Whimsical

The definition of whimsical is....Impulsive, erratic, light and spontaneous.
These traits would be far from a description of me and that is why I have been blessed with a granddaughter.
We made several of these the last time we shared our day together and he proudly sits above my computer and reminds me........................................

Into every life there should be a little whimsical!

Tidbits

The expression "three dog night" originated with the Eskimos

and means a very cold night - so cold that you have to bed down with three dogs to keep warm.

This is the band "Three Dog Night" which began in 1968 and continues today. Wonder how they chose their name......any thoughts?

Just go for it!

Nov. 2009 I posted about wishing there was a blog site that encouraged kindness; after much thought, I have decided to go for it!

I have been told that I have a gift of encouragement but I rather think that the old saying "you give what you want to get" is more applicable so I am hoping that you will join me in this new adventure..................Strings

ICE

Following a disaster in London, the Ambulance Service launched a national "In case of Emergency (ICE)" worldwide campaign.
The idea is that you store the word " I C E " in your mobile phone address book, and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted "In Case of Emergency".
In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them.

For more than one contact name ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc.
It’s a life saving tidbit for today.

Don't believe in miracles????

You don't believe in miracles???

Well, I am here to re-enforce that they do indeed happen
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We have come from a crying, demanding, grandbaby
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A tall, lean, competitive, team player
What a special treat to go to the game Sat. morning and see my granddaughter's volleyball team giving it their all.

From out of the ashes cont.

This is the last trip of our timeshare exchange to share (some of you may be grateful) and it could be titled "the trip from hell" or a least the traveling part.

Pestana Village in Funchal, Medeira is located around 535 miles from Lisbon, Portugal so yes, it was to be a long flight...around 12 hours but when you add a 12 hour delay in Philadelphia that is over 24 hours trying to get somewhere! The only good thing that came from this was that US Airways gave us a $200.00 credit for another trip after I complained but it didn't help the long hours go by while we waited. We arrive at around 1:00 AM and of course the only thing open was the check in area and our luggage was lost on top of it all.......for 4 days our luggage was lost and finally came just in time to keep us from rotting away. Note: always take a carry on to tide you over in case of this situation (lesson learned).

The islands of Mederia are much like our Hawaiian islands, mild temperatures year round and people from all over Europe come to vacation. The city of Funchal includes a superhighway running west and east with amazing technology and in fact the whole structure of the island is very well planned. The facility was very tropical

and included a daily breakfast buffet that tended to be more English style with cold cuts and breads but still able to have eggs cooked to your liking and toast but no hash browns to be found.

Most of the visitors spent their time playing in the pool but we opted to take tours and learn about the area. They have taken great care to utilize all the land on the island and to preserve it with planting trees to keep down erosion. The whole island is like one big hill and this affords a most interesting activity of all......bob sledding but this is done in a wooden one! These were just on display in front of the resort but this is how they look for real and the deal is that two guys with rubber boots and long sticks guide this thing down this HUGE hill. Did we do it??? Of course! Got a little hairy when a truck came up the hill and the two guys had to jump off and stop it to let them pass...

The best part of Funchal? The people........very friendly and most of the time they spoke not only English but French, German, and more and the most amazing thing to me is........the bar tender for example, would speak to one couple in French, a co-worker in Portuguese and us in English all while serving us a drinks!

A laid back lifestyle out of the city..

but in the city there was everything including a casino..................

Notice the card designs on the walkway. They had pebbled streets everywhere and they were beautiful............

(city street)

One afternoon we took the bus to the open market

where they sold everything imaginable including fresh fish on the bottom level. This is where I got my first glimpse of these little cars that now are appearing here in the US.

An interesting observation at the resort was that the people that worked there rotated almost daily so the person who served you dinner may be hosting you at the breakfast buffet the next morning or cleaning around the pool while you drank your morning coffee. They were very well equipped and always very pleasant.

One of our tours took us to the top of this mountain and allowed us to look over

and this was the site below....

