Finishing touches completed

Well, what do you think? I'm pretty pleased with the final look, even though it took forever and a day to accomplish. At the pool party (held at the beach, naturally), the committee was recognized for their work. They all contributed to making it come true, after about a year of being closed while a prior board "dithered", then a second year when unknown debris was discovered halfway to China (who knew they built the original on a landfill of tree stumps and trunks), then the debacle of firing the incompetent suggested by the former management company, and finally a new General Contractor selected and a neighborhood committee being formed to spearhead completion.

I assign a lot of the credit to the guy shown kneeling, who was here all year while few on the board were in residence. Sheer will seemed to be his forte, and he also was involved in the clearing of over ten years of unrestrained growth in the "park" which surrounds the pool itself. The fellow standing behind him was the key man for "finding" the sun shade concept which is in a word "wonderful" since it's hurricane rated and unlike individual umbrellas impervious to wind or people dragging stuff around.

The tall gentleman to his left is the new Vice President of the Board, re-elected this year and expected to be President next year when the current leader retires, thus making a complete turnover of personnel after three years. This great facility is a fitting tribute to our new subdivision leadership - five guys who give a damn and now including at least one full time resident. The park area will soon have an engineer prepare a complete layout, which will allow us to permit a curb cut for emergency vehicles and parking, storage facilities, and an enclosure of various irrigation and electrical transformers. As Colonel Hannibal Smith of "A-Team" fame would say, "I love it when a plan comes together".

Winding Oaks Pool Party

Obviously, we like to eat here in Winding Oaks, and with 85 people who RSVP'd for the pool party, they decided to move it to the beach. So, a fake ribbon cutting was conducted while neighbors dined on food from Publix (our supermarket chain). We also danced to the music of a one man band, and on the whole had a great time. I say we, but it was just me. Elizabeth stayed home, not seeing the sense of going to the beach for a pool party when the pool is but steps from our back door. No matter, I had a great time and brought home lots of leftovers that all were encouraged to take. Guess the Entertainment Committees eyes were bigger than the neighbors appetites, but all ended well and I'll have snacks for a week.

Our pool is finally complete, and landscaping is in place between the pool wall and the retention pond. Ripley no longer is allowed at the pool, where he visited often during construction, but he still can swim in the pond (and does). All that is left now is for the Town to hopefully allow removal of one large oak tree that sheds leaves and pollen daily onto (and into) one end of the pool. It's roots are impacting the handicap access ramp, so we believe the federal Americans with Disabilities Act will trump the town's tree code. Time and a chain saw will tell, I suppose. I am not on the subdivision Trustee board here (I'm still a Trustee at our old condo property, where we have the unit in a rental pool), but once the Cedars condo sells, I'll probably not be able to restrain myself from running for the Winding Oaks board.

Once a politician, always a politician I suppose........but around here, a well fed politician.

Valet Parking Only

The small boat shown in the upper left contains the most important person in the whole Caribbean. In fact, he and his brothers all share a name, inscribed on their vessel. He is the harbor pilot, and that is the Pilot Boat.

Whether he is Mister Pilot, Monsieur Pilot or Senor Pilot, his duty is to guide the cruise ships into his port, and arguably without him an entire island nation's economy might collapse. He comes out to meet the cruise ships, and when their visit is complete, he returns to guide them away toward their next destination. All of these large ships have Captains who probably could accomplish docking without help, but all Captains have learned to defer to the expertise of the harbor pilot. He studies daily the tides and the shifting sands that move a shoal from place to place. He IS the local expert, and we always enjoy watching him jump aboard a moving ship with the grace of a ballerina.

