Norwegian Cruise - From Miami - Christmas Cruise - Norwegian Joy

Since my brother passed away just before Christmas in 2017, the holiday has never been the same. We have tried to find a way to move on and decided each year we will take a family trip. We don't exchange gifts, the trip and getting to spend time together is the gift! 

We all met in Miami for our second Christmas Cruise. We enjoyed 2 days at sea aboard the Norwegian Joy with a day at Harvest Caye, Belize, and a day at Costa Maya, Mexico.  

The staff on board, as usual, were so helpful.  Our room was on the 13th floor, the kid's rooms were on the 15th floor, and my mom was on the 5th floor when we checked in. This was a bit of a hike for us to go get her, so we went to customer service and asked if we could upgrade her room.  They quickly upgraded her room, just a few doors down from us, free of charge.  She went from an interior room to a balcony. What a treat! She loved her room and she was beyond grateful and excited for the upgrade.

Cameron and I had been to Costa Maya earlier this year on our Virgin Voyages trip, we remembered this great tequila bar that served tacos from the restaurant next door so we made our way there, stopping at the shops along the way of course.  When the bill came they needed cash for the tacos because they came from a different business, makes sense we just weren't prepared.  Thankfully the kids had enough cash to cover the tacos for all of us, we picked up the drink tab. 

When we got to Harvest Caye we rented another clamshell on the beach. A very nice gentleman came by for drink orders. More slushy beverages? Yes, please! We spent the day relaxing, napping, and snorkeling. 

Our group had planned our own theme nights for this trip, which made it even more fun for us all.  Country night we ate at Texas Smokehouse (Deck 6), fancy night was Teppanyaki (Deck 6), white-hot night we went to Spice H20 (Deck 17) for the white-hot party. Since it's the holiday, we also did holiday PJ's one night. My hubby and I had fleece onesies, and we were burning up so it was quick pictures and then wardrobe change! 

We also got to see Footloose at the Joy Theatre. Our favorite spot to hang out is at The Local (Deck 7).  The food is complimentary, and you can sit on deck 7 and look down onto deck 6 where there is usually a gameshow, trivia, or dance party happening. 

One person in the group, who will remain anonymous 😎, left us at The Local to go to bed. After about 30 minutes the group decided it was probably a good idea to make sure they made it to their room and sure enough they didn't. Everyone took a walk around the ship for a few minutes in search of this person, then decided to go back to The Local and what do you know, a few minutes later they stumbled back into The Local. There was laughing for a while about this situation.

Our family always has a great time with Norwegian. There are so many activities and unlimited drinks are usually one of the perks available when booking.  

Carnival Cruise - From Los Angeles - Carnival Panorama

 As we start working our way back to the west coast, why not take another cruise in along the way? 

We flew from Cleveland to Los Angeles for a cruise to the Mexican Riviera aboard the Carnival Panorama for 7 nights. We enjoyed 3 days at sea and 3 days in Mexico (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta). 

With 3 sea days, we decided this would be the perfect time to check out the spa. We paid for the Thermal Lounge and it was well worth the money. There were steam rooms, saunas, a hydrotherapy pool/hot tub, and the most amazing heated lounge chairs. If you ever find yourself on the Panorama give the Thermal Lounge a look, if you don't want to pay for the Thermal Lounge, you can still go into the spa and in the locker room/changing room, there is a complimentary sauna.  

Our time in Cabo San Lucus was a bit different than our last visit in 2014 for our honeymoon. We had to get off the ship on a mission to find internet because the ship's wifi had been down since the night before.  We took a walk along the pier down to the local Starbucks, enjoyed a caffeinated beverage, got what we needed to do done, and headed back to the ship. 

