Author: donhall930

                   I cannot stress the next fact enough.

                   Do Not EVER rely on any forecast that you ever hear from any weather service.

These “services” are for advice only! Use them with care! Because…..

Had we relied on the forecast alone even one day before departure, or for that fact, any day so far on this trip, we would have “Canceled” our trip/excursions because of said forecast.

                   Ok, done with the rant.

                   As you will see, this has been far from the forecasted “rainout” that was hovering on our horizon.

                             Cloudy?

                             Yes!

                             Showers (light and infrequent)

                             Yes!

                             Great days?

                             Yes!

                   Yesterday was Belize. Belize is a pretty cool country and we found out tons of great facts on our one-hour bus trip on our way to way to Altun Ha, a fine example of Mayan altars surrounding traditional large courtyards. This particular site was discovered in 1954 and is still undergoing exploration as opportunity and funds allow. By the way, there are over nine-hundred of these “sites” scattered around the Yucatan Peninsula, most just ready tom be uncovered and explored.

                   The Mayans in this area were contemporaries of our recent friends of the Four Corners area, the Ancestral Puebloans, so these sites go back roughly a thousand years or so, but their inhabitance of this area pre-dates that by another thousand years.

                             Back to Belize.

                             Here are some of the interesting tid-bits …..

                   Belize is the only Central American country to have English as her official language.

                   Belize’s central culture is Creole based, illustrating the influx of Africans and Europeans back in the day.

                   Although it is a sovereign nation, receiving its independence back in 1981, it is still a Commonwealth Realm (a term without any legal status) with King Charles as the Head of State. Belize was previously known as British Honduras, a name acquired back in the mid 1800’s. Belize is connected at the hip to the United States, primarily with trade in mind. Boiled down, about fifty percent of imports and exports are USA based. Even their cable TV originates from the States, but a much cheaper price, give or take $35.00 a month (for EVERY channel that you can think of!)

                   The minimum wage is less than $3.00 an hour, but there are obviously other factors at work here, such as every Belizean is given a plot of land for free from the government, where most end up building a house in stages as their family and needs grow. One of their primary industries is Tourism, which we were happy to be a part of. Our Tour Guides were thoroughly engaging and very informative. It was a pleasure learning about their country, culture , and customs from them.

                   After our visit to Altun Ha, we boarded our bus again for a short ride to The Iguana, a restaurant on the banks of the very swollen (and aptly named) Belize River. Here we had lunch before boarding our River Cruise boat for the return back to Belize City and our tender back to the ship. The joke of the day was that were going to be served “Bamboo Chicken” which turns out to be strips of Iguana on bamboo skewers roasted nicely over some coals. Unfortunately Madison could not get that image out of her mind, and it took quite a bit of convincing that the deliciously stewed chicken that we did receive was, in fact, really chicken!

                   After lunch we boarded our river transportation and had some really nice wildlife sightings. Think the African River Cruise at Disneyworld on steroids, complete with the humorous “Guides”! Unfortunately, we did not get charged by a raging hippopotamus, but it was exciting none the less!

                   Our “almost” lunches were apparent everywhere, but mostly up in the trees, which if you were at all queasy about these critters gave you pause about walking around underneath the trees! But they really only eat much smaller critters and insects. They have no interest in eating “Bamboo Peoples.”

                   The crocodile sightings were quite exciting as these are Central American Croc’s, quite aggressive, if not somewhat smaller than their Australian and African cousins. We were happy to stay in the boat.

                   The rest of the flora and fauna were nicely identified and explained by our expert guides including the now (somewhat) rare mahogany tree. Back when this are of the world became known to Europe, these trees were valued pound-for-pound the same as gold.

                   One pound of gold = one pound of mahogany.

                   I’ll let you figure out the outcome.

                   They are now obviously protected.

                   Although we did not get out there, Belize’s coral reef is rivaled only by the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, so as you can imagine, only one day here was not quite enough to explore this great little country. Belize is about the size of Massachusetts, but judging by the attitude of the folks we met, her heart is as big as the world  😊

          You would think that getting back on the same ship would be easy and resurrect some former recollections of where to go and what to do.

                   Nope.

                   In fact we’re more confused than anything.

                   I think the problem is that we spent so much time on the Island Princess at the beginning of the year that that experience is clouding this one. It’s not a huge issue, it’s just that we can’t help comparing things. Good or bad, everything gets compared.

                          Our present home, the Regal Princess, is a gorgeous ship. She debuted in 2014, a full 13 or so years after the Island Princess. Even with scheduled refits, a cruise ship just naturally shows her age, so no matter what one does for upkeep, a thirteen-year newer ship will show better than her older sister.

                   But besides age, there’s size.

                   And this is where the biggest (no pun intended!) difference becomes readily apparent.

          Ok, it’s time to put your Thinking Caps on and remember from your lessons during the World Cruise that ships are measured in many ways, but the one used for Cruise Ships universally is the Gross Tonnage.

Oh no Don! Is this another Lesson? We thought that after the World Cruise we’d be done with those!

Yes, but it’s a short one!

This measurement is the calculated Interior Volume of the ship. It would be silly to try and calculate the cargo carrying capacity of a cruise ship in order to compare it to a freighter, so, the Maritime industry is comfortable rating vessels of different kinds and uses, with numbers that make sense inherent to those uses.

                   So, where, and how do these ships compare?

                   Or, for that matter, how do they compare to the rest of the cruise line industry?

