keep score which was as good as we did not make par on most of the holes. The DrC did make a hole in one! But then he double parred the next hole. Everyone else was doing poorly too. 

Next we watched the flow rider, which is a device that lets you surf on a ship. The kids who were surfing did a really good job and they kept coming back for more and more. They were fun to watch. The zip line was in full operation too. One person said it was a 10 minute wait for a 3 second ride of pure terror and fun put together. Again, I just watched. A soccer game was being played and a few kids were shooting baskets. BTW it was hot topside, maybe 80 degrees

Down on Deck 6 folks were practicing their diving in the Ocean Aria pool. A little while later was the belly flop contest where first prize was a genuine plastic trophy! 8 fellows really hammed it up and it was a good time. 

Christmas Decorations were put up in the Promenade ... Huge snowflakes and a tall tree. Christmas songs filled the air. The dining room has some garlands up too. I'm sure there is more to come. 

Sea days are usually quiet days, but the Allure does not have a quiet atmosphere. The ship has something happening all the time. Tomorrow we land in Cozumel. 

Cozumel

We landed at the international Cruise Port in Cozumel about 8 AM. We were off the ship and on a tour by 9. RCI a can get people off this ship quickly! Our shorex today took us to a Maya Ruin that is not famous, yet interesting. Getting there was relatively easy....we got on the main road going south-ish, then we turned east,then north and voile we were there. Only one "advertisement" stop, which is pretty good. It was a chance to learn about cacao and chocolate production, and if you wanted, you could buy some chocolate. It was an easy sell place, no pressure, and that was good. 

Second stop was to look at the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Today it was various shades of turquoise and the surf hitting the rocks on the beach was picturesque. 

Last stop was San Gervaso Archeological site. Not as big as Tulum or Chichen Itza, nor as well known. It was a good place to learn a little bit more about the Maya and their civilization. (BTW the Maya are still alive...they just don't build pyramids any more. Our guide was a Mayan and 6th generation Cozumel native.)

San Gervaso was bought as a private property in the 1820s, and the owner did a lot of destruction of the ruins before the government came in to stop him. So, the site is not complete. The ruins are not spectacular like the well known ruins at CI...nevertheless it's a chance to see what the culture could produce.  There was a working water system with pipes and cisterns to supply the community with fresh water. Based on the remnants, it's surmised the community was developed to worship the goddess of fertility. There's a calendar that is based on a 9 month cycle, as well as the more typical Mayan calendar based on 360 days and 5 holy days. We looked at carved and shaped rock to form temples, altars, and homes. San Gervaso is probably a ritual community where few people lived full time, but many visited when they wanted to become pregnant or were already pregnant. According to our guide, It was a place they went to for "good luck." The Maya had a type of cement, which is still working 1800 years after the fact. There's a book I was to get called "Maya On the Rocks" that helps explain what we say better. I hope Amazon has it.

The tour was over and we came back to port going through the main city of San Miguel. San Miguel was 180° different from any town we saw in Jamaica! It was clean, tidy, and alive with tourists and locals. We also saw just about every American franchise available: McDonald's, Burger King, Domino's, 7-11, Sam's Club and more. There was not a Walmart, yet I know they exist in Mexico. 

Today there were 5 ships in town. We were docked by  2 of them....the slightly smaller Navigator of the Seas, and Carnival Magic. Allure stands a bit taller and a lot wider than the other 2, and together they brought in over 10,000 pax. The other two ships were anchored in the bay, and I did not see who they were, but I'm guessing they each brought in another 2000 pax. Our guide said it was a "light day" as up to 10 ships can be docked or anchored at the port on a really busy day. 

Another good tour. We bought 3 tours on the cruise, and 2 were great...the third was horrible. Since RCI wants us to evaluate the shorex experience when we get home, I need to tell them that Labadee was a horrible and the other two were great. 

Entertainment on the Allure

The Allure is filled with good entertainment throughout the day.  There are pools and hot tubs for kids, the general public and for adults. Everyone can find a place that is right for them. Today I visited the adults only Solarium and enjoyed the huge hot tub in the shade. It was quiet and relaxing. The other DrC was nearby In a comfy lounge chair, reading an iPad book. At the other end of the ship, the kids were whizzing around their pool, screaming with delight and we did not even hear them! 

There are also a spa, basketball and soccer courts, flow-riding, pee-wee golf course, rock climbing walls, zip lining, video arcade, a lecturer, karaoke, trivia, bridge, dominoes, Maj Jong, as well as chairs for lounging around and doing nothing. The ship has lots of venues, making it easy to stay busy. We were watching the divers practice for Ocean Aria, and that was fun too!

