Our Caribbean Cruise Vacation - Aruba Part 6

One of the better tours took place here - we did the Best of Aruba.  We had to get up early (like 6 am) to eat breakfast then catch our tour bus.  


The first stop of the day was at the Natural Bridge Park.  We then went on to Carambi Rock Formation.  David climbed to the top but not me (no way!).  I walked around the gardens and took photos. We then went to the Aloe Vera Plant - no production going on and photos were not allowed inside.  Our 4th stop was at the California Lighthouse.  it was under renovation so couldn't get too close.  Our final stop was the beaches.  We decided not to walk on the beaches but stayed close to the bus.  Did take some photos of the area.

The afternoon was spent on board the ship - trivia game and an evening show of Improv.

The next day was a sea day - reading, bingo, and music in the Gatsby Lounge.

Veteran Ancestors

In honor of Veteran's Day, I will take a look at my ancestors who have fought in various wars for our Nation's freedoms.

Hmmm . . . thought this would be easy.  I'm not finding much at the moment.  There are possibles with the Civil War (both sides) but I don't have definitive proof.

I know that my Porter family was involved with the Virginia Militia before the Revolutionary War because that is how I got my membership in the Daughters of the American Colonists.

Daniel Brown, private in the 124th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War.  In 1863, he was 40 years old, married, and a farmer.  Daniel is my 3rd great grandfather on my mother's side of the family.  He died in September 1863 due to illness contracted during his service.  His wife filed for pension.  Lots of good information in that pension file including marriage certificate and listing of children including birth dates and places.

Thomas Stead, private in  Company H, 9th New York Heavy Artillery during the Civil War.  Thomas is my 2nd great grandfather on my mother's side.  Haven't been able to track down the actual pension record online.

James Frazer fought in the Revolutionary War.  There are muster rolls but I'm not able to determine if it is the same James Frazier.

Garland Hurt fought in the Civil War for the Confederacy.

Moses Hurt, Garland's father,  fought in the Revolutionary War.

As I do more in-depth research on various surnames, I will be able to add to this list.

Our Caribbean Cruise - Part 5 Curacao

After eating breakfast, we went ashore for
our excursion.  We did a trolley tour.  Took taxis to town to catch the trolley.  Trolley had to take a detour due to an accident.

Our first stop was at the Wedding Cake House.  our second stop was at a Roman Church.  There was lots of interesting tidbits of history and architecture.  We returned to our starting point for the final stop - Ft Amsterdam and the oldest Dutch church with a cannonball imbedded in its walls.

                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                      

After the tour, we returned to the ship for a relaxing afternoon - reading a book, participating in a trivia quiz game, a leisure dinner, a music show and a "What's my Line" game show.

Our Caribbean Cruise Vacation Part 4 - Sea Day & Bonaire

Sea day was quiet . . . took in several music shows.  Afternoon was with Patti & Jose show of 60's music.  They did a good job.  Did a bingo game in late afternoon.  Checked out the Bamboo Restaurant for dinner (not a favorite of ours).  Evening was spent in the Spinnaker's lounge listening to music and "Catch-a-Phrase" game.

Next day we were in Bonaire.  We did some browsing around shore during the morning, getting our shot glass for our collection.  Had an early lunch then caught the  tour bus for the Best of Bonaire tour.  The bus wasn't great and the tour guide was difficult to understand.  There was a 30 minute stop at Rincon.

We took in the evening illusionist show.  

Below are some of the photos we took of cacti, flamingoes, and the town.

Our Caribbean Cruise Vacation - Part 3 Puerto Rico

Tuesday, November 3, 2015 - first port of call

We got up early today (6 am) in order to eat breakfast before going ashore for our tour.  We ported in Old San Juan.  Loaded up into our tour bus for a drive to the El Yunque Rainforest.  Our driver's name is Alejandro.  

Our first stop was at the Welcome Center.  Took lots of pictures of the plants and trees.  

We then loaded up and went to our next stop, Coco Falls.


Our third stop was at the Mameyes River.  Got to see our first gecko.

 Our last stop was at a gift shop along the route before heading back to the ship.

During the afternoon, David went back into town to the local Harley Shop to get his souvenir t-shirt.  I stayed back at the ship to unwind.

Shipboard activity included Name that TV Show trivia quiz and a Country Western music show with Patti & Jose.

Alejandro

Old San Juan fort in background

Our Caribbean Cruise Vacation - Part 2 Sea Days before Puerto Rico

Promenade deck Poolside

We boarded the cruise ship on Friday, October 30th mid-day.  We spent the afternoon familiarizing ourselves with the ship.  We ate lunch (and dinner) at the Garden Cafe (buffet meals).  The activities included a mandatory boat drill - did you know our muster station was not on deck but in the Stardust Theater?  We had participated in the Sail-Away party then took in our first show in the Stardust - it was a preview of all the shows that would be performing during the 14 days on board.

Gatsby Lounge

The next three days were all at sea as we cruised towards Puerto Rico.  Breakfast was spent at the Garden Cafe (almost every day).  We took in a presentation on the various excursions available and then booked ours (one tour for each of the ports of calls).  Participated in Bingo in the Spinnaker Lounge and watched various music shows in Gatsby's Lounge.  

David found his beer at Bimini Bar!

Day 2 at sea had us eating lunch at The Bimini Bar (it overlooked the pool deck) and dinner was in one of the formal dining rooms - The Aqua.  Since the cruise was our 30th anniversary gift to ourselves, we had a special dessert served to us by the wait staff (they were singing "Darling call me Sweetheart, I'm in love with you").  We also had our formal photos taken.  Day 3 at sea had us eating lunch poolside at the BBQ and dinner was at The Venetian (one of the other free formal dining rooms).  When we retired to our stateroom in the evenings, we were greeted with various towel animals.

David on the Promenade Deck

Look what we found on our bed!