The Love Boat!

We boarded the cruise ship Serenade of the Seas for our Anniversary Cruise in Fort Lauderdale.  We strolled around the ship, checked out our dining room table seating, and went to our cabin before the muster drill.  Dinner our first night was at Chops where we enjoyed some delicious steaks and outstanding service.
Our first day was spent at sea....so we relaxed in the Solarium most of the day and enjoyed our first formal night on Valentine's Day....everyone looking great in their formal attire. Dale and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary at dinner!

Another day at sea and more relaxing and meeting people from all over the US and Canada.  We hit the gym and attended the Meet and Mingle.

Our first port was Antigua where we had booked an excursion with Creole Cruises Antigua.  We boarded their boat in the harbor and were off for snorkeling, boat riding, swimming, hiking, and a wonderful, yummy lobster BBQ on the beach.  It was fun zipping along the coastline with two
300 hp motors on the boat. We had a great crew and they made sure we had a fantastic day in Antigua.

St Lucia,  was our second port and were we had booked a day pass at the Rendezvous Boutique Resort! We hailed a taxi and quickly were getting settled in to this lovely resort.  We grabbed a shady spot on the beach, relaxed, enjoyed a fruit juice before booking a Hobie Cat for a sail.  Captain Dale sailed the little boat like a pro and we zipped along the coastline.  Lunch was served buffet style on the veranda.

Calabaza Cruises and Barbados were next on our itinerary.  We boarded a lovely catamaran and were greeted by the crew with coffee and warm banana bread.  Two snorkeling spots included three shipwrecks and the turtles.  Drinks were served nonstop and snacks were plentiful.  Sailing along the coastline was fantastic on a perfect Caribbean day.  A delicious lunch was served on board with a dip in the ocean to cool off before sailing back to the harbor.

Grenada was next and we hadn't really planned anything....so we walked off the ship and joined a small group for a tour of the Spice Island with a local taxi driver.  He showed us some of the highlights of the little island.....a beautiful waterfall, a volcanic lake, a spice shop, and a old fort.....plus the most beautiful beach on Grenada.

Our next stop was the port of Bonaire.....an island we have visited many times in the past.  We strolled off the ship, shopped among the local vendors, stopped for a drink at a bar over the water, and ended our visit with a stop at a gelato shop.

Our final port was Aruba....one of our favorite Caribbean islands.  We took the local bus to the beach and spent the day at Moomba Beach Bar.  We grabbed to beach chairs in the shade and relaxed while watching all the people.  I walked the beach, went for a swim and took photos.  It was a beautiful day, the water turquoise blue and the skies were clear.....a great way to spend our last day.

The last two days were spent at sea heading back to Fort Lauderdale, so we had lots of free time to relax, eat, read, eat, swim in the Solarium, eat, and workout in the gym.  Our last formal night we enjoyed dinner with the great folks at our table...Phil and Arlene, Carl and Rosemary, Bill and Carolyn, and Ken and Georgieanne...taking a photo to document this awesome group.

Our cruise ended, but the memories we will cherish always.  We were blessed with absolutely perfect weather, amazing excursions, interesting dinner table mates, and six beautiful Caribbean islands. It was a great way to celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary!

Happy 89th Birthday Mom!

Took Mom and some of her lady friends to Rockport for an early birthday celebration with a seafood lunch at Paradise Key.  We had some great seafood, a delicious birthday cake, enjoyed some shopping and did a bit of exploring around the coast.
Mom will turn 89 on February 15, 2017!

Eels Back at the Brac!

Our Eels on Wheels trip this year got moved to January and they decided to go back to Cayman Brac.  So a group of 34 took off for Cayman, and then onto to the Brac.  We arrived to find the sun shining and the weather was beautiful....warm and sunny.
Michele and I took a photo sitting around the pool in our bathing suits with knit caps and scarves on to show our friends back home and rub in what wonderful weather we were having.  The weather back home was cold and nasty!  Well....I think we angered the Weather Gods"" and our weather went to hell shortly.

The wind howled, the seas were rough with 6-8 foot waves, the visibility was bad and the surge made it feel like a washing machine underwater.  Not good diving weather, but we tried!  Light rain chilled you to the bone and the rough seas caused some to turn a nasty shade of green.
The pool became to cool to get into....so we were crowded into the hot tub.  Using our 3 drink a day dive package was easy with nothing else to do.  A few of us rented a car and went out exploring....but on a island on 28 miles long, there is not much to do! 
We celebrated my roommate's birthday with a cake and sang Happy Birthday to her at dinner.  The last day we went down to visit Mr. Foots, a local artist with a very eclictic collection of beach treasurers. 
It was a long week....only got in 8 dives...but had fun with my Eels friends!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Costa Rica

Off to San Jose, and another Christmas holidays spent in Costa Rica.....Pura Vida! Our first stop was a Costa Rican Boutique Hotel called Encantada Ocean Cottage in Esterillos Este between Jaco and Quepos.  It was a small resort located on a beautiful, pristine beach. 
Our days were spent walking the beach, relaxing in a hammock under a palm tree, or chilling out in the pool!  The highlight of our stay was a fishing trip out of Quepos with Ben and the boat Good Day.  It was a gorgeous day, flat seas, and a great crew.  We caught a 400 pound blue marlin, a sailfish, two Dorado, and a couple Triple Tail.  We went out about 30-35 miles offshore and spent about 7 hours fishing....boy were we tired when we got back.....but we did come home with a bunch of fish fillets to eat during out stay.  Another item checked off my bucket list! The chef at the restaurant at our resort prepared the dorado over and open fire on a grill and made the best ceviche for me.....it was all delicious!
Packed up, we then headed to Dominicalito and back to Coconut Grove Beach Cottage and our friends Richard and Diane.  This year we rented the small beach house and loved it.....perfect for just the two of us.  Christmas Eve we attended a big Christmas party at the owner's house and I made a dish called Texas Caviar that was a big hit!

During our stay we explored the nearby beaches......Hermosa, Ventanas, and the Secret Beach.  We met up with a friend, Karl at Jolly Roger one night and had fun catching up over burgers and beer!  One day we took off on a long drive up into the mountains to a town called San Vito, with plans to enjoy their famous pizza for lunch.  The drive was long, but beautiful and we did manage to get lost thanks to our GPS.  Hiking Hacienda Baru we spotted a mother sloth and her baby hanging above the cars in the parking lot.....and a group of monkeys traveling thru the jungle.  I carried my tripod and got some great photos. To celebrate my birthday we ate dinner at sunset at Cuna de Angel which was very nice and romantic!

We enjoyed our stay, met some fun folks that were staying at our resort!  We enjoyed our fresh fish, lots of wonderful fruits and veggies!  We even discovered a wonderful new restaurant in Mantapalo that Karl recommended and managed to eat there twice before we left! As usual we met some of the locals and enjoyed talking with them...even if our Spanish is terrible we communicated!
This was perhaps our best trip to Costa Rica!