                   The Regal Princess is now of average size at best. At one time, the Regal would have been the 2^nd largest behind the Queen Mary 2. When I sailed on the QM2 back in 2005, she was the largest in the world, coming in at a whopping 155,000 GT! Nowadays, at 143,000 GT (1,083’), the Regal is just average, but she is quite a bit larger than the Island Princess who is a svelte 92,000 GT (964’)!

                   Let’s go to the other end of this “Is bigger better?” conundrum.

                   The Wonder of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship, is (for now) the largest cruise ship in the world weighing in at 237,000 GT! I say “for now” because it was only just a few years ago that her older sister the Allure of the Seas was the queen at 225,000 GT.

                   So…. You can see that the differences among just these few ships is quite a bit! Believe it or not, the difference is much less significant when it comes to the measurement of their respective over-all lengths. There is only about a 200’ difference from the Island Princess to the Wonder of the Seas and when the lengths are already in the 1000’ range, what’s a few hundred more (or less!).

                   For comparison, and I promise that these will be the last ones:

 The QE II is 70,000 GT and 963’ long (1967)

           The Titanic was 46,000 GT and 882’ long (1912)

The Queen Mary (in Long Beach, California) is 81,000 GT and         1,019’ long (1932)  

So…….. you can see that the Gross Tonnage is the number to pay attention to, as the average length of these ships has not changed that much in over a hundred years!

          But there is another number that is quite important when it comes to cruise ships (and I’m going to break my promise here and do one more comparison….) 

          Passengers!

          Or to look at it another way, we are the “cargo” of this side of the maritime industry.

          Here’s a few,

          Titanic – 2400 (Steerage was not very comfortable!)

          Queen Mary – 2140 (accommodations got a tad better)

          QE II – 1777 (as you can see, the “space per passenger is getting better)

          Island Princess – 2300 (we sailed with about 1700 on board)

          Regal Princess – 3500

          Allure of the Seas – 5500

          Wonder of the Seas – Can hold up to 7000 souls when full!

And while I really do not have the desire to set sail with 7000 of my new best friends, it is only fair to understand that these multitudes are not crowded into a tiny ship, that those larger GT numbers are a direct result of berthing more and more passengers and the amenities that go along with them all having a fun time whilst on board.

Back to our ship on hand, the Regal Princess. We sailed on her in 2017 on an eleven-day Baltic Cruise. This was just Paula and I and navigating around ship was an adventure with just the two of us. On this voyage we are a party of six, Besides us, there are Barbara, Paula’s sister, and Danny, Kaitie, and Maddie (Paula’s son and his family) from Texas.

               Hence our departure from Galveston.

This is a 7-day cruise, three ports and 3.5 days at sea. We are headed to Cozumel, Belize, and Honduras for Mayan Ruins tours, some dolphin encounter’s, and submarine adventures! Unfortunately this area of the world does have a rainy season, which double unfortunately, seems to be now. But have no fear, (I will use a variation of an old adage here),

“A bad day of vacation is better than a good day at work”!

          Or something like that.

As I write this we are about an hour away from the first port of Cozumel, which we will be late arriving at because of heavier than anticipated currents between Galveston and Cozumel. It’s like flying in a head wind, there’s not much one can do about it. There are a few Tours that needed to be canceled due to the fact that they were “all day” affairs and now there is no guarantee that they would be able to get back to the ship in time to disembark, which we need to do in order to be  on time for arrival at the next port tomorrow morning.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We are headed down to the gangway now to disembark and meet up with the Dolphin Encounter folks.

          I’ll finish this tonight after we return!

         ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

          So, all I can say about this dolphin encounter here in Cozumel is drop what you are doing and get down here!

          The organization is called Dolphinaris and is one of the best organized and run excursions that we’ve ever been on. This was an all -inclusive type day. We were at their facility for dolphins, snorkeling, paddle boards, “beverages” 😊 and lunch.

          We all know that a good tour guide or facility employee can make or break a day spent with them. These guys went overboard and really bowled us over with their service and genuine friendliness. This facility, what they call a dolphinarium, was purpose built about twenty years ago and was in very good shape. The day itself was just what the weather prognosticators said it would be here in the rainy season.

                   Rainy.

                   And some sun!

                   Just enough of a good weather window was had while we were in the water with Lynco and his trainer, Alberto. Actually, when the sun did peek out for a minute or so, it became rather hot, so it was actually a blessing that it stayed behind a cloud or two most of the time we were in with the dolphins.

          This was event would be better classified as a Dolphin Close Encounter of the Third Kind, as we were in the water with Lynco for over forty-five minutes! Now, to be certain, the dolphin was the most experienced part of this show. He knew exactly what to do when Alberto gave him his commands. And who wouldn’t when your reward was a handful of tasty dead sardines! Lots of sardines! They eat about twenty-five pounds of food every day, and this is divided into five “feedings” which are conveniently wrapped into several encounters a day.

                   We were introduced to Lynco as a group and then each one of us individually got their chance to touch, hug, shake flippers/hands, feel his heartbeat, have him make different noises with his blowhole, splash a bunch of annoying birds sitting right behind us (waiting for sardine scraps). We had anatomy lessons, we learned about their lives in the wild (these dolphins were born here at this facility) and how to identify these almost identical creatures.

          I’ll say that there were really no negatives during this awesome experience, only a few things that could have been more positive. This day ran about $120.00 per person and was worth every bit of that and then some! There were some rules that were non-negotiable, ostensibly for the safety and health of the dolphins.

                   No jewelry, water shoes, sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, actually anything that could be dropped, and an inquisitive dolphin scoop up in their enthusiasm. That also meant no cell phones or cameras which would have yielded some incredible up-close photos!

                   But hold on….

