Our trip home 22 April 2016 - Day 1 (Lake Havasu --> Page, Arizona)

Fri.  22 April 2016  Lake Havasu --> Page, Arizona  (338 miles total)

     We were up and ready to go early in the morning, except for hooking up the car and attaching the new "blue ox tow guard" we had purchased in Quartzsite about a month ago. 

     It did not take that long to connect, BUT the initial adjustment took quite some time because if it is too taut, it will bind when cornering.  We were finally ready to roll just before 0900 

     Oh, did I mention that in the excitement of the new guard connection I forgot to release the car brakes and dragged the car about 30 ft. before Darlene flagged me down. 

     ** We ALWAYS have Darlene walk beside the car as we initially start to ensure all is ok.... This is why we do this, to ensure all is ok back there and today the routine paid off as the only damage is we left a little rubber on the pavement as our mark at Havasu RV Resort.

     It was a sunny day with a slight breeze as we left on our journey to Page Arizona, which was northeast and about 5 or 6 hours distance. 

     We stopped just north of Lake Havasu to fuel up at the Pilot Fuel at the junction of I-40 and I-95. 

We found out that in Arizona that if you fuel up at the truck pumps they are $.09 more per Gal. than the RV pumps. The truck pumps are larger and faster, but we are on holidays, right?

Red Rocks pull off and take pic time

   

 We had reservations at Wahweap Campground in Lake Powell. Normally you have to pay a Park entrance fee but it is a National Park anniversary and they are free from the 16th to 24 April so we got in for free and this also was part of our plan for the next three or four days. 

     It got progressively windier as we drove along and was nasty by the time we were set up in our new home for the next 3 days.

     We had stopped at a McDonald's for lunch around two so were not very hungry at suppertime. I chose to go out to see Horseshoe Bend which is a famous site on the Colorado River just South of Page where the river meanders almost completely around a piece of land that is visible from high up. I got on my stomach to sidle up for some photos and was amazed at all the young kids who would stand right on the edge for their "selfies" lol.

Lots of people waiting sunset on the cliffs

 

Sunset at Horseshoe Bend, Arizona

Lots and lots of photographers everywhere !!

When the wind gusts came, it was like being sand blasted up there. It was pretty neat to see the view as the sun set. 

Horseshoe Bend of Colorado River near Page, Arizona

     On a side note I later found out that 3 people had fallen to their deaths in the last 10 years at this site.

Horseshoe Bend - lying on stomach with camera over edge!

Day Trip to take Carrie to see Grand Canyon

Day Trip to Grand Canyon

Taking Carrie to see it before she goes to Alberta

Monday - January 19, 2016

Layers of stone are awesome to behold!

It was a decision reached over morning coffee and by 0930 we were on the road. We filled up the car as we hit Hwy 40 and made it to the Grand Canyon just before noon. 

     As always, this place is impressive. There was some snow alongside the road on our way there and the temperature was around 11 or 12 Celsius with a slight breeze while we were there. 

It costs about 40 bucks each just to go on the tour bus and another 20 to walk on the skywalk where they will not allow any photos to be taken as they have a thriving business selling pics that they take!

Guano Point is pretty impressive!

     Darlene and Carrie went on the skywalk, TJ waited at entrance with a security lady and I got into taking photos. 

     It was a great trip and we took a different route back to Kingman where we made a stop at DQ for ice cream, milkshake(TJ) and a salad (Carrie).

Old, twisted trees provide excellent props for photos.

   

Getting rid of Grampa!

It is about 1 mile straight down here!

Plastered against a wall 

Skywalk.... scary..... expensive, but worth it...

TJ waited here while the girls went on skywalk and Granpa took pics

Hanging on for dear life!

"This is as close as I go"

A spot of sunshine lights up the bottom

Took a different way home to find flat desert with a lone Joshua Tree

Beautiful sunset and daughter in law

On our return 4:45 PM, Darlene and Carrie went to Walmart for groceries while I took dogs for a walk. Later that evening we had a fire while downing coolers and beers until it got too cool outside.

Beautiful Mom and Daughter having coolers by the fire

Caribbean Cruise Day 5 - St. Kitts

Wed. Jan 13 2016
   

Ship's Compass which detailed everything going on every day was delivered daily!

 I was up a bit early and managed to see this beautiful little island as we passed by en route to see St. Kitts.

Small Island north of St. Kitts.

Our ship docked at 10 AM which afforded us the luxury of eating while watching the docking procedure.Once on land and past the photo guys we were approached by a fellow trying to sell tickets on a tour around the island starting at 1 PM local time. It was only 20 bucks so we signed up right away while Mitchell and Melodie took awhile to decide whether it was worthwhile or not but in the end decided to come along with us.

