Panama Canal Cruise, Days 1-4, October 20-23, 2013

Babs & I started out the trip with a 45 minute “technical” delay, translated waiting on six late passengers to fill the flight, on our Southwest Airlines flight to Ft. Lauderdale where we met our ship. Once there we grabbed a taxi for the short ride to Port Everglages with a quick stop at Total Wine to purchase a couple of bottles of wine to take on board with us.

Boarding our ship, the Island Princess, was amazingly easy. Our traveling companions, my Spadaro cousins and their wives, were already onboard. We met them on the Lido deck and ate pizza for lunch. Like our airline flight, our sailing was also over an hour late leaving port because of side thruster failure which required diver intervention.

Our bags took forever to get to our stateroom and Babs thought for sure that the baggage screeners had discovered and confiscated the bourbon and vodka that we had carried on in our luggage. The bourbon was spirited away in Listerine mouthwash bottles that had been sanitized of the mouth wash, and the vodka in Smart Water bottles. The luggage arrived after we had returned from dinner, liquor intact.

Our first two full days of our trip were at sea. We busied ourselves playing cards, going to comedy shows, eating (way too much), and me ending my evenings at the casino. The captain had to make up time so we moved right along at an average 22 knots, which is really fast. Add that speed to wave swells of 8-10 feet and the ship literally rocks.

Our first port of call was Aruba. Neither Babs nor I had a chance to tour the town because we were only there a half day and we both opted for different excursions. Babs opted for horseback riding and had a great time riding both inland and on the beach. Her only regret was that there was not more time on the beach.

I took the catamaran snorkeling trip. The boat ride was fun and the snorkeling in crystal clear waters. My cousins, who live in FL and dive a lot, said that the water was the clearest that they had ever dived in. There were two snorkeling stops, the coral reefs and a 400 foot long wreck. I didn’t do the wreck one because the current returning to the boat was too strong for my ability. However, my cousins said it was great and that they would like to return and dive with tanks.

Internet access is at a premium so I’ll do photos later. The ships internet is both too expensive and too slow.

Tomorrow we will be at Cartagena, Columbia.

Babs Says: When it's hot it's HOT!

Ireland Road Trip, Day 10, October 1, 2013

Today we are leaving for home. The Leprechauns must have known because they were crying buckets of water. This morning is only the second day that we have had any real amount of rain. We started out in the dark after a continental breakfast the our host got up early and put out for us.

Jason once again did a great job of driving  and we made it to the Dublin airport safely and a little early. Our fight leaves at 11:30 so we have 3 hours or so to kill by shopping and getting something to eat or drink. Security was much easier to go through and my "pat down" a little less sensual. We didn't know our gate so we had to hover around the scheduling sign until our gate was posted. When we checked in, we were given our US customs declaration forms and told to complete them and go to customs pre-screening before going to our gate. This way we would miss customs in Boston.

Our gate assignment finally was posted and we headed to the US customs pre-screening area only to find out that our flight was not eligible for pre-screening and we would need to claim our bags in Boston and clear customs there. We went to the gate and boarded on time.

On the way home!

The flight to Boston was about six hours. Even though the Pittsburgh Steeler's fan sitting in front of me had his seat fully reclined, the time moved fairly fast. At Boston, they use a body scanner so I was only scanned, waved with a wand, and had no intimate contact with my screener this time. At 3:45 p.m. we boarded the plane and home we went landing at Washington at around 5 p.m.

Jason drove home and we made pretty good time considering that I initially headed us in the wrong direction on the G.W. Parkway.

A great trip came to an end. I really thank Jason, Katy, Jim, & Babs for taking of all of our luggage. I was treated as a true cripple and, quite frankly, could get used to it. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. Katy, you did a wonderful job planning this adventure!

Thanks to Butch, Lisa, & Kathy Powell for watching Stella (cat). without you we could not have gone.

Babs Says: No place like home!

Ireland Road Trip, Day 9, September 30, 2013

This morning the order of the day seemed to be rain. After a good breakfast and saying good bye to our pet snail, we bid a fond farewell the the Ballynahinch Castle and headed east to Carlingford to our next B & B.