The main picture depicts five ships at the pier in Nassau. Two are Royal Caribbean ships (Majesty, the smaller, Oasis the larger), two belonging to Norwegian Cruise Lines (the smaller ships Sun on the left and Sky on the right) and Carnival's Dream in the middle. The behemoth which dwarfs the Norwegian Sky is the Royal Carribean's second newest ship, the Oasis. She and her sister, the Allure, weigh in at over 220,000 tons. Sky is a small ship by comparison, at approximately 75,000 tons. Oasis and Allure are BIG girls to dance with, but the pilot does it well. If I were he, I'd be VERY nervous doing my job, but each Pilot holds a ship masters credential and is clearly the "local expert". In America, he'd probably be listed as a consultant and earn the big bucks. All we do know about these individuals is that without them, we'd never enjoy the opportunity to walk ashore on distant sands, and enjoy our retirement with only fifteen thousand plus friends in town at the same time.

Our ship, the Norwegian Sun, carried just under 2,000 passengers - Royal Caribbean's Oasis carried 5400 guests, and 2,000 crew. Crew numbers generally reflect a two and a half passengers to each crew member ratio. Oasis had a staggering seventy four hundred aboard. No wonder Homeland Security patrols these ports and keeps any and all boats at a distance. And, cruise ships rarely leave port with empty rooms - last minute Internet deals fill those cabins, We are getting emails daily about "deals" and living in Florida we're able to drive to five ports within four hours (Jacksonville, Miami, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, Tampa). So far, we've not considered Jacksonville, as only the Carnival Fascination is based there. You all remember Carnival - they're the ones who also own Costa - those are the unlucky boats that either crash on the rocks, or leave passengers without power or sanitation for three days as they're towed to the nearest port.......by the French, no less.

One final comment - NCL has positioned a legion of young women with squirt bottles of hand sanitizing fluid all over their ships. You can't turn around without a perky "washee-washee, happy happy". What at first seemed an imposition, became a game, and I'd gladly present palms up whenever I heard that sing-song phrase. But, because of that, no Norovirus to catch, so I came on and left this most recent adventure Happy, Happy. If nothing else, my hands were clean.

Ripley Returns for a Blog Appearance

Face it, the dog has more fans than his daddy ever did. Ripley runs, jumps, swims, climbs trees - he's Wonder Dog. People come up to me and ask "how's Ripley?". Well, Ripley is wonderful and his medical adventures are hopefully behind him. As much as we all love Dr. Anne Chauvet, his specialist veterinarian, and Dr. Leigh Samowitz, his primary vet, we're happy that the days of surgical removal of peach pits and crushed disk back repair are over. After Anne repaired his back, we asked her "do you think we could get pet insurance for Ripley?" and she coyly replied "not any more".

He's pushing four now - that's 28 in human years - and he's become a great companion who loves his daddy (and his mommy too) but seems to be my dog early in the morning where he'll come jump in my lap and say "let's go walking". And despite the fact my wife thinks "you should never trust a beagle to not run away", I am proud to say that Ripley walks himself as much as having me holding that leash. When he starts to wander, all I need do is call his name and point my finger to the ground at my feet, and he returns for a head scratch and a "good boy" verbal praise. Riply is my sixth beagle, but my first boy - all five of the girls never paid attention as well as he, and hopefully his obedience never wanes.

I chose this recent picture for his friends - it's been on my FaceBook page as well (and perhaps even on Ripley Wild on FaceBook). He's actually been digitally caught on film so relaxed that he fell asleep as I worked on my laptop. The dog can sleep anywhere, but prefers to be on his back so he can get tummy rubs. In this shot, he's decided that my stomach made for a great pillow.

Perhaps the fact that I was in one of "his chairs", he decided to prove a point of ownership. Ultimately, when push comes to shove, most every chair in our home is Ripley's chair. Ripley is a real piece of work, but as canines go.....he's a masterpiece.

