My Feelings About Fruitcake

Blog Prompt: Today is Fruitcake Toss Day. Have you ever eaten fruitcake? What are your feelings about it?

I have had fruitcake and truly dislike it but my husband loves it. My mother in law used to make it from scratch each year and my family always looked forward to getting one from her (except me that is). I think fruitcake has many uses but doesn’t include being edible. Here are some suggestions:

1. Replace a missing brick on your house.
2. Serve as part of the foundation when building your house.
3. Can be used as ballast to hold things from blowing away in the wind.
4. Put a lot of them in the back of a pick up truck to help traction on slippery roads.
5. Be used as stepping stones in the garden.
6. Can be used to level an RV when pulling into a campsite.
7. Be used as a weapon to defend yourself against muggers. Place in purse and swing to hit the muggers

Of course these are just examples of the ways a fruitcake can be used. (As I write this and share this with my husband, he is rolling his eyes!) Of course I have heard rumors that they last forever so maybe they can be actually help the environment. We could build houses out of them instead of wood and save the trees.

Original image: 'fruitcake2006-04' http://www.flickr.com/photos/14183017@N00/331565861by: babe_kl

New Years Food

Blog Prompt: It is New Year’s Day. What are some of the special foods that you eat in order to bring in the new year?

The main things that we eat on New Year’s Day are black eyed peas and collard greens. I think the peas symbolize coins and the greens symbolize paper money. I’m not thrilled with eating either one of these but my husband insists that we eat them so it won’t kill me. Of course I would hate for us to lose lots of money and be blamed for it so that is why I eat them.

Original image: 'Soul Food' http://www.flickr.com/photos/69283999@N00/325659988by: Andrew Yang

Charleston 12/29/08

We left my parents home in WPB this morning and headed towards South Carolina. Nancy and Ray (my sister in law and brother in law) planned on camping at James Island County Park and seeing the Festival of Lights so they invited us to visit them. We arrived around 4:30 and had a wonderful lasagna dinner and salad before we rode a bus around the park to see the lights. There are about 3 million lights and many of them were animated. It is impossible to describe how awesome all of this was. My favorite was the Ravenel Bridge/Cooper River Bridge. After the bus ride, we walked around Santa’s Village and enjoyed some of the giant greeting cards done by school kids. There was also a huge sand sculpture of a holiday scene. We tried to take the train ride but it was sold out and we would have had to wait almost 2 hours to get on the next available train so we thought we’d skip it this year. Then we returned to their RV for the night. What a wonderful way to spend the evening! We will head for home in the morning.

Family Time

Blog Prompt: What does your family time consist of?
This one is easy since there is just my hubby and myself at home now to make up my family. We do almost everything together so it includes the following:

*Eating meals together
*Walking 4 miles each day
*Hiking
* Cooking
*Working on laptops
*Watching TV
*Traveling

Original image: 'Softly Whispering I love you...:O))' http://www.flickr.com/photos/66164549@N00/2831868995by: Keven Law

The meaning of Patricia

According to Wikipedia – “Patricia (IPA: /pəˈtrɪʃə/) is a common female given name of Latin origin. It is derived from the Latin word patrician, meaning ‘noble’.”

When I was growing up, I heard that I was supposed to be named Gail but at the last minute, they changed it to Patricia. I was always called Patty growing up unless I was in trouble, and then I became Patricia. I spelled Patty in different ways when I was in school. Some years it was Patty, or Patti, or Pattie. Years ago when I ran for public office (Soil and Water Conservation Commissioner), I went by Pat because it sounded more grown up. Now I can tell who first knew me when by what they call me.