                   There was a photographer assigned to each Encounter Group who captured all of the shots that you would want/need! Obviously for a price. Which we were mildly annoyed to find was rather steep. Steep enough to have some wallets stay in pockets. Seems that they want to get their return on their investment with  the “slow dollars vs fast nickels” business model.

                   No matter, it’s their call and they obviously get enough business doing it their way. Danny made sure to grab a few of Madison with Lynco (which is primarily why we went on this excursion). I highly recommend that you at least borrow a little kid if you decide to go on one of these types of experiences.

Their enthusiasm is contagious, to make an obvious understatement!

                   I hope that all of you are almost packed and ready to embark on one more cruise this year.

                   “What?”

                   “Another Cruise?”

                   “Four months on board wasn’t enough for you, Don?”

          Actually, the answer is No , it isn’t.

          Because….. all I need is an additional FIVE sailing days and I attain the ELITE Level of Passenger Status on Princess Cruise Lines!

                   “And what does that mean? Do you get to dine with the Captain? Can you pilot the ship? Are there extra chocolates involved?”

                   The answers to those questions are Maybe, No, and Hopefully.

                   The Backstory.

                   Originally, when I calculated what I needed to attain that ELITE level, I told Paula that I would just get an inside cabin of any Princess ship leaving Galveston for anywhere and it would cost me around $500. I probably wouldn’t even get off of the ship. This turned into Paula coming along for the ride, and then Danny, Kaitie, and Maddie hitching on as they were planning to take a vacation/cruise when Danny got back home from the Mid-West, and then Barb, Paula’s sister, asked if she could tag along (she’s feeling quite spry after her medical issues took a relative back seat). So, my cheap, one person attempt at attaining Elite has evolved just a tad!  😊

                   Like most Transportation Organizations, Princess has its own Loyalty Program (Frequent Flyer miles to use the embedded generalized term for this kind of reward program) and since most of my cruising experience has been on Princess, this program was the easiest to attain the highest level of.

                   Of course, this attainability was hugely impacted by the 111-Day World Cruise at the beginning of this year. Up til then I had 79 days of Cruising spread over several different Lines, but even then, over 30 of those days were with Princess, so that left me with just a handful needed to get to that ELITE Level.

                             “Well, you still haven’t answered our questions, Don. What does all of that get you anyway?”

                   OK, for starters I get free laundry. I can bring a minimal amount of clothes on a Cruise and just have the nice folks in the Laundry Department wash, dry, iron, and fold anything that goes down there. The turnaround on a normal cruise is about a day. So, if you wanted to bring two or three pair of undies, a few shirts, a pair of pants and a swimsuit, you could go on a Cruise with just a paper bag filled with your clothes.

                             Sounds tempting doesn’t it?

                             Until…..

                             Until you embark on a Cruise where the percentage of ELITE Cruisers is higher than normal.

                             “What does that mean?”

                   Let’s take for example your everyday 7-day Cruise in the Caribbean, like the one that we’re going on next week. As a percentage of passengers, those ELITE members are far fewer than what you will find on a longer cruise, say 21, 30, 45, and of course that World Cruise. It just makes sense. Older, more experienced Cruise folk tend to spend more time doing just that.

                   The rub is this. The more ELITE Level cruisers there are on any particular Cruise, the longer it takes for your laundry to arrive all clean, back in your stateroom. They don’t beef up the staffing in the Laundry Department just so your shorts come back quickly. It will just take longer as there is so much more to do including the really important stuff like sheets, tablecloths, and towels.

                   I’m sure that you get my drift here.

                   The scuttlebutt on the World Cruise was about that it took three or four days for laundry to be returned to your room.

Horrors!

That’ll teach you to pack more that that paper bags worth of clothes!

          Anyway, that seems to be the most favorite aspect of attaining that level of loyalty. Some of the others are I get a 50% discount on the Wi-Fi package (which is really good!), significant discounts on the Travel Insurance, early selection of the excursions, early embarkation and disembarkation of the ship, preferred dinner reservations, and complimentary Mini-Bar set-up’s in your Stateroom. This last one would be Highly Significant to me if I were only able to substitute the liquor bottles for Monster Energy Drinks and Chocolate Milks!

                   But…. do you want to know the best thing about the Program?

                             The “around-your-neck-on-your-wrist-or-otherwise-displayed-Medallion”  that has a color-coded indication of your Loyalty Level. Now, on the World Cruise the majority of passengers were in the ELITE category which made it no big deal. But, on these smaller, shorter cruises where ELITE(ists) don’t bother to go, well, now that’s a different story! When the elevator door opens you are greeted with a fanfare worthy of being composed by John Williams and maidens shower you with rose pedals as you walk along the Promenade Deck.

                   The only downside here is that I’ve heard that sometimes a few of those rose pedals get stuck in one of your pockets and don’t get removed by the laundry department.

                             Double Horrors!

                             For the last week or so we’ve been in Durango, Colorado “Critter Sitting” for Lorelyn and Travis’s Farm(?) Animals. We have been left in charge of nine chickens, three goats, and two cats. I use the phrase “In Charge” with a clear dose of reality. We assumed that we would be “In Charge”, but in reality the cats are, in particular, the fluffy black one, CubScout. The fluffy white one, LingLing, is just along for the ride.

                   Cub is not your normal cat. Especially considering that he is a male cat. He loves to be cuddled, will sit on anyone’s lap, and acts more like a dog than a traditional “I’m going to ignore you because I know that is what you don’t want” cat.

                   LingLing on the other hand is shy and skittish. But that’s only when she doesn’t know you. Once you’re in the LL Club she will approach you, allow you to touch her and if you’re REALLY lucky, she’ll jump up on the couch and settle in next to you. You will then be rewarded by being able to pet the softest animal on the planet.

