Did Y'all miss me?

This is the hotel where we honeymooned. Not the same exterior from when we were there, but the drive from the main road up to the hotel, the entryway into the hotel, and the view from the road were all the same. You can see the similarity to the old Castle. Ask any old-timer and they know about the Castle Harbour hotel. Lots of traffic on the roads now. I don't think I would be willing to scooter (a small motorcycle) around the island these days as I did 45 years ago.




This is the view from our deck. Yes, we were land side, and I'm glad we were. We got the morning sun, which was definitely cooler than the late afternoon sun and the view was certainly more interesting that the sea side. I know this because I was able to view that other side by going down two decks and going out on the port side of the ship. We were roomed on the starboard side.

A round-about near Georgetown, Bermuda. They drive on the wrong side of the road. That's the left side, by the way. I got use to scooting on that side with no problem, I have to admit.

I'm back from BERMUDA and the cruise that got Alan and me there. It was so much fun. I only took a few pictures since this was a return trip. Bermuda isn't much like it was 45 years ago when Alan and I went there for our honeymoon. Almost all the green space on this small island (21 miles long by 1-1/2 miles wide (mostly) is used up with housing and condos and hotels. There are a few golf courses (mostly on hotel properties).

Alan and I did return to the hotel where we spent our honeymoon. That was exciting, I guess. I was unable to walk that day unfortunately, but it didn't deter me from enjoy the view from the outside which included the pool area, the pink sand beach, and most of the grounds. Alan went inside and was impressed by what he remembered and what had changed drastically. You see, the hotel in which we stayed was demolished, but the folks that rebuilt on that land kept the same footprint and remade the common areas to be almost the same.

Alan purchased a scooter (for old people, not one of the ones they ride around on the Island). It's amazing. It comes apart and fits into our car's trunk nicely leaving enough room for two large suitcases and three bags of dirty laundry!

One of the most exciting things I did, besides winning a $200 gift certificate to Crisson Jeweler's, the best jewelry store on the Island, was a dining with the ship's head chef. Man, was that a great experience.

It started with a trip through the galley (that's kitchen to you land lubbers), where they prepared five wonderful appetizer bites for us to eat. There were only 14 of us permitted to dine with him. Believe me, I got my request in early for that opportunity. Back to the seven-course dinner. Then we gather around the table and ate and ate and ate. I took pictures of most of the dishes which were so beautiful, you really didn't want to destroy them by eating them. Each course was only two or three bites of the dish, but that was enough to fill us all to overflowing with food. Some of the folks eyes seemed to glaze over after the fish course. That was the only course I did not like because my fish wasn't cooked through, and I'm not really a lover of raw Chilean Sea Bass. I have to say, it was the best food I have ever eaten. And none of it was prepared with any butter. The Chef did use olive oil in most of the dishes.

The Lord gave us wonderful weather, temps in the 60s at night and mid-70s during the day. The seas were calm the entire week. No storms or rain. And no mishaps. Alan and I both suffered near the end of the weak with muscle cramps and pains, but other than that little crimp in the week, all else was great -- even our travel from Cincinnati to and from Baltimore, from where we sailed.

ttfn