Heading into the back stretch

YEAH, YEAH...LAST CHANCE TO WIN THE BLACKJACK TOURNAMENT

AND I WON...NOW WE CAN PACK, HAVE A BIG BREAKFAST AND COME HOME...

CHEERS..........LIZ AND DICK

24 hours till the port of San Diego....

Last day should be filled with anticipation, saying goodbyes to friends, big lunch and dinner and final Blackjack tournament...Really got to know lots of people from many countries and different cultures...

Cruising is so great for sitting back and relaxing and enjoying life and other people...especially NO PHONE...but must get back to normal tomorrow...

Know some people who will be taking 30 or more days in the fall...I would say that about 25% ofthepeople on this ship took the "whole enchilada" 28 days from San Diego to San Diego...

Liz is starting to pack some stuff, so we will be ready for the debarkment procedures...Should be a snap with no other transportation needed except LAURA...Thank you Laura... Other people are scrambling for planes, trains, buses or hotels...Really nice to be so near San Diego and the port...

Here are a few more pics...

Cabo is Quarantined...Heading Home

We are at sea for two more days...formal night and the last night should be big blasts with the Final Blackjack tournament???

Boring day so far, people are reading, puzzling, playing games, eating and wondering what is happening in Cabo...

Having a good time, have a little extra internet time...later...

Dick & Liz

Acapulco Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yipes, just after we found air conditioning and an internet cafe, the earthquake hits. and we thought the four story building we were in had HAD IT? Cracks and creaks like we have never heard, glass shattering...Liz left in a hurry...I protected my laptop and signed off in a hurry without finishing the upload of the Video of the internet cafe?????

The earthquake stopped after about 10 seconds, but it was NOT FUN...The walk to the ship was also eventful, people jammed in the streets, buildings evacuated and horns like downtown New York...We got lost trying to find the ship...one of the streets gates was CLOSED on Monday...Started to look like a real bad day...but found directions from someone eventually, the police don't even talk english???

Anyway, back on the ship and really thankful, lots of people had similar experiences on excursions, one lady was naked when the earthquake hit...she had been diving to see some dolphins.???

All is OK, except the captain just informed us that we will NOT be stopping at Cabo tomorrow morning, but other than that Life goes on, no one was hurt, no one has any Flu....and we are enjoying all of the excitement...well, we could go without the extra crap...

Will try to post what I couldn't yesterday..

See ya tomorrow...Liz and Dick on the way to Cabo.....

Acapulco...the old town...walking???

Yep, that's right...No resorts, no tours...just Liz and I walking the streets of old town Acapulco...

We did pick up a helper Alfredo and eventually found an internet cafe (video attached) and took a few pics of the bay by the ships...The Royal Carribean ship followed us from Hualtuco and we beat them here...

Our Captain was very happy today....He said to us that "he was happy he found Acapulco",
There is a Virus scare in Mexico City, but all of the Holland's 14 ships are clean...Yeah..

Tomorrow, last formal night, next Cabo, then the Last Night...and Laura will pick us up on Friday at 10:00am.......Quite a trip....We may just STAY ON....and turn over the house to Holland???

Bye for now...

Liz and Dick

Hotel Hualtuco...In Mexico (Sunday)

Made it back to Hualtuco, Mexico at the Hotel...Internet service is great along with a BIG Corona...Love it here...Liz is shopping and doing the great beach..two big cruise ships have docked here...

All is going well, tomorrow Acapulco then Cabo, and home on Friday....Laura will pick us up around 10:00am...* I hope...

Met lots and lots of interesting people the least of which are the Dealers from Russia, South Africa, Hungary, Romania, China and other points...doing ok on Black jack, but came in 3rd again in the 5 th blackjack tournament...Thursday will be the Final....I'm due to be #1???

Will post a few pics and maybe videos and send a few emails...and update all the web pages that I can....

Bye for now...