Where I do my best thinking

Yes, that IS indeed a balloon on my head, but I like to think of it as a "thinking cap". When one goes into Senor Frogs, anything and everything can happen. Especially when you order the margaritas in the larger volume glasses. While there, I watched an interesting contest where you were required to blow up a balloon until it burst, but only after drinking a bottle of beer using only a straw. I think it had something to do with a demonstration of lapsed judgement, with the opportunity for the winner to have a sudden explosion occur right in their face. Well, you have to view it in context..... after several margaritas who was really thinking clearly. I certainly wasn't, but it was avacation after all, and during Spring Break no less. Happy Vernal Equinox, everybody - Spring is finally here, and it hasn't arrived any too soon.

For Sale: Island Fixer-Upper

And, it comes with a boat too. Yes, this beauty is yours for only $1,950,000 U.S. And, if you make an offer in the next 10 days, we'll throw in this lovely 45 foot cabin cruiser for free. Yes, you too can live in the shadow of Atlantis, where the elite meet to eat - all of the fish you can catch off your front porch.

Where else can you find such a bargain in Nassau? Nowhere else, according to Bahamas realtor Dewey Cheatham, and financing is available too. Sadly, I only had $1,675,000 on me when I met with the realtor at Senor Frogs. So, once again my opportunities to make true my investment strategy of J.T.W.R.O.S. was foiled. No, I wasn't referring to Joint Tenants With Right Of Survivorship - I meant the explanation I gave my wife years ago when she questioned those initials on a brokerage statement. As I told her then, it was the perfect tax strategy - Just Think We'll Retire Off Shore.

Anybody know where I can get my hands on another $225,000? Sure, it's a fixer-upper, but it does meet the three most important things - location, location and location. Maybe with a little paint, we can sell that boat and get one of those cute little paddle boards to get over and back from Senor Frogs. Yeah, that's the ticket........

Two new ladies take a Bow

I'm sure I'll get a 'stern' rebuke for that pun in the title of this blog entry, but lately I'm enjoying taking pictures of cruise ship "nose art". You'll recall a picture of the Norwegian Pearl in an earlier blog, while we were on Freedom of the Seas in February. This trip, we ventured into virgin territory after eighteen or so cruises on Royal Caribbean, and decided to try Freestyle Cruising, offered by NCL. Freestyle meant no having fixed main dining room seating at either 6 PM or 8:30 PM, and we could choose to eat by ourselves, or with friends. Seeing as how I had to fight for three days during the last weekly cruise on RCCL to get the seating I had on paper, but not in the ship's computer, this was refreshing for a change.

The trip took us from Port Canaveral to Nassau in the Bahamas, then St. Thomas (American Virgins), then San Juan, Puerto Rico, and finished at NCL's private island, Great Stirrup Cay. Elizabeth took her new snorkel gear, and got to use it in three of the four stops, and we did the rain forest and Senor Frogs in San Juan. Lots of pictures of her in pink fins, mask and snorkel, but
we'll respect her privacy and look at the sleek bodies of ships this entry. The waters off Nassau were choppy, and she got run over by a paddle board, and was dodging kayak paddles as well - this is what happens when four different activities are all sharing the same large catamaran - who says there's no greed in tour operators. Sixty five people were doing snorkel, powered snorkel, clear bottomed kayaks, regular kayaks, and paddle boards (standing room only, so to speak). I chose to stay on the boat and read. Water was also choppy in St. Thomas, but this was off a beach - so sunlight was not great which reduced visibility. The only calm water was on Great Stirrup Cay, where the waters were great, and not the least bit "stirred up".

I really enjoyed this ship, and did a few more activities than my wife - two trivia contests where I sat with younger folk and demonstrated my "name that tune" abilities. Went to the art auction, didn't buy a thing while drinking free champagne. Got some actual sun on my face and only gained weight in the single digits. Ate lots of salmon for breakfast, with capers and onions and cheeses, and croissants. Even cut my food and didn't switch hands with my fork, I was feeling so European.
Of course, the downside of eating salty food is water retention. It caused me to remove my wedding band, which I managed to then leave behind on the ship. This was not good - but it was cutting off my circulation (in the finger, not the discotheque). Actually did manage to dance a bit - not that most folk would recognize my gyrations as dancing. Like many white folk, I'm fundamentally rhythm challenged, but I had fun trying. As they say "what happens on the ship, STAYS on the ship" and "you'll never see most of these people ever again". That's certainly a relief to know.

