Saturday, December 12, 2015

Hilo, The Big Island, Hawaii







So onto our South Pacific voyage...

Our first port of call was Hilo, Hawaii.  Hilo is an industrial port and very much not what you expect to see in the Hawaiian islands.  Further, we never did find a walkable tourist district pulling us into local shops.  What Hilo does provide, however, is access to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Our first stop enroute to the park was at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory.  Here Dave immediately spied a giant sized can of macadamia nuts.  Unfortunately, it was not a real can of macadamias but an inflatable replica.  His disappointment was quickly put off to the side when he discovered he could sample flavors of macadamia nuts we never knew existed.

With sampling and shopping complete we continued onto the National Park.   There, we looked out over the crater and watched steam rise through the vents.  We also walked the lava tubes which was amazing given the amount of lava that was needed to create the tubes.

This trip we've upgraded our technical expertise and have figured out how to take video with our camera.  We've even figured out how to do limited editing to the videos.  Impressed?  Well don't be....as we are having difficulty sizing the videos for upload to the blog.  Perhaps next post....  

More to come.

Joanne

Monday, November 23, 2015

Changes ....

Every once in a while we need to reinvent ourselves.  That was the task this year as we bid farewell to Tropical Breeze in February and began to search for what's next.  We still don't have it figured out but are certainly having fun trying.

So please join us as we recap our latest adventure.....in the South (and North) Pacific.

Joanne

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Dominica ...








In Dominica, we enjoyed strolling through the market and found some interesting sights in town (have you ever seen so many solar panels on a KFC?), but it was lthe mountains that were calling to us.  So once the weather cleared we took a tour into the rainforest and hiked into the Emerald Pool.

The Admiral (on hiatus)

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Martinique ...











In Martinique we enjoyed the market, the fort and the local church.  Across from the church was a park and a galss building which provided an interesting reflection on camera.

The Admiral (on hiatus)




Wednesday, April 1, 2015

St. Kitts ...





In St. Kitts we enjoyed strolling through town and couldn't help but take notice of some of the interesting trees.  The last photo is of an almond tree.  A local showed us how to open up the husk to get to the shell and finally the nut inside.   

The Admiral (on hiatus)

Monday, March 30, 2015

Just Cruising ....





We are back and have lots of photos to post.  This is the first of many entries I will be making over the next week to catch you all up on our Caribbean cruise.

Pictured here is our sail away from the port of Miami.  Day one of the adventure.

The Admiral (on hiatus)

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Road Trip ...



Go back to the midwest in the middle of winter.  Not happening!  Pictured here is our hotel room on St. Pete Beach.  Great views!  Great beach!

Next we are headed offshore - what can I say, we are attracted to water!  We will be taking a 3 week cruise through the Caribbean.  This will be our last post while we are offshore, but we will be back with more posts once we return.

The Admiral (on hiatus)

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Tropical Breeze has a new Owner ....





We've been very quiet about it, but we put the Breezer on the market in December.  Fortunately (or unfortunately - we haven't quite decided) she now has a new owner.  We have loved cruising for the last seven seasons, but it is time to pursue new adventures.  Stepping off her for the last time was very difficult.  There were plenty of tears.  What's next?  Well stay tuned to find out.

The Admiral (on hiatus)



Monday, March 2, 2015

Morning Coffee ...




For those of you who wonder how we spend our days, pictured here is how we usually spend our mornings.  The group normally meets for coffee at about 7:30am and we discuss the latest weather, news and boat projects before beginning our day.  This day was particularly special as several of the guys got their hair trimmed.

The Admiral

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Todd and Shonah ...



More visitors!  This time our friends Todd and Shonah stopped bye.  They've been touring the country in their Earthroamer putting on plenty of miles between Alaska, Vermont, Florida and all the parts in between.  We had several great days with them which included them feeding us a fabulous supper and drinking too much wine!  Guys, you are welcome anytime!

To follow Todd and Shonah's adventures you can visit their blog at

  http://www.shonahandtoddstravels.blogspot.com/ 

The Admiral

To Todd and Shonah - Gold stars followed your departure!  Hope to see you soon!

Saturday, February 21, 2015

SIR Murphy ....


Jim, Kathy and SIR (Spoiled Incredibly Rotten) Murphy spent time in Stuart, FL with us before they pointed Charm south toward Biscayne Bay.  During that time Murphy made lots of new friends - both 2 and 4 legged. But as always, I like to think he prefers Aunt Jo best.

The Admiral

Monday, February 16, 2015

On the Water ...



You never know what pulls into the marina.  One day a group on jet skis pulled in for drinks at the restaurant.  But these weren't ordinary jet skis.  They were Quadskis.  A combination of an ATV and a jet ski.  Pretty cool!  

The Admiral

Sunday, February 8, 2015

The Sailor's Beer ...






We took a day trip over to Tampa and toured the Yuengling brewery.  Yuengling is home to America's oldest brewery.  That brewery is in Pottsville, PA, but we toured the much younger Tampa location.  The tour was great.  The beer even better.  Our only disappointment was when we asked when Yuengling - our favorite beer and that of a significant portion or the sailing community -  would expand distribution to the midwest.  The answer - not anytime soon.  Bummer!

The Admiral

Friday, January 30, 2015

Meet Aurora ...


 
We've been lazing around the marina and meeting lots of new people and making new friends.   Among them is my new four legged friend Aurora.  Her Mom or Dad bring her out 3 times a day to interact with people and other dogs.   

Pictured here she is 10 weeks old and weighing in at about 20 pounds.  She is substantially bigger than when I first met her at 8 weeks old and continues to grow like a weed.  When full grown she will weigh between 100 and 115 pounds - not so much of a lap dog then.

On board we found a jelly fish swimming off the stern.  A bit of a strange sighting on the river, but great news for the St. Lucie River environment.

The Admiral 

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Catching Up...


I confess - I've been bad.  I've neglected the blog dreadfully.  My apologies.  I am going to do my best to catch up.  First up - our visitors.  Our niece Sarah and the Captain's brother Matt stopped by for a few days when in Florida.  They enjoyed Universal Studios, South Beach and the Everglades while here, but we like to think the time they spent with us was their favorite part of the vacation.

The Admiral