Dubai

When we planned the time we would spend in Dubai, we asked friends who had been there before and got answers ranging from “you can do it in a 1 day tour”, to “a week wouldn’t do it justice”. So we settled on 3 days and booked the Holiday Inn in the Bur Dubai district, mainly because it was located a very short walk from one of the main metro stations. Our ship docked at the port area right near Dubai Creek. They call it that but it is really more like a river. When we walked out of the ship, it was like walking into a furnace because it was about 115 degrees outside. It is also the time of the year when there is humidity, which didn’t help. We had to claim our baggage and then stand in a long line in the hot sun in order to get a taxi. If you choose the taxi company which has cream colored cars with various colored roofs, these are the cheapest. And taxis are fairly cheap there. It cost the 4 of us with all our bags about $20 to get to the Holiday Inn. The Holiday Inn was very nice, with a lovely lobby

and nice big rooms

After a short rest, we took a short taxi ride to the Dubai Museum, which is in the old Al Fahidi Fort.

It includes local antiquities as well as artifacts from African and Asian countries that traded with Dubai. It also includes several dioramas showing life in the emirate before the advent of oil. It cost about a dollar to get in and was very interesting. Before Dubai became the high-rise, modern city of today, it was a simple desert country, settled in 1833 by the Al Maktoum family who herded sheep and goats, raised dates, and engaged in fishing and pearling. Nomadic Bedouins lived in this area too but their lifestyle ended in the 1960’s. The Al Maktoum family still rules the Emirate today, but of course, they are a lot richer now. Here are a couple of the museum displays:

And here is the display which shows the veil being worn by many of the women here:

Then we braved the heat and walked about ½ mile to the bank of the Creek, where we caught a small boat called an abra in order to get to the other side.

The abra cost 30 cents each (1 dirham) and took only about 5 minutes. Here is the view up the Creek:

Here are some of the other boats along the banks:

The other side is the oldest part of Dubai and is called Deira. Here we walked to the spice souk. Souk is the name for market, and they are open air with stalls and small shops. There are colorful displays of all the goods

It was still very hot, so there weren’t many people around. Also, most shops are closed during the hot afternoons and reopen about 4PM. We should have visited this area in the evening, when it was cooler and there was more activity. Next we visited the Gold Souk, because it was near that area. Wow, there is shop after shop just filled with jewelry and lots of it was made from gold.

If we stopped to look at anything in the windows, someone came out immediately to urge us to enter the shop and look. Elaine was frustrated that there were no prices on anything, but that is because they haggle over prices with you – it is part of the “game”. There were side streets with stalls that sold other goods as well, such as shoes,

scarves, tee shirts, or other tourist items. Here is one of the more whimsical displays:

Often we saw porters pulling carts of goods

And here is a picture of porters waiting around for their next job

One thing we learned is that the people who are actually members of the tribes which settled in the United Arab Emirates make up a very small percentage of the population that lives there now. Most are foreign workers who come in and get a work permit and an identity card and thus can live and work in Dubai for 10 months a year, and then they go home for 2 months. They cannot bring their families. So most of the people we came in contact with were foreign workers. Additionally, Dubai is a very safe place to travel because everyone is employed (or one of the wealthy citizens) and no one wants to lose their jobs and be sent back home which would happen if they committed crimes. Also, for stealing, they cut off your hand! We poked around the souks for a while, and marveled over some of the things for sale in the stalls and shops, such as really fancy dresses

which I suppose they wear under their black burkas

Then we took a taxi to the Aroos Damascus restaurant, in Deira, where we had a delightful reunion and wonderful dinner with 6 cruise friends.

Egbert and Chris, from Germany, were on the ship with us and they had been to this place before with their son, who worked in Dubai for 6 months. Elaine and I knew we loved Syrian food from our trip there in 2006. David & Diane were with us, of course, and Daryl & Patrick McGrath came too. Egbert ordered several mezes (appetizers), and some grilled chicken kabobs and a meat platter. Everything was delicious! Chris & Egbert went down to the Creek to watch the dhows (small boats) before they had to go to the airport for their late night flight. The next day David & Diane, Elaine and I bought a day pass for the Metro and went to the Dubai Mall. The Metro is the cleanest, most modern, and efficient we have ever experienced anywhere.

