Sault Ste Marie-USA/Canada . . . through Calais, Maine

I know I've let everyone down and I'm sorry. Every time we managed to get electricity and Internet I was too pooped to sit down and write the blog. Now here it is August and I'm a month late with excerpts from our adventures . . .

So, here goes....

We stayed in the USA for the 4th of July and headed north, once again, on the 5th. Stopping at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (called the Soo) for a tour of the lock system. http://www.saultstemarie.com/soo-locks-46/ We took a boat tour which was very interesting, seeing first hand how the locks work and touring the harbor. While there we saw a big ship named "The Saginaw" that was unloading limestone at the steel manufacturing plant. Remember this, there will be a test. On the way back we passed a big brick building that was once a hydroelectric plant. I thought it was beautiful, the way the bricks were arranged to form lighthouses...

After the tour, we went on into Canada. We were within 100 miles from the border when Les says, "I'm going to be pulled over!" And sure enough, an OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) Officer with his lights flashing. Les pulls over . . . well, I'll let Les tell this story . . . see below.

Without further problems we arrived on Manitoulin Island http://www.manitoulin-island.com/ and stayed the night in Little Current, which is the first city once you are on the island. We went grocery shopping for our Canadian coffee and the warm raisin bread that we had been anticipating. The coffee didn't live up to our memory of it, but the raisin bread did! Yum, Yum! We then drove another 3 hours and arrived at Mississagi Lighthouse...http://www.themississagilighthouse.com/index2.html. Another couple of hours passed before Joe and Beatrice returned to their campground and we were reunited. The fun began!

We had an absolutely great time with our Canadian friends. We played Trains, Chicken Feet, (hey, Beatrice, we forgot to play Sugar!), Les and Joe went fishing, (Yum, Yum!) ate Salmon dinners together, went shopping, found a garage sale, all four of us took a mini hike, Beatrice and I took daily walks with their dog, Tanner, and then Joe and Beatrice's son, Mark, and his daughters, Mary and Sarah, joined us for even more fun. A good dose of grand kids is what the Grandmas needed!

Joe and Les went fishing every chance they got. One of the best places to fish was over by the limesone pits where they mine this rock and ship it out. Joe came back one day and was talking about this great big ship over by the quarry and I asked him if he knew the name of the ship . . . and he said, "The Saginaw". When we were on "The Soo Locks Tour" and we saw "The Saginaw" unloading the limestone we thought maybe we knew where it was coming from . . . and we were right! :-)
All too soon, our two weeks on Manitoulin Island was over and we began our traveling once again.

I didn't realize when we started out on this trip that we were going to get to stop at Niagara Falls! It is one of my most memorable experiences of this trip so far. I was so excited at the prospect! We heard the falls were prettier from the Canada side and since we were on that side first, that is the side we went to. It is truly awesome, a natural wonder of the world! The amount of water that flows over those falls is astounding! We were there on a overcast, windy day and the spray, generated by the falls, kept blowing over toward the Canadian side.

We never were able to see from one side of Horseshoe Falls to the other as the spray was just like a cloud right in the middle of the falls - it was still terribly impressive! After wandering around all afternoon, we stopped and I went in to see "Niagara's Fury" which was a animated feature/rather wet "ride" about how the falls evolved. It was cool! We spent a long day watching the falls and then came back at night to see the lights on the falls, (the picture is of Bridal Veil Falls) http://www.niagarafallslive.com/Facts_about_Niagara_Falls.htm then we headed on across New York.

We we under a time crunch to get to Prince Edward Island by a certain time as we had tickets to the "Ann of Green Gables" play in Charlottetown on Wednesday, July 29th, so to be able to stay as long as possible on Manitoulin Island, we had to put the pedal to the metal and hit the road. Leaving Niagara Falls on July 22nd we started our drive through New York and guess what! New York is not wall to wall city! We drove through upper New York State and it is a beautiful place. We took the route through Andirondacks, a break taking piece of wilderness that gave us a new respect for the state of New York. We passed by the Olympic Village in Lake Placid and saw the huge Olympic ski lift!

