We have finally arrived in Panama City Beach today, the 30th. When we left Waukon on the 13th with the trike in tow, the wind chill was -30. Our first stop was in Jackson, TN, the home of Casey Jones, and the temp there was in the 50's. From Jackson we made it to Lake City, FL on Wednesday. On Thursday we traveled over to Disney Springs (near Orlando) in a real downpour and then had lunch with an old high school classmate of mine. Disney Springs is a big shopping shopping center with all Disney theme stores. Thankfully the grand kids weren't with us or we'd still be there!
We left Disney Springs and stayed overnight in Vero Beach and actually got the trike off the trailer and took a ride around the countryside on a 70 degree day. We got in over 50 miles, so it counts as a ride for January. I'm hoping to be able to ride each month in 2016 like I was able to do last year.
After Vero Beach we headed for Ft. Lauderdale to meet our ship for the Gold Wing cruise. The traffic this time of year in southern Florida is unbelievable. Even the interstates and toll roads are crowded! The only good part is that the highways are in really good shape.
The cruise ship with over 3,000 passengers including about 100 Wingers set sail on the 17th for ports in Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Haiti. We had a great time with Wingers from all over the country including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, and California. We were the only ones from Iowa in the group. YOU MEET THE NICEST PEOPLE ON A HONDA! We made the port in Grand Cayman and toured the island by bus and made an interesting stop at a turtle farm where sea turtles are bred for meat and release into the ocean. At our stop in Jamaica toured the area around Fallmouth and saw the places where Diana Ross (the Supremes) and Mick Jagger own and visited a 500 year-old Catholic church. We also saw a lot of poverty here. Believe me, Jamaica is not all fancy resorts and rich beaches! We actually did visit Hell! There was some rioting going on in Haiti, so that stop wasn't made and we just stayed at sea and arrived back in Ft. Lauderdale on the 23rd.
More coming later on our journey through the Everglades, the stop at Bob & Cathy's, and New Orleans. For now here's a few photos from the cruise.
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| CRUISE SHIP IN HARBOR |
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| TENDER FROM SHIP TO HARBOR |
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| THE OLD CHURCH |
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| WINGER HANDLES A SEA TURTLE |
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| WE TRAVELED TO HELL |
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| GRANDPA WINGER ON BOARD |
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| A CREATURE SNUCK INTO OUR CABIN |
2 comments:
Looks like you've been having a good time.
Looks fun!!
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