The terminals are totally air-conditioned because the track area is not open, but enclosed by glass. Down in the metro area there are money exchanges and food stores too. Even bus stops out on the streets are enclosed and air-conditioned. The Dubai Mall is the largest mall in the world and has many other attractions other than just stores; although, the stores are really nice. Here we are in a really large and well decorated candy store:

The aquarium in the Dubai Mall requires a separate admission but is so big that there is a plexiglass tunnel you can walk through:

There is a waterfall with sculptures of divers scattered across it:

The ice skating rink is very big, and they have lots of activities there such as hockey and broomball, as well as curling.

There are several food courts, and a whole different area where there are medium to up-scale restaurants. We went to the Wafi Gourmet Lebanese restaurant because it had been recommended by a very nice couple we met on the ship who live part of the year in Dubai. There were fabulous displays of items for sale, such as olives,

and many glass-enclosed cases with platters of delicious looking food

Later, we returned and had lunch at this place and it was a treat. Outside, behind the mall, there is a huge man-made lake with fountains which are used for a sound and light show each evening:

It was designed and built by the same people who did the Bellagio in Las Vegas. We went back in the evening and watched the show:

The tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, is also located at this mall.

Patrick and Daryl joined us here but only Patrick went up to the top with us. Diane shares Daryl’s fear of heights but she became brave and went up with us anyway. It cost 105 dirhams each, or about $30, but was a once in a lifetime experience. If you plan to go, make a reservation on the internet because it costs a lot more to just show up. The elevator goes so fast that it only took 58 seconds to get to the top, and we could barely feel that we were moving, except for our ears popping from the pressure change. There is a viewing platform all around the whole building at the top but it is enclosed. Here are a few of the pictures we took:

The air in Dubai gets so hazy, especially as the day progresses, that it was difficult to see the whole city, but we could clearly see everything below. Next we took the Metro, and also a taxi, to get out to the Atlantis Hotel where Patrick and Daryl were staying. From the outside, it looks like the Atlantis in the Bahamas:

This hotel is located out at the end of what is called, The Palm. When Dubai decided they did not have enough shoreline, and they were trying to build up their tourist attractiveness because they are going to run out of oil in 2016, they decided to build a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree. It extends out several kilometers from one of their beaches. First they had to build a semi-circular barrier island to protect the palm tree which would be built on the inside. Here is the view towards the palm from the Atlantis:

Each of the fronds of the palm tree would have villas, condo and apartment buildings on them with waterfront area, and hotels would be built on the barrier island. The amazing thing is that all of this was built out of sand. The hotels are all very expensive – Daryl & Pat’s room cost $900/night! And the houses and villas all cost upwards of a million dollars and were sold out before they were even completed. People not staying at the Atlantis can get into the shops and restaurant area,

and also the aquarium, called the Lost Chambers. Pat & Daryl arranged for us to have complimentary tickets to the aquarium

and also visit the lobby, where there was a big, impressive glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly:

We have seen his work before in the Tacoma Glass Museum, the Bellagio, and the Nassau Atlantis, and it is all amazingly intricate and colorful. Then Daryl & Pat treated all of us to drinks and snacks in the hotel bar:

Dubai is a Muslim country but liquor is available in western hotels and bars. We sadly said “goodbye” to Daryl & Pat, as they were flying out early the next day. Our third day in Dubai, we decided to get another day pass on the Metro and explore more of the malls. Day passes are really cheap, at 16 Durhims, which is less than $5. Almost all the way to the end of the metro line was the Ibn Battuda Mall which has various theme areas, such as an Egyptian wing, a Persian wing, an Asian wing, etc. Here is the Egyptian area:

There was an elephant sculpture in the India area:

And this grand salon was in the Persian area:

But what we most enjoyed was the food court. There were lots of food stalls from all over the world where you could get ethnic food, so it was difficult to choose. It was tempting to try something exotic such as Iranian food, but we selected some Lebanese food from this stall:

Then we took the Metro to the Mall of the Emirates, another very large and fancy mall where there were more food courts and elegant stores, but also a ski area! Here are a few pictures:

Of course, as we were exploring Dubai, we were noticing what the people looked like and were wearing. There were lots of people dressed in Western clothes, like ourselves, but also about half were attired in Muslim garb:

There were also many buildings such as this:

And, from the Metro, we also were able to take a picture of this famous building, the Burj Al Arab, which is the world’s only 7 star hotel:

And there was no shortage of unusual architectural designs:

Our last evening in Dubai, we went back down to the Creek area to see some of the dhows. There were lots of big wooden cargo boats being unloaded along the bank, with the dhows all lit up and parked along the other side:

Early the next day, we took the hotel shuttle to the airport. Good thing we weren’t planning to take the Metro, because Friday is the Muslim holy day and the Metro doesn’t even run until 1PM. The airport was another marvel of cleanliness and spaciousness and efficiency. We flew Emerites Airlines back to the USA and it was the best airplane and service we have experienced on any flight. Good food served often, and anything we wanted to drink (even alcoholic) at any time, and flight attendants circulating often with juice and water; good leg room; very complete entertainment system with hundreds of movies and videos to watch on your own monitor; and Elaine and I had a row of 4 seats all to ourselves. We enjoyed Dubai and will look forward to 3 more days of exploring if we ever find ourselves there again. Feel free to contact us for more information.

Natchez Trace Parkway

6/1/12 We have been driving the Natchez Trace Parkway for the past 5 days and although it is lovely and we have been to interesting places, we have not found anywhere that has fast internet so that we can post some pictures with our blogs. So I am going to wait until we do, and that might be in Nashville. That is 200 miles from here. We are both healthy and happy and have been finding good places to camp in Mississippi. Tomorrow we will be entering Tennessee.

Louisiana

5/26/12 I am naming this post "Louisiana" because we recently spent several days there visiting cruise friends, Jim & Jan Sylvester in Denham Springs, near Baton Rouge. But yesterday we left Louisiana and drove to Natchez, where we have been enjoying the hospitality of the Visitor's Center (excellent), and exploring this historic town. I will report on that in my next post a few days from now. We are here to obtain information about the Natchez Trace. Tomorrow we will probably start driving it, since that will be the end of the holiday weekend and we will have a better chance of having less competition to get a spot in the free campgrounds along the way. In Denham Springs we parked behind the WalMart on Range Ave. which turned out to be a great place because there was a little pond near the edge of the parking lot and there were at least 7 turtles in there, swimming around and sunning themselves on the concrete support beam. It felt like we were at a wildlife refuge. Not much traffic back there either so it was a quiet place to stay. Jim & Jan drove over on Thursday evening for Happy Hour and dinner and we were delighted to see them again. We fixed clam linguine, which is always a big hit.

The next day we drove over to their house to see it, since they have moved since the last time we were here. Their home is a lovely brick structure in a nice community. They have 2 dogs and 3 cats. The 2 little dogs gave us a warm welcome, with the female wearing a little green dress. Later Jim put them in their "box" so they wouldn't snuggle up to Elaine, who has allergies to pets. Here is a picture of them there:

Later we went to a Mexican place for lunch and had a delicious meal:

This post is short because I just wanted to let you know where we were, what our plans are (driving the Natchez Trace to Nashville), and that we are doing fine. Now I will work on the blog about Dubai, which I promised you while we were traveling recently. Additionally, I have gone back and added a few pictures to the previous posts from the ship, so if you are interested, please re-visit those posts.

Cruising In the Red Sea

5/8/12 Hello Blog Readers from the Red Sea. Today we are docked in Safaga, Egypt which is our last port of call before 6 straight sea days and the end of our cruise May 15 in Dubai. It will be about 91 degrees here today, and we are staying on the ship. The main reason to be here is so cruisers can elect to take a shore excursion to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, which is 137 miles inland from here. In 2006, Elaine and I took a 5 or 6 day Nile cruise, which stopped at all the appropriate places to see antiquities such as these, so we don't feel the need to go back today. Safaga is also a place renown for good scuba diving in the Red Sea. In 2006 we stayed in Hurgada, 33 miles up the coast from here, and did a snorkeling trip in the Red Sea, which helped us realize that there is very good snorkeling and diving here. Previously we had snorkeled in Dahab, over on the Sinai peninsula, and that was a great place too. While we were docked here, a big ferry pulled in during the evening and there was total chaos while all the baggage and cargo was unloaded and piled all over the dock area. Then they entertained us by loading up hand carts REALLY high and one guy pushed them to the waiting vehicles. Here is a picture of part of it:

Yesterday we were in Aqaba, Jordan, so that people could visit Petra, one of the most outstanding places we have ever visited. Fabulous facades were carved into the sandstone cliffs by Nabateans many centuries ago. The various colorful rock strata add to the interest. It is an extensive site and was quite challenging for many people yesterday on their excursions because it was so hot. We heard rumors that there were several heart attacks and victims of heat exhaustion among the tour groups from the ship. Elaine and I stayed on the ship and had a delightful day working out in the gym and then relaxing in the shade on the deck with a nice breeze cooling us off in the 92 degree heat. Here is a picture of the port in Aqaba:

But the really great day was May 6, our 33rd anniversary. Our friends onboard sent a beautiful flower arrangement.

