Beach Ladies!

Walking down the beach in Port A today, I came upon these charming two ladies walking the beach, collecting seashells in their colorful Moo-Moo's with matching plastic sandals. They were having a ball and treasured each new find. I grabbed some pictures and then walked on down the beach to the jetties. Coming back I saw them, sitting in beach chairs in front of a nice Burnt Orange Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible. I couldn't resist stopping to talk with them and discovered they had escaped the frigid temps of Minneapolis...they were loving every minute of our Texas weather showed me they had their swimsuits on ready to take a dip in the Gulf. They were charming, full of life, and enjoying the beach. I told them I loved their car and it was perfect for cruising the beach on a beautiful day!
I thought to myself as I walked away....this will be Karen and I in 20 years.....I hope!

Beach Fix in Wintertime!

Karen and I headed to the beach today....enough of the cold, gray, dreary skies...we needed a beach fix! We shopped in Rockport, had a seafood lunch at J.D.'s Seafood, shopped in Port A, walked the beach as the waves pounded the sand, and ended the day with a yummy Gelato! We stopped a (strange) stranger on the beach and asked if he would take some pictures...the bike belonged to him! He kept giving us directions on how to pose. Some of the photos were so funny, we laughed until it hurt!!! Some turned out pretty good!

Happy Holidays in Aruba 2013

An early morning drive to Houston for our flight to Miami, then on to Aruba was easy and we arrived in plenty of time for our 6 am flight.  We landed and picked up our rental car and headed out to Malmok to Sunshine Beach Studios.  Our Ocean View Studio #2 was ready and a sign welcomed us on the door.  Dinner that night was at Smokey Joes for some finger licking ribs.  We turned in early, tired after a day of travel.  We did meet a big group of Texans next door that were leaving the next morning and they gave us a bunch of groceries that they had leftover...nice!
The next morning we enjoyed coffee on the front porch before going to the new grocery store for supplies.  The rest of the day we enjoyed the pool and hot tub, talked with other guest, and caught up with the owners of the resort,  J P and Eve.

Getting up around 7 am every morning  and I took a long walk down the road in front along the beach....it was always so calm and peaceful.  A great way to start the day.  Lunch was usually our main meal, with a sandwich or salad for supper.  We always ended the day across the road at the beach for the magnificent sunset display with a glass of wine...a perfect ending to a perfect day!
We spent time exploring the island and discovering new things since our last visit two years ago.  It was fun to meet other guest from all over the world and share stories under the big palapa.  John and Lori from North Carolina invited us to join them in their 4x4 Jeep for a day of exploring the island..Alta Vista Chapel, the Gold Smelter Ruins, The Natural Pool, The Casibari Rocks, Mango Halto, lunch at Zeerover, Baby Beach, etc.  It was a long day, but we had a blast showing them the island.  We ended that day with a snorkel at Mango Halto.

The sail and snorkel on The Tranquilo was another highlight of our trip.  We had done this before and looked forward to another great day on the water.  We sailed from a Oranjestad marina across the turquoise water to Spanish Lagoon and Mango Halto for some snorkeling, and later did a drift snorkel trip outside the reef.  Hot pea soup and sandwiches sure did taste good after we finished snorkeling.....Anthony's Mom's recipe.  A leisurely sail back to the marina was relaxing and beautiful....a great excursion.


Dale surprised me with an exciting excursion for my birthday, which was in a few days....SeaBob Aruba....an electric underwater propulsion device .  OMG...it was so much fun racing across the water and then diving under the water and flying along with the fish.  We had a blast!  We could even imitate the movement of a dolphin in the water. I loved it, and so did Dale!

We couldn't make a trip to Aruba without a day at Mango Halto, so we drove over before lunch and enjoyed a meal at La Granja, a local place.  Later finding a shady spot in the mangroves we set up our chairs and relaxed.  Snorkeling and swimming in the beautiful water filled our day.

On one of our trips to Ling and Sons grocery we had to get some Olie Bollens- a Dutch pastry to ensure good luck for 2014...they were hot and yummy!  Appleflaps were also nice with coffee in the morning.  The cheeses and fresh baked breads in the grocery store were all tempting and delicious.
Christmas Eve we had dinner reservations at Madame Jeanettes, one of our favorites.  Dale had the grouper and I enjoyed the Mahi Mahi....both excellent. A lovely dinner with the man I love!
Our final day was spent down the road at Boca Catalina, under the shade of a tree with our chairs and cooler.  We got their early and I enjoyed a wonderful long snorkel before the crowds from the snorkel boats showed up.  The water was clear and I saw lots of fish.....a nice Peacock flounder laying on a rock.  We spent the afternoon packing and enjoying the last hours of our Aruba vacation.  A beautiful sunset ended the day!
Up early we turned in our car, caught our flight, and headed back to Texas!

