Author Archives: Doug and Jackie

About Doug and Jackie

A couple of retired educators rolling along in their RV . . .

A Prima Voyage

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Doug and Jackie

What a great start to the New Year! Jackie and I (well, mostly me) planned this trip to celebrate our 70th birthday milestones – choosing the brand new Norwegian Cruise Line Prima ship. Actually, a year ago when the ship was announced and open for booking I jumped on a reservation, since the design just wowed me. The amount of outdoor space and outward facing design really seemed like something very different. But, booking a ship that was still under construction for another year meant not knowing much else beyond the early renderings.

What a nice surprise this ship turned out to be.
I searched out and watched posts and videos of the launch, the naming ceremony and Katy Perry’s christening of the ship in Iceland and then caught every new reveal about the ship that was posted. This was going to be wonderful – oh! and a three story racetrack, too? Are you kidding me?

Turning 70 and celebrating this way is going to be a blast. So let me recap the adventure for you, post some pictures and remind you that a video of this whole trip is posted to our youtube channel ( A PRIMA VOYAGE ) and here on our video “Places” page.

Heading to the Ship

Most of a day’s drive takes us from Atlanta to Orlando and an overnight stay near the airport. We like the direct drive to the cruise port the next morning – less than an hour east. You know that our usual habit is to find a local brewery, such as Rockpit here in town. This time we checked out Gatlin Hall Brewing for pizza, salads and beer, with a repeat visit to Hourglass Brewing. Ok, back to the hotel (which was way more bargain basement than I had expected). Ah well, only one night and we would soon be onboard.

We were able to check in pretty early for the cruise and we were on board well before noon, gazing at the gorgeous lobby, searching out that first drink and arranging reservations for entertainment. If you cruise, you know the excitement of walking the gangway and stepping aboard – such a rush! And of course checking out all the decks of the ship and finding your cabin, getting ready for that marvelous sail away celebration as you head out to sea. Actually, as we were standing in line at the bar my brother texted that he was watching us leave the dock on the harbor camera. Yikes, we were indeed on the move and we hustled out to the rail to wave to the folks on Wonder of the Seas.

Aboard the Ship

This is certainly a different ship design and layout and while I won’t detail it like the many travel bloggers, I will try to point out what we noticed. Lots of artwork all around the ship. The colors and design are muted, classy and well thought out. Technology is evident everywhere, from the ipads for ordering food at the Indulge food hall to the room alerts and the VR Galaxy Pavilion. Navigation around the decks has been a source of discussion, but you do find lots of nooks with seating and bars that are spread around the ship – you just have to explore a bit.

This was our first time booking an outside balcony and I worked hard to get one that looked out and down along the side of the ship. Generous space that made it nice to gaze out as we entered or left our ports. The room was gorgeous and comfortable, no complaints.

Some adrenaline maybe?

Onboard we just had to try out everything. Jackie was game for doing both dry slides – the curly tubes that wound down the side of the ship, one of which was the Drop – a pretty quick whoosh straight down before spiraling to deck 8. The Wave waterslide was a quick rush down a tube, then up and out over the side of the ship. That one was pretty fast since you were riding a tube. We went to the sports deck and tried foot soccer, ping pong, mini golf and actually played a short game of pickleball, but it seemed like a small court.

And of course we had reservations for the race cars! I strapped my GoPro to a chest mount hoping to catch it all on video, but it caught more of the steering wheel and my feet than the wild ride around the 3-level track. It was nearly 10 minutes of absolute exhilaration – even though my car was last in line and I only managed to pass two cars. I booked a second run later in the week and I knew enough to get the first car in line. Wheeee!

What about food?

If you know me, you know that food is pretty high on the list. We had two nights booked in specialty restaurants: Le Bistro and Palomar. Both were excellent meals of seafood and with the offerings of the main dining room there was plenty of good stuff for dinner. I particularly enjoyed my grilled octopus, lamb chops and oysters – Jackie ordered her veal oscar without crab, but was a bit disappointed by her strip steak. After all, we do steak pretty good at home.

But hands down the best meals were in the Indulge food hall. You sat at a table or counter and ordered your tapas size choices on a tablet and whoosh they arrived hot and fresh. You can see by the pictures we had salmon from the Texas smokehouse, gnocci from Nudls, tenderloin from the rotisserie, naan and chicken tiki from the Indian kitchen and my favorite: bacon wrapped grilled dates. Definitely fun for tasting and sharing.

So what about ports of call?

Great Stirrup Private Island

NCL’s private island is just a stone’s throw from Royal Caribbean’s Coco Cay, but we didn’t miss the excitement of that other private island.  We tendered over early with no problems and hiked across the beach of lounge chairs to find a spot “in the shade” as Jackie insisted.  Well, most of those spots were already taken but I did find a lounge chair under a wonderful palm tree.  As you can see, the not-so-robust tree of maybe 3 fronds had little shade to give, but we stayed anyway.  The water was definitely on the brisk side, but it was clean and a nice way to cool off.

