Sat Dec 7, 2013
My head is sooooo congested. I cannot get it cleared up. Good news is I don't have to dive today and I can still hear and breathe. So I'll look for sudafed later today. Greg had the opportunity to dive with another dive operation and go to Punta Sur (the south end of the island). It is a very advanced dive. I wouldn't want to do this dive anyway. Lots of tunnels and depth to 130 feet. Current is pretty strong too. I was perfectly content to lay in the hammock and read all morning. He got back from 2 dives around 1:30 and we ate left overs from La Mission (last night's dinner). Then I had to have a nap!!! Walked down to the edge of San Miguel (the only town on Cozumel) and had drinks at a bar where we could see the sun set. The Christmas season brings children out with decorated palm branches. Anything from the virgin Mary to tinsel and ribbon and bows. They ask you "cantada de rama?" At first we thought they were selling their palm branches. We checked on the website and found that the children will sing songs and you give them money that they give to a charity. I was so excited that as soon as they walked up to us at the bar, I called to them "cantada de rama" and they SANG for us! We don't have a clue what they sang but it was so sweet to hear the little voices.
Dinner was at La Choza a couple of blocks from the bar where we had drinks. I had a little bit too much margarita so I can't remember what I had...maybe some type of blackened chicken? It was good! Greg had vegetable tacos. I remember enough to ask for a "to-go box" and take half of it back to the bnb with us.
On the way back to the BnB, at town square, we stumbled into a play about to start. It was opened by the mayor of Cozumel? (maybe the president of the district of Quintano Roo?) We don't know exactly who he was but it was kind of impressive. The play was actually the ballet "The Nutcracker". It was fun sitting there watching these young children dance. And it was in the evening at an OUTSIDE stage. Pretty impressed by watching the dancing on stage and the stars overhead!
Saturday Dec 7 Here's the link to the pictures from today.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Day 4 in Cozumel
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| Coral swim-thru |
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| Dona |
Friday Dec 6, 2013
3rd day of diving. Didn't leave the dive shop until 9am. They were waiting for 2 people to arrive from Cancun on the mainland. We dove first at Palancar Gardens. Saw a sand shark and big lobsters.
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| Shark! |
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| Lobster |
We gave out of battery charge on our camera for the 2nd dive but that's where we saw the most marine life. The dive site was El Cedral Reef. There were a total of 5 turtles, a shark that was swimming (not just laying in the sand), and an eagle ray that swam right with Greg! What a great dive.
Didn't get back from the morning dives until 1:30. We ran over to Burrito Gordido and grabbed a couple of burritos and ate them at the BnB. By then my head was soooooo congested. It felt like I had a huge brick on my head. I took a mucinex that we had in our bags and took a nap. I was still congested when I woke up. Dinner was at La Mission (we ate there on Tuesday night). Tonight I had the grilled pork chops, black beans and guacamole. Greg had the mexican chicken, black beans and guacamole. There were lots of items on the "cold" salad bar that we ate as well. Left overs for tomorrow!!!! We really like the margaritas here!
Didn't get back from the morning dives until 1:30. We ran over to Burrito Gordido and grabbed a couple of burritos and ate them at the BnB. By then my head was soooooo congested. It felt like I had a huge brick on my head. I took a mucinex that we had in our bags and took a nap. I was still congested when I woke up. Dinner was at La Mission (we ate there on Tuesday night). Tonight I had the grilled pork chops, black beans and guacamole. Greg had the mexican chicken, black beans and guacamole. There were lots of items on the "cold" salad bar that we ate as well. Left overs for tomorrow!!!! We really like the margaritas here!
Cozumel Day 3!
Thurs Dec 5, 2013
There were only Greg and I for the morning dives today. We went up to the North end of the island (Punta Norte) to see eagle rays. The dive site was San Juan. The current was VERY strong and we had a tight window to get down and between some corals so we could watch for the rays. I had an excellent decent but around 60 feet, I sucked in water (instead of air....) and panicked. I couldn't remember what to do. I had to ascend to the surface until the panick attack passed. Greg was very patient with me, but unfortunately due to the strong currents, we drifted off course and missed the chance to see any rays. Once at depth, there was really no time to look for or at anything because we were moving too swiftly by. You just had to go with the flow. We did manage to see a turtle, a sand-ray, a lobster and a shrimp. I haven't figured out how to download a slide show on the post so here is a link for our pictures.
Las Palmas Reef and Night Dive on Paradise Reef On the picture page, click on the "v" (downward arrow) next to labels on the right of the screen ("tag people", "share", "organize", "add photos"). Click on "slideshow" then on "play" at the bottom of the 1st picture and it will show all pictures from today in a slideshow format.