HAL Statendam 12/19/08

The last day of the cruise was a sea day so I woke up as usual and finished up my computer time (at .40 per minute meaning I have spent $400 this past month for internet!). Then I tried to wake Don up for breakfast around 7am but couldn’t so I went without him. At 8am, I was going down to wake him up when he got off the elevator. By the time he was finished, it was time for the Debarkation Talk. At 11:30 we had a Mariners luncheon in the dining room (past guest lunch) and we had a nice time. After lunch I went to a card making arts and crafts session. When I got back to the room, Don had already started packing. It only took us about an hour to pack and then we went to the movie theater. We saw the movie Swing Vote with Kevin Costner and it was really cute. After the movie, we just sat around our cabin and watched TV until it was time to get ready for dinner. Since Don started drinking around 11:30, he was feeling no pain at this time. Our dinner was the special Chef’s dinner where we were all given Chef’s hats and the dining stewards entertained us. When we returned to our cabin, we put our locked luggage in the hallway and went to bed.

Getting off the ship wasn’t too bad. We had an early breakfast and got off the ship around 9am. As we were leaving, a woman collapsed in the stairwell where we were and a doctor had to be called. When we got out of Customs and Immigration, my parents were outside waiting to pick us up and away we went.

It has been a wonderful month of cruising. We had fun but I’m glad we are on dry land and heading home in about a week. I miss home and the mountains.

Grand Turk 12/18/08

We arrived in Grand Turk and got off the ship around 8:30am. We walked to the beach and found some chairs (which were free) and left our stuff on our chairs. Then we walked along the beach and found lots of conch shells all over the beach. Most of them were intact and big. After we walked along the beach, we went swimming and snorkeling. After we got out of the water, there was a rain shower so we grabbed our stuff and went to Margaritaville. Once the rain stopped we went back to the ship to get cleaned up and eat lunch. Then we went back to the island to buy and send some postcards. When we were supposed to leave at 4pm, we were still missing 2 people and 2 officers actually got off the ship to look for them. Around 4:30, the ship left without the 2 people. We went to the show tonight but it went past 8pm and there were no technical difficulties. We have not been happy with the entertainment on this ship. It was formal night for dinner and we had surf and turf as well as tiramisu. Today is the last day at sea and we arrive in FL tomorrow.

HAL Statendam 12/17/08

Yesterday was just a lazy day at sea. After breakfast, Don went back to bed. I sat on the back deck and read my book and talked to a banker named Klaus (not Santa Claus, or maybe it was). There were rain showers on an off but I was under a sheltered area so it didn’t matter. When Don finally got up, we watched some movie with Tina Fey about a surrogate mother (but I never got the name because we missed the beginning). Then it was time for lunch. After lunch we watched the movie Leathernecks with George Clooney and it was okay, especially since it was filmed in my hometown. After that movie, it was time for a snack so we went and had a hamburger and fries. We took chips and salsa back to our room to watch the movie The Golden Compass. By this time it was time to get ready for the show and dinner. The show had technical difficulties again and had to restart after the middle of the first number. The curtain in front of the set wouldn’t open and while the guy was in the middle of singing, they dropped the curtain on him! We heard ladders and people screaming back stage as they tried to fix it. Finally they got it fixed but we were still late to dinner because the show ran late.

Aruba 12/16/08

We arrived in Aruba and hit was hot and sunny at 8am. We decided that we would walk around the town and then if we had time, we would go to the beach. Then we spent most of the day walking around the town until lunch time and we ate lunch at Burger King. After lunch we walked around town some more but by the time we were done, it was too late to go to the beach. When we returned to the ship, we saw our table mates who told us they went to the beach by public bus. The bus station was near the Burger King right off the main street. They paid $1.20 to go to the Holiday Inn and the beach (big white buildings) and then another $1.20 to get back to the ship. The next time we are on this island, that is what we plan to do.We had a nice day today in Aruba

Curacao 12/15/08

We had a fantastic day in Curacao with our friends Karin and Joseph. We called them from the lobby of a hotel and Karin said to wait for them in front of the Iguana Café near the floating bridge. When we got to the bridge, it was open so we had to take the ferry across. While we were waiting we saw a government protest with a motorcade but we left the city soon afterwards.

