Caribbean Cruise - Day 2 - At Sea

     We took our time getting up this morning and had a leisurely breakfast in the windjammer, followed by some pool time..

     Today was a day to get to know the ship, get some sea sickness pills for Mitchell/ relax and enjoy ourselves. We also went to the climbing wall where Melodie and I had a try followed by a trip to the Flowrider, where I had a try. 

Caribbean Cruise - Day 0 and Day 1

Flight to Florida

The start of our 2016 Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Friday - January 8, 2016

     Today we were up at 0630, ready for our big adventure, which, this time, was a flight to Florida followed by a Caribbean Cruise. We were booked on Royal Caribbean's "Navigator of the Seas" for a 9 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise.

     We had a few last minute items to pack, the septic to dump, and TJ took the dogs for a walk while we got the final packing done. To be honest, it was Darlene who did all the packing as usual, lol.

The drive to Las Vegas usually takes 2 1/2 hours and today was not exception, with the cloudy skies finally giving way to some sunshine shortly before we reached Vegas. 

     We pulled up in front of United where Carrie got out to step into the driver seat, Darlene gave hugs to her and TJ, and I got our bags out and onto the curb.  We were able to get our boarding passes right there at the curb and also get our bags checked in all the way to Ft. Lauderdale, as we had a 3 hr. Layover in Denver, Colorado.

In our rush, Darlene forgot her phone in the car, which we discovered almost as soon as Carrie and TJ had pulled away from the curb.  Try as we might, we were unable to contact them until we were almost through the security screening, which was when they had stopped in Bullhead for breakfast at McDonald's, which has free wifi.

     Seats 30D and 30F were our assigned seats and although the plane was almost full, we were lucky to have no one between us, which gave us a lot more room for the 2 hour flight into Denver, Colorado.

     Click on 1st photo to see a short video as we left Las Vegas.

     We were supposed to have about a 30 or 40 minute layover and then board again to our same seats but the wait was more like an hour and it started to snow which meant the plane had to wait in a line to be de-iced before we could take off.  As well, we were not so lucky with our seats this time as a young girl was in between us, but she readily changed with Darlene so she could have the aisle seat.

 Click on second photo to see a video as the plane was being de-iced prior to leaving Denver.

     With United, you have to download their app and then pay to be able to watch movies or TV on Wifi while on the plane. They also have movies and TV on the small screens on the back of the seats on this 737, but you had to pay money for the movies.... "The Last Martian", starring Matt Damon was playing, it was new, so we purchased it and shared my earphones, which worked pretty good.     

     The icing in Denver caused us to be about an hour late which meant that Mitchell and Melodie were waiting for us at our baggage claim in Ft. Lauderdale. 

     We grabbed a Taxi to take us to the Motel 6 that Melodie had booked for us. I picked up the tab for the Taxi (13.00) and Melodie covered the room (85.00).

      The next morning (9th Jan) we grabbed some coffee and then took a Taxi down the road to pick up some booze at a local Walgreens, which was very reasonable. This was so we could smuggle it aboard the Ship as they only allow 1 bottle of wine per person to be brought on board. My bottle of Crown Royal was only 22.00 which was very reasonable.  (The fare for this taxi was 10.00 which Mitchell covered).

     We checked out and got a taxi to the dock, which I covered (20.00).  

     Getting on to the ship (around 1200) was pretty fast and painless. It was kinda neat to see all those people, hardly any of whom were using their cell phones as they waited patiently in line to get on board.

      After getting on board, we went to our rooms to get rid of our carry-ons and then went topside for a  quick bite in the Windjammer before going topside to take in our departure.  We also made reservations for 5:30 pm in the Sapphire Dining room and requested a window seat.

      Topside we ended up catching some of the action on the flow rider and then ended up in the dining room as the ship left port and the sun set for the night.

Darlene in Windjammer

Pelicans soaring by the ship as we watched action on the Flowrider

Darlene, Mitchell and Melodie

Click on photo to left to see plane and the Flowrider action

Vegreville to Arizona (Dec / 2015)

24 Dec. 2015
     Vegreville, Alberta --> Spruce Grove, Alberta

     We packed, and packed, and finally we're ready to leave!  It is around noon and c-o-l-d outside as we pull the Motorhome out of the storage place to drive it to our house where we will load it up and get it warm over the next couple of days to drive it to Stony Plain where we will have Christmas with Carrie and Richard.  It is cold outside and it took quite a few tries before I could get the jacks to go up all the way.  The short video is as we pull out of the storage place.

We had our RV parked in storage until the 22 Dec. when we drove it to our place in Vegreville so we could warm it up and pack it for our upcoming 5 or 6 month trip.