Liz and Dick Travis

Almost to Costa Rica

We have left the Island of Aruba and are heading across the Caribbean Sea for the Panama Canal. This day at sea was very restful, even made some money and enjoyed learning about the Microsoft Live programs on the ship. Liz and I had a nice time relaxing in the Crows Nest (deck 12) around sunset, with a drink and a nap. Then had a very nice dinner.

I had an interesting main dish and both Liz and I had anth excellent dessert.

The main dish that I had was written up as follows:

Fillet of Unicorn topped with carmelized scallions…Served with a dill sauvignon cream sauce, saffron causcous and fresh green asparagus spears. Our waiter explained what this meant in Indonesian. His name was BUDI…He said he was very close to BUDDHA!!

The dessert menu read as follows:

Baked Apple Blossom…A warm flaky pastry wrapped around a stuffed cinnamon spiced apple, surrounded by crème anglaise and vanilla ice cream. The waiter had to check with the chef do explain what all this meant in English….We have found that the average weight gain on this ship is 6 ½ pounds a week?? That might add up to 26 pounds, but I’m sure we will stop eating somewhere around Cabo San Lucas???? Liz only had salad tonight…Good for her..

Tomorrow we will transit the canal from Atlantic to Pacific…Will try to get some free internet off the ship, but probably not, and take some pics…The next night will be formal at sea almost to Costa Rica…

Crusing the Golfo Dulce and running out of internet time...Yipes


Bye for now....Liz and Dick

ARUBA

We have reached the half way point and now head out southeast for two days in the Caribbean…Have picked up lots of new cruisers in Ft. Lauderdale, will get to know some of them as we head back to San Diego.

Open seating is fun, generally have lunch and dinner with 2 new couples everyday…Saturday dined with a couple from Scottsdale who summer in Montana and a couple from Logan, Utah who winter in Mesa. Sunday met a minister and wife who live in Seal Beach but teach in Thailand in the summer and another couple from Henderson, Nevada on their 64th anniversary trip.

Sunday morning Liz found a man swimming with her, so she had to speed up a bit to leave him in the dust (waves?)…I read some classic books in the morning…TS Eliot’s poems…maybe that will help me? and the War of the Worlds, with pictures…Nothing like reading the classics and observing the people around the library. Everyone had glasses!! Very quiet and sedentary except for one loud gentleman and his PAPA? There’s always one?

Saw a rich skinny old man with a very attractive redhead eating breakfast at the Pinnacle? Didn’t know the Pinnacle was open for breakfast…I guess they will do anything to part you from your money.

Liz and I both were in the finals for the 4th Blackjack tournament…I had qualified with $3100 and Liz with $1800…Liz came in 4th and could have won the $500 bucks with a blackjack on the final hand but NO…I came in 5th…Two more blackjack tournaments…The odds are getting better??


Tomorrow morning Aruba…we are looking forward to an interesting day in Aruba… Pics and Videos below…

Arrived right on time...Neat little town and Island...should have fun and get FREE internet??


Bye for now....Liz and Dick

Caribbean Sea, on the way to Aruba

Saturday on the high seas...wonderful stopover in Ft. Lauderdale...Dave & Marge met us and we saw the sights, broke bread and played some Wisconsin rummy...Marge Won!!

Some pics and videos below...

Caribbean Sea, almost to Florida

It’s the day after Cartagena, Columbia and we will be sailing the Carribean for two days…

Cartagena was fun, the taxi driver was a kick, he found an internet café for me and shopping for Liz…Very interesting city…A security guard at the entrance to the ship like my straw hat so much that he wanted me to give it to him??? He kept telling me that HE WAS SECURITY…and I should GIVE him my hat?? I told him NO…but was glad to get by security and onto the ship…

We lost one of the ship’s 4 engines just out to sea, but our Captain assured us that things were under control, so we didn’t worry, just sat in the Sea for a while?? Fun all day Wednesday…Nice lunch with all the people who have become Mariners…We now have 77 days in…quite a lot but paupers considered to some others, who are on the ship a lot…

Blackjack is coming back strong…Haven’t lost for 5 days…Yesterday up $175, so on…Hope to win one of the tournaments on the way back to become completely healthy…Formal night tonight, big deal…another steak dinner…wow…this is the life…

Looked closely at people on the 8th deck this morning…here is what they are doing in poem form??

