Day 5 – January 3, 2010

The pictures are:
1. Barb with friends.

2. Feeding a parrott an apple.
3. Dressed for the evening

Well we woke up to a beautiful Nassau in the Bahamas and we were finally worm and could wear shorts. It was a lovely 78 degrees and a little overcast, but just fine.

As we went sleep at 2, we didn’t get up until 8 and were off the ship by 9. We have a limited time on the island because we h ad to be back on the ship by 1:30pm so we opted to go to the islands zoo called Adastra Gardens Zoo. We took the local bus and it dropped us a short walk to the Zoo. The garden animals represented a wide variety of over 300 types were a wide variety of the Bahamas’ natural inhabitants. They also had a lot of Pink Flamingos that you can get really close to as you can see by the picture of Barb.

Then it was a bus ride back to town and shopping in the local straw market. The special this day were lots and lots of purses – amazing though, Barb didn’t buy any!!

We ate lunch on the ship and then got some sun on the adult’s deck for a couple of hours before Barb went for her spa treatment – a wonderful birthday gift from the kids.

Barb came back from the spa and said it was wonderful – thanks again to the kids for the gift.

The evening was formal and we went out early to watch the people, had a nice dinner and did well in the casino.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and we are looking forward to working on our tan in 80 degree weather.

Night for now.

Day 4 – January 2, 2010

The pictures are:
1. Leaving the hotel.
2. The spa tour.
3. First lunch on the ship.
4. Barb’s flowers from Ed, Kahula and fruit basket from the casino.

Well we woke up to a beautiful, clear Florida sky; however, the temperature was only 43 this morning. By the time we left for the cruise ship, it was up to 50 – that’s still cold for Florida but it sure beats the temperature in Illinois!

We dropped the convertible off and they gave us a ride to the ship. Check-in was absolutely perfect. We walked in via the VIP line, were greeted, given our room key and we went right in as they called our group just as we got our key.

We first checked out our dinner table assignment and it looked great, downstairs with a table for 6.

Then we went up to the Lido deck and had a full lunch and explored the ship. It is built like the rest of the Carnival ships but with some nice additions.

Then we went back up to our deck which is adjacent to the spa and had a tour or the spa – wow is it neat. It is the largest afloat at 27,000 square feet and it occupies two decks of the ship, right in front. As we had booked a spa stateroom, we get free use of the spa whenever we want.

The kids gave Barb a birthday gift certificate for a facial and a massage so we booked that for tomorrow – she should really enjoy it. We spent the next several hours walking and sitting in the different areas watching the people. By 4 our luggage had arrived and we unpacked it all – that is always fun and we were able to fit everything in.

We had our pictures taken (of course) and then went to dinner. We had a round table for 6; however one couple didn’t show up. The couple that did eat with us seemed really nice. They are from Port Orange Florida and this is their 100th cruise!! They have their own travel agency called Jim 'n' Janet Morgan and they are at
JnJ.Morgan@gmail.com.

The opening show was fun and so was the casino. We spent some time with Claudia, who was our host on the cruise to the Balkins two years ago. She is now a shift supervisor.

Time to crash and tomorrow is Nassau.

Day 3 – January 1, 2010

The pictures are:

1. On our way shopping.
2. Barb now wants a new PT.
3. The deli for lunch.

We woke up late to a very overcast day with rain starting to come down. So, we did what anyone would do in this situation – we went shopping, shopping and more shopping. What a way to start 2010.

We left at 10 and got back a 5 and went to the two largest malls in the area. In between, we ate at a little locally owned deli.

Dinner was a gourmet meal at the Waffle House and then we went to the new George Clooney movie, Up in the Air. It is the first time that Barb and I have been to a movie since Tom Hanks in The Castaway. We may not go to a lot of movies but we can say that this is a very depressing movie with a few funny lines. We should have seen something else.

We have had fun in Cocoa Beach but we wouldn’t want to vacation here, it is just a way station on the way to a cruise.

Tomorrow we head for the new Carnival Dream and it should be fun. This ship is 1004 feet long and is 158 feet wide. That is over 3 football fields long! The Dream has 13 guest decks and can accommodate 3646 passengers. This will be the largest cruise ship we have ever been on and it is brand new.

Day 2 - December 31, 2009

The pictures are:
1. Part of the Rocket Garden.
2. A “little” alligator. He thinks that the bus is his meals on wheels!
3. One of the space capsules.
4. The Vehicle Assembly Building. The stripes on the flag are each 8’ wide.
5. Part of the cargo for a future space shuttle being assembled.

We awoke to partly cloudy skies and it was going to be 70 so it looked like it was going to be a good day to go to the Kennedy Space Center.

We arrived at Kennedy at 9:00 am just as they were opening and timed it right for a walking tour of the Rocket Garden. These are actual rockets of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. Just amazing that the early rockets were made to deliver a bomb and instead these delivered a person(s) into space. It was also incredible to realize how small the capsules were. The first two seat capsule was described as being in a small bath tub with a close friend. One of them orbited the earth for 14 days and they basically could not even stretch their legs out – it was fascinating to see these rockets and capsules.

We then boarded a bus for a two hour tour of the Space Center. As there were no rockets or shuttles being launched, we were able to drive around and see the entire facility. We saw the actual launch sites up close and all of the major buildings that play a part in the launchings of the space program, then and now. We saw the vehicle assembly building, the final stop before the space shuttle rolls out to the launch pad. We could not see inside this enormous building but did see outside the tractor that takes the shuttle to the launch pad. The size of everything is just huge, very huge. This building’s base covers 8 acres and is 525 feet tall. The doors on either side are 456 feet high and it is one of the largest buildings in the world! We also saw the external fuel tank for the shuttle sitting on a boat a few yards away waiting to be moved to the assembly building as a shuttle mission is schedule to go up next week.

