Made it back from our Cruise, boo-hoo

We landed safely and still in wonderful sunny weather. The only trouble we had is that our hotel did not have us registered, oh my ... once again thank you Cynthia for coming to our rescue. You're the best. We not only had a beautiful oceanfront view but a hundred dollar voucher for the mix-up from Expedia - keep this in mind when booking through several hands, according to the hotel manager. Cynthia is truthworthy, it's the third and fourth hand making sure the booking has reached its destination. We had a beautiful day at the beach with all its interesting activities. I'll be back got to go get some more soda pop. I also have pictures to download from this location. Stay tuned.

Cruise continues

A great big THANK YOU to Cynthia for the wonderful canopy platter we received when we first boarded. We had the choice of time we could eat it, so as we had already filled our tummies on the first day, we set the delivery time for Tuesday. Wednesday, we were in St. Thomas and guess what, yes spent the day at Megan’s Bay beach. A beautiful arch of sand dotted with mansions up in the mountains protecting surrounding this cove. After returning to the ship, we enjoyed from our balcony the numerous yatchs, including one pulling in and parking next to our ship which we suspected were mafia. We tried not to be obvious with our telephoto lens trying to get a better look onto the ship. Today, Thursday, March 4th, 2010, we continue our cruise into San Juan, Puerto Rico. We arrived early, about 7am and departed shortly after 3pm. We were simply going to walk around the port before going back on ship to spend a leisurely day, but as we stepped outside the port boundaries, we were bombarded by enthusiastic taxi drivers and tour guides eagerly awaiting to serve our every need. One tour guide approached us, after we ignored every other one and we finally gave in to him, despite how unprepared we were, no water, only ONE camera (to share), and some cash. However, it turned out very well as he toured a group of us for $10 each around the old city and we were able to see quite a bit, such as the parliament building with its bronze statues of famous people such as JFK and Ford. An open market with an array of fresh fruits and vegetables and hot sauce made fresh on the premises. We went to a square near an elementary school where we saw a large group of young students, in their uniform, preparing for their own outing. In that square were another series of bronze statues of women in some kind of action, interesting how every status was bear breasted, not sure why but it sure put a smile and a giggle on the students faces, our as well. These statues were meticulously designed where every curve, wrinkle, eyelash, teeth were clearly visible. We then passed several beaches with breaking surf and palm trees and numerous people sunning. We stopped at the old castle ruins with its cemetery and a few minutes later, a funeral procession proceeded down a sunken road which entered below the cemetery grounds. The tour ended downtown where we were able to take more pictures of the narrow cobblestone roads, colourful buildings and black iron balconies, very much like the French Quarters in New Orleans. It was a very hot humid day and as we made our way back we met up with that group of students we saw previously. They were in line to get seeds to feed the pigeons. It was hilarious watching thousands of pigeons flutter and land on the many screaming children, some with excitement and some in terror in this courtyard which was part of the ruins which overlooked the bay where the ship was parked. We made our way back to the ship where we enjoyed relaxing on deck in the sun with a cool drink and of course tanned some more.

Here are missing pictures from previous blog

Caribbean Cruise March 2nd, 2010

In continuing to log our cruise adventure, the morning prior to boarding our ship, we enjoyed a breakfast buffet by the marina, and if you look closely at the picture here, you can see our cruise ship in the distance awaiting us. Actually it is the Liberty of the Seas of the Royal Caribbean, which we cruised in last year. Our first day aboard, before departing Miami, we enjoyed the final Olympic hockey game between Canada and the US on a large screen TV on the pool deck … so you can say we watched the game intermittently between turning our heads to view the sunset, South Beach at the tip of Miami and oncoming waves into our destiny. Just from that game, we knew we were surrounded not only by Americans but a great percentage of Canadians, displaying their flags, t-shirts, and enthusiasm. Now we are a day at sea, Tuesday, March 2nd, with nothing but blue sky all around, not a stitch of land in sight; however, we’re having fun, getting rosy and well tanned. The Carnival Glory cruise ship has been a very leisurely experience for us so far with sunning, hot tubs, swimming and of course filling our palate and keeping it watered! There has been lots of wind and bumping waves against the ship reminding us that we are at sea, otherwise, we would never know it with all the music, people to watch and continuous activities happening. Our first port, on Monday, was the Carnival Cruise line’s private island in the Bahamas, namely “Half Moon Cay” where we embraced the total beauty of this oasis of pure white, packed- down finely-powdered sand, as if we were playing in flour. Many photos were taken in colour and to my dismay in black and white due to a slip of the finger, where I thought I was still snapping in colour and with the brightness of the day, couldn’t tell how the pictures were turning out, only to find out that my snapshots looked like snowstorms. I’m sure you’ll be able to relate! Yes, a different kind of winter. I think you can tell which ones. So you can take some comfort in knowing that paradise has its flaws but we’ll take in anyway. Tonight, we prepare for our black-tie captain’s meet and greet dinner. Tomorrow, we will be arriving in St. Thomas Virgin Isles, where we will enjoy another day at the beach with a balmy 88 degrees, clear and sunny day, aaaaahhhh. Keep tuning in, more adventures to follow.

