Bermuda

After 4 very rock-and-roll days crossing the Atlantic, we were in Bermuda today. We actually docked at West End, Bermuda, at HM Dockyard.

A quick ferry trip took us to Hamilton, the capital. A very nice little city--but it was Sunday morning and everything was closed. We walked about through a park and through the downtown area, past their legislature and court buildings and just enjoyed the architecture of the downtown. Lots of 18th Century British stuff. Then, the return ferry ride.

We wandered about HM Dockyard, which still has all the old stone buildings which have been refurbished inside. There is a wonderful museum and lots of little stores--most of which were open.

Our dinner table has built a boat for a sailing contest tomorrow. The boat has to hold a 6pack of beer and float in the swimming pool in both calm and rough water. We think we have a good chance!

2 days crossing to Fort Lauderdale and then the trip home for Christmas. We are very much looking forward to being home.

Ponta Delgata, Azores, Portugal

A very beautiful little port on one of the 9 islands 800 miles west of Portugal. We walked up (and UP) to a public garden dating from the 1800s that was wonderful--filled with trees. It would be better in the summer with flowers. The Portugese 1800s architecture has been preserved downtown--we just walked around looking. And shopping a bit--Laurel got new shoes. Then, onboard ship for our 2000 mile trip to Bermuda. 

2 Sea Days

Not much to report. Good cruising conditions as we head towards the Azores. Trivia, reading, watching TV, attending Scholarship @ Sea lectures by a funny Australian, eating, outside watching the sea go by, chatting with some upstate New Yorkers 

It is just a short stop in the Azores--we plan to get off the ship and wall about. 

Casablanca & Marrakech, Morocco

A long day, with fascination and excitement. 

We met with our Cruise Critic private tour group at 0615!!! and went to our little vans and cruised out through the dark Saturday morning streets of Casablanca heading to Marrakech.  It was a 3.5 hour trip south in a van governed to 88 kph--but it vas a very nice new Mercedes van with lots of space. 

The countryside for the first 1/3 was flat prairie with new wheat--bright green. The next leg was more like southern Saskatchewan before planting and the last bit was Alberta foothills without vegetation. 

We saw the Grand Visir (prime ministers) palace with meeting rooms, his 4 wives rooms public rooms and the like. It was most grand--dating from when Morocco ruled from France to Egypt to sub-Saharan Africa. The Medina (wall) and Casbah (market). A great lunch from a traditional Moroccan tagine overlooking a park. The central square with snake charmers, animals and a false teeth maker who puts real teeth in a frame. The Club Med. And a couple of mosques from the outside only. 

The trip back was fine until we got to Casablanca, where we hit Saturday night traffic in a city of 5 million people. We got to the ship at 6:30 just in time for the All Aboard. Too damn close!

Ceuta, Spanish Morocco

Spain has 5 enclaves on the Morocco coast. This one is right across from Gibraltar--on a clear day, you can see The Rock. Sadly, it wasn't clear--but we were able to see it as we were sailing away. 

It is a nice little piece of land jutting out into the sea that is an amazing mix of Portugese, Moroccan and Spanish architecture and society. We just got off the ship and walked around.  And did a little shopping too!

The Strait of Gibraltar was really windy, wavy and rough sailing--our porthole got a little wet from spray. Fortunately, only for an hour or so. 

Barcelona

We docked at about 10:30AM and took a hugely expensive--$1/minute!--and short bus ride to the south end of the shopping area of the city. It was a religious holiday, so everyone was out and about. They have a 2 km long street mostly blocked off to traffic and filled with stands and shops and it was just packed. So, we walked along it taking in the people and the sights. We made a right turn to leave that area and ended up at the Christmas Market area--which was even more packed. We stopped at an out of the way cafe in the Gothic area of town for a break--very unique part of town--small passageways and lots of stores. Eventually, we were all walked out and came back to the ship.

Today is a sea day, so we are getting caught up on things--laundry, etc.--and won, for the second time, Trivia. Our Team winnings are a Princess Cap and Princess Tote Bag. We have 2 upstate New Yorkers and an Australian on the team. Fun.

We also had the Cruise Critic meet and greet this AM and got our Morocco trip sorted out.

Monaco

When we awoke and looked out our porthole, we could see a few hundred million dollars worth of yachts right there in front of us. We were docked inside the main Monaco harbour and we were harbour-side, so we saw all the yachts docked in rows in front of us. Wowza--not Winnipeg!!!

