New Cruise Planned

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted last. I guess that since we haven't been travelling that I just didn't have anything to report. However, now we're planning our next cruise and there's lots to report. We are planning a cruise from Dover, England to the Shetland Islands, Iceland, New Foundland, Nova Scotia and ending in NYC. We're going a couple of days early to be able to see some more of the English countryside that we love so much. Making all the plans has brought back the memories of our 2006 cruise to the British Isles. I can't find my cruise journal for that trip, but I do have my pictures, so I'll have to spend the next few days posting those and trying to recapture as much of the journal notes as I can. Stay tuned. . . . .

Wandering Back Home

We didn't take I-85 coming home from S.C. We opted to go "cross country" instead. We came through such world famous towns as Abbeville, S.C., Calhoun Falls, S.C. and Elberton, GA. The roads were good and it was really a lot more pleasant than riding on a monotonous expressway for hours. The major attraction along the way was in Elberton, which is known as the "Granite City". They are best known for their granite monuments (mostly gravestones) which are made from the granite in Elberton. (A little fact for you: Elberton is not very far from Stone Mountain which is the largest body of exposed granite in the world.) Everybody in Elberton has some kind of monument. There are all kinds of business markers made of granite and even driveways to private homes had markers with either the street number or the owner's name. We actually went by a Discount Monument Outlet!!!! Ben really wanted to stop, but saner minds prevailed. LOL I couldn't imagine what kind of monument he could possibly want to buy. Possibly somebody's gravestone that had been incorrectly etched with "Johnes" which is the way our name appeared in the Atlanta phone book one time years ago. We hated it!!! And, I don't want a gravestone in my yard - no matter what the discount is!!!

Three Garden Spots and a Wedding

Greenwood, S.C. Flower Festival



Park Seed Co. in Greenwood

Today we're still in Greenwood, S.C. We started off with breakfast at Shoney's. We really like Shoney's. For those of you not familiar, Shoney's started off as Shoney's Big Boy. Just like other parts of the country have had Bob's Big Boy, Frisch's Big Boy and Alby's Big Boy. That's the one. We love their breakfast bar and also their soups. Several years ago, after they had closed all the Shoney's in the Atlanta area, we went to one up in Gatlinburg, TN. and had their beef and cabbage soup. It was delicious!! When we got home, Ben Googled Shoney's beef and cabbage soup and we got a great recipe for it. Well, yesterday on the way up here to Greenwood, we stopped at a Shoney's and had their Chicken Enchilada Soup. It was absolutely heavenly!!!! We plan to Google it as soon as we get home and hope to make some chicken enchilada soup soon!! Anyway, we started this morning at Shoney's, then headed for Park Seed which is just on the outskirts of Greenwood.



Beds of Zinnias



More flowers



Coleus



Deer resistant sun garden





Hybiscus

The Park Seed grounds are amazing. There were flower gardens, vegetable gardens, container gardens, a deer-resistant shade garden, a deer-resistant sun garden, a fragrance garden, an herb garden and, of course, the famous Park seeds. It's a really big operation and everything was beautiful. We got lots of ideas for things to do at home. After we had walked and looked and photographed to our hearts' content, we grabbed a Bruster's ice cream cone. They had a cart set up there at the gardens and those were the best ice cream cones (chocolate for Ben, butter pecan for me) that we have ever tasted. I hate to know that, because we have a Bruster's not very far from us at home and I don't want to get addicted!!!




Sun flower garden



Hundreds of container gardens




Vegetable garden


Pumpkins


We left Park Seed and headed across town to Emerald Farms. When we got there, the first thing we did was feed the goats and llamas.


Mr. Goat



Mr. Llama


Then the owner invited us up to her yard to see her peacocks, bunnies and roosters. She said that there are 50 bunnies that hop all over her yard, but that they are frightened by strangers, so we only got to see two. A white one and a brown one. But, there were at least a dozen peacocks and peahens wandering around. They were on the porch, on the roof, the porch railings and out by the pool. The lady gave us some bread to lure them over. After putting out some bread crumbs, they headed our way and one of the peacocks actually spread his tail and made a big show. His tail feathers were shaking and you could hear them rattling. Didn't seem to impress the peahen he was aiming at, but it impressed me!!!