Entrance to St. Kitts from wharf

Our tour bus

     We toured the island in a small bus, making a number of photo stops.







We went up a number of side streets and quickly realized that on this island there are a lot of poor people.
The roads were narrow with lots of hills and curves.
   







 Below is a short video taken while we were driving around the island.

Romney House
This former plantation was a most interesting stop as it showcased the stages this island's economy has gone thru over the years.

Old Foundry stack for sugar

Tobacco cotton and rum were all at various times big exports, with the climate and natural sugar cane playing a large role as evidenced by the many old foundry stacks around the island.


There was also some HUGE trees with Tarzan like vines hanging from them. The vegetation here is very lush and quite overrun in many places.

Tarzan Vines

At the Romney House there was also a demonstration of Batik, which is where they paint wax on canvas in many layers to produce striking paintings. We also had some drinks and optional moonshine from the driver at this stop.
 

Date Palm

 There was one very large tree on the property which reminded me of the Home Tree in the movie AVATAR.

Click on the video below for a video of Batik.....

When we got to the norther pat of the island we saw where the higher income families lived along with some nice condominiums that were for rent.
     Our next stop was high on a hill where there was also some very cheap beer for sale as well as a beautiful view of some beaches and ocean.

3 buck beer !!

Caribbean on left, Atlantic on Right

     The next stop was at a resort on the beach where Darlene and Melodie dipped their feet in the Caribbean Sea. On our way back to the ship, we asked the driver to make another pit stop at the top of the hill for more beer and some snacks for the trip back.
 By the time we got back to St. Kitts, it was apparent some of our Columbian passengers were pretty well bombed from the moonshine they had consumed on the trip.

Beautiful beaches

     We purchased some jewelry but declined on the booze as it was quite expensive. darlene had a really nice Pina Colada just before we boarded while some Caribbean music was being played on the dock.

Did I mention there was also another cruise ship






 (Celebrity Line) docked as well. It was smaller than ours and did not leave till after we had departed.

Supper in the Saphirre Dining Room, with Bernadette from the Philippines as our waitress. She was due to get 2 months off after a 7 month tour of duty!

Caribbean Cruise - Day 4 - San Juan

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Day 4 of our 2016 Caribbean Cruise

2nd stop - Tuesday 12 January

This was our second stop on our cruise and it turned out to be a lesson as well. We started off by stopping at a pharmacy to get Darlene some stuff for her throat and also moisturizer for myself. 

Following that, we started to walk up into the city to find some free wi-fi and do some sightseeing.... While en route to the place where the wi-fi was, we stopped at a couple of stores which had been recommended on the ship that offered discounts or free stuff for stopping in.  While trying to

Darlene and Don just off ship

purchase some sunglasses, Melodie discovered that her credit card had been compromised (or so the bank figured0 and was being declines. It took quite a while to get that straightened out, but something to remember every time we travel in the future, as being left in a strange island with no money or ID can a daunting task for anyone! 

Mitchell and Melodie just off ship

After we got that straightened out, it was time for a drink.... Or two.... Or three....
Darlene had a margarita, Pina Colada (which she had to rush drinking before we boarded the ship) and then some wine with supper later on.  Melodie , Mitchell and I had beer as it was really cheap in San Juan. ....We did not get to see much of this island, but came away with the impression of narrow, cobblestone streets, lots of shops and bars, and beautiful architecture in the buildings with gorgeous pastel colours!

Having drinks before boarding ship

We all had a really good buzz on by the time we got back on the ship, Because it was late, we had not made dinner reservations, and instead, poured ourselves some wine and headed up to the hot tub. 

One of the waiters came along and exchanged our wine glasses for plastic ones and then later he took our wine glasses while we were in deep conversations with the rest of the people in the hot tub. Colombia, Tennessee, and Michigan was where they were from.

The hot tub, mixed drinks, and no supper caught up to Darlene when we got back to our room as she had a brief (but meaningful) talk with the trash can on our arrival. It was a good thing, as she felt fine the next morning with no ill effects.

Cop and cobblestone streets as sun sets in San Juan

It is very beautiful in San Juan with a lot of character and history to explore. I had fun taking pictures but it turned dark too soon for me.. This is definitely a place worth visiting again!

Colourful buildings

Narrow, crowded streets

Darlene shopping as evening approaches

Government buildings

Finishing off the last of drink before boarding

Our ship awaits us!

Sun set

Mitchel, Darlene and Melodie

Colourful buildings

This young lady posed for us on her way to a nightclub

The dark side of San Juan...