We had a chilled bottle of champagne which Sergio and Reuben had given us before they left the ship in Barcelona, so we chilled that and then shared it with Jack, David and Diane in the Wilson's stateroom where they have a balcony.

We sat out there drinking champagne, eating Bistro burgers, and watching the sights along the Suez Canal as our ship passed through. It was interesting and exciting - and memorable. The Suez Canal is about 100 miles long and unlike the Panama Canal, has no locks. It was partially dug by hand with Egyptian forced labor between 1859 and 1869. Once they removed enough sand, they were able to flood it so that they could float dredges and finish the job. It has been deepened and enlarged several times to allow for the bigger ships that have been built since the canal was opened. Because of various political intriques and also wars, especially the ones involving Israel, the canal has been closed at various times. Our ship is probably one of the bigger ones going through it and we had to go in a convoy with other ships, starting at about 2 AM on May 6 and finishing about 12 hours later. Here is what the canal looked like:

One bank (on the Sinai side) was very dry and undeveloped, with mostly just desert to be seen:

Occasionally there were small boats:

Along the other bank there was vegetation, farms, houses, and occasionally villages:

Here is one of the regular houses:

Here is one of the nicer houses, right along the banks of the canal:

Before entering the canal, our ship spent 1 1/2 days in Alexandria. This is a fairly large port, and large city, but it doesn't really have very many great sites of interest, and we had already seen them all in 2006. We went off the ship on the second day and browsed the vendor stalls that were set up alongside the ship dock. Then we walked over the bridge leading to the outside of the port but when we got to the gates and saw the mass of humanity waiting to "attack" us as we exited (taxi drivers, vendors, beggars), we changed our minds about walking around in the streets and returned to the ship. Here is a picture of the fort which we could see from the ship:

And this building in the port area:

Perhaps some more exciting days are coming up. On May 10 we will be entering the Gulf of Aiden, where some pirate activity has taken place in recent years. Our ship is unlikely to be attacked because we are so big and fast and there is a large security staff on the ship. There will also be 2 smaller and heavily armed patrol boats circling our ship while we pass through these waters. Additionally, from sunset to sunrise, all the ship's outside lights will be turned off and anyone with an outside room has to keep their balcony lights off and their room curtains shut. Tomorrow there will be a drill for all of us so we will know what to do if there is an attack. Probably there will no incidents but it is comforting to know that there are precautions in place and a heightened awareness. Some pictures will be added to these blog posts after we return the the USA on May 19.

Blog Update From Voyager 4/26/12 We are nearly mid-way through our 31 day cruise to Dubai, and all is going well. Many of our cruise friends are onboard with us and we have been having many enjoyable social times with them, especially each late afternoon and early evening in the Diamond+ lounge.

So far, most of the days have been sea days, as we crossed first the Gulf of Mexico out of New Orleans, and then the Atlantic. There was a sunny and warm port day in Nassau, the Bahamas, where we have been many times. Three days ago we enjoyed another beautiful day in Punta Delgada, the Azores, another frequent port call for us. It is one of those little European towns where the cobblestone streets and sidewalks are arranged in black and white patterns and the many municipal gardens were in glorious bloom. Pedestrian only streets make it easy to walk around for window shopping or people watching. Today was sunny and about 72 here in Malaga, Spain. Elaine and I walked along beautifully landscaped areas leading to the main part of town, where we explored a bit and also found free WiFi in McDonalds. Here I am with a sculpture of Hans Christian Anderson on the main street:

There is a large, beautiful and easily accessible beach right near the ship, with another nice promenade to walk on, but we have had such a hard time sleeping at the right times, because of all the time changes, so we skipped that and returned to the ship for a nap. This is the port where some of our friends took a train to Torremolinos, and others took a 2 hour bus to Grenada, to tour the Alhambra. Tomorrow we will be in Cartagena, Spain, another charming and beautiful town but much smaller than Malaga. It is a fun place to just stroll or shop. The next day we will visit Valencia, a place we have never been before so we are eagerly looking forward to exploring there. Then, on the 30th, this cruise ends in Barcelona. We will be lunching with Bill and Gisela Pollock, RV friends, who arrive ahead of us on a different ship. They will stay there for about a week. We have done that before and loved it - Barcelona is one of our very favorite cities and a place to enjoy visiting over and over. This time however, our ship will be leaving at 5PM so after lunch we have to return to it for the muster drill. Yesterday afternoon, our last sea day, Reuben and Sergio, 2 of our friends from Miami, came over and gave us designer haircuts. They have their own studio there and have been in business together for more than 20 years, so they are experts. Elaine now has a "new" look - the messy hair, spiky look and it is cute. Tomorrow we will have to buy more gel or mousse to help it stick up in a fashionable way. Reuben shaped my hair so it basically is the same style, it just looks more groomed and my unruly cowlick shouldn't be a problem in a while when everything grows out more.

Our stateroom looked like a disaster after these guys finished working their magic, but that is why we tip our attendant to clean up after us, right? Our ship, the Voyager of the Seas, has been undergoing some renovations while we have been sailing and today they loaded a LOT more stuff on to continue this. One of the finished renovations was in the casino, which was closed for a week. They took out a lot of the slot machines and added a lot of gaming tables in expectation of the upcoming cruises in Asia. The Asians are such enthusiastic gamblers, they project that casino revenue will go from $200K a week to $1.2 million!!! It is time for our nightly Happy Hour with the Diamond+ friends so I will end this and try to bring you up to speed after our next 3 Spanish city port days. 4/29/12 We have just left Valencia, Spain, which is a new port for us. What a fabulous city and a great place to visit! The harbor is small so our big ship had to dock in the industrial port. It was a fairly long shuttle ride into the city center but what a delightful place, once we arrived. There are so many architecturally interesting buildings, it is a feast for the eyes. We walked 7 miles total, and wished we had time for more. We visited the cathedral in the centro, where there is a large and busy open mercado area as well, which was the former forum area during Roman times. Nearby, we walked down narrow alleyways with stalls and shops which reminded us of the souks in the Middle East, to get to the Plaza del Mercado. Unfortunately, because it was Sunday, it was closed, but even the huge building itself is beautiful with many different facades.

There were lots of busy stalls selling tourist items outside, and Elaine bought a scarf for 2 Euros. Down the block was the former silk exchange building, the Lonja de la Seda, which is a UNESCO building because it is one of the best Gothic civil architecture buildings in Europe, dating from 1483.

Aross from it the Santos Juanes church, with a fabulous interior

and heavily guilded altar, certainly looked great for something built in the 1300's. As we walked through the downtown area, we came across an absolutely HUGE mass of people marching through the streets to protest the economic situation here.

Unemployment is about 25% here, and they are facing big cuts in education, health funding, social security, programs for the elderly, etc. We spoke to a young woman who told us that this was the 7th Sunday in a row they have marched and happily, these have been peaceful marches, unlike the riots in Greece when we were there last year. Near the area where the protesters were marching, there were beautiful fountains and buildings:

Just walking around the city, we were impressed with sculptures right in the middle of intersections:

Another long walk took us to the dry river bed circumventing the city which has been converted into beautiful gardens, walkways, playgrounds, strolling areas, dog parks, skating areas, grassy areas, etc and which was heavily used on this Sunday.

There is a huge complex of modern buildings called the City of Arts and Sciences where there is an opera house, music hall, oceanrium, laserium and planetarium, surrounded by marvelous pools, sculptures, and gardens.

There was a big playground area too, and here is a picture of it, with some of the typical apartment buildings behind it:

It takes hours to walk around here and every minute was delightful - and we didn't even have time to go into any of the buildings! Even the numerous bridges over the riverbed have nice architecture, flowers or sculptures. It was a wonderful day with perfect weather which was only marred by the long shuttle lines, due to the inefficiency of Royal Caribbean in the way they handled the entire bus situation. We also had time to stroll a bit with John and Julie Black and their 4 year old granddaughter, Tayler, after having breakfast with them too. They are old RV friends and they will be disembarking in Barcelona tomorrow.

I will post pictures once we get back to the USA.

