Day 1: boarding the Jewel of the Seas

And I am off to the boat which apparently is offensive to some because it’s really a ship.  There was a major delayed boarding due to US Coast Guard inspection.  Let me just tell you all the regulars were complaining big time about the delayed boarding so I just hung out at my hotel as long as I could. 

By the time I arrived, it was not bad at all.  I am on board the Jewel of the Seas for the next 15 nights.  I quickly dropped my bags and set out to explore. I packed super light with just a carry-on bag and backpack which required a bit of planning for an 18-day trip.  My home for the next 15 nights.

The Jewel of the Seas is a much smaller ship than my last cruise but it is a good size.  I am so excited about this cruise itinerary.

With everything in travel there is a group with top tier status and they love to show it by wearing their gold name tags. I think it is ridiculous but whatever makes you happy.  I was on the elevator that was full of people and was not paying attention to people getting off and on the elevator.  As the door closed one of the ladies with her gold name tag looked at me a scolded me for not holding the elevator door for the other gold tag lady trying to get on.  I was shocked someone would scold me and was a bit taken back.  I am a respectful person and was not paying attention.  It bothered me the rest of the day . . . anyway I tried to figure out the main spots on the ship. It is so easy to get turned around! It was sail away time. Good bye Boston!

The population on this cruise is interesting.  I would estimate at least 75% of the passengers are over 65.  There are a handful of children and not many my age or younger.  The day was going by so quickly that it was dinner time so a quick change for my two-person table for one.  I called it a night by hanging out in my cabin watching the movie Mr. Church which was a total tear jerker movie.

Salem, Massachusetts

Today I am heading out of town and the plan is to take the commuter train to Salem . . . trying new things is not fun but thankfully I went early and it was super easy to figure out. I bought my one way ticket on my phone for $8, scanned, and hopped on the train. I do not know why I was so worried since I have taken trains all over Europe but new things that I do not do often are sometimes a tad overwhelming. It was a quick 30 minute ride to Salem.  The first stop was the Witch House . . .

I have wanted to visit Salem for a while but I must admit my first impression of Salem is a bit kooky. I was hoping for historic but what I notice are all the adults dressed up and touristy shops that are witchy.  Anyway, I am glad I am here and going to enjoy the day.  My map skills were a bit rusty and I was turned around but finally found my food stop, A&J King Artisan Bakery, for a crimson berry iced tea and the best olive tomato feta pastry. Yum.

I had energy to begin my walking tour and set off to Old Burning Point Cemetery.

I noticed a National Park sign so popped into Salem Maritime National Historic Site which I had no idea even existed.  

I learned it was once on of the busiest ports for luxury goods and in 1938 the first national historic site in the United States.  A few of the historic buildings were open.  Custom House and Public Stores (1819) . . . 

Derby House (1762) . . . 

Back on the walking tour to House of Seven Gables . . .

Salem Witch Trials Memorial . . . 

Bridget Bishop was the first person executed by hanging for witchcraft on June 10, 1692.

I took some time to watch the movies at the Salem Armory (part of National Park Historic Site) that was under renovations.  The movie gave me a refresher of the Puritans and how they treated the natives when settled the area.  And more about Salem and Essex County before it was known for witchcraft.  This area of Massachusetts was an industrial area with fishing and factories but not so much now.

I had done about all I wanted to do in town but the train would not be here for a bit so had a nice lunch outside at Turner’s Seafood. 

There are no words . . . YUMMY!  There was no way I could pass up a lobster roll.  It was back to the train station to return to Boston.  I enjoyed the evening relaxing at the Hyatt Centric Faneuil Hall Boston, great location!

Boston, Massachusetts

It was a quick ride to hotel from the airport but managed to get a dishonest Lyft drive. After the fact I noticed I was charged a late fee which was not true. When I arrived at the ride share location, I picked to be picked up near spots 39-61 and was notified the driver had arrived. There was not one single car in any of those slots so I texted him. He was in spot 21 which was not near where I picked so I managed to find him with a minute to spare. However, he clicked I was late which is not true! It was less than a $1 but the fact he lied annoyed me. I was hungry and headed out to find food! I had a lobster roll Connecticut style from Pauli’s. 

Then a quick walk to Bova’s Bakery to grab a cannoli or three. . . you can’t just get one!

Original, Pistachio, and Tiramisu . . . Original was the best!  The weather is amazing and just siting in the park is the best!  After all that food it was a short walk on part of the Freedom Trail before calling it a day!

I love seeing the red brick trail all across town!

Nassau, Bahamas

The cruise is super short which I do not like.  It usually takes me a few days to figure out how to get around.  The second stop of our trip was Nassau, Bahamas.  I have been here several times and not much to do but with three young adults they knew exactly what they wanted to do.  We managed to do a little tourist stop that we called our culture experience by finding the Queen's Staircases.

Don't we look thrilled! A view from the bottom looking up . . .

I really forgot how miserable tropical islands are in the middle of the summer . . . hot and the humidity is off the charts!  We stopped at the Straw Market and Colin found a few souvenirs that will collect dust when we return home.  Then turned it over the kids who wanted to go have a little fun at Senor Frogs . . .   

. . . we will just leave it at that!  A quick return to the ship to relax before dinner and packing up to get off in the morning. I told you it was a quick trip.

CocoCay, Bahamas

So it might be the “world’s biggest weekend” on the Utopia of the Seas but we had the worst sleep ever! The AC was not working and there was a constant slamming of something behind crew door across the hallway. Hopefully CocoCay is what is claims . . .

A Perfect Day!  I have been here before and was not that impressed.  When you go to the cruise lines private island you do not expect to be nickel and dimed.  While there are a lot of cool looking areas such as the water park, it is not all included. Basically, there are free beach chairs and food but that is about it.  There were two big ships in today . . .