Before we boarded the ship we made online reservations for a headliner type show each evening. The first night out we saw a live performance of Chicago. Tonight we saw a live performance of an ABBA impersonator group...and they were excellent. We saw Ocean Aria, a "Cirque d'Soliel” -type show, that features high divers, gymnasts, dancers and acrobats that was excellent. There's an ice production, a a singer-dancer type production show, and a stand-up comedy show. The shows are free, but you cannot get in unless you have a reservation. When you get to the venue, you need to have your cruise card swiped -- if you have a reservation you are allowed into the theater. If not, then you have to wait until all the reservation folks are inside. At this point, if there is space, all the other folks can enter until the theater until it is filled. The system works. Since there are 6200 pax on the ship, movement needs to be well organized, and RCI is doing a pretty good job of crowd control and management. 

I don't think we have ever been on a ship that offers this much entertainment and diversion.  There is never a dull moment. This is a good thing. 

Jamaica

Today we landed in Jamaica...our first time on this island. When I get home I need to add it to my country list. Unlike yesterday's tour, we had a good tour today. We drove from Falmouth to Montego Bay and back. The drive was the perfect size...not too long to tire you out and not too short to make it worthless. We had an excellent guide, Marjie, and a very agressive mini-bus driver. Since this colony was settled by the British, the folks drive on the a "wrong side" of the road, and that fact always makes the traffic seem worse than it really is. Nevertheless, Chris, our driver, manuevered us thru the crowded two lane streets of Falmouth on a market day to the downtown of Montego Bay where the "locals" shop. In between we were on four lane divided highway that had a few potholes here and there which he deftly avoided. What follows are some musings from that 3 hour adventure.

Churches

We saw the oldest church on the island, an Anglican church from 1783. It was originally built for 300 parishioners and quickly became too small, so it was increased to hold 1000. So it's not only the oldest church on the island, it's the largest. There are a lot of churches in Jamaica. According to our guide, there's a church for every 12 people. I  did not see that many, but the few that I did see did not serve "typical" religions like Catholic, Presbyterian, etc.

Housing

Ordinary people live in small single story cement homes that have rebar coming out of the roof, with the idea that someday they will build the second story. The houses are built to withstand hurricanes, but the last big hurricane to hit Jamaica was in 2005 and his name was Ivan! In the intervening 11 years, the damage has been repaired and more and more homes are built out of cement. The houses are painted every color of the rainbow and then some. Jamaicans like color. It's a Christmas tradition to "spiff up" your house, so folks repaint this time of year. They might have enough money to paint only one wall or one part of a wall, but that's all right. That part will be fresh and clean. As they have the money to paint more, they will. Some houses are partially painted every year, so there will be a green patch of color from one year; a yellow for another; a blue from another; and white from yet another. There's nothing wrong with this. The house has been totally repainted in 4 years with 4 different colors. As Marjie said, "Color is good."

There are few plantation houses left over from the old days. These have been restored and are tourist attractions. A Jamaican Planter lived very well with many servants and lots of land. No one lives in the remaining large plantation houses today.

Then there are the houses of the rich. They don't live in Jamaica full time but have a nice home to go to when they are on island. We saw two neighborhoods of this type of spread. Again, they are made of brick and block with cement roofs, but they are large, exquisite homes. Every house on the island, no matter the size has a fence. Some of the fences have spikes, some have barbed wire, some just have fences. Everyone knows their property line and I'm guessing everyone knows not to cross the line.

Hotels and Resorts

There are a number of hotels and resorts on the way to Montego Bay. Our guide said that some new resorts were being funded by Spanish money. I asked if that was money from Spain or from the drug cartels in Mexico and she indicated she did not know...but she implied it was probably from the cartels. The resorts are little communities that folks never have to leave. Fly to Jamaica, get the limo from the resort you are staying at, and enjoy your time on the beach. There are shops in each resort as well a entertainment. It's all self-contained. To that end, you don't see too many tourists wandering in the streets, as they are at the resorts.

The only place we saw tourists on the economy was at the "Hip Strip" in Montego Bay. Here you wander from shop to club to restaurant to shop carrying your margarita from one place the other. We saw a few happy people strolling from Margaritaville to The Diamond Intrernational Store and beyond. 

Our guide said there were 6 Sandals resorts on the island...we saw one of them. It was rather nondescript on the outside, but when I peeked in thru the gate, it looked pretty plush.

Flora and Fauna

Lots and lots of "tropical" trees grow here including 40 types of mangoes, breadfruit, banana and ackee. Ackee is the national tree of the island. It has an orange color fruit that opens when it is ripe. We were warned don't eat ackee unless it is opened as it will poison you!

