12/29/10 It is rainy, windy, and cold here at Park Sierra and we are wishing we were back in the Caribbean again! We have only been back a few days and are already out of sorts and complaining about the weather. Time to make a resolution that we will absolutely NOT spend any time here next winter!! Maybe the fact that Elaine is still suffering from a cold she picked up on the cruise, and I am still suffering from a knee injury that started on the ship, is contributing to our dark moods. The fact that our fridge has gone wacko and we now need a new cooling unit (which will cost $900 installed) hasn't helped. Our friends Curt and Viv have loaned us a small electric fridge to use until Jan. 17 when our repair will take place. They have also fed us 2 delicious meals, and Ken and Carolyn have fed us one meal, so we aren't starving - and we have enjoyed their company. It was lucky that this happened when we had been away, because we didn't have a bunch of food that got spoiled.
The last 2 islands that we visited, Curacao and Aruba, were both very colorful and interesting. And because they are so close to Venezuela, the weather was very warm. On Aruba, we took a local bus with our new friends Jeff and Dorothy and went down to the beaches in the hotel zone. It rained a little bit while we were sitting in a beach bar trying out the local beer. When we returned to the ship, we were amazed at all the water that was in the streets. They had a huge downpour there, and it was only a mile or two from where we were. Tropical weather, I guess.
Friday, the day we docked back in Puerto Rico, we got off the ship in record time. Such a difference from when the Adventure of the Seas disembarked. So we had a long wait at the airport, then another layover of several hours in Miami. Lorraine and Steve, other new friends, were flying with us, so we enjoyed a nice Christmas dinner together in the Mexican restaurant in the terminal. Because of the layovers, and the time zone differences, it was a very long travel day by the time we landed at LAX, rented a car, and drove to Darran's apartment in San Diego. Had intended to stay there a few days but the weather wasn't very nice and Darran was in New York, so we drove back to Park Sierra the next day (Christmas Day). After watching all the travel difficulties on TV, we have resolved never to travel at this time of the year again. We were just lucky that we had no delays or cancellations, probably because we were traveling in warm weather areas.
I have not managed to organize my time efficiently and so have still not written a holiday greeting to all our friends and family to send out. It will have to be a Happy New Year greeting, I guess. Our New Year's Eve will be spent celebrating here in the clubhouse with our Park Sierra friends. We are hoping that all of you have a Happy New Year celebration and a wonderful year in 2011. I will also be organizing and posting some pictures in the next few weeks, to go with our travel experiences of the last few months.