March 5, 2016

Arrived in Cozumel this morning.

Getting off the ship in Cozumel

Signed up for a ride in a real submarine (The Atlantis). The experience was like Scuba diving without all the hassle and gear.

Here are some pics, but they don’t do the experience justice. You can see life aboard a submarine is quite crowded.

They told us only 1% of the world’s population has ever been 100 feet below the sea. I have a certificate to prove I am in that 1%.

I Took this picture to make sure I know when to get back to the ship. I like this place, but I don’t want to get stuck here.

March 4, 2016

I hope there are enough lifeboats (There are – I did the math.)

Breakfast on the balcony.

They have an nice Sports Bar, lots of big screens. No betting on sports, however. 🙁

And, of course, they have a very nice Casino, only one craps table, but that was OK.

Guy Fiero, the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives guy, has a burger joint on the ship. It is one of the most popular places (and they have about 20 restaurants).

March 3, 2016

Getting ready to board the ship

View from the highest point on the ship

With all the food available all day and all night, you have to spend some time working out while looking at the view from the ship.

This is a picture of the Carnival cruise ship Triumph.

It has been more years than I care to remember since I have been on a cruise, but I have decided that my next “Road Trip” will be a cruise to the island city of Cozumel, in Mexico.

Before I sign up for any long cruises, I will be taking a 4 day cruise to see what ‘cruising’ is like in the 21st century. If I like the experience, I will probably do more of this kind of travelling. A 10 day cruise to Alaska sounds pretty good to me.

This Cozumel cruise starts on March 3rd.  Check back then to see how it goes.

December 27, 2015

Here are a couple of pictures of the Superdome.  That is where thousands of people went for shelter during Hurricane Katrina.  I wanted to take a tour , but it is closed.  They are getting ready for the Sugar Bowl which will take place here on New Year’s Day.  Ole Miss will take on Oklahoma State.

I wanted to do a little more travelling before heading home, but there is a lot of crazy weather going on in this part of the country right now, so I will just head on back to Austin.  Check back in a few weeks to see where I am heading next.

December 26, 2015

If you take a balloon to the bottom of a swimming pool and let the air out of it, it will shoot out of the pool like a bullet.  In New Orleans, because it is below sea level, that is what happens when you bury a coffin in the ground and the water table rises.  They figured that out a long time ago, so they do not bury people there.  They entomb them in very elaborate above ground vaults. This is one of the oldest cemeteries in New Orleans – St Louis Cemetery. It is rumored that the Vampire Lestat put many of these people here:

This tomb has a locked gate.  These people are not getting out.

 
It is a Catholic cemetery and there is a statue of Mother Teresa.

She asked me to take a selfie with her.

Here is one of the famous New Orleans streetcars. I rode it all over the city. I was looking for the one named Desire, but I couldn’t find her.

You have to eat seafood in New Orleans. This is one meal I had. It was a combination of bayou traditions: Cajun jambalaya, craw fish etouffée, red beans and rice and chicken and Andouille sausage gumbo.  Mmmm …..

December 25, 2015

This is Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Christmas morning.  You will never seen it this deserted on any other day of the year.

I like places where there are not a lot of people, so I really liked this, especially the statue of “Fats Domino”.  He found his ‘thrill’ on ‘Blueberry Hill’ while “Walking to New Orleans‘.

Harrah’s Hotel & Casino:

Nothing prettier than a $100 chip:

December 24, 2015

I wanted to take a road trip at Christmas so, of course, I Googled “Best Places to Spend Christmas in the U.S.”

After eliminating all the places where there could be ice and snow (e.g. New York), one of the top places was New Orleans, so that is where I am heading.

I will leave on Christmas Eve.  It is only about a 7-8 hour drive from Austin, so I will get there late afternoon.  I have been to New Orleans a few times, but it has been a while.

They do have one new thing that was not there the last time I visited – A Casino.  I will probably spend some time there.

Stay tuned.

November 1, 2015

It was a 16 day Road Trip and I traveled over 4,000 miles, but I am finally back in Austin.  As I drove into the city I was welcomed with a huge rainstorm, the first rain I have seen in Austin in about 3 months.

I am done traveling for a while. I plan to make my next trip around Christmastime.  I got an idea from my niece, Tammi about that trip. She recently took a train trip from California to Nebraska and seemed to enjoy it.

Is occurred to me that I do not necessarily need to drive to take a road trip. I can take the train.  That would relieve me of the chore of driving, giving me more time to enjoy the journey.  Of course, it takes away the opportunity to take a side trip down that interesting road up ahead, but there are disadvantages to everything. I will look into Amtrak and what they have to offer for my next trip.

Until then, here are a couple more pictures  During my trip to the wedding I tried to avoid the usual fast food places to eat. Whenever I could, I stopped at an out-of-the -way diner to try the local cuisine.

Here is one of the places I stopped.  It was really amazing. For a little while, I thought I was back in the 50s enjoying a real burger and a vanilla phosphate. Nice!

Also, I like to buy a T-shirt wherever I go.  Here is the pile from my latest trips.

October 26, 2015

OK the big wedding is over and I am on my way back to Austin.  On my road trips I want to visit some National Parks as I travel.  The National Park most recommended to me is the Zion National Park in Springdale Utah.

I arrived at the Park on October 26.  Since so many people on my list have advised me about this Park, I really don’t have to tell them what an awesome place this is.

For those of you who have never been here, I strongly recommend you add it to your Bucket List.  You will not regret it.  There is a state highway that runs through the Park.  You can get on that road no matter what entrance you use (there are at least three). You could just stay on that road and observe all the fantastic views and the trip would be worth whatever it cost you to get there.

However, if you really want to experience Zion, you would have to stop and walk some of the trails.  You will see things that you cannot see from a car.  There are several trails ranging in time from 1/2 hour to 8 hours and ranging in difficulty from Easy to Strenuous.  Take your pick.  I chose a two hour trail rated Moderate and it was awesome.

Pictures

When you drive from Chico, California to Zion National Park, you spend a lot of time on State Highway 50, about 6 hours.  It is a pretty desolate drive.  There are no houses, no farms, no businesses, not much to see.  There was not even a single cow to keep me company.  I was starting to think that this is the loneliest road anywhere when I came upon this sign confirming my conclusion:

There is a story behind the sign below.  The tunnel I was about to go through is over 1 mile long and it is completely dark.  There are no lights or openings to let in light. The only lights are those of the cars in front of and behind you.

I entered the tunnel and immediately everything went black. I could not see anything in front of or behind me. I knew my lights were on, but they were not providing any light at all. I was about to hit the panic button when I remembered another sign I had seen before entering the tunnel.

That sign had several warnings on it.  One of the warnings said: “Be sure to remove your sunglasses.” I was wearing very dark sunglasses and they had blocked out every bit of light in that tunnel.  I quickly removed them and, all of a sudden, I could see again.  It is really a miracle that I did not hit someone or something before I discovered the problem.

Sometimes, when you live in the South, you forget how beautiful it is when the leaves change colors in the Fall.