The only animals I saw were goats. They are raised for food. Our guide said they also raise pigs and cattle and chickens. She said there were snakes on the island, but none were poisonous. I did see a lot of butterflies.

License Plates

As you know, I collect license plates from around the world. I needed to have one from Jamaica. I noticed plates came in four colors: red for taxis and tourist transportation; white for personal or general vehicles; green for commercial vehicles and yellow for government vehicles. I saw a few green and yellow plates, but there were a lot of white and red ones. The plates do not identify the island nor the parish of residence. Again, our guide said they used to, but it became to difficult.

Governmental Units

The island is divided into Parishes and Counties. A Parish is like a state, and there are 3 of them. There are 14 counties, and they are similar to counties in the US. I cannot remember the dimensions of the island, but it can be driven around in one day. Marjie said it takes 6 weeks to see all the attractions of the island. I asked her if she had seen them all and she said no, but our driver said yes he had. 

Minimum wage is equivalent to $55 a week; and a good wage is between $70-80/week. That's not a lot of money, at about $3000 to $4200/year. There's a 17% unemployment rate and there is no welfare. If you don't have a job you have to find a way to make some money as the government will not support you. Marjie said a lot of the unemployed open their own small business selling phone cards or washing windows or make meals for a restaurant. She said everyone has to hold their own. We asked if there were a lot of homeless folks and she replied there were some but not where we were going.

Fast Food and other stores. 

I saw three fast food chains: KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King. McDonald's, aka as The American Embassy," is not on the island any more. Jamaica has a rule that you have to use local products, and McDonald's wanted to ship all their food in from the US. Jamaica stuck to it's guns, and Ronald McDonald is not here. In addition, there are no Walmarts or Home Depots. Lots of "mom and pop" stores that cater to a specific neighborhood. 

Falmouth

We landed at a cruiseport that was built by Royal Caribbean. It was shiny and clean and filled with the typical shops you find at a cruiseport in the Caribbean. The big diamond stores are there, as is Del Sol (they are at every port...want to buy a purse that changes color when it gets in the sun, go to Del Sol) and a few local merchants who are lucky enough to have a kiosk. The cruiseport is NOT Jamaica. It's the generic cruiseport you see in the Caribbean. Before we went on our tour, I asked one of the guides if it was typical of Jamaica and she said there was hardly any relationship between the cruiseport and the island. She said this is not where you are going to find out what Jamaica is like. After going on my little tour she was correct. The cruiseport is an isolated sanctuary, much like Labadee was in Haiti.

I had a good day. When I get to a place where I can upload pictures, I will. In the meantime, keep coming back as you never know when the pictures will appear.

Haiti

We have just landed in Haiti. I'm sure the images you have of Haiti include lots of squalor, poor people and not a lot of hope. I think the tiny part of Haiti we are in will be different. If I can "read the clues" correctly, this little peninsula has been cleaned up and "ship-i-fied" by Royal Caribbean since they lease it from a local landowner. Our assistant waiter, Vishal, informed us the port is just about finished and has been outfitted to accommodate our huge ship and most of the shops are open. In the Compass, I read that our cruise card can be used to buy things on the "island." Given that, I wonder what we will see. As I look at the webcam, not very much is evident. (The ship calls the area an "island" but in reality it's a peninsula in the northwest part of the country. My guess is they call it an "island" because it is far removed from the regular Haitian community.)

I'll write more when I come back from our shore excursion. It is our first visit to Haiti, so it will be interesting to see what this place could be like. BTW, we are at the bigger island of Hispaniola, which is divided into 2 countries: Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The DR is a working society. It too suffered from the same hurricane that devastated Haiti, but somehow, the Dominicans cleaned up the mess and continued on. The people are very similar, but the DR was settled by Spanish and Haiti was settled by the French. Could that be the delimiting factor? I don't know...it's just something to think about.

Later 

We are back from our tour of the Labadee peninsula. I was right...the relationship between Labadee and the rest of Haiti is like night and day. Labadee is leased from the Haitian Government--Royal Caribbean pays $10 per head per day to use the peninsula. RC supplies the food, entertainment, tours, etc. Our ship has 6200 passengers and about 2000+ crew. Haiti can make $60-80,000 for a day at the beach. The dock is built to accommodate our ship and at least one more! 

