Sunday 4/29
Day 17 - Johnson City TN to Marion IA (approx 825 miles)
We left after lunch and drove straight through. Got home at midnight.
We had a very good and restful vacation, but we were ready to come home. We drove approx 3700 miles through 14 states. On the ship we traveled an additional 2600 miles and visited 3 countries. We took a bunch of pictures, some of which I posted with this blog. Most of the rest will be put up on Facebook (soon).
Thanks for reading.
Ann
Monday, April 30, 2012
Saturday 4/28
Day 16 - Atlanta area to Johnson City TN (approx 270 miles)
The mountains south of Johnson City were beautiful. Not as "majestic" as the Rockies, but with more trees. No picture does it justice.
The planned activity for today was my uncle's 90th birthday party. He is doing very well and it was good to see some of my family there.
Tomorrow we head home. We are ready to be there.
Day 16 - Atlanta area to Johnson City TN (approx 270 miles)
The mountains south of Johnson City were beautiful. Not as "majestic" as the Rockies, but with more trees. No picture does it justice.
The planned activity for today was my uncle's 90th birthday party. He is doing very well and it was good to see some of my family there.
Tomorrow we head home. We are ready to be there.
Thursday 4/26
Day 14 - Orlando to St Marys GA (via Daytona Beach) (approx 200 miles)
On our way out of Orlando, we stopped at the M&M Store so I could indulge in reckless/frivolous spending to further my collection.
At Daytona Beach we drove the car onto the beach and then walked barefoot along the water and picked up shells. The ocean was calm, and it was a beautiful day. (happy sigh)
We ended up in St Marys GA, where Dick's nephew and his family live. The next few days are going to be spent driving and visiting family.
Day 14 - Orlando to St Marys GA (via Daytona Beach) (approx 200 miles)
On our way out of Orlando, we stopped at the M&M Store so I could indulge in reckless/frivolous spending to further my collection.
At Daytona Beach we drove the car onto the beach and then walked barefoot along the water and picked up shells. The ocean was calm, and it was a beautiful day. (happy sigh)
We ended up in St Marys GA, where Dick's nephew and his family live. The next few days are going to be spent driving and visiting family.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Wednesday 4/25
Day 13 - Orlando
Sea World was amazing! We did the shows first, then walked around the park (systematically in a counterclockwise direction) and looked at the animals. The only ride we went on was the simulated helicopter ride in the arctic. It was very realistic. We spent 5 hours at the park, then we pooped out and went back to the motel.
After supper we played another round of miniature golf, this time at a Hawaiian themed place. After four days and 144 holes the score was about even overall. That's a good thing, because neither of us likes to lose...
Tomorrow we head for Georgia.
Day 13 - Orlando
Sea World was amazing! We did the shows first, then walked around the park (systematically in a counterclockwise direction) and looked at the animals. The only ride we went on was the simulated helicopter ride in the arctic. It was very realistic. We spent 5 hours at the park, then we pooped out and went back to the motel.
After supper we played another round of miniature golf, this time at a Hawaiian themed place. After four days and 144 holes the score was about even overall. That's a good thing, because neither of us likes to lose...
Tomorrow we head for Georgia.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday 4/24
Day 12 - Tampa to Orlando (approx 75 miles)
Our original plan was to stay two nights in Tampa, but we didn't spend as much time at Busch Gardens as we expected, and the "suite" that we had at the motel was, well... gross, and not much of a suite, so we headed to Orlando and found a suite that is quite impressive - almost like a small apartment, and very nice. We rearranged our plans to stay here a second night.
Day 12 - Tampa to Orlando (approx 75 miles)
Our original plan was to stay two nights in Tampa, but we didn't spend as much time at Busch Gardens as we expected, and the "suite" that we had at the motel was, well... gross, and not much of a suite, so we headed to Orlando and found a suite that is quite impressive - almost like a small apartment, and very nice. We rearranged our plans to stay here a second night.
Busch Gardens was ok, but for some reason I was thinking it would be more zoo-like and less theme-park-like. It wasn't warm enough to get soaked on any of the water rides, and I'm not into roller coasters anymore, but there was a fun safari-like ride that got us close to the animals. One of the elephants was dancing to the music that was playing over the loud speakers...
