A Caribbean Safari????

 We love animals!  Our safaris in Africa have been some of our best experiences while traveling.  Who would have thought that the highlights of a Caribbean Cruise would also be seeing wildlife!

Alligators right by our walking path in the Everglades!

Manatees circling our ship as we were pulling away from the dock

A fish feeding frenzy in the Bahamas!

Sloths in Roatan, Honduras.

The guide assured us that they were every bit as lazy as we had been led to believe.

But could anything be any cuter? 

The workers lift them up by their arms and sort of hang them on you.

Also McCaws

And spider monkeys

They are the opposite of the sloths - perpetual motion machines who look in pockets and will take glasses and anything not attached firmly.

The guide put food on our heads which the monkeys loved!

These animals were all rescued from illegal sales and have found sanctuary in this wonderfully run place.

Schools of fish off the coast of Roatan

Colorful starfish in 'Star Fish Alley'.

Dolphins welcoming our snorkel group to Belize

A cooperative Moray Eel

Pelicans

A family favorite thanks to Grandpa Lewis's Pelican poem!

The fishermen were cleaning fish and the pelicans were looking for any scraps that might be thrown their way.

Standing in shallow water with stingrays and nurse sharks!

The sharks have rough sandpaper like skin

The rays feel like squishy mushrooms.

Seeing a Seahorse in the ocean

They hide among the roots near the shore because according to our guide, everything likes to eat them.

Feeding Tarpons

They are aggressive, stealth hunters.

And yes holding that little fish out there was a bit scary!

Of course iguanas in Mexico.

And finally in Key West, Hemingway's cats - well actually the descendants of his polydactyl cats or cats with extra toes.

They live at the house where he lived during his time in Key West.

And have free rein of the house and gardens.

The cruise was one memory making day after another.

 

Aruba! Jamaica! Ooh I Want to Take Ya

 For years I have wanted to go to Jamaica.  George went there with his family after his graduation from high school in 1968.  For part of the time they stayed on Negril Beach which was then '7 miles of white sand beach with one small hotel and two bungalows.' Now that white sand beach is lined with hotels.

I guess that is progress!

Our son-in-law Mark served his mission in Jamaica. 

I was so excited that our cruise ship would be stopping there.

We docked at Falmouth and enjoyed a rafting  excursion on the Martha Brae River.  

The rafts are 30 feet long and are exactly the same as those once used to transport goods from the plantations to the port.

The scenery is a lush tropical paradise.

Our 'dispatcher' was over 60 years old and had been on the river for more than 30 years.

Most of the young guys quickly passed us by but he didn't mind.  He just chuckled and said that they were all hoping to get another guide job on the river today but they couldn't go back to the starting spot until he arrived anyway!

The very relaxed trip didn't bother us at all.

Why rush when you are on vacation.

Slow down and enjoy the beauty.

Enterprising locals had set up small 'stores' along the bank just in case you wanted to stop and shop.

I didn't buy anything until we got to the end.  Wahoo!   They had Dr. Pepper and I quickly got one before I asked how much they were.  $5 for the can.  Oh well, it did taste great!

George enjoyed some $11 ice cream at a place ranked by National Geographic as the 4th Best Ice Cream in the world.  We could both hear Grandpa Lewis saying, "You should be able to buy 3 gallons for that price."

In case you are wondering how the river got its name well....there is a legend of an old Arawak 

 witch (Arawak are indigenous Caribbeans - they are the ones that first encountered Christopher Columbus) who lived on the banks of the river Matibereon.   Having heard tales of Arawak gold, Spanish treasure hunters captured the witch and tortured her to lead them to the treasure.  Pretending to comply, she led them to a cave, then suddenly disappeared.  Frightened, the Spaniards ran out of the cave only to be engulfed by the river.  The witch then changed the course of the river forever.  Supposedly the gold is still hidden somewhere near the river.  I'm still fuzzy on how the Matibereon River became the Martha Brae!

Such a fun day in Jamaica!

Cruises

 For most of my life, I thought that I could never go on a cruise.  I was sure that my motion sickness would keep me safely on solid ground.  But when John and Katherine said they wanted to go on a cruise to Antarctica, my competitive spirit took over and I knew I had to go.  Armed with scopolamine patches and plenty of dramamine, I got on the ship and I survived.  In fact I loved it.  Although we haven't been on too many ocean cruises, I can say that I love it now.  Months before the mission call came, we booked a  Caribbean Cruise and it was wonderful.  

Fort Lauderdale - Bahamas -Jamaica -Roatan, Honduras - Belize - Cozumel - Key West

10 Fantastic days on Holland America's Eurodam.

Maximum Capacity 2104 passengers

Small compared to the giant Royal Caribbean - Icon of the Seas

Maximum Capacity 7600 passengers and 2350 crew.

I am not sure that I would enjoy that as much. 

I'll stick with the smaller HAL ships.

A few things I loved

The steel drum band

Trinidad and Tobago's national instrument

They performed classical music as well as show tunes.

Amazing talent! None of them read music.  They learn new songs just by listening and copying.

Yummy food from pizzas to fancy meals to lobster rolls.

No reason to ever be hungry on a cruise.

