July 4 - 2014 - Day 2

It is July 4^th and we first went to the Visitors Bureau to get tickets to go to the Dolly Todd Madison and Bishop Whites homes.  Our tour was for 1:30pm.

We walked around the area of the historical city that was devoted to homes and had fun looking in all of the windows.  When it was time to go to the 10:30am Tour of the Independence Mall, we found ourselves being sent around a couple of large blocks to get to where we needed to go.  The reason was Vice President Biden was going to speak at the July 4^th opening and all of the major streets were blocked off for his arrival.

We finally met out tour group at a new location and spent the next 2 ½ hours on a walking tour of the Independence Mall area seeing lots of historical sites and hearing about the history of Philadelphia.

After the tour, we went to the Dolly Todd Madison and Bishop White’s homes which were very interesting in that one was a middle class home (Madison’s) and the other was middle – upper class home – the Bishop Whites.  It was interesting seeing the difference in the two homes.  After that we went to the Betsy Ross home for a tour.

Next we went to the original Quaker meeting hall where they still hold their meetings.  We spent time with one of their members learning about the Quakers and I we were very impressed.

Next we took the bus to the two most famous Philly Cheesesteak places, Geno’s and Pats.  They are located in south Philly and are on opposite corners.  To see which was the best, we bought a sandwich at each and split them.  We both liked the one from Geno’s but decided that we had tasted enough Philly Cheesesteaks for our life!!

By this time, it was 5:00pm so we took the bus back to the hotel to change for the evening.

We took the bus part way to the fireworks and then walked the rest of the way, about 2 miles.  As we were entering the grounds, we found a food stand that was named Festival Foods!!  They had huge lines, but they didn't know how to move them. 

We found a perfect spot in a baseball field, watched people, listened to the music and waited for the fireworks to start at 10:30pm and they finally started at 11:00pm.  We both agreed that these fireworks were the worst of the cities we have visited – but it was still fun.  Then a long walk back to the hotel and time for bed as it is already tomorrow which is our anniversary.

Night from Philadelphia and we hope that everyone had a happy fourth.

Barb just looking!

 

Pat's Cheesesteak

Geno's Cheesesteak

 

The Quaker meeting hall

                                                               Festival Foods

July 4, 2014

Watson is always watching over us!

We had a very sad start to a much anticipated trip when yesterday a tragedy hit our home with the lost of our beloved dog, Watson.  Watson was 9 years old and unexpectedly, he died in the morning.  Barb heard him cry out at about 6am and by 7am he had passed away.  He will be very much missed as he was a major part of our lives.

For our July 4th trip in 2014, we are going to be in Philadelphia from July 3 until July 6 when we will take the train to New York and meet out friends, Jeff and Vera.  For years they have offered to host us and we finally are close enough to go see them.

We left the house at 4:45am for a 6:00am flight to Atlanta where we changed planes to Philadelphia.  The plane was right on time and we walked off the plane right into a taxi as we only had a carry-on each. 

The Marriott checked us in early and we un-packed quickly and headed by local bus for our first stop, the Independence Visitors Center where we picked up our tickets for the 2:00pm tour of Independence Hall.

After the tour, we walked over to the U.S. Mint and it was interesting; however, they were not producing any coins but did have some good displays.

Then it was back to the Marriott by bus where we then walked a block to the giant Reading Terminal Market – a giant enclosed market selling anything and everything food.  We had some samples and then a great pastry. 

Then it was over to the Marriott and dinner in the Concierge Lounge. We had planned to go out to eat, but here was no reason to do so when we could eat for free.  After that we headed back to the Visitors Center, only  6 blocks away, to see a couple of short movies about centered on Independence.  The movies were over, so we took the bus back to the Marriott, rested for a little and then back up to the Concierge Lounge for evening snacks.

The neat thing is the public transportation system is free for seniors – what a great savings.  The hotel is right on the main bus and subway line so getting around is going to be easy.

Since we have been up since 4:00am, we are going to bed early – but it has been a nice day. 

Night Watson – you are missed.

                                                                            Leaving

                                                         Part of Independence Hall

In the Market

 

 

WOW - powered sugar stuffed with strawberries!!

 

Dinner in the Concierge Lounge

 

 

 

Day 8 – At Sea

It finally came; our last day of the cruise and this one is at sea – a great way to end the cruise.

