Spring 2021 - Day three - April 2021

The sky is mostly clear and it is going to be a beautiful day in Florida.

As is normal, Ed got up and went to breakfast and Barb got ready to go.

We then headed to the beach a little earlier today (11am) for a few hours in the sun as Barb almost burned her forehead yesterday.

After the beach, we headed south and stopped in the main restaurant area of Sunny Isle Beach to a restaurant we had eaten next to last year.

We ordered the Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna and it was very good.

One of the unique places in lower Florida that Barb has never been to was to Key Biscayne so we headed there after lunch.

Key Biscayne is a wonderful island, just south of Miami and is a former coconut plantation.

Ed used to go there with his roommate in college to, believe it or not, pick coconuts and swim in the ocean!!

It’s one additional claim to fame is that former President Nixon had a summer White House on the island, since bulldozed down.

A lifetime ago, there were only coconut palms and a great beach on the island. Today there are no coconut palms and 12,000 people on the island which is only 5 miles long by 1.5 miles wide. There are lots and lots of condominium and a few houses.

After Key Biscayne, we hoped on the interstate for a 45-mile trip to Sunny Isle. Coming out of Miami, I-95 is 5 lanes wide plus two express lanes – what a drive at 7:00pm as there were still lots and lots of cars coming out of the city.

We returned to a wonderful locally owned Peruvian restaurant and had a wonderful .

The area we are staying in is one of the wealthiest areas in the Miami – Ft. Lauderdale area. The condominium across the street from the hotel is staid to have the highest square footage price of any condominium in the area.

This means that the cars are amazing. Mercedes and Ranger Rovers are the common place automobile. We have seen so many Rolls Royce, Bentleys, Maserati’s and cars like that it is truly amazing. In this one area tonight by dinner, which is in a strip mall, we saw them all plus most of these brands have SUV’s and there are here also. We saw two Alfa Romeos today. I don’t think I have ever seen one in Illinois!! It’s just hard to describe the luxury that surrounds this area.

Ed then wanted a pastry and Barb wanted some Kahlua so we bought them back and went back to the room – tired from all the fun we had.

Tomorrow is forecast to be warmer and clear so we will be back to the beach and then??

Night-night.

                                                        Ready to go for the day

                                                      The entrance to Halover Beach

                                                            Dinner at a Kosher restaurant

                                                    Sesane Crusted Ahi Tuna

                                                   The lighthouse at the end of Key Biscayne

                                                       Dinner - Ceviche - fish and shrimp

                                                        Ed's Cherry Strudel

Spring 2021 - Day two - April 2021

Since we stayed up late watching the NCAA championship game, we slept in. Ed had breakfast while Barb got ready and we headed to the beach at 11:30am – what a relaxing start to the day.

The weather was perfect for our first day on the beach – partly cloudy and hot!!

After a few hours on the beach, we drove down to the University of Miami store to buy some items.

It was fun being on campus again and of course it has changed a lot in the last 60 years ago; but, the bones and a lot of the original buildings were still there.

We had decided to go to a Crate & Barrel to look for new glasses as ours have worn out. There was a store close to the campus so we went there and bought 4 tall and 8 short glasses for everyday use. They should be home by the time we get there.

As it was almost 6pm, we went to a deli down by the University for dinner and it was pretty good.

We stopped at a Walmart on the way back to get some bananas for Ed for breakfast.

After returning to the room, Ed went next door to a McDonalds and had an ice cream for a late-night snack.

Tomorrow back to the beach and then??

Night from Sunny Isle Beach

   Early mornng view from our room

                                                                Bay view from our room

                                                          Ready to go to the beach

                                                                Style of glasses we bought

                                               Ed at the University of Miami with a new cap

                                               Barb in the Camaro outside the Deli for dinner

                                            Dinner - a Pastrami sandwich and Shrimp Cocktail

Spring 2021 - Day 1

Spring - 2021 - Day 1

We had a wonderful flight to Atlanta and went immediately to the Delta sky lounge. It was totally open and had a great breakfast buffet running when we go there.

We had 4 1/2 hours before our plane so this was a perfect place to relax.

Most of the people were sitting around without masks and we found a very comfortable place by the window overlooking one of the boarding areas with lots of people and planes coming and going.

The lounge was on the second floor – what a great place to relax waiting for a plane.

At the 11:00am they brought out lunch and so we ate lunch, had some drinks and waiting until it was time to leave for our plane.

Our plane ride was uneventful and we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale right on time, retrieved our one bag and took the shuttle to the rental car center.

Barb was surprised with a Camaro convertible after Ed convince the rental agent to give us one!

