Cruise to Cozumel (and back)

Aboard the Carnival Ecstasy!

The Road Show went on a working vacation in October. As part of a new venture, a friend and I put together a group cruise with a twist. We booked cabins on the Carnival Ecstasy sailing from Galveston and brought along a Maya archeologist/anthropologist to help us learn about the ancient Maya civilization.

While on board the ship, our expert, Dr. Jennifer Mathews, (Associate Professor of Anthropology at Trinity University, San Antonio) provided us with an overview of the Maya civilization. We arranged for a private meeting room (the Chinatown Lounge) and screen and projector set-up. Everyone enjoyed the presentation and looked forward to the day in Cozumel.

Our port day came on Saturday, and we were met by our Yaxkin tour guide Miguel and driver Antonio. (We booked this tour through the Cozumel Insider website and were very happy with the service and prices!)

Our group had a beautiful 30 passenger bus, and we were off to the Maya ruins at San Gervasio. Miguel and Dr. Mathews led us around the partially restored site with several small temples and buildings. The site is believed to have been a pilgrimage stop, with buildings dedicated to the goddess Ix Chel.

After the ruins, Miguel took us on a tour of Cozumel’s eastern shore, with stops at the rocky beaches, the Tequila Factory and the tiny town of El Cedral. We ate lunch on the waterfront in downtown Cozumel, at the Tikky Tok restaurant. Good regional food.

Some people had time to shop at the Puerta Maya Pier where the Carnival ships dock.

On the last sea day, we again convened in the Chinatown Lounge for Dr. Mathews’ second presentation on her book, “Chicle: The Chewing Gum of the Americas from the Ancient Maya to William Wrigley.” We all enjoyed learning the history of the chicleros and the story of the Wrigley family fortune, not to mention tasting the samples of natural chicle gum by the Glee Gum company.

Acting as escort to a tour group has been fun! It certainly kept me busy! I did take about 15 minutes to sit on a deck chair and contemplate the ocean, I was able to get a great massage at the spa, and even had time for the slot machine tournament. but after each fun activity for myself it was back to making sure things were going well for the group. Of course, any time you can look out your window at calm seas, beautiful clouds, and have room service, life is pretty good!

My new Merrell shoes.

Will definitely do this again! Thanks to everyone who helped the dream become a reality! You know who you are!

If you want to read another account of this trip, go to my friend’s blog: Sanchez Travels.

Activities in Central Mexico!

One thing I've really enjoyed in San Miguel is the interesting door knockers and door pulls. I will post more photos on Flickr and hope to do some prints or note cards.
One day we hired Rafael Tovar, of Rafa Tours to take us on a full-day tour of the colonial city of Guanajuato. This is one of 3 gilded altars at the Valenciana Church in Guanajuato.
Guanajuato was developed by the Spanish during colonial times because of the rich veins of silver and gold in the area. The wealth was lavished on the many churches in the region. This church, completed in 1788, is the most elaborate, with a highly decorated Baroque facade. It commands a view of the entire area, standing high on a mountain overlooking the valley.
Another highlight of our tour of Guanajuato included the Callejon del Beso, or Alley of the Kiss. The houses are so close together here that two lovers could reach across the alley from their balconies and make plans for their future. Unfortunately, the girl's father didn't approve of this match, and stabbed his daughter on the balcony. The young man was only able to kiss his dying love's hand before she passed away. Legend has it that couples coming here have to stand on the steps and kiss so that they continue their good relationship. Of course, all the couples in the group had to do this, while we snapped photos of each other! (Not for publication...)
The largest monument in Guanajuato is El Pipila, the statue comemmorating one of the first battles of the Mexican Revolution in 1810. It is visible from many places in the city and is simply huge. Pipila is the nickname of a simple miner from San Miguel who strapped a huge flagstone block on his back as a shield so that he could crawl to the door of the Corn Exchange to set it on fire. Inside the Corn Exchange were the governor and soldiers preparing for battle against the revolutionaries, as well as supplies, weapons and silver ingots that the rebels wanted. The rebels were able to take the building after a bloody (and fiery) battle, thanks to the bravery of Pipila and others. This gave the rebels a tremendous advantage at the start of the revolution. Independence from Spain wasn't won until 1821.
As September 15 (Mexican Independence Day) was drawing near, patriotic banners and flags were being put up all over the towns. We saw many stalls and vendors with lots of patriotic gear for sale. In addition, buildings and roads are being spruced up and improved. With the bicentennial of Mexican Independence in 2010 approaching, this area will be very busy in the next year!
We also visited the Diego Rivera House and Museum, several other churches, the Teatro Juarez, the Plaza Principal, the University of Guanajuato. It was a long day, and Rafael made it fun and interesting! He also took us underground, where the city has a network of tunnels, originally built for flood control, now developed for traffic control, to protect the inner part of the city. That is very interesting.


