Well DH helped to revise the journaling of our new best friends, Leslie and Jr. Enjoy the updated version.
THE ADVENTURES OF LESLIE AND JR
Hello Everyone!!!
We are Leslie and Jr.
We arrived at the house of JoAnne Hoffman at the end of October 2007 and made friends with Ms JoAnne and her husband Mr Ed. They welcomed us into their home and we were excited to visit with them in the San Antonio area.
We rested for a few days until Ms JoAnne took us to a gathering of Crafty ladies associated with The Angel Company, a business selling rubber stamps, paper, and other craft and scrap booking supplies. The Texas Angel Gathering was attended by about 40 women and we met many new friends and got to help make greeting cards. After that, we rested up for our big trip to Florida and the Caribbean aboard a cruise ship - the Norwegian Jewel.
We left San Antonio on 26 November and drove to Lake Charles LA to spend the night. We continued the journey through LA, MS, AL, and FL on 27 Nov - we slept a lot on the trip as it was a long day. When we first entered FL, we stopped at the Welcome Center and met the ladies behind the counter. They were very sweet and gave us visitor buttons to wear - we thought that was real neat! We arrived at the Mathewson home in Panama City FL late that afternoon and stayed with them until 30 November.
While there, we met Brian and Staci Mathewson and their daughters Miranda and Amelia. We immediately became friends and enjoyed our visit. While there, we helped Amelia with her 5th grade Math homework and read a favorite story with Miranda - she is in 7th grade. The whole family and especially the girls were very nice and we enjoyed our time with them. We also met Ms JoAnne’s son Neal and her Friend Mrs Jacobi and enjoyed a meal of fruit and pizza with them and the Mathewsons. Again, we enjoyed doing a stamp project with Ms JoAnne, Ms Staci, Miranda and Amelia - what fun!!
On 30 November, we left Panama City and drove to Kissimmee FL. While driving, we saw many pine trees and wondered why there were no bird nests in any of them. Have to investigate why - it may be the needles on the branches are too sharp for the birds to nest comfortably.
On 1 December, we rested up for a busy week of excitement - shows, theme park visits and more travel.
The second of December, we went to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede Christmas Show. It was exciting to walk by the horse stalls on the way in to the theater and see all the horses working in the show. We also met a real Southern Belle and she was kind enough to pose for a picture with us. We also had our picture taken by the Christmas Tree in the entrance of the theater. There was a pre-show juggling act which was spectacular as the juggler stood on top of a free-standing ladder and performed. The main show was also awe inspiring as there was a live nativity with Joseph, Mary, the baby Jesus, kings on real camels, shepherds and a flock of sheep, and an angel. We were truly reminded of the real meaning of Christmas. After the live nativity, there were several competitions between the North Pole and the South Pole involving horse races, pig races, ostrich races and other events. We were on the South Pole side of the arena and we were the winners of the competition. Santa arrived at the end of the show and rode around the arena in a sleigh - we had a lot of fun and enjoyed the entire show.
On 3 December, we made our first trip to Walt Disney World by going to the Epcot Theme Park. After parking the car and walking to the gate, we saw many people hurrying to get into the park -- they were very excited and that made us excited too!!! We took pictures near a flowerbed before entering the park. After entering the park we took pictures by a flower bed with bushes shaped to look like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy and Pluto’s dog house. THAT WAS NEAT!! Our first stop was the Epcot Character Spot! Here we found Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Chip and Dale. We had our picture taken with each of them and also got their autographs and many hugs and kisses. What fun we had visiting with each of them!
Our next stop was The Seas exhibit. We went to find Nemo and later went to see the fish and other sea life swimming in the large tanks. We saw dolphins, sharks, stingrays, and many other fish we were unable to name.
After leaving The Sea exhibit, we went to The Land exhibit - we took the boat ride and learned about the evolution of farming and experiments with new methods to improve food production. After looking at all the food growing in the greenhouse, we were very hungry so we decided to have some lunch.
The Imagination Center was next on our list of exhibits to visit. We took a journey into our imagination with Figment and explored our five senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste. After our visit with Figment, we went to an area with many fun things to do - one was an area with many squares on the floor with each one associated with a sound; the moo of a cow, a musical instrument, the chimes of a clock and many others. Of course, we had to step on each one to activate the sound for each square - what fun! We also visited the Kodak exhibit where some nutty professors were showing new ways to develop and print pictures - they were definitely a little wacky!!! Our last stop at the Imagination Center was to watch a short presentation of Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. This was in 3-D so many of the effects seemed very real and scary at times.