I had a zipline reservation, so off to the lighthouse I went to get set – figuring I would have to climb the stairs to the top.  Ah, but they had an elevator to the platforms above.  Each of us got strapped into our harness and clipped to the safety cable so we could walk gingerly to the launch spot.  Amazing view from up top, and more than a few were hesitant to walk around without any railings.  But the three zips were so much fun.  Two of them were pretty long as they crossed over the beach and loungers below.  Again, I had the GoPro fastened to a chest mount, but caught more of my harness and gloves than I wanted.  O well, the only way to really enjoy it was to be there and do it.  Really, really fun.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

This was a gorgeous port to slip into and the ship slowly made the passage to the dock and past Celebrity Reflection.  Our excursion started with a short van ride to the Mystic Mountain Skyway where we rode chairlifts to the top of the mountain and got ready for the Jamaican Bobsled run.  In preparation for this we watched “Cool Runnings” to recall the story of the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team.  Jackie strapped into her sled just ahead of me and with a big starting push from the staff we were both off and running.  This was full tilt speed down that mountain and a real rush.  I had the GoPro on a head mount this time, so I got more of the action than just my feet. 

Once at the bottom, the sleds are pulled back up the mountain through the woods to the starting point.  Really cool.  At the top there was an infinity pool, a waterslide, restaurant and shops, but we were pretty much ready to head back down the lift and onto the ship.  Before leaving, however, we spotted an Eastern Streamertail hummingbird in a feeder area.  This fella had pretty amazing wings and tail and would definitely be a sight at our feeder back home.

Georgetown, Grand Cayman

We had an excursion planned for Stingray City and some reef snorkeling here, but we learned that the excursion would arrive back at port just as the last tender was headed to the ship and figured that might be a little too close for comfort.  So we opted to skip it and stay aboard.  Two other ships were tendering just offshore too on a nice sunny day, so we soaked in the infinity pool and just relaxed.

Cozumel, Mexico

And then there was Cozumel.  We booked a 3 reef snorkel, something we have done before, grabbed our gear and walked down the pier.  Once checked in we were told “your boat is here, go get on it” and we walked back to a large catamaran loading up with guests.  “No, not your boat” we were told as we prepared to board.  “You have red boat.”  The two dozen of us looked around, there was another big catamaran, not red, and well … not much else.  Wait, there was this little skiff, not much bigger than a rowboat – could that be it?  Yep, that was us. Hmm, well we were packed in pretty tight, shoulder to shoulder and heading around the pier to a reef along the shoreline.  Just past the big ships. 

Into the clear warm water we all went to look for fish.  And the fish were there, but so were snorkelers, so Jackie and I tried our best to stay outside all of the swimmers.  I wasn’t that successful and found myself bumping into folks a bit.  But it was decent viewing.  I saw many of the familiar fish and when we picked up and moved to reef 2 I saw a couple of French angelfish that always delight.  Plus parrotfish and the pesky Sergeant Majors (attracted by the photographer who was feeding them).  Whadda ya gonna do?

Hey, it’s looking kinda dark over there, I thought as I surfaced.  As we climbed back onboard and our guide said reef 3 was next, the captain up top nixed that plan and good thing, too.  Suddenly the wind whipped up, the rain began and we were in the middle of a drenching, windy rainstorm.  Heck, we were already wet, so what was the big deal?  Well, the waves were doing a good job of splashing over the boat, soaking all our towels, gear, sandals … it was a slow, wet slog back along the shore to the ship.  We all had a good laugh about it, as we squeak-squished our way onboard.  Jackie and I both got in our shower and turned the water to “hot” and tried to warm up.  Fun!

Entertain Me!

Two shows were featured in the theater and we got into both of them.  Summer! The Donna Summer story was in the style of most of the bio/musicals that featured her life and songs.  Three singers who played her at different ages were terrific and did a fabulous job with the songs.  The Noise Boys was the other show that combined tap dancing, beat boxing and rap for a lively, loud presentation.  Not bad and I enjoyed the tap dancing.  Around the ship were other small groups performing Motown, classic rock, ballads and such and we sat in the atrium to listen.

Of course no cruise is complete without a trip to the Craps table for Doug.  First night was a winner!  Followed by up and down nights at the table and going into the last night in the hole.  BUT somehow that last night the table got hot and I was able to cash out a winner for the week – having had a lot of fun shooting the dice, placing my bets and collecting my winnings.  Yay. But that last day was a whopper – the wind whipped up late afternoon, rain came down and it was pretty much rock and roll with the ship. And of course it was raining when we arrived in Orlando. Yep, welcome home.

