Posted in blogging, camera, Caribbean, Carnival cruise, cruise, cruising, vacation, Family, friends, history, humor, inspiration, islands, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, travel, trivia, vacation, writing, tagged American Society of Civil Engineers, Atlantic Bridge, bridges, cargo ships, Colon Panama, cruising, engineering, freighters, locks, Monument of the Millennium, oceans, Panama, Panama Canal, Panama Canal cruise, Panama Canal transit, physics, shipping, ships, wonders of the world on October 3, 2022| 4 Comments »
I hope I haven’t lost you. We were cruising and I left you hanging at Costa Rica. Never fear, we’re back on track. The next day of our 15-day cruise was spent navigating the uber impressive Panama Canal, designated as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and a Monument of the Millennium by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Posted in Caribbean, Carnival cruise, cruise, cruising, vacation, eating, Family, food, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, rain forest, travel, vacation, writing, tagged aerial tram, Costa Rica, INBio Research Station, jungle, Puerto Limon, Puma waterfall, Puma Waterfall Trail, rainforest, sky gondola, Veragua Rainforest, ziplining on September 12, 2022| 2 Comments »
If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I’ve been sporadically sharing photos and stories from our cruise last year to the Panama Canal. Our first stop was Jamaica, then Curacao, followed by Aruba. Today, we’re continuing on from the ABC islands headed for Costa Rica. Finally reached the jungle I’ve been expecting. We spent the day at the 3,400-acre mountain reserve known as Veragua Rainforest, which is 100% rain forest and about 30 minutes away from Puerto Limon. Lots to see and do on this exciting excursion.
(more…)Posted in beach, blogging, Caribbean, cruising, vacation, Family, humor, islands, Jansen Schmidt, spring break, travel, writing, tagged Aruba, big rocks, California lighthouse, cruises, cruising, glass blowing, gold mines, islands, lighthouses, Murano art, Murano glass, natural bridges, rock climbing, rocks, ruins, shore excursions, traveling on August 29, 2022| 4 Comments »
Last week we explored Curacao. Today we’re arriving at Aruba and will dive into some of the highlights of our shore excursion across this desert island. As I said last week, the ABC islands are much more arid and deserty than I believed them to be. Aruba is quite flat and there are only a few places with sandy beaches for spring break enthusiasts. Most of the island is pretty desolate. Not tropical. At all.
(more…)Posted in beach, blogging, camera, Caribbean, cruise, Family, friends, history, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, travel, vacation, weird facts, writing, tagged ABC Islands, architecture, cactus, carillon, caves, cruising, Curacao, distilleries, forts, Hato Caves, history museums, islands, museums, musical instruments, touring, tourists, traveling, Youtube on August 22, 2022| 6 Comments »
A few weeks ago I blogged about our trip to Jamaica. That was the first port stop on our Panama Canal Cruise. Today we’re moving on to our second stop. Our itinerary called for us to visit Bonaire next, followed by Aruba. But, because covid numbers were surging in Bonaire, they re-routed us to Curacao instead. No worries for us, we had never been to any of the A B C islands so we were eager to see what all the fuss was about.
(more…)Posted in Caribbean, Carnival cruise, cruise, Family, Jansen Schmidt, love, money, mystical, rain forest, travel, vacation, writing, tagged bobsled, bobsled ride, bobsleds, cruises, cruising, Dunns River, Dunns River Falls, excursions, Jamaica, Mystic Mountain, Mystic Mountain Adventure Park, Panama Canal, Panama Canal cruise, rafamuffin ride, Ragamuffin, shore excursions, traveling, waterfalls on July 11, 2022| 6 Comments »
Shortly after cruising opened back up for travelers, my husband and I booked a cruise that we’ve always wanted to take. It’s a long one and usually an expensive one. But two things worked in our favor; one, we were still (unfortunately) working with pandemic occupancy at the inn (so essentially no guests), and, two, cruises were being offered for dirt cheap to entice folks to travel the high seas again.