We ended the day with a stroll to the International area where many countries were represented with exhibits, food, entertainment, and souvenirs of the country. Eleven countries were represented. Some were the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, China, Japan and England - of course, there were also 4 others. We saw the shows put on by the US and Norway and feasted on bratwurst, Black Forest cake, and apple streudel with vanilla sauce at the German location - boy, it sure tasted good! The last thing we saw before heading for the park exit was a choral program including several choirs and a narrator reading the Christmas story from the Bible. It was a very moving presentation and ended with the choir singing The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s The Messiah.
We left Epcot and went back to our room totally exhausted. What a great day we had!!!
The next day, 4 December, was a very special day as we went to the Magic Kingdom of Disney World for Mickey’s VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY. The party didn’t start until 7 PM but we were able to get in to the park at 4 PM so we could do some other things before the party started. We went on The Pirates Of The Caribbean and It’s A Small World rides and enjoyed seeing all the animated characters in both - they seemed so life like it was unreal. The song at the Small World ride is so contagious we sang it all night. We also visited Mickey’s Toontown Fair where we saw Mickey, Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Winnie the Pooh and Tiger. We staked out our area for the parade early and ended up with front row seats as there was a very large crowd attending the party. Before the parade, we watched the show Celebrate The Season in front of a brightly lit Cinderella’s Castle. The cast included all of the Disney characters with Goofy as Santa Claus. Once the show was over, the parade started and was the highlight of the evening. The parade included many floats and walking acts with Mickey and Minnie on the first float and Santa and Mrs Claus on the last float. We also saw another show after the parade - the Mickey’s “Twas the Night Before Christmas” show - what a great way to hear the story of the night before Christmas. We ended the evening by watching a spectacular fireworks show which lasted for about 25 minutes - WOW, what a way to end the evening. We left the party and again returned to our room totally worn out.
The next day, 5 December, we stayed around the room and rested up from the previous two days of activity. We did go out late in the afternoon to meet the Hoffman’s grandson Alex, his wife Michelle and their children for a Pizza buffet. We ate pizza, pasta, and dessert until our tummys were full and had a great time meeting and getting to know other members of the Hoffman family.
On 6 December, we helped Ms JoAnne with laundry and packing of suitcases for our trip to Miami to board the Norwegian Jewel cruise ship for a 9 day Caribbean cruise. Ms JoAnne is a Guest Lecturer and will be teaching cruise passengers how to make cards and do scrap booking projects on the days we are at sea. She has a fun time doing this and we will be helping her - sounds like fun.
The day to travel to Miami and board the Norwegian Jewel cruise ship has finally arrived - 7 December. We left Kissimmee about 7 AM and drove about 225 miles to the cruise terminal at Miami FL. We processed all the necessary papers and were in our cabin on the ship by noon. We went up to the Garden Café for lunch and then explored to see what was available to do while on the ship. After the mandatory evacuation drill, we went to deck 12 for the Sail Away Party with the Cruise Director staff as we left the port for sea at about 5 PM. We spent the next 9 days enjoying the cruise with all the great entertainment, shopping, visiting 5 different ports of call in the Caribbean, roaming the ship and EATING - you can get something to eat 24 hours a day while on a ship. Our cabin was an ocean view room on deck 5 and it was fun to watch the ship sail through the water and enjoy the sights of the villages as we were pulling in to or away from the port cities. Hopefully we will have calm seas throughout our journey and will not become seasick!!
The first full day of the cruise was a sea day and Ms JoAnne helped a group of 36 women make a Cruise Notebook so they could take notes about what they would see and do while on this cruise. They had a good time completing this project and several asked for our help. We were glad to help and enjoyed making many new friends.
