My Happy Place!

Do you have a favorite camping spot?  One that is different than all the others?  Brings you joy, that you look forward to, that maybe you go out of your way to stop there, even if it's for only a few days?  

I do!

We have camped in all the lower 48 states, more than once in many of them.  We were on the road, full-time for almost 8 years and mostly moved about on a weekly basis, so to say that we have camped in a lot of campgrounds would be a pretty true statement.  

To be honest, we are not good at "boondocking" nor "Walmart parking" - so our type of camping is at official campgrounds.  That said, we've tried all types, from Casino to Farms, from KOA to Beaches.  We've been to "fancy" upscale resorts and ones we wondered how they even got a license.  

Some we've only stayed one night, other's a month.  Some, we liked so much we either asked to stay longer, or we made a note to return as soon as we could.  Some, we noted "never to return", but honestly, those were rare, and usually not because the campground was so terrible, but the weather or the location was not to our liking.  

Then, once in awhile you come across a gem.  In our case 2 of them, and both by accident.  One was along the California Coast near Ventura.  It was just luck that we happened to find a spot that was available along the Pacific Coast Hwy (yes, boondocking!) and we grabbed it for the night. 

The second has become our "happy place".  It's in Riggins ID.  We landed there because in August, as it turns out, is their "Mulberry Festival" and every place where we were trying to book, was full! After numerous phone calls, we found this tiny campground.  It turned out to be unbelievable!  Most of the sites are right alongside a swath of soft green grass that lines right up to the Little Salmon River.  It sits above it by about 8', but you can walk down to it via some rock stairs.  Across the river is nothing but trees and a beautiful hill to look at.  Each site has a big shade tree with a picnic table.  Full hook-ups and WiFi. Talk about peace and quiet!  

 We don't even bother to un-hook the car, as you can walk into the small town and shop or eat at the half dozen cafes or restaurants.  We actually did walk into town each day (can't sit all day, every day!) and poked our head into a couple of cute shops, even though most were closed when we were there (only open for a few hours a couple of days a week) but saw some fun things, like a tiny old refrigerator that was turned into a free book stand, as well as a nice mural of the map of the Salmon River which gave one a good perspective of how the river travels. Everyone, including the owners are super friendly.  One of our camp neighbors has caught several fish while he's been here too. Mostly though, I just sit back and read and enjoyed the wonderful sounds of the flowing river.  To me, there is nothing more soothing. 

They have different shade trees along the strip, and this time we found out we were under a walnut tree!  When the wind blew, we were graced with an abundance of walnuts!  Most of them are ripe and ready to gather, so I did, a big bag full to take home...bonus! 

To soon it will be time to leave, but it's always nice to know it's here, and that we have found such a wonderful place to come to...

...on the road...Marie

Celebrating Life at 90!

 Celebrating someone's birthday is celebrating life itself - not only the fact that they were born, but all the wonderful times shared together.  

Depending how old someone is, the celebration takes on a different meaning.  My oldest sister, now my last sibling, is turning 90 at the end of September.  She's healthy, has a bright mind and still a delight, so having a celebration was a "no brainer" as the saying goes.  

Her children jumped right into action, planning, making all the necessary reservations, contacting caterers, musicians, printing invitations (save the date and the invitations), making various decorations, ordering her a special dress, etc.  They made the date a little earlier than her actual birthday for relatives coming in from out of town, so the weather would be better for travel.  

She has a large family, with 4 children, all with children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of their own.  Additionally, we have nieces and nephews and their children as well.  Add friends to all that, and you have a party large enough to fill a barn...which she did!!

 We decided to come three weeks early and spend some time with her and the family prior to the "big event".  I knew it would be chaotic the days before, so wanted to spend some quality time with her alone before that, which we were able to do.  They were just quiet days of playing cards and sharing stories, going out to lunch and cooking together.  Sister stuff. 

