Well...its December 6th and our last day here aboard the Summit. Ethan is 5 months old today! So far we are enjoying our last day at sea. We had a great breakfast, attended an info session about disembarking, and played BINGO! hehehe After this post we are going to sit down in the restaurant and have some lunch. Last nights formal night was a lot of fun. Ethan loked so cute in his button down shirt.
As I said yesterday it is a bit sad to see such an amazing trip come to an end. This is also the first trip where we've really gotten to know some of the staff and crew. Many of them have grown attached to Ethan and look forward to seeing him each day. They don't get a lot of small children on these long cruises. Like we said though we are excited to get home now. The thought of Ethan's first Christmas is so exciting. We can't wait to decorate the house this weekend!
Mom..thanks again for checking in on everything. You are right..Jill is amazing! She has been so great to the pups and even emailed us pictures. She said that she's gotten quite attached to them...especially Blade. :-)
We depart FL tomorrw on USAIR flight 922 at 2:10pm. We connect in PHI onto flight #3680 departing at 6:45pm. We are scheduled to arrive in ALB at 8:06pm. Whew! Can't wait to see everyone! Love you very much! We have TONS of pictures to share!
Kate
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
No Worries...We Survived Colombia!
Hi everyone! Sounds like winter has arrived at home. Yesterday we were sitting on a Colombian pier drinking a local beer and listening to Christmas carols...weird. We were actually a little disappointed yesterday that our excursion was cancelled. There were waiting lists for all of the other trips so we were unable to join another tour. It looked like most people were getting taxi's on the pier to go to the Old City on their own. The ships crew said that it was completely safe and that they have never had any problems. So...we attempted to do just that. Once we got outside though we decided that it was a little too sketchy for our taste. The cab drivers/tour operaters were charging three times what the max. price was. Plus they wanted you to commit to a certain number of hours. It was also very hot and humid for Ethan. Instead we decided to spend a few hours right on the beautiful pier. They had a small bar, shops with local crafts and souveniers, a nice park, and even some Colombian dancers. We enjoyed our few hours ashore but wish that we had been able to see more.
Today is a day at sea as we continue our journey home. There is a TV channel onboard that shows the ships location at all times. Right now we are off the coast of Jamaica. Soon we will begin to loop around Cuba as we prepare to arrive in Florida. We've come such a long way! It's crazy to see our route on a map.
We have to admit that we are a little sad that our trip is ending. We've seen so many amazing places that its hard to see it come to an end. But we know that there are many vacations in our future! Plus we miss everyone and can't wait to be home for Christmas! I get to see my doggies in two days!!!!!!!!
Tonight is our last formal night, so we'll be dressing up for dinner and hopefully have a nice picture taken.
Mom...John and I are all set with coats. We have our NorthFace Fleece jackets with us. Ethan's snowsuit would be great though. I forgot our flight plans upstairs but I will post them either later today or tomorow morning. Thanks for meeting us at the airport! After that we will probably head home to order a pizza because we will most likely be starving!!! :-) So feel free to join us!
I will write more later or tomorrow. Love you guys and will see you soon! Have we really been away for almost two weeks?
Today is a day at sea as we continue our journey home. There is a TV channel onboard that shows the ships location at all times. Right now we are off the coast of Jamaica. Soon we will begin to loop around Cuba as we prepare to arrive in Florida. We've come such a long way! It's crazy to see our route on a map.
We have to admit that we are a little sad that our trip is ending. We've seen so many amazing places that its hard to see it come to an end. But we know that there are many vacations in our future! Plus we miss everyone and can't wait to be home for Christmas! I get to see my doggies in two days!!!!!!!!
Tonight is our last formal night, so we'll be dressing up for dinner and hopefully have a nice picture taken.
Mom...John and I are all set with coats. We have our NorthFace Fleece jackets with us. Ethan's snowsuit would be great though. I forgot our flight plans upstairs but I will post them either later today or tomorow morning. Thanks for meeting us at the airport! After that we will probably head home to order a pizza because we will most likely be starving!!! :-) So feel free to join us!
I will write more later or tomorrow. Love you guys and will see you soon! Have we really been away for almost two weeks?
Monday, December 3, 2007
I think its Monday?
Hi Everyone! First let me say that I'm also glad that NYBlogger has revealed their identity. And I'm so glad that its you Steve! I was hoping that you were following our trip. Be sure to tell Helen and the boys hi and that we miss them! I have to say once again that the comments you guys leave are the best!
Yesterday was another amazing day we awoke to a beautiful Panama sunrise. We were amazed to see all of the ships/boats around us waiting their turn to make the transit through the canal. Since we are on such a large ship we actually had a reservation to begin our journey. They showed a documentary onboard about the canal the day before, and I have to say that after learning more about its history I found our trip even more fascinating. It is truly incredible to see how the canal operates and to know that you are crossing the Continental Divide. Just think we were in both the Atlantic and the Pacific yesterday! John was able to get some great pictures with his camera. We can't wait to show everyone. When we returned from dinner tonight we found three certificates on our bed. We were each given our own certificate signed by the captain saying that we completed the transit through the canal. How great is it that Ethan has that?
