Cruise Highlights

My wife and I just got back from our Caribbean Cruise and had a great time with 57 other guests from this area. Our cruise started out with an overnight stay on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Wow!!! What a party! It was pretty wild and crazy but we somehow survived. We then boarded the NCL Spirit for a 7 day cruise with 4 stops.

Our first stop was Costa Maya, Mexico where I grabbed and little R & R in a beach hammock. Later that night we had a fantastic meal in Le Bistro on board the ship. The dessert that night was Crepe' Suzette which was made right in the open for everyone to see. It's always nice when the chef starts a huge fire right in the dining room!

Our next stop was Guatemala and it was full of surprises. First off it's a beautiful country with beautiful people. This picture is right from the back of the ship.

This is a picture of the harbor in Livingston, Guatemala. One thing that they do that is kinda gross is after they catch fish they fillet them and lay them on the pier, salt them and let them dry out for 3 days. The Mayan people in the high lands buy the fish for protein



In Guatemala we took a tour with a business that we read about on the Internet called Go with Gus. Gus took us a long way up the river into Central Guatemala to a one room school house where kids 1st-6th grade attend school.


The kids lined up outside of the school waiting for school supplies. Gus makes over 700 trips a year delivering school supplies to these kids and many other schools throughout the country.




These kids were very excited to get their new supplies, although some are too young to even know what to do with them!
Gus also brings cough medicine and other medical supplies and passes them out to the parents. He then explained to them how to properly use them. Gus does a great service to his country and is a very smart guy. He lives in Guatemala November-April. His real job is April-November back in New York City where he and his wife work for the state of New York helping to make sure that people don 't get ripped off from shotty contractors and helping to put slumlords out of business! A real class act! If you would like to find out more about Gus's work and how you can help here is his e-mail address: gustavo@turcios.com or check out his website:http://gowithgustours.com/


One of the highlights for us was when we got to meet the ship's Captain at a cocktail party. He spent over a half hour with us telling us stories and making us laugh. A real cool down to earth guy. Here we are with our friends Joe and Mary and Captain Halstrom from Sweden. I asked, but he said I couldn't drive the ship!

Always a highlight of an NCL cruise the Chocoholic Buffet!





We were glad that when we got to Cozumel that Jimmy Buffet opened one of his famed Margarittaville Restaurants. The four of us wore our balloon hats with pride!


One of the many great sunrises at sea! Keep listening to WXRO for updates on where we are going next year and the year after!

Coincidence or Not?????

I read yesterday that former Vice President Dick Cheney hurt himself while moving boxes out of the White House. When he made his appearance at the Inauguration he was in a wheelchair. Now I don't want to get into politics here, and I do wish the former VP the best of health but, I can't help but think of another rich guy in a wheelchair.....Mr Potter from It's a Wonderful Life. The similarity between the two is scary!

Pictures from Space

EarthObservatory.com is a website run by NASA and it shows some pretty cool images from space. Chances are that you and I are never going to orbit the earth, so here are at least the pictures you would see if you did.


http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/earth_observed.html

Jusdon Laipply, the creator and star of the original "Evolution of Dance" video has made a follow up called "The Evolution of Dance 2". The original version is the most viewed viral video on YouTube. Here are both versions for your enjoyment.

Best Bud's

This is pretty cool. A 15 year old basset hound named Beryl has made a new friend at an animal shelter in the UK. Beryl met Wol a Owl and the two have been best buds ever since! Here is the whole story....


The pair have become inseparable since meeting at an animal refuge, and are quite happy to cuddle up together on an armchair.
Beryl the Basset Hound, who is a grand old dame at 16 years old, and four-year-old tawny owl Wol struck up a friendship when their owner realised they both loved watching television in the evenings.
Sara Ross, who shares her home in Tenterden, Kent, with the animals said: "They are both rescue animals and they're like best buddies. Wol needs full-time care and one day I was giving him a bit of exercise and he just plonked down on Beryl's back. She doesn't mind, she's really laid back and a bit of a pussycat really.
"She didn't mind at all and now you can't keep them apart.
"Four times-a-week you'll see them settle down to watch what's going on in Albert Square. Beryl barks when it's over and Wol gets a bit upset too, with a bit of flapping.
She added: "They are inseparable. They love cuddling up and watching television together.
"It won't come as a surprise that they love nature documentaries, but they also like soaps like Coronation Street and Emmerdale."
She added: "I've never known two animals who are so different hit it off quite so well. They just love being around each other."

One Year in 40 Seconds

This is a pretty cool video of a forest changing seasons. The person who did this must have kept a still camera in place and had it take a picture every day or so.

Are you kidding me!!!!

You gotta see this video.....

Dog Steals Bone
Workers at a Murray, Utah, grocery store said surveillance video recorded a dog walking into the store and taking a rawhide bone. Smith's Food & Drug store manager Roger Adamson said the dog entered the store, headed straight for the dog food aisle and picked up the $2.79 bone. Adamson said he confronted the shoplifting animal as it was attempting to leave the store. "I looked at him. I said, 'Drop it!'" Adamson said. "I decided I wanted to keep all my fingers, so I didn't try to take it from him. He looked at me, and I looked at him, and he ran for the door and away he went, right out the front door."