And the sad, sleepy trip back home.

You know it’s coming, that last morning when you grab the last breakfast, disembark to collect and drag your bags back to the car and start back home.  Orlando didn’t seem that far away at the start, but somehow driving north is longer uphill.  That’s ok, we had time to review all that we had done during the week.  It was an adventure.

What’s next for us?

Motorhome has some minor tweaks and needs to get out of the deep freeze here, so we will start up 2023 with some maintenance.  Then a family camp in Tennessee followed by a celebration of spring in Panama City Beach, Florida. There are two more cruises (yes, we ARE nuts) coming up, but more about that later.

Stay happy, healthy and thanks for joining us for the trip. Be sure to check out any and all of our videos, prior posts and adventures!

Categories: Cruising | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Nashville Weekend

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Doug and Jackie

Not Everything Is A Motorhome Adventure!

It’s mid-January, chilly, rainy and a typical Atlanta winter, so Jackie and I got itchy to get out. Yes, we have been working in a few bike rides on the ebikes when the weather allows and a few pickleball attempts at the community center to stay active, but a crochet and knitting event called Jackie to Nashville. Actually, it was her sister who called but the event is supposed to be special for anyone into yarn craft hobbies. Didn’t take much convincing, since we really haven’t visited Nashville in a couple of years. But before we head to Nashville, let me recap some fall/winter fun at our place: Thanksgiving was wonderful with the family. Good food and cold weather that made it perfect for a bonfire at night. Then another Raclette party with our brewcrew. We had three grills going, blew a circuit, ran an extension cord to the living room and kept the party going. Pretty silly stuff but fun together. And an ebike ride with John down to Dry County Brewing for a beer and return trip.

Back to the Nashville weekend. It’s not really a bad trip, even with a quick stop in Chattanooga to check in with Alex, but of course the weather had to mess with things just a bit. The temperature kept dropping into the low 30’s and the drizzly light rain soon turned to snowflakes as we approached Monteagle. That is the first big climb you make up and onto the Cumberland Plateau and it seems to make its own weather anyway. So as we wiggled our way along and up the mountain the snow continued to a near whiteout for a bit, even sticking on the trees and ground. Pretty, but kinda sloppy too. Once up and over the ridge it eventually changed back to drizzle and stopped altogether.

So Nashville wasn’t much further ahead and we were soon unloading our bags at Judy and Craig’s and making plans for the weekend. Lots of options, starting with an evening of pickleball at their community center. We are still very much beginners, but it was fun to play a few games together and meet some of their fellow players. Back at their house we chatted rather late into the night with generous pours of Tennessee whiskey. Mmm, maybe just a little too generous, but in the morning we were up and ready for whatever. Jackie and Judy were to head off to The Big Stitch for yarn and classes and Craig had an idea for the two of us: Leiper’s Fork Distillery.

It really wasn’t too far to get to the Natchez Trace (lovely, winding parkway) and then to the town of Leiper’s Fork. We pulled into the distillery, discovered a tour had just started and hooked up with it in the main barn. Mmmm, what a great fragrance. Probably the best earthy, warm smell there is. Great tour leader filled us with the history of whiskey-making in Tennessee and their operation. I keep learning more about “tails”, “heads” and “heart” and how similar the process is to getting a grain mix to boil and ferment for either beer or distilled spirits.

Not sure I mentioned our fall trip to visit with nephews Adam and Chris and a trip to a distillery in Beaufort, SC: Rotten Little Bastard. Another great learning opportunity about the distilling process, with samplings of course. And we just had to stop by a local brewery later that day along the waterway: Shellring Ale Works. I will post a few pics of that trip below.

So, back to our Leiper’s Fork experience. Inside a wonderful restored Tennessee cabin we were treated to three samples of their whiskey with an explanation of how to enjoy the whiskey properly. We started with a white whiskey (the same recipe, just not aged in barrels so it is clear), their Tennessee whiskey and a bourbon. Yep, definitely a strong brew – the bourbon was a 4-year 100 proof sip. A short stop in their gift shop and we were on our way back to the house – oh yeah, pick up some good beef for tacos later tonight. Actually those tacos were more like fajitas with the thin pieces of strip steak that Craig cooked up. Yum. But we weren’t done for the day yet.

We headed into downtown Nashville for some people watching before an 8:30 show at The Listening Room. We got a gander at the “Nash Vegas” crowd along Broadway, complete with crazy party buses and crowds and traffic and then found our way to the venue for singer/songwriters. It turned out to be a great night of music with the songwriters performing some of their songs that were recorded by more notable country music singers. Decent local beer was served and we had some really good fried pickles, too.