After a quick breakfast, we set out to wander about. We climbed up-up-up to the Royal Palace. To get there, we had to go through a small shopping area, but mostly the walk was through parks and parkways--just beautiful. Lots of pictures.

Then we walked down a bit and went through the National Oceanographic Museum and Center--does the name Jacques Cousteau mean anything? 5 floors with living aquatic exhibits--some 2 story high plexiglass reef examples. And the building itself was quite something as well. What a wonderful place.

Then, we went skating on the rink! This requires some explanation--they have a Christmas Village in the port area with some rides--we went on the beautiful 100 year old carousel--and food and drink and a skating rink (normally a pool). So, well, after some alcohol, we decided we had to do it... Lousy ice of course and the skates didn't fit and weren't sharpened but, we have pictures to proove that we were there!

Walked around past some of the yachts. Huge and luxurious. Then, we took an electric boat ride across the harbour to our ship--then off to Barcelona

Parco Nazionale Delle Cinque Terre

After a short overnight cruise from Civitavecchia to Livorno, we got on the bus in the morning to go to Cinque Terre, a collection of 5 small isolated fishing villages that have been declared a World Heritage Site. Although connected by train, (which goes through the coastal mountains) it is very difficult to get cars into them and certainly not a bus. "Lovers Lane" connects 2 of them--its a 1km pathway along the coast above the waves. Besides the tremendous natural beauty of the rocky seacoast, each village has its own character and beauty. They are all vertical, constructed around streams and man-made terraces.

The only unfortunate thing was that it was a rainy, windy, cold day--but that made the Caffe Latte taste that much better!

We're not yet sure about this "small ship cruising" thing--in particular, we are on "fixed seating" for dining and some of our 6 table mates are a bit wierd--but others are nice. We'll be with them for the next 15 meals!!!

Tomorrow, Monte Carlo!

Good-bye Star Princess, Hello shopping!

After disembarking the Star and checking in to our wonderful little hotel the Miramare, we set out to get rid of some Euros. The town of Civitavecchia is easy to walk around and has lots of little shops, including an Italian Leather handbag shop, where I got a new purse. Surprise, surprise! We got a new Christmas decoration for Paige to admire and had a fun day topped off by the best PIZZA ever. Mike was in heaven, and it was another high bar meal. Our hotel is on the sea and is very pretty. The rooms have 12 foot ceilings and marble bathrooms. Nice!

We catch the Pacific Princess today so will sign off. Ciao!

Napoli, Pompeii, Ravello, and Amalfi

Our final port day was spent with our new friends from New Jersey. We had a nice big van with our driver Nichola, who had nerves of steel. The drive to Pompeii was quick and we were there for 8:30 opening. It is so interesting to see. Th city was buried completely by an eruption in 79ad. The layout and architecture of the city were stunning. We could see the walls of the houses with frescoes and paint colours still visible. It was a little gruesome and disrespectful to see the casts of the people who died but it did prove how suddenly the eruption happened. The brothel was interesting, with pictures of each act so if one did not speak the language it could be chosen by pointing!

To get to the little town of Ravello we drove up into the Monte Latteri mountains. Narrow winding switchbacks with breathtaking views of both the mountains and the ocean. Such contrasts, many Mercedes cars, and then we would round a curve to see a burro tied up in front of a small house. Everywhere are grapevines, Nichola said that most rural people make their own wine. The region is also known for lemons, the base for Lemoncello, which is a delicious liquer. Princess makes it on some ships so we got a taste for it! We stopped for lunch in Ravello, at a little local place where Mama served us the most delicious feast of hot zuccini salad, crusty bread, gnocchi, canneloni (Alene would have loved it!) fettucine, Tiramisu, all accompanied by vino rossi and ended with clementines from her garden. It was one of the meals that will set a high standard for any future Italian food. The ambience was pretty terrific, also. Ravello is picturesque and quaint, full of cafes, shops and with a central square looking up on the terraced vineyards in the mountains.

The Amalfi coast is rightly famous as a beautiful drive. It is another switchback, hairpin turn, white knuckle, hide your eyes TREAT! The views get better around every corner and the sea is azzura (my Italian spelling may be off). We stopped for a little look at Amalfi but sadly Ellie fell and injured her ankle so we had to get back to the ship.

In all it was a good day despite injury and a little rain at Pompeii. We will be saying goodbye to the Star Princess and some good new friends. I expect we will keep in touch, we hope to meet again on some future cruise.

