Girl Guide Cookies

After school, we went door to door selling cookies, teaching the girls the fine art of salesmanship. Amazing how many people said they didn’t have any money, are Diabetic or only like the mint ones, which we didn’t have. Hana and her friend Karina are in the Sparks program, pre- Guides. It was an hour in the sunshine and fun to hear the girls asking politely if people wanted to buy cookies and so proud of their accomplishments. Lexi was having a quiet moment in the wagon.

Off to Gibsons

We took the ferry to Langdale, on the Sunshine Coast where Gibsons is, on a drizzly day. We went up to Half Moon Bay and saw Pete, but missed Vicki. I picked rhubarb from their 3 patches to stew and freeze. We went to Ingrams and loved seeing the 3 kids; they sure grow when you’re gone 6 months. Here’s Opa with the grankids. After a delicious dinner Ron took the ferry home while I stayed and enjoyed Grey’s Anatomy which Suzanne and her neighbour watch each week..

Spring Flowers

What a beautiful time of year. We feel the cooler temperatures but are thankful we've missed the snow that Vanc Island got these 2 weeks. We've just got home in time to enjoy the Japanese cherry and plum trees and the gorgeous flowers White Rock plants all over the city.

Friday Night Pool

Back to our usual routine and our Pool friends. Lots of fun being together again. Some of us have been playing pool together since 1983 in the old Eagles Club (originally a chicken coup) in Blaine.
I didn't have my camera with me, so I cheated ( is that called poetic license?) and used a picture of Rick, Ron and Joan from last year. They still look the same.

50 Year Old Friends

Can you believe it? Here we are today, the 1958 graduation class from St. Ann's Academy, New Westminster. We still have about 28 of us staying in touch and 12 who live locally and get together twice a year. There is something very special about having friends this long, we just feel like very close family members.

Home Sweet Home

Here I am driving the motorhome. It drives like a dream, having a 55 degree turning radius.
We drove to the Border this morning and after the U.S. stamped the export papers, we whistled through and checked in with the Canadian border. They stamped all documents, we paid the GST, were away and settled into Pacific Border RV Park our home in Canada. After all my computer work and worries, everything went very smoothly.
Now it's catching up with 6 months of mail. I do everything online but I still find a few glitches.
We faxed the papers to R.I.V., Registrar of Imported Vehicles and must wait 5 - 10 business days for them to send us the Inspection Form we need to take to Canadian Tire, so we can have the Moho approved and finally license it.

Camped in Blaine

We left San Bernadino Thur and arrived in Santa Nella, CA, where we boondocked in the lot behind McDonald's. 2nd night we stayed at Peartree RV Park in Phoenix OR, then Tulalip WA at the Casino Sat night. We arrived at Chuck and Barb's in Blaine and parked at their curb for the night. Surprise, CJ and Joan pulled in 30 minutes later after finishing their pool game in Bellingham. We went out to Big Al's for lunch and had a great visit. It's the old Denny's and they have added cute nostalgia stuff throughout. Ron could'nt resist Betty Boop.

San Bernadino, CA

We got into Palm Springs Monday night at 1:16 after a trip from Los Angeles on a propeller plane. We had to walk through the terminal, down stairs and across the tarmac where I thought the pilot had to go out and wind this thing by hand. It was very interesting to fly over L.A. and through the Cochella Valley into P.S. where we've been coming since 1982. Tiring day and we left Tues. morning after I'd faxed the export papers to the U.S.A. Border/Homeland Security to export the Motor home out of the States. We hit the freeway and there was an incredible wind blowing. Ron was going 38 mph in a 70 zone with me following and I finally put my hazard blinkers on after a dope flew up behind me on my tail. You couldn't even see the windmills up on the hill.We had to have a tile replaced in the dining area so spent 2 days to have it dry and set. We putzed around and went to the Carousel Mall and guess what? Inside was a beautiful carousel.

Flying Home- dinner at the Firkin and Fox

Considering that we haven't flown since 1989, this has been a whole new experience for us. I went through the Security on San Juan, in the same clothes I wore down here and all the bells went off. I had to be inspected, patted down, asked if I had an artificial hip and finally when I had to turn the waistband of my jeans inside out, they let me go. We had dinner at the Firkin and Fox, a British pub in Washington D.C., run by Chinese people. good way to kill 2 hours. Did you know what a Firkin is?