Joseph drove us to a fort at the top of a mountain and we looked down on the city and the port. After that we stopped to see iguanas, donkeys and pigs and we had a beer. It was neat to see these small yellow bellied birds eat sugar. We also walked in a whale museum. Then we drove to the north shore and we saw the coast. The water was rough and the waves were high. The power of the water was magnificent. Joseph found some barrel cactuses with fruit in them and he picked them for us to eat. They had a sweet jelly flavor and texture. Then we hiked to a natural bridge.

For lunch we stopped at Jaanchies which was wonderful. The restaurant had no glass in the windows and outside each window was a bird feeder. When the owner poured sugar in each feeder, the birds loved it! We saw turtle doves, orioles, and a yellow bellied kind of bird. We had some kind of grouper, shrimp in garlic, and rice with beans. It all tasted wonderful. The owner’s son gave Karin and me a small wooden parrot.

After lunch we went to a pier where they were selling huge fish. It was interesting to see how big it was. Then we went to look at more scenery. In the afternoon, we stopped at a beach and swam in the warm water. Joseph and Don swam to a cave but I got tired and chickened out. Don said it was really neat in the cave. We shared a bottle of wine and watched the sun set. After the beach, we stopped at Joseph and Karin’s house and saw their magnificent wood spiral staircase. We also met their two German shepherds.

Unfortunately, it was time for them to return us to the ship but we had a great time together. I hope I can repay their kindness and generosity when they come to visit Greenville. I think Curacao is my favorite port but it may be because we will always have such great memories of our visit.

Venezuela 12/15/08

Today ended up being a great day and we expected it to be a wasted day. It started out bad when we got stuck in the elevator on the ship for 10 minutes. We had to hit the call button and we tried to pry the doors open with our fingers but couldn’t get it open. Finally, some workman landed on the top of the elevator and did something to get the doors open. Then we went to the top of the ship and looked around the port with binoculars and didn’t see anything special. So, we decided to pack a bag for swimming just in case. When we got off the ship, there were the usual tourist suckers selling their goods and beyond that was the beach. We rented 2 chairs and an umbrella for 15 dollars. As we waded in the water, we saw a small octopus in the water. There were also lots of shells to pick up too. We also saw a man fishing with a net and he had a string of fish attached to his waist. We drank beer called Polar and it has a polar bear on the bottle which is funny since we were so close to the equator and it was hotter than Hades here. In fact, both of us got sun burned even though we spent a lot of time under the umbrella. At 1:30, we walked back to the ship and I bought a tshirt and 2 bracelets. It was a beautiful day at the beach!

Trinidad 12/13/08

We had a really nice day in Trinidad. We got off the ship around 8am and spent the entire day walking around the city until 2pm. This city reminded me a lot of New York City. It was very crowded, lots of litter in the streets, and lots of homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks. Yet, the people were so friendly and not aggressive like some other islands. We saw the Parliament and their National Library. I was surprised at how much security there was at the library. It also felt hotter and more humid here than any other place that we have been so far. Tonight’s show was a comedian who was pretty funny. Dinner was delightful as usual. Then we watched the movie Iron Man.

Barbados 12/12/08

What a glorious day we had in Barbados! We started out not having an idea of where we were going or what we would do. First we thought we would walk to a nearby beach (about a 40 minute walk we were told) and then got a cab which would cost us $5 per person to Malibu Beach. Then the cab driver (Ron Rollins) talked us into going to a beach further away for $10 per person. He showed us one beach but we ended up at Payne Beach. (This is odd in itself because normally we would say that we would have just gone to the first beach and we have no idea why we decided to go on.) We rented 2 chairs and an umbrella from Timothy for $15. About 30 minutes after we got there, someone came up to us to say hello. There on the beach were Karen and Steve who were our table mates on the Maasdam last year. They were on the Maasdam again this year and had gotten off their ship this morning with no idea of where they were going today. What are the odds of all of us ending up on the same beach at the same time when we were on different ships and didn’t even know that the other couple was cruising?

