Fort Lauderdale to St Thomas US Virgin Islands

Saturday 26th January - we were collected by a shuttle and dropped off at the cruise terminal - luggage taken from us - and proceeded to check in - easy. Soon enough we were on the ship.
Surprise!! Ed is hungry - find the buffet - don't eat too much, it will soon be dinner time.
Ed's tum has stopped grumbling so now we can we can explore the ship, find all the hidden away places and quiet corners to hang out or read. We discovered our cabin on our travels and returned  later to unpack. Tip - There are almost never enough hangers in the closet - kudos to Christine - she bought two packs from Walmart for a couple of bucks - great idea.
There are two sea days ahead of us - no hurry to go  to bed so we wandered some more and took in some of the late entertainment.
Sea  days are for relaxing, reading, swimming in the numerous pools or lounging in a hot tub. Also, these days have no schedule - get up when you are ready - eat when your stomach tells you to - take in as much or as little entertainment as you wish - perhaps a movie on the giant screen under the stars - awesome.
Our first stop is in the US Virgin Islands, St Thomas - the duty free capital of the Caribbean. Great if you are anything of a drinker - good quality rum for $5 to $8 per bottle. Nice sign but we did not go down that route. Hangovers in the sun are not funny.

The day was a little overcast so we decided to walk into town. How far? Not sure. We saw signs which said 1 mile to town, 1 1/2 miles and 2 miles. Island time, we have heard of but not island miles. It was such a nice day we also walked back - 2 miles round trip, maybe.

Charlotte Amalie is a quaint little town with a very nice name. Below is the a view from the ship to town.

A typical street in the down town area.

The taxis are from a truck conversion and large capacity.

Internet access is not consistent but we will post as often as possible.

Out and about in Fort Lauderdale

Our month by the beach has passed very quickly - not surprising though - we have been busy.
Busy reading by the pool. Busy wandering the tide line or The Broadwalk.
Busy doing not a lot. Busy doing nothing.
No!!! We have done lots of walking or riding the bus to explore other areas.
And we had to go for groceries once in a while.

This little guy came to visit us at the poolside recently. He hung out with us for a while and appeared to enjoy the books we were reading.

We visited the International Game Fish Association Hall of Records - what a place. There is information, photographs, movies and replicas of record fish, caught on all line weights, from all around the world. An anglers heaven.
Right next door is a Bass Pro Shop - literally thousands of fishing rods - from big game capable down to the lightest fly rod. An easy couple of hours just wandering around and gawking. Very much an indulgence for Ed's interest in all things fish.
A big thanks to Christine - you are a treasure.
We ate fish and chips that day for lunch - very appropriate and most enjoyable.

Wandering the Broadwalk is a pleasant way to pass time; a visit to the ice cream store is always a treat and watching people is most entertaining. There are all colours, sizes and shapes out there.
And the bikes, there are all kinds - 2 wheels, 3 wheels, electric, recumbent, surreys for 4. If you can imagine it - for sure it will be out there.

This fellow wanted a sail boat but could only afford a bike. He travels miles and is quite the celebrity - we have seen him in several locations while out and about. Including Walmart, loaded up with groceries.

Bike renting from bike stores and city run stands is very popular.
Rental bike stand

Rental electric trike - the lady is having a blast

We have gone to the movies twice - The Guilt Trip and Lincoln - both good movies and worth a watch. First movie, we didn't think to take jackets - very warm outside - suffered the air conditioning - smarter and warmer second time around.
Note: Ed got us to both movies on time. Good job Ed - may be earning more responsibility?

We have visited the race track - no betting for us - but had fun watching others. Folks are funny when they have a horse with money on it - Run Forrest run - Aw!! shoot that donkey.

Ed has been more consistent with his running and a one hour run is no longer a wish. He ran a 10K and supported a local charity. Swimming after running or on non running days has also proved to be great therapy in preventing sore muscles.

Did she run too far or is she just enjoying the sun? No!!! this is not Christine.

 

We always made time for a morning coffee but it has been a challenge some days to find a good cup. Dunkin Donuts has been fairly consistent and the coffee shop in our building has very decent coffee.

We considered it very thoughtful of the Dunkin Donuts folks to remind us that St**##!ks is not always the best coffee. Did they get the idea of dissing the competition from the politicians?

We will close this segment of our trip with a sunset view over the Intra Coastal Waterway. Tomorrow we will move on to the next part of our journey. We will try to post on a regular basis but internet access may be a challenge. Stay tuned and stay warm. Thanks for visiting with us.

Miami

Not many passengers today.

Big decision of the day - where shall we sit? Too many choices.