We were thinking that if we played our cards right we would be able to breakfast in New York, lunch in Vermont and have dinner in New Hampshire but, the roads were winding, beautiful and LONG and we ran into this lake - just a little guy, separating New York and Vermont... Lake Champlain and they had this great little seafood restaurant/bar overlooking the lake. We parked our camper on the ramp of the ferry (that ran every 30 - 45 minutes) and then went to have lunch. We sat and watched three ferry leave without us. It was a great day! The picture to the left was taken from the restaurant - you can see the camper on the dock, between the two boats in the foreground.

Vermont, when we finally got there, was beautiful as well. We drove through the state capital, Montpelier, and saw the capital building... We stayed at Little River State Park, where I found many different kinds mushrooms growing. I went on a picture taking spree, because my nephew goes wild mushroom hunting in Oregon and I thought he'd be interested...

We entered New Hampshire on July 24th. Another beautiful state, (I'm finding some adjective repetition here) but at the point we crossed it, it was less than forty miles wide, so we were not long in it. I kept thinking how gorgeous these state would be in the fall when the leaves turn. Les wants to stay, but we have to keep on task and get to PEI - Ann is waiting!

Maine, yes, I'm going to use the "b" word again, was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! We decided to cross the border at Calais, Maine, therefore, staying in the states as long as possible, one reason being that once we crossed into Canada, our phone coverage would essentially, go, as we were not interested in paying those exorbitant prices. We also were waiting for some mail from home. We found a campground and drove around the city, saw some beautiful houses, got some internet for a while, and made some phone calls. We decided that we would call everyone that we could before we entered into the Canadian realm of "Roger's Wireless". (insert scary sounds)

So we call our kids, our friends, a few acquaintances we'd met along the road (just kidding) and I called my sisters. One of said sister's, Gayla, was excited to hear we were in Maine and said she'd been to Maine, on her way up to PEI, one year and one year she'd come back to visit a gal she and her family had met on that trip. Her name is Brenda, and Gayla, husband, Tim, and daughter, Erin, had stopped to have a meal at a restaurant, and sometime during the meal Brenda realized they were from Louisville, Kentucky. Brenda, being a major horse fan, said she'd always wanted to come to the Derby. So, sweet Gayla "Jo" & family invited her down to the states to do just that and offered Brenda a room in their home for the duration. They exchanged phone numbers and plans to do just that. The next year, a couple of months before the Derby, Brenda started trying to locate the number. Within a few days, Gayla called Brenda asking her if she was coming down. Her trip down to Kentucky, and the yearly trips since then, is a story in itself. ANYWAY! (I do go on, don't I?) I asked Gayla where Brenda lived, and she said that it was just a little town in Maine. I said, where is it(?) as we'd passed through so m a n y little towns in Maine, and I was so-o familiar with the maps (I think I dream of them!) that it was possible I'd know where it was. She told me it was Alexander, a little town outside the little larger town called (you guessed it!) Calais, Maine. Then Gayla was excited and wanted to call Brenda and tell her I was in the town where Brenda worked. I said that Les and I were really tired and was leaving the next day and didn't really feel like socializing that night. We talked a little while longer and then I hung up and called my sweet daughter, Vala. Within a few minutes my phone beeped and lo and behold, guess who was on my phone! You guessed it! Brenda! We ended up having breakfast with her the next morning and having a great time. She offered for us to come and camp at her house as she lives in the country on a large tract of land, and we'd have all the space we needed. We didn't take her up on it, but you never know, some day we might! Brenda was a really nice gal and I'm glad Gayla hooked us up.

After breakfast we went back to camp and packed up to cross over into Canada . . . now we are caught up until July 26th!

Take Care!

