Grand Canyon and Las Vegas in January
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
San Francisco November 23-25, 2012
I just returned from a quick trip to the beautiful city by
the bay. Leaving from Long Beach
on the morning after Thanksgiving we flew into SFO and took BART into the
city. We stayed at a Kimpton hotel
by Union Square. The first night
we walked into China town to have dinner.
We were up early the next day for a bay cruise under the Golden Gate
Bridge. After the cruise we had
lunch at Pier 39 and then took the trolley into the Castro. We had a great dinner in San
Francisco’s gay town. The next
morning we were on the BART back to the airport. I had a great time and as always I look forward to returning
to the city by the bay the next chance I get.
 |
| Alcatraz |
 |
| Golden Gate |
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Oasis of the Seas Cruise July 28 - August 4, 2012
This
summer I took a cruise on the largest cruise ship in the world. The seven-day Eastern Caribbean voyage
left from Fort Lauderdale and stopped in the Bahamas, Saint Thomas, Saint John
and Saint Martin. My friends and I
began the trip by spending a few days in Fort Lauderdale. We stayed at the Hilton Marina
Hotel. We had a great ocean view
room with a large balcony overlooking the water. On Saturday we made our way to the port to board the Oasis
of the Seas.
The
embarkation process was very fast and well organized. We were on the ship about thirty minutes after arriving at
the port. The Oasis is one BIG,
beautiful ship! Words cannot
describe how I felt after boarding.
Our room was modern but compact.
It was our comfortable home for a week. I really enjoyed having an ocean-view balcony. The public areas on the ship were
beautiful! So many bars, pools,
lounges and places to eat, we had endless choices to make on the ship.
While
the ship itself was outstanding the service on this cruise was just
average. We had great crewmembers
serving us but they seemed to be both overworked and tired from dealing with
thousands of passengers. I believe that the ship is just too big and carries
too many people. We all love to
cruise but we will not cruise on a giant ship in the future.
Every
port on this cruise was a tropical paradise! We shopped in the Bahamas, snorkeled in St. John and lounged
on the beach in St. Martin.
Overall we had a restful and relaxing vacation in the beautiful Caribbean!
 |
| Oasis Stateroom |
 |
| Trunk Bay, St. John |
 |
| St. Martin Beach |
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Washington DC Trip July 11 - 15, 2012
I just returned from a five-day trip to Washington DC. I was selected to attend C-SPAN’S
Summer Educators Conference. For
two days I got a look behind the scenes at the cable network that covers
America’s politics and public affairs.
As a government teacher I was in heaven!
I stayed on a few days after the conference to see the sites
in our nation’s capital. In two
days I walked the city taking in the monuments and museums. I went to the White House, the Capital
building, the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. Additionally, I visited the Lincoln,
King, and Vietnam memorials. I
also visited the American History Museum and the National Art Museum. One night I took the Metro and checked
out the nightlife in the DuPont Circle area. I had a blast!
I love DC and I look forward to the next time I can return
to this great city!
 | |||
| Capital Hill |
 |
| Bill Clinton |
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Pacific Coast Cruise & Vancouver Trip April 28 - May 1, 2012
Two good friends and I just returned from a fantastic cruise
and a quick trip to beautiful Vancouver Canada. From beginning to end the expedition was laid-back,
fun and restful. I would go back
to Vancouver in a heartbeat!
We decided to take Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner from Orange
County to San Diego, our port of embarkation. The train station is just a few blocks from the pier where
the beautiful Carnival Spirit was docked.
Our cruise up the Pacific Coast was very restful and
enjoyable. The Spirit is an
outstanding ship. Our cabin was
large and the service from the friendly crew was top notch. For our three days at sea we had a
blast! We ate, we drank, we
relaxed in the spa and we relaxed on deck. We took a wine class and we tasted martinis. We read and we slept well. We were excited to explore
Vancouver when we docked.
The two days we spent in Vancouver were great! We toured the city from the waterfront
to Stanley Park. We met friendly
people and dinned in some great restaurants.
Before we knew it we had to head home.
The last morning in Vancouver we took the Sky Train to the
airport to catch our flight back to life and reality in southern
California.
 | ||
| Carnival Spirit Stateroom |
 | |
| Vancouver Waterfront |
 |
| Vancouver Marina |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)