The next 5 days, 9 December through 13 December, we visited 5 different islands in the Caribbean - one island each day. Our first stop was at Samana in the Dominican Republic. There was no place to dock the ship so we anchored the ship in the ocean and boarded smaller boats for our trip to shore. This process is called tendering and some of the lifeboats from the Norwegian Jewel were used to transport the passengers between the ship and shore. Ms JoAnne and Mr Ed went ashore for a short period but did not take any tour while in Samana. We went to the town shopping area, looked at merchandise for sale in various stores and had a light lunch of bread, meat, and cheese before going back to the ship. The scenery on the island was typical of a Caribbean island - lush and green, but the country is very poor and most of the people could not speak English. It was hard for Ms JoAnne and Mr Ed to communicate with the locals so they were not able to enjoy this stop as much as some of the others.
The second island we visited was Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands. We were supposed to go on an excursion to explore some of the other islands near Tortola made famous as hideways for pirates and buccaneers but the seas were rough so our excursion was cancelled. Mr Ed decided he would take another excursion which covered Tortola coast to coast so he was able to see much of the island with its mountainous terrain and lush green vegetation. He also saw someone water skiing but instead of using a boat to pull him, he used a large parachute like device and the wind provided the power for him to ski. Ms JoAnne decided to go to town and look for some craft material in the shops and took us along to help. She purchased some ribbon and paper while in town and then walked back to the ship. Although it was difficult to understand, many of the people on this island spoke English so we could better communicate here than when in the Dominican Republic.
Our third port of call was Antigua. While here we took the Antigua Highlights tour which included a Lobster Lunch and a couple of hours at the beach. This is a very beautiful tropical island and the people we met were very friendly. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and provided much information on the history and current events about her island and the people of Antigua. Again, we saw a wide variety of lush, green vegetation on Antigua. We also visited several historical sites such as the Nelson Dockyard and enjoyed the lobster lunch and time to relax at the beach. We went into the water and it was luke warm and refreshing after being in the hot sun. Ms JoAnne was caught in a wave and fell in the water with her clothes on so she had to change before we got back on the van for our return to the ship - she’s funny sometimes with the things she does! There are many famous people living on Antigua and they have a world famous gathering of yachts here in April each year so it is quite popular with the rich and famous people. This was Mr Ed’s favorite stop during the cruise and one of the most picturesque islands we visited.
The next day, 12 December, we arrived at Bridgetown, Barbados and spent the day there. Six cruise ships were in port that day so there were a lot of tourists in town. This is another port where we did not take a guided tour but went into town and looked at merchandise in several stores. After getting off our ship, we looked at the merchandise in all the shops in the little mall at the port. Ms JoAnne bought a couple of small souvenirs before we got in line to catch a taxi for the trip downtown. We had to wait a while for the taxi because of the number of other people waiting to go to town but eventually got a cab we shared with another couple. We were all good size people and trying to get us in the small vehicle was packing sardines in a can - difficult! Thank goodness Leslie and Jr were flat people and could easily fit in the crowded taxi.
Our last port of call was the island of St Lucia. We arrived in the capital city of Castries by tender boat (this was the second island we had to anchor out in the ocean and ride to the island by tender) and then went on a fabulous trip to the Rain Forest of St Lucia. The tender ride to the island was exciting as it was about a 20 minute journey over seas which were quite rough. A few people started to turn a little green around the gills during the tender ride but fortunately no one got sea sick. To get to the Rain Forest, we had to ride a bus through Castries and the St Lucia countryside for about 45 minutes. We saw many banana trees with fruit and many other plants on our trip. After leaving the highly populated area of Castries, the roads were very narrow and quite rough, and many of the houses we saw were in much need of repair. It appears a large part of the island population are very poor. Our trip through the Rain Forest was the highlight of our visit to this island. On the trip to the Rain Forest, Ms JoAnne told one of the other ladies she is afraid of height. This lady also has the same fear so they were quite concerned as we would be on an aerial tram high above the forest floor during our trip. Fortunately, another lady overheard their conversation and helped them make it through the trip by hypnotizing them before we got on the tram for the ride through the forest. There were many different varieties of trees, ferns, and other plants growing in the forest and our guide seemed to know the name for each of them - thank goodness there was no test at the end of the journey as we would surely have failed to identify all of the plants she named!! There were other people in the forest using zip lines to move from one area to another in the forest. That looked like it would be fun and Mr Ed wanted to try it but could not talk Ms JoAnne into going with him - was lucky she went on the tram ride and will probably not be able to get her to do something like that again!!!! When we reached the highest point of the ride and turned to descend, the view of the countryside and the houses on the hills was spectacular. We had so much fun on this ride, we are ready to go again.