Athens

Another totally full day--up way before dawn and not back to the ship until after dark.

Busride to the Acropolis. Climbed up the stairs and path--there is an elevation gain for sure! The Parthenon, the entry gate, the temple are just amazing. There weren't too many people there so we had a good look around. It is roped off and there is a lot of restoration work going on, but it doesn't take much imagination to reconstruct it yourself. Athens is spread out below, all around and as far as the eye can see. Magnificent.

To the Plaka area for shopping--we helped out the Greek economy a bit! As we were getting ready to leave, a bunch of University students held a protest march through the area going to the Parliament buildings which are close by--that delayed us for a bit.

Buffet lunch of really good Greek food, then an hour long busride down the coast to the Temple of Poseidon. The seascape is striking; there's not much vegetation and lots of rock--and lots of beautiful homes and apartments overlooking the ocean along the way. Another smaller but still amazing defensive position and temple--again, it didn't take much imagination to conjur up a Greek Trireme out in the bay guarding the harbour...

Tomorrow is a sea day, then Naples.

Ephesus

We docked at Kusadasi, Turkey, a nice little port town, at about noon after the run down the coast from Instanbul. A short bus ride took us to the top of the ruins at Ephesus.

This was an ancient Greek port town. Think Letter of Paul to the Ephesians. Think 250,000 people, with running water to their homes and a sewer system as well. Think the second biggest library going, after Alexandria. Think the place where Antony and Cleopatra spent their honeymoon. Think an amphitheatre seating 14,000 people, with perfect acoustics way before electronics--and a few smaller ones seating only 1,000 or so. Think hotels public markets and public baths and latrines and treelined marble pathways as wide as a city street connecting all the areas of the city. Just totally amazing--takes your breath away.

Back to Kusadasi and a visit to the market area and a nice Turkish kebab and a beer, then back to the ship.

It was 22C today--the guide said she was amazed at the way the warmth was carring on into the fall/winter.

Exotic Istanbul

Up at the crack of dawn to see that we were docked in the middle of the Bosphorus surrounded by the city of Istanbul. We booked an all day tour that took us to: 1) A carpet huckster. Nuff said...no carpets for us! 2) The Grand Bazaar, a massive shopping area full of gold, silver, knock-off purses, andd 22 Euro T-Shirts. Spent no money there! 3) The Blue Mosque....WOW, it was almost as beautiful as the Alabaster mosque in Cairo. Our guide was not as good so we were less impressed, I think. Still it was a massive, stunning, and working mosque. 4) Next to Ayasofya or Hagia Sofia, which is a museum but had been a mosque and a church. Also very massive and beautiful. 5) A boat trip down the Bosphorus, which combined sightseeing and a true Turkish lunch....including Turkish Delight (Quite good, too). The sights were amazing, the river is lined with palaces, large homes, nightclubs, schools and ruins. 6) Topkapi Palace, the former home of the sultans. Very large, interesting and had a display of the sultans treasures that was magnificent. What a day...Istanbul is a very ancient, modern, cosmopolitan, contradictory city. It was clean and people were well dressed. The traffic was crazy but occasionally they obeyed the traffic signals!

Khios, Greece

A nice lazy day at sea, crossing the Mediterranean to Greece. Wonderful, and needed after Egypt!

This morning, we anchored at 8AM just off Khios. A beautiful site from our room--the port, the city rising up into the hills to the tops of the mountains wrapped in clouds. It was rough seas, so tendering took time to set up and we didn't get to shore till about 10:30, after a rock and roll ride in. We didn't have a tour planned, so we just walked with friends up and down the seaport's main streets. Even though it was Sunday, lots of establishments were open and we poked about. A nice lunch--Greek Salad, a Greek sampler plate, a Greek Beer and Ouzo--overlooking the harbour. A generally lazy day, but our first taste of Greece--so, now, we're ready for the rest of the Greek stops--we have tours booked for both.

Tomorrow is Istanbul; we're on a tour. As I type this in the Internet room, I'm right beside a porthole on deck 5--so the sea is rushing by--we're doing about 22 knots or roughly 40kph--about 4 meters below the window. Fortunately, it is not too wavy!

The photo people are going to print a picture of Sophie for us--thanks for sending/posting all the pictures!

Egypt (2 of 2)

Up early in the morning and had a wonderful breakfast. The hotel was pretty nice, even the internet was not working--but we were only there for about 10 hours total.