We spent the day at the beach with them and it was wonderful. Karen took pictures of us which she plans to email us when she gets home. Then I will add them to this page when I get them. We swam with the turtles and the wave action was pretty rough. We had our snorkel gear but left our fins on the ship. Don got pretty sunburned and my arms are tired trying to keep my head above the water since I was in over my head a lot. About 2:00, we asked Timothy to call Ron and ask him to pick us up which he did. Then he even serenaded me when we arrived back at the port.

When we were telling Timothy our story, he told us an interesting story too that sends chills up my spine. He said that in 2004 he fell into a 50 foot well and laid there for 11 days before he was rescued. He said he lay among rodents and centipedes but since he was severely injured, there was nothing he could do. After 8 days he gave up his will to live and tried to reach for a poisonous frog so he could kill himself. Instead, his hand reached out but couldn’t touch the frog and he heard a voice say, “They who wait shall receive his strength.” 3 days later he kept praying for rain and someone heard him and rescued him. Soon after he was rescued, it rained and the well filled up which would have killed him if he hadn’t been rescued. The doctors said he would never walk again even though they took part of his hip bone to rebuild his lower leg and grafted the skin. His left arm remained useless. Today he was able to walk and even run. I believe God has plans for Timothy and he is a living miracle.

When we returned to the ship we watched the movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman which was great! Then we went to the show at 7:00. The show started and within minutes the sound system went crazy making the music go in and out. Then the curtain came down and the show had to restart about ten minutes later when they fixed the sound system. This made the show end later and almost made us miss dinner. I think if they have problems like that, they need to cut out a couple of the song and dance numbers because I couldn’t enjoy the ending of the show for worrying about getting to dinner on time.

It was a wonderful day today in Barbados and we look forward to coming back.

St. Lucia 12/11/08

We arrived in St. Lucia at 8am and we decided to walk around the town. The taxi drivers here were very aggressive and I don’t like that. We went shopping until 10:30and stopped at the bar right outside of the ship called the Caribbean Pirate. The waitress told us the beer would be $3 US Dollars each so we went into have a couple of beers. When she brought us the beer, she changed the price to $3.50 each. That made us mad so we drank up and left. Our table mates went to Redouit Beach and paid the cab driver $5 per person but didn’t pay him until he returned to take them back to the ship. Maybe the next time we go to this island that is what we will do. After returning to the ship, we walked about an hour for exercise. By this time we had lunch. After lunch we watched a movie in the theater called Angus, Thongs, and Snogging which was a cute movie. After the movie, the ship left Castries and went down to Soufriere to pick up people on a tour. We got to see the Pitons (Gros Piton and Petite Piton) loom on the horizon. During this time, it was time to do laundry and I finished in time to go to the show and dinner.

Antigua 12/10/08

We had a wonderful time on this small island! For $25 pp, we had a tour of the island with another couple (Don and Annika) and our taxi driver was Ninja. He was excellent! Our van was air conditioned and he spoke very clearly. The tour was only supposed to last 2 ½ hours but it lasted much longer. Ninja drove us to Nelson’s Dockyard which was full of expensive yachts. It was interesting to hear all about the history of this island. Then we drove through the rain forest and finally arrived at Turner Beach. Ninja dropped us off at 11am and picked up all up at 1:30pm. The beach was a beautiful beach and had a cute bar for drinks and food. We found out that Eric Clapton, Robert DeNiro, Robin Leach, and Will Smith own houses around here. We got back into town after 2pm and had a little time to walk around the town. I think I would enjoy coming back to this island again. Dinner last night was Lobster and Filet Mignon so I was in heaven.

St. Thomas 12/9/08

We planned to go snorkeling at Coki Beach but when we arrived it was raining. So we had a change of plans and went shopping instead. We took a cab to town ($10 pp) and walked all around town, There were a couple of light rain showers which made it humid when it was over. The saddest sight was when a lady backed out of a parking space and squished a baby chick. That was awful! Since it was still early we decided to walk the few miles back to the ship. When we reached Crown Bay where the ship was docked, I noticed lettuce along the rocks near the water. Then we watched large iguanas come up to eat the lettuce. It was really neat to watch them. Then we returned just in time to get lunch. At 4:30, I joined some other women for the Sit, Knit and Stitch sesson. The 7pm show was a comedian and his duck and he was pretty funny. Dinner was delightful but Yanos came alone since Helena was sleeping. I had hoped to go to the Indonesian Crew show but I was too tired.