. . . but with that many people it never felt crowded because it is a big island. We hung out on the beach and tried to enjoy the water but the lifeguard did not let us go out that far . . . seriously we were to our knees in the water because they said it was too rough.  Honestly, it was pretty boring so we headed back to the amazing super ship to hang out and chill by the pool!

I did stop by customer service to complain about the AC and noise.  The AC was working we got back on board and our cabin attendant, Neha, came and talked to me about the noise.  She knew exactly what the noise was and would let the crew members know to tone it down during the night.

Utopia of the Seas

A cruise with our group is a new adventure. Everyone is excited. This is not just any cruise but the inaugural cruise for the mega ship Utopia of the Seas. I have been on many cruises but never on an inaugural cruise so there is a lot of hoopla and celebration . . . and very loud music. 

Since we are the first paying guest, we were able to immediately head to our cabins where we were treated to some swag!

Granted most of it we will never use but we did enjoy the hats!

Then quickly got out to explore this massive ship! 

Everything is so bright and colorful and new. I found Colin hanging out in the cool pools being silly!

We spent a lot of time on the pool deck enjoying the celebrations and loud music that had my head spinning! Can you tell I was not a fan? I don’t know why people must yell in the microphone while the music is already so loud? I think this means I am getting old? I managed to do what I do best on a cruise, eat. My favorite place to eat is at Park Cafe located in Central Park. 

After dinner we went to the show AQUA80too. It was amazing and one of the best shows I have seen on a cruise ship!

. . . and just like that we are setting sail!  Good-bye Port Canaveral!

Little tidbit  . . . they were filming a future movie while we were on board called Perfectly Imperfect that will be released by that place that starts with an A and used to deliver packages in two days. 

Cocoa Beach, Florida

Hail, Hail, the gangs all here! It’s been a bit since the party of 5 has all been on the same trip. Some how the kids grow up, have schedules of their own, and it is almost impossible to get everyone in the same city. But here we are in Cocoa Beach, Florida for an adventure. It is a hot day so we are hanging at the beach. We all love Cocoa Beach! 

We managed to get away to enjoy some of our favorite local places such as Oasis Shaved Ice and Papa Vito’s Pizza . . . but the real reason we are in the area? 

Inks Lake to McKinney Falls to Lost Pines

Summer has been a bit slow. I asked Colin if he wanted to go somewhere, and he said he wanted to go fishing. So, I got busy searching and found a cabin at Inks Lake State Park. I quickly booked it and Colin started packing the car with a ridiculous amount of fishing gear. I have started trying to visit more of the Texas state park. It is Texas and hot but I decided to be a team player and have fun! Inks Lake is beautiful. 

We fished all day and not one single fish! We checked into our cabin . . .

 . . . the positive was it had an air conditioner and the bath house (showers and toilets) was a short walk. This isn’t our normal lodging but we can do anything for one night, right? To make up for a crappy fishing day, we made the drive to Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls . . . pie makes everything better!

Well around 2am the air conditioner froze up. It was so stinking quiet neither of us could sleep. The AC would thaw out and turn back on but then go off again. It was pretty miserable but at some point, we both managed to fall asleep.

Do you ever get the feeling someone is watching you? Around 8am I had that feeling. I looked up and saw Colin looking down at me from his top bunk. I can’t tell you the last time Colin Sims was up at 8 AM on a vacation that we were not catching a flight. As he saw my eyes open, he muttered, “I hate this place”. We both laughed and agreed to leave asap. He still wanted to fish so we regrouped and headed to the other side of Austin to McKinney Falls State Park. It was a very pretty park in the middle of a busy urban area. We grabbed our gear and found a spot. 

Colin fished for a couple hours and finally had a catch! One single fish in two days!

We called it a day and made the quick drive to one of our favorite Texas hotels, Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort. It was a bit of a step up from our cabin!

We love hanging out at this resort . . . lazy river, skeet shooting, fishing, relaxing by the pool, and the best part . . . nightly fires for s'mores!

Day 5 Utah Road Trip

It’s my last full day, and I am just tumble weeding along. I have a plan for the day but no place to stay so hopefully it all works out. My drive is long and out of the way but I really, really wanted to visit Dinosaur National Monument. 

The drive was mainly back roads with one part being extremely tight hairpin turns which was super slow going especially when following a caravan of trailers. And then I realized I would be doing the same drive back to my stop for the night. Great! Anyway, Earl Douglass discovered bones on August 17, 1909. I was amazed at how beautiful this site was for a national monument. 

The visitor's center was nice with great displays. In order to see the bones, you had to take a tram (free) or hike. I decided to take the tram to the bones and hike back since it was downhill. The quarry exhibit hall is where you could see fossils and the work being done.

Then a hike back down the Fossil Discovery Trail was easy with educational signs.

Before I left, I did the auto driving tour to see the rest of the viewpoints which I could have skipped. It was back on the road towards Colorado. I did a quick stop at Colorado National Monument . . .

. . . because I was not sure if I had been here before, but as soon as I started the Rim Rock Drive, I realized I had been there so I just drove the entire road from west to east with a few quick stops. The best view point in Monument Canyon . . .

I got a bit mad at myself because I thought I had been to the Black Gunnison National Park and realized I had not and it was so close but time was not on my side. I mixed up Colorado NM and Black Gunnison NP which annoyed me . . . I should have planned better so guess I will be making a trip back to the area. When I got back to the land of internet, I made a hotel reservation for a hotel near the airport. My flight was late and was going to try and fly earlier since I was ready to go home.

Driving Map Day 5