Mr. Peacock



Mrs. Peahen with babies



Another peacock



Struttin' his stuff




Two of the many roosters



A miniature white church out in the field



A colorful bottle tree


They also had some beekeepers there who were enlisting people in the local beekeepers' association. They had some honey bees in a wooden case with a glass side. It was fun looking at them buzzing around being "busy as bees". And, we also saw the Queen - she was shaped a little different from the others and was a somewhat lighter color with a red spot on her back. Then we headed for the antique store, the herb shop, the railroad store and the gift shop that they had laid out in a little village format. The railroad store had a gigantic model railroad and they also had a small train out on the grounds to take kids on rides around the lake. Then we headed by the herb garden on the way back to the car. I would love to have an herb garden like that at my house. It wasn't terribly big, but was so well laid out and just had everything that you would need for cooking and fragrance. Really well done!


We thought that we were totally done in and were heading back to the hotel for a rest before getting ready for the wedding. . . . . but, NO!!! We passed a Jackson-Perkins / Park Seed / Wayside Gardens Outlet Store on the way back and just had to stop in. Ben bought some Stella d'Oro lillies and I got some fertilizer and labeling stakes for the yard. I would hate to have one of those things close to home - it would be too tempting!

And, then we get to the wedding. The groom was handsome, the bride looked like a model, all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen were young, perky and good looking, the dresses were beautiful. But, above all, the music was fabulous!!! They had four vocalists, a pianist, an organist, a trumpet player and a saxaphone player. A trio of girls sang a number called "Shine On Us", very good. Then one of the girls and the guy sang a number called "When God Made You" which basically said when God made you He must have been thinking of me 'cause you're the answer to all my prayers. Just beautiful!!!! Then, the trumpet player played Pacobel with the organist. Then the saxophone player, the trumpet player and the organist did the processional. And, later, the three girls sang the Lord's Prayer. The whole thing was just really beautiful. The reception was out at the Country Club, better known in the South as The Clu-u-ubbbb. Great food, a really good band and lots of merry-making. What a great finish for a perfect wedding weekend!!

Another Wedding In South Carolina

We have come to South Carolina for a wedding. We were in Greenwood back in May for Ben's cousin's daughter's wedding. Now, we're back in Greenwood this weekend for another cousin's son's wedding. We came through Greenville on the way up and visited with his Aunt Alberta for a couple of hours. It was good to see her. We haven't been to visit in a couple of years now. We went to the Rehearsal Dinner tonight and it was great! Cousin Kelly had the dinner at her home which is out in the country a few miles outside Greenwood. It's a beautiful house that sits on a lot of acreage with a pool out back and a barn down the road and a big lake over to the side. It's a gorgeous property. They had a gigantic tent set up just off the house. The tables were all decorated with yellow gingham table cloths and beautiful arrangements of hydrangeas and the menu was a Low Country Boil. If you're not familiar with that, it was boiled shrimp, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and Polish sausage. There were also chicken tenders, fruit, garlic bread and boiled peanuts. It was really a delicious meal. There was a cake afterwards that was shaped like a jeep (the groom's car) and it was chocolate and great!! And a band. . . . a really good band that played beach music and oldies. I enjoyed that probably most of all. Then, after all that, they sent us back to our hotel room with a wedding goodie bag. It was so much fun to sit on the bed and go through everything. There was a bottle of wine plus 2 wine glasses with the palmetto and moon (South Carolina's logo) engraved on them. There were 2 RC Colas and 2 Moon Pies (what a treat!!!). There was a S.C. dish towel, 2 bottles of water, a jar of jam, a bottle of hand cleaner and another of moisturizer, a bag of coffee, packs of tissues and napkins. Of course, it was all loaded into a neat tote bag that has the palmetto and moon logo embroidered on it. Last, but not least, there was a vanilla candle. Well, everything else seemed so appropriate, but for the life of me I can't figure out why they gave us a YANKEE candle!!!! Seems like a good ole Southern one would be more appropriate!!! LOL Oh, yeah, there was also a big magazine telling all about the Park Seed Co. Flower Festival which is going on here in Greenwood tomorrow. I'll tell you about that tomorrow night after the wedding.

Bermuda Shorts # 7

This was originally sent on 5-23-08:

Hey Everybody - Well, I'm not completely sure where we left off last time. . . . . so, I'll just start on Wednesday morning and catch y'all up. We caught the ferry over to the Royal Dockyard again and then hopped on the bus going to Horseshoe Bay. Another wild ride leading to a beautiful beach! After you get off the bus, you have to go down a big hill to the bay and we passed an elderly couple having troubles. He walked with a cane and was having a hard time getting down the hill. There are taxis that haul people up and down the hill. So, when we got down the hill, Ben hailed one of them to go pick the couple up. When they got down the hill, they sat with us for a while. They're from England and are staying in Bermuda for a while. Really interesting to talk to (you know how much I like all things British!!!)