HAL Statendam 12/8/08

Today we had a lazy day at sea. When I got back from my computer time, I woke Don up for breakfast and he told me to go ahead and he would meet me as soon as he got dressed. Well, he never showed up and I knew he had gone back to bed. I think he caught a cold and has been feeling miserable for the past couple of days. Then I went to the Stretch class at the spa which was wonderful. By the time I got back to the cabin and woke Don up again, he was ready for breakfast. After breakfast, he went back to bed while I went to a Pastry demonstration and a shopping talk where the shopping expert tells you what the best buys are in each port. During the pastry demonstration, the pastry chefs showed us how to make decorations with marzipan and salt dough. Then it was time to wake Don up for lunch (lots of eating going on, can you tell?). After lunch we watched the Last of the Mohicans and then decided to do our exercise walk. We walked four miles and Don was feeling better. The show was at 7pm and dinner at 8pm. When we got back to the cabin after dinner, we watched the movie Sex in the City which was pretty funny. It was a really nice day at sea!

Half Moon Cay 12/7/08

It was a beautiful day at the beach! This island is a private island just for Holland America guests and we tendered over about 8:30am. At first I was a little chilly so we sat in our lounge chairs and people watched. Isn’t it amazing what some people will wear just because they don’t know anyone and hope they never see these people again! I want to tell them that they shouldn’t be caught dead in these outfits, but Don would kill me! When the Eurodam anchored near us, I was afraid that we would have to share the beach with another ship and was disappointed since it would be so crowded. But apparently we didn’t have to because they were just making an emergency medical stop. Shortly after, a helicopter appeared and must have taken the person away. Then the Eurodam left. Another poor person had a ruined vacation.

We walked along the beach and waded in the water before finally deciding that the water was warm enough to swim in. Getting our snorkel equipment, we finally took the plunge and once you get in the water, it doesn’t feel cold (or you are too numb to notice). The fish that were swimming all around us was beautiful. It looked like there were lots of angel fish and the only angel fish I was ever near was in our fish aquarium. There were also huge fish that swam by and one man said that it looked like mackerel. After an hour, I finally got cold and we got out to warm up. Swimming makes me hungry so we walked up to the island barbecue (put on by the ship so it was free) which is always good. I had two pieces of steak and lots of fruit while Don just had hamburger. After eating it was time to rest (also known as take a nap) on the beach. When the clouds came in, we finally returned to the beach.

At 3pm, was the afternoon tea party which was nice. Then we checked out some DVDs to watch in our cabin if we got bored. We watched one movie before dinner and then had to dress for formal night. The Captain’s champagne toast was before dinner and then the show was at 7pm. The comedienne was pretty funny and we enjoyed the show. When we arrived at dinner, we were sorry to see that our table was still occupied and they had to put the four of us at another table. I hope that doesn’t happen again tonight.

Today is a day at sea so we will just rest and relax!

Holland America Statendam 12/6/08

We got off the Carnival Splendor yesterday around 11am without any problems. Since we were one of the last ones to get off, our luggage was the lonely ones waiting for us. Then we made our way to the courtesy shuttle to the Statendam which immediately left as soon as we were on it. Our embarkation was easy and painless even though I was anxious and worried since we didn’t have our documents in hand and hoped they had it for us.

We had lunch on the Lido deck and then wandered around the ship until we were allowed in our staterooms and unpacked our luggage. We were supposed to leave at 5pm but there was a medical emergency so we were delayed. Apparently this poor lady fell because when they took her off the ship on a stretcher, her right foot was all wrapped up and laying on a pillow. They took her away in an ambulance and her husband and luggage was loaded into a van. What a horrible thing to happen right before you leave on a cruise! At least it happened before we started and she wasn’t in some foreign port. We stood out on the front of the boat with Jackie (the Internet Manager) and her parents. All of them were so nice and fun to chat with. While we waited, I got a beautiful picture of the sunset as a plane was landing in Ft. Lauderdale.

