March 6, 2012, Kissimmee, Florida

This is the last post for this trip. This morning we prepared to leave tomorrow. After that, we went to the Braves game vs. Washington. They have not won a home game yet, but the weather was good, cool and sunny. We left after the seventh inning to avoid the traffic. Tomorrow, we will drive to Cordele Georgia and then to Acworth on Thursday. Sue has a Georgia Reading Association meeting Saturday.

 March 5, 2012, Kissimmee, Florida

We are finally going to take our hot air balloon ride. When we lived in the area years ago, Sue taught first grade. One day, she and her class were outside and saw a group of about eight balloons floating over the school. Later, they would learn that Michael Jackson and his group were in the balloons. Since then, she has wanted to ride in a hot air balloon.

We have been "weathered out" since we first arrived in Kissimmee. Today's weather looks perfect. The storm front passed through yesterday and we will have a sunny cool day. We met our pilot at six AM about eight miles from our campground. Along with six other people, we rode a van to a site with open meadows and no power lines. While the pilot and his helper were unpacking their gear, eight to ten other vans with balloons arrived and started unpacking. The balloon was unrolled and unfolded on the ground with the basket tipped to one side. Two passengers held the opening of the balloon while the pilot started a fan. The fan filled the balloon and the balloon slowly lifted off the ground. While the balloon was filling, our pilot exchanged four of our riders with two other passengers from another balloon. Our basket only held six passengers and one pilot. We were told the balloon next to us was the world's largest hot air balloon. That basket held twenty-four passengers.

When the balloon was ready, we all climbed into the basket. The pilot used the propane burners to heat the air and we slowly took off. That was an unusual feeling, slowly lifting off the ground. As all the balloons took off, we drifted with the wind. The pilot could make minor changes in our direction, but we were carried along with the wind. As we flew, one balloon ascended much higher. They went to five thousand feet and sky divers jumped off. Our pilot told us when they carried sky divers, they would ascend above five thousand feet or higher and start a power dive, whatever that is, so the sky divers could jump out and travel parallel to the basket. That way they could clear the balloon and dive and not rise up into the balloon.

We would travel about ten miles in an hour. Along the way, we rode over houses, campgrounds, lakes, swamps and highways. People would look up and wave to us. Several times, we would float just above the water and treetops. We did not want the trip to end, but it did. I guess we will have to return to Kissimmee and do this again. (hint, hint) The landing was bumpy. The pilot aimed for a section of a dead end road where the van was waiting for us. As we landed, the wind was brisk enough to carry us about ten feet off the road. The pilot and his assistant pushed the basket back to the roadway and we exited the basket.

We helped fold and pack the balloon and lift everything to the trailer behind the van. Then we drove to an area and met everyone from the other balloons. Orlando Balloon Adventures provided champagne and soft drinks for everyone. Finally we were taken back to our meeting point and we returned to the campground. One more item removed from our bucket list. We will probably add "Hot Air Balloon Ride" back to the list!

 March 3, 2012, Kissimmee, Florida

Today is the Braves' spring training opening game. We ate breakfast and relaxed in the morning. We arrived at the Braves' stadium about 12:00. The game was sold out and we had to park in the overflow parking lot. When we got to the park, we decided to get some hot dogs. No luck, they sold out and were getting more. We went to our seats and Bob went back before the game started for the hot dogs. Good news - the hot dogs were ready. Bad news -no fries. He got two dogs and drinks and we ate lunch in our seats. Our seats are halfway up from the field just beyond first base. We enjoyed the game but not the results. The Braves lost 2-0 and got their first hit in the ninth inning.

After game, we walked back to the car. We were hemmed in on both sides and in front. We waited about half an hour before we were able to move. No problem, it was a nice day. From there, we drove to Lake Buena Vista for dinner. We didn't see anything that we wanted, so we drove back to the campground area and had dinner at Outback.

 Feb. 29, 2012, Kissimmee, Florida

Today we decided to visit EPCOT at Disney World. Originally, we were scheduled to take a hot air balloon ride with Orlando Balloon Adventures. We have had the ride postponed once because of poor visibility and low ceiling. This morning at 5:00 AM, Bob received a call from OBA that the ride would be postponed again. It was extremely foggy and would not clear early enough for us to launch. Later in the day we would reschedule for Sunday, March 4.