Joy

and

Les (the Readers Digest Version . . . )

- Left Mackinaw area and headed for Sault Saint Marie.
- Joy and I rode a boat through the locks between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, both ways.
- Ontario Canada has a law against RADAR Detectors. So I met an OPP (Ontario Provencial Police) with a RADAR Detector---DETECTOR. He told me his RADAR Dector DETECTOR had detected I had a RADAR Detector! He was nice (Joy said he was hot) no money changed hands. Life is good.
- Met up with Joe and Beatrice on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron. It is the largest freshwater island in the world.
- Ate salmon, fished for salmon, caught salmon, caught a lake trout, life is good.
- The Water pump on the Jeep went out, while on the end of the island. Joe drove me 8 miles to get phone coverage. Ordered new pump and fan belt from nearest parts house, 50 miles away. When the parts came in, Joe drove me the 50 miles to get the parts. I put the new belt and water pump on in the campground. The crank is cranking, the pump is pumping, and the pistons are—oops NEVERMIND.
- Left the Island and went to Niagara Falls, We went back in the evening and watched them turn the colored lights on. Way Cool.
- Took a Ferry across Lake Champlain going from New York to Vermont.
- Drove across Upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. We are at the Border between Maine and New Brunswick now. Calais, Maine. Vermont is my favorite.
- Headed for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and then Labrador.

2009 Summertime Travels . . .

Can’t believe it’s already July! How did THAT happen? The days go on, even when you are not paying all that much attention to them.

We arrived home on April 5^th in time to visit with family and friends before going to the Great Plains Renaissance Faire, a yearly event in Wichita, on the 19th. With doctor’s appts and general household catching up we delayed our trip to visit with Dad Moser to coincide with the trek to the Beltane Festival. We had a great visit with him, finding him looking as well and happy as I’ve ever seen him. What a great guy! I guess this is when I started being careless in taking pictures as I’ve just realized that I didn’t get any new pictures of Dad Moser on this visit.

I couldn’t leave the Russell area without a side trip out to the creek bed to look for prehistoric Black Sharks Teeth. As per usual, Les found a couple of REALLY nice ones and I found a couple of chunks of rocks with partial teeth embedded in them. Leaving Russell, we went to the Beltane festival in Cedar Bluffs. We arrived at the campground at the festival in plenty of time to kick back and relax before the games began. Luckily the weather cooperated throughout the games and that evening the Beltane fires were lit, celebrating the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

Mid May, I went to Portland for my spring visit with family and friends. Since our summer travel plans are spilling into autumn, I stayed almost a whole month. After I was there a week, Becca, Les’ eldest child, came to Portland to meet her step-siblings. She was there four days and we ran her ragged! In a nut shell, we took her to Sandy, OR, Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls, my favorite gathering place - Who Songs & Larry’s, in Vancouver, WA, Skyler’s baseball game, Colton - to meet the family and visit the RV “Parks” we stay at while in Oregon, we had a Karaoke night, went to Portland Saturday Market, Seaside, and Cannon Beach. Then on Monday, Becca went back home.

Things seemed pretty tame after Becca left, but I managed to keep myself busy with seeing family and friends, going into “work”, going to Sky’s baseball games and just getting to see my family and breathing their air. All my grandkids are growing more beautiful (and handsome) every day, and oh, my goodness! They are getting so big! Next time I see Skyler, he’ll be as tall as me! Thanks Patrick and Tracie for lending me your new truck! It was awesome!

Left Portland for home and was there for a whole week before we packed up and headed out for our summer travels. Well, we had to! We’d turned our air conditioner on and ran it for three or four days in a row! I did have time to help the neighbors, Sylvia and Bart with a yard sale. Not quite sure I even made minimum wage for the effort, but sure got rid of a lot of crap, I mean, treasures!

On June 17^th, we headed out to Parsons – in eastern Kansas, where my cousins, Clyde and Jacquetta, live. Clyde’s brother, Danny, was there visiting with Clyde and had brought another one of our cousins, Clara, with him. Clyde and Danny’s mother, was my father’s sister and Clara’s father was my father’s brother. One big happy family! We had a wonderful time just sitting around and visiting. It was sort of like a country song, sitting on the back porch, drinking ice tea, telling old family stories, watching the hummingbirds dive bomb their feeders and seeing the lightening bugs come out in the early evening. Seriously, so much of my father’s family has come alive for me with the retelling of stories from these fantastic people. An added bonus is that they also knew my mother’s father, who was a colorful figure and merited many stories on his own. We stayed two nights and then reluctantly left the loving family unit, we crossed over on into Missouri.

