Category Archives: Travel Blogs

Cruisen the Caribbean

January 31, 2011 Troy 1 Comment

: Mesmerized by the Motion of the Water

Time for the R and R portion of this trip/vacation. The beds are made and the food is prepared and all within a short distance from wherever you are on the ship. The first day was a full day at sea watching the clouds drift by and the waves go up and down. Unfortunately the waves went up and down a little more than desired rocking the ship back and forth due to the higher winds. That just meant holding on to whatever you are carrying very tightly anytime you’re outside. It’s amazing just how quickly we can adapt to a different environment. We landed in Miami and left all the thoughts of snow and ice at home and immediately transitioned into the green grass and open water where the birds were singing and the fish frolicking around boats and rocks in search of their daily fill.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — A Great Tropical View

We left the Port of Miami to hundreds of police cars, motorcycles, and boats with their lights flashing as they were honoring two of their fallen officers. It was truly humbling to see the respect and honor given to those killed in the line of duty. As part of that respect, our ship left dock without the familiar sound of the horn blown three times signaling our departure. Then it was off to the Caribbean waters for a day of sun and sea. While Lysa and Kristy enjoyed the pool, the rest of us took advantage of the time for some conversation and to soak in our surroundings.

: Playing with the Stingrays

Our first stop was Grand Turk of the Turks and Caicos Islands. We only had a small number of hours at this location so quickly got off the ship as soon as we arrived to take in what we could. There was a little time in a few nearby stores, learning about the Mercury 7 splashdown, burying our feet in the incredibly soft sand, snorkeling above a local reef, and kissing a stingray. All of this in the short 7 ½ hours we had on shore at Grand Turk. On to Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. This is a private island only for guests of the cruise ship. We spent some time snorkeling off the beach and then exploring this small island full of beautiful landscapes. Our third and final destination was the capital city of the Bahamas – Nassau. This was our longest stop of the cruise but also seemed to move the fastest. After conquering the taxi and hair braiding gauntlet, we had the opportunity to quickly explore a few stores near the pier. Then it was off to swim with the dolphins for the rest of our time in Nassau. It was an amazing experience to spend some time this close to these very friendly (and well trained) animals.

: Up Close with the Dolphins

Leaving Nassau we were quickly confronted with reality that this was our last night aboard the ship and it was time to pack for disembarkation. While enjoying our evening meal we spent much of the time trying to figure out how to bring our server and room steward home with us. The thought of not having them around was more than we could tolerate. Well, there was no viable solution so we decided to concentrate on our next destination – The Everglades.

: Half Moon Cay

Travel Preparations, Troy's Blog

Travel Preparations

January 17, 2011 Troy 2 Comments

airplane 2 — Getting Ready to Leave for Miami

Preparing for a family trip of 10 days is no simple task. There are many things that need to be taken care of while we are away. We began making arrangements several weeks ago so that things are taken care of while we are away. Enjoying the company of pets has its price. They have to be taken care of when we’re not here. Fortunately we have family members in the area and one of them has agreed to live at our house during our travels. Other items that needed to be planned weeks or even a few months ago where snow removal so our guest can move a car out of the driveway in the event of a significant snowfall and water changes for our fish. We have a few larger aquariums to maintain so scheduling water changes to compensate for our time away is part of our travel preparations. I planned out when the first water changes could happen when we return and worked backwards to determine which aquariums needed to be changed at which dates to provide the best environment as possible. Some of those fish tanks only need to be changed once a month while others need to be changed every week and a half.

Getting closer to the actual travel dates bring many more items to take care of. Mental packing lists and items needed for our trip help so that when it’s packing time we have everything we want to bring with us. Many people actually write down a list of items to pack however we choose to make it a little more interesting by just using mental lists. Fortunately we have gained experience over the years and have a good idea of what we need to have and items that if we forget, there are places at our destinations that we can get them. In order to get this experience, we have forgotten many things and have figured out how to improvise. Essential medications are probably the most important item to bring as they can be difficult to get especially if traveling out of the country. I place cameras as a high priority item however as they have gotten less expensive over the years they become less important. Things such as toothpaste or socks can easily be replaced at most destinations.

: Do We Have Everything?

A week out and our travel documents should probably be printed out as our arrangements are all made online. It’s surprising to me how much paper we go through with all of the air, hotel, car, and cruise documents that we need. I’m bringing a small book of reservations! There are a few tours we know right now that we want to participate in so we booked those. That adds to the small book so we have confirmation numbers, times, dates, addresses, and telephone numbers that we may need. These documents are always kept in our carry on so that they are with us all the time. Other information that is often helpful is telephone numbers for credit card companies, emergency contacts, and personal physicians in case something happens and medical information if needed, not necessarily in that order.