Fourteen and Fifteen December were sea days so we were able to sleep a little later and rest up after five days of touring. Ms JoAnne had 3 more classes to teach during the sea days and had about 40 ladies at each class as she helped them make Christmas cards. We went with her and met some new people and helped with the classes - we always have great fun in helping Ms JoAnne with craft projects. During the cruise, we also met the Captain of the Norwegian Jewel. He was very kind and posed for a picture with us and gave us his autograph. We would like to travel with him again, if possible. We also made new friends at dinner one night when Mr Ed and Ms JoAnne sat at a table with three other couples. It is always nice to meet new friends and every one we met on and off the ship were very nice and friendly. Each night of the cruise,we were entertained by professional singers, comedians, jugglers and a production company that performed in 3 fabulous shows, Band on the Run, a Country music show, and a finale featuring gymnasts, dancers, and circus like trapeze acts - WOW was that a great show. The crew also performed for the passengers and some of the crew members are very talented performers. Cruising is a great way to travel and we hope to do it again sometime soon.
Our cruise ended on 16 December when we returned to Miami FL. We docked about 7 AM but were not able to get off the ship until about 8:30 AM as it took longer than expected for US Customs to clear the ship for disembarkation. This gave us a chance to say goodbye to one of the crew that adopted Mr Ed and Ms JoAnne as his grandparents for the cruise - he was a very sweet young man and we enjoyed meeting him and his friendship during the cruise. Once we got off the ship, Mr Ed went to get the car and once we had all the luggage loaded, we started the long drive from Miami to the San Antonio area. We stopped in Tallahassee FL the first night and Lake Charles LA the second night before arriving at the Hoffman house on 18 December. We slept a lot during the long trip and have continued to rest up from the long trip since getting home. It is always fun to visit other places but that makes you appreciate home much more once you get back there.
We have enjoyed our visit with the Hoffman’s and the trip we took with them but it is now time to go home to Lubbock and share our experiences with our family and friends. Take care and hope to see you again!!
FLAT LESLIE AND JR
.
THE ADVENTURES OF LESLIE AND JR
Hello Everyone!!!
We are Leslie and Jr.
We arrived at the house of JoAnne Hoffman at the end of October 2007 and made friends with Ms JoAnne and her husband Mr Ed. They welcomed us into their home and we were excited to visit with them in the San Antonio area.
We rested for a few days until Ms JoAnne took us to a gathering of Crafty ladies associated with The Angel Company, a business selling rubber stamps, paper, and other craft and scrap booking supplies. The Texas Angel Gathering was attended by about 40 women and we met many new friends and got to help make greeting cards. After that, we rested up for our big trip to Florida and the Caribbean aboard a cruise ship - the Norwegian Jewel.
We left San Antonio on 26 November and drove to Lake Charles LA to spend the night. We continued the journey through LA, MS, AL, and FL on 27 Nov - we slept a lot on the trip as it was a long day. When we first entered FL, we stopped at the Welcome Center and met the ladies behind the counter. They were very sweet and gave us visitor buttons to wear - we thought that was real neat! We arrived at the Mathewson home in Panama City FL late that afternoon and stayed with them until 30 November.
While there, we met Brian and Staci Mathewson and their daughters Miranda and Amelia. We immediately became friends and enjoyed our visit. While there, we helped Amelia with her 5th grade Math homework and read a favorite story with Miranda - she is in 7th grade. The whole family and especially the girls were very nice and we enjoyed our time with them. We also met Ms JoAnne’s son Neal and her Friend Mrs Jacobi and enjoyed a meal of fruit and pizza with them and the Mathewsons. Again, we enjoyed doing a stamp project with Ms JoAnne, Ms Staci, Miranda and Amelia - what fun!!
On 30 November, we left Panama City and drove to Kissimmee FL. While driving, we saw many pine trees and wondered why there were no bird nests in any of them. Have to investigate why - it may be the needles on the branches are too sharp for the birds to nest comfortably.
On 1 December, we rested up for a busy week of excitement - shows, theme park visits and more travel.