So, now, Missouri, is a terribly beautiful state - beautiful rolling hills, green trees. We drove over to Warsaw, where our friends, Chuck and Louise, live. These are the wonderful people we met on the beach in Texas, this year. They showed us around Warsaw, we went out to the dam and came home to their delightful wooded home. Louise makes the most wonderful seafood dinner. Catfish and shrimp to die for! We played Mexican Trains and visited the evening away. After breakfasting with the retired group at the local hangout the next morning we were on our way again, knowing we will be back to enjoy more of that warm Missourian hospitality soon.

Left a hot and humid Missouri and entered Iowa. Lots of corn in Iowa. We headed to the Cedar Rapids area where Les’ cousins, Clifford and Helen, live. We camped at a local campground and Les took me to the Amana Colonies. Very interesting place, the Amana Colonies. It was a settlement made up of German immigrants looking for religious freedom. They settled there by Cedar Rapids and started a communal settlement. Everything was provided for the settlers and in return the settlers worked the fields, took care of the children, made clothes – you get the picture. What I found the most interesting is that the houses built for them had no kitchens, because all of the food was cooked in the communal kitchens. In the 1930’s several things happened that caused the society to disband. Everyone who lived there then had to go out into the world and start over. Och! That was during the great depression! You can imagine how much fun that was for them. We also had a great visit with Helen and Clifford before we left Cedar Rapids, went out to dinner and visited into the late evening. The next morning we left Iowa and were several miles out of town before we realized we hadn’t taken any pictures of Clifford and Helen!

Still, muggy, still hot. Entered Wisconsin. Beautiful state, Wisconsin. Lots of trees. “Little House in the Big Woods” trees. Wondered where it was that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Grandma and Grandpa lived. I wonder if they had as much trouble with the mosquitoes as we were beginning to have. I swear, I thought that the mosquito problem was mainly in Minnesota. W-R-O-N-G! Our visit with Bob and Maria last year in Minnesota proved that theory wrong! Found a couple of beautiful, yet primitive campgrounds to stay at. The scenery was gorgeous! Here’s a picture of our “Little Casita in the Big Woods”.

Did I mention the hitchhikers that we picked up along the way? No, not talking about mosquitoes here! Real hitchhikers! Bug hitchhikers. Isn’t the frog cute? Anyone know what kind of bug that is? The frog appeared on our window while we were stopped at a road construction site in Missouri and a day or so later when we were stopped in a little town in Wisconsin, the bug landed on our window.

Left Wisconsin, but not the mosquitoes. Found a beautiful little park just outside of Rapid City, Michigan, on the Upper Peninsula, where we spent the night. Les decided it was time to buy me a new camera, because my “old” one was giving me some problems. Found this sweet little Nikon Coolpix L100 that seems to do everything! It takes wonderful flower pictures, has a setting where it won’t take a picture until the subject smiles, and asks if someone blinked when the picture was taken. Now every time we stop I’m out taking more pictures!

We traveled up the coast of Lake Michigan, on the Upper Peninsula. It’s a beautiful drive, with lots of sea views. (Tee Hee) We stopped at a little viewpoint, on the northern side of the Mackinaw Bridge and got our picture taken. If you look close, you can see the bridge in the background.

We arrived in Mackinaw City on June 28^th and headed for the Mackinaw City Campground, where we camped last year. On the 29^th we went into the city and walked the main street where there are all of these shops. Never seen so many tee shirts in my life (except for here, last year). Lunched at an Irish Pub, ate and drank too much, almost had to call for someone to come and take us home (just joking!). On the 30^th it was off to a fun day at Mackinaw Island.