Fish & eggs

My last traditional Irish breakfast

 

 

 

 The drive was mostly through rolling hills or flat pasture land. Going through villages along the way it was evident that some of the Irish had problems with their government also. These posters ask to vote in favor of abolishing their equivalent of our Senate.

In Ireland super markets were far and few between, with most shopping done in smaller specialty stores. This butcher shop was part of the gas station where we fueled up.

When we drove past this place, I thought that it was a building like that in the television series Downton Abbey. It turned out to be a hospital.

So, I lied. This is the last photo of a ruin.

In addition to hedge rows, stone fences like these are all over the country side.

After about four hours of driving we reached our B&B. We were there around around 2 p.m. and check-in was at 4 p.m. Our host was very kind and let us check in early.

Our room

It was still to early for dinner so we decided to go into Carlingford and walk around. Babs wanted some tee shirts for the boys, Luca, and Vita but had no luck finding a tourist trap. The town was a typical Irish town with old buildings and buildings in painted in vivid colors.

Wall around old square

Ba' dupe-ah-dupe

Perfectly sculptured bushes

And you thought that there was no such thing. We met a real Leprechaun whisperer

We ate dinner at a place called PJ's Pub. I had beef & oyster pie, Jim & Joan both that hamburgers, Katy & Jason had beef pie, and Babs had fish soup & calamari. All were very good.

After dinner we returned to our B & B for an early be turn in. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. and we are just over an hour from Dublin. We will leave the B & B tomorrow at around 7 a.m. which means getting up around 5:30 a.m.

Babs Says: Ireland impression; love the friendly people, green grass, sheep, and ruins. Did not like; blood pudding, no top sheets, no AC or fan,and one spigot sinks.

Ireland Road Trip, Day 8, 2013

Today’s Sunday and we are leaving the Old Brown hotel in Ennis towards our hotel north of Galway. 

Views from our room at the Old Brown hotel

 

Views of Ennis, County Claire

 

How lucky can one couple be? While we were on Dublin, the Dublin Gallic football team won their championship game and the Dublin raised hell until the wee hours of the morning. Last evening the Ennis County Claire hurling team won the all Ireland championship and Ennis raised hell till the wee hours of the morning. The only good thing to come of it is that everyone is so hung over that there is virtually no one on the road but us.

This sign was posted on virtually all of the stores Saturday

 Our first stop was the Cliffs oh Moher. They a absolutely fabulous cliffs which are taller than the Washington Monument towards their drop to the sea. It is overcast and with strong winds but no rain for the moment. Sitting at the tip of the point is a stone tower built in 1835.

The castle is at the tip of the point

 

Water cave in the cliffs

On the way to our next stop we passed this impressive ruin. (In Irish brouge ruin sounds like you're slurring the word run.)

From the Cliffs of Moher we continued traveling north though the 400 square kilometer Burren National Park. We stopped at the visitors center and ate a light lunch at the tea room. The park is sparsely settled today and the terrain ranges from rugged tumbleweed type grass to rock and stone in its center. There is very little water and the center which was scraped by a glacier is not inhabited today but was settled as early as 4000 BC. Although the Burren reaches from the sea to inland mountains of stone, we only traveled through the center.

Grassland in the Burren

There is some grazing land, this with cows

Mountains of rock frame the valley

This is representative of the majority of the soil

 

Katy Exploring

 

The Burren spans an area from the sea to the mountains

This  ruin, the last I post, was in the Burren

Sheep even run in the Burren

Leaving the Burren, we headed toward our hotel, Ballynahinch Castle, which is located north of Galway in Recess Connemara. It is a magnificent property built in 1725. We checked in and Babs took a walk around the property taking pictures.

View from our room

 

Jason, Joan, & Katy in front of castle entrance

Our room

 

The castle throne

Ballynahinch Castle

Guest house

Rear of castle

 

Hydrangea were everywhere

Katy had made reservations’ for dinner which was a 4 course fixed price dinner. The food was excellent but the table service leaving a lot to be desired especially at 60 euro per person exclusive of wine.

Tomorrow we will take a walk around the property unless it is raining, then be off to another B & B about an hour from the Dublin airport.

Babs Says: At the cliffs is a big sign saying “Need to talk with someone? Call9391427” They must really be afraid of jumpers!