The Space Center complex is on 140,000 thousands acres and only a few thousand acres are used. As we traveled from stop to stop it was neat to see all the wildlife there. We were told by our guide that they estimate that there are over 5,000 alligators on the property and we saw at least 15 while we were traveling. And they were close and not behind any fencing of barriers. When the bus driver would see one, he would slow the bus down to a crawl and they were within 10 feet of the bus. All of the buildings had chain link fencing around them that curved at the top to keep the alligators from climbing over the fence!

It was amazing how close we were able to get to view things. We were taken into the building that assembles all of the components that are being sent up to complete the construction of the International Space Station. They allow viewing from the second story inside a glassed in walkway.

We finished the day with two IMAX films, the last being a film showing the construction of the International Space Station. The films were in 3-D and they were great.

This trip is a must see for anyone who visits Florida to see what the United States and others has accomplished. This is a real, up close and personal experience. The people who have accomplished what has been done in space are truly American heroes.

Dinner was at Milliken’s Reef one on the many fish restaurants on the waterfront overlooking Port Canaveral and that was our New Years Eve – a really fun day.

Day 1 - December 30, 2009

The pictures are:
1. We made it.
2. The living room, bedroom to the left.
3. Walking to the beach.
4. Barb at waters edge.
5. A Disney ship leaving port.
6. Dinner – crab cakes and shrimp to start.

It wasn’t fun waking up at 3:30am to get to the airport for a 5:47am flight but we made it and arrived at the gate with 5 minutes to spare. The security lines were longer than we have ever seen, but they moved pretty well.

The AirTran flights were uneventful and we made it to Orlando by 12:30pm. We put in a call for the shuttle and the driver with a van was there in less than 10 minutes. It was about an hour drive to Cocoa Beach and then on to pick up our rental car. The clerk took one look at our luggage and said no way it would fit into the convertible. Well it fit; we just had to be careful going around any corners!

Fortunately, the hotel was close. We checked in and they gave us a king suite - two rooms with two balconies. We unpacked quickly and went down to the beach for a nice walk. The beach was nice and wide, the waves were beautiful and the water was cold but it was wonderful being down in the warm weather. It was about 65 degrees when we arrived.

For dinner, we went to Cape Canaveral and to the south side of the bay that the cruise ship travel and ate on the waters edge watching some cruise ships leaving for port. We are at Rusty’s Seafood and Oyster Bar and it was fun and the food was nice.

Then it was on to Wal-Mart to pick up soft drinks to take on the ship and then back to the Marriott where we are going to crash very early.

Ed is using his iPhone, his Christmas present from Barb, and it works great. He was able to check e-mails very easily in Atlanta and then on the ride over to the beach. What a time saver.

Tomorrow is the Space Center – neither of us has been there.

Our Next Trip - New Years - 2010

We leave after a wonderful Christmas on December 30, 2010 at 6:00am and fly AirTran to Orlando where we will go to Cocoa Beach for a couple of days.

At Coco Beach we will be staying at the Marriott Courtyard Cocoa Beach, Dec 30 – Jan 1

Saturday, Jan 02 Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL Departs 4:00pm

Sunday, Jan 03 Nassau, Bahamas 8:30am - 2:00pm

Monday, Jan 04 Fun Day At Sea

Tuesday, Jan 05 St. Thomas, USVI 10:00am - 8:00pm

Wednesday, Jan 06 St. Maarten, NA 8:00am - 6:00pm

Thursday, Jan 07 Fun Day At Sea

Friday, Jan 08 Fun Day At Sea

Saturday, Jan 09 Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL arrive 8:00am

We return to Bloomington on Saturday January 9 on AirTran at 6:14 pm.

From Barb – in her own words – Europe 2009

This is really difficult; first of all, my limited vocabulary has been reduced to one word: WOW!!!!! REALLY, that’s all I was able to utter between weeping!
Rome was wonderful, Greece better than before and Turkey I just love…there is NO way to explain Israel and Egypt, you have to experience it! You’re in the Holy Land, walking where Jesus walked, lived, preached, was crusified, and your overwhelmed just by being in these places, BUT the wars, the conflicts, the hatred, the mistrust, it’s indescribable.

And there’s the filth, the trash everywhere, the children begging, the little kids swimming in such conditions, actually in waters (the Nile) with dead horses right beside them. The streets of Cairo where there’s horses, camels, donkeys, buses and cars all side by side in streets that are so congested you think no one could ever get through and somehow it all
moves.

Guys this trip has been soooooooo special in so many ways, filled with such emotion I can’t really explain, and such sadness………everyone of us should experience these places and realize how lucky we truly are!

I am homesick, I miss you all sooooooo much, I can’t wait to catch up with everyone and hug you all real tight! Don’t misunderstand, this has been a GREAT cruise, the ship is probably the best ever, and the staff fabulous. Our tablemates are great and we are looking forward to sailing with then again as we have and will again with Bob and Shelia.

We have experienced places way beyond our wildest dreams! A trip of a lifetime, we are sooooooo blessed!

So, sweet dreams give each other hugs from us and know how much you are all loved and appreciated!

Love, Gram, Mom, Aunt Barb, me