Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to Xcaret. We took the half day package and stayed for the shows in the evening. We saw a Andalusian Horse Show and a presentation of the history of the Mayan people. Both were amazing. We also enjoyed a trip to Coba and the Mayan ruins there. We met a very strong young man, Pedro, at Coba who peddaled Jo and I around on a cart while Bob and Steve rented bikes....Steve climbed the tallest pyramid while the rest of us watched him from below...it was a great day and I am sure Pedro slept well that night...:)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Snorkeling in Cenotes[Caves]
In Tulum we found David at Adventure Tours. He took us snorkeling in Casa Cenote and Dos Ojos...we even went into the Bat Cave at Dos Ojos...David also found some Turtles for us at our beach and introduced us to his friends Chato and Tito....we had lunch at the Beach at Buena Vida...what a fun day!!! Thanks David
Mexican Vacation 2011
We decided that the Winter of 2011 had gotten too much...
So we went south, way south to Akumal Mexico. We found
warm weather, warmer water, delicious food and friendly
people. We did tons of fun things and would like to share a
few pictures with friends and family. Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Dreams Come True and Prayers Are Answered...
We waited a long time for our trip to Cedar Point and
it was well worth the wait...we had a great time, also
managed to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland....we are planning next years vacation! Enjoy the pictures!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Hi again from the Caribbean
We ha
ve been busy since our last posting. Sunday brunch seems to be a popular event on the island. We ate Lobster Eggs Benedict and Pancakes Banana Foster out in the open air in an eatery called Eat @ Cane Bay. Not far off the sandy beach there is a two mile vertical drop off called The Wall; we didn't actually see it, but they told us it was there.
The work week started on Monday with rigorous snorkeling practice at Cramer's Beach. The day ended quietly with a beautiful sunset and gourmet dinner at the Beach Side Cafe; really fun staff and terrific live singer. Next
day back to the tourist trail, we visited the old Danish fort in Christiansted where Alexander Hamilton's mother had once been imprisoned. Oh yea, and we shopped.
After all that stress we found it necessary to get back to the beach and a picnic lunch. After all we had the two busiest days ahead of us.
We were dockside and the crack of 10:30 to board Renegade, a large catamaran. Big Beard's adventure tou
r to Buck Island, a national park, wild life preserve and really cool reef. You guessed it, best snorkeling ever. Don't forget to put sun block on your calves too. You will never guess who were the last back on the boat when it came time to leave.
Impressed by our own adventuring we undertook the kayak tour of Salt River Bay the following morning. It's the site of a Columbus landing on his second voyage to the new world and site of the first battle with native peoples. The site is memorialized with the grandeur of all seconds, a wooden sign. Brian, our guide from Virgin Kayak, was opinionated and animated about the local history. Don't miss his studio and reproductions of pre-Columbian artifacts and the chatty parrot Kelly.
We end the day re-hydrating Crucian style. After all we were advised when driving buckle your seat belt, never talk on the cell phone, but an "open container" seems to be no problem.
We ha
ve been busy since our last posting. Sunday brunch seems to be a popular event on the island. We ate Lobster Eggs Benedict and Pancakes Banana Foster out in the open air in an eatery called Eat @ Cane Bay. Not far off the sandy beach there is a two mile vertical drop off called The Wall; we didn't actually see it, but they told us it was there.The work week started on Monday with rigorous snorkeling practice at Cramer's Beach. The day ended quietly with a beautiful sunset and gourmet dinner at the Beach Side Cafe; really fun staff and terrific live singer. Next
day back to the tourist trail, we visited the old Danish fort in Christiansted where Alexander Hamilton's mother had once been imprisoned. Oh yea, and we shopped.After all that stress we found it necessary to get back to the beach and a picnic lunch. After all we had the two busiest days ahead of us.
We were dockside and the crack of 10:30 to board Renegade, a large catamaran. Big Beard's adventure tou
r to Buck Island, a national park, wild life preserve and really cool reef. You guessed it, best snorkeling ever. Don't forget to put sun block on your calves too. You will never guess who were the last back on the boat when it came time to leave.Impressed by our own adventuring we undertook the kayak tour of Salt River Bay the following morning. It's the site of a Columbus landing on his second voyage to the new world and site of the first battle with native peoples. The site is memorialized with the grandeur of all seconds, a wooden sign. Brian, our guide from Virgin Kayak, was opinionated and animated about the local history. Don't miss his studio and reproductions of pre-Columbian artifacts and the chatty parrot Kelly.
We end the day re-hydrating Crucian style. After all we were advised when driving buckle your seat belt, never talk on the cell phone, but an "open container" seems to be no problem.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
You guys looking for a tour guide?
Where do you want to go next?
After visiting the southernmost point in the continental US last year, we felt motivated to visit the eastern most point flying the US flag, Point Udall, USVI! A breathtaking view from the desolate point overlooking … well, the ocean. The guide book suggests visiting at sunrise; wasn’t much going on at midday. You don’t need a guide book to tell you this is a monument to federally funded programs.