We decided not to get off the ship in Mazatlan, but we did get off the ship in Puerto Vallarta.  When you get off the ship in Puerto Vallarta, check out Galerias Vallarta shopping mall or look for the large sign that says BEACH and go for it. Bring a blanket or beach towel and spend the day.  There are plenty of people walking up and down the beach willing to bring you a beverage or ask if there is a nearby resort that has an open to the public bar. It was suggested to us, by a nice gentleman on the beach, to go to Playa De Oro but we ended up at Jordin del Sol, which had delicious fresh guacamole and pico de gallo. We watched a very large iguana mosey along the rooftop and around the pool, had some great snacks, and a few drinks then worked our way back down the beach to the ship. The weather in December was a perfect 85 degrees in the afternoon. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

The Carnival Panorama is beautiful and the food was much better than what we experienced on the Carnival Legend. Another tip, if you book on the Carnival Panorama, on sea days check the specialty dining locations for lunch because they are usually open and complimentary. The ship was beautiful, the food was good; I would absolutely take another cruise on this ship!

Carnival Cruise - From Baltimore - Carnival Legend

Our first Carnival cruise and our first cruise leaving from the Port of Baltimore. 

This was literally the easiest embarkation we have ever experienced. We pulled into the Port of Baltimore, parked our vehicle, walked to customs/security, and boarded the Carnival Legend all within 30 minutes.  Keep in mind, just a few weeks ago we were on one of the newest ships, Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady, which had set our standards higher than we ever imagined. The boarding and embarkation process was excellent, but the decor of the boat was a bit older than we had hoped. Lunch options and the buffet food were subpar, but Guy Fieri's Burger joint was pretty good, we mostly ate there every day for lunch.  

Aside from the buffet, we had the option to attend a complimentary sit-down dinner at our assigned time in the evening. The first night we showed up there was no one at our shared table, so we thought we had the table to ourselves, the second night a lovely younger couple joined us and we thoroughly enjoyed their company.  They too had hoped they didn't have to share the table, but they seemed to tolerate us well. Our servers were the same each night, and they did an excellent job. Eric & Ronaldo were very pleasant and entertaining.  They remembered us when we walked in each night and had our beverages of choice on the table without even asking for them within seconds. The food was good, and each night they had a rare food item on the menu. My husband tried alligator, escargot, frog legs, and who knows what else. Don't worry, each night those were just one of the many options on the menu. Every night I chose the shrimp cocktail as an appetizer to kick things off, some nights I ordered two, salad, steak, and a lovely cheese plate for dessert. 

One of the great parts of cruising is the food.  If you go to any of the complimentary food locations (on any cruise) you can order as much as you want, try whatever you want.  Why not?

We enjoyed 2 days at sea, and 3 days in The Bahamas (Nassau, Princess Cays, Freeport). We have visited these ports before so we didn't spend much time exploring. During our day at Princess Cays we rented a clamshell (the umbrella-looking thing that goes over your beach chairs) for around $35 and ordered a few blended beverages. My husband made some inappropriate sand sculptures, and we soaked up the sun.

Overall, we had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves.  I would 100% leave from Baltimore again for a cruise. 

Cider Making

Of all the things you can do in an RV, why not make hard cider? With my recent gluten intolerance/allergy I have started drinking more hard cider and less beer. My husband decided that he and our good friend Jeff could probably figure out how to do it, and who knows maybe one day we could open a cidery.  🤞

We took a trip to the local homebrew store, grabbed some supplies then gathered at the Toy Hauler and started our chemistry experiment. By we, I mean I took notes and the "boys" did the measuring, etc.

Cameron and I will be traveling, so Jeff has to babysit the experiment. This could be the beginning of something delicious. Stay tuned!

Virgin Voyages - From Ft. Lauderdale - Scarlet Lady

My hubby and I flew into Ft Lauderdale to spend the night before we head down to Miami for our first Virgin Voyages cruise.  We checked into Ocean Manor Beach Hotel, took a quick look out the window at the ocean, and then we took a walk to find food. The hotel had a bar on the beach, so we had a quick drink and dinner.  A low-key evening. The next morning we took a walk and stumbled upon this cute tiny diner called Oceans Grille. I was very skeptical since I am a picky eater, but I can't even explain how good this food was!  I ordered the Grilled Reuben With Cheese and I was DELIGHTED! I was so wrapped up in my own food, I don't even remember what my husband ordered.  I believe he had fish and shrimp and loved that as well. If you ever find yourself in Ft. Lauderdale, do yourself a favor and stop by Oceans Grille.

