2012 Caribbean Cruise Day 2

What a great day! After a good night's sleep, we woke up to a mostly sunny day with temperatures in the high 70's. This would be a day at sea so there was no rush to get ready to go somewhere.


We finally got dressed for the day and went to breakfast. We found a table by the window and had a gorgeous view. The selection of food was overwhelming, but we did finally decide on what we wanted. I had thought about getting an omelet, but the line was too long. They had everything from biscuits and gravy to steak and eggs. The fruit and pastry selections were also great. We could have sat in the dining room and just enjoyed the view, but decided to tour the ship.


We couldn't get over how beautiful the water was. The sun sure brought out the color of the water and it was this way most of the day. We took a few pictures, but not as many as we should have. We went back to the center of the ship where the glass elevators were. One set of elevators faced the Centrum (an open area that covered probably 8 decks) and the other faced the ocean. You had a great view either way.

Throughout the cruise in the afternoon and night there were bands playing on the first level of the Centrum. The design of the Centrum allowed the music to travel through all levels of the Centrum and you could sit on different levels and watch the band/people on the lowest level. We quickly discovered that it was too crowded on the lowest level so we usually sat on the second level.

The ship was well designed and had a lot for the teenagers to do--water slides, rock climbing walls, basketball courts, miniture golf, video game rooms and many more activities. Linda and I did play a few games of shuffle board, but after the tour of the ship, we found lounge chairs and sat on the deck and read our books. It sure made for a restful day and we thoroughly enjoyed doing "nothing" for the rest of the day. We get so wrapped up in our volunteer activities that we very seldom have time to sit back, relax and enjoy each other's company.

We had a great day and a very enjoyable dinner. This was a formal night so everyone was supposed to dress up. However, there are a few in every crowd that will ignore the rules and come as they are. The food was great and our companions for dinner were interesting as usual. Good food and great conversation--it doesn't get any better than that.

After dinner we went to the theater to watch the nights entertainment which was the ship's singers and dancers putting on the show. We enjoyed the performance and then went to one of the lounges to listen to the music. A perfect end to a very enjoyable day.

2012 Caribbean Cruise

It is a little late to update the blogspot with our cruise information and pictures, but, I guess it is better late than never.

We started 2012 by taking a five day Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas. We had leisurely days at sea and stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya.

We flew from Cincinnati , Ohio to Tampa January 7 for a cruise to Mexico. We normally fly out of Dayton, Ohio, however the cruise package we bought, Cincinnati was the airport we had to use. This was the first time we had flown from Cincinnati and the airport was easy to get to and clearing security was much quicker than the Dayton Airport.

After an uneventful flight, we arrived in Tampa and took a shuttle to the ship. This is the second time we have taken a cruise from Tampa and once again, we had an easy boarding. This was our first cruise on Royal Caribbean and we were impressed with how quickly we were processed.

We boarded the ship and expected to have to wait awhile before we could check out our cabin. However, it was ready by 1:00 PM but our luggage hadn't arrived yet. We then went to the dining room for lunch. We were impressed with the layout of the dining room and their buffet. We were able to find a table immediately and get through the buffet line quickly. The food was great and we thoroughly enjoyed a nice, quiet lunch by ourselves. We arrived early and got on board before the majority of the passengers.

After lunch, we took a tour of the top decks of the ship. All our other cruises have been on Holland America and their ships are smaller than the Jewel of The Seas.

We departed around 5:00 PM and had planned on staying on deck to watch the cast off and the passage under the bridge. The captain said that there was only about 6 feet of clearance from the top the the ship and the bottom of the bridge. However, we had the 6:00 PM seating for dinner and had to get ready for dinner.

The dining room was much larger than the one on Holland America and we were seated on the first floor of the dining room. On Holland America, we always sat on the second level and had a great view of the ocean while dining. On this cruise, we could not see the ocean which was a little disappointing.


The couple that were seated with us were from Florida and were a very friendly couple. Our first night dining turned out to be a very pleasant dinner. The service was great and the food was outstanding.

After dinner we made our way to the Coral Theater for the Welcome Aboard Show, starring David Orion, who has been Jerry Seinfeld's opening act and a Star Search winner. He was very entertaining and kept the crowd laughing.

After the show, we checked out the ship some more, strolled on the deck and watched the waves go by.

Shauna Danielle Dufon

We had an exciting day yesterday...Shauna Danielle arrived and all the family joyously welcomed her.