 

Miami is not too far south of where we are staying - a quick journey if you drive by car. But not for us friends - we have our trusty bus passes and have travelled miles with them - what's a few more? Only a couple of hours and three buses - what the heck, we have lots of time. The local buses are quite frequent and bus stops are only about 300 meters apart - great if you are looking for a bus stop - not so great when you are on the bus and just want to get where you are going.

The bus stop in Miami is very convenient and lets us off at the harbour - an area with lots of restaurants, entertainment and shopping.

The City of Miami is very considerate to us visitors and forbids begging on the streets - effective too - not one person asked us for change but a seagull did try and swipe Ed's sandwich.

The captain of the fishing charter tried hard to get Ed out on the water - not today mate - thanks. Many of the charter boats were at the dock - right now business is not great for them.

We did eat fish for lunch - battered fish sandwich - mmm!!! lovely.

 

After a good wander we headed to downtown Miami for the bus station. We passed Mr Mills shoe store on the way. Nice store but nothing special.

Is he famous? Who is Mr. Mills? Perhaps it is a lost and found place and the sign is letting Mr mills know his shoes are inside.

 



 

Window of a soccer store

It is amazing how many bright colours and styles of soccer shoes are available today. When Ed was a lad - a long time ago for sure - only brown leather boots were available and very uncomfortable too. These choices are definitely a change for the better.

 



Touristing

We decided to go into Fort Lauderdale for the day and do some sight seeing. On the bus we leafed through the discount coupon book  and found something we thought would be interesting to do.

A 3 1/2 hour trip on the Jungle Queen was the pick for us

We arrived at the dock more than an hour before sailing time - bought our tickets and wandered off for lunch. Staggered back - we had the largest turkey club sandwich ever and for less than $8 - had to leave most of the fries.
The boat trip was amazing. The canals are home to craft of all descriptions and sizes; and enormous homes line the banks of the waterways. Life styles of the rich and famous is very evident in this neck of the woods.

A nice little pad by the water

Most folks park a car or two outside their house

And the not so famous - sign says Son of a Barber

A high end trailer park with room for your boat - very nice

And yes we are having a lovely time thanks - the grins say it all - see you all later - stay warm



Random stuff

The weather has steadily improved since we arrived - sorry folks - and has been consistently 74 ish in the early morning and around 80 f in the afternoon. A strong south east breeze has been blowing fairly consistently for the last week or so and this has prevented the cooler air up north from drifting down.
The onshore breezes cause the waves to crash and bring interesting debris to the tide line, including jelly fish (box jellies and men of war). We have collected shells and inspected all kinds of interesting stuff on our strolls along the tide line - strangely shaped pieces of plastic, combs, tubes, bottles and myriad other things. Although interesting, it is sad to see all of the various debris in the water and along the shore - most of it will last forever coming in on one tide and out to sea again on the next. The lifeguard huts have consistently flown the red flag (dangerous rip currents - swimming allowed but take care) and the purple flag (dangerous sea life). Warning enough for us to stay out of the ocean.

Great for paddling but we will pass on a swim

The birds are in agreement too - do they know about the jelly fish?

We have not been too energetic but have given the loungers at the pool a really good workout. Saw this fellow with a neck pillow fastened to his head as a shade - very weird but who are we to judge - maybe he was worried about falling on his face.
Did he see Christine stumble into the pool?

Most mornings Ed has maintained his running along the Broadwalk, followed with a swim at the pool. His goal for the last few years has been to maintain his 10k time at less than his age. He decided to test himself and ran a 10k race last Saturday - his target time was to finish in 60 minutes or less. Good result - 59minutes 26 seconds. Continue training Ed, you may have one more marathon in your legs.

This banner hangs in one of the local beach cafes. We sampled the pitcher of beer and large pizza - amazingly great price. We managed the beer - Ed mostly - said he was hydrating for a run - but some of the pizza had to be taken in a go box.

A day at the race track

Again we have been having issues with internet access which has prevented us from posting for the last several days - but we have been out and about.

One fine day recently, both of us were feeling energetic and decided to go for a long walk. We walked and talked, talked and walked, jumped on a bus and got off, on a whim, at the Gulf Stream race track. Neither one of us would know how to place a bet and even less, how to select a horse - but watching others do it is quite entertaining. Especially the insane shouting at the horses and riders - wonder if the horses and jockeys can hear all this commotion and does it make a difference? The day of our visit was mid week, mid afternoon and the place was busy - work anyone!!!
We watched a couple of races and then wandered around to the winners circle where the horses are paraded for all to see at close quarters. Honestly - very exciting.