Over from Giza to Old Cairo, where we saw the oldest Christian church in Africa, and the oldest Synagogue in Egypt. Both still functioning. Both very near the site where Moses was found in the basket in the bullrushes. A very interesting openminded discussion between the Jewish and Catholic people on the tour and our Islamic guide about the many similarities and points of difference between the 3 faiths.

Then to the Museum of Antiquities. An older but magnificent building with 2 floors just crammed with exibits and artifacts. They desperately need a new building--the current one is overcrowded and old--and one is under construction. Once the new one is done, they are hopeful that England will give back the Rosetta Stone and France the Head of Nefertiti. The gold jewellery, the stone carvings, the items of daily life, and so on--just amazing. (No, we did not see the Hollywood depiction of a mummy!)

Then, another buffet lunch beside the Nile and the 3 hour trip back to Alexandria. We stopped in front of the brand new Library of Alexandria--already the largest in Africa--and just across the harbour from where the Lighthouse of Alexandria stood.

Back to the ship through the downtown of Alexandria--a mix of old and new. At that point, just about everyone on our tour was exhausted from the information and sensory overload, so we mostly all missed the sailaway.

The above words don't do justice to what we experienced. The ancient is magnificent, the current, not so much. All wonderful and different and we're both very glad we have been able to see it.

Egypt (1 of 2)

The last few days have been a blur--a good, very good blur, but nonetheless...

Sea Days--wonderful and relaxing. We are enjoying our Balcony immensely--sitting out there quietly enjoying the Mediterranean coast by. We had a Formal Night--everybody got dressed up and it was great.

We sailed into Alexandria a bit late, because of fog, but our group tour met on time and off the ship we went. We met our guide (Eslam) and driver and piled our luggage and ourselves into the 11 passenger van and off we went towards Giza.

The drive down was interesting in a few ways. Eslam was a young Egyptologist who had just got engaged and really knew his stuff--he gave us an entertaining and brief history, geography, sociology, etc. of Egypt. Our driver was wizard--just suicidal enough to get us safely down the roads, which were not too bad--better than Winnipeg's in the springtime, but were filled (think rush hour) with traffic going faster than the speed limit--considered to be a suggestion--and piloted with drivers more suicidal than ours. They have a bad accident rate here. Lots of dints and scrapes in the vehicles--most drivers have their side mirrors folded in (or broken off) because they don't use them anyway--just beep and go into the nearest space that appears, big enough or not. And the countryside--a mix of sand and irrigated land and people and homes everywhere in walled off or hedged-off lots. Some pollution in the cities but not too bad otherwise. As a 3rd world country, it is "messy", though, in most respects.

After about 3 hours, we left the rolling sandy landscape and got into some more rough stuff and then the pyramids appeared. Totally marvellous. We climbed about 15meters up the Great Pyramid on a path towards the original entrance--which is now blocked to tourists. After some time clambering around, we got back in the van and drove around the other 2 big pyramids to a bit of desert and a camel ride. They are big and when they get up with you on their back, it is a bit of a ride. We were on them for about half an hour--I have a lot more respect for T.E.Lawrence (of Arabia). It was a real Wow time to be riding camels looking at the pyramids. Then, a walk to the Sphinx, which is really quite a mysterious masterpiece in its own right.

After lunch at a buffet place, we went first to an outdoor museum exhibit with a large statue of RamsesII at the site of the ancient city of Memphis and then to Saqqara, the site of the first "step" pyramids in a complex. Here we went into a royal tomb which had heiroglyphics throughout on all the walls. A few joined rooms, all empty and small, and underground--but not under a pyramid. But 5000 years old...!

We checked into the hotel and then went for an evening supper cruise on the Nile. Sadly, it was rather tacky.

Back to the hotel where we begged and borrowed a computer with Internet Access so we could find out that our newest Grandchild, Sophie, had just been born, less than an hour before. Welcome to the world, Sophie!

Ciao!

At Sea, just south of the Strait of Messina between Sicily and the toe of the boot of Italy.