In 1985 when we lived in Maitland, just north of Orlando, we had a season pass to Disney World. We went so often, Jenny and Robby would complain when we suggested a Disney day. We have made many trips to the Disney Properties and have seen many changes over the years. During this visit, we reminisced about all of our visits. Sue posted our visit on Facebook and Jennifer Froehner Elo messaged back that she remembered when Sue took her and her brother Jeff and Jenny and Robby to Disney.

We ate lunch at the French pavilion and left around 4:30 PM. We returned to the camper and decided to have a rest day tomorrow

 Feb. 28, 2012, Kissimmee, Florida

We went to Panera's for breakfast. Sue decided to stay at the camper and read while Bob went to the Braves' spring training practice. It was cloudy and foggy and Sue decided we would not to go to Disney today. Bob got to the stadium around 10:00. Practice started at 9:30. When Bob go into the seating area, the players were taking fielding practice. Fred "Crime Dog" McGriff and David Justice joined the Braves to take part in spring training. Sometime after 10:30, the players left the stadium and went to four proactive fields for batting practice. There were four or five players batting at each field while four or five others were in the field. After a while, they rotated positions. After both sets of players batted, they switched fields with another group.

During batting practice, Bob saw John Shurholtz and Frank Wren riding golf carts to the different fields. When batting practice was over, all the position players took part in base running drills on one of the practice fields. Chipper Jones led the team during the drills. This was the fourth full squad workout and the practice was over around 12:30. Brian McCann and Jason Hayworth signed autographs on the walkway back to the main field. The players probably ate lunch and continued practice on the golf course in the afternoon. What a great life! We have tickets for the training season opener Saturday, March 3 and again on Tuesday, March 6.

 Feb. 26, 2012, Kissimmee, Florida

We talked to our neighbors before setting off to ESPN Wide World of Sports, where the Atlanta Braves have spring training. When we arrived at the ball park, we picked up the tickets for two spring training games that Bob had ordered on the Braves internet site. We then drove to Lake Buena Vista to look for another hat for Alyssa. When we were here last February, we found the cutest hat for Alyssa which she really liked. We found a pink sparkly hat that we hope Alyssa will like. It had attitude. We walked through the shopping center and saw so many interesting shops. Of course, we could not resist hot fudge sundaes from Ghirardelli Square! When we were in San Francisco many years ago with Jenny and Robby, we usually ended the day with a HFS from Ghirardelli. The cable car we would ride ended at Ghirardelli Square. After enjoying our hot fudge sundaes, we walked through Pleasure Island. While we were walking, Susan received a phone call from her brother, Bill. They caught up on family news and discussed the family reunion scheduled for later this year.

 Feb. 25, 2012, Kissimmee, Florida

When we woke, there was a fog that limited our vision. We thought of the Marietta family that was involved in a wreck on the Florida Turnpike from poor vision from a ground fire. After we got the interior of the camper ready, we decided to wait until the fog had cleared. We waited about half an hour for the fog to lift. We drove on the Florida toll road to Orlando. The toll road cost us about thirty dollars. Ouch! When we arrived at the campground, we met our neighbors, a nice couple, and a friendly golden retriever named Jessie from Connecticut. We set up camp and went shopping for gas and milk.

 Feb. 24, 2012, Pompano Beach, Florida

We drove to Boca Raton, where we ate breakfast outside at Panera’s. We then drove to another shopping center to shop at Whole Food. When we arrived at the shopping center, Susan saw Barnes and Noble and asked to go there first. Both Bob and Susan bought a book. After shopping at Whole Food, we drove back to the camper and started reading.

 Feb. 23, 2012, Pompano Beach, Florida

This morning we packed up and left Boyd’s Campground. Since it was difficult to get into the campsite, we thought that it might be a challenge to pull out of the campsite. It was not hard at all. We will not miss the crowded campground but we will miss the beautiful water in Key West. We drove up Route 1 to the Florida toll road. After setting up the camper, we headed for Deerfield Beach. When Rob and Jenny were small, we spent a lot of time at Grandma Gregg’s trailer in Deerfield Beach. We visited her at Christmas and on summer vacation. We have a lot of good memories from our visits. We wanted to see if Grandma Gregg’s trailer was still there. It was! We took pictures to share with Jenny and Rob and Ree. We then drove to the Cove Shopping Center where Grandma worked in a beauty shop. The shopping center was there but not the beauty shop. We proceeded to drive to A1A and drove north to Boca Raton. We shopped at Costco. When driving back to the camper, we passed Macaroni Grill and decided to stop for dinner. We shared penne rustica and salad and drank wine.