The Rain Forest

On March 14th, we left the ship and took a bus ride to the El Yunque National Forest, established in 1903, comprising 28,000 acres of native rain forest high up in the Eastern part of the island. The park has both forest land with established trails, and a wilderness area. From it's 3,500 foot heights, you can view both the Atlantic and the Caribbean. I've tried to capture a few of the better sights observed with my lens, and included one of the many falls, and the flower leaf of one of the 23 trees exclusive to this forest. Of course, if I'm wrong, it's one of the 50 different species of orchids. It's not that I take the greatest notes, but when Elizabeth reviews this, I'm sure she'll correct me as to which is what, or what is which.

Actually, she purchased a book on flowers, while I purchased the proof set of the Puerto Rican state quarter (except Puerto Rico is not a state). Our tour was shortened on this day, as they had a formal presentation of the coins and the place was swarming with US Forest Service rangers, and various other law enforcement. You'd have thought Santorum was in town - turns out he was, but I don't think he was seeking the tree frog vote that day. Other factoids: It rains more than 240 inches per year, and there are no large native animals (urban gang bangers excepted), however the forest supports 127 species of smaller land animals. I snapped some really good close ups of large snails, but decided not to include them here - I will mail them to you if you provide a SASE (that's short for self-addressed-stamped-envelope). I've decided that mollusks cannot be emailed, they can only be snail mailed. OK, rotten attempt at humor, but we're talking high humidity in the tropics that effects my brain.

The park sees more than 1,250,000 visitors each year, from the local population, and visitors from around the world - including our cruise ship. If I had to choose between Olde San Juan and El Yunque - I'll take the rain forest any day.

Cardinals defeat Twins in Spring Training Game

The St. Louis Cardinals don't get over to this side of Florida too often, so when an opportunity presented itself to attend one of the few games they'd play on the "Sun Coast", we jumped at the chance to see them. The tickets came through Maryville University, who had conducted an alumni "meet and greet" the prior night in Naples, at the home of my first Board Chairman at MOHELA - this goes back to 1982 when he hired me to start what became a great 22 year run, and a retirement well enjoyed in Florida. Ron Henges and I have kept in touch through the two decades, and now he shares time in Missouri and Florida. Maryville, whose board Ron chaired back in the 80's assembled a large number of alumni at Ron and Anne's home on Thursday night, with a briefing on the University by it's new President. A great party, where this I.U. grad and his Butler University educated wife knew nobody but Mr. Henges, but then again it was great to see him again and spend the night in Naples, before heading back toward home with a stop in Ft. Myers to see the game at 1:05 PM.

Friday morning was leisurely, with Breakfast at the Best Western, then a half hour drive north to where the game would start, with a nice detour to a nearby outlet mall. When we arrived at the park, which was quite nice, we found that while it was the Twins home for Spring Training (the Cardinals train on the east coast of Florida in Jupiter), at least half the people in the stands were wearing Cardinal gear. There was a threat of rain, but it never materialized. We had several shirts, courtesy of our son who now lives in Florida, and thankfully the seats were in the shade from the 3rd inning forward.

It turned out to be a great game, with the Twins coming close to winning in the final frame, having loaded the bases several times. There was a tremendous "out at home" play, by St. Louis, and the only home run of the game was hit by a Cardinal. In the end, the Cards prevailed by a score of 3-2 final, but it was close. We stayed till the final out, and left the parking lot around 4:30 PM for the drive back to Sarasota and Longboat Key. The next morning, we'd be off for a one week cruise but that's another story to tell. Thanks, Ron Henges, for the invite, and thanks to the team with the birds on the bat for the win. If you can only make one Spring Training game, make sure it's a winner.