Valor in Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras

It’s been a while since I’ve flown so some new things:

• Credit cards for in flight drinks
• WiFi on board. On Delta it’s $8 for access
• Yes I’ve paid for bags to fly before but at $25/35 a pop paying for more than 1 can really add to the price – $150 round trip. Southwest looks like a real bargin now

Out the door in Ft. Lauderdale by 6:50 PM and on our way to Miami. I think everyone is a little weary from the day. Warm here. Low 70s & humid this evening. Can’t believe all the lights and traffic. Been away from a large civilization area for a while. Boston’s big but different somehow from Florida. You know what I mean- beantown is dense/compact. South Florida is dense but spread out – one city runs into the next down here.

Traffic oddities: crash happened a few lanes over. Car tried to change lanes and missed. Drivers took off after accident on the freeway. At home they shoot you for such things.

No real issues getting checked in. Ended up with a single room. Raette stayed with us. Best comment: limo driver – “don’t interact with anyone that’s not assoicated with the hotel. This is Miami”.. guess we’re not in Kansas anymore.

A few drinks in the bar area, a passable Southwest salad, some outragiously priced snacks and it was time to contimplate sleep.

Up at 6:30 AM and down for breakfast by 7. Doors opened by 7:30. Uninspired yogurt, raisins, and a banana. The huge tea selection confused me and I ended up with decaf black tea – joke – should have brought my own supply.

Out the door to the ship by 10 AM. Took 2 shuttles to get us all there. Check in was fast. No lines at that time and we had almost the whole terminal to ourselves.

Sat and kabitzed until we boarded around 12:15 PM. Group picture – I reclined in front – before boarding. ID photos, a glass elevator ride to deck 10 and the drink special of the day. Pictures, great views of Miami and Miami beach while we poured the first in a long line down the hatch. It’s all worth it.

It was a long wait to leave. Don’t know why but we were the last ship to leave at close to 6 PM. Turns out there was a large flight of about 80 folks running behind. Guess they will wait if it doesn’t effect the arrival in the next port.

Dinner was good. Candied salmon, tomatos with a mustard type sauce and then a nicely spiced vegetable Indian dish including chick peas, rice, a bean patty and a spicy sauce with a chunk of cottage cheese in it. Quite nice. Had a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with it. First time I’ve tasted a real citrus in the wine. Quite good and it paired ok with the spicy Indian food.

A headache prevented me from enjoying the rest of the evening. I saw the inside of my eyelids after taking some tylenol. The headache was mostly gone by midnight I found Donny and Greg on deck 10 aft above Rosie’s. Had pizza and found a quiet spot to read in the atrium until about 1:30 AM. Bed.

Felt much better this morning. Up at 6 am and the balcony showed Cuba’s lights out the port side. Want to visit some day. Back to bed and up again at 7:30. Need to remember to order room service for coffee and tea for Yvette and I. No more walking back from deck 9 with hot beverages.

Went walking up on deck 11 for an hour. It’ll be better if I’m up there by 7:30 am. Lots of traffic as the morning wore on. Back in the room Yvette was up and we had breakfast together with Sue and Raette. Went back to the room to get cleaned up and arranged for my Tux parts to get pressed. Up to our spot on deck 10 to start our sea day.

Opted to take a wine tasting/pairing class today. Much of the instruction is the same as what I’ve read so far. Pairing advice: pair the taste of the wine like you would a spice with the food – sweet steak? Nope. Spicy would be better, etc.

Hairy chest compatition on the deck. Always fun! A pitcher of Sangria instead of mixed drinks was a welcome change from the rum. Perhaps margaritas tomorrow. Missed the fish and chips and settled for buffet fare for lunch.

Decked it the remainder of the afternoon reading in “Under The Black Flag“. Opted to get dolled up for dinner. Had Syrah with my Chili Rellenos, stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer and brie cheese for dessert. I wanted to finish my wine.

Caught the floor show/review at 8 and then the stand-up comedy shows late night. Enjoyed the Asbury Park comedian more than Percy Crews II, but that’s just me. Both were very funny.

Up at 6 AM to see us entering the grand Cayman island area. Lights on the horizon. 1 hr later we’re docking. Very interesting to see the little tender ships swarming like bees around the big ship.