Okay then, we must be done, right? Nope. Next morning, after coffee and breakfast, we played a few rounds of pickleball outside on their neighborhood tennis court. I think maybe Jackie and I are getting better, but we do feel like the t-shirt that says “What’s the score? Who’s serve is it? What day is it?” But good fun and exercise. And another short trip out to Tailgate Brewing to finish the day. This spot had a lot of beer on tap and we all ordered a flight. There was a good selection of sours, so my four were variations of apple, peach, raspberry and such. Actually all very good – but maybe not as special as some of our local Kennesaw brews. Craig was determined that we were going to learn the card game Euchre, so we gave it a go. Actually turned out to be pretty fun and a bit familiar to us as a variation of Spades (which we haven’t played since college).

Back home to some chicken tortilla soup from Judy’s Instapot and maybe a little more of that Tennessee whiskey and we were done for the day. Oh, wait, there was the hot tub. Yeah, it’s like 30 something degrees outside and we are doing what? Well, it did feel good as the steam rose around while we bubbled in the box. Quick run for the towels and then we were done for sure.

Yep, it was a great visit. I debated about titling this “A Nashville Quickie” which is what it seemed like. We packed in a lot of fun on a long weekend. Before leaving the final morning we had a fast game of Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza to a rousing bit of laughter and hand slapping. If you know the game, you get it. I am still a bit challenged by it, but it sure is crazy fun.

Soooooo, what’s next? In two weeks we head to Orlando and Port Canaveral to set sail aboard the new NCL Prima cruise ship for a week in the Caribbean. Should be nice warm water, lots of sunshine, amazing food and cold drinks. Yes, we are a bit crazy but this one is to celebrate our milestone 70th birthdays. Hope to post some stories, pictures and videos of the trip. Meantime, be sure to watch some of the videos I recently posted of our adventures of the last two years (adventureswithdougandjackie). Thanks for visiting and spread the word.

Categories: Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

Florida Fall Family Camping

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Doug and Jackie

It is a rainy morning in the motorhome, in fact there is thunder rattling around the Grand Lagoon and the pelting rain is getting pretty loud in here, so it is a good time to sit and compose the latest blog of our current adventure.  We have been camping at one of our favorite spots in Florida:  St. Andrews State Park, Panama City Beach.  There are several reasons why this visit has been special, the most important of which is that the campground is finally open again after all the damage and restoration from Hurricane Michael in 2018.  You may recall that we were here that October when we were suddenly evacuated and spent the better part of a week camping around the panhandle of Florida as one-by-one each state park closed due to the storm. (You can search the blog for some of those posts). 

Well the rebuild of the park is remarkable, with each campsite now having full hookups, level and well-defined with a pea gravel base and very well maintained. In fact they have specially built rakes they use to drag across the sites between each occupancy.  What is lacking, though, is the unique charm the campground used to have.  Nearly all the trees are gone, they don’t allow haphazard parking and boats on trailers in the campground and perhaps because of the sewer hookups, there are many more trailers and motorhomes than tents and pop-ups.  But for us it is an easy site to use. 

We booked this week last January with Judy and Craig because their Tennessee school had fall break and we wanted to camp together.  Then we alerted Jackie’s brother John, who was buying a truck camper, and Alex and Bethany, who are working to restore an adorable fiberglass Trillium mini-trailer and we soon had all four of us booked for the week.  Great plan – what could go wrong?

Well around December of last year both Craig and John ordered new Ford trucks from a dealer in Iowa.  Craig needed a bigger truck to pull their trailer out to Colorado and Utah this summer and John needed the Super Duty to mount his nearly-new slide-in truck camper.  Eight months, should be no problem.  Well the trucks weren’t ready for pickup until September, which meant Craig had to use his older truck for the summer trip and John drove his back to NC just a week before we were to camp.  And Alex still had more work to do on their unit.  Eventually everyone got set and packed, except Judy and Craig.  At the last minute he had to fly to Phoenix, Arizona to help his mother return home from rehab following an operation and Judy was not prepared to haul the trailer to Florida.  That’s ok, we have room in the motorhome, so she and daughter Rachel joined us for part of the week.  They set up a tent in their site next to us to hold most of their clothes and extras.  

So we each arrived in stages – John stopped at our house a few days prior and we drove to Lakepoint State Park in Alabama for a night.  We stopped in LaGrange to have lunch and a beer at Wild Leap Distilling – only to find out it was the finish line for a fundraising run.  Pretty busy so we just ate lunch in the motorhome, then on to Eufaula for the night.  We prefer to break up the 6-7 hour trip this way because, well, because we have the time to do it.  So far so good.  Next morning (Sunday) it was off to the beach for the week.  But the rest of Tennessee was also on fall break, so once at the campground and beach it felt more like spring break than the middle of October.  We zipped around on our new eBikes, which was really easy on the flat roads. But the best part is the beach and the water – absolutely clear, slightly cool water with gentle waves and wonderful white sand beaches.  

