Fun clouds looking down from 12-15,000 feet as we com into LAX. Then a fun shot of SoFi Stadium right before landing. My first shot of the completed stadium from above! The World Cup will be playing there this summer!
We arrive home around 1 AM, 4 AM Florida time. Time to sleep in!
On a day without much planned, we head over to “The Ringling” Museum to check it out. It’s a pretty fabulous collection of circus memorabilia!
A man named Howard Tibbels fascination with the circus began in his childhood. He spent summers with his grandparents in West Virginia. He would watch the circus trains unload using binoculars from a hilltop. As a child, he started making miniature models of different circus figures. He would end up spending over 50 years recreating the circus in miniature. The Ringling Museum took his models and put them on display. It is a fabulous depiction of the circus that spans about an acre of museum space! Check out the workshop that he built everything in!
Famous costumes and props the circus used.
Then we walk outside for a walk to the next building.
We step in to check out the Historic Circus Galleries and more miniature models. There is a workshop where workers refurbish and complete unfinished works! One of the train cars that the dignitaries of the circus travelled in was quite the car, complete with bathtub! And of course the ‘Human Cannon”!
A walk through the grounds reveals many Banyan trees where even a statue of a child has been swallowed up by the trees!
We checked out the “Ca’dzan” museum from the outside but did not elect to pay the $30 admission fee.
Then it was back to John & Andrea’s place for the evening.
After disembarking the ship, we pick up a rental car and visit a shipmate friend from our 2 Round The World Cruises! Hey ‘E-Less Ann’!
Then it’s off towards Naples to visit Elee’s college roommate and her husband! Hey Ellen & Bob! They gave us a tour of the area!
After a couple days we head north to visit with Elee’s cousin on Anna Maria Island near Sarasota. Unfortunately, Karen was marooned up north due to the heavy snowstorms up north so John was a fantastic host who showed us around for a couple days! We also visited Brother in Law John and his partner Andrea who were both gracious enough to let us use their house! Thanks!
Then we were off to Orlando where we stayed at a Hilton (That we would never stay at again!) in the Disney World area. We did get a great deal on the room in exchange for attending a 2 hour Vacation Presentation (thinkTimeshare). Of course we were told there would be no pressure, LOL. But the presenters, sales persons, closers & check-out people were all clearly angry when we turned them down!
Our room in the hotel was next to a vertical shaft that went all the way to the very noisy Lobby where the sound carried to every room! We did have a view overlooking parts of Disney World and the Lazy River that belonged to the hotel. We did spend a couple hours prior to the presentation relaxing in the Lazy River!
Next, we were off to “The Villages” to visit another shipmate friend from our Round The World Cruises, Ron and his girlfriend Linda! It was fun catching up Guys! They took us to an outdoor Country Concert. It seems that The Villages has entertainment happening somewhere almost every night so it doesn’t matter which night you want to go out! There is always something happening!
On our way back to Orlando that evening, we even were able to pull over to watch a launch from Cape Canaveral! This was probably the most disappointing shot with the new iPhone 17 as the phone wouldn’t focus well on the rocket flames!
The next morning we check out of our hotel at 11 AM. Our flight doesn’t take off until 9 PM so we take a leisurely drive back to Fort Lauderdale. We find the Riverwalk and spend a couple hours there.
There will be an upcoming post for something we also did in Sarasota, but was a separate side trip. See you again soon!
We sleep in today. Breakfast consists of the “Windjammer Marketplace”, aka the buffet restaurant. One of the waiters was always dressed in some kind of ‘cow’ theme!
We hang out lazily today and listen to jazz music outside our window, coming from somewhere down in Central Park. We do find the walking track on Deck 5 that goes around the ship and I walk 5 laps, the equivalent of 3 miles! We walk around and find the “Bionic Bar” and I get a “Mother Pucker” just to watch the robots work.
We watch a few minutes of a Crew vs Passenger Volleyball game where the Crew dominates.
In the afternoon we watch a production of “Cats” in the theater. As well as it was performed, we’re glad we didn’t pay for Pantages tickets.
Then for dinner we visit Port Side BBQ and have brisket and pulled pork, smoked long and slow.
We attend a game show called “The Perfect Couple”, a hilarious adults only show. Then it’s off to bed and pack up our belongings as the Cruise ends in the morning.
At breakfast in the main restaurant this morning, we meet Amanda and Chelsea and have fun travel conversations. Amanda is a Consultant and Chelsea is an RN. Walking back to our stateroom, I come across the marker in Central Park that marks the center of the ship!
The gangplank opens at 10 AM. We get off and walk the mile of docks and shops to get into the city of Porto Plata, Dominican Republic. Walking around the city reveals interesting sights and streets. It doesn’t appear safe to wander far from the tourist attractions. We have been told the same from people who know this area.
About a mile of walking brings us to the “Umbrella Street”, with a canopy of colorful umbrellas.
Next we find the “Pink Street”, ‘Paseo de Dona Blanca’ where every wall and doorway is pink.
We walk around a large plaza, inquiring about restaurants that serve Conch, having never tried this. All kinds of tourist activities are happening. A ‘cool’ ice cream store grabs my camera’s eye! Caribbean music plays from a small band in the square.
We come across a Cathedral and my camera drags me over for a couple shots. There is no tourist fee to enter this one.
We are told of a restaurant that serves Conch. After much searching, we find it and get seated. Then we are informed that they don’t have conch today. Bummer. So we search some more to no avail.
Back to the ship it is, but not before stopping for a couple of rum drinks to cool the body and soul! A fun pair of bartenders helps keep us entertained! We even find a shuttle that takes us the last mile of docks to our ship!
Back on the ship, we don swim suits and relax in a hot tub. With muscles relaxed, I dry off and walk to the back of the ship to watch us leave port. I find some empty chairs at the back of the ship and sit back. Not knowing what time we will depart, I actually fall asleep for an hour or so. The ship horns wake me as they announce our departure. I wait for the ship to turn around but it never does. The ship is too big to turn around in the harbor! This is the first time I have witnessed a ship back all the way out the channel into the open ocean before it turns around and gets underway.
Back in our cabin, we prepare for dinner in the main dining room.
Around the World in 80 Trips (Or Less) 