Panama Canal

This shows where they are widening the canal so that larger ships can come through.

 As their ship was passing though, a cargo ship was doing the same thing next to them.  This is where a balcony room comes in handy!

The orange & white container ship was with us all day going through the canal.  Was interesting to see how they lowered the water under it to get it through the locks.  Did the same with us, but they are so narrow we couldn't see it.

Cartegena, Columbia

We took a ride in a horse drawn buggy through the old city.  A huge wall surrounds it to keep the pirates out in the old days.  This is a beautiful old city and so clean. 

Panama Canal Itinerary

I might be off by a day (I worked backward from the cruise that goes next when they get home), but I'm pretty close.  I think they already cruised the canal, but they still have many stops to go.  What kind of souvenirs could they possible get in Cartagena, Columbia?  Hee Hee!

March 18--Leave Fort Lauderdale, FL

March 19--cruising

March 20--cruising

March 21--Cartagena, Columbia

March 22--Colon, Panama

March 23--Panama Canal (cruising canal)

March 24--Cruising

March 25--Puntarenas, Coast Rica

March 26--cruising

March 27--Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

March 28--cruisinhg

March 29--cruising

March 30--Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

March 31--Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

April 1--cruising

April 1--San Diego, CA

Wish I was there!

Yikes!

Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas returned from an 11 day cruise yesterday with over 100 people sick from what is believed to be Norovirus.  This is the ship the Panama canal cruise is scheduled to use in 8 days!  Never fear.  Parsons will still sail.  It'll be the cleanest ship in their fleet for the next few weeks!  

Spring Training March 2013

The guys had another fun year at spring training this year.  Usually Rich flies to Phoenix and meets Chuck there.  Sometimes Rich brings people with him.  This year he changed it up a bit.  He flew to Vegas, spent the night at Excalibur--rooms have been updated!--and picked up Karen at the airport, as she was flying home from Libby's.  They then drove home after stopping at the outlet mall so RICH could shop!  

Rich and Chuck drove to Phoenix the day after that, and they enjoyed 3 days of baseball.  They stayed at a different resort this time.  They were able to take a trolly to the ball park and a cab back to the hotel for $6.  They would stay there again next year, if it all works out.  

They don't do a good job of taking photos, but here are a couple.

Rich at Chuck and Karen's before heading to Phoenix. 

Beer on the patio.  

Let the vacation begin!

Their resort supplied robes.  

It was "Bring your own Beer".

Snowmobiling in Yellowstone February 2013

Rich, Mitch, and Cara took a snowmobiling trip through Yellowstone Park this weekend.  They spent Saturday night in West Yellowstone and headed into the park from there Sunday morning.  They spent the day making the loop through the park, stopping at Old Faithful Lodge for lunch and to watch the geyser blow.  The weather was great, and they saw lots of buffalo, elk, and two bald eagles sitting on a branch together.  They are solitary birds, so to see them together was rare.  They are talking about making it an annual adventure, so if anyone is interested, let us know!

Blake and Robin in Mexico February 2013

I attached a picture from a bar/restaurant we went into, they had all sorts of plates from the US but this was the first one I saw. We had another great time, stayed in the historic old town/ romantic zone district, walked all over the place, there are great restaurants, coffee shops and palapa bars everywhere.

 

Lots of baby boomers down there, they were the vast majority, well that and dogs. I bet 2 of every 10 people had a dog on a leash.

 

This part of town also borders the gay friendly neighborhood just to the South, so we saw lots of "fellas" too, but nothing that bothered us other than a huge overuse of Speedo's :)

 

We stayed in an older hotel on the beach, it's older but well kept and clean. It had a beautiful lobby and pool area along with plenty of security. There's not much for the security guys to do because the area's pretty darn safe, lots of 'tourist police' around the beaches and busy sidewalks in the area to keep the riff-raff out. So their security guards wear many, many hats. For instance one showed us rooms we could choose from. I saw him another day guiding a scared lost child to his parents, they mainly do stuff like that. That particular guy is the hotel managers husband.

 

The room we stayed in was a bit dated but the maid kept it spotless. Couldn't beat the location, everything was just steps away from the hotel, lots of people and things going on. Certainly not quiet like the bigger resorts, that's an entirely different vacation.

 

We could have paid more and went all-inclusive at this hotel but wanted to eat out instead, I don't think in the end it cost us anymore and we had some great food and the best tacos ever. Beer was cheap enough, the most it costs in the nicer restaurants is $2.50 to $3 a bottle, we even found a nice place on the beach that sold ice cold beers for a buck and you were free to use their palapas, tables and lounge chairs on the beach. They had $1 margaritas too.

 

Breakfast at most restaurants was around $5 each but they'd nail you on juice. Lunches were cheap too, around the same price maybe a buck or two more. Or you can get tacos from the taco stand guy for a buck a piece, you just keep asking for more until you can't eat anymore, they're little tacos, then his wife takes your money :)

 

Dinner prices were reasonable too, depending on where you ate it could cost $10 to $15 each or more if you went to the fancy, wait in line, type restaurants. Those places prices were more in line with what we pay in the US.