The Catholic Priest was reading the Bible and taking notes…
The nappers were napping…
The emailer’s were emailing…
The puzzle people looked puzzled…
The card people were playing cards…(duh…)
The Computer People were learning to fake their digital photographs…(Scary?)
The crossword people were looking cross-eyed…
The Scrabblers were scrabbling…
The Gamblers were gambling…
The Readers were reading…
The Eaters were eating…(they buy food in between meals??)
The walkers were walking around Deck 6…
The shoppers were shopping for art…
The dealers were dealing…
The pushers (like a slot machine?) were pushing…
and last but not least…
The Mariners were marinating in the Main Dining Room…

Sorry, but feel I must add more content to the internet…

Tomorrow we will be go through the windward channel, see Cuba and head for Florida…

We had a very interesting lunch with a couple from Vancouver and two couple originally from CUBA, but now retired in Sarasota…The CUBAN experience was still very in their hearts and they will NEVER return…We tried to understand their terrible experience and thank God for the good ole USA…

Won $100 this morning...Blackjack tournament again at 4:00???

Hello Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow morning...

Congrats to Lennie Holness he is in the elite 8 in the golf tournament back home...

Bye for now....Liz and Dick

Leaving Cartegena, Columbia

It’s the day after Easter Sunday, April 13, day 11…as we go thru the locks of the 100 year old panama canal…

We learned tonight by email of the passing of our dear friend Muffy Hayden on Easter. Our wishes and sad condolences are passed on to Skip and the entire family…What a shock!!! She was the greatest lady and a greater mom…We loved her…We will always remember our Holland American Cruise with her and Skip through the Baltic and the Mediterrean in 2006. So sorry and shocked…Hang in ther Skip, I know you are going thru a very rough time as well…We are praying for you…

Life, however, goes on and Liz and I enjoyed the canal, it took all day to traverse the 50 miles, very interesting and probably the greatest engineering project ever on Earth….Had a good time in Panama, but the next stop might prove even more interesting….Cartegena, Columbia, tomorrow morning..

May Muffy rest in peace….

We are now in Cartegena, took a taxi tour and liz is shopping and I am interneting…I love it…with a local beer called Aguila…Connected to CABLE…beautiful and historic town…big wall protects it from those nasty Brits and Frenchmen…Our taxi driver is Mestico…and loves OBAMA…All is good….May even buy a panama hat…Next two days at Sea..

Will meet Dave & Margie in Florida, Friday…

Will try posting a few more pics and videos on Picasa?? Winning lately in Blackjack…


Bye for now....Liz and Dick

Easter Sunday in Panama City

Its Easter Sunday, April 12, day 10…as we arrive near Panama City and anchor the ship until tomorrow when we make the trip through the canal to the Carribean Sea.

Saturday was a really great day at sea, met many new friends at the formal dinner, came in 2nd in the Blackjack tournament, attended a few computer workshops, saw a good show, went up for late night drinks all in all a great day…

Took some pictures of the sunrise, not too good a little cloudy, but watched from Deck 7 as the ship anchored and we will tender ashore in a few hours…

Saw the Catholic priest in the elevator on my way deck 12 early this morning…He was in a tee shirt and asked me what my plans were for Easter?? Told him I was just going to look around…He didn’t seem impressed…

Hope everyone is having good Easter…Look for us tomorrow at:

http://www.pancanal.com/

…a webcam will show us going through the canal, but I really don’t know the exact time…Should be fun though, take a look, We Will Wave??


