Carribean Cruise Jan 2016

Jerry and I went on a cruise to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We drove to Ft. Lauderdale and boarded the Regal Princess - yes, it is the same ship we took on our October cruise to Canada and new England. It took the entire week to figure out the ship so I didn't want to waste that knowledge! We've already booked our anniversary cruise for next January and, yes, it is on the Regal Princess again ;-)

 Our mini suite came with a champagne welcome

 Leaving Ft. Lauderdale. The folks on the beach, houses, and high rises were waiving and holding up signs. I thought a big ship would be annoying to it's neighbors but they seemed happy to send us off.

 A picture of the tenders and lifeboats from our balcony

I ordered chocolate covered strawberries to go with out champagne and for a private sail away instead of going to the Lido for the party.

 Our first stop was Princess Cays - a private beach leased by the cruise line on the island of Eleutrea in the Bahamas.

 The Regal Princess

 We hung out on the beach waiting for our excursion time

We went on a glass bottom boat ride

A picture of the coral reef that we were viewing from the boat

 The next was at sea so we spent some of it at the spa and getting ready for the first formal night.

 Jerry as we entered St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Travel tip - raveling there is easy because English is spoken and the currency is the US dollar.

 The US bought the island from the Dutch

 OK, so they bury one person in the ground and then other family members on top. A genealogist's dream!

My best attempt at a street shot

 Iguanas were living in the rocks and not that easy to spot

 We went up to Mountain Top where the view was awesome. It is also the birthplace of the banana daiquiri, which we did not try. I wished we had time to stop at the botanical gardens we passed.

So, that's part one of our vaca!

Saying Goodbye to the Big City

Today is a 10am check out of our apartment in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago and a train ride back to my cousin's house. (Tomorrow we fly home) So, I thought it was a good time to post photos of the place where we have stayed.

This is it! 1631 W Winona. We had the upstairs apartment with the balcony.

This is view looking down the street toward the other residences. It is a beautiful street with people walking dogs, pushing strollers, gardening, etc. The other direction is toward two busy streets which were handy for restaurants. The area was settled by Scandinavian immigrants and it still shows in the area some.

This is the stained glass fire surround in the living room.

 

The dining room

 

The bathroom - it as a big blue tub!

The kitchen

 

One of the 3 bedrooms 

And the sun room behind the kitchen

 

 

It was a very comfortable rental with an enjoyable neighborhood. The cab rides to downtown were over $20 though. We took the bus to/from Wrigleyville because it was a straight shot and that was $ 6.75 for the 3 of us each way.

I have relatives and friends who have opted for "vacation rentals" instead of hotels so I thought I would give it a try. I didn't miss the hotel services at all but, instead, enjoyed the comforts of a home environment.

When Jerry and I lived in Kodiak we had a mother-in-law apartment downstairs. We set it up as a business and called it Serendipity Guest House and it was a morph between a B&B and a long term rental based on our clientele.  Now I have figured out we had a vacation rental!

When Life Gives You Chaos, Make Lemonade

It's been a little hectic around here lately - two dogs under veterinary care and needing twice daily meds, foot soakings, medicated baths, etc. At least there are no dog fights because Diamond really doesn't pick on Lani.

I went back to the cemetery from Memorial Day but this armed with section/lot/space numbers of9 of the 12 decedents on my list. The cemetery sent me a list in order by section and it was 144 pages with about 50 names per page! It took me two evenings of pouring over those listing to find my 9. On the third night I actually found an online version that was in alpha order. Sad that I didn't find it sooner but happy that I was able to confirm my 3 missing names were not on the alpha list either.

It only took 4 graves to realize something - the graves were not photo'd because there were no headstones. I remember someone else on Find-A-Grave stating he had photographed every monument there but I wasn't sure how long ago. Dah - the ones he didn't get were unmarked. I was able to confirm that because of the numbers system AND the same surnames on markers in the adjacent plots (spaces).

I am changing offices in two organizations I belong to and becoming an officer in another.

I've made vacation plans for my mom and I to go to family reunion for a weekend that turned into a trip to Nashville prior to the reunion (reunion in northeast Arkansas near Tennessee). Got plane tickets, bus tickets, boats tickets, museum tickets, trolly tickets, B&B, hotel, rental car, etc. I always get everything in advance and type out an itinerary of the activities. Sometimes I believe my mom and hubby would rather leave me home! lol

Back to the dogs, Eddie injured his pad somehow and was limping and whimpy. He is doing much better now. Loni continues with skin issues but the good news is that while it seems to spread, it is healing. And, she's eating better with a change of food and trying to engage Eddie in play. She just seems so much more interested in us and the dogs the last couple days. Previously she just sorta lived in our house.

I know, boring with no photos but you don't want to see dog injuries or graves with no markers, right?

Pic From Vacation

We are back from vacation almost a week ago and I'm just finishing up resizing and culling my photos. With my new camera I was inspired to take lots and lots photos. Since it was a doggie meet up I thought i would post pooch photos. There might be a couple humans thrown in just because they were in the frame, lol.

Sydney

Jubilee "aka Lee Lee"

My Eddie

Amos

Amos & Buster (or is it Moe?)

Buddy

Dixie

My Daisey

Katie Scarlett

Sonic "aka Moose"

Katie Scarlett & Beau

Katie Scarlet

My Eddie

Vacation Day Two

We were up and atom at the crack of 9am this morning. This is the dining room set for breakfast.

But we chose to eat on the varanda because it was a BEAUTIFUL day.

Our first stop was the cemetery two doors down.

This is the view just outside our room in the hallway. The sideboard contains games & puzzles and stuff to keep one occupied.

This is the beautiful light fixture in the same hallway.

Photos I took on our walk to the marina.

We went out on this boat for a short tour of the area. It was special because the captain of the boat is a 4th generation boat captain in this area. His great grandfather ran a boat from Anastasia Island to St. Augustine many years ago and his grandfather took over the business. Eventually a bridge was built and the economy changed and his dad changed the boat business from hauling to tourism. He was well versed in local birds so I enjoyed that part ;)

Next we went to a nearby restaurant for a coke and a snack. The appatizer was so-so but tghe entertainment was awesome.

The window ledge next to the table had little trap doors.


They also bring you a basket of bread that is for feedingthe fish! You drop bread down the trap door and can watch the fish eat the bread. We attracted cat fish. Could even see those whiskers!

We went to a little museum. Lots of history here including prirates raiding the town.

We went on a trolly sightseeing tour where you could get off and on or just ride it around. The driver's narrated with the local history and interesting facts.

Next we went to the fort built but the Spanish in the 1500's.

Barracks

Prison

Excellent orator telling the story of the Spanish occupation and fights with the French and British (Catholic versus protestant).

The walls are made from coquina which is kinda like petrified shells and sand. It was cut out in blocks from Anastasia Island (where the lighthouse is located) and taken across the harbor to build the fort. It's sorta like a natural cement block except it can fall apart so they ask you not to touch the walls
Photos of the B&B neighborhood on our walk to dinner tonight.

America's oldest street (according to the story people in Philadelphia think their is older)

Tomorrow - a few lighthouses and Savannah!