Green xmas

Just 2 more days of chilly weather - can't say cold, it's surprisingly warmish in Ontario.

Gerry decided to start our time here with a bang - a small one, fortunately no one was hurt.  Doesn't look like all that much damage but they're writing it off.

We have a rental - a Nissan pickup truck (that's all they had). It's the "small" one - thank goodness we didn't get the large one - I CANNOT park the damn thing!!! The good news is that they'll let us drop it off at the airport so we don't need to arrange for alternate transportation. We'll be shopping for a new vehicle when we get back in April. Fun fun fun (maybe).

December 30, 2014

Had a great visit with family and friends (thanks for the hospitality Chris & Les!!). Time to go home to the boats.

Last Beach Day for 2 weeks

Weather has been chilly this past week, only 14 at 8 in the morning, climbing to 22 in the afternoon but once the sun goes down it drops drastically and I don't really want to leave the boat.

We leave on Monday so a trip to the beach was necessary yesterday.

Now that the 4 wheel drive works we decided the soft sandy route around the tree was possible:

Must find out what kind of bird this is.

First time I've seen a caterpillar; don't know what kind.

I know what this is.

Great day for beach combing. Photo doesn't do them justice.

 Despite the chill in the air we went to Johanne and Ken's for the xmas boat parade. The parade (all 14 boats) went past their house so we had an excellent view. They had their house all decorated in hopes of winning a prize. Took her about a week to hang a million lights - quite the show that photos can't quite capture.

Boat parade

Close up of their 4 boats.

Johanne's dock

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Everything comes to those who wait - so why didn't we wait?

This saying is used quite often around here and truer words were never spoken. Gerry has had a boat seat for a number of years and finally got around to installing it in the whaler - for me (although Chris thinks it's hers)!  Of course the captain needs a seat too so he ordered one on line with delivery to Stratford (and then we'll figure out how to get it here).

The very next day Mass shows up at happy hour with a great seat he doesn't need! Too late to cancel the order. We installed it yesterday.

Would you believe Gerry found a seat on the beach today!! I guess that will be your seat Chris.

All the seats:

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A few days ago we decided to do a bit of bushwacking so the jeep doesn't get any more scratched up than need be.

He's not wearing his good shirt is he?

Yes, I believe he is!

This video's for you Steve.

Beach and ocean critters

Lots of one on one with nature today:

Saw a really ugly shell in a shallow tide pool but picked it up any way. It turned out to be a conch (about 6 inches in length) of some sort. Not the kind we usually see, but sadly it appeared to be dead. Once I started walking down the beach with it it started to move in protest. I put it in a deeper tide pool, upside down to see how it turns itself over. It uses a different technique, very slow and methodically.

Check out the straight lines of algae and non-algae on it's shell

A very sandy "foot"

This white crab jumped up and ran like hell when we walked past it so of course I had to give chase. I dug him out of the sand and then he chased me!

These hermit crabs were having an important meeting, but right after I took this photo they dispersed. Was it something I said?

Although I was sure there was nothing to see (so I didn't take the camera) I decided to do a little snorkeling. I noticed a dark spot in the water and discovered a pile of rocks and some reef fish. Also spotted a trumpet fish and a much much bigger fish that appeared to be a barracuda. Instead of swimming away from me, as is the usual thing, it got closer and closer and closer - I got out of the water.

December - another year almost over

Finally got the dinghy back in the water November 28.

Loaded with beach stuff

We launched at the sailing club and headed for the beach. Naturally the weather didn't cooperate so I drove the jeep back home and Gerry managed to bump his way through the waves. Glad I wasn't with him.



The weather wasn't good for the beach until today, but we did get some chores done. Dirty Girl is really really big when it comes to cleaning her but she was living up to her name and it needed doing.

Today we decided to see if anyone has fixed the beach road. It appears that people with 4 wheel drive have managed to get through the sand but ours doesn't work.




Today Gerry wasn't taking no for an answer. He added a lot more stones to the ones someone had put down on the other side of the tree, cut a root off and gave it a go.

perseverance

It does appear that the stones are well placed and very flat but I assure you this is not the case. Not only that but there is a really big root in that mess that was too big to cut away with a chainsaw.

Undaunted he took a run at it:

roots

stones

 After some tweaking:

And this was his reward:

Sand and surf to the east of us.

Sand and surf to the west of us.

Back to island life

Spent a few days with Jean and Rick. Thank you so much for putting us up or is that putting up with us? Lots of eating and of course shopping: all of us to Bealls; Jean and I to the Croc store (4 pairs); Rick and Gerry to Harbor Freight (miscellaneous junk). Also played the game - girls won of course!

Flew back on Silver Air which only allows tiny carry ons and $25 for a checked bag (stuffed our suitcases into a sail bag). Spent hours packing and weighing. I did some fast talking at customs to get our bags in without being searched and interrogated, whew!

