Our last day

Today we woke up early and enjoyed the B&B breakfast. I had nightmares last night about Robert the doll (did you google him?) so of course the first thing I told Jim was, "We must go taunt that doll!". So after checking out of our lodging, we took off to see the museum that houses creepy Robert. And creepy doesn't even begin to cover it. If you don't know his story or don't want to google him, let me tell you about Robert. Robert is a doll who was given to a child named Eugene in 1906, by the family's Bahamian servant who was skilled in black magic. Because the servant was unhappy with Eugene's family, she cursed them through Robert the doll. The family swore they could hear Robert talking to Eugene and neighbors often said that Robert would move about the house, looking out windows when the family was not at home. Strange and bad occurrences took place when Robert was around and Eugene was often said to tell everyone, "Robert did it!". Robert was eventually locked in a trunk when Eugene died in 1972. The family who bought Eugene's house found Robert and shortly thereafter began to have the same bad happenings as Eugene's family did. Robert was said to eventually drive the new homeowner insane. Robert now resides in a small museum and is said to still haunt anyone who makes fun of him. It is said that if you want a picture of Robert, you must ask his permission and wait until he grants it by tilting his head. If Robert does not grant permission, you will be cursed if you take a picture anyway.
I was excited to be in the same room as Robert. I was even more excited that Jim and I were the only people in the entire museum. I wanted a picture. I approached Robert. Nothing happened. I said, "Well hi there, Robert! May I please take your picture?". Nothing happened. I walked around the exhibit and read Robert's fan mail. (Robert receives tons of letters each year asking him to please lift a curse, or for forgiveness. Robert even has letters and birthday cards from presidents Bush and Clinton) I approached Robert again and whispered, "I don't care if you give me permission or not you crappy old doll! I want a picture!". So I took my picture. This may have been a bad move. We wandered around a bit more and I was overjoyed to see a skeleton sitting on an old fashioned wheelchair and an antique hearse. The odd thing is, there were no descriptions of these items so I still don't know what the heck this museum was.
Once we were done with Robert, we stopped at a Cuban sandwich shop for cafe con leches and sandwiches for dinner then started the journey back to Fort Lauderdale. On the way, I made Jim stop at Shell World because any store with the world 'World' behind it has to be exciting! Its a whole WORLD of SHELLS! It did not disappoint! We finally made it back to Fort Lauderdale (and passed some 'Alligator crossing' signs on the way!). We returned our rental car and checked into our hotel for the night. Tomorrow we will be at the airport for the long flights home, with a long layover in Chicago. Because I don't particularly think sitting in airports are exciting, and therefore think reading about sitting in airports would be REALLY not exciting, there won't be a blog post tomorrow. What I can say tonight is that these last 26 days have been wonderful despite some things not going exactly as planned. For those of you who have helped us get here: WE SIMPLY CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH!!! And for those of you who have followed our adventures through my blog, thank you too!!! There were nights when I was tired and didn't feel like writing but would remember an email, text or Facebook comment where people said they looked forward to reading this each day. So I kept at it and now we have a great little diary of our trip. Thank you!!! Jim asked if I was going to keep the blog up and my answer? Maybe! I love reading friends' blogs when they post fun things they've done with their kids, good recipes, or home projects. So who knows, maybe I'll keep it up. And maybe Jim will post about whatever it is men like to do. (Ha!) But again, thank you for reading!
So for the last time on this trip we say goodnight from the Ebbers!

Addendum:
Dear Robert,
I am so sorry that I called you a crappy little doll today while I was at your museum. I didn't mean it, I just really wanted a picture of you to scare my blog readers. Please forgive me and I will tell everyone what a terrific doll you are. I really do not want a curse on my head, especially since I am getting on an airplane tomorrow. Thanks, Robert!
Your friend,
Kari
PS, Jim is also sorry that he said you're not scary.