After we arrived in Orlando and ate supper, we played miniature golf for a third evening in a row, this time at a different Pirate's Cove. We are enjoying this very much, and are talking about putting some mini-golf holes in our backyard... (THAT will be the talk of the neighborhood!)
Tomorrow - Sea World.
After we arrived in Orlando and ate supper, we played miniature golf for a third evening in a row, this time at a different Pirate's Cove. We are enjoying this very much, and are talking about putting some mini-golf holes in our backyard... (THAT will be the talk of the neighborhood!)
Tomorrow - Sea World.
Monday 4/23
Day 11 - Panama City to Tampa FL (approx 340 miles)
We chose the "scenic" (i.e. lots of trees) back roads route that the Garmin suggested over the "boring" interstate route that would have been 60 miles longer. This turned out to be a (mostly) good decision. The roads were well maintained, the two-lane ones didn't have a lot of traffic, and most of the trip was four-lane, but there were a lot of towns that we had to slow down for and Dick does not like to drive slow... We drove through a National Forest (trees), and then on the "Coastal" Highway (trees), and then on a tollway (more trees). It was very "scenic".
In Tampa we played miniature golf again at a really cool course with a Congo theme (in Panama City it was pirates). One of the holes was on a boat. I wish we had mini-golf courses in Iowa like they have in Florida. The ones in Iowa are mainly flat, boring, and lame. (Sigh)
Tomorrow - Busch Gardens
Day 11 - Panama City to Tampa FL (approx 340 miles)
We chose the "scenic" (i.e. lots of trees) back roads route that the Garmin suggested over the "boring" interstate route that would have been 60 miles longer. This turned out to be a (mostly) good decision. The roads were well maintained, the two-lane ones didn't have a lot of traffic, and most of the trip was four-lane, but there were a lot of towns that we had to slow down for and Dick does not like to drive slow... We drove through a National Forest (trees), and then on the "Coastal" Highway (trees), and then on a tollway (more trees). It was very "scenic".
In Tampa we played miniature golf again at a really cool course with a Congo theme (in Panama City it was pirates). One of the holes was on a boat. I wish we had mini-golf courses in Iowa like they have in Florida. The ones in Iowa are mainly flat, boring, and lame. (Sigh)
Tomorrow - Busch Gardens
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Sunday 4/22
Day... um... 10 - New Orleans to Panama City FL (approx 300 miles)
We got off the boat at 9:45am and finally got to the motel to get the car at 11:30am. It's a 15 minute ride, so obviously we spent a lot of that time waiting for the shuttle. If we hadn't had all that luggage, we could have walked to the car faster...
Drove the "Gulf Coast" route to get to Panama City FL. We mostly saw trees with an occasional glimpse of the water.
After we checked into the motel in Panama City, we went to supper at Dirty Dick's Crab Shack (very good!) and then played 36 holes of miniature golf (we tied). The courses in Florida are nice!!
Editors note: I have no idea why these pictures are dated 4/23 - must be something to do with the time change...
Tomorrow we head to Tampa...
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sunday 4/15 to Sunday 4/22
Cruise (more random stuff)
We took the motel shuttle to the pier and went through the check-in procedure, which involves a lot of lines and a mouse-maze route to get to the ship. Our room has a balcony (which is very cool!) and is on the port side right under the bridge. Sometimes we can see someone up there looking out the window. I could sit out on the balcony for the entire cruise, except that the "neighbors" on the adjacent balconies have no clue (or don't care) that we can hear everything they say...
We left the pier at 4:30pm and when we went to bed we were still on the Mississippi River. It goes on forever. We passed a lot of other boats (mostly barges - if that counts as a "boat") and saw a lot of coal barges. We also had an escort for a bit...
Cruise (more random stuff)
We took the motel shuttle to the pier and went through the check-in procedure, which involves a lot of lines and a mouse-maze route to get to the ship. Our room has a balcony (which is very cool!) and is on the port side right under the bridge. Sometimes we can see someone up there looking out the window. I could sit out on the balcony for the entire cruise, except that the "neighbors" on the adjacent balconies have no clue (or don't care) that we can hear everything they say...
