Cruzin' With the Girls

On August 26, 2012, two cousins (one from each side of my family) and my sister-in-law (who happens to be Kay's best friends from high school) left for Galveston, Texas to spend the night before boarding the Celebrity Triumph the next day. We ate at Guido's Restaurant and all had delicious seafood. Here is a picture of the Galveston seawall.

Then, on Monday morning the 27th, we piled into the shuttle to take us to the pier. After waiting in line for check-in, we had our picture taken as a group. As you can see, I never leave home without a computer in case I get the urge to write. They do have internet, but it's $29.95 for 45 minutes. Rather high.


Anna Muriel, Cheryl, Linda and Kay

 On board, we headed for our cabins. We'd opted for balcony rooms and had the partition between ours opened so we could visit back and forth in our pajamas. We'd intended to spend more time outside but it was too humid and hot.

The sea was a little choppy as a result of Isaac, but Kay is the only one who got seasick but only for a short while. We all staggered as we walked but fit right in with everyone else.

First full day was at sea we checked out the on board shops, hit the casino, and did pretty much nothing. Our first stop was in Progresso. Everyone but me took the Salsa and Salsa tour. They had a good time, learned how to make authentic salsa  and danced. It was so hot, two of them, along with another participant jumped into the pool fully clothed. I'm sure if I'd gone along I'd have been right in there with them.

Day three was a stop in Cozumel. My sister-in-law swam with the dolphins and then met the shopping group. The two you see in the pool had a wonderful time at the stores and came back with a bag full of goodies, mostly jewelry and rather tanked on margaritas. They had a wonderful time and were braver than Kay and I. She'd survived the heat the day before and said, "No more." I'd done the shopping thing before and wasn't interested in spending my money in the jewelry shops.

From the balcony at night. Isn't it beautiful!

Larry and I had taken this same cruise is November of 2009 and I don't think it was near as hot. We could sit on the balcony and enjoy the waves, but on this trip it was so humid out it was stifling. In 2009 we'd visited a Tequila factory, toured the old market and the first church on the island, toured Mayan ruins, had lunch at a ranch and were later treated to a horse show. Now, I can't remember what we saw at which port and unfortunately I didn't label my pictures, but you can look back to my 2009 posts where I blogged not only about this cruise but the one we took to New England and Canada.

Here we are the last night of the cruise. As always, our waiters were loads of fun and made sure we had everything we wanted to eat. The food was delicious! They also entertained us each night with singing and dancing.

We four girls had a wonderful time together and I think it was the first of many trips to come. Several other cousins have mentioned their interest so hopefully our group will grow.

Thank you for reading my musings today.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda

Carnival Cruise stop in Hallifax, Nova Scotia

Wednesday we docked in Halifax. My husband thought our tall ship sail was at 11:30, nope it was at 10:00, so we had to rush to get there on time. It was such fun. Of course, even though they put the sails up it was motor operated. We went out into the harbor and were regaled with the history of the pirates of McNab Island and it's importance to the defense of Halifax during times of war.

McNab Island was owned and occupied by a member of the McNab family from 1789 to 1933. In the picture below the island is on the left and to the right (if you look closely) is the lighthouse at Maugher Beach. The beach was called "Hangman's Beach." It was used by the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars to hang mutineers. In 1851 it was the first lighthouse operated on experimental fuel (kerosene). Prior to that whale oil was used.

As we returned to the dock, our guide told us about the sinking of the Titanic and of the boats that searched for bodies, how they ran out of embalming fluid and many souls had to be buried at sea. The entire community turned out to see the recovered bodies laid to rest at a cemetery in Halifax. On display at the Titanic Exhibit at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a pair of toddler's shoes that belonged to the unknown child. Ninety-five-years later, in 2007, DNA was used to identify the child as Sidney Lesley Goodwin, the only member of a family of eight whose body was recovered.

I've heard there is a traveling Titanic Exhibition that is excellent. If it visits close to you it would be worth checking into. I sure plan to.