     After it was packed up and our house locked up and secured we hooked up our "toad" (Towed vehicle) and headed west to Stony Plain, which is just West of Edmonton.  Our plan was to stay at the Camp n Class RV resort for the 24th and 25th Dec. so we could spend Christmas with Darlene's Daughter, son in law and Granddaughter.

The Hackett Christmas Tree

    Christmas was great, turkey was awesome (we even got some leftovers for lunch on the 26th, before we crossed the border.

Carrie and Darlene enjoying some time

7:30 PM as we leave the Hacket

26 Dec. 2015 - Saturday
     Spruce Grove, Alberta --> Great Falls, Montana

     I had set the alarm for 6 am, as it was -20 outside and I was concerned about batteries, engines, doors freezing up, and other stuff you worry about when it gets that cold and you are going to be living and traveling in a RV. 

Parked at "Camp n Class RV" in Spruce Grove

     Our RV is a 2014 Thor Tuscany 43 ft. Motorhome.  On the 1st Dec. I got laid off from work...I am about to turn 64 and was not planning on working past 65 so we are getting a jump on retirement. 

     "We" is my wife, our 10 yr. old Grandson TJ, and our 2 small dogs.  TJ has been with us just before he turned 2 and will be until he leaves or is forced out of the nest lol.  Last year we decided we do not want to be forced to stay in one place because of his schooling so we started to home-school TJ which has turned out to be a blessing for all of us. 

     I digress..... 

     It was 0740 hrs before we pulled out of the "Camp n Class RV Resort" and headed our sights, and vehicle, South. 

      Problem before we could even head out was the cold temperature... -20 Celsius is hard on people and machinery, so I drove our "toad" around the RV lot for a good 10 minutes to ensure all parts had a chance to warm up and were lubricated.  

Fueling up in Red Deer, Alberta

     The next issue was the door on the Motorhome would not latch closed, so we had to put a blow dryer to it for a couple of minutes to thaw it out. 

     The final issue was Water.  I had winterized the RV a month or so prior and there was no water so we packed our own drinking (and coffee) water as well as water in case we had to use the toilet. (Which we did). Lol

     Anyway, as the sun rose it showed us the cold night had left some gorgeous "hoar" frost on everything. Being Boxing Day and early in the morning there was little traffic so we made good time on our journey. 

     Our goal for the day was to make it to Great Falls, Montana.  Google maps figured it would take us 8 hours to make the drive. Normally we go the same speed as the rest of traffic, but we topped up our fuel in Red Deer, had to stop a couple of times for the dogs to pee, and we also had to go thru Customs at the border.
The Customs has never been a problem for us.... We simply tell the truth and never seem to get hassled.

     We made it to Great Falls with 1/2 tank of fuel and parked at the big Walmart across from an industrial complex. 

     Supper tonight was a la Subway in Walmart where I picked up some water for our toilet use the next day. 

     The alarm is set for 6 am and we should be on the road by 7..... That's it for today.



Sunday 27 Dec. 2015
     Great Falls, Montana --> Salt Lake City, Utah
     Today saw the alarm going off at 0600 followed immediately by me getting up to start the generator, making coffee, taking the dogs out for a pee and poop, driving the car around for 10 minutes to get all gears lubricated before hooking it up to the Motorhome, and then heading out of Walmart at 0740.
     It was only -5 outside which meant the door on the Motorhome did not have to be thawed which was a nice way to start the day. It was dark when we left Great Falls Montana and we were soon back on Hwy 15 heading south for Salk Lake City.

     Once on the freeway we discovered some strong winds that were pushing us around enough that our speed was reduced about 10 mph. Montana is beautiful in the northern part and with some hoar frost the surrounding landscape looked quite pretty.
     As Hwy 15 snakes south there are 3 mountain passes you must go thru. Thankfully there had not been any new snow for a couple of days affording us relatively clear roads as we drove thru.
     We stopped for fuel at Butte, just South of the city at a Flying J. Cost to fill up since Red Deer was just over 200 bucks which was pretty good.

It got colder the further south we drove and I pulled in to a rest stop to let the dogs have a pee and also to stretch my legs. Shortly thereafter we came across another Flying J just north of Salt Lake City o we topped up the fuel again (100 bucks) and Darlene got some Gatorade for TJ as he has thrown up the last 2 nights and we think he has a stomach flu.
     It was -14 as we drove thru Salt Lake City and almost dark. I was starting to get tired so we pulled into Walmart at a small town about 1 hour south of Salt Lake City. We watched the second part of Avatar movie after supper and then shut it down, planning for another earl morning with the end in site tomorrow sometime.