We left the pier at 4:30pm and when we went to bed we were still on the Mississippi River. It goes on forever. We passed a lot of other boats (mostly barges - if that counts as a "boat") and saw a lot of coal barges. We also had an escort for a bit...
We are trying not to eat too much but it is difficult because there is an endless supply of (good) food. And ice cream 24 hours/day. (They also have frozen yogurt, which is what we have been having).
We have two full days at sea before we get to Jamaica. We are going to play miniature golf (never done that on a ship before), hang out on the balcony, and of course, eat.
Day at sea. Woke up with the ship rocking quite a bit - I wasn't feeling very good by the time we got to breakfast. Eating helped, which is the reason they have so much food on the ship. We have decided that if we take another cruise, we will get a balcony cabin closer to the middle of the ship so it doesn't rock as much, and one deck lower so we can be closer to the water.
The water is very blue.
Quiet, restful day, except for the part where the people on the next balcony got into a heated argument complete with swear words and slamming doors. We can choose our cabin, too bad we can't also choose our neighbors...
Tonight is formal night at dinner. Time to get out the fancy duds, and figure out what to do with the "windblown look".
Dinner was very good, and afterwards we got our picture taken and went to a comedy act. The guy was very funny.
Second full day at sea. Played miniature golf up on the top deck - it was very windy! I was "kicking Dick's butt" until the last hole and then I exercised my wifely wisdom and let him beat me... (whatever). On one of the holes the wind kept blowing the ball out of the tee box, so I hit it with my left hand and got a hole-in-one. It was fun, but I think it would be better with less wind.
Jamaica was ok but we were not impressed. We didn't have a scheduled event so we just went shopping. We had to wait in line to take a shuttle from the ship to the terminal, then wait in line again to take another shuttle to the shopping area. The one we stopped at was very "controlled" (the only locals there were working in the shops). At the other shopping places the locals descended on people as soon as they got off the bus (we didn't, because we waited so long to get on it). One guy even tried to sell me something while I was sitting on the bus.
At Grand Cayman, Dick went scuba diving and I went on a tour. I saw a turtle farm and went to Hell and back (pictures to follow). I sent us a postcard from Hell (ours was only address I had memorized that would appreciate such a thing).
Our last stop was Cozumel, Mexico. We went on a helmet dive, which is where they put a diving helmet on your head that pumps air in the helmet so your face doesn't get wet and you can breath normally under water. It was cool, except for trying to keep my head from exploding when I needed to equalize the pressure in my ears. The best part was that I was able to wear my glasses, so I could actually see the fish!
We have two full days at sea before we get to Jamaica. We are going to play miniature golf (never done that on a ship before), hang out on the balcony, and of course, eat.
Day at sea. Woke up with the ship rocking quite a bit - I wasn't feeling very good by the time we got to breakfast. Eating helped, which is the reason they have so much food on the ship. We have decided that if we take another cruise, we will get a balcony cabin closer to the middle of the ship so it doesn't rock as much, and one deck lower so we can be closer to the water.
The water is very blue.
Quiet, restful day, except for the part where the people on the next balcony got into a heated argument complete with swear words and slamming doors. We can choose our cabin, too bad we can't also choose our neighbors...
Tonight is formal night at dinner. Time to get out the fancy duds, and figure out what to do with the "windblown look".
Dinner was very good, and afterwards we got our picture taken and went to a comedy act. The guy was very funny.
Second full day at sea. Played miniature golf up on the top deck - it was very windy! I was "kicking Dick's butt" until the last hole and then I exercised my wifely wisdom and let him beat me... (whatever). On one of the holes the wind kept blowing the ball out of the tee box, so I hit it with my left hand and got a hole-in-one. It was fun, but I think it would be better with less wind.
Jamaica was ok but we were not impressed. We didn't have a scheduled event so we just went shopping. We had to wait in line to take a shuttle from the ship to the terminal, then wait in line again to take another shuttle to the shopping area. The one we stopped at was very "controlled" (the only locals there were working in the shops). At the other shopping places the locals descended on people as soon as they got off the bus (we didn't, because we waited so long to get on it). One guy even tried to sell me something while I was sitting on the bus.
At Grand Cayman, Dick went scuba diving and I went on a tour. I saw a turtle farm and went to Hell and back (pictures to follow). I sent us a postcard from Hell (ours was only address I had memorized that would appreciate such a thing).