: Looking Ahead

Packing for a 10 day trip takes almost a full day after clothes have been laundered and missing items acquired. The first part includes deciding appropriate dress for the destinations we’re going. In order to gage this we look at the extended forecast for each place we will be spending time. This has changed how we pack more than once. Initially we may be planning on bringing more summer attire and then check the forecast for a specific area and realize that it is not expected to be as warm as we thought it would be. Getting each person’s items for each part of the trip and putting all of those items together into a pile is the next thing we do. Once we know how much we are trying to put into a few suitcases, these piles can be organized and packed using every bit of space as efficiently as possible. Socks can be put into shoes and other open crevices. We add small items inside our snorkel flippers and masks to help increase efficient use of space to reduce the amount of luggage we have to carry through the airport and into hotels. As we are packing our suitcases, we always remember more items that we need/want to bring. The final piece to packing for an extended week trip is to get the suitcase closed. I have had to sit on a suitcase to close it a few times. Once it is closed, each suitcase is wheeled to our bathroom scale and weighed to get a general idea of how heavy it is. If it is too close to being considered heavy by the airlines we will do some adjusting to reduce the weight which I have also done a time or two.

I think all of our travel documents have been printed off and placed in the carry-on and our bags are about 90% packed. Come Friday night we should be ready to go without staying up most of the night packing. We have spent many nights before a trip packing and I do what I can to eliminate this as I like to get a full nights rest before traveling. That may be the last full night for a week as there is no place like home for a comfortable place to sleep.

Caribbean, Exploring, Troy's Blog

The Caribbean

January 8, 2011 Troy

: Which One is Ours?

As we continue planning our Caribbean cruise portion, it has been duly noted that none of these locations are on the board. We have declared it alright to take some side trips and add destinations as we are able to and desire to. When plans were being made on how to travel our National Parks Monopoly board we saw the Florida Everglades and planned on adding a cruise to this property. What was unexpected was adding Biscayne National Park and a drive through the keys. In order to accomplish all of these places and at least get an introduction to them we had to compromise and shorten the length of the cruise. Our Eastern Caribbean cruise was chosen because there are 3 stops on a 5 day cruise, 2 of which we have never been to before.

Our first stop is to Grand Turk after a fun day at sea. While researching some of the attractions of this location, I was surprised to learn that this is where John Glenn was taken after he splashed down in the Atlantic. He also trained at the US Air Force Base and space tracking station located on Grand Turk. We are expected to be in port a little over 7 hours. Looking through some of the excursions offered by the cruise line, this should be enough time to enjoy one excursion and still provide time to do some exploration and shopping. There are many references to the coral reefs around this island and the chance at seeing humpback whales as they migrate for the winter.

: Getting Immersed In Aquatic Life

Next on the itinerary is Half Moon Cay (Little San Salvador Island) in the Bahamas. The revues of this stop have all raved about how nice the beach is with beautiful sand, crystal clear blue Caribbean water, and very friendly people. Half Moon Cay is all about the sand and the water. There really is nothing else on the island to see. Perfect!! Fishing, snorkeling, diving, and playing in the sand sounds like a great way to spend a vacation day. Snorkeling and an encounter with stingrays top our list of excursions at this island. Becoming immersed in the coral and colorful fish allow your mind to forget all of the facets of daily life and concentrate on the creatures beneath. Little San Salvador Island has a protected area of stingrays where you can interact with them and feed them. Watch out for the Stingray hickey! Afterwards, taking a few minutes to bury your feet in the white, soft sand would be great way to end the day at Half Moon Cay.

Our final stop in the Caribbean is Nassau, Bahamas. Watch out as you disembark from the ship or the hair braiders will get you. Fortunately there is much for them to work with on my head. There are many different experiences to be had at this location. Those who enjoy gambling have a plethora of casinos in which to spend their day. There are a number of pirate themed adventures that can be entertaining and educational as you discover the history of Nassau. For me, I prefer to be outside exploring nature and enjoying the warmth of the sun. There are snorkeling, diving, fishing, and boating trips available for a day full of sun. For us, one of the new experiences we would like to explore is swimming with the dolphins. I’ve tried to do this before but unfortunately the trip was canceled or altered due to weather. Hopefully this time will be different.

After a short time back on the ship we will be back in Miami going through customs and re-entering the United States for the last part of our trip. Fortunately we will still have a few days in Miami so that we don’t have to go from the warm Caribbean to the cold upper mid-west. After getting off the ship, we get to take another property off of our National Parks Monopoly board – the Everglades and then off to the Keys.

