February 2012 Caribbean Cruise

I am SO bad about posting regularly.  My everyday life just isn't that exciting.  We went on a cruise with Paul's parents the end of February, so here's some pics from the trip:

St. Thomas harbor

Cinnamon Bay, St. John - quite possibly the most beautiful place on earth!

Paul enjoying a beer in St. Thomas before we got back on the boat. 

That's our ship behind us, the MSC Poesia.

The wall at El Morro fort, San Juan, Puerto Rico

La Rogativa sculpture, old town San Juan

Paul's dad Stanley with Alexander, one of our waitstaff. 

They were all amazing - great service!

Lighthouse at the entry to the harbor in the Bahamas,

with Atlantis in the background.

Me, all dressed up for formal night.  What a great trip!

St. Petersburg, Oct. 2011

Judi will think I am copying her, and I sortof am...this is a little crab candleholder that a friend gave me for my deck in Florida.  So of course we had to take all sorts of pictures with him to show her how much fun he was having.  In this picture, Crabby is enjoying a mojito at the Yacht Club.  He's really back in his element; Colorado was just too cold for him.

We flew out of Denver in a snow/sleet storm, and it rained off and on the first day we were in Florida, but after that the weather was spectacular!  We went to HomeGoods and RoomsToGo on the rainy day, and then had dinner with our friends Leslie & Russell that night.  The rest of the time we did a "whole lotta nothin," which included hanging out at the pool and just relaxing on our deck.  Read a couple of good books, and had some great seafood.  If I could retire and move there tomorrow I would.

Baltimore National Aquarium

Just got back from a trip to Maryland.  I traveled to the DC area on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  Not good planning on my part, but it all went OK if you don't count all the delays.  I made my bus, which was all that really mattered.

First of all, I spent a week in Emmitsburg, MD at the Emergency Management Institute for an Advanced Public Information Officer class.  Excellent class, top-of-the-line instructors, made great contacts and some new friends...and the best thing was it was FREE, sponsored by FEMA.

Then on Friday, Paul flew out to meet me and we spent a few days exploring Baltimore.  The National Aquarium, courtesy of a friend's mom who works there (thanks, Paula!); the Baltimore Basilica; Mount Vernon; Falls Point; the Inner Harbor and of course, a ride on the water taxi to Fort McHenry.  Paul was even patient enough to let me shop at Filene's Basement, and H&M!  We saw a great band at Power Plant Live as well.  Don't remember who they were, but they drew a big crowd and played a wide range of music.  Baltimore is apparently the land of the 32-oz beer; Paul was in heaven.

June - Finally Summer!

I tried to post some pictures when were were down in Florida in the middle of May, but Blogger wouldn't let me. So I'll post May now and June next.

Paul's parents came over from Ft. Lauderdale for my birthday. This is Paul's dad with a "bucket o' beers." He thought it was so cool.




















And here is me, with the next night's appetizers. Note the fancy cardboard box for a coffee table with the sprig of plastic flowers in the center. I'm not the "hostess with the most-est" for nothing!















We bought some kayaks online and had them shipped to my friend Leslie's house before we went back down to FL. Had a little mixup because they didn't ship a paddle that was supposed to be included with mine, but Amazon was amazing and immediately credited me the cost of a paddle we had to buy. HIGHLY recommend Amazon.

Here they are: mine is the little one. It dumped me out almost every time I tried to get in off the dock, and I ended up getting stitches when I cut my leg on a barnacle on the piling. Had a cute medic at the ED, though. So all is forgiven, and the kayak and I are still friends. But next time we go down I'm buying a ladder so I can climb down to the water instead of trying to balance from 3 feet up.















Here is Paul headed out fishing. His kayak is bigger, with places for his fishing rod. Right after this he caught some sort of a trout, and while he was trying to get it reeled in (the kayak doesn't have brakes so the fish tows you around a little), a bunch of dolphins (the mammal) started circling and trying to get the fish. Paul said it was a little freaky - not knowing if he'd hook a dolphin and get towed out to sea! At least that's his story...I never actually SAW the rumored dolphins.



But I did see a manatee in our canal. Paul came running up the stairs yelling, "Manatee! Manatee!" Didn't get pictures, but it was right in our boat slip when he was getting out of the kayak. That I DID see.

Happy Sunday -- it is finally snowing! I know the East Coast and lots of other places in the U.S. have had way more than their share of snow, but here in Colorado, we haven't had a whole lot. The ski areas are open, but the conditions leave a lot to be desired. Hopefully from here on out it won't stop until April. With all the beetle-killed trees, we are going to have an interesting summer if we don't get a LOT more snow.

We went to Florida for Valentine's Day/Presidents Day/Mardi Gras. It was still pretty chilly (for Florida - 60s), but the sun was out, and so were we. Here's me having lunch at the Pier.

And here's my Valentine's Day present. Isn't it awesome? Paul does good work. I think it's Tanzenite and Australian Opal...I don't really care; it's just pretty.
This next one isn't a very good picture because I took it with my Blackberry, but I think you can see the ears....

This is Samson, who has never shown ANY interest in the TV at all. But two nights ago we were watching the Ice Dancing during the Olympics, and he was fascinated. He watched and watched, and kept jumping up to "touch" the skaters. Once Ice Dancing was done, so was he.
Nothing more to post. Have a great rest of your weekend everyone!
T.

More Florida Pics

Paul and Bob with their "Cubanos"

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Les and Bob finding sea urchins on the beach

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Kite Boarders

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Student Drum Core at the Saturday Farmer's Market

(They had great moves; I didn't capture their flair!)

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Birthday in Florida

We spent Paul's birthday in Florida with my sister Leslie and her husband Bobby. It was Bobby's birthday the following Friday, so we had lots of celebrating to do.

First Beer of the Trip

(or maybe it was the 2nd, whose is that on the floor?)

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Leslie Testing Out Her Camera

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Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs

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Sisters at Lunch

(I look like a poodle; darn humidity!)

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Beach Day at Pass-a-Grille Beach

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More pictures to come...I've reached Blogger's size limit!