Now just in case you don’t have a clue about Mackinaw Island, let me tell you. I’m sure some people can go on and on about the settling of the island, the importance of the island in American history and the war of 1812, but the main draw for me is that it was the venue for the movie, “Somewhere In Time”, starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer. The Grand Hotel is where Christopher Reeve’s character goes to find the mysterious woman who called to him through time. In reality as well as in the movie it is an elegant hotel that catered to the rich and famous. And you and I can meander through the hotel for a small fee. J

You reach Mackinaw Island on a ferry as visitors have throughout the years. There are no ”horseless carriages” allowed on Mackinaw Island. You get around on bikes, horses, carriages, etc. After we walked up and down the main street, took pictures of the beautiful flowers and houses, we had lunch. Then we went on a carriage ride tour, which stopped at a butterfly exhibit. I’ve only been to one butterfly house before, this was awesome! I wouldn’t say that there were a massive amount of butterflies, but there were lots of different kinds. I was so glad that I had my new camera! I got quite a few wonderful pictures of the butterflies. The butterflies liked me too! This one is pretty enough with its wings together, but when it spreads its wings to fly, the other side of the wings are a luminous blue! After the Butterfly House we went on the second half of the carriage ride through the State Park. We spent a long day at Mackinaw Island, had a nice little ride back to the city on the boat, and then back to the campground.

We are headed up to Canada on Sunday, so we won’t be on the computer or even the phone for the next few weeks. Take care of yourselves!

‘Til next time!

Joy

&

Les’ Readers Digest Version:

- Returned from wintering in Texas on April 5.

- Went to the Beltane/Scottish Highland games at Cedar Bluffs Res. Kansas, over the first weekend in May.

- While Joy was on hiatus in the PNW I went to a mid Winfield unofficial music event, over Memorial weekend. I also went to a Graduation party for Kirstin. Great party. Great people.

-Left Ks June 17, headed east to go northeast. ( you go figure)

-Visited Joys cousins in Parsons, Ks. Friends in Warsaw. Mo. My cousins in Cedar Rapids, Ia.

-Route included: East Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Upper penninsula Michigan, We’re now in Mackinaw City, Mi.

-Will cross into Canada at Sault St. Marie on July 5. Then it’s Salmon fishing in Lake Huron.

Texas and back again....2009

Ummm . Hi!
When last we blogged we were happily abiding on the beach in Texas.

One day while beachcombing I met a couple from Missouri, Chuck and Louise. Louise, finding a kindred spirit in me, invited Les and I to go beachcombing at Matagorda Bay. Of course, I jumped at the chance to get to another beach and all of the unusual shells it might offer. We had a wonderful day at the beach and decided to make a date to go to Rockport, TX, to the Maritime Museum there. So a few days later we drove to Rockport and spent the day going through this wonderful museum, shopping, and had lunch at a popular restaurant in the area.

Days just sort of run into each other. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets…. Just when you think it couldn’t get any more beautiful, it does. Sea gulls, herons, all sorts of water fowl, from little tiny ones that scamper along the shoreline to the big ugly pelicans…. How are they able to fly, anyway?

The shoreline changes from high to low tide, as well as from the large tankers that use the bay, much to the distress of the homeowners along the waterline. One day the people on the last property that I walk in front of had to completely rebuild their concrete barrier because of the erosion. It blocks me from walking there now, but how can I blame them when they are losing yards of beach every year? Besides, it makes a nice little cove for them.

There were several very windy days, with clouds tossing around as much as the waves. Really churned things up and brought up a lot of interesting sea glass and shells. During one of the days we were beachcombing I found a piece of blue glass that may very well be a treasure indeed. It is either an emerald cut blue sapphire or a piece of plain blue glass. Maybe one day I’ll even find out, meanwhile, it’s my treasure!

Chuck and Louise said goodbye to us on Friday and on Wednesday, Jake and Jessica, Les’ son and his fiancée, arrived to stay for a few days. We had a great time with them. We took them to a couple of our favorite haunts, did some fishing, some crabbing and, of course, beach combing. Jessica had a great eye for sea glass and seemed to enjoy walking the beach. Reluctantly, we said goodbye on Sunday morning and bright and early Monday morning, Joe and Beatrice pulls up.

Joe and Beatrice is the couple that invited us to Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada, last year and we’ve been waiting to meet up with them at “our” beach since we got there. Their arrival made it a little easier to “let go” of Jake and Jess. We got together that evening to catch up on news of each other’s family and prepared to visit for a week or so before they headed back home.