The beach at Horseshoe Bay

Rocks along the beach at Horseshoe Bay

The crowd at Horseshoe Bay

After seeing the beautiful bay and the wonderful beach and taking our fill of pictures, we hailed the cab again and rode up the hill to the bus stop. Another fun, wild ride into Hamilton where we went to the Internet Cafe and checked e-mails. It was about lunch time by then, but we decided not to get caught up in the $$$ lunch scene again, so decided to wait until we got back to the ship. Another fun-house ride into St. Georges where we stopped in town long enough to buy a hand-carved wooden cat to take home to Thomas, Phoebe and Trixie. I know they'll be thrilled!!!

The afternoon is a blur now and I haven't been keeping my notes up-to-date, but I feel pretty safe in saying that we had lunch and went back to the cabin for a nap. We had a really good table for dinner, with couples from VA., N.C., and S.C. with us. Afterwards we went to see Sam Griesbaum (the comedian) again. He is really funny and we had a great time.

Thursday morning was sail away and we left Bermuda an hour early because of the winds that were blowing up. It has made the ocean somewhat rocky, but not really rough. Just rocking enough to make you want to sleep all the time!!! We had breakfast with 2 brothers and a sister and a couple of the in-laws. Made me wonder if maybe we needed to do a "family cruise". At lunch we shared a table with Michelle and Bill from San Diego. I definitely told them how much we enjoyed San Diego back in February - it's a great city! (For those who know my friend Tina, Michelle reminded us of an oriental Tina)

Sailing away from Bermuda

Sailing through the cut

In the afternoon, we played Bingo, but alas. . . . didn't win anything. We did notice that there are several people on board from St. Lucia. Can't figure out why peple would want to leave a Caribbean Island and fly to Charleston to board a ship that's cruising to Bermuda??? Kinda makes you go hmm-m-m-m!!! Anyway, we had dinner with Robert and Jane from VA. We had met them the night before and, after dinner, we went to the Variety Show in the Palace Theater. We saw Rich Purpura again (comedian/magician and saw George Soloman for the first time. He's a great singer and all around showman. Afterward, we saw the Liar's Club which was so funny we could barely breathe at times. It was all ad-lib and all the comedians we have been seeing this week plus George Soloman plus a really funny girl from the crew made up the panel. Too, too funny!!! After that, there was a Chocoholic Buffet in the dining room which just about put us under. We struggled back to the cabin - rocking and rolling. And, that reminds me that the pool and decks have been closed most of the time since we set sail because of the high winds. But, there's still plenty to see and do.

I have to correct one fact that I e-mailed the other day about the roof tops in Bermuda. They are all white and it is required by law, but I mentioned that they are painted with limestone. . . . actually, they are made out of limestone. And, they all pretty much look just alike with just a few differences here and there. And, the limestone does help to purify the rainwater.

All the white roofs in Bermuda

We've collected many more towel animals in the room since I last reported. We now have an elephant, a frog, a mouse, a dog and, last night, when we came back to the cabin, we had a monkey hanging from the ceiling. Ben wants to take them all home to the cats. I don't think so!!!

Hanging monkey

A mouse in my bed - don't touch those chocolates!!!!

Bermuda Shorts # 6

This was originally sent on 5-20-08:

Hi Again - After lunch on Tuesday, we found the bus station and caught a bus for the Crystal Cave. The driver drove like a bat out of hell!!!! She flew over hills and around corners, back and forth on both sides of the road, but she was supposed to be on the left-hand side. Ben says it was like running a slalom course in a municipal bus!! LOL

The infamous pink buses of Bermuda

We passed a garbage truck and almost hit one of the garbage men. He actually screamed as we pinned him up against the wall on the side of the road. We found out later that all the buses in Bermuda are like this! There is even a t-shirt in a lot of the shops that says "I Survived the Bus Ride in Bermuda!!!"

The scenery goes flying by

Ben and I had some locals helping us to find where we got off for the Crystal Cave. One of the men said that we were almost there and I rang the bell to get off. Well, it was too soon, so I told the bus driver to never mind - we would be ringing again in a little bit. She told me not to be playing with the bell and not to ring it again!!! Thanks goodness the guys who were helping us rang the bell at the right place!