Conch Republic, Day 2

It's so strange to get to explore the same city two days in a row since we've been on a constant move for almost a month now. And explore we did! We woke up early again this morning and went downstairs for coffee and breakfast. This B&B actually had a nice breakfast prepared for us. We then walked over to the southernmost point of the US for a photo opportunity. We decided that our best bet for getting to know more about the city was to take one of the tour trolleys that allowed us to hop on / hop off. We were able to spend a lot of time on foot this way as well. I would never have guessed this but apparently Key West has the largest number of historical buildings in the US. I enjoyed seeing the historical architecture as well. And really, how can you not love a city that has thousands of wild chickens roaming the streets? One of our stops took us to a really neat toy store where we were able to get a few small gifts for our nephew's birthday. (See picture). We had photo opportunities everywhere we went today. As lunch time approached, neither of us were very hungry so we decided to get some Cuban coffee and (what else) an order of plantains to share. We took our snack to the southernmost beach and enjoyed it while looking at the turquoise water. We boarded the trolley once again and took it to the Green Parrot Bar, which is a Key West icon. It's located in a building that was once the local morgue so of course we had to get drinks here. We continued hopping on and off the trolley like this all day, until we felt like we'd seen a good amount of Key West. When we hopped on the trolley for our last ride, to get back to our B&B, the driver recognized us. We were the only people on his last tour so he decided to take some different routes and gave us a one on one private tour. This last ride was probably the most informative part of our day! After arriving at the B&B, we dropped off our shopping bags and headed out for a quick dinner of lobster roll and conch fritters. On our way to dinner we heard MORE KARAOKE, this time someone was singing 'Wind Beneath My Wings'. Badly. I don't know if Key West is the karaoke capital of the world, but it should be! Today we are still exhausted but it's a good kind of exhausted. Tomorrow we may or may not go see a museum that is home to Robert the haunted doll. I'm scared just thinking about it. As for tonight, we are curling up to watch some good ol' American junk tv before going to bed. If any of you are up for a good spooky story before bed, I suggest you look up Robert the Doll. Just don't say I didn't warn you!

The Conch Republic

Here we are, finally on dry land and on the last leg of our vacation. Early this morning we arrived at Fort Lauderdale (like, 6 am!) and had our last "usual breakfast" on the ship. We then lined up to disembark and go through customs. We were in a cab on our way to the car rental place by 8am. We rented our car and immediately started out for Key West, which ended up being about a 3 and a half hour drive. As we arrived in town, we stopped at the Winn Dixie supermarket to pick up some milk. Did you know you can purchase chum for fishing here? Yep, it's located in the freezer aisle, right next to the ice cream! Who knew?? Anyway, we finally arrived at the Avalon Bed and Breakfast, our home base for the next few days. We walked around the downtown area for a bit, stopping to grab some conch fritters for lunch (yum!). On our way back to the B&B, we tried a slice of key lime pie, dipped in chocolate. Oh my, that thing was dangerous. Mom, if there was a way to bring some home, I would. You would love it! We checked out the pool area and said hello to the resident cat (aka, world's fattest cat. I couldn't tell if he was purring when I pet him or if he was having breathing problems due to his weight) Today we've noticed that we are simply exhausted. I don't know if it's from the month of traveling, and knowing we are in the home stretch or what, but we needed a nap this afternoon. Our initial impression of Key West is that it's a party town, which made us more exhausted. I guess we aren't as young as we used to be! After our nap, we showered and set out for a mile long walk to a neighborhood Cuban sandwich place that was supposed to be the best. On our way there we walked down Duval Street which is the main drag here, and full of bars, restaurants and shops. You know how they say you haven't lived until you've heard a flamboyant, intoxicated man sing JLo songs in a karaoke bar? Well, Jim and I can say after tonight that we've lived. (Ok, so maybe they don't say that but how else was I supposed to work that into the blog? It was too good to not mention!) We arrived at our sandwich place just as they were getting ready to close at 7 and ordered a meal to share. We took a quieter route back to the B&B (no JLo karaoke) and ate dinner on the covered porch. Now, we are exhausted and full so that seems to be a good combination for sleep. Goodnight, and sweet karaoke dreams!

