Friday, November 16
Today was a day of waiting and moving.
After a brief visit at John's sister's home in San Antonio, she drove us to San Antonio airport for our flight to Fort Lauderdale. SAT is a rather small airport, considering the size of the city, but is quite convenient and efficient.
They say that wheter you go to Heaven or Hell, you have to change planes in Atlanta. This was true in this case, since there doesn't seem to be a direct flight across the Golf of Mexico between the two cities. We had a very close connection in Atlanta and, true to form, two gates were at opposite sides of the airport, but we made it. Both flights were filled to capacity, but not uncomfortable.
After a long wait for baggage at FLL (Fort Lauderdale airport) we called our hotel shuttle and asked where to wait. We stood outside for nearly an hour in the drizzle waiting as vans from other hotels came and went. Eventually, after two more phone calls, the driver arrived. It was his forst day on the job!
Checking into the hotel at about 10:00, we grabbed a snack at the restaurant and turned in.
We board our ship, the Century Eclipse on Saturday and will probably be offline for a number of days, since internet on the ship is both expensive and slow.
Look for us down the log.
John and Donna
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Greetings from San Antonio Thursday, Nov 15
We have been having a great time in San Antonio visiting with John's sister, Susan and her husband Carl this week. We have not been here for 7 years and it has sure grown with new construction of buildings and freeways everywhere. Lots of traffic but no where near that as Seattle so we have have little difficulty driving around the area and seeing lots of things, some new and some repeats of great places that we visited on past trips.
Yesterday, Susan drove us to an area about 120 miles northeast of SA to see some lovely painted churches. These historical churches are located in Czech communities of the late 1800's. These little churches have been maintained over all of these years and all are beautifully adorned and hand painted with frescoes and beautiful stained windows. We followed the church trail throughout this rural area and enjoyed going inside each one as no two are alike but each is unique and charming. They are still in use by their congregations and but are opened to the public when there is no service.
Today we decided to re-visit an area that we have always enjoyed, The SA Riverwalk. We loved the 4 mile walk that took us up one side of the river and down the other. We have always found this to be a delight but it is even better now since they have added a large new portion in what is called the museum section. We thoroughly enjoyed this time together strolling along this lovely river.
We then drove to the Mexican marketplace and had a wonderful lunch at a great older restaurant called Mi Tierra. We have eaten here before years ago and enjoyed it very much. The food was excellent and the decorations are so funky. This place is located at the marketplace and after lunch we walked around the market and felt like we were in a Mexican Mercado, something we both miss and love.
We drove around another of our favorite haunts in San Antonio, the King William Neighborhood. This historic area contains stately homes dating back to the early 1800's and most of them are beautifully restored and maintained.
It has been a great week her in SA with family and the start of an exciting journey. Tomorrow we again board a flight and continue to travel east. We fly to Fort Lauderdale FL and board a ship on Saturday morning. We will be working on a two week cruise and will continue to share our adventures with you so stay turned for more!
Yesterday, Susan drove us to an area about 120 miles northeast of SA to see some lovely painted churches. These historical churches are located in Czech communities of the late 1800's. These little churches have been maintained over all of these years and all are beautifully adorned and hand painted with frescoes and beautiful stained windows. We followed the church trail throughout this rural area and enjoyed going inside each one as no two are alike but each is unique and charming. They are still in use by their congregations and but are opened to the public when there is no service.
Today we decided to re-visit an area that we have always enjoyed, The SA Riverwalk. We loved the 4 mile walk that took us up one side of the river and down the other. We have always found this to be a delight but it is even better now since they have added a large new portion in what is called the museum section. We thoroughly enjoyed this time together strolling along this lovely river.
We then drove to the Mexican marketplace and had a wonderful lunch at a great older restaurant called Mi Tierra. We have eaten here before years ago and enjoyed it very much. The food was excellent and the decorations are so funky. This place is located at the marketplace and after lunch we walked around the market and felt like we were in a Mexican Mercado, something we both miss and love.
We drove around another of our favorite haunts in San Antonio, the King William Neighborhood. This historic area contains stately homes dating back to the early 1800's and most of them are beautifully restored and maintained.
It has been a great week her in SA with family and the start of an exciting journey. Tomorrow we again board a flight and continue to travel east. We fly to Fort Lauderdale FL and board a ship on Saturday morning. We will be working on a two week cruise and will continue to share our adventures with you so stay turned for more!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
San Antoino TX, Nov 13
Traveling by air can be uncomfortable or downright irritating. Fortunately, our experience yesterday proved just the opposite.
Anderson Island is a place where neighbors help neighbors. We posted a comment a few weeks ago and our neighbor, Dave Albertson, offered us a ride to the airport. It is quite a drive and we really appreciate his generosity.
Alaska Airlines now has a direct flight from Seattle to San Antonio. This is a big deal, because our previous flights always had poor connections via Dallas, Houston or even more obscure routes. Leaving Sea-Tac a bit late, we landed our fully loaded 737 less than four hours later. This was a perfectly smooth and flawless flight. Kudos to Alaska.
We were met at the airport by John's sister, Susan and her husband, Carl. We checked into a nearby hotel and had a nice meal at a neighborhood Thai restaurant. The weather in San Antonio has taken a turn to the cool side and we actually had to wear the sweaters we had packed for the Northwest.
We will see what the rest of the week will bring.
Anderson Island is a place where neighbors help neighbors. We posted a comment a few weeks ago and our neighbor, Dave Albertson, offered us a ride to the airport. It is quite a drive and we really appreciate his generosity.
Alaska Airlines now has a direct flight from Seattle to San Antonio. This is a big deal, because our previous flights always had poor connections via Dallas, Houston or even more obscure routes. Leaving Sea-Tac a bit late, we landed our fully loaded 737 less than four hours later. This was a perfectly smooth and flawless flight. Kudos to Alaska.
We were met at the airport by John's sister, Susan and her husband, Carl. We checked into a nearby hotel and had a nice meal at a neighborhood Thai restaurant. The weather in San Antonio has taken a turn to the cool side and we actually had to wear the sweaters we had packed for the Northwest.
We will see what the rest of the week will bring.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Rain, rain, go away...
In Western Washington, November and cold rain seem to go together like beer and bratwurst.
After an absolutely beautiful July-September, we are back to our old weather pattern.
Today, we fly away sunnier and warmer climes. San Antonio is our first destination,where we will visit John's sister and brother in law for several days. I memory serves us correctly, our last visit to SAT was in 2005. It's about time we went back.
After our visit with Susan and Carl, we will be flying to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up a cruise to the Southern Caribbean, where we will serve as guest speakers. Since hurricane season is officially over, we are looking forward to swaying palms, sunny skies and sparkling water during our visit to nine different countries.
Look for postings from time to time.
After an absolutely beautiful July-September, we are back to our old weather pattern.
Today, we fly away sunnier and warmer climes. San Antonio is our first destination,where we will visit John's sister and brother in law for several days. I memory serves us correctly, our last visit to SAT was in 2005. It's about time we went back.
After our visit with Susan and Carl, we will be flying to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up a cruise to the Southern Caribbean, where we will serve as guest speakers. Since hurricane season is officially over, we are looking forward to swaying palms, sunny skies and sparkling water during our visit to nine different countries.
Look for postings from time to time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)