Our last stop was Cozumel, Mexico. We went on a helmet dive, which is where they put a diving helmet on your head that pumps air in the helmet so your face doesn't get wet and you can breath normally under water. It was cool, except for trying to keep my head from exploding when I needed to equalize the pressure in my ears. The best part was that I was able to wear my glasses, so I could actually see the fish!
We have been "skipping" about one meal per day - usually by just having frozen yogurt. (Don't tell our moms).
One more day at sea, then we are back in New Orleans. Ate frozen yogurt one last time and played windy miniature golf again. We are ready to get off this ship!
One more day at sea, then we are back in New Orleans. Ate frozen yogurt one last time and played windy miniature golf again. We are ready to get off this ship!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Saturday 4/14
Day 2 - West Memphis AR to New Orleans LA (approx 410 miles)
Random stuff:
Day 2 - West Memphis AR to New Orleans LA (approx 410 miles)
Random stuff:
-We started the day by waking up at 5:30am - on our own (no alarm) - on vacation (!?). Hopefully we can improve on that over the next couple weeks...
-While it is very tempting to use this venue to critique the beds and showers of the motels on this trip, I think I won't...
-Our new car has a plugin so I can play my iPod over the car speakers. Cool!
-We spent most of the drive today in Mississippi. Dick started off by spelling "Mississippi" every time one of us said the state name, which was somewhat amusing. What was not amusing was when he was using the camera while he was driving down the highway at 75 miles/hr. Maybe we are spending too much time in the car...
-Interstate 55 through Mississippi and northern Louisiana has a lot of trees and is very pretty.
-While it is very tempting to use this venue to critique the beds and showers of the motels on this trip, I think I won't...
-Our new car has a plugin so I can play my iPod over the car speakers. Cool!
-We spent most of the drive today in Mississippi. Dick started off by spelling "Mississippi" every time one of us said the state name, which was somewhat amusing. What was not amusing was when he was using the camera while he was driving down the highway at 75 miles/hr. Maybe we are spending too much time in the car...
-Interstate 55 through Mississippi and northern Louisiana has a lot of trees and is very pretty.
-The traffic in New Orleans is CRAZY! Most of the interstate is on a bridge over the swamp - it goes on for miles.
-Once we got to the motel in New Orleans, we took a shuttle to the ferry and rode across to the French Quarter. This is the weekend for the French Quarter Festival, so there were a LOT of people there. We had supper at an amazing restaurant on Bourbon St - probably the only one where the waiters had shirts on (a very "interesting" street...)
Tomorrow we leave for the cruise, so if I do a post, it will be the last one for a week.
-Once we got to the motel in New Orleans, we took a shuttle to the ferry and rode across to the French Quarter. This is the weekend for the French Quarter Festival, so there were a LOT of people there. We had supper at an amazing restaurant on Bourbon St - probably the only one where the waiters had shirts on (a very "interesting" street...)
Tomorrow we leave for the cruise, so if I do a post, it will be the last one for a week.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Friday 4/13
Day 1 - Marion IA to West Memphis AR (approx 575 miles)
Vacation starts today! After the stresses of the last two weeks, it is such a relief to finally be able to start - and we are grateful that we get to go.
We went to bed late last night and then laid awake thinking of all the stuff we needed to take. This turned out to be a good thing, because otherwise Dick would have forgotten all of his dress pants for the cruise - which would have meant him having to wear his suit pants every evening or me wearing my dresses to the Lido restaurant.
Here's the trunk full of suitcases:
When we left Marion it was 46 degrees and rainy. We stopped at the hospital in Iowa City to see Dick's dad, then headed south. Our original plan was to stop in St Louis and go to the zoo, but it was 48 degrees and rainy there also, and in the 70s in Memphis, so we decided to skip the zoo and just keep going. Turns out the traffic in St Louis was enough of a "zoo", but the "animals" weren't as cute...
Dick suggested that I take pictures of the "welcome to (insert state name here)" signs on our trip. This was a fail both times today. Tomorrow I think I will have him stop the car so I can get out and take a picture. Then I will just look like a dork instead of being a fail. (Can you tell I think this is a lame idea?)