Our 2nd dive of the day was at Las Palmas Reef. The pictures in the above "link" are from this dive site and from the night dive at Paradise Reef. We had a great time on the night dive. Again it was only me and Greg with 2 dive masters. Saw lots of crabs, a couple of snakes, sea cucumber, some octopus. I felt very relaxed on this dive.
The dive ended about 7pm so we had the dive crew drop us off in town and we walked to a restaurant and had Mexican pizza, greek salad, and margaritas for dinner. The pizza consisted of black bean sauce, cheese, jalapenos, and chorizo (spanish sausage).
There were only Greg and I for the morning dives today. We went up to the North end of the island (Punta Norte) to see eagle rays. The dive site was San Juan. The current was VERY strong and we had a tight window to get down and between some corals so we could watch for the rays. I had an excellent decent but around 60 feet, I sucked in water (instead of air....) and panicked. I couldn't remember what to do. I had to ascend to the surface until the panick attack passed. Greg was very patient with me, but unfortunately due to the strong currents, we drifted off course and missed the chance to see any rays. Once at depth, there was really no time to look for or at anything because we were moving too swiftly by. You just had to go with the flow. We did manage to see a turtle, a sand-ray, a lobster and a shrimp. I haven't figured out how to download a slide show on the post so here is a link for our pictures.
Las Palmas Reef and Night Dive on Paradise Reef On the picture page, click on the "v" (downward arrow) next to labels on the right of the screen ("tag people", "share", "organize", "add photos"). Click on "slideshow" then on "play" at the bottom of the 1st picture and it will show all pictures from today in a slideshow format.
Our 2nd dive of the day was at Las Palmas Reef. The pictures in the above "link" are from this dive site and from the night dive at Paradise Reef. We had a great time on the night dive. Again it was only me and Greg with 2 dive masters. Saw lots of crabs, a couple of snakes, sea cucumber, some octopus. I felt very relaxed on this dive.
The dive ended about 7pm so we had the dive crew drop us off in town and we walked to a restaurant and had Mexican pizza, greek salad, and margaritas for dinner. The pizza consisted of black bean sauce, cheese, jalapenos, and chorizo (spanish sausage).
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Cozumel day 1 and 2
Tues Dec 3, 2013
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| Dona enjoying a cool beverage with chips and dip at bed and breakfast |
For dinner we ate at La Mission. We had eaten there on an earlier trip. It was one of the restaurants the hostess at the BnB recommended. Greg had Chili Rellano and I had Chicken and Beef-ka-bob (brochetta mixta). They also have a cold salad bar with all types of marinated veggies (mushrooms, onions, cabbage), rice with carrots, jalapeno salsa, and a sour cream or yogurt salsa. It was excellent...... especially the margarita!
Not much sleep because the noise on the street was loud and the room was hot (no air conditioning).
Wed Dec 4, 2013 Had coffee, yogurt, granola, and banana on the open-air terrace of the B and B. Had to be at the dive shop by 8:25. The dive shop hires taxi's to take you to the small boat harbor out of town. So we were wisked away by 8:45am. Got to the boat harbor at 9, and at dive site by 9:25 and in the water by 9:31....wow, pretty fast. We did 2 dives this morning. The dives were good and I didn't panic any; ears cleared good and I did really well with my buoyancy. I felt like a real diver! All the dives here are "drift" dives with different degrees of current. We saw lots of fish and colorful coral; a small "sand" ray; and a nice sized morey eel swimming along. Click on the link below and see a slide show of the 2 dives from today. Greg lost a filter for the camera housing coming through TSA at the airport. That is why so many of the pictures are light at the top and dark at the bottom. He is working on correcting that. I have put captions on some of the pictures so you have to click a picture to read the caption.
Santa Rosa Reef and Paradise Reef
After diving we walked from the dive shop and grabbed a couple of chicken burritos and beers and ate lunch back at the BnB. Our room had changed to a downstairs with private patio/hammock. Only a fridge no microwave BUT air conditioning. That makes a world of difference. The only annoying thing is there is an outside light right above a window in our room. The window doesn't have a curtain or any way to close it so the light shines in the room all night. It is taking some use to. I brought eye shades for the plane so I've been using them.