We almost bit off more than we could chew. The flight to Toronto was uneventful. The passage between T1 and T3 in Toronto was a lot of walking and a short train ride--fortunately we had been able to check our luggage through to Rome, so we didn't have to deal with that too. The flight to London was good, but Laurel and I weren't together and were both in middle seats, so it wasn't great. We arrived in London at 0630 their time--about midnight body time, without useful sleep. A good English Breakfast and strong coffee perked us up a bit. The flight from London to Rome was good, except for the last half hour. The pilot said they had a "stiff breeze"--English understatement for a strong gale, torrential rain and an extremely rough trip down. Laurel was ill--motion sickness--from the ups, downs and sideways. We found the train tracks and bought the necessary tickets to get to Civitaveccia. The first train was OK--they had a scrolling sign saying which station was next, so we knew when to get off. We waited in the station--an outside covered affair with about 8 tracks open to the rain and covers over the platforms--built in the 1920s or so--beautiful iron works. As the train was pulling into the station, they changed platforms on us. Some people ran across the tracks and the train honked at them. With luggage, we had to go down stairs, through the tunnel, up stairs and onto the train. A wild rush; too much excitement!!! But we made it. A group of Nuns on the train said we had gotten on to the correct train. (I should point out that there were no railway workers to be seen anywhere along the trip--nobody checked tickets, not even the seller--and nobody to ask. All of Italy gets free train rides on Sunday???) Anyway, through the rain, wind and darkness, we went to Civitaveccia. A few hundred meters of dragging suitcases along wet cobblestones and our hotel beaconed at us. We were VERY glad to get there! 12 hours of sleep followed.

The hotel was great. Nice big rooms, marble everywhere. Typical European breakfast of breads and muffins, cheeses and meat, yogourt and coffee. The very first people we said hi to in the small breakfast room were from Winnipeg!!!! There were also Americans from California and Germany--they were working there in Germany... All nice folks.

We are booked into the same hotel for our intercruise night. Wonderful little town--we wandered and shopped for the morning--and stocked up on wine! It was windy, but no rain, and about 19C. We walked our suitcases down to the port and got on the ship. A couple of snoozes later, we watched the sailaway from our balcony. Very nice!!!. We had supper with the Americans from Germany--good conversation--and then to bed.

This morning was rainy again, but the sun came out as we went through the Straits of Messina, and its quite nice. We had the Cruise Critic get together and met the folks that we will be touring Egypt with. All in all, we're recovering from the travel and doing great!

Only 6 More Sleeps!

The travelling Baileys are nearly ready to hit the road, really the air and sea, but it's all travel! Our flight to Rome leaves Winnipeg on Saturday at noon. We hope the new grandbaby will have put in his/her appearance by then. Alene is getting very anxious and has convinced her midwife to induce her before we leave. I'm sure it will be OK as she was great with the others.

We are off to sea again...12 days on the Star Princess, travelling to Egypt, Athens, Khios (Greek Island), Istanbul, Kusadesi, and Naples. We board November 22 and disembark December 4. We will be posting to the blog about these exciting places and hope you will enjoy travelling with us! We spend one day in Italy and then catch a second cruise on the little Pacific Princess that takes us from Civitavecchia on December 5, to Florence, Monaco, Barcelona, Casablance, Ceuta, The Azores, and Bermuda. We will fly home from Fort Lauderdale Dec 22, just in time for Christmas.

Talk to you from Italy, Ciao!

Campground Hosts, Birds Hill Park, Summer 2010

We are very happy to be chosen to host the Campground at our favourite park. It is so beautiful and has many great activities. We get to help with special events (Bannock Baking over an open fire) and participate in hikes and other activities. The Park gives us a T shirt, name tag, a little training and a free full service campsite.

We are happy to be in one spot and have settled into our new 2010 Earthbound RV. It is larger than the old Terry and very comfortable. I have a great kitchen with lots of counter space!

We are not planning any trips until our big Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Transatlantic cruise in November. We may also go to Arizona for a part of the winter.

Ciao for now!

Home again!

Grand Lake RV and Golf resort is about half way between Gainsville and Ocala, FL. and it was pretty cool (relatively!!!!) there. So, we shopped a bit around both places and toured about--seeing a botanical garden: www.kanapaha.org and where John Travolta lives: www.jumbolair.com/.

Then, to home. It is 2000 miles, so we did 400 miles per day, which is pretty good with a trailer behind and winter. Day 1 we camped at a KOA just north of Atlanta, GA. Nice place, but they were just recovering from the big freeze. Day 2 was a private campground in Southern Illinois--nice, only a bit of snow on the ground. We paid particular attention to the weather forecast here and decided to go west, then North rather than north, then northwest. So, day 3 was a drive through St Louis and Kansas City then north to St Joseph where we hotelled it because there was snow on the ground and we had winterized the water system in the trailer in the morning. Day 4 was up to Watertown, SD--lots of snow around but the driving was OK. Going south on I29 were a lot of Manitobans! and a lot--probably a couple of dozen--wind turbine blades going south on special trucks. Boy are they big. And then day 5 into Winnipeg. No issues at Customs and only about an hour or two of bad winter driving. We were very lucky!