Back in San Miguel, we took a "Mexican Fusion"cooking class led by San Miguel restaurant owner Kris Rudolph (see her site). We made guacamole with pomegranate seeds, chili rellenos with goat cheese and vegetable filling, mango/chipotle salsa, and had a nice meal with margaritas. That was fun and a good time. Kris is a good teacher and has lots of interesting techniques.

On another day, we took a taxi about 30 minutes outside of town (the guidebooks said it was about 15 minutes outside of town, but the traffic is terrible and the roads are under construction) to the thermal springs called "La Gruta." There are beautiful landscaped grounds and a series of pools with warmer or cooler temperatures. This photo is of the wamer pool, and there is a tunnel that leads to a brick-ceilinged grotto where the really warm water soothes the joints. Think steam room and hot tub in a large darkened space. We lounged in the water for a good long while, then had margaritas and guacamole on the patio. A relaxing way to spend half a day.

San Miguel is a great place to spend some time. The weather when we went was warm in the day, cool in the evening, with a shower almost every afternoon! We definitely want to go back!

Hola San Miguel de Allende!

We're enjoying a week in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, staying at a beautiful house that we won in a charity silent auction. We're with two other couples so we're able to share expenses. San Miguel is known for its artists and artisans in a beautiful Spanish colonial town. The weather is mild, due to the location: southwest of Mexico City in the central highlands. This time of the year it's warm in the day, cool at night, with chance of daily showers. We've been lucky not to get rained on so far.
One of the main sites is the parish church, La Parroquia de San Miguel de Allende. It has amazing spires and lots of baroque details. It is in the center of town, in El Jardin, the garden square. Great for people watching. At night on Friday, many mariachi bands stroll the park, anxious to play for the tourists. Cafes and stores surround the garden, as well as government offices (there's even a discreet Starbucks), so there's always a lot of action here. Since it's near Mexican Independence Day (Sept. 16), the buildings and streets are getting decorated with special banners and medallions in red, white and green, the colors of the Mexican flag.
We went to the covered market and down a street with many artisans working in their stalls to produce silver jewelry or painted pots or sculptures. There were also fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, grilled corn on the cob, women making tortillas and sweet breads.
We stopped in at the Biblioteca Publica and had a coffee at the outdoor cafe. The library is the center of the American community and, since it was Saturday, we saw many kids taking classes in reading, music, and art, spread throughout the buildings.
The streets of San Miguel are cobblestoned, with high narrow sidewalks and mucho traffic. Every street is more picturesque than the last, with colorful buildings, interesting doors and windows, and a view of a church steeple or valley. It's also very hilly, and it seems we're always walking uphill. We rented an ATV to zip around the streets and that was fun, but a little scary -- those things can go pretty fast.

We enjoyed a delicious roof-top dinner at La Posadita and lunch at Torta Mundo.
We arranged with Rafa Tours (scroll down)for transportation to and from the airport and to take us on a day trip to Guanajuato later in the week.

Stay tuned for possible updates! Thanks!

Down Under this Summer/Winter!

Visiting DD and DSIL thanks to a great fare sale on VAustralia. The prolific Virgin group has started routes from the West Coast to the 3 major Aussie cities. Fare wars!

Flew from LAX to BNE (Brisbane) in 12.5 hrs. 4 movies, 2 meals and you’re there…..Had to give up my raw almonds at Customs, but roasted almonds would have been ok to bring in the country. Will remember that next time….. Just remember to declare on the form whatever you're bringing in so the Customs people will be nice to you.