Our Caribbean Cruise Adventure

Here it is February 28th and we are in Miami for the night and boarding our cruise ship tomorrow. We had a long of day of travelling from Ottawa transfering in Detroit, with our sights on Miami. Detroit's airport is very nice. The tunnel going from one section of the airport to the other under the tarmac as planes rolled overhead was quite an experience. Everywhere were escalaters and walking sidewalks. The tunnel itself was quite long with a walking sidewalk through a tunnel where the walls changed colours, every panel had lighting and an artwork imprint that created a kind of "northern lighting" effect. The colours changed from blue to green to red to blended and panels each taking on its own colour. It was most enchanting. There was some kind of music but I was so taken with the colour that I was not conscious of what music was playing. We left Detroit at 9:20 after a late boarding of luggage and de-icing the plane. We actually sat on the plane for almost an hour before actually taking off. We arrived in Miami at 11:30 pm and boarded the shuttle taxi to the Holiday Inn in Miami Port where we arrived by 12:30 am. We had coctails and pizza and somewhere in there we got a little bit of sleep, almost 3am when we actually got to bed, as I'm writing this now and we have set the alarm for 8am to take advantage of the day, go to breakfast and spend lots of time getting acquainted with the ship before it leaves at 4pm. The adventure at sea begins. Stay tuned for our next internet connection. Good night!!!

Memory of Caribbean Cruise of 2009

In looking forward to another cruise of the east side of the Caribbean, we recalled our last cruise of 2009 where we cruised the west side of the Caribbean. We stopped at Haiti, Grand Cayman, Jamaica where we experienced their great ziplines through their forests, Island of Cozumel off Mexico and returning to Miami, Florida, where we started. It was a wonderful cruise with family and friends. We had the luxury of sharing a balcony room on the ship for four of us. Our time together was genuinely good bonding time, filled with laughter and fun, sunning and of course, eating and drinking. Our memories still bring smiles and warmth to our hearts, happy that we did this together. Cathy is completely hooked on cruising and would certainly have in her trip planning a cruise within the winter months to heat things up!

2010 Feb 15th Owl Hikes

On Family Day in Ontario, Monday Feb 15th, three of us headed out to the Adirondacks to snowshoe a trail we haven't tried before. It was a gradual ascent to a little peak with a great view, called Owl Head Lookout. This trail was off Highway 9 between the Town of Keene and Elizabethtown. There was not much snow surprisingly, but as we continued our ascent there was enough snow on the packed-down trail that we kept our snowshoes on. As we arrived at the top, we had to take our snowshoes off due to the steepness and the patches of bear rock, dirt and ice that were exposed. We had a full 360 view that took in the Green Mountains of Vermont, Rocky Peak Ridge, the north side of Giant with Giant's peak in the clouds, then continuing clockwise, we saw Mt Hopkins, Mt Hurricane with its little firetire clearly visible, and a myriad of little forested hills with its base covered in snow. We were able to eat our lunch at the top, sitting on a rock, with occasional gusts of cold wind. This did not hamper our enjoyment of taking in the view and snapping pictures, while eating our sandwiches. I also carried a thermos of hot chocolate which was still piping hot and was a welcome treat to accompany my egg-salad sandwich and granola bar. We stayed about half an hour and then headed down to try our next little hike up Owl's Head. Yes, Owl's Head, another owl. It was the day for the Owls! This hike was off Highway 73 heading back towards Lake Placid. This little peak offered great 360 views taking in Pitchoff, Cascade, Porter, and looking back at where we came from near Mt Hurricane, Lake Champlain, and Giant Mountain with its peak no longer in the clouds. The clouds had lifted a bit to reveal its peak. There was about the same amount of snow on this trail as well with a dry rocky top with some roots and short trees and patches of soft dense snow. Both hikes were just the right combination to allow us our time travel there and back without travelling in the dark. These would definitely be on the list to do again at any time of the year.