We worked our way down to Miami and excitedly onto the Scarlet Lady. What a glamorous ship! 

We were told there is a tattoo shop on board, so we started exploring and quickly found Squid Ink.  We assumed appointments would fill up fast, so we waited by the entrance until they opened. We weren't expecting what happened next. As we were standing there two well-known tattoo artists showed up from the hit reality TV show Ink Master, Al Fliction and Kyle Dunbar. My husband and I were thrilled! Were we really going to get tattoos from one of these amazing artists?  You betcha! 

We were about the third group through the door, and Kyle told me to jump in the chair and he would start designing my chest piece. I definitely wore the wrong bra for that, but I'm not a modest person so top off and in the chair I went.  He drew a beautiful piece that he planned to do for me a few days later. When we showed up for my appointment a few days later, Kyle told me he had bad news.  Apparently, the owner of Squid Ink wouldn't let him do the piece at the price he quoted me. Kyle was just as annoyed about it as I was and offered to do the chest piece at a later time for me at one of the upcoming tattoo conventions he plans to attend. 

I had plenty of other work I wanted done so I decided to have him tattoo the masquerade mask that I wore during my wedding. I couldn't be happier with how this turned out and it is perfectly placed on my shoulder. My only regret is that I can't see it all day every day; this truly is a beautiful piece of work!

My husband also had Kyle do his tattoo. He has wanted this one for a long time and yet again Kyle knocked it out of the park! His tattoo of Lady Liberty protecting a soldier with the American Flag draped over his body is just one more way my husband displays his love for this country and his appreciation for other veterans who have served before, during, and with him. 

Ok, enough about tattoos, although it was the highlight of our trip.  The Scarlet Lady was beyond beautiful! The food was absolutely amazing and the dining experiences were delicious.  One of our favorite dining experiences was the test kitchen.  We had two choices to make, beef or lamb and wine
paring or not.  I did beef, my husband did lamb and of course, we both said yes to the wine pairing.  Each course was some exquisitely plated edible work of art.  Take a look at this work of art.  It is my filet mignon splatter with beat sauce, that looks like road-kill but tasted like heaven.  

There was a mini Coca-cola freestyle, so I had unlimited access to Coke Zero, happy as can be. The food court area had sandwiches, ramen, bento boxes, pizza, burgers, and I'm sure some other food I'm missing.  This wasn't buffet-style eating either, although it was all you can eat. As soon as you sit down, a staff member comes to take your order. You can order whatever you want from any of the places and they bring it to you.  I pretty much lived on ramen and bento boxes.  There was always a gluten-free option available and while I didn't pay much attention to whether or not the ramen or bento boxes were gluten-friendly I didn't have any adverse reaction so I was happy to keep eating them. We only ate here for lunch, since we were able to make reservations at the fancy dining experiences each evening. Oh yeah, those were complimentary too, all the food is included in the fare.

Our favorite dining experiences were at The Wake, where my husband said he had the best lamb he has ever had. Extra Virgin was exquisite, I ordered the bolognese and the most amazing fried artichoke. I had two orders of artichokes and didn't feel a bit guilty. 🤣 

Snacks? Oh my! Lick Me Til I Scream, was the onboard ice cream shop with some very interesting flavors. If that wasn't good enough there were cake pops and other goodies and if you didn't want to leave your room, don't. They will bring you almost any food you want, yep free! Although there was a $5 delivery charge. 

Bottom line, this was one of the best cruises my husband and I have ever been on.  If you are considering Virgin Voyages, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have or help you book your trip.

Walk to End Hydrocephalus

This year we joined our friends Tom & Shannon Baker for the annual Walk to End Hydrocephalus, which is organized by the Hydrocephalus Association.  Tom suffers from this condition and he is an inspiration to so many of the young people that also have Hydrocephalus.  

My cousin had Hydrocephalus and unfortunately, he passed away in 1987 at age 13. Tom is living proof that there have been many medical advances regarding Hydrocephalus over the years. He is an inspiration not only to others who have this condition but he is also an inspiration to my husband and me!

