The Corner Piece

Germany 2010

Hey All!

Just arrived back home last night from my 2 week business trip to northern Germany. What a whirlwind couple of weeks! I'll start by saying that over 10 hours on a plane is borderline insane. I am just not built for that kind of travel. What makes it a little more tolerable is that the plane rides aren't back to back. I couldn't handle a short trip that far away. A bit of a glitch getting back has me awaiting my luggage via a cab later today - hopefully.

Germany is beautiful. The region we were in is kind of remote and there was a lot of surrounding farmland. I was surprised to see all of the wind generating turbines and solar panels all over the place. They seem way ahead of the US in alternative energy. That area is close to the border with The Netherlands which had a lot of the same landscape. We didn't have a lot of great weather but still beautiful.

It is true what I had heard that the Europeans are much more fit than Americans. It was stunning in contrast. I really think they are much more active in their everyday lives. They walk or bike everywhere. They don't eat as much processed food either. An example; I am still amazed at how good the dairy was there. I never ate so much good cheese and eggs in my life, the breads and meats were something else, and let me tell you about the beer........and another thing, everyone smokes......go figure.

The local Pub. The carpet crew from London could be found here on off hours! They were a scream!

The canals are rimmed with businesses that seem to close very early. A new car show here on a Sunday afternoon had what seemed to be the whole town out and about.

OBI rocks! The German Home Depot! They have radio commercials set to Queen's, "We Will Rock You" in German, surreal......The place saved us a number of times, and they had probably the best bakery in town at the entrance, just plain weird.

 

Amsterdam was a 2-1/2 hour car ride away on the Autobahn. What a great city. It was a rainy, windy, and cold day for sure!

We started at the Van Gogh museum. The busiest museum I've ever seen!

There was this carnival set up right in the middle of the city. Having it set against these great old buildings was such a contrast. We walked through the midway games area to find a guy throwing a ball to break REAL dinner plates at one game, right next to a kid with a REAL bow and arrow breaking balloons! We were not in Kansas anymore!

The city is sliced up by all the canals running through it. Just beautiful. Check out the swans.

A great trip, a lot of work. I am glad to be home. I look forward to someday travelling to Europe for vacation. Just so much to see and do.

Gotta rest today and get turned around 'cause it's back to the grind tomorrow.

Back From NH

Got back late last night from my week in NH. It flew by.......I take all the credit for the heat wave there last week-Africa hot. I definitely got my fix of home cooking, Papa Ginos, and fried clams. I spent a lot of time on the lake with my brother, a lot of time catching up with my sisters, and filling in the gaps with my nieces and nephew. My aunt and cousin spent a great day with us as well. I even got a chance to catch up with an old friend.........too funny!

http://www.kylecrawfordcomedy.com/kylecrawfordcomedy.com/Home.html

The week started great. My nephew, his best buddy, and I fished in the annual 4th of July tournament and had a ball. We just missed being in the money, oh well. During the awards ceremony they announced that they were officially re-naming the contest after my brother.

From now on it will be: The Michael "Deke" DeCarlo Memorial Angle Pond Fishing Tournament.

Awesome. Sad.

Dad was originally thinking he would fish with us but, the morning of didn't feel up to it. His health has been poor and took a steep dive last week prompting a 911 call. Good thing too because, come to find out, he had a heart attack somewhere early last week and didn't even realize it. He's stable now and in a rehab facility but what a horror show........

I don't really have pictures from the week. There never seemed to be a good time and with Dad sick the mood just wasn't right. So instead check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX7nQrCgALM

 I miss everyone up there but it's good to be home.

Freedom Of The Seas Pics

Royal Caribbean Photo Bomb!!!

MMMMMM! Soft serve!

Wifey's favorite food group!

St. Thomas is unbelievable! The Freedom is behind us.... Puerto Rico is off in the distance.

 

Orient Bay. St. Martin. A perfect beach except for the fat guy in the picture. Not the most disturbing sight that day!

 

What is my towel smoking?  The room steward was a riot!

 

A perfect night under the stars!

Am I lucky or what!

Back To Reality

Wifey and I got home yesterday after a week on the high seas. It was back to the grind today......I kinda still feel like I'm in vacation mode though. I figure it'll take a couple of days to shake it off.

We had a really nice week away. I pretty much just slept, read, ate and drank the week away which is really what vacation is all about. We had a couple of really great Island days, one weird weather sea day, one pretty rough sea day, and a total scorcher the last day at sea. I'm fried.

The Freedom Of The Seas is certainly a huge, beautiful ship. I have to say, though, that some of what it offered(or didn't) seemed a little strange. One example is no food other than soft serve ice cream on the entire pool deck. If you wanted a slice of pizza you would have to go inside, down 6 decks, and into the Royal Promenade area to get it. Same with other quickie food/lunch stuff - just not at easy reach. The buffet joint was on that same deck but way at the other end, inside, and a total zoo. Forget getting a pool chair on a sea day after 8 am.

Towels.......they swiped your card and recorded the number of pool towels you took. At the end of the week if you didn't return the same number they would charge you $20 a piece. No Crap. We exchanged for fresh ones all week with the attendant watching like a hawk. You should have seen the guy's face when I asked for a receipt when I checked them out.

Pet peeves. Don't get the impression that I didn't enjoy the hell out of the week. Food at dinner all week was great. The service on board was great. Room steward and servers were awesome. The head waiter was at our table 2 or 3 times every night checking on us. The ship was spotless. I was just totally ruined by the experience on The Crown Princess last year. That has established itself as the gold standard. There is always next year......Princess anyone?  

Wonder Pics

Some shots of the 3 day cruise!