In Labadee you can choose from one of 4 beaches, a couple of zip line courses, or you can walk around the grounds. We had a walking tour of the grounds which was dreadful. Our guide had been innocuated with a phonograph needle and he droned on and on about his version of Haitian history. We were supposed to get a lot of local history and color, instead we received his views on about 3 things: Haitians are rich; Haiti was never into slavery; Haiti is the reason America is so good. Now we know. I hope we don't run into this type of tour guide again!

Along the path there are places where you can use your cruisecard to get soft drinks. There are also 4 big buffets where you can get a bite to eat (just in case you should get hungry). RC is supplying the food and drink. There are also venders selling local goods. They accept the American dollar, so buying stuff was easy if you are ready to bargain...and then ready to be harrassed by other venders who saw you making the first transaction.

We did see the remains of an old trading post but we did not learn much history about it. We walked to Columbus Cove, which is supposedly a place that he landed back in 1492. Even though the tour was less than perfect, we got to see some of the island. 

 

To get an idea where Labadee is...find Cap Haitien and go insland 7 miles. It's located in the northwest quadrant of the island where the sea is blue green, the surf is calm, and the volcanic mountains protect the area from hurricanes. The folks who work in the compound are native Haitians and while they might have been unhappy to have the ships coming, they are happy now with the steady revenue stream. I wonder where that revenue stream is going, as the poverty beyond Labadee is evident. The only true words our guide spoke was "that's politics." I guess it's the same everywhere.

Day Two

Our first full day on the Allure (as everyone calls her) and we are at sea. Sea days are usually nice quiet days, but on a ship this size it's hard to find any quiet. There is something making music or noise all the time. That's what this ship is all about...make merry and have a grand time. It does work.

On Deck 6 is the Kid Zone which has a merry-go-round, DreamWorks characters walking around, shops for kids and their parents (including make-a-teddybear shop), a "dog house" with hundreds of different hot dogs (who knew), cotton candy, Johnny Rockets, an ice cream parlor and quite a bit more. The climbing walls are located here and you can zip line over it. I've seen a few zipliners and while it looks like a lot of fun, I wonder what happens if you should land wrong??? No one has given me an answer and since I'm about as coordinated as a piece of plywood, I'm still looking at zipliners and not becoming one of them.

On the Promenade Deck there was a DreamWorks parade. The kids had a grand time seeing their favorites characterss such as Puss-n-Boots, Po the Giant Panda, and Shrek and his wife. The characters are lifesized and are well done. The smiles were great...and again lots of music and noise.

After the Parade, I found myself in the front of the ship where there was a line for the shopping extravanganza...or everything I ever needed to know about where to shop and what to buy in each of our 3 stops. Since I'm not much of a shopper, I did not see much reason to line up 90 minutes before the production. There were a few husbands in the line who did not look all that happy that their wives were going to go shopping. 

Instead I went to find the other DrC and then on to food as it was lunchtime. Food is not in short supply and it's easy to find. Finding a place to sit was a bit more challenging, but if you have a problem, ask one of the many attendants in the room to find space and they will get it done. Last night our assistant waiter warned us that the lines were going to be long today. He told us to show up for lunch a little late, which we did, and there was not a line. Thank you assistant waiter.

The Promenade has a mezzanine where the photo gallery is located. Unlike Princess ships where the photos are printed and left on display, here none are printed. They are all online. Just swipe your cruise card at one of the many kiosks and follow the directions and you can see the pictures that have been taken. If you want to buy any, press "select" and the photos will be printed. Of course there were folks there trying sell the matching albums for the photos with all the approriate Royal Caribbean labels on them. Every cruise line has these albums and the "sell" was just the same. We are what could be called "frequent cruisers" and the last thing we need is the Album to remember the Cruise of a Lifetime. 

After lunch we saw a movie, the 3-D version of Penguins in Madagascar. It has a nothing storyline, but the 3-D was fun to look at. I kept on thinking there's going to be a point to the story, and finally the movie arrived at it... I'll tell you now so you don't have to suffer through the whole movie to find it...The point is ... are you ready ... no matter how different you look, make a difference! That's not too bad. It took a lot of shenanigans for the movie to reach the point. I guess I'm saying...don't waste your time.

There is at least one very clever bar on the ship. It's called the Rising Tide. Sometimes it's on  Promenade Deck sometimes it's in Central Park. There's a schedule telling you the time it's going to rise and fall, so far, I've not been able to get in the bar when it's up or down. If I'm on Promenade Deck it's topside...if I'm in Central Park, I'm downside. I think it would be fun to be in the bar when it is rising or falling. 