Passing the winning post - c'mon purple shirt guy!!!

Winning horse

Owner and winning jockey -  Most everyone knows the prerequisite to be a jockey is to be short in height - well these guys are - amazingly short and very light weight. Looks like the owner is being nice and bending at the knee to look the jockey in the eye.

 

Movie date

We were eventually successful in getting to the movies to see The Guilt Trip and boy did Ed feel guilty about messing up the schedule on the last attempt. No more chances, he had to get it right this time.

We had stuff to do at the mall so decided that lunch and a movie matinee would be the order of the day.

We also decided on a little bit of nostalgia with a visit to Johnnie Rockets' Diner.

Buy your lunch and get a movie ticket for $8 - not a bad deal however you say it.

Ed immediately became obsessed with the old juke box  - "only 5 cents a play" he said " let's listen to a few of these old songs". (Back to our teenage years with the Beachboys, Neil Sedaka, Beatles,etc. - great stuff.)

The waitress was really sweet:

"They are only for show sir, they don't work"

"But I just put a nickel in there and can't get it out"

"Sorry sir"  

The piped music was good!!!!

 

 The meal was huge - too big for just before a movie - we were at risk of snoozing through the movie - No, it cannot happen!!!

 

Thank goodness for air conditioning - it was freezing in the theater - not even a slim chance of falling asleep. But we are good learners - Ed carries his pack and in there with other sundries are a couple of light fleece jackets - thank goodness.

And the movie was pretty good too - a road trip of an adult son, not living at home, accompanied by his mom, presented lots of situations which were very funny. we really enjoyed it.

 

A remnant of the mall Christmas decorations was a, northern winter themed, model railroad. Ed was fascinated with it. Not that he is particularly interested in model trains, but for the amount of work and detail in it. There were 3 or 4 separate tracks - it was hard to tell - tunnels, a ski hill, an airport, a small town and a fairground. Amazing.

Temporary home

 

The Hollywood Beach Resort is a Ramada property, opened in 1927, as a "grande" luxury resort. There are private owners living full time in the building, other owners rent their units to folks such as us, other people stay and book directly through Ramada Hotels. Most of the rooms have been renovated but some of the building has retained it's historic character. The big draw for us, is the proximity to the beach, the Broadwalk, restaurants and the fabulous pool area. We are aslo very close to bus stops and a short ride to various shopping options, including groceries.

The mailbox below - no longer used - in days past received its mail from the upper floors through metal chutes. It is located close to  the reception desk and was emptied by hotel staff.



The old house phones do work but can only be used for contact within the building - front desk and other rooms.

Close to the front desk, in a small foyer, is a remnant of the original embossed tin (maybe copper) ceiling.

This is a nice spot to park our bones for a while and enjoy the warm weather.

2013 might be a challenge

We didn't quite make it until midnight on New Years Eve. We did go out for a walk and watched the fireworks along the beach but Ed was the tired one - "let's go back and watch the ball drop, on TV, in Times Square" - not - Ed was snoozing at 11:40pm.
We did start the year as we hope to continue - January 1st was a beautiful 80deg F day so we took the opportunity to hang around the pool for most of the day - alternating swimming and reading.

We have finally started to reap the 'benefits' of old age - $29 monthly bus passes - and we have worked them hard. We are always on and off the buses getting around the Fort Lauderdale area. Plus we get to meet 'interesting' folks on public transport - more entertaining than driving. Ed always attracts attention from some of the strangest people - they always want to talk to him or share their life stories. Hurry up, we will miss the next bus.

Please do not laugh - I didn't - honest!!!!
Yesterday we were leaving the pool area to go to the movies (another old moment later) - Christine bobbed down to check if we had left anything under the chairs - moved back a step or two and voila - she was in the pool - 5 minutes earlier she had only her bathing suit on but now is fully dressed. She did manage to keep her bag dry - but poor lass not the rest of her.
Don't worry, no damage other than a bruised ego.
Stop laughing - it's not funny!!!!

After a change of clothes, we flashed our trusty bus passes and were off to the movies. Ed was entrusted with keeping track of time - bad move - he is not at work. We had three hours before the movie started, or was it two? Get the idea? We ate lunch, wandered, stopped for coffee, wandered some more.
Christine - How much time do we have?
Ed - Lots, don't worry.
Christine - What time is it?
Ed - We have an hour.
Christine - What time is it?
Ed - 4 o'clock.
###!!*&# the movie starts at 3:40.
Oops, sorry sweetheart, I thought it was 4:40 - maybe we will go another day? I promise I will keep better track  of time.