The beach has been renourished with sand pumped from the inlet, so it was filled with shell bits and was a very high dune hill, but with the repairs to the rock jetty and all the new sand, at least it looked more like the beach of the past.  But it did make for a hike to and from the water’s edge with our well-used Tommy Bahama cart loaded with chairs, umbrellas and beach beer.

That first weekend with just John, Jackie and I was pretty special.  We had delicious fish and ahi tuna tacos at the local Patches Pub and after dinner we sat out and were surprised by a beautiful fireworks display across the lagoon.  We learned it was the end of Pirate Weekend.  Better than the 4th!  And we were later treated to a gorgeous moonrise as a golden full moon slowly rose above the water and totally dominated the skyline.

So what else did we do all week once everyone arrived at camp?  First off we had to check out Alex and Bethany’s setup, then John gave his camper a once-over to be sure all was working.  Judy and Rachel set their tent and we walked around the “new” campground to try and remember how it was and where we might have camped before.  But the beach was calling, so we spent most afternoons in our beach chairs, sipping beach beer, splashing in the water, a bit of snorkeling, dolphin watching … basic beach fun.

Judy was anxious to find a pickleball court, which we did, and play a bit with us.  We have just recently started to learn the sport and have had a few practice games at our local community center.  Well the spot we found was pretty busy and we got swept up in the “put your paddle in the rack, you can play the next team up when there is an open court.”  Yikes, these folks are pretty serious.  Turns out we got an open court for all four of us and we spent an hour or more just between Rachel (tough competitor), Judy, Jackie and I.  Good exercise. 

Meal planning became important, too.  Each night someone hosted everyone at their site and cooked up a delicious meal.  Sausage, peppers and potatoes grilled up by John, steak night at Doug and Jackie’s, a seafood night grilled over a wood fire at Alex and Bethany’s – awesome eats.  That seafood night featured Mahi-Mahi, Ahi tuna, shrimp, scallops … doesn’t get any better.

And of course we wanted to eat at some of the beach bars and restaurants.  Let’s go out to Schooners then!  Barely a mile from the campsite and right on the beach, this favorite is cool because they shoot off a canon at sunset, plus serve good food.  By now I had lowered the canvas top of the Jeep and was ready for some true beach driving (ok, the doors stayed on).  And we had some rubber ducks ready for “ducking” other Jeeps.  If you aren’t familiar with this tradition, it’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand.

So Alex and John jumped in the Jeep with me, the girls in Bethany’s Jeep and off to Schooners we went.  Parked cars, put in our names – an hour and a half wait!  Hmm, maybe Plan B?  We called to another spot over the bridge that had no waiting: Off the Hook.  So back in Jeeps, but ooops, the sky doesn’t look too good.  Off we go and down came the rain.  Darn, the wipers aren’t working!  Hey, John might have left his awning out, we need to check on that – girls you go get a table at Off the Hook and we will meet you there.  We put the roof up, but I didn’t have the window panels, so backseat rider got a bit wet.  Campsites were ok, so back to the restaurant before it got worse.

Just as we got to the outdoor bar the wind whipped up and things were blowing everywhere – umbrellas lifting up and out, napkins and plates flipping and blowing, people running for cover … time for Plan C.  Patches Pub was best choice, so over there we drove.  All of this is within maybe 2 miles of campsite, so we were kind of driving around in a circle.  Got a table outside under a roof, the rain and wind died down and we ordered up a great meal of Ahi tacos, fish sandwiches, pizza and beer.  Probably should have started here since it was reasonable, delicious and a fun vibe.

Back at camp we tried to prepare for overnight rain but early morning brought another blast of rain and thunder and things got … wet.  Probably the worst was Judy’s tent and contents.  Towels, blankets, and clothes were laid out to dry, I mopped out water from the back of the Jeep, and we all hoped it would dry as we headed up to the beach.  The day turned out to be a perfect one and we soon forgot all about the rain.  Mostly.  

Big waves were hitting the beach this day and we all got our fill of diving under, getting dunked and trying to swim up and over.  Hats got soaked and knocked off, sunglasses held tight, but it was really a lot of fun.  By the next day the waves had simmered to mild ripples, but the storm also changed up the water a bit, we now had pink meanie jellyfish (that eat moon jellies, but still have stinging tentacles) in the surf to avoid.  Alex declared we needed to institute a buddy system to watch for them while swimming.  We made it with no stings.

