May 23 - Fort Lauderdale and finally home

This post is brought to you by my memory, which isn't the best, because I neglected to make any notes. As you'll find out, the day was pretty darn memorable and not necessarily for entirely good reasons.

I don't recall exactly when I left the ship, but it was around 8:30 or 9 a.m. First up was finding my suitcase among the multitude of bags. My bag is a bright teal blue, and my ticket was red. Hmmm....no red signs that I could see. I finally asked a worker and was pointed toward a sign that looked pink in my estimation where I quickly found my luggage. A cursory review at the US customs desk and I was heading for my bus for my morning tour in the waterways. 

My flight wasn't scheduled until 4:15 p.m., so it made sense to book the excursion as my luggage would remain in storage on the bus until drop-off at the airport at 12:30 p.m. It was
a wet, cool day, but I quite enjoyed the excursion. We were delayed along the way as the Vice-President was visiting the city, and several blocks were blocked off by the police. Our destination was the Carrie B, a paddlewheeler. 

The boat is well equipped with restrooms and a small concession stand providing drinks and snacks. On the enclosed lower level are several tables for passengers to gather. The upper level is partially covered, but I did spend much of my time out on the deck taking photos. It rained off and on, and I had to keep ducking in under cover to stay only moderately wet. Here are some of my favorites:

I had done a similar tour on the Jungle Queen, another paddleboat, several years ago, which took us past some of these houses on our way to a nature preserve. I remember this one, because the tower is supposed gilded with gold.

At this point, we were turning around to return. The clouds were low, but we were out of the rain for the moment.

While it appears these people were getting wet, they are actually statues!

On our way back to the wharf we passed the Ruby Princess. 

At that point, the majority of the passengers would have disembarked and the eager guests for the afternoon sailing were likely queuing up in the terminal.

We also passed this play structure. Wouldn't Eli (or any other youngster) have fun in/on that? I don't even want to hazard a guess at the cost. 

Shortly after docking, we were back on the bus and off to the airport. This is when things went a little sideways.

After waiting to drop my bags, I learned my flight out of Fort Lauderdale was delayed until 6:30 p.m., meaning I would likely miss my connecting flight in Toronto for home. After a conversation with the rep, Air Canada provided a voucher for a cab to send me to the Miami airport (about 35-45 minutes away) as they had an earlier flight to Toronto scheduled. Ha! 

When I arrived at the Miami airport just after 2 p.m., I wasn't able to print my luggage tags at the kiosks as the printers were down. That meant standing in a long line to reach the counter.

By the time I got through that line-up it was about 2:45, and the line for security was even longer. This photo was taken after I'd stood in the line for nearly 20-30 minutes. I was starting to think I wouldn't make it to my gate in time to board! The sign indicates another 20-24 minutes to security.

Eventually, I made it through security and made a run for my gate, as the plane ought to have loading by this time. Ha again! The board indicated the flight was delayed until 5:05 p.m. This gave me some time to grab a (not so) quick bite to eat, though the two restaurants nearby declined to accept the meal voucher the Air Canada rep had given me. I wasn't too fussed about it, as I had intended to eat at the airport anyway.

The flight was further delayed until shortly after 6 p.m. I guess I ought to have stayed at Fort Lauderdale! I was concerned about my connection as my flight to Regina was scheduled to board at 9:15 p.m. For those not familiar with the Toronto Airport, the international gates are, what seems to me, miles away from the domestic gates and I had to get through customs first.

Finally onboard, I settled down for a nap. If I don't have to drive, I can sleep and I did for much of the flight. After arrival in Toronto, I was quickly through customs, hooray, and started the dash to the domestic side. On the way, there were two Air Canada reps standing inside the area with new boarding passes for anyone who might have missed their connection. I stopped briefly and learned that my flight was delayed. Phew, no more attempts at running!

I don't recall the exact time, but I know I was in the gate area for at least 30-45 minutes. I finally got up and went to the restroom, where I finally heard the pre-boarding announcement. Again, once on board, I napped for a good portion of the flight. Two flights arrived into Regina at about the same time, which for a small regional airport generally means chaos at the carousel and that night was no exception. I was thrilled when I finally picked up my luggage and got in a taxi for home. In the door at about 1:30 a.m., I dropped off my bags just inside the door, and headed down to my bedroom. It was a very long day.

I've said this before, air travel is not for the faint of heart these days. One of the couples I'd met in line in Miami, had been scheduled to fly out the afternoon prior, and had waited until 2:30 a.m. before they were informed the flight to Toronto had been cancelled. They weren't hopeful we'd get out that evening either, but of course, we did. She was quite upset because she had planned her sister's 30th birthday party that evening and knew she wouldn't be able to attend. 