What did we learn? Well, Florida is expensive, but the trip was cheaper per day than cruising. Next trip South we'll probably book into places for a month at a time--one week is just not long enough to get involved in the communities. It is cold in winter, even in Florida--just not as cold for as long. We missed TV and Internet when we could not get it. We'll take the Honda's the next time--if M can figure out how to cover them and all the other stuff we take with us. We take too much stuff--that is a recurring and unresolved issue! And, we won't go over Christmas because we really missed all the family activities for that week.

Next trip: who knows! If we go anywhere other than Bird's Hill this summer as Hosts, we'll probably take the Beetle and BugHouse to Newfoundland. Then, it is off to crise the Eastern Mediterranean (Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt) followed by a southern transatlantic (Spain, Morocco, Azores, Bahamas). Stay Tuned!

Linger Lodge (Al Roker says it's the Weirdest Restaurant in America)

We left Naples with $28.00 from the busiest casino I have ever seen. Smokey and loud...we left with our little winnings and went to dinner at the Cracker Barrel. Good food and loud, too. I have been noticing the sound level and it seems different here, why I don't know. Chronic deafness, discourtesy, self centeredness, talking on cell phones, yelling at kids.....

Our next stop took us to the Linger Lodge and RV Park. The cold snap started so we mostly holed up indoors, shopped, and went on an expedition to Ikea. We had a site next to the Braden river, very peaceful, with many live oaks dripping with spanish moss. It has been there for 60 years and aspects of the park did show it! The restaurant was excellent, we tried ALLIGATOR....fried, tasted like fishy rubber. The place is filled with stuffed fish, animals, Gators, many snakes, and various antiques and military badges.

In the interest of getting closer to home we moved North to the Grand Lake RV and Golf Resort. Very big but nice with no trees but cable TV and nice neighbors. Abby has made a friend, Pepper, and is enjoying our stay. We are booked in here for a week and plan to ride our new folding bikes (Camping World purchase) and get ready to come home. We expect the weather to improve this week and we leave here for Atlanta on Jan 18...home by Jan 24 or 25!

New Years in Naples (not Italy)

We are at a nice park filled with snowbirds from all over Canada and the US. The first person we met was a woman who lived in Transcona in 1945...an Icelander from Arborg. She has been coming here for 25 years, lives in a little elderly park model and is a bundle of energy. Reminds me of Mom.

Naples is quite a ritzy area, the real estate is McMansions as far as the eye can see....many for sale. We drove around Sanibel Island yesterday and estimated about 1/3 of the newer houses are listed. It is a beautiful, touristy area with many places for rent and lots of little shops and cafes. We had a picnic on the beach but a cold wind kept it short. The sun was shining and many people were fishing, which is extremely popular down here. If you say that you don't fish they tend to question your sanity. We met a Sheriff in Marathon who offered to take us out and show us the best spots! Didn't take him up on it!

We had fun at our New Years party, dinner and dancing. We won the 50/50 pot, spent $5.00 and won $61.00. Paid for the evening.

Today we are off to the local Casino to see if our luck turns into a nice win there! Yeah right! The weather has cooled off considerably but the sun is shining and it is now 11c. We are moving tomorrow to a place called the Linger Lodge...very interesting website...so we shall see if it fulfills its potential.

Christmas in the Keys

It has been a while since posting, but we had a great time at Grassy Key. Christmas was strange without family but we attended a pot luck with the other campers. Our stay there seemed to go by in a flash. We enjoyed swimming in the beautiful pool and playing games with our new friends. The park is right on the Gulf on Mexico and is beautifully landscaped.

One of the best things about staying in a park is advice about places to see and things to do. We followed some good advice and went on an adventure to No Name Key to the NoNameBar and Grill. What a neat place, it has thousands of dollar bills decorated by patrons and very delicious seafood. We also got to see a few Key deer, which are small German shepherd size. They are endangered and so protected that the penalty for running over one is more than for hitting a person (not really).

We had a great visit with Mom and the Saskatchewan relatives in Miami the day before they embarked on a Carribean cruise. It was fun to see them. The trip to Miami was about 5 hours round trip but we saw some pretty country.

Our next stop will be Club Naples in Naples. We are just slowly working our way north.