For dinner we bought a rotisserie chicken from a street vendor with rice and onions. Have enough left over for lunch tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Willis TX and Weatherford TX
Fri Nov 29, 2013
11:00am: Left El Dorado AR headed toward Houston
4:45pm: Arrived in Willis TX (north of Houston) at Thousand Lakes at Lake Conroe RV park where Anthony's daughter, Toni, and husband Josh, are staying. Anthony rented a cabin and we all went over for grilled steaks, sauteed mushrooms with green beans, twice baked potatoes then ice cream for dessert. It was Greg, Dona, Anthony, Toni, Josh, (their children) Jaten, Brinkley, Taye, and Kai. I stuffed my self again!!!!
Sat Nov 30, 2013
37 degrees at 7am, a little warmer than El Dorado. I ran for about 45 minutes and Greg ran for an hour. We did some laundry and Greg helped Josh work on their RV. Greg was right at home. I think he was having withdrawals from not working on a vehicle for a few weeks. He got his fix, so he's good to go a couple more weeks. Anthony left around 3 to go back to Anchorage. We had left over frozen spaghetti, salad and garlic bread for dinner.
Sun Dec 1, 2013
We left Willis at 11:30 and arrived without incident, to Weatherford TX to spend some time with my uncle Bob and aunt Carolyn. We got to sleep in a real bed for the night!!!!! yeah! Carolyn fixed us chicken stir-fry with rice and gluten free crackers on the side. She was so considerate to think of me with the gluten free things!
Mon Dec 2, 2013
I went for a 30 min run and Greg did his usual hour. It was foggy and around 40 degrees but it felt great. While we were out running Carolyn fixed us apple oatmeal, scrambled eggs, gluten free blueberry muffins, and cinnamon toast with almond slivers.....oh my..... I ate too much again (3 time in 4 days!) We spent the morning checking out the yard and all their trees and bushes. I'm sorry we were there in the fall/winter, I bet the grounds are beautiful in the spring and summer with all the blooms! We had a late lunch of pork chops and gravy, peas and carrots, mashed sweet potatoes, spinach salad with tangerines and pecans (ok, enough eating!!!!) It was wonderful. We left them at 5:00 to head for Dallas. Arrived at an RV park in Lewisville about 30 minutes from DFW airport at 7pm. Traffic was horrible and lots of construction. Our GPS tried to guide us the old routes which made us miss several exits. Luckily we got to the RV park before the office closed and were given our spot. For dinner we ate a bag of spinach salad, and some frozen leftovers. We didn't want anything to go bad because we are leaving the RV parked at the airport for 10 days without electricity (no refridgerator)! Not sure what it will smell like when we get home.
11:00am: Left El Dorado AR headed toward Houston
4:45pm: Arrived in Willis TX (north of Houston) at Thousand Lakes at Lake Conroe RV park where Anthony's daughter, Toni, and husband Josh, are staying. Anthony rented a cabin and we all went over for grilled steaks, sauteed mushrooms with green beans, twice baked potatoes then ice cream for dessert. It was Greg, Dona, Anthony, Toni, Josh, (their children) Jaten, Brinkley, Taye, and Kai. I stuffed my self again!!!!
Sat Nov 30, 2013
37 degrees at 7am, a little warmer than El Dorado. I ran for about 45 minutes and Greg ran for an hour. We did some laundry and Greg helped Josh work on their RV. Greg was right at home. I think he was having withdrawals from not working on a vehicle for a few weeks. He got his fix, so he's good to go a couple more weeks. Anthony left around 3 to go back to Anchorage. We had left over frozen spaghetti, salad and garlic bread for dinner.
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| In Willis TX |
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| Greg under RV, Josh at wheel. Both doing what they love! |
We left Willis at 11:30 and arrived without incident, to Weatherford TX to spend some time with my uncle Bob and aunt Carolyn. We got to sleep in a real bed for the night!!!!! yeah! Carolyn fixed us chicken stir-fry with rice and gluten free crackers on the side. She was so considerate to think of me with the gluten free things!
Mon Dec 2, 2013
I went for a 30 min run and Greg did his usual hour. It was foggy and around 40 degrees but it felt great. While we were out running Carolyn fixed us apple oatmeal, scrambled eggs, gluten free blueberry muffins, and cinnamon toast with almond slivers.....oh my..... I ate too much again (3 time in 4 days!) We spent the morning checking out the yard and all their trees and bushes. I'm sorry we were there in the fall/winter, I bet the grounds are beautiful in the spring and summer with all the blooms! We had a late lunch of pork chops and gravy, peas and carrots, mashed sweet potatoes, spinach salad with tangerines and pecans (ok, enough eating!!!!) It was wonderful. We left them at 5:00 to head for Dallas. Arrived at an RV park in Lewisville about 30 minutes from DFW airport at 7pm. Traffic was horrible and lots of construction. Our GPS tried to guide us the old routes which made us miss several exits. Luckily we got to the RV park before the office closed and were given our spot. For dinner we ate a bag of spinach salad, and some frozen leftovers. We didn't want anything to go bad because we are leaving the RV parked at the airport for 10 days without electricity (no refridgerator)! Not sure what it will smell like when we get home.
