game days

I haven't forgotten about St Marten, but the grand's

sports definitely take priority!

Number 8 is our girl mixing it up...

and throwing the ball in!

The girls' biggest fans...mom and dad!

That's her big sister on the right getting ready to defend...

 and kick it in!

Our grandson playing with a different kind of ball...

football!

That's him with his hands ion his knees.

He's making sure we're watching!

 In their rec dept, at six yrs old, they play flag football...

no tackling.

And that's just fine with this Gran!

About to "low five" their opponents at the end of the game...

"good game, good game, good game..."

Our little "Steeler" and his fan club!

We love watching these kiddos play

and cheering them on...Woohoo!! :-)

a fair day

Hubby and I went down the road this afternoon to Perry, Ga...home of the Georgia National Fair. So, St Marten will have to wait! This is the 24th year of the fair. The fairgrounds (which are immaculate and attractive) were built and the first fair was held during the administration of Gov Joe Frank Harris. There is a bust of him in the center of the property.

I liked what the plaque said about his faith.

There are thousands of items that are entered in various

competitions...all hoping for a ribbon.

Here are just a few:

cake decorating

photography

art

(that's made with chicken wire!)

 and quilting

There are also jams and jellies

 (and anything else you can "can")

 I told Hubby he should have entered his peppers!

While we were there, they had a chili cook-off

and a chicken appetizer competition.

Folks also enter their collections...

There's even a scarecrow competition...

this was my favorite!

I think that's Uncle Si, from Duck Dynasty, behind me.

His beard was steel wool!

They do a nice job making the grounds pretty...

Of course, there are rides on the midway, but this is as close

as we got to them...

There are pedal boats in the lake and a sky lift over it .

And there are free shows like this one with Sea Lions

 and this one with professional high divers...

Yes, I said HIGH divers! He is 70 feet above the water!

There's a petting zoo and a circus (also free)

 and unique opportunities

like...

Yep, there really was a camel!

Of course, the farm animals are judged...horses, cows,

goats, pigs, sheep, rabbits.

But they come at different times during the eleven day fair

and leave after their events are over.

Evidently we went during the in-between, because there 

weren't many animals to be seen.

The fair is a great event for the middle Georgia area.

It is a fall tradition that draws almost 1/2 million visitors every year.

And the grounds are used year round as a venue for

other events...horse shows, rodeos, concerts. RV rallies,

old book sales, etc.

The clock tower stands in the middle of the fairgrounds

It is a great place to meet friends and family if you're

coming at different times because it can be seen from anywhere

on the grounds and it is a marker for giving directions.

That tower gave me comfort when our kids were small.

They knew, if they ever got separated from us,

they were to go there....and we would come there to find them.

It never happened, but it was nice to know the tower was there

to go to if we needed it! 

We had fun today and came home tired...

that's what I call a "fair" day! :-)

the isle of St Thomas

Our second port was St Thomas...a beautiful spot in the American Virgin Islands. It is about 31 square miles in size with a population of about 50,000. The cruise terminal was at Havensight. We took an island tour in an open air shuttle....like the one pictured below. We saw some pretty scenery, but it was hot and the with the road noise, it was hard to understand what the guide was saying. So, that was disappointing. 

But here are a few shots:

St Thomas in the background as we were pulling into port.

We had company in the water!

After a long, steep climb, we ended up here...

...at Magen's Bay...gorgeous!

Three ships were in port that day...

from the left...Disney, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean.

The shops were hopping!!

We bought two t-shirts and a pair of earrings...big shoppers!

We were back on the ship well before the horn sounded
 to announce it's impending departure.

The captain said, "When you hear the first horn,
 you have 30 mins to get back to the ship.
You should start running.

 When you hear the second horn,

 you should start looking for a hotel room!"

He may have been joking, but we didn't take
 any chances! :-)

Next stop...St Marten!

a day at the beach

Coco Cay, Bahamas (Royal Caribbean's private island) was our first stop on the cruise. They "tendered" us over on small boats that carried about 200. It was a beautiful day...warm with blue skies. A slight breeze ruffled the palm trees and made it very comfortable.

You can see our ship in the background in the last picture.

They provided chairs and towels. You could rent snorkeling

and diving equipment, jet skis and such.

 

Here's Hubby modeling his:

I spent some time in the water, but mostly I enjoyed sitting

in my chair with my book under a palm tree!

They served lunch...ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers, slaw,

baked beans, Greek salad, fruit and desserts. And there were

 nice picnic tables where we could eat.

We made a day of it...went early, stayed late.

It was a nice day at the beach! :-)

seven days on the high seas!

Thank you for all your good wishes! We had a wonderful trip...and everything went according to plan...thank goodness!! :-) The weather was perfect, though warmer than I expected. The ship was amazing...and huge...4200 passengers, 1400 crew members! The food was abundant, varied and delicious. The entertainment was excellent and the service...well, if you've ever been on a cruise, you know they treat you royally!

We met people from all over and heard every accent you can imagine. Funniest thing, while we were in line waiting to enter the terminal to board the ship, we met a couple from our own city! A divine appt I think considering the number of people there and that we were 6 hours from home. We visited several times during the week. It may be the beginning of a new friendship!

On Coco Cay, Royal Caribbean's private island, Hubby enjoyed snorkeling and I enjoyed my lounge chair under a palm tree! :-) We took island tours on St Thomas and St Marten...they are beautiful places with interesting histories.

I have lots of pictures, but I haven't had a chance to sort them. I will share one. This is the beach closest to Front Street on St Marten. We had lunch in a little beachside cafe and had this shot taken with our ship, Freedom of the Seas, in the background.

I will share more in the days to come. I know many of you prayed for us and I am grateful...

we really did have a lovely week!

bon voayge...I hope!

Tomorrow, we head south to Port Canaveral

 to board this ship on Sunday.

Hopefully, things will go as planned...

no airplanes involved this time! :-)

google image

Look forward to telling you about it!

today's gifts

Here are a few of the things I am grateful for today:

231. the "nip" in the air
232. a new trip to look forward to!
233. the testimony of the faithful in the midst of suffering
234. birthdays...mine and others!
235. a hubby who finds bargains
236. a loving, serving Sunday School class
237. music that speaks to me where I am
238. sugar-free Hershey chocolate bites....happy, happy, happy!
239. being debt-free
240. knowing God loves me...all the time!

"No power in the sky above or in the earth below-

indeed, nothing in all creation

will ever be able to separate us from

the love of God that is revealed to us

in Christ Jesus."

Rom 8:39

NIV