However, the next morning I received a call from my sister, Melody, telling me that our sister, Shirley, and her husband, Rick, had died in a house fire in Tillamook, OR, the night before. Hurried arrangements made I flew to Oregon to be with my sisters and Dad, along with my children, who had great memories of their Aunt and Uncle. Thank you to those who heard about this tragedy and contacted me and my family with their condolences.

I returned to Texas in time to say goodbye to Joe and Beatrice, with promises to meet up with them on the island in July. I started mentally preparing to leave my beach. Walking the beach is great therapy. But both Les and I were ready to head for home.













First night off the beach we stayed in a RV Park in Victoria, TX. Electricity and everything! We heard that a big snow storm was headed for Oklahoma and Kansas, so we decided we really weren’t in any big hurry to get home. We stayed two nights and enjoyed the RV park, especially in the evening when over a dozen deer came into the park.

Then we headed to Morrison, Oklahoma. Our friend Peggy, perhaps you remember her as our cruise partner, had managed to break both of her ankles (mis-stepping off a curb, breaking one ankle, bouncing off her van, and then breaking the other one, trying to “save” herself). I decided it would be a good idea for us to go up and “take care” of her as she was having a difficult time getting around. We stayed five days and had a blast! We didn’t let her get much rest as we were having too much fun going out to dinner(s), going shopping, and visiting with her and her family.

Then, it was time for us to go, as Wichita thawed out and the snow disappeared. We got all the way to Winfield, where we decided to camp at the fairgrounds where the Walnut Valley Blue Grass Festival is held every September. Since it was “04/04, we celebrated our anniversary with a dinner and a movie – “Knowing”, starring Nicholas Cage.

The next morning we were home.

‘Til next time, take care, will ya?


Joy
and Les

---Les' Readers Diegest Version---

- Got back from Cozumel/Progresso Cruise.
- Stayed on Gulf Coast Beach from Mid Jan. Till the end of March.
- Had some axle trouble on the camper and got it Fixed in Port Lavaca, TX.
- Joy went to Oregon to attend her Sister and Brother-in-laws Funeral. They died in a house fire.
- Jake and His fiancée, Jessica, came to the beach and we caught fish and did some crabbing.
- Met some good people on the beach and some old friends.
- On the way home to KS. we stopped and visited Peg and Gary in Oklahoma. We stayed several days, to help out. She had slipped and broken her left ankle in two places and her right ankle in one place. When I told Jake about it, he said "I'd stay outa them kind of places."
- Spent our 5th Anniversary at the Winfield Kansas Fairgrounds/campground. I know I set the bar kinda high last year, taking my wife to Wendys and staying the night in a WalMart parking lot. This year we camped with Electricity, I took her to a real set down/get waited on restaurant, and a motion picture (it was a talkie in color). Sorry guys, I don't mean to put so much pressure on ya.
les

2009, our adventures continue . . .

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome back to Les and Joy’s Excellent Adventures …