When we arrived at the Residence Inn in Sunny Isle Beach, the lobby was a madhouse because people coming and going for spring breaks; however, Tyler at the front desk did a wonderful job taking care of us and upgraded us to a corner room on the 16th floor with a view of the Atlantic Ocean and Ocean Drive below us.

According to the newspaper, the buildings across from us are the most expensive in all of Florida in which to purchase a residence.

As you can see by the picture, we had a wall of windows on two sides including the bathroom which was as entire wall of one window.

After organizing everything we went out for dinner and ate a salmon baguette at a Russian restaurant that was very good.

After dinner we relaxed watching the NCAA tournament on a 55-inch TV that was in our room.

All in all, a great start for our first day with a perfect flight, the Delta Sky Lounge experience, an upgraded room, an upgraded car and good restaurant.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to our first day on the beach. It has been soooo long since we have had a vacation!!

In the Delta Sky Lounge

                                                          Our breakfast snack 

           Dinner - Golden Salmon Baguette pan-stirred  

       with green peppers, red onion, garlic and middle eastern spices.

                                                             The view from the "Throne"

 

                                                                    The view from bed

                              Our room at the Residence Inn, Sunny Isle Beach, Florida- 1601

New Years 2020 - Days 17 - 23 and the two weeks in between!!

To bring you up-to-date- here is what happen that we skipped two weeks on our blog.

Today is our last day on the ship The ship is the Carnival Horizon, the same ship we were on when this all started on Wednesday, January 15.


First of all, Carnival has been amazing. They have followed up every day since Day 1 in the hospital, including the ship’s doctor.

What happened:
Late night Wednesday, Jan 15 the ship’s doctor was called as Barb was having trouble breathing. They took her to the medical facility where the doctor was called in and he worked to stabilize her breathing.

He stayed with her all night and couldn’t restore her breathing to the proper levels
Thursday am we docked in Aruba.

Her blood oxygen level below 90-not good. Ship’s doctor was concerned he could not stabilize her.

An ambulance was called and we were rushed off the ship to the Aruba emergency room.
Her breathing became more difficult and she was diagnosed with the flu. Just a regular strain.

Taken to ICU as the flu was attacking her lungs.


For 3 days she was on a breathing mask & feeding tube and tubes in both arms. She was on the edge of not making it on 2nd day.

Prayer requests were sent out to everyone and all responded.

On the 4th day a turn for the better was happening

On the 6th day she was taken out of ICU & breathing mask was taken no longer needed.

On the 11th day - feeding tube gone.

On the 12th day - all tubes removed.

On the 14th day – Thursday she was released to the ship - same ship, same itinerary, just two weeks later and with Aruba and 2 days at sea left.

Feb 2 - arrive in Miami and drive home.

Right now Barb is eating well & her spirits are high.

She still needs to build up her stamina so she can walk unassisted, but that’s just going to take time.

As Barb doesn’t want to fly, we will drive from Miami to home, 18+ hours tomorrow, going 6 hours a day stopping every hour for her to walk.

She made it through this very intense emergency.


We are COMING HOME!

God is good - thanks for all your prayers - prayers work.

Hugs from both of us.
Ed & Barb

Pictures will follow

The first scary day!!  This lasted for 3 days!

Out on the deck the last day of the cruise - WOW does she look great!!!
She still needs a wheelchair at this point, but at least she is a lot better!
Thanks for all the prayers

As of Saturday evening, February 8, Barb is getting very tired beecause her endurance has not built up yet.  She will start breathing and physical therapy next week and that should get her on the final road to recovery.

As of Feb 9, She has not left the house since we have been home except to see her doctor.  The good news is that her blood oxygen level is at 97, which is what it was in December.  When they took her from the ship, the level was 88 and she needed oxygen to breath, so that's really good.

It is now April 8 and Barb is basically back to normal.  She has not been able to go to the gym because of the virus but she is doing just fine.  We are both fine and looking forward to the rest of the year.

Thanks for all the prayers - God is Good!!

New Years 2020 – Day 17

Day 17 brings us to the island Curacao, which is so far south it is actually south of the northern tip of South America!

We have been here a number of times and the island is beautiful and the waterfront district of the main part of town is probably the most photographed set of building in the Caribbean.  It is a Dutch Island and has over 50 nationalities living on this small island.  They do not get hurricanes this far south so it is a popular island to visit and live.

When we first woke up, we were still sailing to Curacao and weren’t scheduled to arrive until 1:30pm so we went up to the Serenity deck to lie out in the sun which we did until Noon.