Become a Monopoly Traveler, Exploring, Monopoly Chocolate, Troy's Blog

Another Board to Travel

December 31, 2010 Troy 6 Comments

: Chocolate Edition Board

Over the holidays we have found another board to add to the list of “Boards Traveling”. This one should be quite easy as it is the Monopoly Chocolate Edition. The board itself has all of the same properties as the original game but the rest of the pieces are different. There is a spinner and the deeds/chance cards. In this edition, the deeds and chance cards are made of chocolate.

: Board and Pieces

Monopoly Chocolate Edition is probably one of the easiest and fastest editions to play. The rules are as follows:

1. Place the board and the spinner on the table
2. The host spins first. If the spinner lands on a colored square, the player can take a chocolate of the same (street) color from the box and put in on the board on a street square of the same color. Then it is the next player’s turn.
3. If the spinner stops on a square with a question mark, a similar chocolate is placed in the bank.
5. If the spinner stops on the Free Parking square, the player may take ALL chocolates from the bank.
6. Once the last chocolate belonging to a color on the board street has been placed, the next player to spin this color may take ALL the chocolates of that color.
7. As soon as all streets and all stations have been distributed, the player who has won the most chocolates wins! The winner may also eat any chocolates left in the bank.

: Chocolae Deeds and Chance Cards

This game is for 2 – 4 players. That could be a lot of chocolate for 1 person if they are playing a 2 person game as there are 32 pieces. I think we will wait for a couple of months to travel this board as there are plenty of holiday treats still around.

There have been other chocolate versions created such as Chocolate – Opoly which is dedicated to chocolate aficionados. Then there was the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Monopoly Edition which was made entirely of chocolate including the board, deeds, and hotels. This edition was sold in 1978 for $600.00 according to Extremechocolate.com. Apparently there were only 25 of the Neiman Marcus editions made. I would have to have a fairly large gathering in order to eat all of that chocolate. Finishing a complete game must have been near impossible due to pieces missing (eaten). What a great conversation piece though.

This edition of Monopoly may not be quite as chocolaty as the Neiman Marcusedition; it doesn’t come with that kind of price tag either. I believed that there was a Monopoly edition for everyone before with all that have been made over the past 75 years. Now I’m convinced with the making of chocolate versions!

Biscayne National Park, Exploring, Lysa's Blog, National Parks, New Experiences

Leaving the Cold

December 18, 2010 Lysa 3 Comments

The Dante Fascell Visitor Center at Biscayne National Park

I am excited to go to Miami in this cold weather. Biscayne National Park looks and sounds really cool too. So it isn’t just to get away from the cold weather. Biscayne National park has a lot of things I would like to do and see. “It protects a rare combination of aquamarine waters, emerald islands, and fish-bejeweled coral reefs.” according to their website. Now that sounds really interesting! It has 10,000 years of human history from pirates and shipwrecks to pineapple farmers and presidents. I hope to see a lot of wildlife out there! I also would like to snorkel.

I like to look at the colors and designs of fish. I like blue fish the most though. I’ve never seen a manatee and would like to. There are many tiny creatures to look out for too. Boating would be fun too! I like to feel the breeze in the air. There would be a lot of breeze too according to the website. Camping would be cool but I don’t think we’ll be camping. Biscayne was established for its natural history! Almost every island at the park has evidence that the native people used it. As stated in the Biscayne National Park website: “underwater, shipwrecks lay as silent witnesses to one violent moment of time, having a promise of teaching us about our collective past.” I would like to see a shipwreck and see how I feel about the history. I like to learn about history whenever I get the chance. I’ve learned so much already. You could even hear the story of how the park got established from one of the people who actually made it happen! I would love to hear that story!

Snorkeling — Sights to see while snorkeling

I will become a Junior Ranger for this park. You do a little booklet at your level and to complete it you have to venture around the park for the answers and use your knowledge. After completing it you get a badge with the parks name on it and if you’re a Girl Scout, or Boy Scout you can add patches to your vest or you can just get them for fun too if you aren’t! It is a really fun activity for kids and family. A glass bottom boat over Biscayne’s coral reef would be a great experience, but to see the reef well you would have to swim from the boat to the reef. It would not only be fun for me but a very good sight and experience. I don’t think anything could replace a trip to this park! You can learn so much from traveling in a fun and an exciting way, especially if you go as a family. That’s how I like to travel at least. Like I said, I am so excited for the trip and to see even more National Parks!

