July 2014 Desktop Calendar - Free Download - Roatan, Honduras

This month's desktop calendar comes from the island of Roatan, one of the Bay Islands of Honduras. We visited the port of Coxen Hole during a cruise three summers ago. Located near the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean and second only to the Great Barrier Reef, visitors can experience amazing snorkeling and scuba diving adventures. During our day's visit, we had fun zip lining in the rain forest.



To Download the above file, click on this link at box.com --> July 2014 Calendar - Roatan Honduras

Read more...

The Final Stop Before Home - Beale Street

Then I'm walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel

Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn

Memphis is the mid point between New Orleans and home - a logical stopping point, especially when you enjoy music and food. We stayed at the Hampton Inn right off Beale Street, giving us easy access to the food, sights and music that makes Memphis, well, Memphis.

We learned from our experience in New Orleans and bought the kids a pizza and let them stay in the comfort of the air conditioned hotel room while Scott and I walked around Memphis in the heat.

First, dinner at King's Palace Cafe. The great thing about Memphis - it's known for its barbeque, but it's far enough south to have great Cajun food, too.
Get a load of the bar - fit for Elvis himself:


Then a walk up and down Beale Street, where music was playing in the alley next to King's Palace:


The rich history of music and the blues abounded in the souvenir shops.


A great evening of the hot Blues.

Read more...

Post Cruise - New Orleans

I realize now that no sane person visits New Orleans in the middle of summer, especially in the middle of a heat wave. But beggars can't be choosers, and my motto is to take advantage of your location, regardless of the conditions. You never know when you'll have the opportunity again. Judging from the crowds, there were a lot of "crazy" people like me hanging out in the French Quarter, even with the oppressive heat and humidity.

Like 96 degrees F and heat indices in the 100s.

After our cruise, we booked a night's stay in New Orleans. I had visions of a nice dinner, maybe even in a celebrity chef's restaurant, some beignets with coffee and lovely sightseeing of the Big Easy.

Well, we had a nice lunch in Mulate's a Cajun restaurant by the riverfront:




The kids had their first taste of fried crawfish tails and alligator meat. I enjoyed the oysters and we all love the Cajun seasoning on everything.

We made it to Cafe du Monde, although the kids weren't happy about walking in the heat and humidity. We sat outside and ordered our first round before moving inside where there is air conditioning. This made things more bearable for Erica.




Even with our bellies full, the next hour or so of walking around the French Quarter was too much for the kids to tolerate. They shuffled their feet, complained about the heat and didn't really see the point of us being there. They didn't see the architecture around them:


Or the wonderful Saint Louis Cathedral overlooking Jackson Square:


Then it started to rain. Hard.


The rain wasn't going to let up, so we hailed a cab back to the hotel and called it a day. Dinner never happened, but after a week of endless food on the cruise, that was probably a good thing. Sometimes, best laid plans don't pan out 100%, but I'm OK with 1 out of 3.

Read more...

Cruising Day 6 - Swimming with the Dolphins

Our last adventure in Cozumel, Mexico - the Royal Dolphin Swim at the Chankanaab park.

The dolphins are only one area in the park - there's a sandy beach, botanical forest and snorkeling available, making this park a popular destination for vacationers.

But we were there for the dolphins.

This was our second time interacting with dolphins - our first time was a dolphin encounter in the Bahamas, where we petted the dolphin and gave them a kiss while standing in waist deep water. It was an excellent program, but left us wanting more. So, if you ever have the opportunity to interact with dolphins, I highly recommend paying the extra money for deep water swim program - you really feel how strong and magnificent these mammals are.

We started out with the tamer dolphin interactions - like dancing with them:


And the cheek kiss:


Holding them in your arms - and they are really long!


Then we moved on to the more exciting portion - going for a swim while holding on to their dorsal fin:

Wow, they can swim really fast and you feel all that power when you are hanging on.

The foot push. Truly, I had no idea what this would feel like. We were instructed to float in a prone position, with our feet flexed, toes down, legs locked straight and arms reaching forward. The dolphins come from behind and place their noses in your feet and propel you forward. Sounded really tame until we watched...