In 1917 Halifax had it's own tragedy--an explosion in the harbor. The Mont Blanc sailed into the harbor without it's red flags raised to indicate it carried explosives. The Imo, carrying citizens to Belgium, was on a crash course. Signals got mixed and they collided. Upon collision, the ships burst into flames, but nineteen minutes later the Mont Blanc exploded hurling it's anchor 3 Kilometers away. The explosion generated a tidal wave, gouged a boulder out of the water onto another ship sinking it. The Halifax explosion was studied when creating the Atomic Bomb.

The picture below is of the CSS Acadia, the only surviving ship to serve in both world wars. She was decommissioned in 1969 and is now on display at Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

There is so much more to see and experience in Halifax. I'd love to have been able to stay several days more, in particular to see the Citadel National Historical Site. I hope you've enjoyed the pictures and narrative. Our guide on the tall ship was a great resource.


Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment. Happy Reading and Writing!


Linda
http://www.lindalaroque.com/

Saint John, Canada

At 8:00 AM we sailed into the dock at Saint John. Since our city bus tour wasn't until 11:30, we had time to eat a leisurely breakfast and shop at the market on the dock before boarding our bus. Our tour guide dressed in eighteenth-century clothing entertained us with stories of the towns history.

Our first stop was the City Market which opened in 1876. It's the oldest city market operating out of the same building in North America. The architecture is unique in that the roof resembles an inverted keel. The market sells fresh produce, meat, and has a variety of gift items as well as eating places.

Pictures below are two views of the City Market. It is located on the block across from King's Square and Bannerman Park.



In 1877, part of Saint John was destoryed by fire. The park became a tent city for those who'd lost their homes. While we waited for our bus to return, we rested on a park bench.

We drove by the Carleton Martello Tower National Historic Site (see picture below). Construction began in 1814 but wasn't finished until after the war of 1812. Our next stop was at the reversing falls. When on a time schedule, it's hard to be there when the reverse takes place, but as we were driving away and across a bridge, we could see the whirling of the water causing rapids begin.

And last for tonight, here is our ship from a bridge as we return to the dock. There is much to see in Saint John. I'd like to have been able to stay several days.

I hope you've enjoyed our trip to Saint John and will join me tomorrow night for Hallifax.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda

http://www.lindalaroque.com/

Leaving New York Harbor

It's been fifty-nine years since I've been to New York or seen the harbor. On July 4th, 1955, my mother, father, brother and I sailed in on a ship from Stephenville, Newfoundland where we'd been at Harmon Air Force Base for the past two years. I was impressed with the site of the Statue of Liberty, but somehow I missed seeing Ellis Island (or have forgotten). The facility closed in November of 1954. As we sailed past these landmarks I remarked to my husband I wished we'd planned to stay in the area for a few days so we could tour Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. We both love history and both landmarks have impacted our history in such a major way.

In 1955, our car was damaged aboard the ship, and being a holiday weekend, we had to spend several days in New York getting it repaired. We stayed at the Henry Hudson Hotel. Our room was on the 19th floor--way too high up for this ten-year-old girl. The hotel wasn't airconditioned and there were no screens on the windows. A half piece of glass did tilt up and out from the base, but it didn't reassure me. I'd been going through a sleep-walking phase and was terrified I'd walk in my sleep and jump out the window. My fretting upset my mother and interrupted her sleep.

The Henry Hudson Hotel is still there, a very fashionable one now. The picture to the left is from an old postcard http://www.lileks.com/NYC/postcards/Hotels/hudson.html

My memories of New York, other than my fear of sleep-walking, are of visiting the Empire State Building and eating at an automat--something I'd never seen or heard of.

Here is our first view of Carnival Triumph as we pulled up to the dock for boarding and a picture of the Intrepid taken from the Denali Deck where we had lunch.

We were so tired our first day, we were in bed and asleep by 10:00 PM. Saturday was spend at sea where I played the slots, visited the shops, and we sat on our balcony and read. We loved the motion of the boat. As a matter-of-fact, I miss it here on land.

As after every trip, now there is laundry to do, and chores to catch up on, not to mention all the emails to answer. Our little dog Molly was so thrilled to see us she ran around in circles. She stayed with our son. He said she was depressed and moped around the entire time.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of St. John.

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment. Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda

http://www.lindalaroque.com/