Right now it's raining. There's a breeze in our Central Park area. The sky is kind of gray. There are some white caps on the water, but the ship is making steady progress at 17+ knots. The ride is very stable. You can hear some engine noise in our room, but we are toward the back of the boat, so that's not too uncommon. I hope it's dry in Haiti tomorrow. I wonder how they are going to disembark 6200 pax to the shore. It's takes a massive effort to manage this many people in an orderly and friendly manner. So far, RC is doing a good job.

Now...do I miss my Princess experience. The answer is Yes and No. I'm used to Princess. I know what Princess has in store. I also miss my Elite Status with Princess so the answer is "yes, I miss the Princess experience. But NO, I am also enjoying a different experience and that's fun too. Only 15 more days in an RC ship and I'll have Diamond Status, and then I'll get a few more perks. 

PS...loyalty programs are good things...the more you sail with one cruise line the more loyalty "points" you get. I have lots of loyalty points with Princess and they reward me with free internet, free laundry...things like that. Princess is part of the Carnival Group of ships, and each member of that group has its own loyalty program. So, if I sail with Holland America, part of Carnival, I am contributing to the HA program. If I sail with Costa, also part of Carnival, I am contributing to the Costa program. RC runs their loyalty program another way...and it's better! If I sail with any of the RC group of ships, I get loyalty points for RC...So, if I sail with Celebrity or Azamara or Royal Caribbean, the points count to the same loyalty program...allowing me to accumulate points faster. It would be nice if Carnival had this type of "combined loyalty program" with all of their brands!

Tonight we are seeing the Aquatic program after dinner. It's a formal night, so we will be dressed up. It's always fun to see how well folks "clean up" after a day of playing on the boat.

On Board

The Allure is HUGE! Yet, if you "know" the basic layout of a Royal Caribbean ship, it's very orderly and seems to be easy to find things. Entertainment venues are in the front, as they are in most RC ships, and food is in the back. Pools are topside and located in the middle. Because of her size, she has a few more pools and hot tubs and her venues are larger. Needless to say, the top deck buffet is large and seems to be organized into ethnic groupings except for dessert. 

Later

We just finished the emergency drill. Since there are not any life vests in the cabin, we had to find them. Lucky for us, they are located in our muster station. Our muster station, the Champagne Bar,  is five decks below our cabin. While we had a very orderly trek to the muster station, the exit was chaotic. I was hoping Royal Caribbean would have a better handle on crowd control, but alas, not for this exit process. All people were dismissed at the same time and 6000 pax started heading for the overworked elevators. We pushed our way to a down elevator and waited for it to become an up elevator. RC should have dismissed the muster stations one at a time instead of altogether. 

More Musings

Did I say the ship was large? 17 decks, a central promenade that is 2 stories tall; Central Park which is as long as the Promenade, is located over it. Central Park is open to the outdoors. Our cabin overlooks Central Park--and here it gets tricky-- we have an inside balcony that is also outdoors. Instead of having an ocean view, we view the park and the people enjoying it. Since I've never really enjoyed a balcony at sea, this might be more interesting. 

We bought the soft drink package. Our room key has "Coca Cola" imprinted on it so we can stop at any bar and get soft drinks. We also have a "magic cup" that can be used at one of the several "filling stations" around the ship. Put the cup in the filling station and it tells a central computer who you are, what you are drinking and how much. Use another cup or glass at the filling station, and it will not work. Bring a cup from a previous cruise, and it will not work. The cup is "bugged" for lack of a better word, and probably tracks me from room to pool to buffet to filling station. Is this the future? 

The ship has the NCL problem...that of nickeling and diming you after the fact. So, if you want to see in room movies, be prepared to pay 12 bucks. It you want Starbucks coffee, be prepared  to pay for it (you can use your Starbcuks card). Some venues are free, but some are not. You need to read the ship's newspaper, "The Compass" to figure out which is which. They have made it easy, if there is a $ sign by the venue, then you will pay, but it will not say how much. Unfortunately, this is the future of cruising. When NCL discovered that people would pay for more, the other companies followed suit. It's too bad!

The ship has an interactive TV system. From our cabin we can order shore excursions, dinner, movies, room service, etc., we can even look at TV! There is an iPhone "charging station and speaker bar" where we can dock our device into the 30 pin connector and you can charge your device as well as use the speakers to pay your own music. If you have a newer iPhone, you will have to provide the 30 pin to lightning adapter. I don't see a connector for the other brands of smartphones out there--I guess Apple got there first.

Well, it's time for dinner. The sail-away is underway with music and dancing. We are inching our way out of the Ft. Lauderdale cruiseport at a dead slow speed. Tonight we are going to see Chicago for our evening entertainment. All we have to do is stay awake long enough to enjoy it!