GOING ON A CRUISE WITH MOM & DAD

The last time I took a vacation with my parents, I was a pre-teenager. Needless to say, that was a year or two ago!!!

Last September, while Tom and I were planning a cruise for my upcoming birthday, my Mom said, "I've always wanted to take a cruise." Since she is in her early 80's, Tom and I decided now was the time to plan that cruise.

As we started talking about it, my Dad kept acting like he didn't want to go. So I finally proposed Mom and I doing a girl's cruise - at which point he decided he didn't want to be left behind. I asked them what islands they would like to visit. The only one they came up with was St. Martin/St. Maarten. They had gone there many years ago; unfortunately, right after a hurricane, so it wasn't the best time to visit. They had always wanted to return but never had. This was their chance!

I found a great itinerary on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas. We would be leaving out of San Juan and visiting Tortola, St. Martin/St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Grenada. Mom & Dad agreed that it sounded great, so cruise and airline reservations were made. The my parent's friends, Dora and Odd Larsen, decided to join us.

On the morning of April 10, we left Providence heading to San Juan and the Serenade of the Seas. The flights went smoothly and before we knew it we were on board enjoying our first drink.

Tortola - after a little snag regarding our (non)rental car, we found a great taxi driver to take us around Tortola. We spent some time at Long Bay, Brewers Bay and Skyworld, as well as some other stops for general sightseeing. Tom and I love Tortola, so it was a great chance to share it.

St. Martin/St. Maarten - We had a tour set up with Bernard's Tours. It was great! We visited Orient (clothing optional) Beach and Maho (planes landing overhead) Beach. We wandered the island enjoying beautiful scenery including a stop at a patissserie shop.



Antigua - Fortunately, this was the day with no tours scheduled. We were just planning to catch a taxi to a beach. It rained all day - not just light rain, but pouring rain. We stayed on the ship, except for Tom who ventured into the town for a beer and an quick internet fix.


St. Lucia - Another tour scheduled - this one with Cosol. What a beautiful island. We visited waterfalls, botanical gardens, volcanoes and the beach. We enjoyed a stop where we were served some local delicacies and fruits. However, the highlight of the day was after we departed. Our captain steered the cruise ship between the Pitons and then did a 180-degree rotation between them. It was an absolutely incredible experience.



Grenada - Our last tour of the trip with A&E Tours. We learned about spices like nutmeg, mace and cinnamon as well as chocolate. We visited a botanical garden, waterfall and crater lake. We enjoyed monkeys, a rum factory and, last but not least, another beautiful beach.

Day at Sea - Today we were able to relax and enjoy the ship. Tom and I agree that the Serenade of the Seas is the best ship we've ever been on. It's not too big, never feels crowded, has lots of out of the way spaces, and boasts the most incredible crew. We elected to dine at Chops tonight instead of the main dining room. What a way to end our trip.

Heading Home to Rhode Island

Goldenrod and Butterflies

We were so fortunate last week to live next to fields of goldenrod. Rhode Island is part of the fall southward migration of the Monarchs and the fields were full of them. Such a lovely sight to be driving towards the cottage and see hundreds of Monarchs fluttering everywhere.

One week later, the butterflies are gone and the goldenrod is fading - but it was so glorious while it lasted.

Wickford Harbour Fest

Wickford is a small town founded in 1637 by Richard Smith. The village grew slowly at first and was the subject of much real estate speculation, with as many as twenty homes constructed by the time of the Revolution, many of which still exist. More detailed information about Wickford can be found here.

Yesterday we attended the Wickford Harbour Fest. This festival had been held annually until sometime in the 1980's. They are now trying to revive it, and this was the first of what the organizers hope will become an annual event again.

This year's event was fairly small be seemed to be very well attended. And, yes, I was able to received instructions in how to shuck a quahog. Now, I think all it will take is the right knife and practice, practice, practice.

Scenes from Wickford Harbour Fest:

Our (Temporary) Home in Green Hill

We were able to rent a great "beach house" in Green Hill while the construction on our house is being completed. It is located in an area known as Ward's Pasture, so it is set away from all the other houses yet still a short walk from the beach. The property borders the Trustom Pond Wildlife Refuge, so we are able to enjoy the deer who visit almost every evening.

We are really enjoying our time here - it is so quiet and peaceful. We feel very fortunate to have such a lovely spot to await the completion of our home.

HOME AGAIN!

We have finally arrived in Rhode Island after our three day journey from Texas. We actually managed to get all our belongings into the garage at our new home. So, there they will sit until the house is finished.

Our first two weeks here have been so busy. It has been over twenty years since we last moved, and even then it was in the same state. You forget how much is involved when you move to another state!

We haven't had time to do much other than house stuff, but we hope to change that this weekend. We are going to attend the Wickford Harbour Fest. It seems as if there are so many different events all over the state every weekend! We are really looking forward to attending as many as we can.

Building, Selling, Moving and Lisa Update

Okay, I've been very bad yet again about keeping this blog up. I'm really going to try to do better.

The last two months have been totally crazy!

First, we spent almost a month getting our house ready to sell. We decluttered, freecycled and donated. We repaired and painted. Once we finally were ready to show it, we let several individuals who has expressed interest know. They came through to see it one weekend before we put out a sign (we were selling it ourselves). Within three days we had an offer. We are now set up for closing on August 30.

The move is scheduled with Paul Arpin. August 28 - pack. August 29 - load. We'll have two nights in a hotel and then we head out on our journey to Rhode Island with the two dogs and a trailer.

Our house won't be ready until December 1, so we are renting a "beach house" in Green Hill for three months. It is somewhat winterized, so hopefully it won't get too cold.

In the middle of all of this, daughter Lisa has been placed on modified bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy (four months). Granddaughter Riley is a very active 2 1/2 year old. We've been pitching in to help take care of her (along with Lisa's mother-in-law). All I can say is - I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS. Riley is a wonderful little girl, she just doesn't stop - ever! She hasn't been taking naps for over a year. And, after running around after her for hours, I need a nap! It is great to have the opportunity to spend some time with her prior to our move, though.

Four weeks and counting until the new phase in our life begins.

It's A Date

We finally have a date for them to start the next phase of construction - June 14.

Materials are being delivered on June 12-13 and the second crew from Vermont is scheduled to work starting June 25. We are anticipating our first walk-through the weekend of July 14 and 15, so we're heading to Rhode Island that weekend.

We'll be so relieved once we can actually see something happening after all these months of delays caused by the electric company.