                   It can take years to gain entrance to this very exclusive Club.

                   I am it’s newest member.

                   Rick has gained entry into the CubScout Buddy Club.

                   Who is this Rick guy you may ask?

                   Rick is the reason that we toured the Four Corners Region while we were out here.

                             The Backstory.

                   Rick is Paula’s brother and just turned 75. He has always dreamed of seeing the West, but alas, was stuck on the east Coast. Enter his HSO, (Highly Significant Other) Patricia. She had asked us a while ago about where to go and what to do in the West as we are just a tad more experienced in this department. We explained about Durango, it’s proximity to the Four Corner region, Mesa Verde National Park, the Durango Silverton Scenic Railroad, and a host of other great places around here.

                             We didn’t think any more about that exchange until Lorelyn and Travis asked us if we would be available again to Critter Sit while they went away for an extended trip to Spain. Our answer was obviously yes, (as we have no schedule) and we love coming to Durango. Then it hit us… Let’s ask if it would be OK if Rick and Pat came for a few days when we were there. The answer is obvious as I am now writing about it!

                             Rick had no idea about where he was going until they went to the airport. He obviously didn’t know that we would be on the other end to greet them.

                             What followed was a whirlwind tour of the Four Corners Region and Durango led by the P&D Western Travel Services Ltd. Their slogan was a very reassuring “Serving the Four Corners Region for about Two Weeks”

                             Anyway, we (and now you) visited most of the great sites around here. We gave them that afternoon and evening to recover from Travel and then at 5AM the next morning reveille was sounded as departure for Utah and Arizona was scheduled for 6AM.   

                             The Troops were ready!

                             It takes about two and a half hours to reach Bluff, Utah, our first stopping point. On our way we passed Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, Colorado, Sleeping Ute Mountain and a ton of other sites and sights. Bluff is an old Mormon settlement, and its fort and stately homes are still in good shape and are actually highly desirable as second homes. We stopped there at the Twin Rocks Trading Post, spoke with Steve the owner, and made a few purchases of authentic Native American wares.

                             Our next destination was the Valley of the Gods, which is of the same geological formation as Monument Valley (which will be visited a little later in the day) There is a seventeen-mile loop that needs to be traveled in order to experience these gigantic monoliths, cliffs, and buttes.

                             The loop exits on the road that brings us to the Moki Dugway, a hairpin, no guardrails, dirt road that climbs the vertical face of Cedar Mesa and exits at the top which is a thousand feet higher than where we were.

To say the drive is exhilarating is to say the absolute least. This road was cut back in the 1950’s by a company that was extracting uranium ore from mines north of here and need to get it down to processors in Mexican Hat.

                    Yes, that’s then name of the little town, and you’ll see why later.

                   Cedar Mesa is the home to thousands and thousands of Ancestral Puebloan archeological sites. Some still need to be discovered. The Ancestral Puebloans, or the Anasazi as they were previously known, lived around the massive Colorado Plateau around a thousand years ago and had been here for thousands of years until various circumstances (prolonged drought?) drove them further south. What remains are many, many sites such as Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Canyon De Shelly and so many other smaller examples of their inhabitance, that they remain uncounted.

                             Our next destination was Muley Point, an overlook like no other. It sits at the very end of Cedar Mesa and drops directly down to the desert floor, a thousand feet below. While that may be dramatic enough, add to that the view directly in front of us was Monument Valley which straddles the Utah and Arizona border.

                                      This spot is where P&D Western Travel Services had scheduled for us to have lunch.

                                      It was quite the view!

                             Onward we pressed, back down the Moki Dugway and across the San Juan River, (one of the major tributaries to the Colorado) into northern Arizona and then arriving at Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. That’s right, Monument Valley is entirely ensconced in the Navajo Reservation and is run by them, not the National Park Service. Their Visitor’s Center is top-notch and sits directly in front of the most famous of the monument formations, the Mittens. These are immediately recognizable as they have been in practically every John Ford directed Western Movie (especially the John Wayne ones!) and the old Marlboro commercials.

                             Back across the San Juan, we stopped at Mexican Hat for photos, then we made our way back to Bluff stopping at Sand Island Petroglyphs for an up-close view of these works of art. Most date back a thousand years or so, but the folks who inhabited these parts have been leaving their versions of “Kilroy Was Here” for many years before that.

                             A total of Three Hundred Eighty-Nine miles were logged that day before we arrived back at the ranch.

                             It was a great day!

                             The next day we stayed locally, had lunch at the Diamond Belle Saloon at the Strater Hotel in Durango. This place has been a Main Street fixture since 1888 and has its share of stories to tell. After a stroll on Main Street we drove to the edge of town and wound our way up to the Animas Valley Overlook which tops out at 9000 feet. The view is spectacular, looking north into the San Jaun Mountains and down into Durango. We were just killing time until 5 PM when the Bookshelf and Barber Speakeasy opened.

Yup, you need the password (which changes daily, and can be found on social media) and when you enter the barbershop (It’s real, you can get a haircut and shave!) there’s a guy “waiting for a haircut” who looks questionably at you until you utter the password. He then pushes a button which rings a bell inside, and then pushes on one of the bookshelves and the door swings open to reveal a very dimly lit interior of a swanky hidden night spot. To say it’s cool is a drastic understatement!

The next day was spent on the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This historic railway winds its way up the Animas River about 50 miles until it arrives in the old mining town of Silverton. The 1880’s saw its beginning and its been running ever since. The ride is the attraction, powered by an authentic steam locomotive and pulling old railway cars of several types, it now hauls gaping passengers up and down the mountain instead of ore.