Winter in Brisbane is 70-75 degrees during the day, 50s at night. One could get used to that!

Happened to arrive during the Ekka-the Exposition or the Royal Queensland Show. Think State Fair! We took the train right to the show grounds on Thursday, and joined the crowds going from pavilion to show barn. It is much like the livestock and agriculture shows in the States, with lots of food booths (similar food-mostly bad for you) and demos of all kinds. There is also judging of animals, skills, products, displays, etc. The main differences I found were the Showbag Hall, and the sheer number of entries displayed in arts, crafts, and food skills.

Showbags are promotional souvenir gift bags. They come in many sizes from $1 to $35, with corresponding quantities of items in them. Candy showbags are very popular, as are kids’ TV shows and pop culture icons. Perfume, makeup, and other companies also sold gift packs of products, at the higher dollar values….The majority of the Ekka daily newspaper is given over to listing the items in each show bag, and the Showbag hall is the biggest pavilion there. It was fascinating!

The weekend found us heading north to explore Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. The beaches are beautiful here, about 3.5 hours north of Brisbane. This is a national park and one needs permits for camping.

Driving is permitted on the beach, and there was a lot of traffic while we were there, especially on the southern end, close to the ferry barges.

We took a 4WD tour and spent the day zooming along sandy roads and beaches seeing a shipwreck, coloured sands, inland sub-tropical rainforests, and beautiful freshwater lakes.

We stayed in the small town of Rainbow Beach and had a good meal at the Rainbow Beach Hotel Restaurant. Upscale food ordered and picked up at the counter is an interesting restaurant concept. No tipping necessary!

Our stay at the Plantation Resort was very nice: we had a 2-bedroom apt. with balcony and rooftop terrace.

On the way back to Brisbane we stopped in at the Ginger Factory to see how ginger is grown and brought to market, and the Nut Factory-all about macadamias-the only naturally-occuring food in Australia that is commercially grown. This is where Hawaii got all its macademia plants.... Stay tuned for more adventures during my winter stay in Brisbane!

Alaska, Part 2

I know this is long in being posted, but wanted to get photos up with this post.

Our second week in Alaska was even more amazing than the first week! And we thought we had done a lot already! We drove up to Fairbanks and then went east to the end of the Chena Hot Springs Road. We stayed at the Chena Hot Springs Resort and went from cold (20 degrees in the Ice Museum) to hot (100 + degrees in the hot springs pool) in a day! The resort uses its geothermal springs to power the buildings, so that is very interesting. DH got in some fishing and moose sightings.



After a nice weekend (but rather quiet as our traveling companions had to head home slightly early due to a bad tooth), we headed back to Fairbanks to do some sightseeing: The Museum of the North at UAF, art galleries, and the headquarters for the Yukon Quest dog sled race. We also took the Riverboat Discovery paddle wheel cruise..... This is very touristy, but one gets to see a bush plane take off and land on the river, a dog-sled demonstration, and tour a replica of an Indian Village.
We also found a great B&B: the All Seasons Inn.

The next stop was 2 days at Denali National Park, where we kept hoping for a peek at the big peak: Denali, or Mt. McKinley, as it is called on the maps. We took the bus ride into the park that goes to mile 53: about an 8 hr round trip. We saw lots of wildlife, notably a wolf, several grizzlies, caribou, Dall sheep; some saw a lynx, but I missed that one.









We also watched the dog sled demo-those dogs love to run!

Stayed at the Denali Lakeview Inn in Healy, just north of the park. Comfortable rooms and great views of Lake Otto! Very restful with a lazy boy chair right in front of the window.

Good restaurants: The Perch, The Overlook.
Ok, but I wouldn't have to go back there: Panorama Pizza Pub
(I got carded here. I didn't find it flattering, just annoying. Pizza was pretty good, however.)



One night in Talkeetna-our last night in the Far North. Talkeetna was the model for the town in the show "Northern Exposure"-or so the story goes.
I had fun seeing the mix of shops and people. While I shopped, DH took a jet boat upriver to fish. He had fun catching salmon with a fly rod.

We went with Talkeetna Air Taxi on a flightseeing adventure.