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| At uncle Bob's and aunt Carolyn's Chigger Ranch Weatherford TX |
Eldorado Arkansas
Wed Nov 27, 2013
3:00pm: Picked Anthony (Greg's brother) up at the Shreveport airport (he drove a rental car up from Houston and turned it in here). Drove to Eldorado AR and arrived at the rehab facility where their step-mom Jodie is staying for a short time. (Got there at 5pm). Step-brother Barry, and step-sister Nan, were there. It was a surprise to Nan that we all were coming, but a big surprise to Jodie that Anthony was there (she knew that Greg and Dona were coming). We spent about an hour visiting. Had dinner at Mel's Seafood just down the road from rehab. Greg and Anthony had seafood gumbo and Dona had shrimp e'tofee'. Very tasty. We parked the RV at the Gator Den RV Park. The owner wasn't around but over the phone he told us to park in an empty spot and he would catch up with us later to collect the fee.
Thursday (Turkey Day!) Nov 28, 2013
Oh my gosh, did it ever get cold over night!!! Anthony slept on the pull out couch that has a blow-up mattress, and only a sheet and thin blanket. The heat was turned down kind of low so he nearly froze to death during the night. It was 24 degrees at 8am. We did NOT go for a run. We went to the rehab center for a short visit then to Barry's for Thanksgiving lunch. His wife Karen and daughter Janda, and son Jarred cooked up a feast.... good southern-home-made feast!!!! With 3 kinds of pie.....I was in heaven!!!!! I did limit myself to just a piece of coconut cream.....but the pecan and the chocolate pudding pie were tempting as well. It did warm up to 50 by 2pm and very sunny. It was a beautiful day. We went back to the rehab center at 3:30 and was back at the RV by 6:30pm. We ate a very light supper: McDonald's chicken salad. Perfect for a Thanksgiving night after eating all we ate at lunch!
Fri Nov 29, 2013
Cold again last night, but Anthony bundled up and didn't pull the couch out, he just slept on the cushions. We were at the rehab by 9:30 for a morning visit then off to Houston at 11:00 to get Anthony back to catch a flight on Saturday.
3:00pm: Picked Anthony (Greg's brother) up at the Shreveport airport (he drove a rental car up from Houston and turned it in here). Drove to Eldorado AR and arrived at the rehab facility where their step-mom Jodie is staying for a short time. (Got there at 5pm). Step-brother Barry, and step-sister Nan, were there. It was a surprise to Nan that we all were coming, but a big surprise to Jodie that Anthony was there (she knew that Greg and Dona were coming). We spent about an hour visiting. Had dinner at Mel's Seafood just down the road from rehab. Greg and Anthony had seafood gumbo and Dona had shrimp e'tofee'. Very tasty. We parked the RV at the Gator Den RV Park. The owner wasn't around but over the phone he told us to park in an empty spot and he would catch up with us later to collect the fee.
Thursday (Turkey Day!) Nov 28, 2013
Oh my gosh, did it ever get cold over night!!! Anthony slept on the pull out couch that has a blow-up mattress, and only a sheet and thin blanket. The heat was turned down kind of low so he nearly froze to death during the night. It was 24 degrees at 8am. We did NOT go for a run. We went to the rehab center for a short visit then to Barry's for Thanksgiving lunch. His wife Karen and daughter Janda, and son Jarred cooked up a feast.... good southern-home-made feast!!!! With 3 kinds of pie.....I was in heaven!!!!! I did limit myself to just a piece of coconut cream.....but the pecan and the chocolate pudding pie were tempting as well. It did warm up to 50 by 2pm and very sunny. It was a beautiful day. We went back to the rehab center at 3:30 and was back at the RV by 6:30pm. We ate a very light supper: McDonald's chicken salad. Perfect for a Thanksgiving night after eating all we ate at lunch!
Fri Nov 29, 2013
Cold again last night, but Anthony bundled up and didn't pull the couch out, he just slept on the cushions. We were at the rehab by 9:30 for a morning visit then off to Houston at 11:00 to get Anthony back to catch a flight on Saturday.