Feb 15, 2012, Dry Tortugas NP, FL

We went on a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park. The park is a series of seven islands about seventy miles from Key West. The boat ride is two and one half hours each way. We left the dock at 8:00 AM and returned at 5:30 PM. The largest island is Garden Key. It was discovered by Ponce de Leon. He called it Las Tortugas for the sea turtles that lived there. Later, it was called Dry Tortugas on  maps to indicate to ships that there was no fresh water available. Fort Jefferson is located on Garden Key. Construction of the fort was begun in 1846 to protect shipping lanes from the Caribbean and Atlantic Oceans. The fort was never completed, and was never attacked. It was abandoned in 1874. In 1908 it became a wildlife refuge for migrating birds and was made a national monument in 1935. In 1992 it became a national park.

We arrived around 10:30 and joined a tour of the fort at 11:00.  We had lunch on the ship, as there were no facilities on the island. The only inhabitants are national park rangers. We spent the rest of the time walking through and around the fort. There was a moat surrounding the fort with a walkway. The water is the most colorful that we have seen. The  Keys have beautiful water, but this was the most scenic ocean view of our trip.

The trip back to Key West was tiring. The seats were small and cramped and we were tired from the long day. We recommend this trip to anyone visiting Key West. There is an air flight available to Dry Tortugas from Key West via sea plane.

 Feb. 13, 2012, Key West, Florida

Bob worked on the website while Susan read. We ate dinner at Outback.

 Feb. 10, 2012, Key West, Florida

We drove to Bahia Hondo in the morning to enjoy the beautiful water and sunshine. We stopped at the Publix in Marathon to buy subs for lunch. We spent most of the day at the beach. We returned to Boyd's campground for dinner at the camper.

Many evenings about 5:00, we hear the Notre Dame fight song. One of our neighbors plays this song , which is an invitation to their friends in the campground. Their camper backs up to a fence along one of the narrow one-way roads. Along both sides of the fence, the Notre Dame fan has set up bar stools and counter for his friends. When their friends hear his song, they go to their camper for drinks and appetizers.

Feb. 9, 2012, Key West, Florida

We went to Southernmost Café for breakfast. At dinner time we walked along the Key West Harbor and ate dinner at Alonzo’s Oyster Bar. Of course, Susan ordered fried oysters.

 Feb 5, 2012 Key West FL

Superbowl Sunday. Today we had a major rainfall and the same is predicted for tomorrow. It was great to hang out at the camper and relax.

 Feb 4, 2012 Key West FL

This morning we drove into Key West and stopped at the Southernmost Cafe for breakfast. They have an open air pavilion that faces the ocean. We ate and watched the waves coming up the beach. Since we had a parking space, we decided to walk up Duval Street. Duval is the major tourist street and has whatever someone is looking for. We had been on Duval before, but this was the longest distance we had walked. We returned to the truck.

Parking is scarce in Key West and the roads are narrow. We have a four door pickup, which is tough to maneuver. When we left, there was a semi behind us unloading food for the cafe. He was going to be there for a while, so we backed out carefully and slowly and made our way back to the camper.

 Feb 2, 2012 Key West FL

We got up and drove northwest up the Overseas highway. We returned to the restaurant we ate at last week and had breakfast. We wanted to visit the state parks north of Key West. The two parks with camping were Bahia Honda and Long Key state parks. The furthest was Long Key, about 60 miles.

Bahia Honda was an area that the Flagler oversea railroad crossed years ago. The railroad was destroyed in a hurricane, but parts of the bridge are still standing. Campground reservations are difficult to get and must be made eleven months in advance. In the past, the beach won the "Best Beach" award. We did not find this part of the beach until we took a small side road up the coast. It was spectacular. The colors were light to dark green. There were many facilities, including a boat launch and marina.

We continued to Long Key State Park. We drove over the Seven Mile Bridge at Marathon. Long Key is under construction and we did not see the campground. They have a road paving project to complete. It should be open for reservations starting in May.

We headed back to Bahia State Park and stopped at a Subway's and ordered sandwiches. We took our lunch and returned to Bahia State Park. We found a pavilion, ate, and enjoyed the view. When we got back to the campground, we relaxed for the rest of the day.

Jan 31, 2012 Key West FL

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park

This state park is the original site of Fort Zachary Taylor. It is one of three forts built in Key West to protect the shipping lanes and coast of Florida. The fort was originally an island fort and was later dredged and filled to connect to the main island. The original fort was three floors high, and remodeled later to one floor. This remodeling was a reaction to modern armaments and had a lower profile to protect against artillery shelling.

