thefouramigosblog

Bruce and I decided to join a tour today that went to the Cayman Turtle Centre. It started on the wrong foot having to rise and meet up in the theater by 8:15. For some reason, this always reminds me of being herded like cattle.

Turned out it wasn’t too bad. We had a short tender ride to port.

We shared a bus trip with about 30 people and a driver from Jamaica. He was very informative, relaying the history of Grand Cayman. Christopher Columbus discovered the Cayman Islands in 1503 and named them Las Tortugas, after the sea turtles observed in the sea.

We arrived at the center and our first stop was what appeared to be a mating pond. Large turtles mate here and the sandy area is where they lay their eggs.

We washed out hands and were allowed to touch smaller turtles in different holding areas.

The Center works with the turtles and helps them return to the sea. Some of the eggs are placed on quiet beaches in the Caymans. Turtles once leaving the nest usually return to the same beach every year even when they are hundreds of miles away.

We entered the lagoon to snorkel with the turtles. They told us not to touch them but a few of them bumped into me.

There were lots of fish as well!

We were there during feeding time which was interesting. Especially watching them hand feed the nurse sharks.

They also had a fresh water pool at the centre where we spent the rest of our time relaxing in the water.

All in all, it was a very pleasant day and if you are ever on Grand Cayman, you must visit the Cayman Turtle Center.

Back to the boat for coffee with friends!

#celebrityedge#apex#grandcayman#caymanturtlecentre#seaturtles#shiptours#travel#excursions#sharks#feeding

We are off on another adventure. This time on one of Celebrity’s newer ships, the Apex. It’s part of the Edge series and we are loving it!

We started off with our Lyft ride to Port Everglades. I use Lyft because I earn 5 X points on every dollar spent using my Chase Sapphire card.

Boarding was fairly easy. A little bit of a line but it kept moving, taking only about 15 minutes to get on the ship. That’s a plus for me!

We did our pre-cruise safety drill on our drive to the port and then went directly to our muster station after boarding.

Next, we headed to our cabin to drop off our rolling back packs. Wow what a cabin. The balcony is really interesting. You can open the upper part of the window. It’s sort of like the verandah is part of the cabin! Nice bed and unbelievable amount of storage.

We ate lunch at the Ocean View Cafe and then strolled around the pool areas. They have an outside pool and an indoor solarium for adults only.

The ship is quite amazing. We joined a tour with a group of people which toured decks three, four and five.

At the spa, I won a day pass at the thermal suites. Then off to dinner and of course I had escargot. I remembered to take a picture after I finished it.

I scheduled an 8:30 pm massage which was wonderful. The relaxation room was nice but at night there was no view.

We played a bit in the casino and then headed to bed.

In the morning we went to a silent meditation. Afterward, we did a stretch class and Cha Cha lessons.

Then off to lunch. What an array of pastries. The baklava was delicious.

Our afternoon was a bit lazy. We relaxed at the rooftop garden and watched a pickleball game.

They also have something called the Magic Carpet. This structure extends over the water.

We met up with some friends and drank coffee and spent time chatting!

Dinner was great. We ate with a couple from Philadelphia and two women from Vancouver. I had Steak Dianne which was delicious and another escargot. I think I might have to skip the escargot tomorrow night. My ankles are swelling from the sodium. I usually have skinny ankles.

The show tonight was phenomenal. Great music, dancing, acrobatics and the staging was stunning.

Tomorrow we land in Grand Cayman!

#celebritycruises#celebrityapex#edgeseries#cruising#travel#lyft##points#chasesapphire#ocean#caribbean

What a way to start a morning in the beautiful surf.

Lauren was off to the gym while Kadyn and I enjoyed our time on the beach.

A beautiful day chilling. No worries. We ate at the Italian restaurant and the food was good. We decided not to have high expectations but it was much better than we thought.

First, the bread was delicious. For an appetizer, we shared good burrata. Next, we shared chicken parmesan and spinach-stuffed cannelloni.

After dinner, we headed over to watch the shows. The fire show was amazing.

And then a Queen tribute which was loads of fun.

Today Lauren and Kadyn went to the gym while I relaxed at the pool. Then Lauren joined me for water aerobics.

We spent a few hours by the pool swimming and listening to live music.

In the afternoon, we had fun on the beach. Waves weren’t much but Kadyn tried boogie boarding.

Virgin pina coladas are a Kadyn favorite.

Kadyn and Lauren went to the foam party while I decided to rest.

We ate at the buffet which was pretty good.

At dark, we went to the beach to check out the full moon.

