a floating resort...the ship!

 The deck by the pools was nice place to sit, read, 

watch people and eat ice cream cones!!

 This is the adult pool area.

The small round pools are warm water

whirlpools.

The kid's pool below was colorful

and fun with sprinklers and fountains.

 The top deck had a walking/jogging track.

It was the best place to be while departing or entering port.

The Royal Promenade on deck 4 was the main common

area inside the ship.

It was like a street in a small town...

with shops, sidewalk cafes, and street lights.

The bay windows overlooking the promenade

were staterooms. 

We stayed in one on the right.

 

The staircases going down to the next deck were 

beautifully designed.

 

There were balconies overlooking the promenade, too.

 

Another place to get ice cream...but it cost extra...

so we opted for the free stuff!!

This is the entrance to Pharoh's Palace...

one of the lounges. 

It was also used for bingo and port shopping talks .

Another lounge had a sailing ship theme ...

and games of trivia were played here.

The dining room was beautiful!

 

On Friday night, the entire culinary team visited the dining room

to get their well deserved applause!

 

Sat afternoon, there was a Royal Parade down the promenade

with lively music and elaborate costumes.

It was a wonderful week on an amazing ship!

Don't understand how they do it all...

but I'm glad they do and am so grateful

for the opportunity to enjoy it!! :-)

p is for pumpkins!

The youth at our church had a pumpkin patch this year

as a fundraiser. 

They started with 565! 

When we visited yesterday, they still had about 200.

When I passed by today, they had a lot less...

I hope they sold out!

Little E had a fun time exploring.

At first, she like the ones without stems.

Then I showed her how you could carry

 the ones with the stems.

And that was more fun...and you could carry two!

But then they got "heaby", so Gran had to help out!

She made her choice and it was time to go!

Her dress (a birthday gift from a very talented cousin)

was the perfect attire for a little Punkin's trip

to the pumpkin patch!

what's up?

I haven't forgotten the promise to post ship pictures...they will be forthcoming. There has been a lot going on here....a trip to Tenn, football games, birthdays, hubby starting his seasonal job...well, you understand!  Today, is just a post about nothing!

It is deer season here in Georgia, so there is a lot of talk about it. Businesses refer to it in their print ads and commercials. I passed a florist yesterday and their sign out front said..."It's DEAR season here all year!" :-)

I was listening to K Love...my favorite radio station yesterday and heard this...."being in a position of authority should mean you are in a position to help others. The main character quality of being a leader should be a willingness, a desire to serve." Good stuff!

The point of flag football is... no tackling. Couldn't help but notice there were a lot of bodies on the ground at the grandson's game last night! :-)

Also heard on the radio that Texas has decided to discontinue awarding ribbons, medals, and trophies in community sports simply for participation. From now on they will have to be earned by winning. Not sure how they will enforce that, but I have to say I think I agree. I am reminded of a line in the kids movie "The Incredibles" where the dad talks about "rewarding mediocrity". I would rather we encourage excellence.

We are having gorgeous weather here! Haven't had a day over 80 in a few weeks. We could use some rain, but we are still ahead for the year because we got so much this spring and summer. Wonderful not to have to turn on air conditioning or heat! Beginning to see a little color, but it takes a while here in the deep south!

The youth at our church are selling pumpkins this year. I am headed to the "patch" here shortly. Our daughter wants to take some pics of Little E among them. Look forward to seeing her reaction...she can say "orange", so I imagine we will be hearing that over and over!

Our Encore Azaleas are blooming again and Hubby's pepper plants are still thriving! My impatiens are getting "leggy" but they are still blooming. I have pinched them back so we will see if they hang in there until it freezes. They have lasted until Jan the last two years because our winters have been so mild.

Made a double recipe of banana nut bread Sat morning. When I took it out of the oven, it didn't look just right. When I checked my bag of flour....I had used plain instead of self-rising! Ugh! I mean it is edible, but not nearly as good as usual. So disappointing...especially after smelling it as it baked!  Not the first time I have done this, but I do hope it is the last!!