Now I know it’s been a long time since we wrote anything…. Way, long before Christmas, before Thanksgiving, before Tiffany's baby shower, even before I took off for my holiday visit with my Pacific Northwest family and friends, leaving Les at home to suffer through the first snowfall of the season. He was sweet enough to send a picture taken from the front room window, so I wouldn’t miss out too much. Isn’t he the sweetest?
In Oregon I got to visit with my friends and my KP family, and participate in some of my favorite holidays traditions with my family – (the sister slumber party and sister/niece luncheon, etc.). As ever I had a great time and the three weeks, ended way too soon, but I needed to hurry back to Les and start preparing for our holiday festivities.
It seems to take twice as long anymore to decorate and undecorate for Christmas. Is it that I’m getting old, or am I just getting lazy? I think it took me three days to decorate for Christmas and even longer to undecorate! We celebrated with a family dinner at our house, with all Les’ children and their mom, on Christmas Day. It was just like old times, with wrapping paper flying, corks popping and the smell of roasting turkey! So after the un-decorating, preparing the Casita for departing, and the wedding of our next door neighbor’s daughter, who grew up next door to the Mosers (They sure know how to throw a party) we were up and out of town. . .
Headed over to eastern Kansas to visit my cousin Clyde and his lovely wife Jacquetta in Parsons, KS – stayed one night and caught up on things with them and then headed on down to Texas, via Hugo, OK and Livingston, TX and then bright and early on January 13th we arrived at our favorite beach, outside of Port Lavaca, TX. Ah-h-h the sound of the surf and the gentle blowing of the wind! Didn’t take me long to get out on the beach and start finding shells and sea glass. This year I am also into finding little bits of coral. Why? Because they are there. So, because I have only a week before we leave on our cruise, I frantically gather as many shells, rocks and glass that I can as I’m finding that it’s almost a manner of honor that I take as many of these treasures as I can, home with me.
Before we know it we are off again to meet up with our friends, Peggy and Gary, to go on the cruise to Cozumel and to Progresso, Mexico. We met Peggy (and her mother and sister) on the 2001 Scotland Bus tour and meet up with her (and her sister) at the Oklahoma Blue Grass Festival every year. We drove into Galveston on Friday so we wouldn’t have the stress of that trip on the same day that the cruise started. Had a great time at Galveston, even though it is still pretty roughed up since IKE hit. There are still big piles of lumber and pieces of buildings pushed off to the side of the road, houses with tarps nailed on the roofs to keep the rain out, and many of our favorite shops are still closed – some never to reopen. I was all set to go to a restaurant that we found, to have a Muffalotto sandwich, but that was one of the restaurants that were closed. We managed to have an outstanding lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf, so all was not lost.
Early afternoon the next day we were in line to get on board for our cruise through the Carnival Cruise Fun Ship, Ecstasy.
Now neither Les, nor I had been on a cruise before so we had little expectation, except that from all I’d ever heard the food was outstanding and plentiful – I’d say that is an understatement! The food was wonderful! The stateroom, large and airy, everything was so clean, and everyone out to have a great time.
So, the first night we come in, unpack, wander around the ship, get a few drinks, attend an orientation, and then go to a boat drill. Shades of Titanic! Of course, they assure us that there are plenty of life boats and rafts and life jackets. I’d say they do, but as we are standing out there in the cold wind, couldn’t they just be a little quicker in explaining things? Then we walk in to the main area where there is a big atrium, a glass elevator that runs up and down about five floors, to the top floor where the ceiling is glass… and I’m thinking, “Didn’t I see this in the Poseidon Adventure?” OK, so get over it!
We got dressed for dinner – Yah, “dressed” – Les is wearing his normal blue jeans and polo shirt, I’m wearing a blouse and blue jeans, and thank goodness the dress code was liberal for us simple folks. Dinner is awesome – can’t even think of what was on the menu that day, but we had prime rib, lobster, salmon, grouper, shrimp, lobster bisque, escargot, caviar . . . every evening is an adventure to say the least. Chrystal, china, linen napkins, and lots of silverware that Les is very possessive of, when the waiter looks like he is going to clear it away – with every course they’d rearrange the silver that was left, taking away the ones we wouldn’t need . . . it was almost too much for that small town boy! We could go to the Wind Star Dining room all three meals, but now and then we decided to go to the Lido Deck for more casual dining (there’s only so much class that Les can take!)