Bye for now....Liz and Dick

2 Days at Sea and another poem?

Its Friday, April 10, day 8…as we cruise the Costa Rican and Panama coastal waters.

Yesterday had a neat stop in Puerto Chiapas, small but interesting little community, filled with native dancers, shops an internet connection for $5…Got caught up with the web pages and had fun watching the locals and fellow cruisers do the town…

Friday and Saturday will be at sea…Sunday and Monday at the Canal…Another blackjack tournament tomorrow and Digital Workshops 3 or 4 times a day…Not bad, we were the 1st class so had our picture taken for their website…

Saw another great sunset and sunrise…so what else… a poem??

Let’s take a ship down to Panama…hope we don’t get stuck in the locks…

See the sunrise over Costa Rica, orange and white colors abound…

Passing Ships, a’working…A lonely bird a’flying…

Nothing like a pre-breakfast at sea, coffee & muffin…

Saw a man with a GPS and a map of the pacific, making calculations…he seemed very serious…

Saw another man awed by the sunrise, the ships and the bird…

Remembering the “Wal-Mart” in Vallarta, made friends in Hualtuco, can’t wait to get to Aruba…

8 days down…20 to go…Long live the cruise lines…



Bye for now....Liz and Dick

Greeting from Chiapa...Goodbye to Hualtuco

Great time in Hual...and fun leaving...big party...

See ya in Chiapa and Panama, in a few days...

Looking for the Internet in Hualtulco

Well, this day didn't turn out so easy...Nice breakfast...then went ashore...in Hualtulco and took a cab to La Crucecita...Couldn't get on the Internet, had to get two coffee's bribe the manager and finally get on and their electric connection didn't work, so my battery ran out...only accomplishment was to read email regarding golf scores back home...and hopefully post later..

Microsoft tried to interrupt and update their system...took a cab back to Hualtulco and finally found this place $3.00 an hour...and it is working...Liz is shopping and going back for a ship lunch...I will stay and catch up on the internet blogs, etc.........Maybe have a beer...

Oh well, on the way back I will come right here and set up for a good long session...Black jack was good yesterday...We will leave at 5:00pm tonight...I will get a good video as we pull out...I promise...When it will be uploaded is another story...

Took a video of Juliette & Ingrid at the internet cafe...attached below...

Link here... http://www.huatulcomaxico.com/


Bye for now....Liz and Dick in Hualtulco...

A Formal Day at Sea

Its Tuesday, April 7, day 5…as we cruise the Mexican coast near Acapulco, heading for Huatulco. Planning on finding a cheap internet connection a few miles from the port, according to the crew…

Will get on the internet tonight for about 20 minutes, to update Monday & Tuesday golf scores and whatever else.

Exciting day today, met very interesting people in the morning, lunch and afternoon and actually built up a $145 profit at the tables today…Still down, but its early..Lost the blackjack tournament but will win the next one…I was the third highest qualifier for the finals…Liz won $55 playing bingo yesterday, Yeah…

Interesting characters met so far:

Canadians from Ottawa…Cleveland family of 7…2 gals from Burbank…Naples, Florida couple on their 100th cruise…Couple from Del Mar on a 3 month cruise-visits to Europe…Oregon People…Washington State couple…Couple from Alpine…Gentlemen who claimed to have 100 jobs…Arizona couple…Ladies from Virginia…Sun-tanned couple from Jersey, who left from Ft. Lauderdale over 2 weeks ago…

Facts from the Captain:

Statendam can cruise for 3 straight weeks without refueling!!

Follow Wayne Dunlap on their 3 month trip at … http://unhooknow.com/

Watch for us on Monday, April 12 on the Panama Canal Webcam… http://pancanal.com/

Formal dinner tonight, maybe a pic or two…Bought a 12 pack of Tecate in Puerto Vallarta for $8…what a deal…beats $ 6 a beer on board…Yeah..


