Lee and Elaine's RV Adventures: February 2014

On the way home from our cruise, we stopped in Lake Placid, Florida, for a short time to view some of the 46 murals and other artwork around town. In 1992, the Lake Placid Mural Society was founded to help bring the town back to life and to boost tourism. A guide book tells the story behind each of the murals and the hidden object(s) to look for. In 2013, Reader's Digest named Lake Placid, Florida, as America's Most Interesting town.

A few days after returning from our cruise, we headed south to Everglades National Park. It had rained continuously for a couple of days and the lower campground, which was where we were parked, had gotten extremely soggy. Several RV's needed tow trucks to pull them out. The motorhome made it out without a problem but our Jeep was on the low side of the site and needed 4x4 to get out!

We did have a slight change of plans though. While still on our cruise, Diana emailed us and wondered if we would like to watch our grandkids for a few days while they went on a cruise. Of course I had to say yes. Isabella and Stephen would stay with us while we were in Everglades National Park. The only thing was, I came down with a cold the day after we returned from the cruise and it didn't get better. So, the day after we got to Everglades and the day before the kids were to arrive, I took a trip to the hospital for treatment of acute bronchitis. It was amazing how quickly I recuperated. I hope Isabella and Stephen will always remember the time they spent with us in the Everglades, seeing the alligators and crocodiles, all the birds, and participating in the Junior Ranger program.

THE MURALS OF

LAKE PLACID, FLORIDA

A well disguised garbage can in Lake Placid!

Another well disguised garbage can!

The history of oranges and how they get to market

And yet another garbage can

ON TO

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

US-41, Tamiami Trail, is a 2-lane road through the northern part of the Everglades. We saw numerous alligators as we traveled along but there was nowhere to pull over to take pictures. We finally were able to stop at one of the Visitor's Centers where they have a boardwalk to view the gators (the picture above).

Flamingo Campground

Sunset in Flamingo Campground

Our grandkids, Stephen and Isabella, joined us for five days. It was so good to see them again!

Our first sighting of an American crocodile. I had no idea crocodiles lived in the U.S. but they do, in Southern Florida. Crocodiles are lighter in color than alligators and when their mouth is closed, all their teeth are visible.

How could I forget the visit from our friends, Richard and Janet, while in the Everglades. Janet was the picture taker! She takes as many pictures as I do!

River excursion in Everglades National Park

Wildlife was abundant in Everglades National Park

Isabella got to drive the boat!!!

It got a bit windy crossing the lake

This croc was on the boat ramp. While sunning themselves, if crocs get too hot, they will open their mouths to cool off. I think he was waiting for a tasty morsel!

The Anhinga Trail must be a bird-lover's paradise as there so many different birds to view. Plus, a lot of alligators. With all the water around, we've been fortunate in that we haven't gotten too many mosquito bites

The most colorful bird I've seen

Before we left, Isabella was sworn in as a Junior Ranger!

Way to go, Isabella!!!

All too soon, it was time to take Isabella and Stephen back to Miami Airport to meet their parents for their trip home. And we were off to spend a few days in St. Petersburg.

Since we were going to spend the winter in Florida, what better thing to do than take a cruise? I mean, Fort Lauderdale wasn't that far from where we were going to be so it really made sense (to me, anyway!) Just drive to the port, park the car and the best part was we didn't have any flights/airports to hassle with. Nice and easy! Especially since our friends, Janet and Richard, live in Florida and they love to cruise also and they were happy to join us on a short (for them!) 10-day Southern Caribbean cruise. We met Janet and Richard in 2011 in Beijing, China, of all places. We were all spending three days in Beijing before boarding the Diamond Princess for a cruise to Alaska, then on to Vancouver, British Columbia. That cruise was fantastic and we enjoyed their company so much that after departing in Vancouver we kept in contact with them. They have visited us in California and we have visited them in Florida. The only thing is, I'm jealous because they go on lots more cruises than we do! Oh well, such is life! But there is another cruise in the future awaiting us! I just don't know where or when.

On January 18, 2014, we left our motorhome behind and boarded the Emerald Princess in Fort Lauderdale. We were looking forward to warmer weather as Florida had been quite cool and rainy. We have laughed over and over that we have been gypped this winter because Florida is known as the "sunshine state" and we had been having an awful lot of rain and no sunshine and California had been having great weather. Of course we are now worried about a long, hot, dry summer in California.

A pano from my iPhone - There were at least four other cruise ships docked in Fort Lauderdale

Sailing away from Ft. Lauderdale

I have no clue as to what these are but somewhere south of Fort Lauderdale we could see them in the distance.