Ed went up to the deck at 8:00am to get deck chairs for the day and Barb followed after a bit.  We stayed in the sun until 12:30pm when we went to the Aqua Spa to eat.  We ate with Jeff, Vera, Tim and Barb.

Then it was time for us to clean up and go to the blackjack tournament.  Ed qualified third; however, did not win.  The person who won started out with a blackjack on a bid bet and no one could catch him.

Then we brought a snack back to our cabin and packed everything.  After that we took our usual nap.

After napping, we went up to see what the buffet dining rooms was serving for dinner and walked around and watched people for a while before heading to dinner.

For dinner, we invited Steph and Rob from Canada and Tim and Barb from Virginia to join us as we had all been playing blackjack together and had cruised together before.  It was fun just laughing together during dinner.

Then it was to the casino for our last session where we played for a long time, but both of us lost but thanks to going back to our old style of running after a good streak, we came out ahead on this cruise.

This cruise was probably better than we expected as we have been to all ports several times except the stop at Haiti, which we knew was Haiti because that is what the souvenirs said. 

Barb’s cold never got any worse and other than one coughing spell, she was just fine except for her back.  Ed’s knee, particularly the cyst, is still causing problems, but hopefully it will be fixed soon. 

All-in-all, we had a great time and it was because of the time we were able to spend with old friends.

The new tradition is going to be: "Had enough winter March cruise"

See everyone in our family at home.

 

 



Going out in the afternoon

Out for the evening

Our friends

An afternoon snack


 

Day 7 – Labadee, Haiti

Labadee, Haiti is Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines private “paradise” filled with beautiful beaches, easy walking trails and all kinds of water sports plus food.

The only ships that are allowed to dock at Labadee are ships from Royal Caribbean Lines and we were the only ship docked on this peninsula today.

When we first went out on our patio to watch the ship dock at 10:00am, we thought that it was almost too hot to go to the beach – it was really, really hot – but we went and it was wonderful.

There are 4 or 5 different beaches and we took a water taxi to the one that was the most sheltered from the sea and it was beautiful.  Very hot 88 degrees and the water was also very warm.

Before the crowds came, we walked through a whole bunch of craft and souvenir vendors.  They were very aggressive, but we just ignored them and of course we bought a magnet and Christmas ornament, as is our custom

They have complementary beach chairs so we had two brought to the edge of the water and relaxed soaking up the sun.

Then we took a couple of water loungers and floated in the water for about an hour

That was enough sun or the day so it was time to eat lunch.

As this is just like being on the ship, the lunch was included in the cruise.  They had a very elaborate cookout with hamburgers, hotdogs, ribs, chicken and all of the side dishes that anyone would want.

Then we took the shuttle back to the main part of the complex, shopped a little more and walked back to the ship.

After showering, we took a nap and then ate some snacks while relaxing on our patio.

Tonight was the second formal night so after getting ready we went out and people watched until it was time to go to work in the casino.

 

Ed was way down but then switched tables and won back and finished the first session only a little down.

Dinner time was excellent and then it was on to the casino.

Barb lost and Ed hit for a really big run and so we left the casino a winner for the day!

Tomorrow is our last day on the cruise and it is a sea day so there will be plenty of time for relaxation and sun.

Night

Welcome to Labadee, Haiti



Ready to go to the beach

One of the beaches

 

 



Vendors waiting for Barb

 



Ready for our second formal night

Day 6 - Falmouth, Jamacia

What a wonderful day it was when we woke up.  The temp was in the mid 80’s and not a cloud in the sky.

As we have been to this harbor three times in the last four years, we have seen most of what is in the area.  The port was originally the first major port in Jamaica; however, it had fallen into disrepair until Royal Caribbean Cruise Line decided to make it a stop for their ship.  They an entire new port was built with all of the typical tourist shops. 

We boarded a bus that was going to Montego Bay and had the driver drop us off at Rose Hall, one of only 17 Great Halls (mansions) on the island out of 700 that were here in the 1800’s.

Originally, the owner of this plantation home owned 6,000 acres of land and was a very cruel slave owner.  The plantations “claim to fame” is that one of the owners killed 3 of her husbands until she herself was killed.  She is supposed to be still there haunting the house!!  We didn’t see her.

After the one our tour, the driver picked us up and took us back to the ship. 

We bought some Kahula and went into some of the shops.  Barb was lucky enough to find a scarf!!