We hoped to see the peak and land on a glacier. They even gave us glacier boots. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate so we had to fly below the clouds-too low to see the top of the mountain. It peeked out for just a second, but not really long enough to get a good photo.... And the clouds were covering our landing area, so we couldn't set feet on the glacier, either.


We used our last day to drive to Anchorage and see the Anchorage Museum of Art. It has a wonderful floor that tells the history of Alaska in life-sized dioramas and lots of photos and artifacts. The Alaska artists gallery was great, too.

One great tip: We bought an Alaska Tour Saver book for $99. We saved over $350 in tours and entry fees with the 2-for-1 coupons. Would definitely do that again.

Thanks soooooo much to Roberta and Don for helping us realize our Alaskan ambitions and thanks to new friend Hank for kind hospitality and travel tips. Also, to Trudy and Bob for going out of your way to help us out!

Hello From Alaska!

Hello from the Far North!

The Road Show has taken off for the 49^th state! Alaska is huge and wonderful! We started out in Anchorage, where we enjoyed some of the downtown area –especially Humpy’s for lunch and Artique for art-and stayed with a new friend who lives in the hills east of the city. The views are spectacular-far off and close up!

I saw a moose on my morning walk, which was quite exciting. She was checking me out, so I moved on rather quickly!

We then drove down the Seward Highway stopping at Girdwood (The Bake Shop and the Double Musky are must do’s here) and ended up in Miller’s Landing, a small community with a boat ramp, camping areas, and several B&B’s and homes, just south of the town of Seward on Resurrection Bay. Bald eagles are easily spotted, and we saw sea otters playing in the water just off the beach.

We stayed at our friend’s cabin on the bay, and once again my Camp Northland years stood me in good stead –the outhouse was just down the path through the trees….This cabin was really lovely!

Although with 19+hours of daylight, we didn’t need a flashlight in the wee hours (hah.)…..

Seward is the farthest north ice-free port in the US, so it was very important during WWII and for shipping. You can see the remnants of the army fortifications in various places around town and in the bay. Now it is a recreational area and cruise ship port, and a site for a maximum security prison if you don’t behave….It is also the terminus for the Alaska Railroad and the traditional start for the famous Iditarod sled dog race. It has a nice main street area and a slightly more commercial port area.

We ate at Thorn’s Showcase Lounge (go for the fried halibut chunks and bar ambience), The Breeze Restaurant for breakfast, got coffee at the Resurrect Art Gallery and Coffee House. Outside of town, on the road to Exit Glacier, we stopped in at The Salmon Bake (“Cheap food and lousy beer”) for halibut, salmon, and Alaska microbrews. It’s in a log cabin building and has some rustic atmosphere.

We took a boat ride through Kenai Fjords National Park, looking at the sea lions, humpback whales, puffins, even an orca who killed a porpoise just off the stern of our boat. We also saw Holgate Glacier from the water, and watched huge chunks calve into the sea.

DH and I took the Exit Glacier hike-through the pine and cottonwood forests up to the edge of the glacier. They won’t let people actually go up to the glacier and touch it any more, as someone did that and was killed when a piece fell off and hit her. The husband was telling her to “back up a little more” so he could get a better picture. Hmm.The winds coming off the glacier were quite strong and very cold. They are called “catabatic” winds.

We had to say goodbye to the cabin and head back to Anchorage.

We stayed one night and got on the road for Fairbanks and Chena Hot Springs. It was a long drive (400 mi.) through beautiful scenery: Mountains, forests, marshy bogs, farm land. We stopped at the Musk Ox farm to see those woolly creatures. We looked for Mt. McKinley, but it was hidden in the clouds. Only 30 % of people who come get to see it. We hope we beat the odds. Saw 2 moose on the roadways; We drove by Denali National Park and plan to go back there next week.

Made it through Fairbanks and on to Chena Hot Springs. The springs were discovered in 1905 and there have been camps here ever since. It is now a year-round full-service resort with lots of activities, and of course, the hot springs.

It has an ice museum that is very interesting-and cold! We're here another night and then on to Fairbanks, Denali, and Talkeetna before heading back to Anchorage and home. Hope to get some photos on Flikr soon.

