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.