Then we went back to the ship and ate lunch and changed into swimming suits to lie out on the deck.  The sun was so hot with virtually no breeze that we only stayed out an hour and then came in, cleaned up and took a nap.

After the nap, we snacked and went to the 7:00pm show before going to the casino.

After 6 winning sessions, Ed had a losing session; however, we are still up for the trip with probably 4 casino sessions left – everybody – wish us luck!!!

Tomorrow is Labadee, Haiti which is Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines private island so it will be a very relaxing day,

The Port

 

 

Rum Samples



Happy - of course!!

Going into Rose Hall with our guide

The port from our balcony

 

Day 5 - George Town, Grand Cayman

We awoke at 9:00am to find us already anchored at George Town, Grand Cayman.

The problem with going to this island is that we have been here several times before, including the 2012 Christmas trip with the kids so there was nothing really for us to do on the island – which is why we slept in

One of the partners at the law firm that Jeff is at has had a condo on the island since the 70’s so Jeff contacted him.  While the condo was rented, he did arrange for us to use their private beach and have beach chairs and towels for us. 

So all three couples left the ship via a tender at 11:00am and took a cab to the condo where we met the manager who showed us around and led us to the beach.  An attendant brought us towels and we were all set for the rest of the day.

At 3:00pm we took a cab back to the port and boarded the tender to the ship.

After eating some snacks as we did not have lunch on the island, we took a nap – remember, naps are good!!

At 6:00pm we were up and changed for the evening.

We walked around for a bit and sat and people watched until Jeff, Vera and David came down to the casino.

Our pre-dinner session at the casino was one of those amazing sessions where Ed won 9 straight hands, lost 2 and go up with a great win.

Then it was of course time for dinner followed by the casino again where again Ed won.  Barb played slots and didn’t win tonight but tomorrow is another day.

Tomorrow we arrive in Falmouth, Jamaica – night for tonight.

 

Ready for the beach 

Three our ships in the harbor

Our ship

At the condo

The beach at the condo

 

Day 4 - Cozumel, Mexico

We woke up just as the ship was arriving in Cozumel, Mexico.  As we had been here a couple of times before, we have seen all of the main tourist stops.  This time, we had found a small family- owned and run chocolate factory on the out-skirts of town called KaoKao Chocolate.  

We had to set our clock one hour back last night so it was great to get another hour of sleep after being in the casino late.  We had a 9:00am tour at the factory, so we woke up at 7:00am, just as the ship docked.  We were allowed to leave the ship at 8:00am.  The only problem was that the town was another hour back in time, so it was really only 7:00am we found out.

The tourists’ shops were open so we walked around for a bit and then found a cab to take us to KaoKao Chocolate.  We knew we were going to be early but we thought there might be places around the factory.  The cab driver got lost as she had never heard of this place, but we had been warned to take a map with the address on it and we finally made it. 

They were just opening up when we got there and they let us come in and started us on our tour early.  We were the only ones on the tour so it was just fantastic.   We first met the wife who with her husband owns the factory.  As we were watching a video about the history of chocolate, he came in to start the actual tour. 

We then went into another room with another couple and he proceeded to show us how chocolate is actually made.  We each got to make a small amount of pure chocolate to take back home.

Next we tasted about 12 different kinds of chocolate, which was fun.

Then or course, their small gift shop was open and we bought some chocolate for us and our table-mates at dinner who had asked us to bring some back for them.

The owner called us a cab and we went back to the port and shopped for a while and of course found some Kahula and also some Pepsi to bring back to the ship.

After shopping, we went back to the ship at around noon, ate on the ship and then changed into swimming suits to go out on the deck.

Obviously, it was not as busy as a sea day, so it was very relaxing for a couple of hours and our tans are getting darker.

We then took our nap early and woke up in time to watch the ship leave the port.

Next we walked around the ship, picked up our formal pictures from last night and then sat for a while people watching until we joined our friends at the casino for a short ½ hour session where Ed was up and Barb didn’t play.

After the casino, we went to dinner and of course we had fun and enjoyed dinner.  Then it was on to the casino where Barb broke even, which is great for the slots and Ed did really well.

Tomorrows stop is Grand Cayman Island were right now we have no plans except getting off the ship and waling around.

Night from the sea – on the way to Grand Cayman.

 

Docking next to the Celebrity Constellation

Leaving the ship

Meeting the owner

Washing up with chocolate soap

Making chocolate with the owner

Shall I buy another plate so many to choose from - so little room!!