January 25, 2010
This past weekend we took advantage to take in the sunshine on Saturday to do some snowshoeing with friends at Paul Smith Interpretive Centre in the States. Only a short ride away, about a forty-five-minute to an hour's drive, which could equal the same amount time at the border depending on what time you leave at; however, we left early enough that we only had about a fifteen minute wait. We left our lunches in the centre, strapped on our snowshoes and out we went into the sunshine. Feeling the sun on our face and backs was heavenly, especially after a long period of time with the sun hiding behind clouds. It was a clear blue sky and the reflection off the snow made sun glasses necessary, unless you wanted permanent lines around your squinting eyes. Two friends took their cross-country skis and attempted the ski trails which at times were slick and without the grooves of other skis to help guide, but they did well and enjoyed whatever surface it was, as it was just great being out in the sunshine. We met at the centre for lunch and out we went again to a new trail. What a great way to revive the spirit and make winter months entertaining.

Day 2

Hi Everyone,
Oooh just sitting here wondering which hike to I report on ... LOL
Since we just started to blog for this year, let me retrace some hikes that come to mind now. Well, hiking started individually for the both of us first, in our different locales; however, since meeting and aligning my view with Cathy, notably spelled with a "C", while mine is with a "K" (make note!! lol), Cathy's keen eye for researching intriguing sites, has brought many of us to places we would not have thought of or possibly have made an effort to go to. Well, it wasn't long into her first planning when a group of us were car pooling down to New Hampshire along the White Mountains towards Franconia Notch, known endearingly as "Hiker's Heaven" - well, it certainly brought many smiles to a group of about 20 people of varying caliber, each looking forward to their own encounter with the natural beauty of this area.

These brave souls who ventured out with us were willing to camp, some with a trailer, while others tented. Fortunately, to ease the transition from a comfy bed to an air mattress, we had hot showers, more than enough food to eat, and a fully equiped store with groceries, firewood and a friendly and helpful face. Our first morning found some of us cycling the linear paved bike path, towards tourist attractions, while others ventured on short day hikes that would reward them with a reasonable return to camp, early enough to lounge around the campfire, while the extremists were pushing the limits in miles with length, height and climate, especially along the Franconian Ridge, hiking above treeline for about a mile, where weather permitting, you can see the mountains in neighbouring states.

We did all have a common interest: eating a good meal, with plenty enough drinks to wash it down. Yes, that made for a most satisfying day. Then out came the guitar for singing around the campfire. Hmm, next day in the weekend, the options made for a good time. Those that hiked, tried the bike path and vice versa. With several hours left in the day, we headed for home. Four hours later in our own homes, we thought of the fun we had and when we could return to do it again! Since that time, most of us have returned numerous times to try different hikes. This would soon entice some of us towards the 111s...

Life's Journey ... one destination at a time

Hello out there,
This is our first entry into the world of blogging. Cathy and I love the outdoors and have been experiencing the great outdoors through different means, such has camping, hiking, kayaking, or cycling, depending on our plan. We have journeyed over the years throughout numerous mountain ranges in the northeastern United States, kayaking parts of the Finger Lakes of New York, canoeing the chain of lakes bordering Baxter State Park in Maine, and our local rivers and lakes in Ontario. We have cycled parts of former railroad beds in Quebec and Vancouver Island. Now we are looking forward to our backpacking trek in the Yukon, along part of the Gold Rush Trail. I'll expand on these travels in future blogs. In the meantime, I wanted to wet my fingertips with this new journey of blogging. Thanks for tuning in!