Our "No Fly" Cruise - Puerto Rico

Well on this day we arrive back in the USA. Even though we are still on the cruise we dock in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a US territory.

But things are not all the same here as you can see from the sign on the building below. I missed the shot of the cocks in cages on the other side!

This was the only truly ugly thing I saw. I even liked the pavement!

Modern art on the sidewalk
Below is the location of this abstract. It was at the bottom of this staircase

We visited one of four old forts on the island.

Which one is better dressed?

No explanation necessary



Expanation...I just like it!

Soon we reboard for the journey back to New Jersey. But a lilttle more "art" before we go.

These were found on special evenings in our stateroom.

Those are my sunglasses. When I would leave them out these guys would put them on!

Our "No Fly" Cruise - St. Thomas

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Approaching the Island. See the shadows of the ship stacks, Abandoned since there seems no way to get to these buildings.

Turquoise is THE color of the islands

The ship parking lot. The Norwegian ship we saw yesterday had to anchor and passengers had to take tenders to the shore. We are the lucky third ship.

Magen's Bay Beach from a bird's eye view. We went later in the day and I FORGOT the camera.

My favorite shot. I want to live under those blue roofs.

I hate photos of me but I like the way my top coordinates with the island colors.

I don't know these people but they are dancing into the night at a 50's/60's Rock party. Finally, at the end I got Dan to get up and pretend we know how to dance.

Our "No Fly Cruise" - St Maartens

We are on our way to St. Maartens. The wind on deck makes Dan feel like one of those weathermen reporting on a hurricane but with with sun.
Yes, the island is spelled with two a's as it is Dutch on one side. We land in Phillipsburg on that side. The other half is French and there is no problem moving back and forth.


Looking into the bridge at the guys driving this monster

A picture from the show. This is a guy doing some songs from "GUYS AND DOLLS"

Coming into dock

Our ship is on the right. The other is a Norwegian Line ship

A lovley view of a hotel

Since we had not seen flowers at home yet I was captivated by these lovlies.

The usual tourist tchotckes but I love the colors

I like the colorful stand but check out the guys hat/hair on the right.

A nice looking place

A NOT so nice looking place

We head for St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands overnight tonight. See you tomorrow.

Our "No Fly" Cruise - Days Three & Four

Sunrise over the Atlantic

 

The spot is on the window NOT on my camera lens

 Day three is spent at sea. This is our view from our table at lunch in the buffet. It was soooo much better than the peanut butter sandwiches at home.



Interior Promenade of the Explorer of the Sea

Sea-faring man
 

Today was our turn to see the ice show. Great job for being only an eighth of the size of a regular rink.
You will see this rink again in a later post. You don't want to miss it.

 

Arrival at King's Wharf, Bermuda

View from Deck 11 as we dock in Bermuda

The following pictures were all taken during our 5 1/2 hour tour of the island that included a stop in the capital city, Hamilton.


I LOVE this color combination
 

They advertise the PINK sand beaches in Bermuda. Lovely but I just don't see the pnk!

This is a small part of the Harley-Davison "gang that was on the cruise. At every port they unload the bikes and ride!
 

We were told that these colored water filled bottles keep animals out of the yard. REALLY?

View of Hamilton

Most of the roofs in Bermuda are like this. They are made of limestone which helps purify the water they are designed to collect. I just love the look of them.

A church that was never finished. See through the front door to the sky. It was on Church Folly Road.

Our "No Fly" Cruise

I usually post to this blog while traveling but this time we were mostly out of range of internet connection or if we had it, it was very expensive. This time I am going to re-enact the whole thing day by dayb but it will all be after the fact.

Day One:

We drove our car about 30 minutes away where we left it parked for free for the duration and board a motor coach (BUS, to those of us not in the travel business).

We had a stop at the Civil War Museum and the Pennsyvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. No pictures from the museum but here is the PA state capitol.

 



















Inside we saw increasingly elaborate domes.

A nice skylight



Classical Style



Gigantic Tiffany Lamp Dome

Our first night was in Bethlehem Pennsylvania was at the steel mill! I'm not kidding. They have turned the old Bethlehem Steel Headquarters into a Casino/Hotel and the old mill still looms gloomily next door.

 

 

Our room was a complete contrast.

 



 

 



Day Two:

Princeton New Jersey

The town and university were amazing as was our very peppy tour guide. The founder of the school was John Witherspoon and his great great however many greats grand-daughter is the actress Reese Witherspoon. Our guide was very much Reese-like.

She is an adult with a teen-age son, but could be a Princeton cheerleader.
Guess who lived in the house below.

If you guessed ALBERT EINSTEIN you are right
 

We lunched at the exclusive private Nassau Club where I invaded this guys privacy when I snapped this. That's Woodrow Wilson over the fireplace. His nemesis, Grover Cleveland, who was also a Princeton & US president hangs over another fireplace to the left.

 



By now, you are probably wondering what kind of cruise this is. Where is the ship? Well, we arrived at Cape Liberty port in Bayonne New Jersey around 2:30 to board.

Our Stateroom

I thought it quite roomy...Dan not so much.
 

We set sail. The Verrazano Straits Bridge is ahead. It connects Brooklyn with Staten Island.
My next post will show more of the ship and SUNSHINE! Stay tuned.

By the way, in case you are wondering we are NOT on a Carnival Cruise.











Our Last Day

The sun was out and the blue sky was back for our last day. Down at Mallory Square a cruise ship was getting ready to leave. We visited the art and history museUm in the old Custom House and I dragged Dan back to the fabric shop to take some photos so I could use them on my other blog HERE.
It is now Sunday as I write this and we are back into snow-blowing and sewing.



This is an enormous arerial view of Key West done in NEEDLEPOINT!

We and the pelican watch one cruise ship leave and the other one is retrieving its passengers

The Seam Shoppe on Truman St.