Beautiful sunsets!

Love shipmates with a sense of humor!

And yes, it is easy to get turned around and lost on a cruise ship.

Sometimes strange things happen - like George getting a pedicure!

What a wonderful way to relax and enjoy spending time together before we head off to Peru for 18 months!

Broken Wrist

 Remember George's car accident way back in October?  

He was very lucky to walk away with only minor injuries, or so we thought.

5 weeks after the accident, when his wrist was still hurting quite a bit, he went to the doctor.  This x-ray showed that he had broken a bone in his wrist.  It is not uncommon for such a break to not show up on the x-rays taken immediately after an accident. Six weeks after his wreck he finally got in to see an orthopedist who put on a cast. Luckily no surgery required.

Everyone loved signing his cast!

Thanks Matt for the idea.

We think it makes a fashion statement.

The arrow actually starrted out as an ink dribble but I turned it into an arrow that points to the exact spot of the break.

Now with a little more luck, it will be healed so that he can swim when we go on our cruise in a few weeks.

Christmas Traditions

 Christmas traditions are important to me.  That's probably one reason that I have a ridiculous number of Christmas decorations.  Some of them my Grandma Boyle made before I was born, others I remember from my childhood, still more from the time when we had little kids plus so many from our trips. I collect nativity scenes and also try to get a tree ornament at each destination. I love them and find joy each year when I get them out.

Traditions of things that we 'do' are even more important.  During my growing up years, all of my Daddy's family came to our house for Christmas Eve.  First we went to our different churches for a Christmas Eve service and then all my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents came to our house for eggnog and good food.A few years  after I was married the electricity went out during the party.  Unsure what to do with a crowd in a dark house, a new tradition of singing Christmas carols together was born!  Funniest of all, we sang 'The Twelve Days of Christmas" with different people taking each verse.  My Daddy's sister, Maudie, always sang, '3 French hens' and although she could not carry a tune, she was quick to laugh at herself and that just added to the fun. After Maudie passed away, we never sang again because it was just too painful. George and I did renew this tradition when we lived in Spain by inviting all our friends over for food and carol singing on Christmas Eve.  

Our George Lewis family traditions have evolved over the years.  When the kids were little, we acted out the nativity story and also read 'The Polar Express' and of course left out cookies and milk for Santa. 

Our children all have sweet memories of first Grandpa Walt Lewis and now Grandpa George Lewis reciting the Harrison R Merril Poem

'Christmas Eve on the Desert" 

They remember all the years as little children when they didn't understand the poem at all and just felt anxious for the evening to end so Santa could come.  When they were teenagers, the beauty of the poem and the tender sentiments expressed became clear. Now it is a treasured reading every Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning we open gifts one person at a time. I love this because then you get to see the reactions as special gifts are opened.  When it is a free for all, you miss seeing the recipients delight.

Now that we have adult children and grandchildren, traditions have evolved and we seem to have hit upon the perfect mix for this stage of life.

This year I loved listening to 9 year old Isabella anticipate the Christmas traditions.  Her excitement about the games and food made all the work that goes into making this holiday special well worth the time and effort!

Christmas Eve starts with ornament making.  Every year since 2011, we have made ornaments. You can see them on our tree in this photo of Matt and Cady and their cute dogs, Millie and Baby Dog.  The boys do occasionally grumble about 'crafts' but they are good sports and make one each year!

Games are next on the agenda!  From a marshmallow toss to Christmas Tree Cup Stack to mini golf, they are all so fun.  This year we added 'Oregon Trail' and 'Left, Right, Center' to the mix.

Monica won the grand prize for the "Left, Right, Center" game and promptly gave the $24 to Isabella.

Our competitive Isabella really wanted to win the big games competition. (Although the $24 did make her happy too)  She always does want to win any game she plays but this year she really, really did.  Last year Cady suggested that I buy a trophy to pass around to the winner each year.  And I did.

Isabella coveted that trophy.

We had a Christmas miracle.

I won the game competition!

First time ever!

Isabella really did not think this was fair since I bought the trophy!

After all these years, I finally won so I am keeping it for the year.

This might be the only time I ever win.  George had the handicap of a cast on his arm.  Matt was having severe back pain. And Johnny missed the games because he was working.  Scott came in a close 2nd.

This was MY year!

Game traditions!  Ornament making traditions!  And of course food traditions!

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup with sandwich fixings....

And the oh so important to Isabella, chocolate fountain....

Her favorite thing to drizzle with chocolate -  the angel food cake!

I agree!

Christmas morning - It's all about the presents and the food again.

Breakfast pizza and cinnamon rolls!

 I made the comment that since everyone loves these two items so much, I should make them more often.

Interestingly the consensus was that I shouldn't.  They like them being special for Christmas morning.

Before and after breakfast we opened presents.

There were a lot of very thoughtful ones!

Not the most important part of Christmas but still so fun!

By the end of the festivities I felt like I should have been wearing Matt's hat.

But I would need it to say

'Tired but oh so happy!'

Next year we will be enjoying Christmas in Peru and trying to make it special for over 100 missionaries who are also far from home.

I can hardly wait!

But I will really miss all these faces!