Tucked away, off the beach and shopping trails is a section of the island known as the rain forest. Before going further I have to mention, everyone explains it isn’t technically a rain forest since hurricane Hugo ripped all the cover. Recovering but they are still a few inches of rain fall short of the true rain forest criteria. Back to the Mt. Pellier Domino Club and home of the beer drinking pigs. You go to the bar and buy the pigs a couple of O’Doul’s. In spite of the pigs having a lot of nasty teeth our host assures us, “Oh, day don’t bite, honey”. We carefully place an unopened can in the gaping mouth and crush - beer everywhere. There is a lot of slobering and back comes the can. We asked why O’Doul’s? She said they used to drink real beer but by early afternoon and about thirty beers the pigs would just go to sleep “and dat ain’t good for business”. There is a lovely memorial to Buster the pioneering pig who started the business some 30-years ago, apparently quite by accident.
Seth runs Gecko Island Adventures, the ATV tour. You start at Rainbow Beach, t
hrough the rainforest and along the tops of the mountains on the northwest corner of the island. You must be tired of superlatives describing the views by now. Here’s another, most spectacular views ever. This is also the most fun ever and none of us wanted this to end. Seth has only lived here a year and a half, but you know he really loves this place. We saw him stop to pick up litter on the trail. He takes excellent snaps of you with your camera. Thanks, Seth.
We are chilling and blogging on Saturday. Passively avoiding the invasive life form known as boat people (cruise ships) that the local businesses so rely on. Many businesses in Frederiksted don’t even open when there is not ship in port. I won’t miss them at all.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Lizard Tour 2010 Continues ...
Ground Hog's Day in the Virgin Islands
Early this morning the "Ground Lizard" saw his shadow; six more weeks of paradise.
Since our last blog we visited more of the beautiful island of St. Croix. The tour began yesterday morning. The brochure said we could find Sweeny's Bus Tours across the the street from Government House, downtown Christiansted. We drove up and down every street around Government House and couldn't find a single bus tour office. Getting nervous that tour departure time was near, I asked a charming fellow in a modified truck that said Heritage Safari Tours on the door, if he knew where Sween
y's was. Yes, that's me, he smiled. And again I realized that traditional mainland thinking wasn't going to get us where we needed to go.
First stop was the botanical gardens. We smelled and sampled fresh herbs growing in the ruins of the old plantation kitchen. Kitchens were separate from the big house in case the open cooking fire got out of hand, you would still have a roof over your head. The kitchen had, in fact, burned to the ground.
From the gardens Andre bounced us over to Cruzan distillery. The fermentation vats are open and in a building without any real walls. We can only assume that the additional ingredients would add to the flavor. A ten minute walking tour ended with thirty minutes of product sampling.
Whim Plantation was a lovely restoration of an early 18th century Dutch estate. The main house was three gigantic rooms with 18-foot high ceilings. A center hall flanked by a dining room and bedroom. Nice to visit, we could never live there.
Lunch was seaside at Turtles, a great little sandwich shop in Fredricksted. Stuffed with tropical sandwiches and still happy from Cruzan, we sped through the rain forest and Columbus' landing at Salt River Bay.
Early this morning the "Ground Lizard" saw his shadow; six more weeks of paradise.Since our last blog we visited more of the beautiful island of St. Croix. The tour began yesterday morning. The brochure said we could find Sweeny's Bus Tours across the the street from Government House, downtown Christiansted. We drove up and down every street around Government House and couldn't find a single bus tour office. Getting nervous that tour departure time was near, I asked a charming fellow in a modified truck that said Heritage Safari Tours on the door, if he knew where Sween
y's was. Yes, that's me, he smiled. And again I realized that traditional mainland thinking wasn't going to get us where we needed to go.First stop was the botanical gardens. We smelled and sampled fresh herbs growing in the ruins of the old plantation kitchen. Kitchens were separate from the big house in case the open cooking fire got out of hand, you would still have a roof over your head. The kitchen had, in fact, burned to the ground.
From the gardens Andre bounced us over to Cruzan distillery. The fermentation vats are open and in a building without any real walls. We can only assume that the additional ingredients would add to the flavor. A ten minute walking tour ended with thirty minutes of product sampling.
Whim Plantation was a lovely restoration of an early 18th century Dutch estate. The main house was three gigantic rooms with 18-foot high ceilings. A center hall flanked by a dining room and bedroom. Nice to visit, we could never live there.
Lunch was seaside at Turtles, a great little sandwich shop in Fredricksted. Stuffed with tropical sandwiches and still happy from Cruzan, we sped through the rain forest and Columbus' landing at Salt River Bay.Sunday, January 31, 2010
Leapin' Lizards, It's Vacation
St. Croix is such a beautiful place
However, we did encounter some difficulties traveling. But, I guess that's why not everyone is here!
Delayed in Newark because they forgot to roll the plane over from the parking lot. Just made it onto the super-tiny, little plane out of San Juan. So much fun, we almost forgot to be scared. Luggage misplaced enroute. (Not to worry, it showed up, we're not naked)
The first morning we already had guests for breakfast, Mr. Lizard.
That was yesterday. Today's project is getting He driving on the wrong side of the road. It's worse than you can imagine. The steering wheel is on the correct side, you drive on the left side of the road and there is all that screaming from the back seat. Yikes!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, October 13, 2008
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