We walked around the park, through the wooded picnic area, to the beach and shoreline. The shore was rocky and had benches to view the ocean. We sat a while and watched the sea gulls diving into the water to catch some lunch.

The fort was a short distance away, so we walked along a path and found the fort. There were several iguanas sunning on the exterior wall on a narrow ledge. We continued to the entrance. The fort was a trapezoid shape with a central open area. The interiors of the barracks were in bad repair and we could only view them from the exterior. The gunnery wings of the original fort were made of brick construction and were open for viewing. There were several cannons remaining from the original fort. We spent an hour in the fort and returned to the truck. We decided to return to the park later and watch the sunset.

When we returned, there were at least six or seven ships off shore to view the sunset. There was a small crowd on shore as well. We brought our chairs and found a good spot. The sea gulls were still looking for food. We took our pictures and drove back to the camper for dinner.

 Jan 28, 2012 Key West FL

Today we went to the Welcome Center to board the Old Town Trolley for our second day of tour of Key West. We planned to go to stop # 5 to tour the Hemingway House. There was a short line to buy tickets. When we got to the living room where the tour started, the room was full so we decided to wait for the next tour to start. We walked to the back yard where the pool was. We had read on the web site that Hemingway complained of the cost of the pool. One day he said to Pauline, his wife, “You’ve spent all but my last penny, so you might as well have that!” Then he threw a penny down on the half-built flagstone pool patio. She pressed the penny into the wet concrete deck. We looked for that penny on the patio, but didn’t find it until later when the tour guide pointed to it.

Hemingway was given a six-toed cat by a sea captain when he lived in his home. There are now forty-four descendants of the original cat roaming around the house and grounds. Many of them have six toes. In the back yard there is a cat cemetery where they have buried the cats who have lived at the Hemingway House. Since Hemingway named his cats after celebrities, today they follow the same tradition.

All over the yard are sitting areas where one can sit and enjoy the ocean breeze.

Next to the pool is a small building which houses Hemingway’s studio where he wrote 300 to 700 words each morning.

After leaving the Hemingway House, we walked to Duval Street where there are many shops and restaurants. We were looking for a place to eat lunch. We came to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville and decided to eat there. Bob ordered a margarita and Susan ordered a pina colada. For lunch Bob ordered black beans and rice and Susan ordered a salad. After lunch we walked next door to the Jimmy Buffet shop and purchased some T-shirts. We continued walking along Duval Street until we came to an art show on one of the side streets. We walked and viewed the art show. Then we walked to Old Mallory Square where we waited for the Old Town Trolley. We rode back to the Welcome Center.
 
 Jan 27, 2012 Key West FL

After breakfast at McDonald’s, we drove to the Welcome Center where we boarded the Old Town Trolley. We planned to ride the whole tour to get an idea of the tour. Then we rode back to Old Mallory Square where we wanted to look for a place to eat lunch. We walked to the docks where we decided to eat at The Conch Republic Seafood Company. Susan ordered conch chowder and Bob ordered a red snapper bacon lettuce tomato sandwich. After eating lunch, we walked back to Old Mallory Square to get the Old Town Trolley to ride back to the Welcome Center.

 Jan 24, 2012 Key West FL

We moved to the other camp site. Then we drove into Key West where we shopped at Publix.

 Jan 23, 2012 Key West FL
Key West FL

When we registered at the Boyd's Campground office, the woman told us “Good luck” when she found out what camp site someone had reserved for us. When we got to the site, we realized why she said that. Cars and trucks were parked along the one lane one way street. People came out and moved their cars and trucks to help us. After a short time, a staff member came to help us. Then a lady from the office came and suggested that we move to another site for the night and move the next day to another site for the rest of the visit. We quickly agreed. The lots here were built when campers were much smaller. The camp sites are a challenge to park your camper.

Jan 22, 2012 Everglades Miami CG
Miami FL
We left Naples and drove along the Tamiami Trail through the Everglades. From there, we turned on another road which took us along a farming region. Many nurseries and farms were along the road. We found the Everglades Miami Campground. It was a nice campground.