She wanted to host a "Thank you brunch" for all the out of town guests the day before the big party so that she could spend more time visiting with each of them, knowing she wouldn't get a lot of time at the actual party.  As usual, she had been pre-cooking and baking for days to put on her usual spread!  It's what makes her happy.  

That Saturday, all the nieces and nephews, along with myself and Jack came over to a wonderful spread of 3 kinds of quiches, 4 kinds of sweet breads, a large ham, brats, 2 fruit bowls, along with a variety of drinks!  Each of us got a "thank you present" of 3 handmade crochet covered hangers. That's my sister! 

The next day was The Big Celebration!  You would never know that lady was 90!  She was all smiles and ready to party!  The place was FULL, she was beaming, people were happy, food was great, music was playing, place looked wonderful and the drinks were flowing.  We even got her up to dance!  I made a short speech, tried not to cry...don't remember much of it,..forgot a lot of what I wanted to say, but I'm sure it didn't matter. She knows I love her.  To say the party was a success, would be an understatement...

When I reflect about this, I think about all birthdays...and how all of us should celebrate every one of them! So much better to celebrate life, than to talk about it afterwards at a funeral...

...on the road again, Marie

The many colors of Montana...

We have been to Montana a number of times, and during different times of the year.  As we drove through this year, I got to thinking how different the colors are from mile to mile.  It's late August and early September, to early for the fall colors, to late for any spring flowers...pretty much during the late summer when it's the hottest and driest.  Yet with all that, each area seems to have it's own look, it's own set of colors.  Mountains, hills, meadows, wheat fields, rivers, lakes, and lots of forest trees.  Each turn in the road brought a different sight.  

I decided to just take pictures as we went, some are a bit blurry as we were driving, but one can still get the idea, the view.  We saw a few deer here and there, some cattle, horses of course, but the only pictures I took were the bison herd I found at a waterhole, which I found enjoyable to stop and watch for a few minutes. 

...and this was only a small corner of the state, but one can't help but love it's diversity and wide open spaces!

...on the road,  Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my pictures, they are on my flickr: Marie Beschen, Album: Montana

Paling around in Polson Montana...

For years our friends Emily, Pat and Ian lived in Missoula Montana and every time we traveled nearby, we would be sure and carve out some time to pull into that area and visit.  A few years ago Ian married, and then eventually moved to Polson and had a couple of children...so, of course "grandma and grandpa" quickly followed!  Now, we make a day visit to Missoula because there still are a couple of shops we like, and then travel on to Polson for our visit!  Polson is the home of the beautiful Flathead Lake, and it's a little more pricey, so we ended up camping out a smidge further, but still close enough for easy access.  

We actually have another friend who also lives in Polson, one of our Happy Trails folks who used to just be here during the summer months and winter in Happy Trails (and was in Theater with me and along with Jack in the Sawmill) but last year decided to move back to Polson year 'round.  We were super lucky to catch up with Charlie as he had just gotten back from a two week fishing trip in Alaska just before we left, and got my phone message that we were in town and wanted to see him.  He called me back and we got together at his lovely home for lunch and a great afternoon of "catch-up".  After spending his first winter back in Polson, he's not so sure he wants to do it again and is looking at places to take off for at least a few weeks this year to someplace "without snow"!  I think Arizona spoiled him!

 We spent several days with our friends Emily and Pat, including our anniversary.  They were kind enough to take us to a lovely dinner to celebrate our 29th wedded year (forgot to take a picture!) as well as a great home cooked one the next day, yum!  We all drove together to tour Bigfork and see their beautiful Swan River community area.   

When we weren't with them, we were checking out Polson! Well, let me tell you, they have the most unique museum we have come across so far.  The Miracle of America Museum has just about everything ever made or even thought of, from the late 1800's to the 2000's!  ...and in all the details!  Over four acres outside, and I would guess over an acre inside as well.  It took us just about all day to look through it and I'm sure we didn't see everything.  I asked the hostess how long the owner had been collecting all this and she said since he was a very young child, and of course has gotten donations as well. The number of vehicles (of every kind) and weapons alone was mind boggling.  Jack said some of his WW2 collections were things he had never seen (and he's been to numerous museums) and worth quite a bit.  I took a ton of pictures, but here's just a few to give you a little idea...