The Month of Concerts

I have never been to so many concerts in one year, and this was by far a record month!  

First up was Inkcarceration, a music and tattoo festival held at the old Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield Ohio.  The reformatory is where the well-known movie The Shawshank Redemption was filmed.  It is also where one of my FAVORITE bands Godsmack filmed their music video of their hit song Awake and "Go DJ" by Lil' Wayne.  I was mostly excited to see Slipknot, Mudvayne, and Halestorm and of all the bands we saw that weekend Halestorm was most memorable.  Fortunately, we've done the tour of the reformatory before because the tour lines were really long during the festival.  The line to get tattoos was also pretty long, so we just enjoyed the music.  This event didn't allow chairs, but we brought a few big blankets and marked off our area.  Most people were respectful of each other's space, although we never left our space unattended. There was a water refilling station and Shannon Baker found soda that was refillable for the entire weekend, for a fee of course. We had a great time, but next year Inkcarceration falls on the same weekend as Rock Fest and we enjoyed Rock Fest way more, so we will be going there instead.  

Next, we went to a very nice venue in downtown Cleveland, Ohio called House of Blues. Monday night we saw Buckcherry and then we went back the next day on Tuesday the 14th to see Candlebox.  Buckcherry was absolutely amazing and extremely entertaining and Candlebox did not disappoint either. We often find these little gems via VetTix, which is a non-profit organization that helps Veterans get tickets to several types of events usually only for a small service fee.  

So far in September, we've done a three-day music & tattoo festival and back-to-back concerts on a weekday, but why stop there? Again, Vettix comes through and we scored amazing seats at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio to see none other than Brooks & Dunn, Travis Tritt. This is one of the most beautiful outdoor venues we have ever been to and very handicap accessible. I'd highly recommend going to any event held at this venue. 

What is your favorite concert venue?

Vegas - Kathleen's Birthday - Tahiti Village

A few years ago, we started a tradition of going to Vegas for Cameron's Mom's birthday.  This year we tried something different and stayed off the strip.  We booked a 2 bedroom suite at Tahiti Village which had a kitchen and living room between the two rooms.  My son and daughter joined us this year, along with their significant others, so all 7 of us planned a night each couple would cook.  I made plenty of grilled cheese sandwiches on this trip and the meals were really fun.  One of the nights the resort hosted a luau and we all dressed up in our best Hawian attire. Most of our time was spent in the lazy river, which is what had drawn us to this resort in the first place.  As expected, it was very hot this time of year so we were very thankful for the lazy river and the air conditioning.

We had a very relaxing trip and spent some great quality time together and we even made time for our traditional Vegas tattoos.  My mother-in-law got a tattoo on her arm that says "just breathe" she's a delivery nurse. My husband got his dog tags and a nautical star on his arm and I got my dog tags and a grilled cheese sandwich.  There is a story behind the grilled cheese tattoo, click here to read how that one came about.

Do you have a good Vegas story to share?

Tatoo for Savings and a Good Laugh

There are several ways to save money in life, but I found a way to save money via something that provides constant smiles for me!  

Earlier this year my husband and I visited the Cleveland area and our Uber driver told us about a local restaurant that had awesome food called Melt Bar & Grilled. He went on to tell us that they have a "Tattoo Family" and if you get one of their logos tattooed on you (and register it with them) then you get a discount on your bill for the rest of your life! I WAS IN!

We had to go check this place out, so we went to their Lakewood, Ohio location and I was blown away by their gluten-free options. I ordered the Wet Buffalo Chichen (gluten-free) and my husband ordered some monstrosity that actually had pizza rolls on it! The food was awesome so now I was convinced the tattoo is a great idea!

During our annual Vegas trip, we visited our favorite tattoo shop, Wolf Pack Tattoo and I got my Melt tattoo so I could officially join the Melt Tattoo Family! The best part was at the end when the artist asked me how it looked my reply was simply "looks like money to me!" We all laughed and I smile every time I look at it! Oh, and yes I am keeping track of how much money I have saved vs the cost of the tattoo. It will pay for itself in no time!

