Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

Best wishes for a happy and safe Halloween for you and the kids!

Lois

Lunch at Mojo's - St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Good morning,

If you are a regular reader you know we enjoy local restaurants.  This one is right at the port in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

What a fun local place!

Wonderful aromas from this restaurant drift across Havensight Mall so we were literally drawn in to eat here.

We chose the barbeque chicken.  Today they were out of potato salad so we had macaroni salad and slaw.

As we left we walked around the outside of the straw hut restaurant and saw the next batch of chicken legs being grilled.

Yum!  I'm sure we'll be back.  ;)

Best,
Lois

Diamond, Diamond Plus, Pinnacle Club Breakfast - Freedom of the Seas

Good morning,

A very nice touch on board Freedom of the Seas is the recognition of frequent cruisers with a special breakfast just for them.

Invited guests are greeted at the door of the dining room by officers, then dining room staff escort each to a table.

After guests are seated...

 ...the officers will join them for a lovely breakfast and great conversation.

 It's those little touches that make cruising aboard Freedom of the Seas so very elegant.

All the best,
Lois

St. Thomas Wedding

Good morning,

Today's picture was taken in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. 

My Honey and I were going ashore from Freedom of the Seas when we saw these three happy people just going through the gate from the dock into the port.  I don't know if they were from our ship or another ship in port.  They were so very happy!  I asked if I could take a picture and they gladly posed.  All the best to them for a wonderful life together!

Getting married in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., a tropical American port, is a popular place for weddings for couples, especially American Couples, who arrive by cruise ship.

On board Freedom we have a beautiful chapel for weddings at sea, too.  I took some pictures last year, but that reminds me to go back and get some more pictures to share with you here. Watch this space!

Enjoy!

Lois

Needlework Update - October, 2011

Good morning,

The stack of finished knit and crochet items has grown a little since my last needlework update so I guess it's time for another update. 

The above dress and doll will go into the shop.  I just love this yarn.  I would have made an adult size sweater if I had had enough of it, but I was short just a little.  So, it worked beautifully for this dress, doll, ...

...and a baby blanket, too.

I have enough of this yarn to make another of these cowl scarves.  I'll put one in the shop and keep the other for myself!  I love cowl scarves because they don't fall off when walking the dogs or get tangled in the steering wheel when driving. 

 Here's another of my patchwork sweaters that I really enjoy making. They take more time than a solid color, but they are just plain fun to design.  I sold the one I had in the store to a very nice lady in London so it was time to restock!  The one above is a child size 8 (in girl colors) and I also made a child size 4 (in boy or girl colors); both will go into the shop where I already have a patchwork sweater listed to fit an 18" American Girl doll. 

 And, finally for this time, this is a double-weight baby blanket.  The yarn is fun that I held double to produce a thick blanket that will not only keep baby warm, but would also be the perfect blanket to put on the floor for baby exercise classes.

Daughter Catherine and Aunt Carol will be here soon.  I look forward to spending time with them enjoying the ship and ports.  I just may send some of these items home with them so they can go into the shop sooner than I can get there.

So, that's the needlework update.  While My Honey and I are not busy doing things together, I am having a fabulous time dreaming up new projects, sketching them, computing the number of stitches, then making them.  I am in needlework heaven!  :))

Are you working on holiday needlework projects?  I wish I had brought more blue and green yarn, but I guess there is always another color I wish I wish I had with me.  Hindsight is 20-20, isn't it!

All the best,
Lois

Ah, the Hot Tub...

Good morning,

This sleeping man is soon to experience "an awakening." 

;),
Lois

View From My Window - St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Good morning,

An advantage of cruising is the changing view from your window every day.

St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. is a favorite with pleasure boaters, too.

Over there on the other side of the bay is "downtown" St. Thomas.  From over there you an get a wonderful "ship shot" of the ships in port.

St. Thomas also has fabulous vacation resorts and private homes.

Ah, paradise.  

Enjoy,

Lois

Children's Pool Area

Good morning,

Today I've got some images of the children's pool area aboard Freedom of the Seas.  In the center of this image is the baby splash area.  There's a little one in there now with Dad watching from the side by the sign.

Children and their parents can wander through the water park of water jets, splashes, showers, and pools.