4/13/12 Early tomorrow morning we will be driving to the Houston airport to catch our flight to New Orleans, where we will board the Voyager of the Seas. It will be the beginning of a 16 day transatlantic cruise to Barcelona, and we will be traveling with 9 of our good cruise friends: Roger & Martin, Jack, Sergio & Reuben, David & Diane, and Patrick and Daryl. There will also be some Boomer friends on board: John and Julie Black and their granddaughter, Tayler. In Barcelona, on April 30, we are meeting other Boomer friends, Bill and Gisela Pollock, for lunch. They are arriving on a different cruise ship the day before. Then we will get back on our ship and travel to several ports in Egypt, Jordan, going through the Suez Canal, and ending in Dubai. We will stay there 3 days with David and Diane, exploring the city before flying back to Houston on May 18. Then we will get our rig ready to travel again and keep heading east.
While waiting for this event, we have had a couple of experiences worth mentioning. Last Thursday we drove up to Nacogdoches to tour the Foretravel RV factory. They have been in business since 1967 and make some of the most highly regarded RVs in the industry. We had called ahead of time and they told us they had tours every Mon-Thurs at 10AM. Unfortunately, they don't communicate well at that company because after the guy loaded us up in the van and drove us over to the manufacturing plant, he discovered it was closed because it was the Thursday before Good Friday. Since we had driven 75 miles to get there, we were rather annoyed. So we looked through some of their new and used rigs before leaving to explore the town. Foretravel RVs have evolved into very large and luxurious units and they cost anywhere from $600K to $1.2 million. Here are some pictures of one of them:


Downtown Nacogdoches has a lot of history and has preserved a number of the old buildings all around the main town square. Sam Houston lived in Nacogdoches for four years prior to the Texas Revolution in 1836. Here is a picture of one of the sides of it:

Nacogdoches isn't a very big town, so we didn't spend much time there after all.
Last Monday we drove to Houston to see our cruise friends Duane & Dorothy McCarthy, and their friend Mary Townsend. After a pleasant hour of catching up on everyone's news over a glass of wine,

we went to lunch at a nearby Tex Mex place called Las Ventanas:

The food was very good, and so was the company! They will not be joining us on our upcoming cruise because they are taking one through the Panama Canal instead.
We have also been attending some of the movies here at the SKP park, which they have twice a week because a guy named Joe who stays here buys all the latest releases and shows them. Last night we watched the Swedish version of the second book in the Millennium series, "The Girl Who Played With Fire". It was engrossing. Joe has a very appropriate sticker on the back of his truck:

We will try to do some blog posts while we are gone for the next 35 days but it all depends on whether we find some free WiFi spots at the ports.

4/3/12 Hello from humid Livingston. Yes, we are still at the SKP park here and yesterday we finally managed to get into West RV where they fixed our fridge. The tech said that the solenoid valve on RV fridges rarely goes out, but of course, ours did. So Elaine's troubleshooting skills are still intact, because that was the same conclusion she came to when she investigated this when it first occurred. Now it is functioning on propane, which is rather important for us because we boondock all the time. We have very little food in our fridge, because of the problem, but this is a good thing since we have to empty it out totally before leaving on our 35 day cruise and Dubai trip on the 14th. While we were driving to the repair place, the skies just opened up and we had very heavy rain, thunder and lightning for at least an hour while we waited for our tech to start fixing our rig. Today it is overcast again, with a drizzle, so maybe later on we will have more water works.
Luckily, Sunday was a lovely day in the mid 80's for our visit with my nephew David Exley, and his family down in Pearland, south of Houston. He is the oldest son of my twin sister, Marsha, who lives in Denver. It has been about 20 years since we last saw him, and I must say, he has developed into quite a nice, charming family man who also entertained us in fine style. We had never met his wife, Ann, or his kids, Brittany and Nick, but they were all delightful as well. Here is a picture of the family:

And here is a picture of David & Ann:

David grilled baby back ribs and chicken for us, while Ann made Colorado beans and a mixed salad. Here is David at the grill:

And here is the finished product before we all attacked it, with gusto!!!

Needless to say, everything was delicious and we enjoyed eating and chatting out in their lovely backyard:

David really reminds both Elaine and me of my brother, John. Here is a picture of me with him - can you see any family resemblance?

They also exposed us to a Texas beer, called Shiner Light Blonde, which we greatly enjoyed.
This week we are packing for our upcoming 31 days of cruising. Usually that also means going through our closets and drawers and organizing at the same time, something we really need to do. More rain is predicted, so it will be a good time to be inside with these chores.