Kayaking and Family Reunion

We've stayed pretty close to home lately, except for the Family Reunion, which is a little later in the post. We did our annual kayak race with our good friends early in June. This time we traveled west to Junction (where West Texas begins) to conquer the South Llano River. We stayed at a lovely purpose-built B&B called the South Llano River Lodge. They cater to those come to the area to enjoy the river-either fishing or kayaking. Our hosts, Walter and Susan, were quite welcoming and friendly, and we enjoyed the ranch setting.

We did about 5 miles on the river-we drove up to a park and put in the boats and floated down past our B&B to the first bridge. Along the way we saw a few tubers, and a couple of horses cooling off in the water.


Cows expecting lunch.

The water had a good current and few rapids. Some of us went back for more the next day, and some got to enjoy the fishing. We had dinner at the County Grill and Isaak's Restaurant. Both are BYOB and serve hearty portions. The County Grill had amazing chicken fried steak (according to those who ate it-I'm passing along their recs).
Isaak's had a mounted jackalope-always sad to see that another wild animal has become someone's trophy on a wall.
The weather was great and we had a lot of fun!

Then we traveled to the Windy City and points north for our first formal family reunion. I saw cousins I hadn't seen in many many years! (Let's just say the cousins are grown up and have kids that are older than they were when I last saw them!) I got to see college friends and go to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, which are amazing. It's a huge place, and each section flows to the next with carefully planned walkways and sightlines.

The rest of the weekend was spent at Geneva Lake, WI. We stayed at the George Williams College Campus, in Williams Bay, which is on the west end of the lake. It is a great place for a conference or reunion, as they have many housing options and meal plans. We had a private dining room for each of the 2 nights and even the cafeteria had excellent breakfast food! I heartily recommend this place! We took a boat ride on the lake and our driver/guide pointed out the beautiful summer homes of the rich and (sometimes) famous. We loved the s'mores around the campfire and the egg toss competition! The camaraderie was great and everyone got along-it was just so great to see the patriarchs and their families together again!This is not supposed to be a hyperlink to anything, and I dont know why it's writing it like this.
Geneva Lake is not that far from Chicago (about 60 miles) but it can take hours in the rush hour traffic-everyone rushing to their weekend places! We drove through farm land, horse country, small towns and lakeside communities with boats in every yard. We stopped at a Brat Stop, all things meaty and tubular. And lots of cheese, too.
DH and DS got caught up in stormy weather and almost didn't make the reunion. But hours on the phone with American Airlines got them 2 seats the next day and they made it in time for most of the fun.
We spent our last night back in the Chicago 'burb where I grew up, and had dinner with long-time friends and family. We drove past my elementary school and my old house. The house looked bigger and the yard looked smaller than I remembered. I remember being able to walk "uptown" and go to 31 Flavors (Baskin-Robbins) and get an ice cream cone for 12 cents. (2 scoops: 25 cents with tax). I didn't even recognize uptown any more. Ok. Enough of the geezer talk....
Safe travels to everyone this summer!
More from the Road Show later this month!

Calling all Camp Northland Girls!

Well, school's about over and summer's on the way!
To recapture your youth, you might want to check out the photos from the CN Reunion 07
and join the Yahoo group to reconnect with long-time friends! (Please note I didn't say "old" friends!)
Discussions are underway for a CN Reunion '10! More will be posted on the Yahoo site later in the summer-when it's good and hot and we're thinking of those Northland breezes!
Now where is my camp trunk and the laundry box??

Choo choo!

Ok that was a lame title, but it's before coffee, so it is what it is....
The Road Show has been sticking pretty close to home these days, enjoying trips to the Hill Country as often as possible.

Thanks to another silent auction, we got certificates to take a ride on the Hill Country Flyer. It's billed as the Austin Steam Train, but the steam engine is undergoing refurbishment, so there's only diesel-a 1960 Alco, for you train buffs. The engine pulls several different passenger cars from different eras, and the more you pay for your ticket, the higher the level of service and amenities.

We had the cheapest ticket, so we rode in the 1940's era parlor car with windows that opened and no AC. There was another excursion car with seats from the '50s or '60s (with AC) and lounge cars with AC and tables and snacks. There is a snack car on the train with sodas for a dollar and candy bars, etc.