An observation: the address of our motel was on S Service Rd, which the Garmin and AAA maps translated as W Service Rd. Turns out it was actually E Service Rd. When the Garmin starts saying "As soon as possible make a u-turn" over and over it's time to turn it off.
Spending the night in West Memphis. Tomorrow we head to New Orleans.
Day 1 - Marion IA to West Memphis AR (approx 575 miles)
Vacation starts today! After the stresses of the last two weeks, it is such a relief to finally be able to start - and we are grateful that we get to go.
We went to bed late last night and then laid awake thinking of all the stuff we needed to take. This turned out to be a good thing, because otherwise Dick would have forgotten all of his dress pants for the cruise - which would have meant him having to wear his suit pants every evening or me wearing my dresses to the Lido restaurant.
Here's the trunk full of suitcases:
When we left Marion it was 46 degrees and rainy. We stopped at the hospital in Iowa City to see Dick's dad, then headed south. Our original plan was to stop in St Louis and go to the zoo, but it was 48 degrees and rainy there also, and in the 70s in Memphis, so we decided to skip the zoo and just keep going. Turns out the traffic in St Louis was enough of a "zoo", but the "animals" weren't as cute...
Dick suggested that I take pictures of the "welcome to (insert state name here)" signs on our trip. This was a fail both times today. Tomorrow I think I will have him stop the car so I can get out and take a picture. Then I will just look like a dork instead of being a fail. (Can you tell I think this is a lame idea?)
An observation: the address of our motel was on S Service Rd, which the Garmin and AAA maps translated as W Service Rd. Turns out it was actually E Service Rd. When the Garmin starts saying "As soon as possible make a u-turn" over and over it's time to turn it off.
Spending the night in West Memphis. Tomorrow we head to New Orleans.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Preparation... and waiting...
It's been awhile since we took a vacation that involved going anywhere. We need this break. We aren't really looking for excitement or adventure - just rest, fun, new experiences, and a chance to spend some quality time together. I'll let you know how it goes...
Wednesday 4/11
Dick and I are scheduled to leave on Friday morning for an 18-day vacation. We are going on a 7-day cruise the first week, and sightseeing and visiting family the rest of the time. We have been looking forward to this trip for a few months and can't wait to get going. We have done a LOT of planning (we even made a spreadsheet). We have made reservations, purchased tickets, printed maps, and arranged for things to be taken care of at home while we are gone. We still have to finish packing - the only major thing left to do. And yet, in these final days before we leave, it is uncertain whether we will get to go at all...
Dick's dad is in the hospital facing major surgery, which he needs but may not survive. The doctors have postponed it a couple of times already this week, and now it is scheduled for tomorrow - the day before we leave. We have some flexibility in the first two days, but the cruise ship leaves New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, and it's a 15-hour drive to get there. So, we prepare as if we will go as planned, hope and pray that everything turns out ok, and wait...
Thursday 4/12
Well, it appears that we are ok to go. The surgery went well, and while there is still some risk, the worst is over... vacation starts tomorrow!
It's been awhile since we took a vacation that involved going anywhere. We need this break. We aren't really looking for excitement or adventure - just rest, fun, new experiences, and a chance to spend some quality time together. I'll let you know how it goes...
Wednesday 4/11
Dick and I are scheduled to leave on Friday morning for an 18-day vacation. We are going on a 7-day cruise the first week, and sightseeing and visiting family the rest of the time. We have been looking forward to this trip for a few months and can't wait to get going. We have done a LOT of planning (we even made a spreadsheet). We have made reservations, purchased tickets, printed maps, and arranged for things to be taken care of at home while we are gone. We still have to finish packing - the only major thing left to do. And yet, in these final days before we leave, it is uncertain whether we will get to go at all...
Dick's dad is in the hospital facing major surgery, which he needs but may not survive. The doctors have postponed it a couple of times already this week, and now it is scheduled for tomorrow - the day before we leave. We have some flexibility in the first two days, but the cruise ship leaves New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, and it's a 15-hour drive to get there. So, we prepare as if we will go as planned, hope and pray that everything turns out ok, and wait...
Thursday 4/12
Well, it appears that we are ok to go. The surgery went well, and while there is still some risk, the worst is over... vacation starts tomorrow!
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