Some people got off of the boat to complete excursions but as I mentioned we chose to stay aboard. What was cool though was that originally they didn't think they were going to let anyone off at the end (Cristobal Pier), it was meant to be a stop to simply pick up the excursion goers. Turned out though that we had more time than expected, so at 8:30pm we set food on Panamanian ground. We stayed within the terminal which consisted of a large market place with craftsman, souvenirs, bars, and local entertainment. It was really cool, but we only stayed about an hour so that Ethan could head off to bed!
Today was a day at sea. I started to the day with a massage in the spa :-). Nice and relaxing. After that we took part in some of the ship activities, ate lunch, napped, ate again, and then went to see a comedian that joined our ship in Costa Rica. It was a great night!
Tomorrow we hit up Columbia. We were disappointed to find out that our excursion was canceled. We have decided to just get off and stick to the pier around the ship rather than plan anything big. This way Ethan can have his nap on board and we will be close to home base and good security if the place seems sketchy. We really aren't planning to do much there.
Heard that the weather is cold and icy back home. My poor puppies! I'm curious to see what Ethan thinks of the cold weather. I think he's a summer boy. By the way those little legs of his seem to be browner than ever. Never ending SPF50 is apparently no match for our little island boy!
More tomorrow....when we start our journey home! Unfortunately blogger is not allowing me to post any more pictures tonight...the connection is a bit weak right now. I'll try to get more up tomorrow!
Love you all!
Kate
Yesterday was another amazing day we awoke to a beautiful Panama sunrise. We were amazed to see all of the ships/boats around us waiting their turn to make the transit through the canal. Since we are on such a large ship we actually had a reservation to begin our journey. They showed a documentary onboard about the canal the day before, and I have to say that after learning more about its history I found our trip even more fascinating. It is truly incredible to see how the canal operates and to know that you are crossing the Continental Divide. Just think we were in both the Atlantic and the Pacific yesterday! John was able to get some great pictures with his camera. We can't wait to show everyone. When we returned from dinner tonight we found three certificates on our bed. We were each given our own certificate signed by the captain saying that we completed the transit through the canal. How great is it that Ethan has that?
Some people got off of the boat to complete excursions but as I mentioned we chose to stay aboard. What was cool though was that originally they didn't think they were going to let anyone off at the end (Cristobal Pier), it was meant to be a stop to simply pick up the excursion goers. Turned out though that we had more time than expected, so at 8:30pm we set food on Panamanian ground. We stayed within the terminal which consisted of a large market place with craftsman, souvenirs, bars, and local entertainment. It was really cool, but we only stayed about an hour so that Ethan could head off to bed!
Today was a day at sea. I started to the day with a massage in the spa :-). Nice and relaxing. After that we took part in some of the ship activities, ate lunch, napped, ate again, and then went to see a comedian that joined our ship in Costa Rica. It was a great night!
Tomorrow we hit up Columbia. We were disappointed to find out that our excursion was canceled. We have decided to just get off and stick to the pier around the ship rather than plan anything big. This way Ethan can have his nap on board and we will be close to home base and good security if the place seems sketchy. We really aren't planning to do much there.
Heard that the weather is cold and icy back home. My poor puppies! I'm curious to see what Ethan thinks of the cold weather. I think he's a summer boy. By the way those little legs of his seem to be browner than ever. Never ending SPF50 is apparently no match for our little island boy!
More tomorrow....when we start our journey home! Unfortunately blogger is not allowing me to post any more pictures tonight...the connection is a bit weak right now. I'll try to get more up tomorrow!
Love you all!