We took the short ride, (3 hour tour) traveling from the depot in Cedar Park (just NW of Austin) to Bertram, home of the Oatmeal Festival, where there is a restored train station building but not much else. This trip is really called the Bertram Flyer.
The train stops long enough for people to have a quick look around, (and use the portapotty if necessary) and then it's back on the train to wait for the engine to detach from the front at reattach at the back.
The longer trip-the Hill Country Flyer-goes to the town of Burnet and takes about 5 hours. The train stops there long enough for people to have lunch on the square.

Luckily it was a beautiful day and not too hot. I was reminded of train trips to Grandma's house way back when. If you like trains and train rides, this is a fun day out. We'll go back when the steam engine is back on the rails!

Elaine's Sticky Date Pudding!

Below is the recipe for Elaine's Sticky Date Pudding all the way from Tasmania! As promised!
It is simply delicious and worth a go! Thanks, Elaine!

2 cups chopped pitted dates
1 ¾ c. water
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 heaped teaspoon powdered ginger
90 grams butter(6 TB.)
1 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.
Preheat oven to 180C (=350 F)
Grease base of 23 cm cake pan.( 23 cm = 9.1 in)

1. Put dates in a pan with 1 3/4 cup of water, bring to the boil then remove from the heat.
2. Add the baking soda and ginger and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Coarsely mash with potato masher.
3. Cream together the butter, sugar and eggs, one at a time.
4. Fold in sifted flour and spice, add date mixture and stir until well combined. 5. Pour into cake pan and bake for 55 - 60 min. Cake will pull away from the edges of the pan and have a shiny appearance on top when done.
6. Cut into squares and serve with Caramel Sauce. (May need some vanilla ice cream as well on the side as this is quite rich!).

Caramel Sauce
150 grams butter (10 TB.)
1 cup soft brown sugar
1/3 cup of golden syrup (you can try substituting it with 2 parts light corn syrup and 1 part molasses if you can’t find this, but a lot of markets have it)
3/4 cup of cream
Put all the ingredients in a pan and stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Simmer uncovered, for three minutes. Serve caramel sauce warmed with pudding.

Back from the Outback

Ok-it's been over 2 weeks since our great Oz trip ended and no updates. Sorry about that. It was such a great trip and we covered so much territory! The jet lag took about a week to get over: one day to recover for each time zone crossed. We took 10 flights in 27 days and logged over 12, 000 miles. Qantas was a great airline to fly: on time, serving food on every flight (!), efficient and relatively comfortable.

Some interesting things about Australia that we experienced:
1. Taxis:in the big cities, one person getting into a taxi will get in the front seat with the driver.
2. Paying by credit card: Every cashier will look at the signature on the back of the credit card as it is signed. Each cashier will also ask how it is to be debited: debit or credit; signature or PIN. They are much more careful about checking signatures than in the states.
3. Coffee: Long Black, Short Black, Flat White. I never really got the hang of this. Short Black is espresso, served in the small cup; long black is espresson with water added, served in a larger cup. Flat White is milk added to coffee, as opposed to cappucino, which has the foamed milk added. (Correct me if I'm wrong, all the Aussie readers out there!)
4. Driving on the "wrong" side of the road is hard to get used to, especially if one is a passenger in the front seat.
5. Restaurants again: "entrees" are smaller portions than "mains", and if your table has a number on it, chances are you pay at the counter, telling the cashier your table number.
6.People are generally friendly in Australia, but I didn't find them more or less friendly than in most places in the United States.
If I think of more things, I'll add to the list.


Uluru at sunset



We loved all the variety in the climate and geography; also the habitats and ecology are extremely interesting.
The desert of Central Australia, the tropical rainforest of Northern Queensland, and the temperate rainforests of Tasmania are all
great places to go!











We got excited about seeing wildlife-Tasmania had the most variety of animals that we saw outside of zoos or animal parks.

Echidna-small anteater that looks like a porcupine

Bennett's Wallaby

The next post will have the delicious recipe for Elaine's Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel-Toffee Sauce!
Stay tuned!