The dolphins approach....

As they propel you forward, they end up pushing you up out of the water:

Scott starts to emerge out of the water....

Here's a picture of Erica coming out of the water:


Brian out of the water before crashing back in:


Me, coming up out of the water:


A totally amazing encounter with amazing animals.

Read more...

Cozumel Artist

Our last port of call on our cruise - touristy Cozumel. This was a perfect last stop because of all the shops - it's the final opportunity to snag some nice souvenirs.

I really enjoy watching artists creating beautiful things, which drew me to this street vendor, who was working down one of the alleyways off the main strip.


He was nice enough to personalize a magnet we purchased.

He want me to take this picture of him and his other work.

I really appreciate the unique pieces created by hand, especially since I don't have the talent to paint or draw. It's truly a gift.

Read more...

Cruising Day 5 - Snorkeling in Belize

Another morning, another morning sun over the Caribbean. This morning's sunrise was too hazy to be of interest, but once the sun rose into a cloud layer, we passed by this tiny island.


Today's excursion - snorkeling in the Coral Gardens along the barrier reef. We didn't realize that this was the second largest barrier reef system outside Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Scott booked our tour through Coral Breeze / Hammerhead Sports. The boat took us from the Belize City port out to Caye Caulker, a small coral island, about a 40 minute boat ride. En route, we encountered a trio of dolphins:


Caye Caulker's marina area:


The coral life we saw along the reef was extensive - the best snorkeling we have ever experienced. These pictures really don't capture the detail and colors of the reef and tropical fishes.




I even shot a short video:


After an hour of snorkeling along the reef, we took a short ride to the Shark / Sting ray alley to hang out with the sting rays.



And watch the barracuda from a safe distance:


I would love to go back again.

Read more...

Cruisin' Day 4 - Roatan, Honduras

We're into the heart of our vacation now, getting into a groove where we've got a system down, from maneuvering the ship, to maneuvering the room at night (in order to reach the bathroom, I need to climb over my sleeping son's pull out bed - not an easy feat, and I have a huge bruise to show for it).
I know where all of the bathrooms are on the each deck, I know the best time to eat dinner and I know where to get a tasty afternoon snack.

It feels like we've been on vacation for weeks, and the end of our vacation is still far enough away that we can't even begin to think it will be over soon.

In essence, we are experiencing the height of vacation nirvana.

And this morning's sunrise was nicer than yesterday's:

I created the above photo using the Panoramic feature in PSE. I took 4 or 5 vertical pictures to combine into the composite above.

Today, we docked in the Town Center port of Roatan, Honduras:

Another panoramic - I was really into them that morning.

The isle of Roatan was the hilliest area we visited and probably the most picturesque. There's something about hills, forests and beach that make for a lovely combination [a bit like our visit to the Cinque Terre in Italy].

Today, it's all about the zip lining through those trees and over those valleys. Scott arranged our adventure at South Shore Zip Line, and we had a great time. Our guides, Chipmunk and Charlie:


They were so much fun! We started out getting all geared up - harnesses, slings, and helmets.


We were paired up with another party - Serpil and Michael, who happen to be engineers like me and Scott. More connections - Michael earned his Master's degree from the U of I. Serpil is a Chemical engineer and they work for Shell in Baton Rouge.

After a training session (how to traverse the zip lines), we were ready for our first ride - and Brian volunteered to go first.


And he's off:


I went next and caught Serpil enjoying her first zip line experience:


Michael next:


Whee!


Time for some tricks....
Brian upside down:


Erica soaring through the air like Superwoman:


Scott and I traversing tandem:


The course includes 13 zip lines and 16 platforms, traversing through the trees while overlooking the ocean. A breathtaking experience.


(And even though there was one zip line where they had a photographer stationed, we were encouraged to use our own cameras.)

After the zip lining, we headed to the beach to cool off in the water and relax.

Yup, more orange fanta.

When on vacation, you've gotta enjoy some of the local flavor:


And check out the locals:


It was another fun day, filled with new experiences. We had a great time with Charlie and Chipmunk and highly recommend the zip lining in Roatan.

Read more...