Patti has chosen cityscapes for this challenge. I’m not a city girl. I would much rather be in a small town, out in the country, or exploring nature.
There is one city that is near and dear to my heart and that is Savannah, Georgia. I was born in Savannah (I’m not telling you how many years ago that was) when my father was in the U. S. Air Force stationed at Hunter Air Force Base (now Hunter Army Airfield). We moved away when I was three years old. Many years later my husband’s job brought me back to Savannah. I’ve lived within 20 miles of Savannah for over 40 years.
Savannah is a popular tourist destination with it’s beautiful squares, ancient live oaks dripping with Spanish moss, a picturesque river front, Bonaventure Cemetery, and lots of history. Tourism increased after the release of John Berent’s novel “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. In Savannah the novel is known as “The Book.” Hollywood discovered Savannah and it has become a popular filming location for movies such as “Forrest Gump”, “Glory”, “The Last Song” and of course the Clint Eastwood directed “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”.
Savannah City HallCathedral of Saint John the Baptist, SavannahOlympic cauldron from 1996 Olympics, Savannah, GeorgiaForsyth Park FountainRiver Street as seen from the Savannah Convention CenterWaving Girl Statue (Florence Martus) beside the Savannah River in Savannah, GeorgiaJohnny Mercer HouseBonaventure Cemetery in the spring
After a rough start to 2024 Henry and I were more than ready to take off on an adventure to nine different Caribbean islands. A month before our departure I tripped and fractured my left arm. I did the happy dance when my doctor gave me the ok to go on our long awaited West Indies Explorer cruise on the Viking Sea. We were looking forward to the warm weather, turquoise waters, beautiful islands, and some new adventures.
We did this same cruise in January, 2022. We enjoyed the islands so much we wanted to visit them all again. This time we chose different excursions so that we could experience new things on each island.
February 10 – 13, 2024 Days 1-4: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Our adventure started in San Juan on Saturday, February 10, 2024, the day before the Super Bowl. Our travel day started about 3:30 a.m. in order to get to the Savannah airport in time for our 6:30 departure. I couldn’t carry anything with my left arm so Henry had to manage all of our carry on bags through two airports. We enjoyed two nights at a beautiful resort before boarding our cruise ship the Viking Sea on Monday morning. The header image was taken at the beach at the resort.
I spotted the small iguana on the beach as he wandered next to people lounging on beach chairs. I soon saw a large iguana on the beach. I met a woman from Panama who told me she was the mama iguana in search of the baby. I don’t know if they ever found each other.
Later in the afternoon we enjoyed a Pina Colada at the pool bar. We were photo bombed by one of the servers.
After two enjoyable days at the hotel we boarded the Viking Sea on Monday. We spent most of the day on Tuesday relaxing on the ship. We took a stroll along the waterfront by the cruise ship docks and enjoyed watching the sunset from the ship as we cruised away from San Juan.
February 14, 2024 Day 5: Valentine’s Day on St. Martin
A bus tour around St. Martin was a fun way spend the day. Our driver Leroy drove us around the island pointing out points of interest including the many salt ponds. We stopped at a beach along the way and at the open air market in Marigot, the capital of the French side of the island. Once back at the cruise ship dock in Phillipsburg we walked around the port on our way back to the ship. We ended the day with a delicious Valentine’s dinner at Manfredi’s onboard the ship.
Henry enjoyed driving a 4×4 Honda Talon around the island on our 2022 visit to St. Martin. We had a great time watching the airplanes landing at the airport. You can read more about that adventure at Caribbean Islands Adventure St. Martin.
February 15, 2024 Day 6: Safari Island Drive around St. Kitts
Our colorful guide Christopher had many fun stories to tell as he drove us around beautiful St. Kitts in his safari vehicle. We passed by ruins from a sugar cane plantation and stopped to see black volcanic rocks. At our last stop we were treated to rum punch, the best we tasted on the entire cruise.
February 16, 2024 Day 7: Coastal Cruise to St. Lucia
A trip to the Caribbean is not complete without at least one boat trip. A coastal cruise to see the Pitons was a perfect way to spend the day in St. Lucia. Our ship was docked in the capitol of Castries in the northern part of the island. After boarding our tour boat we cruised south along the shore while our guide pointed out fishing villages, bays and other places of interest. The weather was perfect with blue skies and calm seas.
Our destination was the Pitons which are the two volcanic peaks named Gros Piton and Petit Piton located near the town of Soufriere. The Pitons are a UNESCO World Heritage site and glorious to see. The captain slowed the boat as we approached the Pitons and moved the boat around so everyone could have a good view and take a photo.