Florida or bust

Today was our last port day and to be honest, it was a bit of a disappointment. We were up early and enjoyed our usual breakfast (man, I'm going to miss having breakfast made for me every day!). We arrived in the Bahamas, at our ship's private island for what I thought would be a fun beach day. Then the cattle call started. We were herded into a dining room and were given numbers to be called for the tender boats. Since there are no docks on this island, we had to use the tenders to get there. Jim and I were given numbers for the first boat. Unfortunately when the first group was called, every single person who wanted to go ashore, got up regardless of their number. There was line cutting, pushing, and I was over the experience before we even got started. We did get on to a tender and eventually arrived on land. The beach had a lot of debris from the recent hurricane and the lounge chairs were so close together, you'd better like your neighbor. Our neighbor was smoking a cigar. We moved. Our next neighbor lit a cigarette. We moved again. Then a group of off duty crew members stood behind our chairs and all of them were smoking. I started to wonder if Marlboro actually owned this beach. Jim tested the water and reported that it was colder than we were used to. That's all it took to get me to say, "Let's get off this island!". We were on the next tender back to the ship, less than 45 minutes since we'd arrived. We decided a nice quiet day at the pool was in order so that's what we did. And quiet it was! I even fell asleep! After my nap, we went to grab some lunch in the piazza and to say goodbye to our favorite waitress down there. And we said goodbye to all of those amazing little desserts too. More than a few tears were shed for the chocolate pudding. (Don't laugh, it's like heaven in a bowl.) We then enjoyed a cocktail on our quite private balcony before packing up our junk. Tonight we've decided to continue our quiet theme with dinner in the room. We actually see an incredible sunset as I write this. By tomorrow, we should be in Fort Lauderdale and then in a car on our way to Key West for the last part of this amazing trip. As for me, I think I'll go say one more little goodnight to that pudding!

Last full day at sea

Tomorrow we arrive on a private island in the Bahamas and Saturday morning we arrive at Fort Lauderdale to disembark, so this is our official last full day at sea! We got up early and there were very few people out and about (I guess that's what happens when you go to bed at the same time a preschooler would!). I took the opportunity to take some pictures of our favorite places to show you all. After breakfast we wandered around and came back to the room to enjoy our quiet balcony. Once we decided we were ready for lunch, we went to have one last "pub" lunch of fish and chips. Apparently everyone else had the same idea because there was a long long line. We waited, because what else do we have to do? After lunch we went to get our giggles at the art auction but there weren't as many people willing to shell out the big bucks this time so it was kind of dull. We also went to look at the pictures that the camera guys force us to take every time we exit the ship. Oddly enough, we weren't able to find any from the last 8 days. Maybe they inherently know that I'm way too cheap to purchase their crummy $20 picture and therefore don't bother printing them? Or maybe we are so stunningly exquisite that they've submitted our photos to a top modeling agency? Either way, we don't have much to prove we were actually ON the ship. We were both surprised at how very crowded the ship feels today and we are both ready to be away from the crowds. We ended up returning to our balcony again to read a kindle (Jim) and make funny noises to distract people who were reading their kindle (Kari). Tonight was quiet and boring, with a light dinner and movie in our room. We've become little hermit crabs in the evenings, I'm starting to wonder what our room steward thinks of us. Oh and I'm a little embarrassed that we are on a first name basis with the room service girl. We did receive a US Customs form to fill out for Saturday, which really nudged the reality for me that this vacation is winding to an end. Still, I think we're ready to get back home. Hopefully I'll have something interesting to share tomorrow. Below, you'll see a picture of us at our best, our usual breakfast, our feet in an empty elevator (a rare thing since these elevators are usually packed), our favorite pool, a life preserver (I don't know why we included that?), and finally the piazza area. Goodnight!