Bye for now....Liz and Dick

A poem and Puerto Vallarta

Early Sunrise on a Cruise

By: Dick Travis

Its early morning and the Earth is coming at me slowly, gliding so effortlessly
over the ocean. The horizon is stretched out as far as one can see.

Deep purple to bright orange...the blue hues with clouds streaked with white. One ponders the variety and scope of the human condition, as sunrise comesbut once a day.

The serenity of this morning extravaganza is enjoyed by all of us...rich or poor,urban or rural, gifted or handicapped regardless of our geography, religion, politicsor family backgrounds.

Cruising on an ocean liner at 120 feet above the ocean seems much like a dreamof flying at sunrise. One’s first peer at the sun inspires thoughts of the much largeruniverse and other earthly advances…modern satellites and other communicationdevices serving mankind.

Every 3 minutes propels one another mile towards our cruise destination. Ship navigators still verify their position with the eternal sunrise, rising gently abovethe blue ocean waves.

Soon the bright daylight will light up everything…as one meditates on the gradual curvature of the earth and the wonder of the human experience throughout our universe.

Never has the human experience become so ecstatic and relaxing, since my birth at sunrise years ago.

Sunday at Sea

It's Sunday and after a good nights sleep, I got up early and went up to the 12th deck to watch the sunrise….Absolutely beautiful, can’t describe the sensation of cruising 120 feet above the Pacific in an early morning sunset along the Mexican Riviera. It was like a ever-changing painting of oranges, blues, purples and white streaks across the sky…I also had a cup of coffee and a danish for a pre-breakfast wake up…

Liz and I had a very nice breakfast for two and then I went to a few talks about the Baja and Mexico…We entered the Blackjack tournament and I got $3200 dollars and Liz $800…play money of course…but at 4:00pm I may have a chance to win $500, and unfortunately, due to last nights gambling activities we NEED it???

Have a scheduled dinner at a table for four…anxious to see who we will dine with…Always great dinners..tomorrow morning we dock at Puerta Vallarta…(Home to the famous “Dick and Liz” of yesteryear)…

Haven’t seen Laura aboard, so apparently she was not successful in “stowing away”??? So far, have still not seen anyone from the Village?

Bye for now....Liz and Dick

It's Saturday , the second day of the cruise, around Noon, aboard the Statendam along the Mexican Coast, just passed the mexican island of Guadalupe, an Island that has been stripped of most of its vegetation by 100,000 goats. The mexican government has reduced the number of goats to around 20,000, but the 15 people who live on this island still exist?

Blackjack proved OK for me at least on Friday, but Saturday has been bad, so will cool it and prepare for the Formal night tonight...

I was glad to see that the Internet can be accessed from our stateroom, which is on deck 5!! I signed up for 250 minutes for $100 and was given 20 minutes Bonus!! 270 minutes over the entire cruise (28 days) would amount to about 10 minutes a day, which will be absolute minimum for getting my email, updating the blog and updating the other web sites, but still not bad, considering about $4.00 a day...

I love sitting in the Bar next to the Casino and having a Dutch Beer (16 oz) and peanuts, and watching people play Blackjack and Roulette. Saw a guy last night betting the same 4 numbers (4,17,32,36) every time on Roulette, and he was doing fairly well, I think doubling his stake which looked like $100...??

We like the "open seating" for dinner...Have met people from Montreal, Burbank, Texas, San Diego, but so far no one from the Village!!

Had a great breakfast this morning, and looked around the ship and caught up on the news in the Real World...same old same old!!

Am writing this update on Wordpad and hopefully will upload to the Blog, quickly some time today or tonight...Maybe a picture, but we will see?

I got rid of my 25 or so email messages in one fell swoop last night on WebMail...Didn't need to Keep Any email, at this point...

Bye for now....Liz and Dick

Laura drove us to the ship..We met four people for dinner, played some blackjack (+$42) and saw a mini show....Looking forward to tomorrow...

April 2nd...Ready to Go...