On our return trip to Castries the captain took us into Marigot Bay for a view of the harbor. There was music, dancing and rum all the way back to our ship. What a beautiful day in the Caribbean.
This was our fourth visit to St. Lucia. On our first two visits we stayed in a house near the town of Soufriere. Our main reason for going there was to go scuba diving in the beautiful reefs around St. Lucia. Our third visit to St. Lucia was in January, 2022 on our first West Indies cruise on the Viking Sea. For a look at the northern area of St. Lucia visit Caribbean Islands Adventure 2022.
With my wounded left arm it was difficult to hold my camera. Most of these photos were taken with my cell phone. Getting in and out of the buses and on and off the boat was challenging but the drivers and boat crews were very helpful everywhere we went.
Coming soon is a post about our adventures in five more islands.
In November we spent two exciting weeks on a cruise to the Panama Canal and Central America. The cruise was filled with relaxing sea days and tropical port destinations.
Our adventure began in Ft. Lauderdale where we enjoyed a night at the beach before boarding our ship the Viking Mars.
There were two relaxing days at sea before we arrived at our first destination. It took us most of those two days to sail around part of Cuba. As you can see in the image below there were times we were close enough to see land.
Rain was coming down hard as we arrived at our first port of Montego Bay, Jamaica. After traveling in a small bus up a narrow, rocky, dirt road we arrived at Rockland’s Bird Sanctuary where the rain came down all around us but we were cozy and dry on a small covered terrace. We were surrounded by rain forest with native hummingbirds flying all around us. I even had one land on my finger to feed from a small bottle of nectar.
Our ship docked for a day in Colon, Panama near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. The excursions for the day were all cancelled because of large demonstrations which caused wide scale disruptions in the country of Panama. We were able to set foot in the country of Panama by visiting the duty free shops at the cruise ship dock. Later in the day Panamanian dancers came to the ship to put on a fabulous show.
The main event was traveling through the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal. These locks are over 100 years old and the gates are the original gates. New locks were opened in 2016 so that the new, larger ships can travel through the canal. The ship traveled from the Atlantic into the Gatun Lake and then turned around and went back through the locks to return to the ocean.
Passing through the Gatun Locks on our way to Gatun LakeA cargo ship was going towards Gatun Lake as we made our return trip through the locksAs we traveled back to the Atlantic this huge container ship was right beside us in the new canalLush tropical landscape beside the canalOur ship passed under the Atlantic Bridge going and coming
Our next port was Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. The Monster Bus, a custom made six-wheel drive air conditioned vehicle, was our transportation into the rain forest and through a banana plantation. Our journey took us through small villages and farms where we saw water buffalo, pigs, and other animals. I was on the lookout for sloths and howler monkeys the entire time. We could hear the monkeys high up in the trees but all I could see was the leaves moving as the monkeys moved through the treetops. On our way back to the ship the bus driver stopped so we could get a look at a sloth in one of the trees.
In Roatan, Honduras we boarded a small bus and traveled up narrow roads to visit the Carambola Botanical Gardens. We learned about the plants and medicinal purposes of many of them. The first image below shows different stages of the cacao beans.
Thanksgiving day started with a boat ride up the Belize River. Our wonderful guide Melissa pointed out wildlife and told us a about the history and customs of Belize. Just outside the mouth of the river we saw West Indian Manatees surface to take a breath but they didn’t cooperate for a photo.
Later that night we enjoyed a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. In the gallery below is a Great Blue Heron, an Iguana, a Crocodile lying beside the river in someone’s front yard, and a Black Howler Monkey watching his us as we rode by.
The port of Cozumel was crowded with several other large cruise ships and the temperature was in the 90’s so we oped to skip our excursion for the day. I wandered around the shops at the port to pick up some Mexican Chocolate and other goodies to take home.
In between ports we had several sea days. Many activities were available while at sea. We enjoyed a tour of the bridge, a galley tour, had high tea one afternoon, and I got a massage one day and took a cooking class another day. We both enjoyed the many beautiful places to sit and read or just relax. We stared off into the ocean in search of whales but what we mostly was were birds such as the brown booby shown below. The chefs prepared some special meals with foods from the region. One afternoon we sipped coconut juice fresh from the coconut – with or with rum. I enjoyed the pools and the Nordic Spa every day.
We arrived back home the week after Thanksgiving relaxed and ready to enjoy the holidays.
The special shapes balloons are so much fun to see that they deserve their own post. Many of them were flying during the first two days I was at the fiesta.