Merry HO! HO! HO! 2013

 

We invited everyone to join us for dinner at the PumpHouse before we got together to exchange gifts.  Dinner was very good and we all enjoyed our meal together.  Then it was off to Grandma's house for the gift exchange.  Ross, Nick, and Chelsea all had asked for money....Lexi got her camouflaged bags embroidered with her initials in hot pink.  Chuck's girlfriend, Kim had to work and Chelsea had gone back to Corpus....so they were missed. Lively conversation filled the evening and we enjoyed our time together.  Another Christmas came to an end, we loaded the gifts into our cars and headed home.

Turkey Day Cruise!

We booked the Navigator of the Seas for a Thanksgiving Cruise out of Galveston, Texas.  We boarded the ship, made dinner reservations at Portifino's and Chop's, and made our way to the Windjammer for lunch.  Our cabin, #1645 was ready after lunch and we dropped off some of our bags before exploring the ship. We were excited to discover that Phil Anderson, our favorite piano player was on the ship providing entertainment. We enjoyed dinner the first night with a very interesting couple from Sydney, Australia. 
Day 1 was a sea day,  the wind made the ship rock and roll.....plus it was pretty cool outside.
Day 2 was a sea day, we managed to spend time in the Solarium and a soak in the hot tub...tonight was the first formal night!  We got in some Country and Western dancing with the Bubba's Feather band.
dDay 3 Falmouth, Jamaica was our port of call...we got off and walked around and did a trolly ride around town.  Tonight we had dinner in Portifino's.
Day 4 Georgetown, Grand Cayman was our scheduled port, but high winds made it unsafe to tender in.....so we didn't even stop!  It was Thanksgiving and we did enjoy some yummy turkey and dressing.
Day 5 we docked in Cozumel and Dale and I had booked a cooking class with Josefina in her home.  We went to a local market to purchase the ingredients we needed, then back to her home to cook.  We made 11 dishes, and of course we had to taste all 11.  The margarita was the best I have ever had.  I purchased a cookbook, so I can prepare some of the dishes when we get home.

Day 6 was another sea day and time to pack...we enjoyed some delicious steaks that night at Chop's
Back in Galveston it was time to get off the ship and head home.

We met some wonderful folks from Munich, Germany, Wilhelm and Gisella...we enjoyed sharing stories with them at the Diamond Cocktail party at night.  They even joined us for some Country and Western dancing, their first dance in 40 years!  They sure were a fun to be around!

Fabulous Fall Day!

An absolute beautiful November, Fall day out on the water at Port O'Connor........a little cool running across the bay early this morning, but soon the sun was shining and warming us up. The sky was a vibrant shade of blue with only a few puffy clouds. We could see shrimp boats pulling their nets on the horizon, while the sound of duck hunters and air-boats broke the early morning silence. We drifted across the shallow water....fishing was slow!  I caught the first nice Red, and Dale got the second nice 24 inch Red........in between we caught small Reds and a few Trout. We ended our trip by heading to Cathy's for a late seafood lunch....then it was home to wash the boat.

The Red Baron!

Clear skies, and cool temperatures made for a smooth, easy flight to Brenham for lunch.  We landed just before 11 am and waited for the Southern Flyer Diner to open.
On the way Dale took my camera and got a photo of me with my "Red Baron" scarf around my neck......heck, it keeps the drafty cool air off the back of my neck when it is cold outside.  Think it was about 53 degrees outside at 4,000 ft!  We grabbed a table and ordered.....Dale enjoyed a $100 hamburger (pilot's joke) and I had the chicken strips as we listened to some oldies on the jukebox.  We split a big yummy piece of Coconut Cream Pie for dessert!  Taking off we headed to Moulton to take a look at this year's Corn Maze.  It was beautiful as usual, the theme this year was "A Maze ing Grace"!  Dale flew the plane while I took photos at different altitudes.....trying to get a great photo!  Photos done...we headed to the hangar at VCT! 
A great day in the air!