I find the clear side of the pool very smart to be able to keep an eye on the children while they are in the water.

 What a fun place!

Best,
Lois

Parking Spot - St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Good morning,

While out here floating around aboard Freedom of the Seas and visiting different ports, I sometimes get some pictures that I see differently after I download them to my computer.  The above image strikes me as Freedom pulled into a giant parking lot in St. Thomas.  Love it!

St. Thomas is one of the most convenient ports to shopping for anything you might want from beautiful jewelry to drug store items. The Havensight Mall is right at the port within walking distance from the ship.

Or, you can hop on to a handy tram...

...and ride to the shopping area.  Of course, there are many other port activities in St. Thomas, too, in addition to shopping. 

Enjoy,
 Lois

Formal Feet

Good morning,

One of the highlights of cruising is getting all dressed up for the formal Captain's Cocktail Party and Formal Dinner in the dining room. 

As I stood listening to the Captain introduce the senior officers, I noticed the couple standing in front of me that gave me a big smile.  They were in formal attire except for the young man's shoes.  There could be reasons for this:

His luggage was lost and rented the tuxedo on board, but wore the shoes he wore to the ship.

His luggage wasn't lost and he likes to be comfortable.

Whatever the reason, this is a cruise ship and everyone can be comfortable however they want to dress.  :)  This was just such a fun picture I had to capture it.

Enjoy,
Lois

Viking Crown - Freedom of the Seas

Good morning,

That big round space ship "thing" at the top of the Freedom of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's trademark Viking Crown Lounge.  This lounge has grown substantially since RCCL's first ships.  Aboard the first ship, Song of Norway, and some ships that followed, guests were required to go outside and climb an exterior stairway to reach a very small Viking Crown.  If you wanted to go there in the evening, the ship was usually at sea where there was plenty of wind so it guaranteed a "bad hair" evening.  My how times have changed!

Now access to the Viking Crown is via elevator or interior stairs.  From this side of the lounge (above image) the view is of the pool deck.

The lounge is circular so there are also spectacular views of the sea.

 The Viking Crown is one of the best places on board to enjoy sail-away or a sunset.

 This is the view of the pool deck from inside Deck 12, just below the Viking Crown.

I never run out of places to explore here.  I hope you are having fun exploring with me.

All the best,
Lois

Happy Birthday, Catherine!

Happy Birthday, Catherine!

Good morning!

Today is our daughter Catherine's birthday.  We will celebrate later this month aboard Freedom of the Seas, but today is the big day.

When not working in her CPA practice, Catherine can often be found "bar hopping" with Penny and Erik at our local AKC dog club.

Happy Birthday, Catherine!  We look forward to celebrating with you at sea soon!

Big hugs and love,
Mom and Dad

Para Sailing Near Coco Cay, Bahamas

Good morning,

One of the popular activities out here in vacation land is para sailing.  These folks are para sailing near Coco Cay, Bahamas, one of Royal Caribbean's private islands.

This looks like a whole lot of fun, doesn't it? 

I'm quite happy to watch and take pictures. ;)

Enjoy,
Lois

Jogging Track - Freedom of the Seas

Good morning,

I have many posts about food here on board Freedom of the Seas.  I guess I should mention there are plenty of ways to work it off, too.  :)  In addition to a full fitness center, you can do it yourself up here on the jogging track on deck 12. 

I have to admit:  in my case, this isn't a jogging track, it's a walking track.  ;)

All the best,
Lois

Keeping Her Ship Shape - Freedom of the Seas

Good morning,

Although the past few days I've been sharing some images from our earlier road trips, we are currently still aboard Freedom of the Seas. 

There is always a different view from our stateroom window.  This particular day it was a close up view!

These men are giving the outside of the ship a coat of paint to keep her shining white.

Because of the sun on my window, they didn't see me taking the pictures from the inside, but they are close enough I could have reached out to shake their hands.  ;)

 This high level job is ten decks above the sea.  :)

All the best,
Lois

Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands

Good morning,

Today's images were taken in early September on our way to Freedom of the Seas when we stopped in Viera, Florida.

We found these beautiful wetlands about five months ago, the last time we came this way.

It is fun being here a different times of the year.

So very pretty.

Enjoy,

Lois