My 3rd Day at the Fiesta Field
The Special Shapes Rodeo was scheduled for Thursday, October 12. Sadly, the balloons couldn’t fly because of high winds. Luckily for everyone it was safe for the balloons to inflate on the field and set up for a static display. There were many spectators walking through the field getting up close to these creative balloons.
Kelli and I had a great time walking through the field of balloons. We stopped to watch Kermie the Frog inflate. There were families and children looking up in awe at the the giant Frog. While I was capturing the activity of the crew setting up the balloon Kelli was busy handing out Evil Twin balloon trading cards to the kids.
Kelli also did some pin trading with some of the balloon teams while I was busy taking pictures.
After we had seen most of the balloons we headed for the vendors area to grab a bite to eat. I enjoyed my first ever Green Chile Hamburger – Yum! We wandered through the Artisan’s tent and then stopped to watch the chainsaw carvers at work. A dazzle of Zebra’s caught up with us for a final photo.
Attending the 51st Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is an event I will never forget. The balloons were spectacular and everyone I met was friendly, helpful, smiling, and having fun. I also enjoyed spending time with my brother Joe and his wife Kelli when we weren’t at the fiesta. We caught up on family stuff and enjoyed some amazing New Mexico cuisine meals together. Thanks Joe and Kelli!
I recently returned from the 51st Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The theme this year was “A View from Above”. This was my first time at the fiesta and the theme for me was “A View from Below” because I chose to stay on the ground and look at the balloons above me and all around me.
More than 550 hot air balloon pilots and their crews gathered in Albuquerque, New Mexico from October 7 – 15, 2023 for this year’s event. For nine days balloon crews, volunteers and spectators got up in the middle of the night to be at the Fiesta Park before 6:00 a.m. I was one of the many spectators there to take part in this magical event.
My brother Joe and his wife Kelli were wonderful hosts while I was there. They live in the Albuquerque area and have been involved with the Fiesta since the 1990’s. Joe volunteers as a Launch Director each year and his wife is a balloon pilot. They are part owners of the Evil Twin Balloon with their friends Don and Connie. I chose a photo of their balloon as my header photo.
My first Day at the Balloon Fiesta
We woke up each day about 3:40 a.m. and left the house around 4:15. Joe had early morning Launch Director meetings and Kelli had pilot briefings.
Tuesday, October 10 was my first day attending the Fiesta. While Joe and Kelli were at their meetings I started the day by meeting the Evil Twin Balloon crew and being wowed by the glow of the Dawn Patrol balloons. What at great way to start the day!
Once the balloon crews started preparing their balloons for flight the field was filled with activity. As I walked around in search of my brother Joe there was so much going on I didn’t know where to look. Balloons were being inflated on the ground as others were launching into the sky. It was sensory overload as the clear blue sky filled with colorful balloons of many shapes and sizes.
Trying to keep up with a Launch Director
The launch directors are called Zebras because of their black and white striped shirts. Their job is to make sure the balloons take off safely. Once I found my brother Joe I had a hard time keeping up with him as he ran around the field giving the pilots the go ahead to launch their balloon.
I turned around to capture my brother Joe at work but when I saw him standing with his hand over his heart I knew they were playing the National Anthem even though I couldn’t hear it.
I was exhausted and my feet hurt at the end of the day but WOW! This day ranked right up there near the top of my list of memorable events in my life.
My second day: Working as a member of a chase crew
Wednesday morning we were up early and ready for another beautiful day of ballooning. I spent the morning working as part of the chase crew for the Evil Twin Balloon. Many thanks to Kelli, Don, Connie, Kelly and the rest of the crew for showing me what to do and allowing me to be part of the team.
Kelli and Don, the two pilots of the Evil Twin
Don was piloting the balloon that day. I started out by helping take the balloon out of it’s storage bag while Don and some of the others prepared the basket to be connected to the balloon. I watched as they inflated the balloon by blowing air from a powerful fan into the balloon. I captured a couple of shots of the inside of the balloon as it was being inflated. Don had two passengers that day.
When everything was ready and the launch director gave Don the ok to launch the Evil Twin was up in the air. The chase crew piled into the van to follow the balloon to wherever it landed. Kelli was driving the van and was in radio contact with Don. We were soon at their landing site. We helped get the balloon back into it’s bag, loaded everything into the trailer and were soon back at the Fiesta Park for a celebration and a group photo.
It was another WOW day at the Fiesta! I had a great time being part of the Evil Twin chase crew!
Coming soon! More fun and adventures at the Albuquerque International. Balloon Fiesta.
Wandering Dawgs 