Walked on track for an hour before breakfast. Yvette was ready to eat when I was done. Met on deck at 10 for group depart. Ended up taking a fantastic taxi tour around the West End. Went to Hell and then lunch at the Cracked Conch next to the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory with cake and liquor sampling.

Conch fritters were grand. Sue’s cervechi was wonderful. Expensive lunch but good food and great atmosphere. Fun tour and worth the $20 per person. Service was provided by “Terry’s Safe Taxi”. Look him up if you’re in the area (345) 927-1931.

Back on the ship we had a late afternoon snack. Yvette went to nap and I retired to the deck with the Patch crew. 1 pitcher of Sangria later I’m ready for the loyality cocktail hour. Interesting flick about Carnival, company and ship history.

Dinner was grand. Sushi, followed by pork tenderloin in jerk sauce. Beaujolais wine with dinner. Retired to Winston’s for smokes and conversation. Stayed up for more comedy shows. Some midnight pizza and ice cream then bed.

Up by 6:45 am but dark out and overcast. Clearly close to Cozumel but can’t see it yet. Walked on deck for 1 hr and then back to the room. Coffee and tea from room service were waiting. After a shower we hit breakfast at Rosie’s and then to our deck spot waiting on our shore party.

We opted to be in small parties today so Yvette and I mainly went from store-to-store doing light shopping and rain-drop-dodging. We walked a bit outside the docking/shopping compound but not much beyond Puerta Maya. A taxi ride would have taken us downtown but we opted to go to Poncho’s Back Porch early. Great food and even better margarriras.

Yvette headed back to the ship while the rest of us has “adult ballons” over huge beers at Fat Tuesdays. Retuned to the lido deck and chatted with Dexter (best. deck. waiter. ever.) while I polished off some Sangria. Dinner was casual but at Scarlette’s Steakhouse. It was nice to have the entire group there. I ordered a bottle of Cabernet to go with my lamb chops, mushrooms and escargots. Very yummy! I retired early and went to bed before 10.

The night was more rough than the prior nights. Felt the roll quite well.

I’m liking this room service coffee and tea. It’ll be hard to give up when we’re home. Belize was grey and misty from our far off vantage point (2 miles). Rough seas made for slow tendering. Didn’t get into port until 11 am or so. The chop on the water was quite rough. Once we were in the bay part it smoothed out some. Total ride was about 15 minutes.

The debarkation area is a walled garden of shops. Reminded me of a slightly aging strip mall. 6 of us did find our way down to the Smoky Mermaid for lunch. The food was good even if the servers gave off an air of indifference. I had creole chicken with beans and rice. We were served chips and ceviche (which I now need to learn to make). Returning to the ship was less of an experience. No waiting and a lot less chop than the AM ride.

We headed to the casino bar upon our return. Talked snow with a couple from CA of all places. Dinner was dressy. No tux for me – just a jacket with nice shirt and pants. BBQ grilled chicken for dinner with roasted cauliflower, a green bean and tomato salad and baked Alaska for dessert. Wine was a great Pino Noir – Firesteed. A really easy drinking wine.

Retired to Winston’s per usual. This time I had some Sanderman Port. Very sweet and smoky with cherry notes to my tongue and nose. Watched the 80s review and then a break dancing exhibition on the deck 3 before heading to the Eagle’s Loft for the comedy shows. Smiley Joe Wiley was the best of the evening. Watched Yvette win $21 on 2 cent slots in the casino and then off to bed amid the pitching and rolling.

By 7:30 AM we were docked in Roatan, Honduras. Our port, Mahogany Bay, is a walled garden on the order of Disney World. Clean streets, no barking huksters, prices and change given in US dollars and on and on. No native experience in the village. Still, it was nice. Purchased more stuff here than the other ports. Scored a wooden salad bowl set for $40, obligatory Harley patch, and some items for Grant, Hannah, and Maria.

Yvette headed back to the ship and I explored “beach land”. Ended up having a snack at El Hideaways at the end of the boardwalk. Some barely passable conch ceviche with chips and beer was plenty of exploring for me.

Yvette was doing laundry so after the drier did it’s job we lunched at Rosie’s. We decked it after that with Yvette takin a nap around 3ish. Sangria fortified me on a windy deck until I headed down for dinner preparations.