Expanded Cove Cafe!

Expansion of the terminal underway. New parking garage also.

Never know who will show up at the pool!

Goofy!

Wifey in Nassau.

New slide and cabanas under construction at Castaway.

Our next cruise?

Can't wait to do it again!

Wonderful Time Off

Wifey and I had a great long weekend on the Wonder. It took us to Nassau and Castaway Cay. We didn't get off in Nassau. Good thing as it turns out because evidently they are having issues with crime there. Members of a tour group were robbed at gunpoint! AHHH vacation memories..... Castaway had the best weather in the 8 times we have been there. No tours or activities were canceled that day. I can't recall that ever being the case there. All in all a great time. I can't wait for the next one.

I had another short work week this week (2 days). I have projects galore planned for my 5 days off though. I had a huge pile of sod delivered yesterday which will fill in the bad spots in the lawn. The worst part about that is digging up the old crap to get ready for the new. Oh my aching back! Florida is a brutal place to grow a lawn especially when they only allow watering 1 day a week! I'm going to take the time to put down some edging in areas that will get river rock. Along the driveway and around the house specifically. I'm all for reducing the amount of lawn there is.

Once the sod job is done, I'll get the X-mas lights and decorations up outside. Wifey already has the tree up inside so I figure I better get crackin'.

I also have a small shop side job to get done and delivered. It is a rack for paper and fine art portfolios. It's a quickie, nothing fancy but, I need to get it done and out the door.

Sunday is Turkey Time @ D&W's house. No Thursday Turkey because all the people in my life work in retail Hell.

See Ya. Off to dig up the yard.........

Birthday, Vero Beach

Another birthday came and went...How's it go, "29 again!" (Yeah, Right). It was a great birthday week this year. Had a really nice dinner at The Wave with Wifey, D+W. She  was the only one of us that had eaten there. It was a good meal with a lot of laughs!

Last weekend Wifey and I made what has become our annual trek over to Vero Beach for a long weekend. We have been doing this now for three years around my birthday. I really enjoy the beach and the relaxation.

 

The resort out there is beautiful. Feels like Disney but kinda doesn't at the same time. Probably because it's not attached to a theme park.

One really noticable difference this year was how absolutely blazin' hot it was on the beach. I was completely drenched with sweat by nine a.m. Good thing the water was just right!

Noticed a lot of sea turtle nests on the beach too. I guess they are always there just saw a lot more this time. Disney has a pretty cool turtle conservation program that they run. I'm sure it's making a difference.

Back to work, back to reality this week. My shift start at three a.m. all week. I am usually soaked thru my clothes by four a.m. Brutal humidity. Another long 4th weekend coming up thank God!  AAAHHH summertime!

Anniversary

Last weekend I went up to NH for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. I flew up Saturday morning and came back Monday afternoon. They renewed their wedding vows in a small ceremony at church on Sat. followed by a get together at the lake. Sunday was the surprise party which went off really well. I don't think they had any idea what was going on. Originally the surprise party was the only thing happening. My mother had decided on the other stuff later on which made organizing the weekend a little bit of a challenge.
I only have a couple of pictures from the surprise party. Way too much going on to play photographer. My nieces were snapping away so hopefully soon I can get what they took.  

Dad with Elmer , Jim, Judy, that's Amy back there too. Great to see some of the lake folk!

 
Tori with Anthony

Chuck, Mark, Patty

All in all a good weekend but hectic. I guess I'm just no longer used to that pace. I was good to see people. Some I haven't seen since we moved and some a lot longer than that. I guess a visit every 7 years or so is just right!

Crown Princess 2009

What a great vacation.......First off I love all the cruises we've been on. They have all been special for one reason or another. But I will say that I think this was the best cruise we have taken. I never thought I would say that about a non-Disney cruise but it's true.
The Crown Princess is one of the newest and largest in the Princess fleet commissioned in 2006. It is commanded by Commodore Giuseppe Romano who is the highest ranking officer in the fleet. The ship holds 3150 passengers but it never felt crowded. There were kids particularly teenagers on board but I hardly noticed them.

We had a nice room toward the back of the ship with a nice big balcony.

We left out of Port Everglades with our first stop at Princess cay.(Castaway Cay still the best)

This ship had an area on it called The Sanctuary. It was an area just above the Spa and around the forward-most pool. You could get some Spa services out here as well. You could reserve comfy lounge chairs for the week which we did. What a nice quiet spot with no crowds and hassles. The chairs you pick are yours for the week. They would and did kick out people who hadn't reserved. There was fresh fruit and ice cold fruity water drinks whenever you needed refreshment. They would also fetch food and booze if you so desired. The crew members there took good care of every need-excellent service.  

After the private island we had a day at sea. Followed by a stop at St Martin(Maarten?) Last time we were there we went to the beach at Orient Bay. A passing hurricane made that beach day anything but calm. This time it was postcard perfect.

St Thomas was our third stop. I could not believe we were the only cruise ship there that day. We spent the day on St John at Trunk Bay. It was a little cloudy and would get chilly without the sun. I spent some time snorkeling in the crystal waters. Too short an excursion!!

Our last port was Grand Turk. We hadn't been there before. The island was in bad shape from a recent hurricane. I could see a lot of damage to buildings from the ship. We did the tourist thing and got a beer at Margaritaville and walked the shops. I think we both needed a break from the sun at this point.
 
Our last full day was a day at sea. The last ditch "get baked in the sun at The Sanctuary" was the highlight of the day. The week goes by so fast, too fast. A great time. Met some nice people, ate and drank too much, and can't wait to do it again. (Anyone for a 10 day southern Caribbean cruise on the Ruby Princess next spring?)