First day on the Caribbean Princess

Our day got off to a good start when we decided to go and see where Good Morning America is broadcast.  We joined the small crowd outside but got some very good pictures of the stars.  Robin Roberts even waved to us as we stood outside!

We had an uneventful ride to the ship, and after meeting up with Andy and Melissa (our son and his wife) we enjoyed our lunch in the buffet.  I had a small lunch but definitely enjoyed dessert, as you can see... rice pudding with vanilla sauce, blueberry roulade, and more. 

As fellow cruisers know, there there is a mandatory safety drill for all passengers before the ship can leave port.  Here's Andy and I after donning our life jackets.  

We had a great view from our room and enjoyed sitting on our balcony this afternoon, with a view of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan.  

We always like the Pina Colada chilled soup which was served this evening along with a fine entree.  We headed out on deck to watch the ship leave New York, sailing under the Verrazano Narrows bridge, and ended our first day at the Welcome Aboard show in the theater.

A New York City Day

What a great day we had today!  It started with a walk toTimes Square for some shopping followed by a hot corned beef lunch at a New York deli. Here's a picture of where they drop the ball each New Year's Eve. We even got to see New York's Finest in action as there was a bomb scare at 42nd at Broadway. After lunch we headed for the subway and on to the World Trade Center.

Since we had extra time before our scheduled visit to the World Trade Center Observatory, we headed to the Memorial Pools.  One photo cannot capture the immensity of these pools so here is a short video panning the North pool.  These are are same size as the footprint of the fallen buildings, and the names of those lost in the attack are enscribed around the pools..

After that we headed up to the top of the World Trade Center.  The trip up is quite intriguing since they show what the surrounding area looked like starting in 1624 to the present, as you rise over 1000' to the 102nd floor. It is quite a view from up there!

The memorial museum was very somber. This is a photo of one of the crushed fire trucks from a company that was climbing the North Tower when it collapsed.  After we left the building, some NY Fire Department bagpipers came out and started playing. It was nice ending to our visit.

We came back to our hotel to rest our feet (my Android tells me I walked over 11,000 steps so far today!) and will soon head out for supper then to see the musical Aladdin.  Here's Mary at the theater when we bought tickets this morning.
Quite the New York City Day...

Phantom of the Opera

Phantom of the Opera is one of our favorite musicals, and it's quite amazing to see even a familiar show on Broadway, even if you've seen it on stage in other cities.  The quality of the performers this evening really stood out, and Mary and I were both enthralled with the performance.  It was fun to see the city so alive and active fairly late in the evening (at least for us midwesterners!)

After the show we headed back to our hotel, but not without a stop for cannoli at Carlo's (of Cake Boss fame) Times Square store.   The cannoli was good, but we've been spoiled by the excellent ones we get from the Dearborn Italian Bakery. 

Arrived in New York City

Our vacation has started!

Our travel went quite smooth, but we were surprised at how we exited our plane at Laguardia! The only other time I recall walking across the tarmac for a plane was in Rome several years ago.
This evening we are heading out for dinner, and then on to the Majestic Theater to see The Phantom of the Opera (we had hoped to see Beautiful but it was sold out).  Phantom is one of our favorite musicals and it will be special to see it on Broadway.
Tomorrow we have free time in the morning, and then we're visiting the 911 memorial  and museum, and the new World Trade Center Observation deck.

Hard Travelers in Annapolis

Mary and I are wrapping up along weekend in Annapolis, Maryland.  We attended a great concert at the Ram's Head last night by the Hard Travelers. Sure love to hear that group sing a mixture of Hard Traveler favorites and some Mack Bailey originals. This is always a fun weekend -- seeing Annapolis, visiting with friends, enjoying great food, and see midshipmen of the US Naval Academy walking around the town.

Before the concert we drove into Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin.  Due to the warm spring they were predicted to be near peak this weekend, but with the recent cold snap many were not in full bloom yet.  But several were as you can see from these pictures.  A sunny day would have been nice, but the weather was not cooperating.  At least it was not raining!

After seeing the Cherry Blossoms we drive around Washington and saw the Capital building and White House before returning to Annapolis.
We are flying home today (Monday) then back to work. 

Princess Cay - Last Day of Cruise 8-(

We had a relaxing day today; I played bridge in the morning while Mary caught some rays.  We took a tender to our final port, Princess' private island, before noon, enjoying delicious barbecue ribs and a burger for lunch.  

It was a beautiful, sunny day to visit the island.  I enjoyed an hour of beach volleyball with a group from Saskatchewan while Mary enjoyed some beach time. All in all a very relaxing way to spend out last full day on board the ship.  

Tomorrow we leave this 80 degree sunshine for 30 degree c-c-c-cold back in Michigan.  Wonder if the ship is full for the next 10 days....

Sea Day #3

We had another very relaxing day today.  I played bridge in the morning while Mary went to the cooking show and kitchen tour.   The tour ended with a walk through the dining room where my bridge group happened to be playing, so she was able to get a photo of us.   

After enjoying a British "pub lunch" we had a relaxing afternoon, watching a cute movie (The Intern) then enjoying afternoon tea in our room. We had a special Captain's Cocktail Reception this evening after which we went to dinner, enjoying lobster and prawns, with floating islands  (Mary's all time favorite) for dessert.  

After dinner we went to the last production show and then called it a night.  On to Princess Cay tomorrow!