          This Scenic Railroad is on the bucket list of every railroad fan on the planet and that is not an exaggeration!

The next day we went back to the Railroad in order to visit their really fine Museum which houses some very interesting artifacts of traveling in those by-gone years and some interesting local items. It is a very well put together presentation, worth an admission price, but it is, in fact, free to anyone walking by.

          The afternoon was partially spent at the Southern Ute Tribes “Sky Ute Casino” where some money exchanged hands and was never seen again. Oh well.

          The final day of exploring these parts was spent at the second oldest National Park, that of Mesa Verde. “Cliff Palace” was “discovered” in 1888 by the Wetherill family who had a ranch at the base of the Mesa. These cliff dwellings are quite the sight and are included in the list of World Heritage Sites with all the respect that they deserve.

That brings us to yesterday, the day of departure of Rick and Pat. It was fun revisiting all of these places, some of which we hadn’t been to since 2015. It was even more fun showing them to folks who now appreciate all of these incredible sights, sites, and experiences that Durango and the Four Corners Region have to offer.

          P&D Western Travel Services Ltd. operates very sporadically, and it is not recommended to engage their services as you may wait for what seems like forever for them to schedule you. What is recommended is that you get yourselves on a plane to Denver, then on to Durango, get a room and a car and wind your way in, around, and through this fascinating area. P&D Western Travel Services will be happy to help you with the planning of your expedition.

Just leave a message here!  😊

I have to go now and tend to the herd, flock, and clutter (yes, that’s what a group of cats are called). In this case, maybe we should call them a “Fluffer”!

                             The past few days here in Fort Lauderdale have been a tad on the idyllic side. Our place of residence since last Friday has been the “Condo” that Sherry’s daughter and son-in-law own. I’m afraid that the word “Condo” when used in conjunction with Florida conjures up images of towers and towers of well-appointed apartment buildings that serve either as residences or vacation retreats for their owners. This location is no exception on that level, but it differs on so many others.

                             Sherry’s relatives are very successful doctors and medical entrepreneurs. They have worked quite hard over the past twenty or so years and have the fruits of their labors to prove it. Our (really theirs’s!) Condo is probably around 4500 square feet, spans the entire width of the building (so you get sunrise and sunsets), has its own elevator that brings you right into the apartment, and of course the property amenities are exactly what you would expect from something this nice.

                             Our days have been filled with Very Important Decisions such as, which game do we play next, when should we go down to the pool, and (giant!) hot tub? Or the most important one…. What should we eat next?

                             I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been to Fort Lauderdale before except to catch a Cruise Ship before it left without me. This place seems to rank right up there with the tippy-top ones. This is not your grandparents Fort Lauderdale. Spring Break invasions are a thing of the past unless of course your family owns one of these little “get-away” spots like we’re currently in.

                             One of the ways to ascertain the type of area that you may be in is to look around and see what the automobiles look like.

                             Hey! There goes a Bentley, and over there is a really cool baby-blue Aston-Martin! I’m afraid that Miss Honda would be just slightly outclassed!

                             We took a trip a few miles north of here to a really nice section of town where their “real” home is. We were introduced to Jessica and Gordon as they welcomed us into their home that Jessica had designed. Modern would be a good description, with “attention to detail” an incredible understatement. One side of the home opens onto the Intra-Coastal Waterway and the other side has the dock for the boats right across the street. I purposely did not take any photos here as I felt that it would have been rude and invasive, so I resorted to some internet photos that I was able to find. You will now be able to envision an 8000 square foot incredibly gorgeous Florida home in neighborhood that Lionel Messi just bought into.

                             The best part of this entire excursion into Florida has been meeting up with Harold and Sherry again, taking up where we left off on the Cruise, and then being introduced to their friends and family like we were old friends.

It is a nice feeling.

                             We are going to pretend that this Post was written a week ago when I briefly thought about it. That way I can claim that it has been exactly three years since we transitioned from Stationary Stewards of Land and metamorphized into The Wandering Gypsies of the Highway. At that time this Blog was born and one thing that I promised you was that I would not post the mundane, everyday happenings of Paula and Don just because we could. Hence the length of time since our last Post.

                             I am happy to report that we are on the road again, sans our usual modus operandi of Travel. Yes, we have left Miss Biggie behind in Texas as we venture out, down, and south of us and head into the wilds of Florida. We are traveling in the Lifeboat which is (as Hondas tend to be) quite a bit smaller than Winnebago Motor Homes. That means that we cannot get up and move around, make lunch, use the facilities, or just sit in large comfortable Captain’s Chairs watching the pavement unfurl beneath us.

                             Nope.

                             We’re now just like the rest of Traveling Public, consigned to Rest Stop bathrooms and hastily consumed passenger side ­­­lap-snacks as our lunch on the go. The reason that we left our home behind was that our destination had all of the amenities that we would need over the next two or so, weeks .

                             It’s time to throw back the curtains and reveal our Destination for this time period……… Fort Myers, Florida!

                             Heh?

                             Yay! Fort Myers! You know, southwest coast of Florida! Home to a bunch of alligators and our Errant Jumbo-Sized Suitcase of World Cruise fame that made its way there, courtesy of Harold and Sherry of the same fame.

                             (Flashback!)

                             When we went on the World Cruise, we had our luggage shipped to Fort Lauderdale ahead of embarkation. This resulted in a rather smashed-up imitation of a large garment container being delivered to our stateroom. This previously usable piece of luggage was given a ceremonial Burial at Sea and arrangements were made for me to visit a Big Box Store in Los Angeles when we arrived there two weeks hence. Procurement of an even larger Traveling Tote was accomplished with the end game still uncertain as I thought that I had purchased the same size suitcase as the now deceased one.