Once again we lucked out in finding a great "food place"!  I had read some blog somewhere about "what to do and where to go" etc in Polson and it mentioned Betty's Diner, and being a diner, I knew we had to try it.  Just reading the menu, I knew it would be a "winner", and boy, oh boy was it ever!  One of the best burgers we've had in a very long time! YUM!!

Well, all to soon our visit needed to end, as there are only so many days until we need to get to Washington, so hugs were given all around and thanks to Polson for the nice sunshiny days!  We were off on a scenic route following the Bitterroot River along Hwy 200 through the rest of Montana to the eastern side of Washington...

...on the road, Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my pictures, they are on my flickr: Marie Beschen, Album: Montana

Beautiful days in Buffalo with a side trip to Sheridan Wyoming...

We've visited Buffalo a number of times, but always just for a day or two.  This time we took our time and stayed for five leisurely days at our favorite campground, Deer Park RV.  It's beautiful here, with lots of trees, grass and a swimming pool if one wants.  There is a KOA right down the road at a much higher rate that isn't nearly as nice (we stayed there our first year out) and I'm always surprised at why people choose it, when this one is so much better.

The weather has been absolutely delightful!  It's been so wonderful to be able to just sit outside and read and relax or to work (yes, I still have HOA work to do!). Even sitting on the couch looking out the door, the view has been incredible!  

Our first night was a visit to the historical Occidental Hotel (circa 1908). Wyoming is "beef" country so I was ready for a good steak, and they didn't disappoint!  Looking up, there were taxidermied animals all over the walls - mostly elk and deer, but a sure whole lot of them! 

The next day we took our time and started with the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum.  Jim Gatchell was pharmacist in the early 1900s and became a trusted friend to the region's Native Americans.  They brought him many gifts over the years, which are now in the museum.  You are not allowed to take pictures of any of that collection, but you could of the rest. They had wonderful dioramas of the cattle ranch war, the history of Tom Horn and other scouts.  A beautiful Northern Cheyenne Tipi called "The Water Bird" stands out front as you enter, along with a US Marshall's Wagon.  It was all quite interesting...

Afterward, we just wandered the streets and enjoyed the shops and murals.  Buffalo is the home of Craig Johnson, the author of "Longmire", if you are a fan.  His wife has a store here, full of all his books, posters, shirts, caps, you name it!  They have "Longmire Days" in July that is suppose to be quite something, the actors come and a ton of fans, a parade and all the fuss!  He writes about two books a year now.  ;-)  The other cool thing that people probably don't know about Buffalo, is that it used to be, was sheep country!  Early in the 1900s the Basque moved here and brought their heritage of raising of sheep with them! 

The following day we decided to take the drive over to Sheridan and check it out.  We started early so we could have breakfast there.  We ended up at the Cowboy Cafe.  I decided to try their Bison sausage & cheese omelet - good choice!  Yum!  Great coffee too, wish we would have asked them the brand... Jack liked their cups so much, he bought his!  

Afterwards, we just walked the streets, going in and out of all the shops, up one side and down the others.  Talked with the nicest people.  My favorite was the Crazy Woman Trading Co.  The owners were a hoot and the shop was decorated with so much fun.  I not only bought a shirt ('cause I am a Crazy Woman) but also had to have her other "label" Picky Bitch".  She shared that B.I.T.C.H. actually is a compliment and told me what each letter stood for...and dang if I've forgotten!  I have to contact her and get it again....;-)  

We ended our day there at a great hand-made ice cream stand called Cowboy Creamery "Western Style" and came on back to the rig.  It's been such a delight to just take our time and visit here.  Tomorrow we are off to Jack's favorite Wyoming stop - Cody!