For dinner, we had a big table for 8 but only one other couple showed up. They are Yanos and Helena from Michigan (but were originally from Poland and had beautiful accents!). We had a great time at dinner so it will be nice dining with them for 14 days.

After dinner, we went to the Welcome Aboard Show which was short and then went to the movie theater to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I like their theater because they even supply popcorn!

Carnival Splendor and DSP Blog Prompts

Yesterday was a day at sea and we just relaxed most of the day. While I was on my computer in the morning, another lady sat down to do her knitting. I was so excited that when I was done, I got mine and joined her. Then two other ladies came by to talk about knitting so I felt like I was in a knitting club and I was able to ask a lot of questions. Finally I had to wake Don up so we could gather our laundry for the cabin steward. After breakfast in the dining room, we did our exercise walking on the track for an hour. Then we watched a movie in our cabin until it was time for the slot tournament. I played twice trying to qualify and my scores were 52,000+ and then 72,000+ which is the best I’ve ever gotten but not enough to qualify. Maybe if I keep playing, my score will get better (like practicing on a slot machine! Smile!) By this time, it was time for the afternoon tea party which I always enjoy. We sat at a big round table with others and they serve you tea and pastries. All this partying wore me out so it was time for a nap before dinner (I told you we were lazy today!). At 7:30 we had a special invitation to meet with the Captain Pagano (see first picture) and the Senior Officers. It was a wonderful cocktail party and there were only about 4 other couples who were there. The Captain was a really nice man. Guna (the Hotel Director) was also there and he was wonderful as usual. We really like him because he always makes us feels special like family. Charlene (the Director of Group events) was also there and we have been on a few ships with her also (see second picture). After dinner (I had Chateaubriand which was awesome!) we went to the show and then bed. It was such a wonderful relaxing day!

Monday’s DSP Blog Prompt: What do the seasons mean to you.
I love living in a place with seasons and can’t imagine living some place without them. Our seasons are just long enough for me to get tired of them and feel ready for a change. My favorite season is spring because after a long cold winter, spring is like a rebirth. I love looking for new flowers that are springing up along the trails as we hike. Then after all of the flowers are up, I’m ready for the warmth of summer. As summer reaches its peak and everything is so dry from the heat and I’m about to melt from the humidity, it is time for fall. Fall is my second favorite season because of all the beautiful colors of the leaves. Sometimes fall makes me feel sad because it means the end of things to me. When winter arrives, I dread the cold but when the ice glistens along rocks, it reminds me that winter can be beautiful also. I love to hike along the trails and see little creeks frozen over, and ice crystals on the rocks making a beautiful scene all around me.

Tuesday’s DSP Blog Prompt: How you feel about travel?
If you have been reading my blog lately, you could tell that I love to travel. I love to go to new places and meet new people. By traveling to other countries, I learn about other people’s cultures which I find really interesting. We also like to try some of the local foods in other countries and usually visit their supermarkets. When we aren’t traveling to other countries, we love to travel in our own USA. Hopefully we will someday say we have been to all of the National Parks because they are treasures that we really appreciate. Every year we buy the Annual Parks Pass and go to as many as we can but so far the Smokies and then Yellowstone are our favorite parks.

La Romana 12/3/08

We had breakfast in the dining room with Penn and 2 other couples. One woman was a group home director for mentally disabled women and her husband was a jewelry designer. The other couple were retired (he retired from the post office and she retired as an accountant). Then after breakfast we got off the ship. The four of us took the $5 (round trip) shuttle to Casa de Campo which was a private resort. It was interesting to see how much this area has changed since we were here last time. We found a market where Penn bought a huge bottle of Presidente beer along with cups and we all shared it. I saw a leather handbag for $565 US dollars which was pretty but I don’t think it was worth all that money. Finally we returned to the ship and had lunch. I watched the Willie Nelson concert on the big screen TV near the pool and knitted while Don wandered all over the ship. Finally we decided to go take our nap and woke up in time to see us leave the port. At7:30 we had the Past Guest Cocktail hour and then dinner. The show had a comedian and a singer/comedian. It was a fun day.