28 Dec Lake Havasu City

I had trouble sleeping, and woke up at 0300.... Went back to sleep after 15 minutes and woke up again at 0400.

Enough is enough so I got up, took the dogs out for a quick pee, and then fired everything up and we were on the road by 0430, while Darlene and TJ slept peacefully. 

There was still snow everywhere and the temperature had dropped to -13 C overnight as we headed out of Walmart RV site. 

Darlene and the dogs came heading out around 0740 and the snow started to disappear 150 miles North of Las Vegas.

 As the snow disappeared, so did the cold temperatures. By the time we hit Vegas, I had turned the heat off in the Motorhome and TJ had crawled out of bed. This time we cruised thru Vegas and on towards Lake Havasu without a hitch. 

Experience does help and this time we stopped just outside of Kingman at Truck Tub to get the Motorhome washed and a coating of Reflex put on it and the car for 65 bucks (and towel dried). We topped up the Motorhome fuel wise at Topco and arrive in Lake Havasu just before 3 PM. The last fuel up was a gong show with my card being denied (then I found out it was the Internet was down) a very slooooow pump at the Flying J RV pump so we moved to the truck one to find out that in Arizona the RV is 8 cents cheaper than truck pumps!

We backed into our site, got hooked up, and then

went to the Golden Corral for supper. TJ threw up in the parking lot due to the stomach flu, and I started to come down with a bout of bronchitis as Darlene's sinusitis hung on. The temperature had warmed up to 15 during the day which felt really really nice.  Once back at the RV site we crashed pretty early, after taking the dogs for a quick pee and walk. 

Sept 2015 trip to Ontario

We had planned to leave on the 3rd of Sept., following my night shift, but a wicked storm moved in so I got us a Pizza from BP and we crashed in the RV storage lot that night.

Next morning we headed out around 8:30 for Manitou Springs, near Watrous, Sask.   We arrived there without incident, had to get some branches cut down to get into out site properly and then went to the hot pools for the afternoon. The springs are supposed to have a healing property as they are quite warm (103 degrees) and very high in sodium phosphate and other minerals so that it is impossible to sink. 

Sept. 5th - we were up early and on the road, hoping to make a lot of miles today. We did quite well, putting on 970 km and spending the night in a rest area in the US. 

Sept 6 - Another long day of driving sat us ending up in Canada by Sault St. Marie. I was quite tired and we ended up pulling into a Walmart very close to the border crossing and right next to a railway line that had a big load of tourists leaving early the next Morning (Sunday). 

Sept 7th - We 

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Today we went to the Grand Canyon on the South Side, as the north is closed in the winter.
We left our place in Havasu Lake just after 9 AM, after the dogs had been walked and everything checked for the day.

There were some clouds in the sky which is great for Landscape photography, but the clouds disappeared by the time we had reached Kingman.

Before we even reached Kingman, we had a stop of about 20 minutes while an ambulance helicopter took off for Las Vegas with some accident victims.

As we approached Dolan Springs, there were hundreds and hundreds of Joshua Trees, which, we were unsure of their names at the time. Anyway, when you arrive, you have to take a bus to the three sites that the Indians have for you to visit.  Obviously this costs money, and it ran about 225 bucks for TJ, Darlene and myself to take the bus and also go on the famous "Skywalk".

There were 3 stops on the buses and they ran continuously, so you could stay at any site as long as you wanted. Since this was TJ's and Darlene's second visit, we passed on the first stop, which was a western town they had made up. Apparently you can go on horseback rides along the edge, learn how to rope and a few other things as well as food were offered.

At the second stop there is the "Skywalk".  It is truly quite impressive to see the Grand Canyon, and you can actually walk right up to the edge and look straight down a good mile to the bottom! We spent

Dec 31, = Trip to Lake Havasu

31 Dec 2014
Sitting in the Edmonton airport with a 2hr. Wait before my flight leaves gives me a few minutes to post an update to my blog. 

I have 2 weeks off and am heading to Lake Havasu to join Darlene and TJ. They will meet me in Vegas and we will stay until her Mom leaves an hour after I arrive. 

When we get to Lake Havasu (2 hr drive), we have to move the motorhome to a new, nicer place h

Just up the road. Later that evening we have tickets to the dance at the new place. 

NewYears  usually means new resolutions and this year DD has signalled her intention to try a 5 K run in July in Edmonton. I am thinking that might be a goal I can use myself to try and get my cardio back up. 

This time I will be down for 2 weeks and I hope to get to the Grand Canyon and maybe Antelope canyon as well. 

The temp has gone from -20 yesterday to -2 this morning, while in Vegas it has dropped down to only 1 degree above. 

Missy and I saw The Hobbit movie yesterday and she came out and spent the night before driving me to the airport this morning. We got up at 5 to leave at 530 for a 950 departure time. 