Hope you are having a great day! Thanks for stopping by and (if you made it this far!) enduring my ramblings!

double the blessing, double the love!

We have TWO reasons to celebrate today. 

Our Little E turns TWO

 and her uncle, our younger son, turns THIRTY TWO!

Our son loves his family, works hard to take care of them
and has a heart to do what is right. 
Little E has a loving mom and dad

that take care of her and she is learning
how to do what is right!

Our son has been making us laugh since he was a tot

and Little E is doing the same.

They both bring light and joy into my life...

I love them so!

I would amend the scripture a bit to say...

"Children (and your children's children) are an heritage from the Lord!"

Psalm 127:3

a lesson in a shoebox

Our family has been packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child since our boys were young...even before our daughter was born. It was always great fun to shop for the special items we would put in each box. We always wanted them to be FULL, so sometimes it took several attempts at arranging to get everything in! Today, I had the opportunity to share that experience with our 6 yr old grandson. He was surprised to hear that there were children in the world who might not get a Christmas gift. His first response was to give some of his own toys. When I explained that we were suppose to give new items, he could not wait to go shopping. As we went through the store, he was convinced that the box would surely hold "one more thing"!

It was a sweet blessing to share this tradition...and a lesson on giving and gratitude...with him!

worth the money

google image

I saw this movie today. It's a good story of reconciliation,

second chances, and God's protection 

even when we make bad choices.

With this movie, we have another opportunity

 to show Hollywood we will support good, clean, moral films.

I think it was worth the price of my ticket to do that!

st marteen

St Marteen is a 34 square mile Caribbean island with a population of about 78, 000 people. It belongs to two countries...France controls about 60%, the Netherlands, 40%. However the Dutch side is more populated.The two countries live harmoniously and travel from one side to the other without border checks. But, a call from one side to the other is an International call...even if you are next door neighbors with just the border between!! And don't think you can use your cell phone...there are towers to block them!

This greeted us as we  headed from the dock to...

our nice air conditioned tour buses!!

Much nicer than our transportation on St Thomas.

 

Thought these were neat...twirling windmills.

They served no purpose...just an art feature.

 

Our guide was Danny, a life long resident of St Marteen.

He was very informative and enjoyable. He slowed down

so we could get a shot of our ship.

Expensive resort...nice, huh?

 

Our first stop on the Dutch side.

 There were several round-a-bouts on our tour.

Each one had a statue of a well-known forefather.

This man started directing traffic when there were only 3 cars

on the island! :-)

Now there are thousands! The island imports many

models and residents from neighboring islands

come to St Marteen to buy their cars.

And their KFC! Missed getting a picture of their

Kentucky Fried Chicken Store, but Danny said

folks come by boat and plane to pick up

their bucket of the Colonel's finest!

Pretty waterfront on the French side.

 

Had to pay a buck to use this restroom...

but it was worth it...first class!

 

Our stop on the French side.

A couple from Cincinnati offered to take our picture.

We returned the favor and found out they had visited 

our fair city twice to tour our Air Force Museum!

There were some souvenir vendors and some lovely flowers 

at this stop.

 

This school bus driver drove for many years

and was known for maintaining good discipline

on his bus.

After our tour, we did some shopping and

made our way through an alley to the beach closest

to Front Street in Philipsburg, the main city on the Dutch side.

 That's our ship in the background.

We ate lunch at this seaside cafe...

not sure what the name was, but the view was great!

Saw this replica of a pirate ship as we were

 walking down the beach... cool!

This is Front Street where most of the shops are.

 Notice how narrow it is...and that the street is brick.

The palm trees are nice, too!

 

When we got back to the pier, I thought I should

take a picture of this "old sailor" and his ship!

(He served in the Navy from '67-'71on the

USS Dubuque.)

It's 209 ft high and over 1100 ft long...

a pretty big house boat!! :-)

 

One more post about our trip will include pics of the ship. 

It's a beauty!