Sunday, July 18, 2010

The gang's all here!

Wow! Just noticed I haven't posted in awhile. To make up for it, I have puppy pix!

That's right -- Razzie had her puppies on May 22, and we brought her home (for good) yesterday. And we resisted the temptation to add to the family -- we think we deserve a gold star!

The puppies are: boys -- Bailey, Bolt, Billy and Moses; girls -- Ditta and Rosa. (For those of you less familiar with running they are all the names of famous runners -- talk to Rich, who suggested the names.)

Here are some shots of the little wigglers (who start going home to their permanent homes today).

Hiya!
Hello!
Ooo ... you must have something good in your hand.
Momma Raz guarding the pups from Bo!
Puppy nose!
Tired from playing
Bogey relaxing after some horsing around with Raz.
Raz back as queen of the castle -- after her 2 1/4 mile run with Rich this morning.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Cruise Days 8, 9 & 10 -- Aruba, At Sea and San Juan

So Aruba was the last of the islands we were to visit. Joce Z. and I headed out for a little retail therapy in the morning as we had an afternoon snorkel planned. Richard in the meantime had a run up to Hooiberg Hill.

Here are some shots from Rich's run.

Cactus in the Caribbean

Hooiberg Hill

The steps up

The view at the top

Shots of Oranjestad

Hooiberg Hill as we leave Aruba... 

The beach and our priate ship

The Antilles wreck

A fishy friend

San Juan, Puerto Rico
Conclusion
We're done for now ... but ready to go back!!!

Cruise Day 7 & 8 -- At Sea and CuraƧao

Not much to say about the at sea day, except that we swam at ate (and repeated many times).

As I already mentioned (boo! hiss!) I forgot my underwater camera when Joce Z. and I headed over to Jan Thiel Bay for a morning of snorkelling. This was really unfortunate as it was without a doubt the best snorkelling I have ever done. Schools of fish and super healthy coral. Go on to youtube and search for Jan Thiel -- there's a couple really beautiful videos (unfortunately, about how this area is under threat for development). I would go back here in a heartbeat.

Rich spent the morning running up the coastline and the headed over to the town to take some snaps. As it was Good Friday, most of the stores were closed, but Willemsted is a very pretty town.

On the run

Flamingoes!
Willemsted

The famous pontoon bridge 

Cruise Days 4 and 5 -- Barbados & Grenada

Barbados
Been there, done that.This was a relaxed day for us ... visited Brandon's Beach, did some shopping and hung out on the ship.

Brandon's Beach
Carlisle Bay
Grenada 
Our plan for the day was hike through the rainforest. On the way we crossed a nutmeg plantation and went down a very steep and long (25 minutes down) hill to reach the waterfalls. Sooo worth it though. Grenada is a very beautiful island, and of course, being the spice island, I stocked up!

A representation of the flag of Grenada (note the nutmeg on the left) 
A view of the island
 
A rainbow mahogany tree
Highest point on the island
Beautiful flowers and plants
On the way down ...
Our guide, Rooster, telling us all about the spices grown in Grenada
Pineapples
The falls
On the way back up
A beautiful butterfly
Pictures of St. George's