The week soon ended and it was time for the dreaded flight back home and guess what? They lost our luggage again and it didn't turn up for another 4 days! It is a little difficult to be patient with these situations but so goes travel.

The point of out of the ashes was to share that even though buying the timeshare was not the smartest thing we have ever done...it did help us to get our feet wet for travel in far away places.........

A weeks worth

I'm gonna get you on a slow boat to China,
all to myself alone;

Get you and keep you in my arms evermore;

Leave all the others waitin' on a faraway shore.

This sure sounds good doesn't it???
Well, my hubby and I have come to the conclusion that going on a cruise should happen for us once every five years or so just to remind us that this isn't our favorite way to travel.

This was his 3rd and my 4th cruise and do you get spoiled??? Yes, someone makes your bed up twice a day with fresh towels and etc. Someone picks up your dishes from the buffet as soon as you are finished eating from the the multiple selections of food and yes there is something available to eat every hour of every day....like those delicious little ice cream cones right behind the grill cooking hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries and etc.

The staff make you feel like you are the only person there and you do....until...........you have to stand in line to go to the bathroom, board the ship, get off the ship, get in line for breakfast or lunch or dinner in the dinning room. Yes, there is a multitude of food and some of it is quite good but hot??? no way. The only way you could get something really hot was to order an omelet for breakfast and he cooked it while you waited (it was a favorite...big line). Dinners were an adventure and there were names of things I have never heard of as well as some old time favorites. One thing is for sure....you do not go hungry and you do come home with extra pounds even if you work out everyday (which we did).

Can you get sea sick? Yes, especially if you are sensitive to movement and there is a storm that brews up....

So....why did we go??? Well, the price was right and included a balcony cabin and it went to two of our favorite places....Cabos and Mazatlan as well as to a place we had never been, La Paz, Mexico. Were the stops worth it??? YES....took a few picture of our favorite place in Cabos, the Solmar Hotel This is the view from the lobby and this is the view from the ship. Solmar is on the backside of these rocks at the very tip of the Baja.

I have already posted pictures and talked about Mazatlan so won't repeat it but did get to our favorite lunch spot ....The Shrimp Bucket

Now for La Paz????

I can't say enough and we hope to go back one day. It is a beautiful little town that surrounds the turquoise, emerald green waters of the Sea of Cortez and is famous for its well known diver...Jacques Cousteau. The little town is very clean and friendly with many little unique statues everywhere.......................

A beautiful Malecon where there are to be musicians and dancing in the evenings
and on this day, a very talented sand sculpture artist that was working for a few tips

Like I said....we are hoping to go back but not on a boat :)

From out of the ashes cont.

Branson, Mo. the entertainment capital of the world (apart from Las Vegas). We had heard a lot about this area and decided we would just give it a go.

When we bought our timeshare it was a beautiful 2 bedroom facility so when you trade you are suppose to get something of equal value. This trade was the only one that met the criteria.

It was a beautiful condo....I could have easily just moved it:) 1,221 sq. ft. 2 bedroom, 2 bath, wood burring fireplace, full kitchen, washer & dryer and a large wooden patio deck that was at the top of the trees below. It was also just turning fall so everyday the colors became more and more brilliant. Really enjoyed our stay at the Stone Bridge Village.....

It was an out of the way place and you entered through this little bridge

The club house was just a ways up the street but we didn't realize we could use it until late in the week. Had a wonderful restaurant but do you worry...we found this other little restaurant that had the best corn breaded fried catfish I have ever eaten!!! You don't go hungry in Mo.

We went to at least one show everyday and sometimes two...I could hardly clap anymore!

Two that were favorites were The Duttons

All family, all talented and all diverse!

and Yakov Smirnoff click on his name for a u-tube of him......

He is from Russia and what you will leave with after his show is how proud you are to be an American.....Check out this art he did right after Sept. 11th

Click for more info on his paintings

Now, I am glad I went but would I go back?

Nope, once was enough will be off to some new territory................

Going out of town................................see you when I get back..................