There is no problem at the airport or with my flight down to Las Vegas. It is, however almost as cold in Las Vegas as it is in Edmonton. 

Darlene's mom was supposed to leave after I arrived, about an hour later. On the drive here the road was shut down as it was very icy and there were 2 semi's in the ditch so they had to take another route  and ended up missing her flight. They were also late in getting to the baggage claim where I sat waiting for quite awhile. Darlene's mom had to wait until about 9 that night before leaving on another flight. 

The roads were slippery and icy on the way back and we came across numerous vehicles in the ditch. We did not get to Lake Havasu until 5:30 PM to be greeted by the hungry and lonely dogs. It was quite an adventurous drive to end our year lol. We had planned to move the RV when I got here and go to the dance at the new place but we passed on that. 

Safari Day 22 - Trip Home

Day 22 - Trip Home

We awake early, and after a shower and packing, go down for breakfast where Tim and Mike join us shortly afterwards.

At breakfast they want us to sign for it, which we do, but it is upsetting as we have paid 280 bucks and they are not including breakfast?  When we were here before it was included and also the rooms were cheaper at 220 per night.

Prior to returning to our rooms we stop to see about the charge for breakfast. It looks like it will take a while, so Bob stays in the lobby to clear it up and I go up to finish my packing.

Bob gets it cleared up and we check out, leaving our bags in a room until we return in the afternoon.

All 4 of us once again head down to the waterfront for some last minute shopping and sightseeing before our long journey home.

We have a nice lunch down at the waterfront and get our photos taken by a very outgoing young lady who showed us our table. We wander about some more, killing time now, and end up at a small place overlooking the crowds and have a last drink on the waterfront before heading back to our hotel.

Tim has a taxi provided because he flew business class so he leaves us waiting for our van, which does not show up. There is another taxi there so we hire him to take us to the airport.

Once at the airport, it is thru customs again and there we meet up with Tim.  Too late, Bob and I discover that the VAT we have paid on our purchases and were supposed to be refunded are to be done BEFORE you go thru customs and cannot be done now.  It is a bit of a bother, as Bob has about 200 bucks coming back to him.  There is an option to fill out forms and have customs in Canada fill out a form and we can mail it back for a refund..... Tim has done that in the past and is still waiting for him money some 10 years after the fact.

Mike has an option to upgrade to business class for 1000 bucks, which he does..... Bob and I, meanwhile, in economy, finally get to board about 15 minutes after they have. lol

I take the window seat this time and our long trip home begins.

Cape Town - Dubai = 9 hours

Dubai, as we landed.

We arrive in Dubai at 530 AM and it is 31 C outside and VERY VERY humid.  They load us onto a bus, which takes a good 20 minutes and finally we get into the airport.

There is a 4 hour layover here, but we waste no time in going thru customs to get to our boarding gate where we wait for our flight.

Dubai - Seattle = 15 hours

This is a long, long flight, but Air Emirates is a very good airline with excellent service. Bob manages to sleep quite a bit, and I watch a number of movies in between small fits of restless sleep.

Seattle - Vancouver = 1 hour

We say Good-bye to Tim and Mike as they have their luggage before ours arrives.  My suitcase arrives and then we wait, and wait, and wait for Bob's luggage..... it is the last suitcase off this plane, and the plane holds 350 passengers!  We are now rushing a bit as we don't want to miss our connection to Vancouver.  We have to take to tram to another terminal and finally get to Air Canada kiosks where we get our boarding passes.  We had to do our Check-in during our layover in Dubai and the internet connection was not that great there. lol.

I get my boarding pass first, but there is no seat assignment. We are told they will do that at the gate before we board.

When we get to the boarding gate, we find out they have overbooked the plane and are looking for volunteers to take another flight. Obviously neither of us is interested.  We sit down and after awhile they call Bob up to ask if he would be interested in a delay..... no..... Then they call me up and give me a seat assignment.  Bob is not called up and there are a couple of announcements where they are offering 400 bucks on another flight if you will give up your seat.  There are no takers.... Finally we board, and Bob is left behind.

My flight to Vancouver is short, and going thru the customs is relatively quick and automated to a large extent. I have to go thru a second set of customs and this is the Air Canada part and it is packed and I don't know if I will make my connection to Edmonton.  Finally I get thru and rush to my gate as the last people are boarding.  This is the last leg and I feel exhaustion washing over me as there are no more connections, no more flights, no more hotels, no more worrying,.... 

Darlene and TJ are waiting for me and it is good to be back home.  It has taken me 35 hours to get here from the time I arrived at the airport in Cape Town.  That is now so far away ......