Happy New Yakkers

July 25th, 2010 by Arthur

We got a pair of kayaks recently, and today we made it out on to the water for the first time.


Nobody fell in, and we came back with all the gear we left with, even counting the drive time with Melissa’s kayak on the roof of the car. We paddled about 2 miles over about three hours, and had a darn good time when we were on the shady side of the water. Hooray!

Karis’s Birthday Cake

June 23rd, 2010 by Arthur
Cookies decorated with flower icing

Cookie flowers for the top of the cake

Blue birthday cake decorated with fondant flowers and butterflies.

Karis's birthday cake.


The cake is actually a pound cake. The blue background and green trim are buttercream icing. The flowers and butterflies were made from fondant; the flowers were pressed using a Wilton press.

All aboard

May 15th, 2010 by Arthur

Hillside cemetery in Barcelona


The Barcelona airport is off to the west of the city proper. On the bus ride to the cruise terminal, which is between the airport and the city, we passed around the side of this massive hill covered in tombs.

Category 9 stateroom on the Disney Magic


We had booked the cheapest rooms on the ship in their fire sale of remaining inventory. Lucky us, we got bumped up to a room with a porthole. Yay us!

Cargo-sniffing K9 looking out into the parking lot at the end of the day.

"No, it's not time to go home yet."


The cargo sniffing K9 crew was taking a break near the end of the day. The dog was looking out into the parking lot at the few people packing up the check-in equipment.

View of Barcelona from the port

Barcelona, Spain

One last thing: Always be on the lookout for snakes on a cruise ship.

Up, up, and away!

May 14th, 2010 by Arthur


Today we left for our whirlwind tour of the Mediterranean! This is our first trip across the pond, and fortunately for us, we booked an outbound flight operated by Air France. From Atlanta to Paris, we were served a decent dinner shortly after takeoff around 5pm:

Salmon & couscous salad
Chicken & mushrooms with cream sauce, rice & vegetables
Baguette
Rice pudding
Cheese
Orange cranberry cake

It’s nothing too fancy; we were flying coach (err, “Tempo” class), but it was at least as good as any frozen meal at home. Afterwards, they basically left everyone alone for the night. About an hour and a half before landing in Paris, a light breakfast was served.

In Paris, we ran in to a small predicament, which made us very glad I had booked our flights so that there was one more flight after ours that would get us to the port on time: Apparently there was some kind of security incident right before we arrived, and at CDG, they shut down the incoming passport control station when that happens. As a result, the 400 of us who just came off our plane were stuck in a queue waiting for immigration to open up again. Fortunately, some of the French speakers in line started asking quesions of the airport employees tending the area and complaining about possibly missing connections. After the English speakers got in on the commotion, the supervisor-looking woman announced that anyone who wanted to could follow her on a 20-minute fast walk around to the terminal where our connections were. One big hussle later, against the flow of the directional signs, our agitated mob of 50 or so passengers arrived at a different, working immigration checkpoint. We made it to our gate just in time — we were the last ones on the plane.

Ice art 2

January 8th, 2010 by Arthur
Ice art 2

Ice art

January 8th, 2010 by Arthur
Ice art

This is some of the handiwork of the big arctic system that went through yesterday.

Cinderella Castle Christmas Lights

December 8th, 2009 by Arthur
Cinderella Castle Christmas Lights

We scheduled a trip to Disney World this week, so we finally have a chance to see all the Christmas decorations in person. The crowds aren’t bad, but I think the staff is not at their best. I suppose that outside of summer, there must not be a lot of competition for Disney to choose from.

Electrifying

July 3rd, 2009 by Arthur
Electrifying

There was a pretty good lightning storm going on offshore tonight. Melissa’s shoulders had to make do as a tripod for getting any good shots of it.

Yucatan mangroves

July 3rd, 2009 by Arthur
Yucatan mangroves

According to one of our tour guides, most of the Yucatan peninsula is a giant slab of limestone(?), with only a few inches of actual dirt. What looks like lush forest from the airplane flying in is really this short, dense mangrove. This picture is from Isle Mujeres, off the coast of Cancún.

Circus Performer

July 1st, 2009 by Arthur
Circus Performer

Tonight’s circus show at the Cancún Palace included a great performance by this little girl. The skit began with a clown trying to make two stuffed elephants walk. The ringmaster gave him a key to wind up the elephants, which didn’t work on the first one. He used a string as a leash to “walk” the first elephant. Then the ringmaster tried the key on the second elephant, and it started following the clown around the stage. Surprise! It’s a toy poodle in an elephant costume.

It was interesting to see a circus put on with no words — since the audience here is a mix of people who speak different languages, all of the evening shows were designed without any spoken words.