Discovery shuttle launchMar 19, 2009
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Hi Friends, I can't beleive it's been almost a month since I updated this journal. The Eastern Caribbean cruise was wonderful. We were fortunate to have perfect weather. We did two snorkel trips, one in Antigua and one in Nassau, Bahamas. The one in Antigua was quite an adventure. We took a bus from the port to a "resort" area where we were loaded on to 2 boats. First of all, the "resort" left a lot to the imagination as it looked like it had been under construction for several years. The cement on the walls was cracked and there was no landscaping or anything. Anyway, 12 of us were loaded on this old boat that had seats for 4 and we only saw one (1) life jacket. Those of you who know me, know that I am not fond of the water. Needless to say, I was very uncomfortable. The island where we went snorlking was .35 acres. They had a few sheets of plywood propped up in the sand for their "clubhouse". The snacks consisted of cans of Pringles, served one can at a time. They wouldn't put a full one out until the current can was totally empty. They also served rum punch with very cheap rot gut rum. We couldn't believe Carnival approved this snorkle trip. Don't know if it did any good but, we did file a complaint with Carnival. The second snorkle trip was much better. Other than the water was so cold, it was perfect. We were on a huge catamaran this time. Much more comfortable. Saw all kinds of huge yachts in the port, one being Nicholas Cage's yacht... very impressive. I am inserting a picture of the Le Grande Bleu, a 335 yacht owned by a 45 year old Russian billionaire. It was "given" to him by another Russian Billionaire. On deck it has a 35 foot yacht for a dinghy and it also has an approx. 40 foot sail boat that is loaded onto the main deck with the masts up. We also saw Paul Allen's yacht, the Octopus. We saw it in Barbados on our last cruise. We had a great time on the ship and loved the cruise. EXCEPT ---------- about the third day I started coming down with a respiratory something or other. After, finally going to immediate care this past Monday, I now feeling I am amoung the living. In spite of me feeling horrible, we did go to Titusville Sunday night to watch the Discovery launch. We watched it right from Astonauts Park and had an awesome view. We were about 11 miles away but, had a straight ahead view from where we were. I am so glad we went. That is a once in a lifetime experience. It was totally AWESOME!!!! Words can not express the feeling of watching something like that. What a sight!!!! We are leaving here in two days to start our trek back to Oregon. We will take several months to do it. First stop is in Cumming, GA for a week to visit a friend of Viv and Jerry's. Will keep you posted as we venture through the Southern States -------- we don't want to get too far away from the warm weather. We have totally enjoyed our winter in Florida. Neil doesn't want to leave. He plays pickle ball and swims every day. He will miss all of the activity.