...on the road in Wyoming...

Marie

Colorado friendship...

 Twelve years ago while Jack and I was sitting in our rig in Lexington KY, we spotted an RV exactly like ours.  Because they only made this model for four years, we rarely see it.  When I spotted it driving to the dump area and pointed it out to Jack, he took off running after it!  He ran up to the driver and knocked on his window and announced to him that our coaches were just alike!  They talked for a few minutes and the driver shared that he wasn't leaving, but was going to visit a friend and would be back later and to stop by his spot.  We did, and everyone introduced themselves.  We all sat around and talked until 1am.  That was the beginning of a long and deep friendship with Deb and Rich.  

Over the years we have gone camping together, visited them in their home in Denver several times, getting to know all of their family and kept in close contact.  Rich served in the Army in his youth, and like so many young men, got in contact with Agent Orange.  As with others, it invaded his body, slowly but surly and we lost him a few weeks ago, breaking all our hearts.  He was a terrific person in every way. 

When we made plans for this trip, there was no doubt that it needed to include Colorado, to see Deb and to be able to giver her a real hug in person.  We had been in touch all through those last days on the phone, but of course, that's not the same.  

As per her usual style, she picked the most unique place for us to enjoy the day together and have lunch - a place we hadn't been before (how could that be?  They had shown us so many places in Colorado before!) It was in a small town called Castle Rock and in a small church turned into an incredible Italian restaurant called Scileppi's at The Old Stone Church.  Family owned and operated for several generations, and you could smell the garlic before you even opened the door!  Yum!  They are in the middle of adding to it, with an addition to the side for more "pizza space" (they need it) and have added tables out in front as well.  

Deb and I split our meal (lasagna and salad) and we still have a ton left over for a whole other meal for tomorrow!  Jack's meal has enough left over for two more meals!  All so very good!  

Afterward, we walked all around town and into the few shops they had, but in all honesty they had more restaurants than shops!  We really lucked out on the weather, especially for Colorado, as you can never tell here if it is going to be cold, warm or rain from hour to hour!  It remained nice and warm, yea.  

All to soon our time together was over, and tear full hugs were passed around.  I reminded her that flights do come to Arizona, but I know she has much to adjust to and needs time to heal.  But we will hold her in our hearts and know that one day we will all be together again, here or there, as this friendship will continue on...

...on the road in Colorado,  Marie

Our Summer Trip...First Stop - New Mexico!

 After a long hiatus, we are back on the road again for a couple of months!  First stop, New Mexico!  Silver City has become our "new favorite" town to visit.  With our friends, Jed and Julie having moved here, it makes a good "excuse" for us to come here, but we've actually found that we really love this little town too.  It's about a 5 hour drive, a little longer than I like Jack to do, but it's not a bad one for our first day out.  We have found a great campground (Manzano's) that we've enjoyed staying at.  The owners, John and Barbara are super nice and always host a BBQ of some sort on Saturday evenings which not only is the food great, but meeting all the other campers is such fun and interesting.  We've already established a couple of favorite places we enjoy going to there, like the local coffee place called Tranquilbuzz and the Silver City Book Shop that no matter how many books we already have, Michael talks us into more! 

Even thought we thought we had "seen it all" from out last trip, our friends managed to take us to a new place! We had the best, most unusual breakfast ever...a breakfast pizza!  It was a pizza made with sauce, cheese, bacon and egg on a great pizza dough.  I was skeptical, but boy was it good!  Yum!  The place was a hoot too!  Even when you drove up to it, you went, hmm, wow!  "Eclectic" was your first thought...it had a great garden attached to the side, so, of course, that's where I wandered off to before I even went inside. Got into a wonderful conversation with one of the owners. (she recommended the "killer Bloody Mary" which I took her up on!). We shared the challenge of relearning how to garden in the desert after living in So. Calif.  