St. Thomas 12/2/08

We had a glorious day in St. Thomas yesterday! We went to Coki Beach to do some snorkeling and met another couple from Titusville, FL. The husband was from Hong Kong and knew the village that my father was from in China. We had a wonderful talk and exchanged email addresses. Philip mentioned a movie from Bill Moyer on PBS called The American Experience that I should watch about some Chinese history so I will be looking for it when I get home. After lots of snorkeling and lots of Corona, we decided it was time to return to the ship. I was starving by the time we got back so we ate a few pieces of pizza for our lunch about 4:30pm. Of course we had to have our power nap or we would never had been able to stay up until 1:30am (especially since I am still getting up at 5am). So we had a nap until dinner time. Penn and Ginny ate at the Pinnacle Supper Club so we ate alone in the dining room and had an enjoyable dinner. Our maitre’d Constantine sang Fly Me to the Moon and he was wonderful! I think he is the first maitre’d that we have had that sang to us. Then the servers sand Shake Shake Shake and our server Bianca even got up on the table and danced. They were great! After dinner we went to the show and then the midnight comedy show featuring Happy Cole. He was so funny! By 1am, it was definitely time for the end of a wonderful day!

San Juan, Puerto Rico 12/1/08

Yesterday we didn’t arrive in San Juan until 5pm, so we met Penn for breakfast again at 8:30. Then we walked for an hour around the track and Penn and Ginny joined us. After walking, it was time to for the Game Show Trivia game and it was fun to watch. By then it was time to eat again! So I had the Mongolian BBQ again (I only waited in line for 15 minutes this time) and Don had the rotisserie chicken. After lunch we walked around the ship some more until it was time to take a power nap. At 3:30pm, we went on deck to watch us approach San Juan and by 4:30pm, we were docked. We walked all around Old San Juan and even walked backed to the fort. At times the roads were deserted and it was dark so we had to constantly watch around us. Finally, we decided it was time to head back to the tourist area. Yolanda and Mike couldn’t meet us because her oxygen hadn’t been delivered and she was out of oxygen. I was so disappointed that we couldn’t meet because we really enjoyed being with them last time. Oh well, maybe the next time we come to San Juan, it will be during the day and we will have more time. We got back on to the ship in time for dinner and I’m so glad we didn’t miss it. After dinner we went to the show which was a comedy show by Happy Cole. He was really funny! By this time, I was exhausted and it was time for bed!

Carnival Splendor 11/30/08

Yesterday was another lazy day at sea. We ate breakfast with Penn in the dining room at 8:30 and then we went walking on the track. After strolling around the deck and looking around the ship, we ate lunch in the dining room. The desert was wonderful (ice cream with chocolate and bing cherries). After lunch we walked around the ship some more and then it was time to go to the Lobby Bar to meet the entire cruise critic group that I had talked to online since we booked the cruise. Then I went to the slot tournament so we could play but found out that it was over because the times were wrong in our schedule. After that, we went to watch the Battle of the Sexes which was a trivia game. Don and I didn’t participated but we watched. By this time it was time for a nap until the Captain’s cocktail party which was nice. Don and I got to talk to Guna (the Hotel Director who sent us a huge fruit basket to our cabin) and Charlene (in charge of group events). We finally got to the dining room for dinner and I had lobster tail and prime rib (no wonder I’m gaining weight!). The show at 10:30 was wonderful with lots of singing and dancing and then we went to the comedy show at midnight. By 1am, I was pretty tired. Today we are going to arrive in San Juan around 5pm so I hope we will get to meet up with Yolanda and Mike who live there.

(I will add pictures tomorrow to yesterday and today's post. I forgot my camera in the dark cabin yesterday and today I have the camera and forgot the cable to download the pictures onto my computer!)