2013 Dec. mother/daughter Carnival Freedom 4 nt Bahamas cruise: Grand Bahamas; Nassau

Since Angie was coming back to St. Louis for her cousin's wedding on Nov. 23rd, staying for Thanksgiving week, she decided to drive up from Ft. Lauderdale with her 2 dogs.  Josh was smart and flew up and back over Thanksgiving.  Having nothing better to do, I asked if she wanted company for the long ride back (other then the company of the 2 dogs).  She said sure, so I did.   With 20 hours driving time to their home in Coral Springs (by Ft. Lauderdale), it was an exhausting drive/ride for all of us.

About 2 weeks before her trip out, we were joking about going on a short cruise during the week I would be there.  Joking turned to  checking out cruises.  We found 1 that fit perfectly and went to 2 Bahamas islands.  So we booked it.  Not a bad deal at $198@ for 4 nights (about $235 with port taxes and fees), plus I was able to get a $50 onboard credit for owning CCL stock and cruising on Carnival.  So we pretty much rested up the day after we got to her home.  The next day, we met Josh for lunch.  He dropped us off at the port, and away we went. 

2013-12-2 and 3  Travel days:

 

2013-12-5 embarkation day for our Carnival Freedom cruise:

 

2013-12-6 Nassau:

 

2013-12-7 Grand Bahamas:

 

2013-12-8  Sea Day:

 

 

On Dec. 9th, we did the self debarkation since we only had carry on luggage and Josh picked us up.  Amazing how tired we were after only 4 days on the cruise!  We slept most of that afternoon and the next day I flew back to St. Louis.  It was a fast week with a lot of stuff packed into it.  But I love these mother/daughter vacations.  They're fewer and farther between now that she's married and lives so far away. 

2013 Oct. St. Thomas 9 day vacation to the island!

We had arrived in southern Florida on the 24th and spent the first few nights at Angie and Josh's.  They also went to St. Thomas.  

Oct. 29, 2013:  travel day

Oct. 30, 2013:  Elysian Resort and snorkeling Cowpet Bay 

Oct. 31, Halloween:  Charlotte Amalie; Bluebeard Beach Resort; Bolongo Bay; snorkeling

Nov. 1, 2013:  Sapphire and Cowpet Bay snorkeling

Nov. 2, 2013   Secret Harbor and Bluebeard's Beach snorkeling

Nov. 3, 2013--Sunday:  St. John's snorkel Trunk Bay and Hawksnest Bay

Nov. 4, Monday:  Megan's Bay; Mountain Top; Smith's Bay snorkeling

Nov. 5, 2013--Tuesday: Kids fly home; Cowpet Bay; Bluebeard's Resort; snorkel

Nov. 6, 2013--Wed.: Bluebeard's,  Sapphire snorkel

Nov. 7, 2013--Thursday: snorkel Cowpet; fly home


We certainly had some frustrating moments during this vacation.  But all in all, I still had a great time.  Loved the beaches and the snorkeling.   Loved our Wyndham accommodations.  Loved sharing it with family.  Hopefully we'll get to do it again someday and it'll be sunny and calm everyday!

2013 July Cleveland for the National Senior Games

Many not a real vacation, but a new place for me to explore.  I was here for the Senior Nationals Games (for "athletes" over 50 years old).  They are held every other year.  Last time (my first trip to the games) they were held in Houston.  This time they are in Cleveland.  We were disappointed that they split up the age groups this year and half our St. Louis volleyball teams were arriving as we were leaving.  It was fun in Houston running around with and cheering on all our StL volleyball teams.  I don't remember how many teams were in our age group in 2011, but there were 29 teams in it this year.  Although most of us are well over 55, 2 of our players were under 55 so we played in the 50+ division.

Since Cleveland was about 550 miles (10.5 hours), 5 of our team of 7 drove there.  I had planned to fly home since the player I rode there with was continuing on a vacation.  But when we were eliminated early on the last day, I called Southwest Airlines, cancelled my flight and rode home with the other car load of teammates.