Whiskey Creek Zocalo is a bar, a restaurant, a garden, a picnic site, a music venue, et al. It has 9 acres that is still developing itself.  One thing for sure, it has great food and interesting decor!  We've added it to our places that we will return to when we come through here again.  ;-)  

After leaving our friends, our next stop was Albuquerque. It was just a short 2 night stop at a cute little RV Park called Enchanted Trails.  We had been here before way back in 2018.  It has a sweet little "Retro Area" that you can rent early style trailers.  So cute.  They have added a huge "Hub Cap Tree" in the middle of the campground that is really something too.  Pretty cool.  First morning here we were greeted with a spectacular sunrise.  We didn't bother going anywhere as we have been to Albuq. before and just wanted to rest as the next drive was going to be a really long one heading to Colorado Springs. 

This was a great way to start our "summer" trip!

...on the road,  Marie

Heading Home...

Our island adventures were done, and now it was all sea time to head home.  We had a little over a week's time to be back in Los Angeles.  

For me, that week started off with a celebration (or two)!  It was my 78th Birthday and my husband (and it seemed the crew) made sure it was going to be "extra special".  To begin with, Princess Cruise Lines has a very large (TV) screen at almost every elevator hub.  It shows you where the ship is at, at any given moment (latitude and longitude) and where it's heading - but, whenever I was near it (wearing my medallion, which we wear for identification) the screen would change and show birthday balloons, a cake with candles and a banner saying "Happy Birthday Marie B"!  It was such a hoot!  

 

On the night of my birthday which coincided (with "formal night" so we got to dress up too), Jack made reservations at one of the special restaurants on board, The Steakhouse.  Wow, what an experience!  We've been to wonderful restaurants in our travels, but I must say this was above and beyond anything we've ever experienced.  Of course they ended the evening with the staff coming over with a most decadent dessert (chocolate, of course) and sang to me.  I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures...

The funny thing was, and so very special, was that the following night, when we returned to our regular table, our wait staff immediately said "you weren't here last night for your birthday!"  I shared with them where we were, and Kwanravee said "well, we are just going to pretend that tonight is your birthday anyway!" So they did!  After they served me my cake and sang, I told them "well, if it makes you feel any better, you all sing better than the other restaurant staff!"  I told them although I love the dessert, I was just to full to eat it...she said "no problem, we will just have it delivered to your room for later".  When we returned to our room, it was there, along with a Happy Birthday banner across the wall that our room steward Danio had pinned up. They all made me feel so special.  

The Cruise Director and his assistance made sure there were plenty of things going on and entertainment for us to watch for those eight days and nights.  Of course they had a different show each night for us, everything from singers to acrobatics to instrumentalist, to piano to dancers.  Towards the end, they brought in the Culinary Team and showed us who they were and what they all do!  They read off some of the "amounts" of food items we consumed while on board - oh my!  

 

Another fun thing was two "recitals".  All during our cruise there were two classes passengers could take, hula and ukulele.  They met several times a week to practice with our Island Hosts.  We had seen a number of passengers walking around with their ukulele, some with their own that they brought with then, some belonging to the host's.  We spoke to one of the passengers once and asked her about the class and she shared that she had started taking a class on a previous cruise and got hooked and then bought her own ukulele and kept up the lessons.  She said it's harder than one thinks, but she enjoys it and always takes it with her now on cruises.  A few days before the end of the cruise, they gave us a recital!  I was surprised at how large the classes were. They sure looked like they were having fun, and we all enjoyed watching them too! 

Before we knew it, it was time to start packing up and getting ourselves ready to disembark!  32 days seemed like a long time, buy honestly, it flew by!  It was great being "unplugged" from emails, phone calls, texts, etc. and just relaxing.  However I have to confess, the  "no cooking (or planning), cleaning, gardening", was really the BEST part!  I am still missing Martin, Servio, Kwanravee and Danio! They truly spoiled us...