We went back to the room to change and then went to a restaurant we found yesterday.  It was a wok restaurant and they give you a menu to choose your choice of 3 kinds of noodles and all kinds of fixings and meats as well as different sauces.  Ed saw the head chef behind the counter and asked him to bring out samples of the noodles for Barb to see and try.

The chef was wonderful coming out to our table and talking about how all of the noodles are prepared and making suggestions to us.

We had a delightful meal.  The restaurant is a specialty restaurant that charges at night but for lunch the meals are free.  We will probably go back tomorrow as it is much better than the buffet.

At about 2:30pm we left the ship and took a shuttle to the heart of the area and walked around for a while and then headed back to the ship.  

We did stop at a popular local casino where they gave us each $10 free play coupons for the slot machines.  We played one machine and walked away with $35 which we took to the blackjack table and lost it!!

After getting back to the ship, we cleaned up and went to dinner which was a good dinner.  The food on Carnival is good, but not great.

After dinner we went to the show which was a Motown show put on by a performer named Marcus Anthony who was very good.

After the show we skipped the casino and went back to our room and to bed.

Tomorrow is our last island, Aruba before heading back to Miami with two days at sea.

Night

Going out for the day

The Piot Boat - the water was rough

The Chef explaining his food

Lunch

The port from the ship

Going out for the evening

Downtown Curacao

New Years 2020 – Day 16

We docked at La Romana, Dominican Republic at about 9:45am, the weather was a little cloudy but also very warm.

This area was developed in 1897 as an oil town and a few years ago Carnival Cruise developed it as a cruise port.  There is really nothing else to do at this port or close to it than to get off the ship and wander around in it’s made for cruises port.

We got up late and got off the ship and did just that – wandered around the cruise port. It also rained on us a little bit but we just went inside a store and waited 10 minutes for it to clear up.

 This cruise port shopping was a pretty good one; however, that was it so we went back onto the ship at about 11:00am.

We first went up to the Serenity Deck on top and we were in the sun for about an hour when it rained again, so we went into a hall, it cleared up and we went back to our deck chairs.  When it rained again about 1 hour later, we finally gave up and came in.

Lunch was a little late and afterwards we walked around and in the back of the ship on the 11^th floor, we found two new restaurants that we didn’t know about, one Italian and one Asian!!

By this time it was time to go back to our cabin and get ready for the evening.

We first went to the comedy club to hear a comedian who was very, very funny.

Then on to dinner where we were joined by another couple.  There are from a small town up by Green Bay Wisconsin and they missed dinner last night as they were watching the football game.

Dinner was good; however, we are spoiled by the food in Celebrity, which is much better.

Of course next was the casino where Barb lost a little but Ed won a little more so were a little ahead for the night. 

 Tomorrow we dock at Curacao at 1:30pm so good night for now.

Out for the day

At the port

Carving birds

The main pool deck

Out for the evening

New Years 2020 – Day 15

We woke up to a beautiful day of 78 degrees in Grand Turk.  Brand Turk is the capitol of the Turk & Caicos Islands.  It is a very small island, measuring only 6.07 miles by 1.6 miles at its widest part. 

We have been here before; however we docked at the main town of Cockburn Town, the capital.  Were we are docked today is a port made by Carnival Corporation for their cruise ship.  They encourage everyone to stay right in this port, except if you were taking a Carnival tou

Of course, we don’t like ships tours so we rented a golf cart to go around the island to see the sights ourselves.

We first headed north to Cockburn Town and missed the little town so after going to the end of the island, we doubled back and found the turnoff to town.  The town is only a couple of streets and it was fun driving around.  We found a very local restaurant called Barbs and stopped there for lunch of local seafood

.

We also bought Kahula for Barb and from the pictures you can see how we took it on the ship – we will explain in person.

As the ship sailed at 1:30pm, we were back on ship at 12:30pm and went to our room and then to the buffet to eat.

Ed worked for a couple of hours and then we got ready for the evening.

Tonight was the first blackjack tournament and Ed didn’t qualify.

We missed the show because of the blackjack tournament.

Dinner was fun in that a new couple joined the table and they both are from Poland but have been in the US for 40 years and speak very good English, with a Polish accent.  They also love to travel so it was fun taking to them.

As always, we then went to the casino where Barb didn’t play and Ed lost for the first time this trip.  Let’s hope for no more losses!!

We have set sail for Lar Romana, Dominican Republic our next port of call tomorrow.

Ready to go out 

Going to tour in our golf cart

It rained on us really hard

Neighborhood pets!

Our tour guide at the National Museum

Of course Barb has to shop

The largest church on the Island

A local street

Barb's 

The food was good

The view from the beach

Ed preparing Barb's Kaula

Going out for the evening