I finally got my registration number, look for me on their website, I'm #966.

Rock Fest

 

This was our first concert since Covid-19 put a halt to large public gatherings. My son and his girlfriend met us in Wisconsin for this one and we had a blast!

Things started off a little rocky. The day before we headed down for the concert we were out on the boat tubbing and my husband ruptured his eardrum. He insisted on going to the concert as planned, so once we checked in to the hotel he went to the hospital to double-check that his ear was ok.  Turns out he had a hole in his eardrum. They gave him antibiotics and he had to wear earplugs until it healed. Somehow he tolerated the pain and yes, he made it to the concert every day. 

The hotel was a fiasco! We had prepaid for the room and they charged us again at check-in, once we realized that happened we asked for a refund of the duplicate charge, and as expected that would take 3 to 5 business days to show up in my account. When we got to the room we noticed the dresser was full of someone else's clothing.  We called the front desk and they said "Oh yeah, someone was supposed to come back and pick those up." They came up with a garbage bag and removed the clothing.  Shortly after that, we noticed the white bedspread had yellow stains on it. I called the front desk and the person who answered argued with me stating "this is not happening, I changed those sheets myself today". I told him he could come and look for himself and he brought replacements which also had stains. He tried a few more and finally found some without stains. As the evening starts to wind down we crawl into bed and my son jumps out of his bed and says "that is disgusting".  What was he referring to? A toenail in the bed! I was laughing and crying so hysterically, this place was disgusting and by far the worst place we had ever stayed. Not to mention, we were paying almost $200 per night! A few minutes would go by and I would just start laughing again out of nowhere, I was for sure delirious! 

The next day we made it to Rock Fest with no issues at all. The lineup was awesome, the venue was great, and we were able to bring in lawn chairs so we always had somewhere to sit.  It was extremely hot, but the venue had water stations to fill water bottles and cool yourself off.  

My favorite performances were Stained, Saint Asonia, and Limp Bizkit!

Things we did right: refillable water bottles, bandanna to get wet and put on our necks, cards, lawn chairs, blanket. 

Things we did wrong: didn't get on-site camping, didn't bring warm clothes for the evening.

Overall, we had an awesome time! Next year we will be camping on-site with our RV so we won't have to worry about someone else's toenail in our bed. 😁

Covid-19 Vaccine - Our Experience

We all have choices to make regarding how we deal with Covid-19 and traveling. Some people are refusing the vaccine and others think everyone should get it.  I believe everyone should have the choice to get it or not. I am also choosing to move on with my life and continue to travel and attend events as safely as possible. In order to do so, I would feel irresponsible if I didn’t get the vaccine and continued to attend large events.  So, today we decided to get the vaccine so we can attend an upcoming rock festival.

I did my research and found a location that offered the Moderna vaccine.  I was nervous, anxious, and scared.  I took a quick bathroom break and when I came back my husband said “I’m going to get mine but the Pharmacist is coming to talk to you, they only have the Johnson & Johnson shot”. This is the one that women my age were specifically having negative reactions to.  The Pharmacist came over and nicely answered all of my questions, although they weren’t the answers I wanted.  She confirmed I was in that age range and when I asked her if they fixed the issue yet, she said they determined the benefit outweighed the risk and put it back on the market with no change.  I teared up, texted my children telling them I love them, and I decided if I didn’t get the vaccine right then and there then I never would.  

The shot itself was pretty painful.  I didn’t have any major reactions aside from a very sore arm for a few days. It felt like the bone in my arm was bruised, an odd feeling but tolerable. My husband on the other hand was in bed sick after the shot. Fortunately, he recovered after a few days of sleep. 

Overall, I'm glad it is over and done with. Getting the vaccine will allow me to attend the rock festivals and cruises that I am looking forward to attending this year.

Did you get the vaccine? If so, what did you get? Did you have side effects?

Trip to Italy & France Cancelled :(

Good friends of ours wanted to spend their 50th wedding anniversary in France & Italy and they wanted us to go too.  How exciting?  We had a beautiful trip planned, 3 Nights London, 3 Nights Paris, 3 Nights Venice, 3 Nights Florence & 3 Nights Rome. 