...and in no time, it's back to Arizona and our wonderful life here!

Marie

Making the most in Moorea!

 It was Sunday, and our last stop in Tahiti.  After yesterday's shopping disappointment, we weren't in a hurry to board the water shuttle to Moorea, thinking that there wouldn't be any opportunity to get anything there, and we hadn't booked any tours, so it would just be "free time on our own",  so we just mossied on out after breakfast to see what there was to see...

  Coming into the island, we could see that it was a small sweet looking one with a lovely cove.  I was surprised at how high the surrounding mountains were, some you couldn't even see the tops because of the clouds!  As with the other smaller island, everything was lush and green. 

As the water shuttle docked we could already hear the music, and it didn't take us long to realize that these island people were not taking Sunday off!  There were musicians playing island music along with lovely dancers to welcome us, and they had this place FILLED with vendor tables as far as the eye could see!  Beyond that were tour guides offering all lengths of tours from 2-4 hours around the island.  We asked several of the people selling items how long they would be there, and they all said "as long as you are here!" They were excited to see us and were so friendly and happy, it made our day.  We talked to a couple of tour guides and decided that a 2-hour tour would be the best for today - it covered enough of the areas I was interested in and gave us time to come back and enjoy the music and shopping, so that's what we did.  They were nice small vans that only held 6 people, which was perfect, so off we went.  

We learned a lot about this wonderful island from our guide.  Like Moorea is an island of volcanic origin, located 11 miles northwest of Papeete and has a circumference of 37 miles. Many people have described Moorea as the most beautiful place on earth. After a visit to Moorea and inspired by its beauty, author James Michener wrote “peaks which can never be forgotten...the jagged saw-edges that look like the spines of a forgotten dinosaur”. One of the features that is so striking about this island is the jagged peaks and spires that give the island its unique profile. Moorea's appearance is the result of volcanic activity hundreds of thousands of years ago.

The volcanic crater of Moorea is completely surrounded by a coral reef;  Geologists speculate that the northern rim of the volcano either fell into the sea or was blown away by a volcanic explosion, leaving the heart-shaped island of Moorea. The south rim of the volcano makes up the mountain range that protects the lush interior of the island known as the Opuhi plantation. This astounding range that makes up the south rim contains several named mountain peaks. Towering some 3,000 ft. above Opunohu Bay and Cooks Bay (named after Captain James Cook), Mt Rotui (2,949 ft.) resides at the center of the crater of the ancient volcano. The view of Rotui from Belvedere Point was spectacular.

 

 

After leaving the panoramic views of the Belvedere Lookout, we headed to the pineapple fields.  What an interesting place.  These were very different from what we've seen before in Hawaii, as they are grown just for their juice and not shipped out.  These plants were very thorny and the pineapples were much smaller than the kind you eat.  Our guide told us these plants only last about five years.  The field was huge and went further than we could see!  There is the Moorea Fruit Juice & Distillery Factory on the island that harvests local fruits from papaya, pineapple, star fruit, ginger coconut and grapefruit but it's closed on Sundays so we weren't able to go there. 

 

Some last views before we returned to the dock area...

 

 For a short (2 hour) tour, we saw a lot and really enjoyed ourselves!  We got back in plenty of time to take our time and browse through all the wonderful items the locals hand for sale.  There were a number of tables with Tahitian pearl jewelry, mostly black, which is what they are known for, but some gray and white as well.  Incredible prices!  I was really tempted, but just really don't need any more jewelry, and how many earrings can a lady wear with shorts anyway?  ;-).  I did get myself the t-shirt I wanted and added a (very small) piece of art work to our collection.  We listened for a bit more to the sweet musicians, then finally caught the water shuttle back to the ship reluctantly, knowing that this was our last island adventure...

As we bid Moorea goodbye, she gave us this one last gift...

