St. Maarten

St.Maarten 

The beach was beautiful

Yosh and Logan on Great Bay Beach

Looking for seashells. Not too far from here we all sat

down for some drinks and cocktails at The Blue Bitch Bar.

And below we all waiting for Micheal to get his wet

socks situated. Socks and tennis shoes on the beach

don't work too well.

 

Dawn's Jumbie Juice drink...

Chocolates from The Belgian Chocolate Box were 

quite tasty. I had to get a box to eat on the ship.

All aboard!

Guavaberry is the national liqueur of St Maarten.

It's for sale just about anywhere you go. We tried

it....meh

St.Maarten was our first stop. The beach was beautiful and

the people seemed friendly. However, not even a year ago a

hurricane decimated this island. We weren't even sure the port 

would be open at the time of our cruise. We had plans to do more

and see more of the island but the infrastructure for tourists just

wasn't there yet. The people of St.Maarten were working  hard

and I bet by now it's all good to go. Next stop is our favorite...

San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Links..

The Blue Bitch Bar

Oasis of the Seas

Here is a long overdue recap of our Caribbean cruise last year. 

A massive ship. She was the biggest

in the world until her sister ship was

christened.

Central park...a beautiful spot to relax

away from the crowds. It's home to one

of our favorite place to grab a quick snack

or light meal...The Park Cafe.

The Boardwalk area of the ship. This

is where you go for hot dogs, ice cream 

and shopping. There is a good Mexican 

restaurant here too. You also watch the 

water shows from here.

The Royal Promenade. Here is where you

will find lots of shopping and eating. Sorrento's

is here for pizza and Italian snacks. The

Promenade Cafe has sandwiches, desserts and

beverages. There are also several bars in this area.

Chilling at Sorrento's Pizza

View from our balcony.

Michael and I having a snack at The Park

Cafe.

The last night...

Dinner time! We all really enjoyed the food and

service in the main dining room.

Oasis of the Seas really is a modern marvel. There is so much to do on board. While you are inside it almost feels like you are at a resort in Las Vegas. From ice skating and rock climbing to mini golf and zip lining. Tons of good restaurants and shopping along with shows, movies and fun activities like the sushi making class Dawn and I took. One thing is for sure....you will never be bored. Stay tuned for the next few posts in this series...coming up next..St.Maarten

Arcade action!

Another view of the ship...

A Weekend In Calgary

This was from Tokachi Japanese Restaurant.
Dawn had the Udon and I had the Ramen.
I think I preferred Dawn's just a bit. Next
time we're going to try the all you can
eat sushi.

 I was surprised at the size of

Calgary. It's a legit big city.

 We didn't go up the tower.

Maybe next time.

 Dinner at Little Sheep Mongolian
Hot Pot was tasty and filling. Dawn
and I really enjoy these kinds of
restaurants.

 This is a shot of the Italian Centre
Shop. It is a really nice Italian
market with a great selection of
meats and cheeses. We even managed
to smuggle a bit home...

An awesome breakfast at 

Red's in Ramsay.

Calgary is a great weekend getaway.

Especially with the good exchange rate.

Dawn and I had a blast and hope

to go back soon.

Tokachi Japanese Restaurant

Red's in Ramsay
Italian Centre Shop

The Great Eclipse of 2017

Some of my better pictures

Waiting in Hamer, Idaho

What are they staring at?

Kona can sleep through anything.

A few months ago we decided it would be a 

good idea to drive down to Idaho to get in 

the path of totality for the eclipse. It's one

of those things that you should take 

advantage of if its anywhere nearby.

We had to leave Great Falls around 

4:30am to make it in time. Yikes, early. The

traffic was ok until around Rocker. After

that it was more like California traffic. 

Crazy for Montana. 

We found a big, open field in Hamer, Idaho

that wasn't too crowded. It turned out to be

a great spot to view the eclipse. The eclipse 

started slowly...you couldn't tell anything

was happening without special glasses. 

When the sun was around 90% covered is

when things started to change. The light

gradually dimmed and the temperature 

started to drop. That last sliver of sunlight 

finally disappeared and we were in totality.

It's hard to describe, but was truly amazing.

Seeing the sun's corona and having a 360

degree sunset are things I will never forget.

I hurried to take a few pictures then took

some time to just take it all in. Then just

like that it was over, as quickly as it began.

I'm so glad we took the time to drive down. 

Hopefully everyone will get to experience 

this in their lifetime.

A Quick Trip to Spokane

    The river was raging!

https://youtu.be/j66QFghZ1k8

Ivars!

The Spokane River was running high

Fun at the park

The Scoop...super good, homemade icecream 

They use liquid nitrogen to make their icecream 

in small batches. The waffles are homemade too

Zips Burgers..a solid burger. Reminded me of

Fords or Burgermaster.

Dawns favorite sushi restaurant in Spokane..

Sushi Maru.

We met up with Brady, Kristi and the kids for

a fun weekend in Spokane. If you are in 

Spokane, The Scoop and Zips are definitely 

worth hitting. The sushi restaurant is the 

conveyor type. Its tasty and reasonable. All

in all it was a great time.

Christmas Eve

Looks comfortable 

Borries Pasta

Presents!

A White Christmas 

Another excellent Christmas Eve dinner

at mom and dads house. The prime

rib was perfectly cooked and the shrimp

potatoes were awesome as usual. 

Merry Christmas everyone!