Our first sunset at sea, taken from Skywalker's

Nassau, as seen from our balcony

More of Nassau

The Queen's Staircase was hand-carved out of limestone by slaves in the late 18th century, there are 65 steps and 102 feet from bottom to top. The staircase was named in honor of Queen Victoria and each step represented one year of her reign.

Fort Fincastle, built in 1793. From above it looks like an old-fashioned flat iron. The fort was mainly used as a lookout post and as such, the guns at the fort were never fired.

The uniform of the day was quite colorful

What would a fort be without a place to secure prisoners?

We thought this was an interesting mailbox!

Christopher Columbus statue, c.1830, stands in front of the Government House

The gardens at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas

St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, we happened to get there just as their folk mass was finished, boy, did the music make you want to shout Hallelujah!!!

St. Francis Xavier Cathedral

Just a colorful house

Another church we ventured past

Christ Church Cathedral, an Anglican/Episcopal church

The Atlantis resort

Hog Island Lighthouse, check out the bird in flight!

When we arrived in St. Thomas, it was wonderful to see our friends, Toni and David Blaeholder, waiting for us! Since they live on the island, it was wonderful to be getting a personalized tour, off the beaten path! I must say David was an excellent driver, especially since they drive on the wrong side of the road! And the roads are like none other. They are narrow, steep, and turns are sharper than I've ever seen!

High on a hill to get this terrific view!

Toni and David, me and Lee

Marriott complex, how easy would it be to enjoy a stay in St. Thomas?

The view from Toni and David's house, where we hung out for awhile

The pool at their complex

Toni and David had heard that the food was delicious at this local barbecue wagon, OFF THE GRID, but they hadn't tried it yet. We decided to give it a try and it was outstanding. On the table by the truck is the hot sauce and condiment bar, almost too many choices!

The view from our lunch spot

Magens Bay, this overlook is a popular tourist stop

Just one of the many iguanas around the port

Another beautiful sunset

The Bamboo House in The Botanic Gardens, est. 1889

Lee and Richard

Special Assignment Officers were on duty throughout the city to ensure the safety of cruise passengers, which was interesting because nowhere we walked did we feel insecure or threatened. In fact, Dominica was one of the friendliest places we went.

Morne Bruce, at the top of Jack's Walk trail. The cross was constructed in the 1920's.

All that's left of a British military post

View from Morne Bruce

Refreshments were needed after the hike up Jack's Walk and before the walk back to the ship.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Fair Haven of Roseau was undergoing renovations so we were unable to go inside.

Typical buildings in Roseau

Another colorful house in Roseau

Grenada, aka The Spice Island, 2nd largest producer of nutmeg in the world

The capital city of Grenada

The ship was only in Grenada for a few hours so our choice of excursions was the river tubing one. We took a van up into the mountains to the Balthazar River. The roads were narrow, however, they didn't seem as bad as the roads in St. Thomas. And, it was quite scenic. When we left the dock it was hot and humid, by the time we got to the river, it was almost cool and getting into the river took our breath away!

Where our tubing adventure began, the Balthazar River

Because it was going to be a wet ride, my camera was left behind in the van so we bought the picture from the vendor, the only picture of our adventure.

Taken from the van on the way back to the ship

St. George's

St. George's, taken from our balcony on the ship

Emerald Princess at dock in Grenada

We could have saved some money!!!

When cruising we have found that having a sea day in between ports is a nice break but it wasn't happening on this cruise so by the time we got to Bonaire we didn't really care if we got off the ship or not. The southern part of this island is dry and flat and is where salt mining is a major industry. In the north, the terrain is hilly and green. At one time, large numbers of flamingos inhabited the Goto Lake area but we were told they are now scattered throughout the area and we probably wouldn't see any so we didn't go. We wandered around town, stopped to have a beer or two and then returned to the ship.

I need more practice taking panos with my iPhone. I think if I slow down it might straighten the picture a little. Oh well, it's still fun and much easier than a regular camera and having to "stitch" the photos together.

I was amazed at how few pictures I took while on Bonaire! Really, almost none!!! This is pretty pathetic, at least for me.

We passed the Freewinds, affiliated with Church of Scientology, on our way to the dock in Aruba.

We chose to take a long walk while in Aruba and I neglected to take any pictures of the downtown "tourist" area. So much has been built around the port that it's almost unrecognizable from the first time we were there in 1980.

At night this is a "bar-hopper" party bus

The beautiful beach at a resort we walked to

Colorful lizards

Our last two days of the cruise were sea days. A time to relax, play Bingo!, trivia, shop, and a million other things! The days pass quickly and before we know it, it's time to get off the ship. So here are a few pictures from around the ship.