The night before Judy and Rachel were set to return home we tried for another beachside bar and drove to Pineapple Willy’s.  Not much of a wait for an outside table, and we were already enjoying the sunset while sipping on our frozen Daquiri’s.  Alex got clever and ordered two Miami Vices (strawberry mixed with pina colada) – I guess he got the hang of cruise drinking after all.  We had some gator bites and I had a delicious fried oyster Po’boy. Nice night beachside, plus no rain.  John hung on in the back seat of the Jeep as we turned up the volume and drove back along the beach road to camp, open air.  

Friday it was time for Judy to pack up and head out, so we took some time to dry out her tent first – kind of like waving a flag in the breeze.  A bald eagle that had been spotted all week circled above as if to say goodbye.  Soon they were off and the rest of us hit the beach again.

Sunday morning we were saying goodbye to John and Alex and Bethany as they packed up, pulled out and headed home.  We were staying another four days, so suddenly it seemed just a bit quieter.  All week the motorhome had become the dog house for Kodi, Toby and Allie daytime, so when we got back to the door there was only one barky voice left.  

What else?  We watched the many pelicans, egrets, herons and osprey that fly about and splash into the water, occasionally getting a fish.  Our electric bikes were awesome down here.  The flat roadways made it so easy to zip around camp and off to the beach.  We are still quite cautious with our trips – preferring not to leave them locked at racks beachside.  But they are a definite new fun addition to our adventures.  The Hollywood rack on the Jeep worked just fine and the bikes haven’t lost much of their battery power all week.  Lots of other eBikes around camp, too.  But the golf carts still dominate the traffic around the campground (mostly with kids driving them).

Well, by now the rain has stopped, it is still cloudy, but I need to walk Kodi, pour the water puddle off the Jeep roof and squeeze out the towels and bathing suits.  Maybe a trip down to Pier Park or the t-shirt shops (like we need another?) today while we wait for the weather to clear and beach time begins again. 

It did clear and we had another perfect day at the beach, still dodging a few jellyfish.  But the next day it got cold and windy and a planned bike trip was postponed in favor of lunch at Sharkey’s – you know, it is something of a tradition.  We had a wonderful lunch beachside: fish tacos and nachos with frozen daquiris.  Yum.  We noticed the growing crowd of motorcycles and learned Sharkey’s is one of the sponsors of Thunder Beach, which was just starting up.  Hmmm, we do have a history of being in places where motorcycle rallys happen.  Does an eBike count?

You probably know about the big cold snap hitting the southeast, and we were just learning that it might have been the end of our houseplants on the back deck at home.  For us at the beach, we hit the low 40’s on departure morning and were thankful we had packed at least one pair of long pants and long t-shirts each, just in case.  We rolled out early enough to get to Eufaula by noon and then to a new Georgia State Park: Chattahoochee Bend State Park outside Newnan.  Got there around 4:30 after getting gas (and remember, an hour difference across the border).  We have a great pull-through spot for the night and are maybe 2 hours from home.  The nice part is we aren’t driving through Atlanta at rush hour.  In the morning we can miss the interstates and make our way home on more local roads.

So our fall beach break has come to an end and we are slowly unpacking clothes, food, and such  Need to clean out the Jeep and motorhome from the sandy fun and attend to a few minor issues.  It was a great time in the sun, on the beach and with family.  John and Alex and Bethany got just a little more comfortable with their rigs.  Couldn’t ask for better.

I probably should have mentioned a summer camping adventure on our local lake with the grandsons.  We had a great lakeside spot, Alex and Bethany joined us for their first outing and it was great – until it wasn’t.  Every afternoon a wild thunderstorm whipped up and we had to pull in awnings, take down screen rooms, collect chairs and tables … it was really wild times.  But daytime the water was warm and perfect for floating, paddling or just splashing around.

Next up? No motorhome camping, but we have a cruise planned for late January on the brand new NCL Prima. It is a 70th birthday treat for us. Can’t wait for that Caribbean adventure.  

Categories: Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sunshine & Splashing

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Doug and Jackie

Oh my gosh, we are back from another cruise!  This one was super special, since we took our daughter’s family with us and that meant the first cruise for Karina, Jason and our grandsons Wyatt and Owen.  And once she heard about it, my sister Linda just had to join in the fun with the boys, bringing along “Uncle Norm”.  

This was a 5 day cruise out of Charleston, SC aboard Carnival Sunshine heading to Nassau and Half Moon Cay.  We all gathered at my brother Jeff’s house days before departure, since it was only 2 hours from the port.  It made for a great start to the cruise, even though it did leave my brother with major FOMO as we departed Charleston!

So what happened, how did it go, what are some stories from the trip??  I will mostly let the pictures tell the story, but here are some highlights (plus a NEW video of the fun):

It was a BLAST!  Our rooms were on Deck 9, the Lido Deck, all the way forward.  Only a few rooms have this full wall of glass facing the ocean ahead for an amazing view.  The boys totally loved it.