Unfortunately, 2020 was a rough year for travel, and 2021 wasn’t looking that much better.  We decided with COVID-19 and the health of our friends to cancel our trip. While this was a hard decision for us to make, it was the right one.  Someday we will get there until then I’d love to hear stories about your trip to London, Paris, Venice, Florence, or Rome.

Rosacea & Celiac Disease

Recently I decided to take a deeper look at why my face is so red and breaking out. I have always had little bumps on the back of my arms and stomach issues, but I just learned to live with all of these things. Turns out, I have Rosacea and according to my 23andMe.com results it's highly likely I have celiac disease. The good news is both of these things can be managed.

My daughter recently gave me a gift certificate for a facial and that was the first step in the right direction. My esthetician said I needed to start using gentle cleaning products and suggested I look at what food items irritate rosacea. The items on the list that were currently in my diet were hot drinks (coffee & tea) and red wine. So, one thing at a time, I cut out coffee and didn't notice a difference so it thankfully came back into my life and then I cut out red wine.

At the same time, I was trying to manage my rosacea, I was learning the breakout on my face and bumps on my arms could be related to celiacs disease. Unbeknownst to me, there is a link between rosacea and celiacs disease. According to the National Rosacea Society, a study shows women with rosacea are "2.03 times more likely to have celiac disease".

So, I stopped eating gluten too. No red wine, nothing with gluten, I was not excited about any of this! I continued my monthly facials, started a new skincare routine, stopped drinking red wine, and removed gluten from my diet. I quickly noticed a HUGE difference in my face. The bumps were gone, the redness gone, the bumps on the back of my arms were gone, the pain in my stomach after eating was also gone.

I’ve tried red wine since removing it from my diet and my face immediately reacts. If I slip and eat something with gluten, my stomach definitely lets me know and if there is quite a bit I will notice it in my face as well.

If you have rosacea and/or celiac disease, take a good look at what you are eating. It helped me tremendously and I hope it will help you too.

Share your rosacea/celiacs story below.

Nashville

Have you ever traveled to Nashville?  I finally made it! The occasion, the continued celebration of my daughter's 21st birthday!  What a blast!  If you decide to visit Nashville, I recommend checking out the party wagons.  Literally, a wagon was pulled through town by a tractor and we enjoyed some adult beverages while singing and dancing through downtown Nashville.  

We also found a really nice boot store called Boot Country where you buy 1 pair and you get 2 free!  So, of course, we each had to get a pair to wear to Zanies Comedy Night Club that evening. 

If you have some spare time, take a side trip to the Jack Daniel's Distillery. We did the Angel's Share Tour and learned a lot along the way.

What do you suggest for must-see or must-do options for our next visit?

21st Birthday - 21 Shots

My daughter turned 21 this year and we wanted to go out and do something fun, so I created a list of 21 fun birthday shots. 

I printed a copy for each of us and we had a ton of fun over several days trying to complete the list.  The bar staff at each location really enjoyed the list too.  We would show them the list and let them choose our next shot!  We took several days to try to complete the list and we didn't quite complete it (YET) but it sure has been fun!

Feel free to use the list I created, or use it as motivation to create your own.  

*Please drink responsibly. Not recommended to do all 21 shots in one day.

Passport

Well, I drug my feet long enough on renewing my passport, and of course, it expired. 🤣 I finally got motivated (since I'm planning a trip to Europe) and made an appointment with the USPS to get my passport application done.  I'll admit, I didn't know I could do this at the post office and I definitely didn't know how easy it would be.  

If you need to renew your passport or apply for one check out the USPS.  Make your appointment online and follow the instructions provided.  It was very easy and I'd highly recommend it! 

Now let's hope it comes in time for my trip in May. 🤞

Happy New Year!

With 2020 behind us we start another chapter and begin 2021!  This year we are hoping to spend some time in Wisconsin at the cabin, in Ohio with family, and a few weeks in Europe! 🤞

Where do you hope to go this year?