CUBA CRUISE

This cruise to Cuba was a last minute decision because our friends, Kurt & Diane, invited us to join them and their friends, Frank & Sharon.  Cuba is not a place we dreamed about visiting but the history was interesting.  Holland America has not been there since 1961 so this was a pioneering experience for them and for us.  Being US citizens we needed to do what they call a person-to-person tour booked through Holland America.  We did two tours "The Best of Havana" and Cienfuegos.  The best of Havana is dirty, dilapidated and hasn't changed in 50 years.  However, the people were friendly and musically talented.  Cienfuegos wasn't much better and we never did visit the beautiful beaches that the Canadians come down to visit which was a disappointment.

Havana from the cruise ship

Christ of Havana  stands on a hilltop overlooking the bay of Havana - Carved by Cuban sculptor
Jilma Madera in 1953 - White Carrara Marble - 66 feet high and 10 feet base - Weighs
approximately 320 tons

Vintage cars everywhere - mostly used as taxis

Colon Cemetery (Cementerio de Cristobal Colon) was founded in 1876 - Named after Christopher Columbus -
Holds 800,000 graves - 140 acres - They do not embalm the bodies because they believe it is disrespectful but after two years bones are dug up and cremated then put in another part of the grave to make room for the body of another
family member's body

Music and dancing during our lunch - Some of us were skeptical about eating the food but no one got sick

Longest rolled cigar - Guinness World Record

Plaza de la Catedral La Habana - Building was finished in 1777 - Boroque facade with
asymmetrical bell towers

Beautiful statues and murals inside

San Carlos de la Cabana Fortress - After the capture by British forces in 1762, an exchange was soon made to return Havana to the Spanish, the controlling power of Cuba, in exchange for Florida. King Carlos III of Spain began the construction of this fortress in 1763.  Over the next 200 years, the fortress served as a base for both Spain and later independent Cuba.  It has been used as a prison by the government of the dictators Fidel Castro and his younger brother Raul.

Revolution Square is the political & administrative center of Cuba - Image of the revolutionary guerrilla
fighter Camilo Cienfuegos on the building of the Ministry of Informatics and Communications

Jose Marti Memorial - Star shaped obelisk is 109 meters tall and has an observation deck on top floor

Revolution Square boasts an area of 72,000 square meters making it one of the largest city squares in the world.  This square is where Fidel Castro delivered his fiery speeches typically lasting several hours and Pope John Paul II offered masses in January of 1998, Pope Benedict XVI in March 2012.

New friends Frank & Sharon Gambino

Serenaded in Cienfuegos Province Botanical Gardens - officially known as Jardin Botanico de Cienfuegos

Cubas National Tree - The royal palm

Our last port of call was the Cayman Islands. Thank goodness we ended the trip in a beautiful place.  The sand, sun and water was wonderful.

I wonder who those people are

Denis testing the waters and snorkeled a bit to see a few fish

The 8-night cruise went by quickly.  Denis' sister Lorraine happened to be staying at their condo in Ft. Lauderdale and we stayed one night with them. . We went out for wings and broccoli rabe that night and the next morning they drove us to the airport.
Thank you Eddie & Lorraine for your hospitality

HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, ARKANSASin

It was cold and drizzly but a perfect day to visit the Hot Springs National Park and Museum.  The visitor's center is at the Fordyce Bathhouse.  In 1915, reviews proclaimed the Fordyce the best in Hot Springs.  It closed its doors in 1962 and reopened after extensive restoration in 1989.  The bathhouse looks as it did in its earlier years outfitted with the furniture and equipment of the time; steam cabinets, Zander mechano-therapy equipment, tubs, massage tables, sitz tubs, hydrotherapy equipment, billiard table, piano, beauty parlor, lounge and exercise room.

We took the 45-minute ranger guided tour and all of us enjoyed it.  After the tour, we walked Bathhouse Row.  In the 1960s the bathhouses began to close their doors and fell into disrepair.  In the 1980s the National Park Service began exploring ways to return Bathhouse Row to its splendor. 

Hot Springs is not in a volcanic region.  Pores and fractures in the rock conduct the water deep into the Earth.  As the water percolates downward, increasingly warmer rock heats it at a rate of about 4 degrees Fahrenheit every 300 feet.  Eventually, the water meets faults and joints leading up to the lower slope of Hot Springs Mountain, where it surfaces.  The drinking water here is pure and natural with no filtration or chemicals.  People still come here for health reasons to soak in and drink the water with no sulfur smell.

Fordyce Bathhouse - now the Visitors Center & Museum

All the Bathhouse on Bathhouse Row have been renovated - Now the Cultural Center

This fountain was in the men's bathhouse

Not much for comfort but it served its purpose

This was a beautiful leaded stain glass skylight in, of course, the men's bathhouse

The Arlington Hotel & Spa - The present Arlington opened in 1924 but the original opened in 1875.  The original was
a 3-story high wooden structure.  That building was razed to make way for a new 300-room Spanish
Renaissance structure in 1893. That building was destroyed by fire in 1923. Famous guests like Presidents, Babe Ruth,
Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand and Yoke Ono have all stayed here.  Al Capone had a whole floor
for his staff and bodyguards.

Thanks for stopping in to say hi and God Bless.