Kate
Huatulco Church
This church was part of our tour in Huatulco Mexico. It was dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. The ceilings of this church are actually covered in beautiful murals...really cool to see. Here's a little known fact...our tour guides husband painted the murals! :-)
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Another Day at Sea
Hi! I LOVE reading the comments you guys leave, please keep them coming! I'm sorry for not posting more pictures. I have to confess that I oopsed and left the cord for my camera at home. In order for me to post pics John has to download them from his camera to his laptop and I have to bring the laptop down to the internet cafe, etc. Lately its been easier for me just to run down and use one of their computers. We will be sure to put a few up tomorrow though. Think of it this way...now you can see most of them at once! :-)
So....yesterday was spent in Costa Rica. There really are NO words to describe where we were and what we saw. The actual port that we entered was admittingly not one of the nicer parts of the country but not too bad. It was the most central port however for the array of excursions that were offered. As I mentioned we traveled to Monte Verde and explored the cloud forest. Please check it out online if you can. To sum it up we boarded a nice, small motor coach with our guide Pablo. He was one of the sweetest men ever and full of info on Costa Rica. Our bus ride took about 2 hrs 45min. It would have been just over an hour however the road to Monte Verde is not paved. The paving of the road has actually been voted against by locals three times. When I say unpaved its an understatement. It took 2 hours to travel 17miles, and we're talking Costa Rica at its best! Cliffs and all! We drove to an elevation of 5,000 ft where we arrived at our destination. What I didn't mention the other day was that a tour of the cloud forest includes you having to cross suspended bridges up above the tree line. From this hike and of course the rocky ride we saw what had to be some of the most beautiful things in the world. John and I have never seen landscape like this. I simply cannot describe it and can only hope that the pictures we show you at home will give you a sense of its beauty. The sights and sounds of the rainforest and surrounding areas are things that we will never forget. We can''t wait to return to Costa Rica with Ethan when he is old enough to take it all in. Our tour actually started at 8am and didn't end until after 6pm...it was a long day!
Today was a much appreciated day at sea. We took our time getting ready this morning and let Ethan nap as much as he wanted! Of course we attended another wine event...tastings from around the world. Other than that we've been taking it easy!
Right now we are sailing a few miles out from the coast of Panama. We can actually see Panama from our balcony. (never thought I would say that!) We begin our journey through the canal early tomorrow morning. We enter the first lock at approx. 7:50am and end our journey around 6:30pm. I believe we are expected to enter Gatun Lake at 11ish. Although you are given the option to do an excursion in Panama and rejoin the ship at the end of the canal, we have decided to stay onboard and travel through the entire lock system. Otherwise we won't be able to say that we sailed through the Panama Canal! We are really excited to experience this. They are opening the helipad at the front of the ship for the day so that everyone can take pictures, etc. Our next port of call is on Tuesday in Cartagena, Columbia. I will try to write more tomorrow night after we complete our canal passage!
We miss you guys and can't wait to bore you with vacation pics. Hate to break it to ya but we are loving the long cruise and the exotic locations. We are already planning on taking the Galapagos Cruise as well as the Antarctic. :-) Have to admit we miss you all though and are excited to get home for Christmas. It is Christmas time right....87degrees right now!
Hugs and Kisses!
Kate
So....yesterday was spent in Costa Rica. There really are NO words to describe where we were and what we saw. The actual port that we entered was admittingly not one of the nicer parts of the country but not too bad. It was the most central port however for the array of excursions that were offered. As I mentioned we traveled to Monte Verde and explored the cloud forest. Please check it out online if you can. To sum it up we boarded a nice, small motor coach with our guide Pablo. He was one of the sweetest men ever and full of info on Costa Rica. Our bus ride took about 2 hrs 45min. It would have been just over an hour however the road to Monte Verde is not paved. The paving of the road has actually been voted against by locals three times. When I say unpaved its an understatement. It took 2 hours to travel 17miles, and we're talking Costa Rica at its best! Cliffs and all! We drove to an elevation of 5,000 ft where we arrived at our destination. What I didn't mention the other day was that a tour of the cloud forest includes you having to cross suspended bridges up above the tree line. From this hike and of course the rocky ride we saw what had to be some of the most beautiful things in the world. John and I have never seen landscape like this. I simply cannot describe it and can only hope that the pictures we show you at home will give you a sense of its beauty. The sights and sounds of the rainforest and surrounding areas are things that we will never forget. We can''t wait to return to Costa Rica with Ethan when he is old enough to take it all in. Our tour actually started at 8am and didn't end until after 6pm...it was a long day!
Today was a much appreciated day at sea. We took our time getting ready this morning and let Ethan nap as much as he wanted! Of course we attended another wine event...tastings from around the world. Other than that we've been taking it easy!
Right now we are sailing a few miles out from the coast of Panama. We can actually see Panama from our balcony. (never thought I would say that!) We begin our journey through the canal early tomorrow morning. We enter the first lock at approx. 7:50am and end our journey around 6:30pm. I believe we are expected to enter Gatun Lake at 11ish. Although you are given the option to do an excursion in Panama and rejoin the ship at the end of the canal, we have decided to stay onboard and travel through the entire lock system. Otherwise we won't be able to say that we sailed through the Panama Canal! We are really excited to experience this. They are opening the helipad at the front of the ship for the day so that everyone can take pictures, etc. Our next port of call is on Tuesday in Cartagena, Columbia. I will try to write more tomorrow night after we complete our canal passage!
We miss you guys and can't wait to bore you with vacation pics. Hate to break it to ya but we are loving the long cruise and the exotic locations. We are already planning on taking the Galapagos Cruise as well as the Antarctic. :-) Have to admit we miss you all though and are excited to get home for Christmas. It is Christmas time right....87degrees right now!
Hugs and Kisses!
Kate
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