(more…)Posted in alcohol, beach, beer, blooms, Caribbean, eating, Family, food, humor, Jansen Schmidt, reading, romance, travel, vacation, weather, writing, tagged Antigua, Barbados, Celebrity Cruises, Celebrity Silhouette, cruises, cruising, excursions, Nevis, party boat, Southern Caribbean, St John, St Kitts, St Lucia, touring on May 23, 2022| 6 Comments »
I’m being lazy this week. Well, not lazy so much as strapped for time. It’s been a busy week and in my “spare” time I’ve been relaxing because I’m exhausted by the time I have “spare” time. And, by relaxing, I mean, I clean out the dishwasher, fold the laundry, set the table for breakfast, and make dinner for my family. Those are my “relaxing” chores. I don’t actually have time to fully relax by definition of the word.
(more…)Posted in beach, beer, blogging, blooms, breakfast, Caribbean, cruise, Disney, Disney World, drinks, Family, food, friends, humor, Jansen Schmidt, travel, vacation, Walt Disney World, writing, tagged Bahamas, brunch, Caribbean, Castaway Cay, Cayman Islands, characters, clowning around, collages, Cozemel, Disney cruise, Falmouth, Good Hope Great House, Grand Cayman, Hell, islands, Jamaica, moonshine, photos, sangria on March 11, 2019| 8 Comments »
As you may remember, I mentioned earlier that I traveled not too long ago and, for subscribers to my newsletter, I also mentioned that I’d be blogging about my journey. At the very end of January we spent 3 days at Disney World (yes – again) followed by a 7-night Disney cruise. (more…)
Posted in authors, beach, beer, blogging, Caribbean, costumes, cruise, Disney, Disney World, Family, Fiction, food, friends, Holidays, humor, Jansen Schmidt, vacation, Walt Disney World, writing, tagged beach house, cancer, cancer free, Castaway Cay, celebration, cruising, destinations, Disney cruise, dragon, dragon float, fire-breathing dragon, Halloween, halloween party, headless horseman, hitchhiking ghosts, mountain cabin, parade, second home, summer, summer vacation, Thugo, traveling on June 25, 2018| 12 Comments »
Photo by P. Rickrode
I often hear, “You’re going to Disney World again? Didn’t you just go last year (or in June, or January, etc.)?” My response is always the same, “Yes, we did and yes we’re going again.” You want to know why? I’ll tell you. It’s fun!! I love Disney World. We always know we’re going to have an excellent experience, good food, clean rooms, quiet pools (we know the ones to visit), free transportation and much more. It’s money well spent (in our opinion). (more…)
Posted in acting, Caribbean, costumes, dessert, desserts, Disney, Disneyland, drinks, Family, food, friends, Holidays, humor, Jansen Schmidt, love, vacation, Walt Disney World, writing, tagged actors, Captain Jack Sparrow, Disney, Disney geek, Dole Whip, Johnny Depp, magic, Magic Kingdom, magical, magical places, pirate ride, Pirates, Pirates of Caribbean, video, Youtube on June 5, 2017| 9 Comments »
I subscribe to a lot of Disney related websites, blogs, newsletters, etc., because, hey, I am a Disney geek. That’s right, I love all things Disney. Well, almost all things. I’m not a fan of Dole whips. (more…)
Posted in authors, beach, blogging, bucket list, Caribbean, cruise, Disney, drinks, Family, goals, Holidays, humor, Jansen Schmidt, resolutions, St. Thomas, vacation, writing, tagged adventure, adventure vacations, British Virgin Islands, cruising, Disney magic, everglades, fears, first time, Florida, Florida everglades, Ft. Lauderdale, hurricane, New Orleans, Pat O'Briens, rainbow, rainbows, Roosevelt Hotel, snorkeling, Tortola, Uber on December 12, 2016| 8 Comments »
Have you ever set out to cross something off your bucket list? Well, I do and recently, I did. I finally took a Disney cruise. Not my first cruise, my first DISNEY cruise!! Needless to say, I was very excited.
The entire journey turned out to be one “first” after another, starting with Thanksgiving day in New Orleans. (more…)
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