South Carolina Vacation Day 3: Plantation

Today we decided to visit Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, a plantation near Charleston . Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. Founded in 1676 by the Drayton family, Magnolia Plantation has survived the centuries and witnessed the history of our nation unfold before it from the American Revolution through the Civil War and beyond. It is the oldest public tourist site in the low country, and the oldest public gardens in America, opening its doors to visitors in 1870 to view the thousands of beautiful flowers and plants in its famous gardens.

It was a beautiful day and the plantation was supposed to have one of the best gardens in the United States. We were a little late for most of the flowers and a little early for the camellias that were planted in the woods. There were a few varieties blooming and they were pretty. We were told that the best time to view the woods was in February when all the camellias were in bloom. They have planted thousands of camellias of many different varieties throughout the woods and with the layout of the walks and other little gardens they would be gorgeous. As you walked through the woods, there were gardens of different flowers and herbs usually behind a manicured hedge or a growth of camellias. Throughout the woods, you would see many different statutes nestled in the gardens and camellias. The plantation grounds had many ponds and small lakes and there were wooden bridges over some of them. There were also gazebos and benches strategically located in the woods and gardens so if you wanted to rest or just sit and while away time you could. They were many secluded locations that would be great to sit in and read a book.

We toured the house, but, unfortunately, we could not take pictures in the house. The history of this property is very interesting and the history as well as a short video and pictures can be found at http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/

South Carolina Vacation: Sunset

Linda and I decided to go to the beach and watch the sunset. It had been such a good day that we thought a beautiful sunset would be a fitting ending to the day.

We arrived at the beach and it looked like others had the same idea. While taking pictures we noticed some dolphins swimming along the coast. Unfortunately, I was not able to get any good pictures of them. I have included one showing a fin.

We watched the sun set and I took over 70 pictures. I have included a few, but there are others that are just as pretty.

South Carolina Vacation: Day 2

Today turned out to be a great day. The drive to Charleston was uneventful. The traffic wasn't bad and it only took about 1 1/4 hours to get there.

We parked in the visitor's center parking lot and looked at a lot of the tours being offered. We decided to take our own walking tour; got a map of Charleston and got on our way.

We walked to Market Street--taking pictures along the way--to visit the old market. We have been here before, but it is always worth a visit.

After going through the market, we decided to go to lunch. We ended up eating at a place called Hyman's Seafood. Once again, we had a great seafood lunch. I had the Charleston style fish and chips and Linda had a Buffalo Shrimp Poboy. We also tried the local craft beer and it was great also.

We continued our tour of the city after lunch and took many more pictures of the area. The houses were very unbelievable and made the tour of the
city worthwhile.

South Carolina Vacation: Day 1

Getting to Edisto Island, South Carolina was an easy, although long (12 hours), trip. We had great weather most of the way. We did run into foggy conditions in the mountains, but it did not affect the driving. It did make for some beautiful views. The fall folage was very pretty and we saw many miles of the turning leaves.

We left Trotwood around 6:30 AM and arrived at Edisto Island around 6:15 PM. Edisto Island is very isolated with very few people except for the visitors to the resort. You drive down miles of two lane roads with Spanish moss hanging from the trees. In some areas there are trees on both sides of the roads with overhanging branches. It looks like a tunnel from a distance. We probably drove over 20 miles without meeting a car or having a car behind us.

We decided to go to Beaufort, South Carolina today. The pictures and descriptions on the internet made it sound interesting and it was. To get an idea of what we saw, go to
http://www.beaufort-sc.com/history/bfttown/tour/walktour.htm for a virtual walking tour. We stopped at the visitors center when we got into Beaufort. Once an arsenal, this building was constructed in 1798 of brick and tabby. We left the visitors center and drove to an area where the restaurants were supposed to be. We walked along the river which was a beautiful walk, but we did not find a restaurant that we wanted to eat in. An individual was delivering visitors guides to the local businesses and we asked him where was a good place to get a fish dinner. He suggested a restaurant called Steamers which was on an island about 2 miles from where we were.

We visited the restaurant and had a meal that was very delicious. The special of the day was grouper—fried or grilled--, dirty rice and corn on the cob. We chose the grilled grouper and washed it down a draft beer. The grouper was grilled to perfection and the dirty rice was the best we have ever had. Linda told the waitress that she could just give her a plate of dirty rice and she would be happy. The tartar sauce was very good. Linda asked if it was homemade or bought. The waitress said it was made by the restaurant, not bought. She also said that there was a lady that worked for the restaurant who made the dirty rice and everyone who ate the rice said it was “the best ever”. We would agree with that.






We left the restaurant and went to Harbor Island visit a light house which was well worth the visit. However, the beach was another matter. There were a lot of trees on the beaches which was probably the result of the hurricane earlier this year.