Ice cream and pizza were a hit – Wyatt had a record 6 cheese pizzas one day, Owen was not too far behind.

Waterslides were also a hit, but maybe not the big ones.  Wyatt was brave to try one of the racing waterslides the first day with Karina, but probably didn’t know just how fast it would be.  One and done for him, but he quickly made up for that on the smaller slides with Owen.  Whole lotta splashing going on.

The shuttle tender ride from the ship to Half Moon Cay was pretty much a sardine packed trip, but the beach and water more than made up for it.  Absolutely the best beach in the Caribbean and we all made a nice long day of it.  Uncle Norm was definitely a perfect playmate: “quit acting like a kid”.

The Serenity Decks (three of them) for adults were a nice break for us old folks and they gave a nice overview of the entire midship pool deck and it also was good for sunset watching.  The bar was close at hand, too.

Most of us stayed onboard when in port at Nassau.  As you can see by the pictures, the arrival area of the port is undergoing some major changes and all the docks have been rebuilt.  Surprisingly we were the only ship in port that day.  Linda and Norm took a snorkel excursion to a reef that had been pretty much blitzed in the past but they said it had recovered wonderfully over the 2 year pandemic.  Ah well, Jackie and I missed out on that one, but the time aboard with the family was pretty great too, much quieter.

The grandsons were very well behaved during dinner and sea day brunch in the main dining room, with a couple of activity books to help pass the time.

Ah the casino – something that has not always been kind to me, but entertaining anyway.  I bet conservatively and always hope my money will last long enough to have fun, but for two nights the craps table was hot.  Lots of fun and way longer than I expected – plus I definitely came away with some chips this time around.  Yay me.

The arcade and candy shop were also pretty exciting for the boys – heck anytime you have pizza, ice cream and gummies 24/7 it’s a good time.

Probably the only odd moment was one late night toward the end of the cruise when I discovered I had squeezed out anti-itch cream on my toothbrush instead of toothpaste.  I just caught it before brushing, but I was clearly getting cruise-tired!

I know we all declared it a major success and totally enjoyed ourselves – with thoughts of doing it all again (well, way into the future at least).

What’s next for us (after we do laundry and get our bearings)?  We have a week of camping at our local lake with paddleboards, kayak and the grandsons – plus Alex is going to try out his new/old camper.  Only one month of summer before everyone else is back to school and work, so we have to make haste.  Thanks for joining us on our travels and check out the videos posted on the PLACES and VIDEOS page.

Categories: Cruising | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

30A Ok

Posted on May 15, 2022 by Doug and Jackie

Next on our spring hit list this year is a 2 week stay on the panhandle of Florida at one of our favorite campgrounds:  Grayton Beach State Park along highway 30a.  Booked this one about a year ago and were excited to have our good friends Dan and Terri also book a week at a condo in Seagrove, just next door.  We are all quite familiar with the local breweries, eateries, bike paths and beaches, so this should be a great adventure.

The drive is about 7 hours but we thought we would break it up by heading out a day early and stopping halfway for the night.  One other trip south we stopped in Eufaula, AL at Lakepoint State Park, an easy stop.  But by the time we got past Columbus and were headed toward Eufaula and Dothan, it was still early in the day, so we searched out some options further south.  Jackie found Florida Caverns State Park near Mariana and pretty much just along our route.  We pulled up, asked about a spot for the night and were told, yes, they did have a site, but because we were 33’ we would have to use one of the equestrian sites.  Ok, no problem.  Actually, the three spots were level, full utilities and off by ourselves – with paddocks and stalls available if we wanted to hitch our horse there (um, no). But Kodi did pick up a lot of burrs, so he had to get brushed out a bit.

It was still early afternoon and as Jackie was reading through the park information sheet she said “hey, they have cave tours.  But not tomorrow.”  Well, guess that means we have to hustle over to the visitor’s center and get a tour.  Lucky for us the 4:00 tour was the last of the day and we made it with minutes to spare.  Down into the cave we went, 65 feet underground and still above the lower levels of the cave/aquifer complex.  It felt nice and cool on a hot and humid afternoon and we enjoyed ducking and dodging the stalagmites and stalactites.  We have been in several cave systems and while this wasn’t on the scale of some, it was certainly very scenic.  Outside there were blooming columbine, hydrangea and other wildflowers.  As we exited, we were reminded of just how hot and humid the weather had become.  Can’t wait to hit the cool water of the Gulf of Mexico!

It was a quick 2 hours, plus a stop for gas, and we were nearing Grayton Beach the next morning.  We didn’t rush out, but got here just after noon and the site was ready for us.  Full utilities and a nice roomy spot.  Connected up to water and electricity, put out the chairs, set up the screen house (bugs??), took down the canvas roof of the Jeep and off we went to the beach.  You are pretty close to the beach, but it is either a long walk, shorter bike ride or even shorter trip in the jeep.  Ah, the gorgeous blue-green, crystal clear water and sugar white sands were just what we remembered.  Soon we were splashing in and leaving all our worries behind.