Originally I wasn't too excited about going to Cleveland.   It had never been a destination I longed to see.  But, then, I really didn't know anything about it.  A week before the trip, I played in a tournament and strained a knee so was in pain most of the trip.  But I'm glad I went and did have a good time.  Too bad we didn't play better.  At least we had plenty of time to look around the city!  I'll have to admit it is a beautiful city---in the summer!

The gal I rode with had connections for cheap hotel rooms outside of the city, so I stayed in that hotel, too, and rode to the games with her every day.   Our ride was only about 11 miles and none of our games started really early so that worked out well.   By the end of our stay, I think we saw all the sights in this painting.

We found the $2 parking lot and were able to ride a shuttle to the Convention Center a couple of the days.  The other days the streets were closed off for bike races so we were forced to park elsewhere.

2013 Feb. Wowwie Maui!!!!

2013 Wowwie Maui!!!!

After years of trying to get Ken to go to Maui, he finally agreed to go.  I had been there twice before, first with my Dad and another time with my sister, but neither of them are snorkelers.  Maui has a reputation for much better snorkeling then Kauai.  I was anxious to see if that was really true!  Ken thought it would be more crowded and more of a party island.  

We were fortunate to have the trade winds with it's low humidity the whole time we were there.  Kona winds were expected soon after we left.  I had planned on going to Lanai, but the snorkeling was so good on  Maui that we didn't bother going there (this time)---plus there were small boat warnings much of the time we were there. 

Note about my cameras:  above ground-Canon 60D; underwater-Canon D20
 

Feb. 18, 2013--STL-DFW-OGG; the long travel day---

 

Feb. 19, 2013:  Makena Landing snorkeling---

 

Feb. 20, 2013: Honolua snorkeling--- 

 

Feb. 21, 2013: Just another windy Thursday and snorkeling Maluaka---

 

Feb. 22, 2013:  "A" is for Ahihi!

 

Feb. 23, 2013: Kapalua  snorkeling---

 

Feb. 24, 2013: Po'olenalena and Makena Landing--

 

Feb. 25, 2013: Po'olenalena and Drums of the Pacific 

luau---

 

Feb. 26, 2013: snorkel Olowalu (MM14) and Baileys arrive

 from PDX---

 

Feb. 28, 2013:  Kapalua snorkeling and Lahaina---

 

March 1, 2013:  Ahini and Mama's Fish House---

 

March 2, 2013: Ulua, peggy sue's, kameole and more----

 

March 3, 2013: Oneuli Beach, Whale watching tour, Bubba Gumps:

 

March 4, 2013: Kula Garden, Haleakala---

 

March 5, 2013:Maluaka---

 

March 6, 2013: time to leave!---

 

I'm pretty sure we will be returning to Maui.  I wasn't sure if hubby would like Maui because it's busier then Kauai, but he really did.   In fact, he seems to like it more then Kauai.  He liked that there were more snorkel beaches right next to each other so if one was full, we could quickly go to another one.  As for the snorkeling being better then Kauai, that would be a yes.  But Kauai has the edge on being prettier on land.

 Next year when we're in Kauai we'll probably be missing Maui!

2013 Feb. trip to Florida (Sea World)

The 5th week of the year rolled around again, so it was time for another trip to Florida.  My Dad bought that week at Orange Lake in Orlando for all of us to enjoy.  My sister Carolyn and her boyfriend Chester were going, so I decided it would be fun to join them for a couple days.  So I conned Angie into going with me for 3 nights.  Instead of staying at Orange Lake, though, Angie and I stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek right by Disney.  I flew into Ft. Lauderdale and spent the first couple nights there at Angie's, then she and I made the 3 1/2 hour ride to Orlando.

One of those first days in Coral Springs, they took me to the nearby park they like to go to for viewing alligators.  It was a nice day and we did see lots of iquanas and a few alligators. 

A gator coming to say, "Hi!"

 Josh helping a fisherman with his catch.