No Deb, Greg or Lynn at dinner. Fox bought the bottle tonight – a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Very citrus tasting. Lots of grapefruit zing. Tomatoes, basil, buffalo mozzarella, and pesto rounded out the saladesque appetizer. A lightly fried red snapper drizzled with a cream sauce completed the main course. The wine went well with both.

Winston’s per usual and then up to Lido for a deck party! Much line dancing and Carona’s later we tried the late-night Mexican buffet – yum! I did not need any lulabyes.

Up really early for our on board ship tour – “Behind the Fun” – only 2 small groups of 16 passengers went “back stage”. Saw the crew only bow area (there’s a spare anchor up there), back stage at the theater, morgue, brig, maintiance shop, laundry (cool folding machines), crew dining and bar areas, captains mess, food and beverage storage, main galley and head chef, waste and trash treatment, crew training areas, and bridge. A three hour+ tour and well worth the price of admission. Worst bridge job: quartermaster – watches the area around and in front of the boat for an entire shift of 4 hours. Don’t think I could stare out of the window for 4 hrs!

Lunch was the usual buffet fair but there was a chocolate bar which we over indulged in – chocolate truffles were grand. Hung out on deck with the gang until 4ish. Pictures with Dexter – Great deck server and person. Final pitcher of Sangria too.

Back in the cabin we started packing – sad task. Dinner was pirate time – hats, beads and spyglasses – fun! A bottle of Chardanney with crab cakes and grilled salmon. A stuffed tomato with creamed spinich rounded out the main meal – ya I ate it. Desert was a grand marnier souffle with with crème anglaise. Yummy!

Winston’s for after dinner cocktails and then we retired to finish packing. Yvette went back to the casino to play with her accumulated penny slot winnings. I ended up cashing her out for $163.14. Not bad for an $11 investment. Finished packing and caught the end of the football game before falling asleep. Quite the full day.

We we docked in Miami by 6 AM. Coffee, tea, yogurt, and some final croissants (great taste) for breakfast. Up on Lido in our usual spot but no deck chairs and no Dexter.. Sigh. Just waiting for our zone to be called.

Guess we missed our call but we were off and through customs by 9:30 AM which was way better than last time when we we last off.

High drama at the terminal. An unattended piece of luggage forced the sniffer dog to be called in. Just a bag of clothes etc from a passenger.

Finally found the transport van by 10:15 AM. Decided to hit the Sawgrass mall before heading to the airport. Last time I was out near Sunrise Blvd. I was going to a concert. We shopped until we dropped and then sat outside soaking up the last of the warm sun and cool breeze. Won’t feel like this again until mid-spring in New Hampshire.

As promised the driver picked us up at 4:30 PM and all 13 of us we were checked through security by 5:15 PM. Killed time chatting and watching the Jets beat the Patriots. Sad for some folks.

Flight was just a tad behind schedule for takeoff but we made it into Hartford ahead of the posted time. A rude cold greeted us as we waited for our pickup. True to form the VIP parking service had our cars warmed up and all the snow off them. Nice!

Goodbye hugs all around and we were off to home. Arrived in Keene just a bit passed midnight and after unloading and chatting with the kids for a bit it was off to bed. Back to reality tomorrow/today. Can’t believe the trip is over but it was a blast. Can’t wait until we do it again in another couple of years. We’re thinking Barbados…

The ride was a little over 30 minutes. Traffic was intermittently bad, but then again what do you expect from a 2 lane road? Lots of sunshine. After turning around at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum we found parking right where we wanted it – the JFK Museum. The $5 per person entry fee paid, we walked among the pictures and other memorabilia from his time in the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port. A different side of JFK away from DC. More relaxed and with family. Some interesting pictures of a young Maria Shriver with Caroline on the Honey Fitz. After a walk around the streets window shopping and then down to the harbor we grabbed a late bite to eat at Spanky’s Clam Shack. Then it was back to the resort.

We caught up with the girls, guys and supervising mom on the beach and had a grand afternoon just yacking and watching the surf roll in. We opted to eat in and play a late night game of Joker.