The second of December, we went to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede Christmas Show. It was exciting to walk by the horse stalls on the way in to the theater and see all the horses working in the show. We also met a real Southern Belle and she was kind enough to pose for a picture with us. We also had our picture taken by the Christmas Tree in the entrance of the theater. There was a pre-show juggling act which was spectacular as the juggler stood on top of a free-standing ladder and performed. The main show was also awe inspiring as there was a live nativity with Joseph, Mary, the baby Jesus, kings on real camels, shepherds and a flock of sheep, and an angel. We were truly reminded of the real meaning of Christmas. After the live nativity, there were several competitions between the North Pole and the South Pole involving horse races, pig races, ostrich races and other events. We were on the South Pole side of the arena and we were the winners of the competition. Santa arrived at the end of the show and rode around the arena in a sleigh - we had a lot of fun and enjoyed the entire show.
On 3 December, we made our first trip to Walt Disney World by going to the Epcot Theme Park. After parking the car and walking to the gate, we saw many people hurrying to get into the park -- they were very excited and that made us excited too!!! We took pictures near a flowerbed before entering the park. After entering the park we took pictures by a flower bed with bushes shaped to look like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy and Pluto’s dog house. THAT WAS NEAT!! Our first stop was the Epcot Character Spot! Here we found Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Chip and Dale. We had our picture taken with each of them and also got their autographs and many hugs and kisses. What fun we had visiting with each of them!
Our next stop was The Seas exhibit. We went to find Nemo and later went to see the fish and other sea life swimming in the large tanks. We saw dolphins, sharks, stingrays, and many other fish we were unable to name.
After leaving The Sea exhibit, we went to The Land exhibit - we took the boat ride and learned about the evolution of farming and experiments with new methods to improve food production. After looking at all the food growing in the greenhouse, we were very hungry so we decided to have some lunch.
The Imagination Center was next on our list of exhibits to visit. We took a journey into our imagination with Figment and explored our five senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste. After our visit with Figment, we went to an area with many fun things to do - one was an area with many squares on the floor with each one associated with a sound; the moo of a cow, a musical instrument, the chimes of a clock and many others. Of course, we had to step on each one to activate the sound for each square - what fun! We also visited the Kodak exhibit where some nutty professors were showing new ways to develop and print pictures - they were definitely a little wacky!!! Our last stop at the Imagination Center was to watch a short presentation of Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. This was in 3-D so many of the effects seemed very real and scary at times.
We ended the day with a stroll to the International area where many countries were represented with exhibits, food, entertainment, and souvenirs of the country. Eleven countries were represented. Some were the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, China, Japan and England - of course, there were also 4 others. We saw the shows put on by the US and Norway and feasted on bratwurst, Black Forest cake, and apple streudel with vanilla sauce at the German location - boy, it sure tasted good! The last thing we saw before heading for the park exit was a choral program including several choirs and a narrator reading the Christmas story from the Bible. It was a very moving presentation and ended with the choir singing The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s The Messiah.
We left Epcot and went back to our room totally exhausted. What a great day we had!!!
The next day, 4 December, was a very special day as we went to the Magic Kingdom of Disney World for Mickey’s VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY. The party didn’t start until 7 PM but we were able to get in to the park at 4 PM so we could do some other things before the party started. We went on The Pirates Of The Caribbean and It’s A Small World rides and enjoyed seeing all the animated characters in both - they seemed so life like it was unreal. The song at the Small World ride is so contagious we sang it all night. We also visited Mickey’s Toontown Fair where we saw Mickey, Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Winnie the Pooh and Tiger. We staked out our area for the parade early and ended up with front row seats as there was a very large crowd attending the party. Before the parade, we watched the show Celebrate The Season in front of a brightly lit Cinderella’s Castle. The cast included all of the Disney characters with Goofy as Santa Claus. Once the show was over, the parade started and was the highlight of the evening. The parade included many floats and walking acts with Mickey and Minnie on the first float and Santa and Mrs Claus on the last float. We also saw another show after the parade - the Mickey’s “Twas the Night Before Christmas” show - what a great way to hear the story of the night before Christmas. We ended the evening by watching a spectacular fireworks show which lasted for about 25 minutes - WOW, what a way to end the evening. We left the party and again returned to our room totally worn out.