                             Wrong!

                             I had in my possession a container that rivaled the old Titanic-Sized Steamer Trunks of yesteryear’s travel.

                             Oops!

                             When the calculations were made at the end of the cruise it was determined that this over-sized and over-weight item would cost an additional $400.00 to make its way back with us on the airplane to Houston.

Ouch!

                             Enter our new besties, Harold and Sherry who drove to the ship as they live only a peninsula’s width away from Fort Lauderdale, in Fort Myers. By now I’m sure that this picture has focused itself and you can see that there were several reasons to travel to Fort Myers sometime in the future to retrieve our suitcase filled with Tuxedo’s and Gowns and visit with Sherry and Harold!

                             Back to the Present.

                             Since the World Cruise, Harlod and Sherry have been to Alberta, Canada where they went to Banff and Lake Louise, the Adirondacks for an annual family gathering vacation, and Kenya and Tanzania for a three-week Safari.  So, as you can imagine, fitting in a trip South , coordinated with our travels, was a logistical quandary of sorts. No worries, the Garments of Distinction were not needed any time soon as we were not invited to King Charle’s Coronation.

                             It is a good thing that Paula is the more stalwart of the drivers of this set as I, at times, am useless. The maladies that make traveling with me a relative nightmare, RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) and AIMPA (Ants-In-My-pants Affliction) coupled with UIAP (Uncomfortable In Any Position) makes traveling with me a challenge. Throw in the fact that I can narcolepsy with the best of them at any time, keeps Paula behind then wheel a full two-thirds of the time, leaving me to squirm and/or saw the zzzzz’s  in the passenger’s seat. These attributes (?) make driving the Honda instead of the motorhome an even worse situation. Plus there is absolutely no place to put the motorhome down here by Harold and Sherry. They live in a wonderfully manicured and gated community that has zero space to park something of that size and besides, we were staying in their home with them.

                             A visit to Harold and Sherry’s home is like a visit to a museum. Artifacts and treasures from their travels are abundantly and tastefully displayed everywhere you look. Vaulted ceilings supported by lofty walls are the perfect venues for showcasing these pieces collected on their travels. One of their favorite things to collect are masks, and with their affinity for Africa you can just imagine the wonderful examples of these items that have made their way into their collection.

                             I can’t forget the elephants! Lots and lots of different elephant renditions adorn the shelves around their home. And what would elephants be without some other wildlife to engage with? From time to time you can spy an occasional giraffe or lion peeking out from a shelf, looking for a meal. Couple all of this with a collective of eclectic artworks both from Harold and around the world and you come up with a sensory-overloading visual experience.

                             For a sensory overload of slightly different proportions, we went to dinner last night at Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille over by Fort Myers Beach. This area was Ground Zero for Hurricane Ian just one year ago. Ian came ashore as a Cat 5 and quickly delivered an enormous blow to this area. 161 lost souls and $113,000,000 dollars later, Ian departed leaving the area quaking in his wake. Doc’s was no exception but press on they did, and the newly re-built facility is now thriving again along with a few of its neighbors. Sherry’s daughter Rachael worked there before Ian and still works here now. We visited her last night for a dining experience that was quite perfect. Just the right amount of culinary skill, topped off with some sincerely friendly service in a waterfront venue made for a memorable evening. We did tour the area before we sat down, and the devastation is still quite apparent and will take some time before things can be considered “normal” again.

                             Today we travel across the state for a weekend on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. No, it’s not Spring Break, just a few days at a condo owned by Sherry’s daughter. With any amount of luck there will be boats galore!

Report to follow 😊

                             They are massing at the border.

                             Rumors are flying.

                             We have taken to wearing Groucho Glasses.

Letters of both Threats and Praise have been inundating our mailbox.

                   What, you may ask, is going on here?

                   It seems that as soon as we departed the State of Texas back in May, the skies sealed themselves and the entire region was thrown into both a Drought and Heat Wave. Daily temps exceeding 100 degrees for weeks at a time were the norm, coupled with no precipitation.

                   The State made national headlines on a daily basis.

      We observed all of this from the relative safety of the East Coast.

                   Then we returned.

                   The State immediately experienced a decrease in temperature and the rains have been of Biblical Proportions as of late.

                   We are being hailed as Prophets of Precip and at the same time derided as Harbingers of Hell.

                   Hence, the Disguises.

                   We just came back because it was time to.

There were several doctors’ appointments and some Motorhome Maintenance issues that needed to be tended to and it was time to, you know, just set a spell before the next round of Visitations commenced.

I’ve told you about Texas and how everything about it is large. Nothing around these parts is just regular.

                   Size is everything.

                   Texas sized items abound.

H.E.B. our local grocery chain is good example. H.E.B. is Texas borne and bred and they do a fine job of supplying the entire State with vittles and the like.

Back in New Jersey and the surrounding states, Shop Rite is a major player in that industry. Shop Rite and its “parent” cooperative corporation Wakefern is huge! They are the largest cooperative operating in the United States and the fifty or so members operate about 365 stores in the Tri State Region. The combined sales of which exceed 19 billion dollars! I know how this operation is run because I worked for them for about 18 months after the Chatterbox went to the Great Hamburger Stand in the Sky. I admire the way that they operate.

So, now for the comparison.