Today was perfect at the beach and no pesky tourists. Seem to be finding these shells this year - never found them before, at least not intact
.

November 15- 22 Cruising Royal Caribbean

Independence of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) had just arrived from England and they claimed it was US Immigration and Customs who caused the delay in boarding. Honestly, over 2 hours to get on was ridiculous.

Ship specs:

Tonnage:	154,407
Length:	338.95 m (1,112.0 ft)
Beam:	38.6 m (127 ft) hull 56 m (184 ft) extreme width of superstructure
Draught:	8.8 m (29 ft)
Decks:	15 (passenger); 3 (crew)
Propulsion:	Diesel-electric Two ABB Azipods and one Fixipod, 14 MW each
Speed:	21.6 knots (40.0 km/h; 24.9 mph) 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) (maximum)
Capacity:	4,370 passengers
Crew:	1,360

Cabin was more spacious than expected, good thing we brought a night light, it's really dark when you don't have a window.

Unlike on Carnival we were told we'd have to empty the "fridge" ourselves and find someplace to put the overpriced goodies. There are quotation marks around fridge because it was more of a cooler, that didn't work well.  We clued in that we'd have to ask for ice if we wanted anything cold to drink in the cabin and if we wanted to eat in a timely manner  or have a good breakfast don't go to the dining room.



Sunday was a sea day, spent it trying to get the lay of the ship. They have interactive screens near the elevators that will draw out a route to wherever you want to go - very handy. The Promenade deck was very impressive but I don't think overall that our Carnival ship was any less impressive.

Monday, very very hot. Our first stop Labadee, part of Haiti that RC has leased, fenced off (with guards) and developed.

What you see is pretty much what there is.

Ship at the dock.

Just a "tourist" spot. Rode the tram, took a quick dip (promised great snorkeling - wasn't),  bought souvenirs (very very pushy vendors) and got back on the ship to cool off in the pool.



Tuesday, sea day, hot, humid, partly sunny. Not a lot to do during the day but stayed up till 3 dancing and taking a dip in the pool.

Roatan

Wednesday - Roatan. It was cool and raining all day so we didn't bother getting off.  Were there last year so it wasn't too disappointing. Spent some time in a hot tub trying to get warm.








Thursday - Cozumel. Nice warm sunny day. Despite warnings of renting scooters we did. Piece of cake - a large paved 2 lane bike path runs right alongside the road (with grass and trees between us and traffic). We were here last year but took an excursion to the mainland not seeing any of this picturesque island. Along the way we came across a lone rider and invited him along - Al, a personal trainer from Dallas and a fun guy (on Carnival Triumph). Scooter cost $45 plus $5 for gas - they took little personal information, didn't want to see a drivers license or a ship card from us but the people Al rented from insisted he buy insurance and kept his ship card.

Al

Quaint bar at bottom of island.

Front of bar

If only the sign were true!

Stopped for a short tequila tour which one of the ladies at the table below claimed cost $90 off the ship (we paid $25 for the 3 of us). We did have to rent a scooter to get there but we also went other places as well.

They give you these pretty drinks first then take you on a short tour explaining how tequila is made and then give you a bunch of free shots!

I tried their drinks, tasted like soap.

The virgin version was better than the real thing.

Road shots taken from the scooter:

And back to the ship.

Friday, day at sea and Patriot night. Every night had a theme but the festivities didn't start till 11, a bit late for seniors LOL.

All things taken into consideration I don't think RC is worth the extra cost (maybe I'm not fussy enough?) - Carnival seems to have better deals. Maybe we should try Norwegian or Princess or ?? next - what do you say Gerry?

and the adventure begins

November 14, took the ferry to Florida. There was confusion over what time it left, web page said 6 p.m., ticket said 7. After 4 phone calls it appeared to be 7. They were wrong, it left at 6:30.

Gerry waiting to get on - he was right we didn't need to get there so early.

Very nice ship, went 32 knots and had wifi. Took under 3 hours to get there but of course getting off and through customs and immigration seemed to take forever.

Checking his chart plotter, making sure we're going in the right direction.

Big thanks to Lerry for picking us up so late at night and giving us a bed for the night.

Boarding the cruise ship tomorrow, my birthday!

November 8

Would you believe we're at the beach again? This time we had 2 birds, one on either side of us fishing - they were pretty good at it. One of them wasn't afraid of us (too much) and got this close.

Remember the swamp in the middle of the road? It's almost dried up but not enough! This guy didn't realize how deep the hole is and drove right into it. Wonder how many choice words were exchanged between them. That road is getting too busy - another guy came along and helped out as well.

Yep, she's stuck.

They jacked it up to get stuff under the wheel.

And this evening's entertainment was another ray - this time in the canal behind the boats. Another first - a spotted eagle ray! This one must be a baby, they can be massive in size. The funny thing is that Gerry was the one that spotted (LOL) something in the water.

My pic

Someone else's better pic