The next day, 5 December, we stayed around the room and rested up from the previous two days of activity. We did go out late in the afternoon to meet the Hoffman’s grandson Alex, his wife Michelle and their children for a Pizza buffet. We ate pizza, pasta, and dessert until our tummys were full and had a great time meeting and getting to know other members of the Hoffman family.
On 6 December, we helped Ms JoAnne with laundry and packing of suitcases for our trip to Miami to board the Norwegian Jewel cruise ship for a 9 day Caribbean cruise. Ms JoAnne is a Guest Lecturer and will be teaching cruise passengers how to make cards and do scrap booking projects on the days we are at sea. She has a fun time doing this and we will be helping her - sounds like fun.
The day to travel to Miami and board the Norwegian Jewel cruise ship has finally arrived - 7 December. We left Kissimmee about 7 AM and drove about 225 miles to the cruise terminal at Miami FL. We processed all the necessary papers and were in our cabin on the ship by noon. We went up to the Garden Café for lunch and then explored to see what was available to do while on the ship. After the mandatory evacuation drill, we went to deck 12 for the Sail Away Party with the Cruise Director staff as we left the port for sea at about 5 PM. We spent the next 9 days enjoying the cruise with all the great entertainment, shopping, visiting 5 different ports of call in the Caribbean, roaming the ship and EATING - you can get something to eat 24 hours a day while on a ship. Our cabin was an ocean view room on deck 5 and it was fun to watch the ship sail through the water and enjoy the sights of the villages as we were pulling in to or away from the port cities. Hopefully we will have calm seas throughout our journey and will not become seasick!!
The first full day of the cruise was a sea day and Ms JoAnne helped a group of 36 women make a Cruise Notebook so they could take notes about what they would see and do while on this cruise. They had a good time completing this project and several asked for our help. We were glad to help and enjoyed making many new friends.
The next 5 days, 9 December through 13 December, we visited 5 different islands in the Caribbean - one island each day. Our first stop was at Samana in the Dominican Republic. There was no place to dock the ship so we anchored the ship in the ocean and boarded smaller boats for our trip to shore. This process is called tendering and some of the lifeboats from the Norwegian Jewel were used to transport the passengers between the ship and shore. Ms JoAnne and Mr Ed went ashore for a short period but did not take any tour while in Samana. We went to the town shopping area, looked at merchandise for sale in various stores and had a light lunch of bread, meat, and cheese before going back to the ship. The scenery on the island was typical of a Caribbean island - lush and green, but the country is very poor and most of the people could not speak English. It was hard for Ms JoAnne and Mr Ed to communicate with the locals so they were not able to enjoy this stop as much as some of the others.
The second island we visited was Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands. We were supposed to go on an excursion to explore some of the other islands near Tortola made famous as hideways for pirates and buccaneers but the seas were rough so our excursion was cancelled. Mr Ed decided he would take another excursion which covered Tortola coast to coast so he was able to see much of the island with its mountainous terrain and lush green vegetation. He also saw someone water skiing but instead of using a boat to pull him, he used a large parachute like device and the wind provided the power for him to ski. Ms JoAnne decided to go to town and look for some craft material in the shops and took us along to help. She purchased some ribbon and paper while in town and then walked back to the ship. Although it was difficult to understand, many of the people on this island spoke English so we could better communicate here than when in the Dominican Republic.
Our third port of call was Antigua. While here we took the Antigua Highlights tour which included a Lobster Lunch and a couple of hours at the beach. This is a very beautiful tropical island and the people we met were very friendly. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and provided much information on the history and current events about her island and the people of Antigua. Again, we saw a wide variety of lush, green vegetation on Antigua. We also visited several historical sites such as the Nelson Dockyard and enjoyed the lobster lunch and time to relax at the beach. We went into the water and it was luke warm and refreshing after being in the hot sun. Ms JoAnne was caught in a wave and fell in the water with her clothes on so she had to change before we got back on the van for our return to the ship - she’s funny sometimes with the things she does! There are many famous people living on Antigua and they have a world famous gathering of yachts here in April each year so it is quite popular with the rich and famous people. This was Mr Ed’s favorite stop during the cruise and one of the most picturesque islands we visited.