Wednesday was my travel day – I wanted to take in Eastham, MA primarily for the Salt Pond Visitors Center and access to Eastham Lighthouse and the Three Sisters. We then headed north to P-Town. In all the trip took a couple of hours given the stop-and-go traffic around Eastham/Wellfleet. Nasty! P-Town parking was interesting. Finally found some metered parking a few blocks off Commercial Street – evidently nobody feeds the meters. We lunched at The Patio and people watched, which included a few drag queens. Interesting! A few T-Shirts and sweatshirts later we were off to the Province Lands Visitors Center and Race Point beach. While the weather held, I got some interesting pictures of the dunes, lifesaving station and surrounding areas. We departed for home with off shore thunder in our ears.

Evidently our trip up-cape was well timed. Our resort area in Falmouth was under clouds most of the day. We returned in a misty, foggy mess. I ended up taking a late evening walk on the beach and finishing off The Angel’s Game.

After check in and unloading we signed up for some resort activities – spa day for the girls and a BBQ at the sister resort, both on Tuesday. We scouted the pool area, the beach and surrounding places – British Beer Company restaurant and a casino something or other. We ventured to Wal-Mart to pick up supplies – milk, soda, etc. and after a walk on the beach called it a night.

Sunshine greeted us at 7 AM – bright, clear, cloudless – along with a nearly northern breeze; our beach faces almost due south. From our deck we can see the north-western end of Maratha’s Vineyard.  After breakfast we were off to Wood’s Hole.

Despite the warnings of limited parking there we opted to drive; only about 4-5 miles from Falmouth. After 1 U-Turn we discovered the truth on the parking situation – it’s limited. Luckily NOAA (our tax dollars at work) offered free parking at least on Saturday. We walked to the Aquarium, took in the harbor seal feeding event and got acquainted with lobster, turtles, cod, haddock and other native fish and shell fish. It’s not a huge aquarium by any means but very interesting. You can even walk the “behind the scenes” area and look down in the tanks. There are other holding tanks full of ocean creatures that are not on the main display floor. Definably worth the time.

We lunched at Quick’s Hole – great seafood, but rather pricey for lunch. However, where else are you going to get a lobster burrito and a beer! The 2nd annual Wood’s Hole film festival was going on but I didn’t see any Hollywood types on the sidewalks. I checked on ferry transport to the Vineyard while the girls window shopped. We opted to head back to the resort so the girls could go to the beach.  We alternated between the beach (packed) and the pool (also packed) the remainder of the afternoon. We tried out the British Beer Company for dinner – fish and chips for Yvette and I and more traditional fare for the girls.

The girls and I walked on the beach that evening and I took a stroll up the common area. Clear skies and a moon headed toward full capped the evening. I finished off The Outermost House and started on Thoreau’s Cape Cod.

Monday we designated shopping day. After breakfast we headed into Falmouth so the girls could get the shopping bug out of their system. I invaded the local candy store, followed later by the book store. We lunched at Audrey’s Cafe, quick stopped by the grocery for some necessities and spent the rest of the day pool and beach side. We tried out the kitchen for dinner and a successfully completed spaghetti despite the rather cramped working conditions. I’m guessing large kitchens are not a cape staple. I gave up on Throeau for now; I kept falling asleep.

With plenty of directional signage we were able to walk down to the piers without getting lost. Lots of people were out for the viewings and the day was simply grand – lots of sun accompanied by a great breeze that helped keep the temperature down.

For the curious, pictures are here.

The ships were impressive but it was impossible to get on them due to the crowds. The wait times were an hour plus at every ship. So we decided to just walk the piers, snapping pictures and commenting on the ship construction and countries represented.  The throngs of people made touring difficult at times but we managed to walk our way through.

We took a break and ate lunch at Yankee Lobster Company - a really small place but lots of fresh seafood. After all what’s a day in Boston’s wharf area if you don’t eat seafood.

As the afternoon wore on we decided to take a trip over to Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market. This is one of our favorite spots. Lots of shops we don’t have in our small city and endless items to choose from on the gastronomical side of the equation. Given the warm temps we decided on Sprinkles ice cream and a park bench while listening to a street guitar duo performing outside the hall.

We hopped the Orange line to the Red Line and back to Alewife “T” station on the return trip. The day was long, but most enjoyable. My only disappointment was not being able to actually get on the ships. Perhaps next time I’ll go to Halifax, Nova Scotia to see them. It’s not too far…

For the curious, pictures are here.