...catching up from our cruise,  Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my photos, you can go to my Flickr account and it's under the Pacific Islands Album.

 

Tahiti at last!

Twenty-four days after we left Los Angeles we finally sailed into our final destination, Tahiti!  The sun was shining, the weather was beautiful and I, for one couldn't be more excited!  We had booked a "tour around the island" from 9-2 that would pretty much cover all the sights, then it would be time to go shopping!  Our on-board island hosts said that the market here was really huge and the best!  Tahiti is known for it's black pearls.  I wasn't really in the market for any, but, hey, it's always fun to look!  

As I stood on our balcony watching us pull in, I was amazed at how big Papeete was compared to the other islands we had just visited.  It was more like the US or Hawaii ports with high-rises and modern equipment albeit surrounded by a beautiful, tropical cove!

 Unlike the other, smaller island, there were no "island greeters" singing and dancing for us, just a whole lot of tour busses, ready and waiting to whisk us away, so off we all went (and there were a lot of us going here and there)! 

Once we left the dock and the "downtown" area, the island took on the jungle beauty and charm that we all anticipated it would be.  Lush mountainsides, pristine coastlines with clear blue waters coming up on black sand beaches, scenic waterfalls and beautiful gardens.  

Here were some of our stops...

A fabulous visit the Vaipahi waterfall and Gardens.  What a lovely, peaceful place.  There were several paths here to meander through, but the first to catch your eye was to the waterfall and grotto with lush ferns hanging to the edges.  

 As I walked on from the grotto, there were so many beautiful plants and flowers to see and smell as well and birds to just enjoy listening to...

 

 

Which then led me to the lily pond and streams...

 

 Finally scooting us out of here, we were off to see the Araholo Blowhole!  What fun.  Waves loudly crashing through volcanic basalt rocks, spraying us with cooling mist and sending laughter throughout the group as everyone snapped lots of pictures and video!  

 It was a short trip to see the beautiful black sand beach at Point Venus!  We've seen others in our travels, but I have to share that this one was a bit darker, with a little more sparkle and the "bits" were a little larger (not so fine).  Maybe that's the reason for the darkness and sparkle?  hmmm

Also at this stop was a great lighthouse and a cool display of all types of boats...

 We saw so much more in our travels - neat churches, whizzed by a cool cemetery, great views of valleys, sea sides and coastlines...all beautiful and mesmerizing.  Here's just a small taste...

 After hours of driving around the island, snapping dozens and dozens of pictures, we were ready to come back and check out that Market place we heard so much about!  Jack was hungry, after all it was 2 0'clock and way past his lunch time and all he was interested in was food!  Kathy and I decided we could wait on that and headed straight into town, and sweet Bob followed along with us.  Well, much to our surprise and dismay...the town was all CLOSED UP!  It seems that on Saturdays, it closes by 12:30!  No one told us!  Not our Island Hosts, not our tour guide, no one!  We knew that they would be closed tomorrow (almost all the islands respect Sundays and keep their shops closed then).  We walked all around the town, just to make sure, but other than a McDonald's, and a couple of very high-priced outlet stores, nothing was open. To say we (and everyone else) were not happy, was putting it mildly.  As we came back to the ship, there were others coming off the ship that had waited until it got cooler to go shopping, so when we told them, not to bother, they too were surprised and unhappy.  Tomorrow being Sunday, and our last day in Tahiti, we didn't hold out much enthusiasm for our trip to Moorea...A sad ending to a beautiful day.

...catching up from our cruise,  Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my photos, you can go to my Flickr account and it's under the Pacific Islands Album.

Crossing the International Dateline - Fun at Sea!