They had evening shows that have been very entertaining, and the Cruise Director was a hoot. We saw a “Newlywed Game” – the contestants consisted of a couple that had been married 5 days, one couple who had been married 14 years, and the final couple who had been married 51 years. It was awfully funny! The older couple won, the couple that had been married 14 years almost came to blows – of course the newlywed couple was just cute! We also went to trivia contests, a Hairy Chest Contest (where one of the contestants had shaved a happy face on to his chest), a passenger talent contest, and some comedy programs.
We stopped in two places, Cozumel, and Progresso. At Cozumel, Peggy had done her homework and found a “Submarine Ride” that went to 100 feet. So, yes, Diana and Tish, I have gone down in a Submarine, only 108 ft, but a submarine all the same. It was a great ride and after 45 minutes seeing the fish, coral, sponges, etc., they settle the sub on the bottom of the reef for a few minutes and then over the intercom, they play “2001: a Space Odyssey” as we slowly rise toward the surface! It was great, and then to the tune of the Beatles, “Yellow Submarine” the “Voyage” comes to an end.
Peggy and I did some shopping on Cozumel and Les found a gorgeous Amethyst bracelet for me! We had a nice meal and lots of Tequila and beer before we went back on board the ship. We were pretty tired so we took naps and then went to dinner. Somewhere along the way, the ship started rolling - Just short of eating all of my Norwegian Salmon I decided that some nice fresh air may do me some good. It did, and without disaster I found my way down to the infirmary to pick up some sea sick pills.
The next day we hit Progresso. Les was much more impressed with Progresso than I, but oh, well, we had a great time, so what’s bad about that? After Peggy and Gary met back up with us in Progresso we had a few drinks and lunch and then Peggy and I went for a massage. Hah! We bargained for an hour massage, and it was great, BUT, when they took our watches off our wrists while we were drowsy in the sun, they reset our watches, CHEATING us out of 15 minutes of our massage. How fair was that? Les thinks that it’s hysterical; I think it was pretty dirty! J Anyway, we got back on board, no worse for the wear and richer for the experience and the beautiful ring I bought.
What really surprised me was the emotions I had on the last night onboard. No more chocolate on our pillows and funny "towel" animals awaiting to say goodnight to us . . . sniff. Then when we were saying goodbye to our table mates, Linda, Tami, Ted, and Merrie, and our waiters, Gedes and Johnny . . . for crying out loud, it was like the last day at camp, where all of a sudden you don’t want to go and leave your new friends. Sniff. Hey, guys! We love ya!
The next day we were back in Galveston, saying goodbye to Peggy and Gary, which wasn’t so bad ‘cause we know we’ll see them for a long weekend in October at the Oklahoma Blue Grass Festival! Thanks, Peggy, for inviting us to go along with you and Gary on this cruise, we had such a wonderful time! For those of you who have not had a Carnival Cruise Fun Ship experience, we cannot recommend it more highly.
We decided to try to take the short road out of Galveston, back to Port Lavaca, which goes by Galveston State Park. Someone had told us that the road was closed, but we had plenty of time and we were interested in the shape of the little towns past the State Park. So, taking our lives in our own hands we headed out. We found that although there was plenty of damage on Galveston Island, once we were back on the mainland there seemed to be as much, if not more . . . we saw more tarps on roofs, pilings where once were houses and then we saw the sign, “Road Closed, No Through Traffic, Travel at your own risk”. Okay. Off we go. Parts of the road had fallen away and road crews had filled in with sand and gravel so most of it was passable. Some parts of the road were totally gone, some just crumbling away. Then we were directed to drive on the beach for some miles. But we got through.
Back to the beach for us. The first night it was sooooo cold, but we had each other to snuggle up to and plenty of covers, of course, I was up at the crack of dawn, beachcombing. I have a ways to go before I gather up as much stuff as I did last year. We’ve decided that we may just stay here instead of heading further South to “The Valley” – if the weather holds up.
We have been joined by Les’ brother Jim and his lovely wife, Georgia, and family friend, Jim and his mother Velma, who will stay a few days at least, longer than that at most! Again, I’m sure, depending on the weather. I’m having fun having someone to share my beachcombing with.
So, til next time, take care all, y’all!
Joy
& Les
Les’ Readers Digest Version

-After staying home for a couple months we are ready to head for warmer digs.
-We went to or neighbor girls wedding (Melissa and Toby) on Jan 10. They done it up right.
-Left Wichita on Jan 11, made it to the beach on Jan 14.
-Stayed on the beach till Jan 23, then we went to Galveston for a Cruise. We went on a cruise from Galveston to Cozumel Mexico, then over to Progresso Mexico and back to Galveston.
-We are back on the Beach. My brother and his wife visited us for a few days. It was a good visit.
So, the fishing is crap, the wind is blowing too much, it is warm, the sun is shining a lot, LIFE IS GOOD. I was a feeling soo goood that we even went to church this morning. Boy, those ol Baptist ministers can still whup a guilt trip on ya.