A Day at Sea

Last day of the cruise. I have been totally impressed with the crew of Celebrity’s Galaxy. You are handed a sani hand wash towel every time you return to the ship and every time you enter the dining room and a 2^nd person waits for you to use it before you can put it in their trash. When we had a rain shower one day (still 80 degrees) the pool butlers squeegeed the water away and it soon was dry again. Every staff members greets you, everytime they pass you. The service is amazing.
The ship weights 777,7 13 tons, is 866’ long, 105’ wide and has a draught of only 25’, It was fascinating to watch it dock and go sideways in and out of the ports. It was built in Germany in 1996. The ships stores were formidable. 21,600 lbs of beef, 3,250 lobster, 600 gallons of the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted, 8,650 dozen eggs and 10,100 bottles of beer. There were 954 staterooms, 24 public areas, 14 decks, and 3 swimming pools. The entertainment was continuous; the company great and we are really enjoying ourselves. Trust me, when someone makes my bed, cooks, serves all the food, and does the dishes, what's not to like. This never happens. It's perfect.
I am thankful we’ve had the opportunity to see this part of the world. The history, culture, climate, vibrant colors and warm people have been fascinating. They just make you smile continuously.

Aruba, One Happy Island

And are they ever. This is the most fun loving place. The peaceful Arawak Indians were attacked by the warring, cannibalistic Caribs whose words, ora–shell and, oubao–island are probably where the name Aruba came from. Gold was discovered in 1824 and successfully mined until 1913, and then an Exxon subsidiary built the world’s largest oil refinery in 1929. When it closed in 1985 it was an enormous shock but was reopened by Valero in 2004.

There are over 40 nationanalities here, with 75% island born. Bon Bini – welcome – is everywhere and Arubans go out of their way to help you. They are very proud of their unique language, Papiamento, a combination of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, African and Indian words. It is even taught in school. It is only spoken on the ABC islands, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Part of the Netherlands Antilles, it became self governing in 1986.

Aruba is 19 miles long, 6 wide with the coral cliffs on one sided eroded by the violent Atlantic winds and the other with miles of perfect white sand beaches. It is only 15 miles to Venezuela.

We went to Palm Beach on the kuku kanuku bus, and were instructed to shake our rattles in time to the very loud music and yell at the people on the sidewalks. We stopped at the California stone lighthouse on the tip of the island where we saw the wild goats running around. We passed the Aruba Aloe Plant where much of the world’s aloe is grown and exported. We passed divi divi trees which are sculpted by Tradewinds, and lean away from the winds. Once again we enjoyed the warm blue Caribbean water, watching wind surfers and many water activities.

The port of Orangestad is very Dutch. There are lots of Delft crafts in the stores.

Coral in Curacao

We landed at Willemstad, the capital of this Dutch Island, which has a population of 132,000 and average temp of 81. It is only 35 miles north of Venezuela and has the Florin as currency. This is the birthplace of the Papiamento language, a mix of dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, English, African and Indian dialect started back in the time of slavery.
We took a bus to the Hilton Hotel complex where we got on a boat, motored out to coral reefs and then went down below where it had glass side walls so we viewed the fish and coral as we cruised along 3 to 10 feet above the seabed, absolute fascinating and great for people who don't snorkel. We seemed to be in an area where there was more white sand below and greater visibility than I'd had snorkeling the day before, so a great experience and good for Ron to see also. We passed 2 ship hulls on the bottom and the guide went below and fed the fish so we saw hundreds of different ones, so pretty with numerous colors.
The harbor, another natural one, is one of the worlds best. A short walk from the dock is Queen Emma's Bridge, a floating bridge that spans the causeway to the old town. I walked over to the very Dutch older area and it was astounding that the houses, 4 stories tall and attached to each other looked like you were in Amsterdam.
The Dutch originally tried to grow Valencia oranges and all they got was small, green, bitter fruit.They switched to Laraha oranges and the oils in the skin produce the clear blue Curacao liquor still made by the original 1896 distiller Sr. Curacao, seen here at the vendors stand with our ship in the background. It is also used for Grand Marnier and Cointreau.
I was amazed by the red soil and many cacti on the island which are even used for fences to cope with the wild goats.