Britannica defines the International Date Line as an " imaginary line extending between the North Pole and the South Pole and arbitrarily demarcating each calendar day from the next.  The International Date Line is a consequence of the worldwide use of timekeeping systems arranged so that local noon corresponds approximately to the time at which the sun crosses the local meridian of longitude."  It goes on to give the longitude and latitude, but suffice it enough to say that all it really does is mess up your days by adding or taking away a day as you cross it in the ocean!  ;-) 

I had heard that ships, all kinds, from Navy to cruise ships, love to have fun, silly and sometimes elaborate ceremonies for people who are "first timers" crossing the Equator.  Our ship was crossing it twice, so it was not a surprise when I saw that the crew had a special "Ceremony" scheduled!  I couldn't wait see it!

They held it around the large open pool (no surprise there) and lined up all the chairs they could for the best front seat viewing, leaving the rest of the area open for everyone else to gather above.  I lucked out and got a (stand-up) spot pretty much in front, in the shade.  I only had to contend with the people pointing their phones/cameras up high in front of them like "they were the only one who matters" (don't you just hate that? Because of that, I didn't really get pictures of the recipients being dumped on).  

The Cruise Director and his staff were all decked out in full Neptune garb and makeup, what a hoot they were!  Tables were set up with dishes filled with: spaghetti noodles (cold), various puddings, flour, plus a very large dead fish! 

One of the Officers came out and read the "decree" and the "recipients" were led out.  I have no idea who they were or how they were chosen, but there were six of them (maybe they were ship's crew or VIPs?).  They had been given large Princess T Shirts to wear over their own clothes (thank goodness).  Each one was brought before the King and Queen and read his/her charge (first time crossing? The microphone wasn't real clear) and then led him/her to the table where the court people dumped one of the various goodies from the table onto their head. Some were not so bad, like the spaghetti noodles.  As each person came up though, it seemed to get worse, and by the end, he got it all and was completely covered, much to the crowd's laughter!

It made for a fun morning and when we all got back to our staterooms, we each had special certificates to take home to commemorate the date and acknowledge we not only "Crossed the Line" but had an extra day added to our trip!  lol 

...catching up from our cruise,  Marie

Having Fun in Fiji!

We were excited to reach Fiji because we had signed up for a zip-lining adventure early on and was really looking forward to doing this.  Jack and I had done zip-lining a few times in San Diego, but nothing like what we were going to be doing in Suva.  Here, it was going to be seven rides over the jungle canopy going from one platform to another, each one longer and steeper that the last!  

The day started out with a bumpy bus ride out to our destination, there were about a dozen of us in the group. It was an early morning trip, but humidity and temperature and were already rising.  Once we arrived, we had a short walk...uphill, to get our gear and suit up! I only took a couple of picture en route, and of us (all ready to go) - but nothing else - as I handed my phone to Jack to put in his deep pockets to make sure it was safe!  I had this crazy idea that he would be able to take a picture of me as I traveled from platform to platform, hah!  First off, we all were pretty tightly squeezed together on those platforms, and secondly, there wasn't much time from getting onto them, before we were sent off again!  Not much time for "friendly photo shoots"!  Every time the guide offered to take someone's picture, Jack wasn't there with my phone, so I was out of luck...Oh well, I was there for the experience anyway.  ;-). 

 

The next day was a relaxing day on the island of Dravuni Fiji.  It's a small beach island (only about 125 inhabitants) that we had to be shuttled into.  Warm, clear, delicious water to swim in, with white sand to sit back and just relax the day away...ahhh.

The locals were there with their goods (of course), lovely linens (I had to have one!), as well as a variety of shirts and dresses.  Several people went out on a boat tour of the island as well as enjoyed their BBQ offers.  Unfortunately, the excitement of the day turned out to be a shipmate who ended up being life flighted out due to a medical emergency.  Our captain kept us informed and all ended well with him in the end. 

Here's a few pictures of our day there...

Views coming into the island

Enjoying the warm ocean!

Sandy beaches and lovely things to buy

 Sun, sand and shopping, what more can a person ask for?  ;-)

...catching up from our cruise,  Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my photos, you can go to my Flickr account and it's under the Pacific Islands Album.