Our last day was very relaxing. We spent time walking around the lazy river and then headed to the spa.

It was Kadyn’s first massage. We each had a 20-minute body scrub and an 80-minute massage. We were all in the same group which made it special.

For dinner, we ate at the buffet again.

The early show was circus acts which was fun.

The later show was a pirate show. We stayed for a bit but left early because we needed to finish packing. Our ride to the airport is at 6:20 am. So much for sleeping in.

We had a great time. Super relaxing mixed with exercise and the beach. A great time with my girls!

#puntacana#dominicanrepublic#spa#girlstrip#royaltonbavaro#beach#lazyriver#sunshine

We were off on another adventure. This time to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We met up at Miami Airport to begin our journey.

For those who haven’t traveled to the Dominican Republic, you have to fill out paperwork on line to board the plane. You also need to fill out paperwork to leave the country. It all gets very confusing so start early.

Alas we arrived at our hotel, the Royalton Bavaro in Punta Cana. It is an all-inclusive resort.

We booked a family suite to accommodate the three of us.

The resort has so much to offer. We all went to check out the beach and the water was quite rough.

The sun was almost setting with a vivid pink sky promising a beautiful tomorrow.

Kadyn and I went for a swim in the infinity pool while Lauren went to the gym. The swim up bar was closed for the night.

We stopped briefly to check out this swim area we called the cave. It actually was part of the lazy river.

For dinner, we decided on Zen, a restaurant specializing in Japanese cuisine. It was a lot of fun and Kadyn even cooked a bit!

After dinner, we watched a Michael Jackson Tribute Show.

And some great break dancing.

It was a wonderful first day.

Tuesday we slept in and then headed to the gym.

We stopped at the cafe for a coffee and some pastries.

And off to the beach.

We relaxed on comfy loungers under a thatched roof umbrella. The ocean was lovely. Many vendors came by to sell their wares but not overly aggressive. One guy had an entire garment rack.

We spent time in the pool afterwards and went around the lazy river.

We were served virgin pina coladas in pineapples.

For dinner, we ate at Rios, a Brazilian steakhouse. It was memorable because the good was so bad.

We watched a late night show and then off to bed.

#dominicanrepublic#royaltonbavaro#rios#girlstrip#puntacana#beach#michaeljackson#allinclusive#vacation

Hurricane Milton is heading straight towards the state of Florida. It’s a massive storm and it just was clocked in at 150 mph. Its a cat 4.

Hopefully, we will be spared but we are preparing anyway. We are filling up on gas. It’s always good to have a full tank. The lines were long but we are t in a rush.

Its important to have drinking water. And canned goods. Power outages can last for days or weeks. So it’s important to have enough drinking water.

Flashlights are essential and batteries. Candles are nice but could be dangerous and lead to a fire.

We are collecting rain water in case we need to flush toilets.

All little items outside the house are brought inside. That includes wall hangings.

We stacked our community pool furniture next to the pool house. And put away anything that could be a projectile weapon.

We are mostly prepared. Awaiting further developments to see if we need to put down our shutters. As of now, we will have winds and rain, and gusts up to 50 mph. I don’t think its necessary to put down shutters unless it is forecast to 70 mph. We have hurricane windows.

For now we are ready in southeast Florida.

My daughter and her husband were going away for the weekend so Bruce and I flew from West Palm Beach Airport to Raleigh on Breeze Airlines. It’s a relatively new no-frills airline started by the guy who started Jet Blue.

Our seats were roomy which cost a bit more. And the plane was clean and apparently pretty new. They were two-seaters. They served free coffee, tea, or water but everything else was for purchase.

We made it to Raleigh in good time and picked up our car at Budget. The first car, once started, said it needed service so they gave us a different one.

We spent some time with Lauren and Mike at Sully’s Golf and Gather before Kadyn and I headed back to the house.

Friday, Bruce and I met up with some old friends and had coffee and cake. Afterward, Kadyn and I went to the nail salon.

We had our usual pedicures. And Kadyn had a special manicure.

For dinner, we ate at Kobe’s Japanese Steakhouse. We ordered a sushi boat. Boy was that delicious.

To top it all off we saw an amazing sunset.

Saturday we did a little retail therapy in preparation for the homecoming dance.

Spent some time playing with Breezy the bunny. She loves blueberries and will do tricks for them.

Now for the fun stuff. We met up with Kadyn’s date at Sully’s and played some simulator golf.

After a light supper we drove them to the dance.

All in all, a fun trip to spend time with my granddaughter.

#raleigh#northcarolina#sullysgolf&gather#breeze#weekend