Rocky Mountain Junior Ranger — Becoming a Junior Ranger

Caribbean, Exploring, Troy's Blog

Between the Parks

December 11, 2010 Troy 2 Comments

: Between the Parked Ships

In between our visit to Biscayne National Park and the Everglades National Park we are going to explore parts of the Caribbean on a cruise. This 5 day cruise will take us to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, and Nassau. We have visited Nassau once before 15 years ago where we enjoyed a submarine excursion through some very beautiful waters being amazed at the colors of the fish and the ship wreck while looking into the Abyss as the ocean floor dropped out of site. Claustrophobia entered for a brief time as the submarine began sinking until the sites of the ocean floor came into view. We enjoy cruises as they allow us to experience a number of different places in a short period of time.

This wasn’t always the case. During our first few cruises we primarily wanted to stay on the ship and just relax. We would get off the ship for a little while and shop in the local stores and then return never really exploring the destination just enjoying the ocean breeze. One of the reasons for this was the cost of excursions at a time when we didn’t have the disposable income for traveling. Another reason was a lack of desire to explore along with wanting to lounge around and relax. As I have gotten older and in more of a routine of daily life, there is a greater desire to experience new things and explore areas I have not been to before. Excursions make a tremendous difference in the number of memories there are while on a cruise.

: Sunset Over the Ocean

These excursions don’t always have to be booked through the cruise line itself, especially with the internet access today. There are many destinations that have tourist information online where you can look for tours other than what the cruise line is offering. We are looking into a dolphin swim in Nassau that is not offered by the cruise line we are taking. Sometimes going off on an unplanned excursion can make just as many memories or more because it was spontaneous. One of the times we did this was in Montego Bay, Jamaica. We negotiated a price with a taxi to take us to some of the highlights of Montego Bay and began our sightseeing. We were able to see the area botanical gardens and climb Dunn’s River Falls for a lot less than we would have paid from a cruise ship and we had more freedom to see what we wanted for the length of time we wanted.

>: Rushing Back to the Ship!

One concern of creating your own excursions is that they are not cruise sanctioned so you have to be very aware of the time because the cruise ship likely will not wait for you if you are unable to get back to the ship on time. I have tested this return time on more than one occasion and it is not a pleasant experience. Fortunately I have made it back with enough time to get back on the ship. On at least one occasion I have joined security as they were getting back on the ship and closing the doors. After all was done, I made the most of this brief stop and have some great memories and a lot of laughs now. Some of my family members won’t go with me on my custom made excursions because I make them to nervous about getting back to the ship on time. This reminds me, I probably should keep my passport with me this trip so that if I do end up missing the boat, I can still get home!

Exploring, Florida Keys, New Experiences, Troy's Blog

The Keys

December 4, 2010 Troy 3 Comments

Driving US 1 — Dividing the Waters of the Florida Keys

After visiting the Everglades National Park, we are going to begin our journey to the southernmost point in the continental United States – Key West. Driving the U.S. 1 through the Florida Keys is something that I have wanted to experience for a long time. During our excursion to Southern Florida we have decided to finally do just that – Drive the almost 160 miles from Miami to Key West. This highway has been highlighted in such movies as True Lies and Licence to Kill which began my interest in wanting to drive this long span of bridges that connect many of the Florida Keys. We will be staying in Key West for one night before returning to the mainland for our trip back home.

The plan currently is to leave right from the Everglades about mid-afternoon and drive the 4 hours straight for Key West where we will enjoy the rest of the night. One of our games right now is to figure out where we’ll be for the sunset on this drive. The next day we plan to take in some of the sights and attractions as we meander back towards Miami. Since time will be limited we will have to stick to some shorter excursions. Some of the places in Key West that may be interesting see are the southernmost point marker, beaches, the Butterfly Conservatory, the aquarium, and the Hemingway House. I’m sure there is much more than this but these are some attractions the caught my attention.

As we drive back through the Florida Keys some of the other places that might be of interest in our short time are Bahia Honda State Park, feeding the tarpon at Robbie’s Marina in Islamorada or visiting Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park. Continuing on to Key Largo could bring a stop at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park where there is snorkeling, hiking, or kayaking to enjoy. I have read many positive reviews of this state park which moves it a little higher on our list of places to see while driving the Florida Keys. Of course snorkeling is abundant in any of these areas and there is always the option of sitting back and taking in our surroundings.

While researching the drive on U.S. 1 through the keys, I discovered that we could easily spend our entire 10 days in Southern Florida playing in the keys so to only take a day is a great teaser for future endeavors to this area. I am eager to experience driving on a highway that has the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. It’s hard for me to imagine driving on such a long span of bridges connecting so many islands together.