We had a couple of days before Terri and Dan were to arrive, so that meant we could check out the local scene.  Grayton Beach is pretty quiet compared to Destin and Panama City Beach, but the Seaside and Watercolor neighborhoods are a destination all their own.  And it was indeed just as busy with cars, bikes and people as ever.  But we only drove through, on our way to check out two breweries:  Grayton Brewing and Idyll Hounds.  Made it to Idyll for a couple of sips and met a crowd of 5 other local teachers (it was the end of the school day) and we chatted for a bit.  Also met another couple who were great fun – we shared stories of our camping adventures, our beer adventures and some “curly girl” hair advice.  

Right next to Idyll Hounds was a new building with a sign “Distillery 98” – so naturally that meant we had to check it out.  Aha! a vodka distillery and bar for Dune Laker vodka.  Jackie forced herself to have an espresso martini and I had … well a refreshing drink with cucumber and something and something and vodka.  It was good, even if I can’t recall the ingredients.

A couple of really nice days at the beach, another beer selection with Bavarian pretzels at Beach Camp brewpub (used to be affiliated with Grayton Beer) here in Grayton and we are just loving it.  Oh, and a helpful camper told us that the night before they spotted a big fat snake under our Jeep, probably a cottonmouth.  Just thought we should know.  Gee, thanks.  Well, we kind of think that it was probably a brown or banded water snake so no worries.  Our site is just steps from the water of Western Lake.  Good to know.

The Jeep has been fun, with the top down and wide open – and I have been putting a cover over it each night to keep the birds off and stay dry from the morning dew.  But rain was predicted and we debated what to do (nothing was the decision).  Well, Kodi woke us up around 6 am with thunder in the distance.  I got out to check things – did see a cool sunrise – but I wasn’t yet awake enough to put the top up.  After thunder and light rain (and coffee) we waited for a break and went ahead and put the top on, side and back windows back in and made it water tight.  Good thing, as it wasn’t long before we had a pretty severe downpour.  

We waited it out and when it seemed to pass we drove east to Pier Park in Panama City to do some quick shopping and especially to have our favorite grouper sandwich at Sharkey’s.  Dang, just as good as ever!  But the gulf was angry.  The storm continued to whip up the waves, rain and thunder and really blow pretty hard.  Looks like time to head back to camp and check on things and Kodi.  Once there, all was well, nothing blew away, the awning was still fine, but Kodi was definitely glad we came back to rescue him!

While chilling in the motorhome and catching up on blog writing and photo editing we got a text from Dan and Terri to say they were an hour out and wanted to meet up at Grayton Beer.  Well, okay, that didn’t take much persuasion.  So, since it is still raining and definitely NOT a beach day, we met up, sampled some flights of beer, caught up on what we have been doing and planned out the week.  Well, Dan declared “there is no agenda” for the week, so yeah, I know it’s tough being retired.

So a recap of the week (which is a bit heavy on food and beer, I admit) includes:

A delicious grilled steak dinner at the campsite for four, complete with, um, three (?) bottles of red wine.

Mother’s Day dinner at Cafe 30A for some delicious seafood.  Ahi tuna for Jackie (and a proper beet salad – check the “Harmony” blog for the story), a spicy seafood pasta for Doug and a bit of a debate over dessert.  More on that later.

A trip back to Idyll Hounds for more beer sampling and the vodka distillery next door for some bloody marys, martinis and frozen cocktails.

A walkabout at Seaside with fish tacos for lunch.  A very cute gathering spot along highway 30A, but very congested with people, cars, bikes, trucks, strollers, golf carts and dog walkers all competing for space.

Beautiful sunny, cool and dry weather the entire week, with plenty of beach time reading and sipping “beach beer.”  The water was absolutely the most gorgeous color, crystal clear to your toes with the aptly named sugar sand beaches.  Unfortunately we have no underwater critter sightings to report, maybe one or two rays spotted moving past.

Dinner at the Red Bar – a famous watering hole in the cute bungalow community of Grayton Beach.  I  had a delicious crab cake and salad, Jackie had some chicken penne, I think Dan had gumbo and Terri had a large salad … it was all filling, but kinda pricey, too.  Definitely a busy spot and we had to take their free shuttle from the parking area.  But we did catch the sunset on the beach. 

More sunsets. It’s just something you do at the beach: watch the sunset from the water’s edge.  By then the sand is cool on your feet, the water feels warmer as it washes over your toes and the bright yellow sun turns orange as it slips below the horizon.  Definitely cool and we tried it a few nights.