H.E.B. operates a few more stores, somewhere around 380 or so. Their sales are in the $38 billion range, twice that of Shop Rite! Texans LOVE H.E.B. and so far I don’t really see much competition for them. They are beloved in their own State and are as homegrown as you can be. This can be proven by just the etymology of the name itself. H.E.B. is the acronym/initials of the founder, Howard Edward Butt.

Not a pretty name is it?

I wonder how many playground brawls he got mixed up in as a kid!

Butt, the jokes on them!  Because H.E.B. ranks in the top twenty of all retailers in the United Sates! And they give 5% of their pre-tax profits to local organizations and the folks around here know it.

          So there we were at our local H.E.B. when Armageddon struck. We kind of knew it was coming, at least we knew something was on its way because we don’t go anywhere at any time without checking the Radar and forecasts. Leaving the motorhome to the mercies of the Texas Weather Gods is just plain stupid, especially around here. Awnings need to be retracted, windows shut, outside chairs folded and slid underneath the chassis, and flagpole taken down are the main things that need to be tended to.

The radar showed a storm over Austin which is west of us, and the trajectory seemed to indicate that some of it may be headed our way. We tried to time our errands so that we would not be stuck in the car in a parking lot until it blew over.

Arrived we did at H.E.B. as the sky turned a color and texture indicative of some inclement happenings. I elected to stay out front and watch the show while Paula participated in Produce Perusing, her favorite pastime.

          The events unfolded rather rapidly as this baby was cranking down on us at about thirty mph groundspeed. That was just the speed of the storm and the accompanying front moving through the area. The wind was another story entirely.

It began with the usual splat, splat of large raindrops randomly hitting the parking lot. Folks started making a beeline for their automobiles as a cadre of cart-boys hastily tried (in vain) to round up their charges before  the onslaught of water engulfed our location.

          No one was spared.

          I watched the wind take several abandoned grocery carts and send them careening across the parking lot at speeds that defied logic. If it weren’t for the heroics of the already drenched cart boys who basically sacrificed themselves, there would have been serious damage done to vehicles in that parking lot.

          Citations for Bravery are being arranged.

There was no escaping this event. If you were unlucky enough to be out of your vehicle, on your way into the store, and belonged to the Mobility Challenged group of the population, you were a goner. One poor lady, obviously a Card-Carrying Member of the group, could not have been wetter if she had just climbed out of a swimming pool. The store took care of her and helped her get dried off.

Now, we’ve all experienced Big Storms in the summer. Lightning crashing down all around, thunder rolling through the skies, and winds that turn trees inside out.

But this was different. This was one of those Texas Sized items that seem to come with being here. I can honestly say that I have not experienced anything like this one before. I know that the Mid-West and environs are famous for their storms rolling across the plains, but unless you’ve witnessed one, it’s hard to convey its enormity and ferocity.

As I stood in the front of the store watching all of this unfurl in front of us, Paula came up and stood next to me. Soon I noticed the folks around us pointing at us and whispering to each other, cupping their hands by each other’s ears so that we couldn’t hear them.

But I heard one of them say, “It’s them!“

We quickly donned our Groucho Glasses and unsuccessfully dodged the raindrops as we made a beeline for the relative safety of our car before the Mob had a chance to react.

                             We arrived in Durango just in time for the 101^st Southern Ute Tribe’s Annual Parade. This is of consequence because my daughter Lorelyn, has been an attorney for the Southern Ute Tribe for the past sixteen years and takes a lot of pride in the fact that she participates as much as she can in the cultural events and festivities as she is allowed to.

                             This particular event, The Parade, is something that all of the different departments of the Tribe are encouraged to represent themselves with their participation. Many of the other local groups and even individuals (i.e. Tribal Members running for various offices and the younger members vying for positions like Pow-Wow Princess) participate also and that level of that participation may, in fact, have an impact on their eventual selection.

                             The day was just gorgeous which meant that the turnout for this was outstanding. The Tribe’s headquarters is in the little town of Ignacio and the parade route would bring it down Ignacio’s Main Street which also happens to be Highway 160, the major thoroughfare of the region. Which also means that all of the traffic that normally would travel on this road needs to detour through other parts of town. I love it when a tiny locality gets to showcase itself on its own Main Street once a year and everyone else has to step aside. We’ve seen this before while traveling around, and while it may be a minor inconvenience you’ve got to feel happy for the local folk who get their day in the sun.

                             And sunny it was! The Parade was scheduled for 10 AM so we arrived a bit early to see if we could be of any assistance. Lorelyn had volunteered our services (if needed) but the Legal Department and their partners from the Permanent Fund, had been hard at work since the day before constructing their Float.

                             The theme of this year’s parade was “Bread of Unity”, and the obvious tie-in was a staple of Native American life, the very tasty Fry Bread. Fry Bread is viewed by some as a symbol of the past colonialism and injustices suffered by Native Americans. This is because in order to keep from starving thousands and thousands of Native Americans, the US government needed to supply some rations for them when they were moved from their traditional hunting grounds and subsistence farming areas. The rations consisted of wheat flour, salt, lard, and a few other items. These ingredients were the base for what has come to be known as Fry Bread.

                             Fry Bread now can be had at home or at festivals, State Fairs, and also along the highways of the Southwest, especially on Reservations, at roadside stands, and is usually topped with honey, powdered sugar, or it can be had with beef or chicken, making it a taco of sorts.  This was what the combined team’s Float was made to look like, a home-made roadside fry bread stand.  Not only did they have this replica of a Roadside Stand on their trailer, but they also spent the day before, and that morning, prepping and then cooking a zillion loaves of Fry Bread to be given out along the Parade Route. Most of the parade participants throw handfuls of candy to the spectators as has been done in the past. This practice, as you may imagine, has its fans (the little kids) and its detractors (the Health Community and parents (?).