St. Thomas Sailing

Today we had an early arrival in St. Thomas, USVI. I love St. Thomas and have fond memories from a trip I took here several years ago with a group of girlfriends. I was aware, however, when we were planning our day here that there would be 5 large ships docked with us today, bringing over 16,000 people with them. We just wanted to escape the crowds and do something...different. Luckily, I came across a guy named Chad who was a former US Navy guy who moved to St. Thomas 3 years ago and bought a boat from an old sailor. He and his wife left everything, including his wife's thriving law practice and they now charter out their 37 foot sailboat to groups no larger than 6 people for day trips to St. John or wherever the group wants to go. (Dad, I think it was called a Hurricane 37, does that ring a bell?). Anyway, we had our coffees and got off the ship and we happened to be the very first people off today. Even the staff wasn't exactly sure yet which way to have us exit. We managed to wrangle a cab to the yacht harbor even though nobody wanted to take us there. Taxis here are open air trucks or large vans and they charge per person, so the more people they can cram in, the better. We didn't have time to wait so we paid dearly for our private cab. It was kind of fun going through rush hour traffic with an angry taxi driver. I have learned that no matter where I live, if I am either a) insane or b) very, very, angry I will apparently qualify for a taxi driver job. If I'm both a and b, I'll probably OWN the cab company. Anyway, we arrived at the marina and had a look around. We bought some locally made hot sauce from the market there and waited for our captain. We were met by Chad and his first mate, along with a couple from Colorado and a couple from Michigan, both of whom were experienced sailors and seemed like nice, solid people. Our boat was named the Rumbaba (which Captain Chad explained was the name of the Hindu God of irresponsibility). We went over some safety stuff and left the harbor. Winds were perfect for sailing and we collectively decided we would all like to snorkel as much as possible during the day. The first mate served us some cinnamon bread and our choice of drinks. Jim and I tried both the guava and mango juices, which for some reason I never drink at home but when in Rome...
Our first stop was Caneel Bay where we dove right in and swam about 100 yards to some coral beds for snorkeling. Because this area is virtually unvisited by tourists, the coral was large and healthy. Every time I snorkel it seems like we focus on the fish and sea creatures but let me tell you, the coral is really just as magnificent! The colors are vibrant and we did manage to see some brightly colored fish as well. We swam for a while and then got back on board for drinks and appetizers while the first mate put our lunches together. Jim and I tried a drink called a "pain killer" which was pineappley and coconutty and very delicious. (I got the recipe, party at our house when we get home!)
Lunch was an amazing grilled mahi mahi with pasta, salad, and garlic bread. We ate while sunning on the bow of the boat. Perfect! After lunch we set sail for an even more private area, set off of a private island. We did some more snorkeling and attempted to find an octopus and a barracuda that the captain said lived in the area. We didn't find our inky or bitey friends but did see large schools of fish in every color of the rainbow. After a long day, we set sail back to our yacht harbor and took a little yellow dingy to the dock. At $140 per person, (plus tip) it was a pricey day but totally worth every penny to escape the crowds and have a quiet day with some nice people. We looked through a few junk touristy shops once we caught our taxi back to the ship and are now getting ready to have a quick pizza dinner. We only have 3 more nights on this ship and while we've enjoyed it immensely, we are ready for land again. Below are a few pictures from our day. Also, I'd like to shout out a big hello to Jim's (and mine now) Aunt Ellie and Uncle Bill! I saw your comment that you've been reading the blog, so thank you! Also to Carol and Meril, if you guys are reading, hello to you too!
As for us, we are going to call it a day, and go shower before feeding our coconuts. Goodbye until tomorrow, when I'll be reporting about our exciting sea day!