Well, if you could ignore the rate of speed for a while, the drive was beautiful. Lots of pastel colored houses along the way. Every house has a white roof - it's actually a law here. Apparently, the limestone that they're painted with purifies the rainwater somewhat and they can re-use it. *This statement is corrected in my next post. Everything over here is clean and bright and well-kept. The lawns are all thick and green and manicured. There are no squalid huts (that we have seen) like you see in the Caribbean. It has a very British feel. We did see one house that had a sign out front that read "Atlanta By The Sea". Wonder if someone from Atlanta actually owns it?

Back to the Crystal Cave. . . . it was beautiful down there!! In 1905, 2 young boys were playing cricket in a field and they lost the ball. It went down a hole and, when they went after it, they found the caves. 120 feet down beneath the field with all kinds of stalagtites, a crystal clear lake and wonderful rock formations. It was really an interesting place to see. They say that it was 68 degrees down there, but it was still muggy, so coolness didn't mean that much!!!

Going down into the cave

Stalagtites over the crystal lake

Beautiful crystal formations

After returning to the ship and resting for a bit (read that as a NAP), we went to the Seven Seas Dining Room for dinner. We had a table with Nancy and Barbara (2 sisters) from Tennessee and Stella and Dale from Newport News, VA. Barbara is a travel agent, so we learned several things about cruising that we didn't know before. A very good dinner with some interesting people. We had seen Stella and Dale on the dance floor last night and we had mentioned to each other that they should have gotten a room!!! When they were seated at our table, we both just about fell over, but they turned out to be a very nice couple and we enjoyed getting to know them.

After dinner, we went to the Palace Theater to see Rich Popura, a very funny comedian/magician. He couldn't do very many magic tricks (kinda the crux of his act), but he was a hilarious comedian. A good time was had by all. We sat next to a big group of S.C. people and Ben says that S.C. people sure do party hearty!!! Just a shout out to Doreen and Jerry and Ginger and Trip, our favorite S.C. partying people!!!

Well, it's late and we're off to rest up for tomorrow.

Tonight's towel animal - a dog

Bermuda Shorts # 5

This was originally sent on 5-20-08:

Hello - I believe we have caught up through Sunday night and our last journal was just before we left the ship to go into town. This has been the easiest disembarking we have ever had. The ship is anchored right at the edge of town. You walk less than a normal city block and you're right there. This is good!!! Anyway, we went into town and shopped a little. We ran into George and Vicki in town and walked back to the ship with them. They were eating early and going to the show, we decided to eat later. At dinner we met Marilyn and Jan from S.C.; Robert and Jane from VA.; and Bobbi and Bill from N.C. This ship seems to be teeming with Southerners!! On the first night, the comedian asked how many people had flown in for the cruise and only one guy raised his hand. That's amazing! Seems like everybody on board is from S.C., N.C., GA., TN., FLA or VA.

After dinner, we went to the late show. It was called "Standing Room Only" and was a collection of Broadway musical numbers. Eight young singers and dancers - and they were fabulous!! The band was very good, too. It was just a very enjoyable evening. When we got back to the room, the steward had made us another animal. This time it was a frog made of wash cloths and hand towels. Ben has been sleeping with these animals -HA - because he misses the cats so much - HA again - and he doesn't take them apart. Soon, every wash cloth and towel on the whole ship will be in our room!

Our frog roommate.

This morning after breakfast we caught the ferry over to the Royal Dockyard which is at the other end of the island from where we're staying in St. Georges.

On the ferry to the Royal Dockyards

We looked around the Dockyard for a while. Ben went to the Maritime Museum and I looked through the Crafts Market. We saw the Victualling Yard where all the food for the Dockyard was prepared, preserved and stored.

Segues on the Victualling Yard

Then, we caught another ferry over to Hamilton. This is much more of a busy city kind of place than St. Georges. Lots of traffic, people going to and fro looking busy and rushed, kind of like being at home!!

A street scene in Hamilton

More of busy Hamilton

We did see several men in suits and ties with Bermuda shorts, but didn't get any pictures. We had lunch at the Hog Penny Pub. Wow!! 1 tuna sandwich, 1 bowl of soup and 2 drinks (non-alcoholic) cost us $45.00 - and that's U.S. $$, too!!! Should have waited to eat on the ship - that would have been free!!

We're in Hamilton at an internet cafe and now, we're going out to find a bus that will take us back to the ship. Wish us luck.