BRANSON, MISSOURI

Here we are at Treasure Lake RV Resort in Branson to explore the "Live Entertainment Capital of the World".  We are especially excited because our traveling buddies, Kurt & Diane, from the west coast are joining us.  The campground has over 500 sites but it took us a while to locate one that could accommodate our coach.  Small sites, packed close together but with full 50-amp hookups we're nestled in and won't be spending a lot of time in the park anyway.  The park reminds me of Orlando in some ways because of it's size and wildlife, wild turkeys and deer. 

We got here on Wednesday and the Stewart's arrived on Thursday night.  By Friday we bought tickets for yesterday's lunch and show on the Branson Belle Showboat, Sunday's, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, Monday's, The It Show (Variety), Tuesday's, Six (six voices no instruments or music) and Wednesday's, Illusionist Rick Thomas. 

Friday we drove to downtown Branson for lunch, window shopping and to view the Branson Landing Fountain light and water show.  Yesterday we enjoyed pulled pork, pulled chicken, mashed potatoes and corn on the Belle while watching the show.  After the show we visited Table Rock Dam and visitor's center and took a short nature walk.  Table Rock Lake is an artificial lake/reservoir in the Ozarks constructed in 1954 on the White River by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Flooding in this area was a huge problem before the dam was built.

I get a sneaky feeling that while we're here, we're going to be eating well, enjoying good conversation and great entertainment.  Oh, did I forget to mention, wine tasting?  Diane and I enjoy a good glass of wine.

Picking up show tickets - Starting to see some Christmas decorations

Had a snack at the Bass Pro restaurant - birds enjoyed the cornbread crumbs

Branson Art

Light show was almost up there with Vegas

Branson Belle Showboat where we had lunch

Kurt & Diane inside the Belle

Country and traditional rock - very entertaining

Thanks for stopping in to say hi.  God Bless!

CONNECTICUT VISITS

I guess if we had to say where home is for us, it would be Massachusetts.  I have only one sibling, my brother Ken, who lives in Connecticut and we have family in the Springfield area.  Of course, our daughter Christi is living in Montreal and our son Daniel in Quebec.  We found that we enjoy the TT park in Moody Beach Maine and use that park as our home base during the summer months.

We took a very different route "home" this time from Yuma.  You can go to my past posts to see the route we took north instead of our typical southern route and then up the east coast.  My hubby planned the route carefully and avoided snow but we did have quite a bit of cold and rain.  However, we visited new places and it was both fun and interesting.

On our way to my brother's house, we stopped at our friends, George & Kate Reale's new home near Lake Candlewood.  We hadn't seen them in years and it was a very nice visit.  Fortunately, we were able to park in front of their house for a night and joined them for a lovely dinner.  It was fun catching up on each other's lives and we talked about perhaps getting together for a cruise sometime in the future.

George & Kate

From the Reale's it was just over an hour to get to my brother's house where we're planning on staying a few nights.  Last night we enjoyed a "buddha bowl" and chatted around the fire for some good conversation.  I so much love to spend time with my baby brother and his wife Kathleen. Spring is in full bloom here and their yard looks beautiful.

Me and my handsome baby brother, Ken in his backyard

Kathleen and Mikey - Mikey was my parent's dog and he's very old, blind and deaf but he's like
an energizer bunny and just keeps on going

Here we are all tucked in and enjoying the blooming dogwoods and lilacs

Thanks for stopping in to say hi.

MASSACHUSETTS VISIT

We're parked in my Aunt Donna's driveway for the week.  It gives us an opportunity to take care of some business and meet up with friends and family.

The weather is changing quickly and in typical Big E fashion we've had some rainy days.  I posted on Facebook that we were in the area if anyone wanted to stop in for a visit and my cousin Kathy invited us to their house for dinner.  It was nice because we rarely have the opportunity to get together.

We've lived in this area most of our lives and never visited the Springfield Armory National Historic Site until now.  When I was telling my cousin Kathy about our visit, she told me her mom worked at the Armory and my grandfather was in the Calvary and the stables were located there.  Never knew that.

Big E Celebrating 100 Years

Springfield citizens worked at this "Arsenal of
Freedom" for 174 years to provide our military with
the best infantry weapons necessary to
safeguard the nation

Aunt Donna, Me, Aunt Helen and Dale

 

My cousin Kathy

Aunt Helen

Aunt Estella

It's nice to catch up with friends and family especially before heading south for the winter.

Thanks for stopping in to say hi.

GAELIC NOVA SCOTIA

What a beautiful day to learn the history of Gaelic Nova Scotia. Through the late 18th and early 19th centuries, thousands of Gaels immigrated and settled in Eastern Nova Scotia.  Despite the harsh climate and landscape, they cleared the forest and cultivated their land to establish new lives and communities.  The Highland Village brings that identity to life through interpretation and programming.

The Village had a time line of buildings from The Black House of Gaelic Scotland from 1770-1830, The Forests of Nova Scotia with their log houses, centre chimney house and barn from 1770-1850 and The Building of New Communities from 1850-1880 with the centre hallway house and church,  from 1880-1920s we saw the school house, general store, the forge, carding mill and turn of the century home.

What I found interesting was we could tell what period of time it was by the type of stove in each of the houses.

The most fun was participating in a Gaelic gathering with singing and conversation.

View from the village

The Black House 1700s

Working farm with goats, horse, chickens
and this hog

Always busy - she's making doilies

School House

Blacksmith

Pretty landscape

Singing and socializing

Met up with old and new friends for dinner
Bonnie & Clyde

Thank you for stopping in to say hi.