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| Jodie with Barry, riding the halls of rehab |
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| Anthony, Jodie, and Greg |
Mobile Alabama and Jackson Mississippi
Mon - Wed Nov 11/25 - 11/27, 2013
4:00pm: Arrived at the Wales West RV Resort in Silverhill AL on the east side of Mobile Bay. It's a quaint RV park and mobile home park with the MOST Christmas lights I have ever seen! Fortunately they didn't turn any on after dark. I believe with all the lights turned on, we would not have used any lights inside the RV. There's a small train that runs around the park. Apparently the owners are big train enthusiasts. The club house has a large common area with cooking facility and an indoor pool. It's strange though that the showers can only be entered from the outside of the building.....and only one of those is working. The other one is being remodeled. We were invited to Bingo at 7 tonight but we declined. Grilled Mahi-Mahi with brown rice and broccoli for dinner.
During the night the winds were howling and the rain was coming down. I did not get much sleep. Woke to 42 degrees....burr.
Wales West RV Park
11/26: Pulled out at 10am heading to Jackson MS. Our plan was to camp overnight at Springridge RV park but when we arrived it was not what we had in mind. It was just off the interstate and it was more a mobile home park rather than RV's. We used the "trusty" GPS to locate another campground 13 miles away in a petrified forest.... what?... in Mississippi? We found it and they had an opening. It was a privately owed park with petrified logs. Very small campground but we had electricity and water and hot showers. It was 40 degrees at 4:15pm when we arrived. Greg immediately went for a run. I started getting dinner ready. It gets dark around 5. We grilled pork chops and had pre-made mashed potatoes, black beans with red onions and avocado.
11/27: (32 degrees at 7am.) The park office opened at 9 so we took the tour of the Petrified forest. It was a very quaint trails thru the forest where there had been a tremendous log jam eons ago leaving logs to be buried and petrified. Very interesting. They also had a really nice little museum with artifacts from around the world of petrified specimens and gem stones. After a quick shower we pulled out at 11:40 to head into Shreveport LA to pick up Greg's brother, Anthony. He was driving up from the Houston area so we could all ride together to Arkansas to see their step-mother and have Thanksgiving with her.
4:00pm: Arrived at the Wales West RV Resort in Silverhill AL on the east side of Mobile Bay. It's a quaint RV park and mobile home park with the MOST Christmas lights I have ever seen! Fortunately they didn't turn any on after dark. I believe with all the lights turned on, we would not have used any lights inside the RV. There's a small train that runs around the park. Apparently the owners are big train enthusiasts. The club house has a large common area with cooking facility and an indoor pool. It's strange though that the showers can only be entered from the outside of the building.....and only one of those is working. The other one is being remodeled. We were invited to Bingo at 7 tonight but we declined. Grilled Mahi-Mahi with brown rice and broccoli for dinner.
During the night the winds were howling and the rain was coming down. I did not get much sleep. Woke to 42 degrees....burr.
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| Looking out across a "lake" at all the Christmas Lights |
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| The community center at Wales West |
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| Our campsite with Christmas lights in all the trees |
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| The train station all decorated for Christmas |
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| more train station.... This is all at an RV park!!! |
Wales West RV Park
11/26: Pulled out at 10am heading to Jackson MS. Our plan was to camp overnight at Springridge RV park but when we arrived it was not what we had in mind. It was just off the interstate and it was more a mobile home park rather than RV's. We used the "trusty" GPS to locate another campground 13 miles away in a petrified forest.... what?... in Mississippi? We found it and they had an opening. It was a privately owed park with petrified logs. Very small campground but we had electricity and water and hot showers. It was 40 degrees at 4:15pm when we arrived. Greg immediately went for a run. I started getting dinner ready. It gets dark around 5. We grilled pork chops and had pre-made mashed potatoes, black beans with red onions and avocado.
11/27: (32 degrees at 7am.) The park office opened at 9 so we took the tour of the Petrified forest. It was a very quaint trails thru the forest where there had been a tremendous log jam eons ago leaving logs to be buried and petrified. Very interesting. They also had a really nice little museum with artifacts from around the world of petrified specimens and gem stones. After a quick shower we pulled out at 11:40 to head into Shreveport LA to pick up Greg's brother, Anthony. He was driving up from the Houston area so we could all ride together to Arkansas to see their step-mother and have Thanksgiving with her.
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| At the petrified forest |
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| campsite at the Petrified Forest |
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| A petrified log |
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| Getting ready for a hike |
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| Dona and Greg.....Petrified??? No.. just in the petrified forest! |
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