While I have no more cruises booked, I have decided that it makes more sense to overnight and take the earliest flight home. Those flights generally originate from the departure city and are less likely to be delayed, except of course, due to weather or mechanical issues. It's worth the cost to ease the stress, I think.

Final thoughts, overall, it was a wonderful cruise, and I had some great excursions and met some awesome people. My favorite port on this adventure was Aruba, with Bonaire a close second. My friends, S and P, actually have a time share on Aruba and have been extending an invitation for me to visit with them over the past several years. I've been in touch with S and told her I'll be taking them up on their offer sometime in the future. 

Thanks for following along with my sporadic posts. It's been fun reliving of my memories of the cruise, or at least most of them. 

Some Days are better than others

Monday was not one of those days. My daughter had been to the old house about 3 p.m. on Sunday to take out the recycling bin. We had taken the day "off" to do some work around the yard at the new house. All was well. However, when I arrived at the old house around 8:30 on Monday morning, I opened the back door and found the toilet in the bathroom (just off the porch) was overflowing. I quickly called my daughter as I didn't know where the shut off valve to the house was located, and I turned off the valve to the toilet.

Thankfully, the water had not made it much past the bathroom door to the porch, however, the damage had been done when the water flowed down the heat vent into the basement. While my daughter went downstairs to start mopping and bailing water in the unfinished basement, I contacted the insurance company and started a claim. They called our local restroration company and Rick was at the house within a half hour. After his review of the situation, he went to his office to submit a report to the insurance company. Meanwhile D and I continued the efforts to clean up as much water as we could in the basement. She spent two and a half hours, while I was down there for at least an hour. 

I spoke with the adjuster later that morning and explained we were in the process of moving and prepping the house for sale. One of the questions asked, was what was the last date anyone slept at the house - April 11. I explained we were in the house every day since as we continued to clean, prep for painting, and making minor repairs. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, I had still not heard anything from the insurance company and called the adjuster. She advised that she had sent the report to her supervisor, but believed they would be denying my claim because the house is "vacant". We disagreed on the definition of vacant - I said, walking out the door, turning the key, and walking away would make the house vacant. She stated it occurs when someone moves out of the house and does not intend to return. I suppose her definition is the legal one but frustrating none-the-less.

On Wednesday, I went over to the house to meet our handyman - he's doing some repair work to the old plaster walls in the bedrooms on the 2nd floor. I told him what had happened, and he checked both the furnace and water heater and confirmed there was no damage to either piece of equipment. Thus, the only work needed to be done, in his estimate, was drying out the basement, and replacing the toilet upstairs. A far cry from the restoration company's assessment! 

While CT was working upstairs, I continued the process of filling cracks and nicks in the walls. I also ran out to the hardware store and picked up a toilet and a few other items. I left to pick up Eli from school at lunchtime and returned at 1 p.m. to start clearing out the garage. CT returned shortly afterward and made some repairs to the ceilings and one wall that were beyond my capabilities. He also took out the old toilet and put in the new one.   

Thursday was grocery day so I didn't get over to the house until mid-morning. CT has keys to the house, and I knew he was installing doors on another job, so there was no rush. I did more sanding, vacuuming and washing of walls before heading home for lunch with my grandson. Not that he pays much attention to me, as he is busy on his tablet and eating. After lunch, I ran out to the local insurance agency office to discuss obtaining insurance on a "vacant" property. I have decided to cancel my policy with the existing company as I had still not heard from them in regard to the claim. (I didn't call them to tell them about the furnace and water heater...if they can't be bothered to call me, why should I?)

It started to rain in the afternoon, and since I was hoping to do some yard work at the old house, I decided just to drop in and check if CT was there. He was not, so I grabbed the mop and bucket - our kitchen floor desperately needs cleaning. D went over in the early evening. We know there is little likelihood of another issue with the new toilet; it was the liner in the old one that failed and caused the problem, but we're still checking frequently.

Friday, we woke to more rain. I checked the rain gauge about 7 a.m. and we'd had about 10 millimeters, about 4/10ths of an inch overnight. I didn't empty the gauge as we were expecting more rain throughout the day. By evening we'd received just about 20 millimeters or 3/4 of an inch. I waited until around 9 a.m. to go to the old house to do more sanding and vacuuming, before washing down the walls. D met me there briefly, and I had her finish packing up the set of cabinets over the washer and dryer before she left for home and I went to Canadian Tire and to the Co-op. The latter was to pick up some meat that hadn't been available the day before. We're well stocked for the next few weeks.