                             Oh, did I mention that there were judges involved? The bragging rights that go along with a win are huge in this community! Knowing that, and then acting upon it, the Combined Team decided that they would actually make Fry Bread and distribute that instead of candy. We were there (I drove the truck towing the Float) and could hear the announcers (and hopefully the Judges) reactions when they found out that they were being given samples of the Fry Bread being distributed!

                             The best part of being there was that we were able to watch first-hand a community celebrate their heritage. The traditional garments worn by Tribal Members were just incredible as you can see from the photos. In a way, I was jealous of all of these fine folks. Being a mutt of Irish, English, and German backgrounds, I have no real ties to any ethnic origins or traditions. Being able to watch a group of closely knit folks celebrate their heritage and traditions was quite the experience and we were honored to be able to watch and participate to the level that we did.

Thank you so far to Dino, Karen, Liz, Elaine, Brian, and Susan for your votes in the Can’t Decide Which Photo Survey. So far, Mr. Color has more votes than his much older predecessor, Mr. Black and White.

Judging anything “Artsy” is purely subjective which is the main reason that it’s so much fun because there is no wrong answer! As far as the “Choosing” goes, it seems that the main reason given so far was that there appeared to be more detail to be seen in the Color rendition. I wonder if that is because of the way that I processed that photo in B&W? I’m going to revisit it and play with the processing and see what can be done…. if anything.

I asked this question because I did not know which one I preferred! I am a Black and White aficionado, a hold out from my days spent in the darkroom back in high school and college. I probably still lean that way….. that there are photos that just scream to be in B&W, but then, that’s just my opinion.

So, just for fun, take a look at this one! A mediocre compromise that highlights the stuff that can be done with today’s digital technology. I don’t know how to use Photoshop, so I sent the photo (taken with my Canon 90D) back to my Samsung S20 Phone and worked on it in there!

                             Yesterday was a Travel Day.

                             Travel Days are usually uneventful unless we hit a swarm of Bugs, or some strange warning light illuminates itself on the dashboard.

                             But yesterday was a thankfully an uneventful day, bookended by two activities that kind of fell into our laps.

                             Our first nice surprise was a relatively regular sunrise in Grand Teton. The previous day, we arrived in the Park fairly early in the morning (which proved beneficial because of those pesky clouds later in the day) and were rewarded with some nice views of the Mountains. Yesterday we planned to get up even earlier and see if we could catch some even better views of the Tetons on our way out of the area.

                             Clouds were on the Eastern Horizon, so the sunlight could only peek in and out every so often, but, as we drove southward with the Tetons on our right-hand side, the clouds parted and rewarded us with some very nice photos. We even got one of our House-On-Wheels in front of Grand Teton itself!

                             The goal of the day was to be in Price, Utah by mid-afternoon, leaving just four or five hours left on our trip to Durango, Colorado where my daughter Lorelyn and her husband Travis live.

                             In speaking to Lorelyn and telling her of our plans, she excitedly informed is that some of the BEST rock-art/petroglyphs in the entire southwest were located a relatively short stones throw away from where were planning to spend the night….. the famous Walmart of Price.

                             We needed to drive an additional five miles in order to get to Nine Mile Canyon, which questionably, is about forty miles long.

                             And the petroglyphs that we’re going to look for started thirty-three miles in! That means that we added approximately another eighty miles to our daily total, but it was worth it!

                             Lorelyn and Travis have brought us to many examples of these ancient art forms over the years. They have become somewhat of experts on this topic, and we return their favors by appreciating these thousand-year-old renditions of both everyday life and the fantasies of the peoples that lived here so long ago.

                             The Ancestral Puebloans (relatively new term for Anasazi) and their contemporaries, the Fremont People are the folks that are responsible for carving all of these designs, figures, and stories into what is called Desert Varnish. Desert Varnish is the dark stuff on some of the rocks and cliffs that are seen through this area. It is not by any means considered rare, but it does not appear just anywhere as the conditions needed for it to form are the correct amount of moisture, sunlight, minerals, wind, and some organic material that are present all around here, just not deposited everywhere.

                             The interesting thing about Desert Varnish is that it takes thousands and thousands of years to accumulate on the rock’s surface. And…. it’s really thin!

                             The Varnish grows at rate of about a micrometer every thousand years. For comparison purposes, a human hair is several micrometers thick.

                             The Artists would chip away at the varnish-covered rock faces with quartz chipping tools in order to achieve their desired results. These panels of artwork were done about a thousand years ago and as you will see, the Desert Varnish has yet to even grow back on the chipped away areas!

                             Please don’t get the impression that Paula and I are any kind of experts on this subject and somehow found all of these examples. Nope, we were led here by some very detailed maps and such that allowed us to “find” them for ourselves. But I will show you how hard it is to initially see these things by some comparison photos….. so here goes!

Petroglyphs are the ones that are “pecked” away at, achieving their desired results by removing a layer of that Desert Varnish. Pictographs are the ones that use different minerals and dyes to “paint” or make outlines of things using a brush of sorts. Everything at these sites were of the petroglyph variety.

And last but not least, I have a favor to ask of all of you. The next two photos are identical in subject and framing. The only difference is that one is in Color and the other is Black and White. I would like for you to vote on which one you prefer. In the Comments section below, just type in Color or BW. Nothing else is needed, but you are obviously welcome to make any comments at any time. I pretty much answer all of them!

Thanks! And we will see if any “Adventures” develop in the Durango area that are worthy of a Post. Soon we will be back in Texas, but it is still really hot down there so we are not rushing it!