Biscayne National Park, Exploring, National Parks, Troy's Blog

Adding Biscayn N.P.

November 21, 2010 Troy 3 Comments

: Boca Chita Key with Miami in the distance

While I’m sure we could spend many days exploring the Everglades National Park, we have chosen to visit nearby Biscayne National Park as part of our excursion to Southern Florida. This destination is not on our National Parks edition of Monopoly but is a place we highly look forward to experiencing. It is common for us to add non-board destinations to our trips which help both in tiring us out and packing more experiences into each trip. We have planned for one full day at Biscayne National Park so I hope the weather is nice. This is not enough time to do all that we would like to do I’m sure but does give us a taste of this park which is the intention of our visits to all of the National Parks on our board.

Most of Biscayne N.P. is underwater (95%) which is one of the features that really draws us to it. Snorkeling is a favorite activity whenever we are in tropical waters with reefs. Kristy is anxious to travel to Southern Florida as this will be her first attempt at snorkeling. This will be Lysa’s second time snorkeling. Her first experience was in Cozumel, Mexico three years ago. I am excited to take them and let them experience life on a reef. They have both looked over pictures of reefs and fish and we have a small saltwater aquarium with corals and fish but to be able to see everything going on at a natural reef is so much more mesmerizing. Fortunately by watching how different animals work together in our aquarium, Kristy and Lysa will have the opportunity to notice many things that can be missed when snorkeling such as how the cleanup crew (snails, crabs, shrimp, and sea stars) scavenge around the reef and interact with the fish. Watching all of this will make the day go by exceptionally fast!

While snorkeling appears to be a great way to explore Biscayne National Park, there are other activities that highlight the diversity of this park. There are hiking trails, the Dante Fascell Visitor Center at Convoy Point, boating, fishing, and a lot of history according to the National Park Service website. The beginning of the Florida Keys is considered by many to be in Biscayne N.P. – Elliot Key. Since we won’t have a boat to freely move about the reefs and keys, we need to plan ahead to use the park vendor for boating excursions in order to be able to experience this area and see what we can. I would like to see the lighthouse on Boca Chita Key and Stiltsville in Biscayne Bay along with snorkeling. Kristy and Lysa enjoy becoming Junior Rangers at all of the national parks that we visit so this will be a priority at Biscayne National Park as well.

Underwater Scenic — Motivation and Anticipation!

Camping is allowed on Elliot Key and Boca Chita Key which would be a great way for us to really enjoy and explore this wondrous area. Unfortunately, we are limited by our arrival to Miami late the day before and have commitments early the day after. I would love to watch the sun set and rise again from a key while star gazing and surveying the nighttime Miami skyline. These are some of the things we may have to explore on another trip after completing our National Parks Monopoly Board.

As I write this I am looking forward to this trip more and more. Maybe it is time to stop writing about this national park and focus on the upcoming holidays.

Everglades National Park, Exploring, Lysa's Blog, National Parks

Excited for the Everglades

November 14, 2010 Lysa 3 Comments

: Everglades in Florida

I am excited to tell you about my adventures, but first I would like to tell you about the National Park we’re going to. The Everglades must be a cool place because I’ve heard so many things about them. First of all, I’m traveling with my family so I’m not alone. Traveling is more fun for me if there is someone to travel with. I’m very excited to explore the Everglades and learn more. I love to learn about other places.

Everglades National Park is the 3^rd largest national park in the lower 48 states! Only Death Valley and Yellowstone National Park are larger. I am not surprised because it covers much of the southern tip of peninsular, Florida. It is 1,506,000 acres! I’ve been to this area before but never to the Everglades. It does surprise me that it ranks with the planets most important natural areas. It must be a cool place to visit but that’s not all! There are all kinds of animals too! There are all kinds of birds, alligators, crocodiles, bald eagles (cool!), and endangered panthers hoping to track white-tailed deer! I never knew they had endangered animals there! I hope we see, if not all, many.

panther — The Endangered Florida Panther

This park was established December 1947, when Harry S. Truman was president. That was About 63 years ago! That seems like a really long time to me.

I hope we go to The Ten Thousand Islands (that’s a lot of islands!), The Royal Palm, and The Shark valley. SHARK VALLEY! I wonder if it’s where you can see or feel the sharks. I bet it is because the National Park goes into the Atlantic Ocean, and The Gulf Of Mexico. There’s also the Florida Bay, and The Whitewater Bay. There’s even an Everglades city right next to the boarder of The National Park! That’s really cool! I hope we have a lot of fun! Of course we will! I hope you can travel there too. It sounds really cool!

Everglades National Park, Exploring, National Parks, Troy's Blog