The next day, 12 December, we arrived at Bridgetown, Barbados and spent the day there. Six cruise ships were in port that day so there were a lot of tourists in town. This is another port where we did not take a guided tour but went into town and looked at merchandise in several stores. After getting off our ship, we looked at the merchandise in all the shops in the little mall at the port. Ms JoAnne bought a couple of small souvenirs before we got in line to catch a taxi for the trip downtown. We had to wait a while for the taxi because of the number of other people waiting to go to town but eventually got a cab we shared with another couple. We were all good size people and trying to get us in the small vehicle was packing sardines in a can - difficult! Thank goodness Leslie and Jr were flat people and could easily fit in the crowded taxi.
Our last port of call was the island of St Lucia. We arrived in the capital city of Castries by tender boat (this was the second island we had to anchor out in the ocean and ride to the island by tender) and then went on a fabulous trip to the Rain Forest of St Lucia. The tender ride to the island was exciting as it was about a 20 minute journey over seas which were quite rough. A few people started to turn a little green around the gills during the tender ride but fortunately no one got sea sick. To get to the Rain Forest, we had to ride a bus through Castries and the St Lucia countryside for about 45 minutes. We saw many banana trees with fruit and many other plants on our trip. After leaving the highly populated area of Castries, the roads were very narrow and quite rough, and many of the houses we saw were in much need of repair. It appears a large part of the island population are very poor. Our trip through the Rain Forest was the highlight of our visit to this island. On the trip to the Rain Forest, Ms JoAnne told one of the other ladies she is afraid of height. This lady also has the same fear so they were quite concerned as we would be on an aerial tram high above the forest floor during our trip. Fortunately, another lady overheard their conversation and helped them make it through the trip by hypnotizing them before we got on the tram for the ride through the forest. There were many different varieties of trees, ferns, and other plants growing in the forest and our guide seemed to know the name for each of them - thank goodness there was no test at the end of the journey as we would surely have failed to identify all of the plants she named!! There were other people in the forest using zip lines to move from one area to another in the forest. That looked like it would be fun and Mr Ed wanted to try it but could not talk Ms JoAnne into going with him - was lucky she went on the tram ride and will probably not be able to get her to do something like that again!!!! When we reached the highest point of the ride and turned to descend, the view of the countryside and the houses on the hills was spectacular. We had so much fun on this ride, we are ready to go again.
Fourteen and Fifteen December were sea days so we were able to sleep a little later and rest up after five days of touring. Ms JoAnne had 3 more classes to teach during the sea days and had about 40 ladies at each class as she helped them make Christmas cards. We went with her and met some new people and helped with the classes - we always have great fun in helping Ms JoAnne with craft projects. During the cruise, we also met the Captain of the Norwegian Jewel. He was very kind and posed for a picture with us and gave us his autograph. We would like to travel with him again, if possible. We also made new friends at dinner one night when Mr Ed and Ms JoAnne sat at a table with three other couples. It is always nice to meet new friends and every one we met on and off the ship were very nice and friendly. Each night of the cruise,we were entertained by professional singers, comedians, jugglers and a production company that performed in 3 fabulous shows, Band on the Run, a Country music show, and a finale featuring gymnasts, dancers, and circus like trapeze acts - WOW was that a great show. The crew also performed for the passengers and some of the crew members are very talented performers. Cruising is a great way to travel and we hope to do it again sometime soon.
Our cruise ended on 16 December when we returned to Miami FL. We docked about 7 AM but were not able to get off the ship until about 8:30 AM as it took longer than expected for US Customs to clear the ship for disembarkation. This gave us a chance to say goodbye to one of the crew that adopted Mr Ed and Ms JoAnne as his grandparents for the cruise - he was a very sweet young man and we enjoyed meeting him and his friendship during the cruise. Once we got off the ship, Mr Ed went to get the car and once we had all the luggage loaded, we started the long drive from Miami to the San Antonio area. We stopped in Tallahassee FL the first night and Lake Charles LA the second night before arriving at the Hoffman house on 18 December. We slept a lot during the long trip and have continued to rest up from the long trip since getting home. It is always fun to visit other places but that makes you appreciate home much more once you get back there.
We have enjoyed our visit with the Hoffman’s and the trip we took with them but it is now time to go home to Lubbock and share our experiences with our family and friends. Take care and hope to see you again!!
FLAT LESLIE AND JR
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