Diving for dollars

Sand dollars, that is! Today we were on the island of St. Kitts. We started off with our usual breakfast and were one of the first to disembark. Our goal today was to relax and enjoy some beach time so we took a taxi van to a remote area called Friars Bay on the Caribbean sea. There was a dive of a place called the Shipwreck Bar and Grill on the beach, where we rented some beach chairs, ordered some cold drinks and settled in for the day. The bar had facilities but as you'll see below, they were primitive. We did a little snorkeling and while it wasn't great for fish spotting, it was an awesome place to dive for shells. We now have quite the collection, including some sand dollars and a conch. I dove about 15 feet down in one area and came up with a huge conch that weighed at least 5 pounds. I dragged that sucker all the way back onto shore, only to be told by Jim that it was unreasonable to transport it home. I know he's right (plus the thing was stinky) but I sure wish I'd kept it. I did take a picture of it to remember. We had a lunch of local grouper and plantains and ordered a couple more drinks. There really weren't many people around to entertain us but there were monkeys! St Kitts is apparently home to tree monkeys who like to hang out at bars. I had great fun watching a couple of monkeys slap each other around and managed to get a few pictures. There were also some mongoose hanging around but they were a bit camera shy. We had a great day here and time flew by. We decided to share a taxi van back to town to do some shopping. The winding dirt roads leading away from the bar, combined with a rust-bucket type van and a driver who may or may not have been drinking all day, lead to an "interesting" ride to town. I kept seeing headlines "Tourists Die After Van Plunges Off Cliff" in my head. We did however, arrive safely in town and Jim and I set off to find a grocery store. If you want the real feel of an area, along with a great cross-section of local life, visit the market where locals shop. We've tried to do this in every place, and it's always good for a cheap snack and fun experience. Today's snack was spicy plantains (again, yay!) and banana soft drink, before walking back to the port. We plan on having a light dinner before turning in for the night. We are tired after all this monkeying around today! Goodbye until tomorrow!

Turtles!

Hello from Barbados! Last night we decided that at least once during this trip we needed to order room service for breakfast, so today that's how we started the day. I had heard about on area off shore that was known for its large number of sea turtles and really wanted to see it so that's what we decided to do. We had the option of booking a $75 per person tour to be boated out to these turtles, where they'd let us swim in a large group for 10 minutes to gawk and feed the turtles. $75 is a lot of money that could be used for better things (ahem, shopping...) I didn't want to spend $75. And boat rides are for sissys, right? Let's just swim out there, Jim, I said. It'll be fun I said. We took a $15/20 minute taxi ride to the closest beach to the alleged turtle spot. We rented beach chairs and set out for a 1 mile (round trip) swim to where we saw the boats with loads of tourists. And guess what? Turtles!!! They weren't shy and we did see enough to make us both happy. The weather was a bit overcast and visibility wasn't great for much else but when we saw the turtles, they were right in front of our faces. I loved them. We did a bit more swimming and enjoyed our beach time too. The pictures also show my little crab friend that kept me entertained for a while. The beach was primitive with no facilities. Ah but this is the Caribbean and there are always "entrepreneurs" ready to take your money. We were approached by quite a few selling various junk. Some vendors were more colorful than others, including a ripe-smelling man who called himself Crazy Eddie. Crazy Eddie sells aloe, scraped fresh from a leaf. He preys on tourists who are beet red from their first days under that strong caribbean sun. When Crazy Eddie saw Jim I think he saw the colors red (Jim's skin) and green (Jim's money). Poor Jim, he never saw it coming. Before he even knew what was happening, Crazy Eddie had smeared his Crazy Aloe all over Jim's head, arms, and legs. I think Jim was actually relieved Crazy Eddie didn't try to give him a Crazy Massage too. Of course Crazy Eddie wanted payment for "services rendered" and that's when Crazy Kari had to tell him to scram and not to even THINK about touching her with the aloe. We didn't see Crazy Eddie again after that.
We finished up our day, took another taxi into downtown just to walk around and see the area. We had a snack of pineapple drink and plantain chips before returning to the ship. When we returned to our cabin tonight, we had a note on our door (see picture). I guess our neighbor 4 stories up threw some orange peels on to our balcony. The note was from his wife, apologizing and explaining that her husband had Alzheimer's disease and that she would be happy to clean up the peels. That tugged at my heart a little, making me think of my grandpa, and his Alzheimer's and of my grandma's sweet way of caring for him during his last few years. We decided to order some chocolate covered strawberries and I sent Jim up with them and a note telling her to please not worry about orange peels.
Dinner was a simple one at the poolside grill tonight for us tonight, followed by a dessert and coffees in our favorite area, the piazza. We need to do some laundry tonight and are planning on an early bedtime. What can I say, the old people from the last cruise segment really rubbed off on us. Goodnight from The Crazy Ebbers!