Jan 13-21, 2012 Gulf Coast CG
Naples, FL

 Jan 12, 2012 MS Noordam
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

We took a ferry to the island. The island appeared to be owned by Holland American Lines. There was a very long white sand beach in a protected harbor (half moon shape).  We walked along a paved path and found an area to sit. Later we got something to drink. Lunch was served on shore in an open air pavilion. We spent most of the day on shore and returned by mid afternoon. We departed for Ft. Lauderdale and got ready for our last on board dinner. Before dinner, the dining staff presented a song and dance routine.

Jan 11, 2012 MS Noordam
At sea.
AM Schedule:
Relax, Read, Eat

PM Schedule:
Relax, Read, Check Email, Eat

The photos of MS Noordam Cabin Animals were made by the room steward from bath towels. Each evening, there was a new creation on our bed.

Jan 10, 2012 MS Noordam
St. Thomas, USVI

St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands seemed to be the most prosperous of the islands we visited. They are under the jurisdiction of the U. S. legal system and must receive support from the U.S. We still needed passports to visit the island. We took a bus tour up and down many mountains. The "high point" of the trip was to Paradise Point. We took a tram to an overlook of St. Thomas and the harbor. It is high on a mountainside. There were eight of us in the bus. The driver told us we should return to the bus in forty-five minutes. That was plenty of time. However, the two princesses among us decided we could wait in the bus while they knocked down some liquid refreshments from the bar. The driver actually waited for them and they kept us waiting in the bus for another forty-five minutes. BOOO! We finally returned to the ship for lunch. We really did enjoy St. Thomas. Sue found a dress she liked and Bob bought his usual T-shirt.

 Jan 9, 2012 MS Noordam
Roseau, Dominica

Today, we took a bus tour of the island. The guide was a native of Dominica that attended the local Catholic girls' school. She would include stories of her experiences in the school throughout the tour. Education is highly valued and supported in Dominica. She talked about many of the trees and plants native to the island. We drove through a national park high in the mountains.
 
 Jan 8, 2012 MS Noordam
Fort-De-France, Martinique

Today was Sunday and the shops and businesses were closed. We walked from the ship to the beach area. This part of town has a large harbor and beach area. We continued to walk and passed Fort Saint Louis. It is an ancient fortress and used today for offices. It is closed to the public and sits on a point overlooking the harbor. We walked several miles and stopped in a farmers' market. There were fresh fruits and vegetables and other local goods. After several hours, we returned to the ship.
 
 Jan 7, 2012 MS Noordam
Bridgetown, Barbados

We took a ride on a submarine (yellow?). Passengers took a shuttle boat to the submarine moored just off shore. There were about seventy-five passengers and we boarded the submarine using a ships ladder. There were two rows of seats down the middle of the ship, with a porthole for each passenger. We submerged to a depth of 140 feet. The maximum depth the sub could dive to was 150 feet. We saw coral, the remains of a shipwreck, many schools of small and large fish, a large turtle and an eel. It was quite an experience for both Bob and Sue.
 
 Jan 6, 2012 MS Noordam
Castries, Soufriere, St. Lucia
 
Bob rode a Zip Line in the rain forest canopy. He took a bus to the state park in the mountains. The road was narrow and they drive on the opposite side of the road. That was the most exciting part of the day. The mountains inland that do not have a view of the ocean reflect a lower standard of living the higher the elevation. St. Lucia is a beautiful and prosperous island, but also has its share of poverty.

When he arrived, the guides fitted him with a harness, helmet and gloves. Then, they took an open air tram to a location up the side of the mountain. The view of the rain forest was spectacular! Then, the group hiked further up the mountain to the first zip line platform. There were ten platforms in all. The guides demonstrated how to ride the zip line. The trick is to lean back, put your right hand behind and above your head and make the letter "o" with your thumb and fore finger with the zip line between (to stop or slow down) and your left hand on the strap connected from the zip line to the harness.

The first guide rode to the platform. The second guide then pushed each person off, one by one, and then he rode to the platform. This process was repeated for at each platform. Then the group walked back to the tram and rode back down the mountain to the starting point. They boarded the bus and returned to the bus depot.

The zip line was a great experience and Bob enjoyed the entire day.
 
 Jan 5, 2012 MS Noordam

Philipsburg (St. Maarten), AN

Dutch West Indies. We took a water taxi to Phillipsberg in St Maarten (Dutch side) French side is other side of the island. We walked around the beach area in the morning. We returned to the ship and had lunch. We relaxed the rest of the day on the outside deck.


 Jan 3-4, 2012 MS Noordam,
At Sea AM Schedule:
Relax, Read, Eat

PM Schedule:
Relax, Read, Check Email, Eat