The Caribbean Sea

Today we relaxed on our day in the Caribbean Sea, nearly landlocked, surrounded by 7000 islands. It was named for the Carib Indians; Caribe - Spanish for cannibal and Carib - English for ferocious. Columbus thought he’d discovered Asia and called his discoveries the West Indies. Lured by the riches, British, French, Danes, Swedes and Dutch fought off Spain in a 300 year colonization frenzy, typical of all the islands. The Africans slaves, far outnumbering everyone else, finally revolted and by 1840 took their dominant place among the free Caribbeans.
We are thoroughly enjoying our cruise. The service and friendliness of the staff is just a winning combination. Ron went in a shuffleboard tournament today. You'll see that they play just under the lifeboats that we had to muster under for our drill. I went but couldn't throw hard enough to even get my ‘puck/rock?’ down the wooden deck into the scoring zone and wasn’t willing to wreck my shoulder to participate. Ron won a luggage tag for 2^{nd place}.

Snorkling in Granada

We’re in Grenada today, an island, volcanic in origin, endowed with lush green mountains and 43 spectacular white sand beaches. It was discovered by Columbus on his third voyage. It’s ironic that he was put-off by the fierce Carib Indians and missed his goal of finding a source of spices for Europe by sailing west instead of east, because this is known as the Isle of Spice. The nutmeg tree was introduce here in 1843 and today they cultivate and export nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, mace, ginger, cocoa and more.
After the usual Caribbean battles, Britain got control in 1783 by the Treaty of Versailles and Grenada got full independence in 1974. The island is 21miles long and 12 wide with 90,000 population. We docked in the capital of St. George in, another extinct volcano crater harbour, where houses of every pastel color rise up into the green hills. They are built of lava rock due to disastrous fires in the past, so wood is forbidden for building now.
As we stepped onto the dock, the local band was playing great music and Ron joined in. Next we sailed on a 60’ catamaran to Flamingo Bay, where I snorkeled for an hour in 14’ of incredibly clear water. I saw about 20 different fish and 100’s of plants and coral. Ron took pictures and it was magical. Then we sailed off to another beach and swam in the beautiful blue water with 4’ gentle swells carrying you onto the white sand. It is so buoyant that your feet rise up out of the water.
Patois is spoken here and the local dish is ‘oil down’ made of breadfruit, calaloo and meat.

Beaching in Barbados

This is the easternmost Island of the West Indies, it is named for the 'bearded ones', after the local ficus and banyan trees with their shaggy, exposed roots. This pear shaped island, 21 miles long and 14 wide, with 280,000 population, is know for the white sand and turquoise water. Sugarcane plantations in 1650 used white indentured servants from the British Isles and after wearing them out, turned to African slaves. They gained independence from Britain in 1966.
This Cruise has been an ‘in your face’ education for me. I’m hearing and seeing evidence that the Spanish were trying to conquer all of the New World and strip them of all gold and silver to further their wars and conquer new areas, while converting them to Catholicism. Many who didn’t convert were disposed of. It sounds like they captured and trafficked in selling Africans into slavery for the colonial plantation societies they benefited from.
We landed in the capital, Bridgeport at 7 a.m. and stood up on the top deck and watched the Queen Mary 2, back into its dock across from us. This took about an hour and it appeared that it cleared the dock by about 10 feet. Amazing feat! You can see it reflected in the windows of our ship. These local pilots are very good.
We bussed over to Malibu Beach at noon and also had a tour of their rum distillery. You’ve seen the white bottles with 2 palm trees on it – Malibu rum. Interesting tour and 3 different samples, quite strong I thought, but then, I don't drink rum or liquor. They export to their biggest customers, France, England and third, the U.S., which surprised me. The beach was wonderful and I found shells and coral. You can see Ron coming out of the water here.
I’m totally fascinated with the different hairstyles on all the islands. Very stylish and inventive. Here is a common example of a male hairstyle with dreadlocks or otherwise they tuck the whole mass of hair up into a cap.