Today, the sun is shining as you can see in the photo of our backyard from this morning, but we are expecting more clouds as the day progresses. Tomorrow, however, is forecast to be sunny and warm (18C/64F). D is already planning to take Eli to the park tomorrow afternoon. I'm taking much of the weekend off, as the sanding is as complete as I'll get it, and the painters are expected on Tuesday. I'm going to add to their workload as I want them to paint the ceilings in the kitchen and living/dining room areas. I do hope they'll have the time (since I did much of the wall repairs). If not, I'll need ot ask them to return because I am NOT painting ceilings. 

The ground is very wet, but I may spend some time out in the yard. I've discovered that someone or something allowed creeping bellflower into the front flower beds, and it has seeded itself in the back yard as well. It is an invasive plant, spreading both by rhizome and seed. I suspect we'll be digging these suckers out for some time. 

There is a Blue Jays game this afternoon, and I think I'll watch while either knitting or stitching. It will depend on whether it has clouded over. I will go over to the old house, sometime this morning and again in the evening, but just as a check of the premises. I doubt we'll have another flood but I'm being extra cautious for now. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!  

Friday Funny

 

Bonaire - March 20

It's always a bittersweet day when we reach our final port of a cruise, though there are a couple of sea days before disembarkation, it means the cruise is coming to an end. 

I was up and out of bed by 6:30 and headed to Deck 16 for photos of our approach into Kralendjik, Bonaire. Sadly, the deck forward was closed so I had to wait until later in the day to get a photo.

I had visited Bonaire once before, and spent my time walking around the downtown area. There are lots of lovely shops and restaurants, one of which will feature in this post later.

After a leisurely breakfast on Deck 15 aft, I spent some time by the pool. I headed off ship at 9:30 to look for free WiFi, however there was no terminal and I didn't want to stray too far as my excursion group was meeting up shortly after 10 a.m. Instead, I sat on the pier and watched my fellow passengers.

My excursion in Bonaire was a tour to the eco marine park on Klein Bonaire, a small uninhabited islet off the west coast of the island. It was a small group excursion, with about 10-12 passengers on a glass bottomed boat. Our captain Kim, was a gracious host, sharing lots of information about the island, the eco park, and the plant and aquatic life in the coral reefs.

As we pulled out past our ship and into the ocean we saw a flock glide of flying fish. I've never seen them before and was so excited, I missed getting a photo. 

We were certainly not the only boat or ship on the waters near Bonaire that day. Kim told us that the island's population is around 20,000 people. They allow only one ship a day into port. The Ruby Princess is one of the smaller ships, and carries about 3,000 passengers. She explained that tourism is the main industry on the island. High season runs from November through April. 

We motored over to the Klein Bonaire to the marine park. The water is incredibly clear there because the sea bottom is mainly limestone and reflects the light back. This photo (not a great one) shows the difference in the coloring between the coral reefs and the ocean.

The next few photos are just a few of the ones I took from onboard the boat through the glass. We saw several variety of fish and one eel, though I wasn't able to get a photo of the latter.

I also got a few photos of the coral, probably when the fish dashed out of the photos.

Kim referred to these as stove pipe coral. It's evident how they got their name.

I found the black coral to be very interesting and have since learned that the black coral is nearly extinct in Bonaire.

As we left the marine park, we spotted this vessel. It would have been an interesting way to see the marine park.

Captain Kim motored us back across the ocean, but went further north so that we could view the resorts on the island. (No photos). On our way, we passed a young man out fishing.

As we motored along the shoreline cruising into port, we spotted the rare two-legged fish.

There were three of them, and I've no idea if they were aware we were above them. I did zoom in, so we weren't quite as close as this picture might suggest.

Once back in port, I ran into one of my fellow solo passengers. She had been shopping and didn't have time to take her parcel back to the ship before her excursion. I offered to take it with me, as I wanted to drop my large camera off at the ship before I did some shopping of my own.

Another of my fellow solo's had mentioned the bath salts available in Bonaire, and I found a lovely shop with all sorts of pretty items that would have been fun to bring home with me. I managed to stave off the temptation and left with a box of passion fruit bath salts. 

Bonaire is known for its flamingos, though to be honest, I've yet to see them in their natural habitat. After a wander through a few more shops, I made my way through a mall to Karel's bar. There I enjoyed an Amsted beer and an order of vegetarian tacos. I thought I had a photo of ship taken from my table at the restaurant but apparently, I was too busy eating and drinking. Suffice to say, it was a lovely spot to relax and enjoy the sun.

We had an early sail-away from Bonaire, around 3 or 3:30 if memory serves. From here, we had two sea days before we arrived back in Fort Lauderdale. Since my flight was booked for late in the afternoon, I had booked a tour through the canals which provided a place to store my luggage before I would be dropped off at the airport.

Next - Fort Lauderdale

Wordless Wednesday

 

Aruba - March 19 (Part 2)

 I'll start where I left off on the last post, on our drive to the Natural Bridge in the Arikok National Park. The highway ends part way into the park, when it turns into a gravel road. I recall our driver telling us the reason for this, but have forgotten.

The vistas outside the bus windows were simply amazing. As the next few photos were taken from the moving bus, they likely are little fuzzy.

The original natural bridge in the park collapsed in 2005. According to Wikipedia, it was 25 feet (7.6 meters) high, and 100 feet (30.5 meters) in length and a remnant of a cave.  The natural bridge we saw is called the Baby Bridge, for obvious reasons, with a span of 25 feet (7.6 meters) and only 3 feet (.9 meters) above sea level.

I walked onto the bridge and took photos from that vantage point.

Looking out towards the Atlantic ocean on my left

Watching the waves crash against the shore to my right.

I turned to take a photo of the ocean again, just as a wave crashed into the bridge.

I got sprayed and tasted the salt of the ocean.

Smaller waves hit the formation on my right, with the sea water from the higher waves pouring off the shelf that was hidden.

I have many photos (too many to share) of this particular spot as I was fascinated by the height of the waves and the force with which they reached the shore.

One last photo of the pool under the bridge.

Then it was time to board the bus for one more stop at a discontinued gold mine/smelting plant.

This was a stop I could have done without as it was very hot, overrun with tour groups, and frankly, not that interesting (at least to me).

The interior was full of debris, and while others attempted the climb to the top floor, I stayed on the ground. I'm a klutz and climbing over and on rocks and stones is a sure way for me to sprain an ankle.

On the ocean side, there was a rather desolate looking series of rocks piled up, I suspect by other tourists.

The lighting wasn't great for photos, and there seemed to be haze in the air that was obvious even as we walked around the site.

Our drive back to the port was long, as traffic was backed up for some time. I was happy to get back to the ship to shower and change for our solo meet-up that evening. 

Sail-away that evening was late, about 9 p.m. I wandered down to Deck 7, just to watch for any last minute pier runners. While everyone arrived in time, there were a couple who squeaked in while the crew were starting to dismantle the ramps and barriers. 

Next up - Bonaire

 

Slowing down

Another busy week is nearly behind us, and I'm tired. We've been cleaning at the old house for a couple of hours every day and have the house emptied of everything but the appliances that are staying. The company who did the move also haul garbage. We had them in on Wednesday to take away some broken furniture and lots of garbage. There will be another haul away needed when we finish in the shed and garage, along with some yard waste.

We did make a run to the nearby town on Tuesday to look for a television stand for the living room. That task was not successful, but we did pick up a few groceries at Walmart and made a Value Village run. D walked out with a good number of brand name clothing pieces for Eli, some with original tags. I used my seniors discount of 30%, and she paid $60 for all of it. He's getting harder on his clothing now that he isn't growing quite as quickly. He continues to stretch up, but not out.

On Thursday, while my daughter finished the carpet cleaning on the second floor, I started filling holes and making some minor repairs to the walls. That work continued on Friday as well and I got the main floor spots sanded and wiped down. D stayed home as Eli was home from school with an ear ache. He's had a mild cough most of the week too. 

At the new house, we've continued to unpack in the office/craft room. There is enough of a dent made that there is open floor space. We still need to sort through everything and put duplicates together, rather than having them in separate containers. My under the bed space has been utilized too, for boxes of family mementos and photo albums. There are two boxes in the bedroom too, of photos and commercial artwork. I told D we'll go through that on a rainy day and I suspect a lot of it will end up being donated. Some pieces will stay but there is less wall space than in the old house in Regina. We have a lot more windows, which I appreciate fully....or at least until it is time to wash them this spring. :)

Today, I'm off to the old house for another hour or so to some sanding, and start laying cardboard on the large flower bed in the back yard. D has never been able to keep up with the weeds (even with her neighbour's help), and I'm hoping to take care of some of them early and without sprays. There is a large day lily that I'd like to split to bring a piece to the new house. 

The handyman, CT, will be in the house on Tuesday evening to start patching some cracks in the plaster that are beyond my abilities. There is more work to be done, but I need those taken care of before the painters arrive. They are booked the following week and expect to take two days to complete their work. After that, CT needs to return to do a few more minor repairs before the house can be listed. As I'm planning to head back to the city around the 15th of May, I'm hoping all will be done so we can list the house before I get away. To be honest, I doubt it will happen, but we'll try. However, not having any control over CT's schedule means we'll need to wait until he is available. Not only does he do good work, his pricing is also very reasonable.

Time for me to get moving! Have a great week ahead everyone. 

P.S. that's a photo of Stanley napping on my bed. Yes, there are still boxes in my room.