Key West -- Where the Weird Go Pro

The title of my post is actually on a sign when you arrive at the airport. And it couldn't be more true.

I have been to Key West five times over the years and it really does get more outrageous every time I go. I've arrived by car, airplane and cruise ship.

Every night, they celebrate the sunset with a big party type atmosphere. There are vendors selling Conch Fritters, boozy beverages, jewelry, scarves, hats--just about any type of craft and food you can imagine. The Street Performers set up and do dangerous looking things with knives, fire and tight ropes. They sell booze cruises to view said sunset from the water. Many people make their living by providing these things to visitors.

The cruise ships that visit the port in town MUST leave before sunset as they block the view. This is how important and money making the activity is.

The first time I visited, the area where the sunset celebration was held was just an open concrete area next to where ships could dock. In recent years, hotels and condos have sprung up all across that open area but the celebration lives on in a paved area close to the water.

The drive from Miami is LONG and HOT but the 7 Mile Bridge views are just stunning.

Arriving by cruise ship is usually a quick stop--5 or 6 hours both times for me. One time we docked right at the Key West port and the other was at the military base a mile or two away.

One port stop was filled with drama as well. When we docked in the town, after our day of shopping and drinking, we watched from our balcony as the ship escorted part of a wedding party off the ship for reasons we were never sure of. The woman was screaming and carrying on that all their stuff was still on the ship -- even their car keys. Then we got to watch the approach of the late arriving drunks trying to run or at least walk fast to make it back to the ship. In the end, the ship left on time and the wedding party was left behind, still screaming and crying.

The second time, was the cruise I took my nephew on. I took him on a pub crawl I booked through the ship. Now that was fun! We had a guide and made our way all over downtown Key West, having at least one drink at every stop. My favorite drink place is called The Flying Monkey Saloon. They have a whole row of slushy machines and you can get your drinks in to-go bottles complete with lid and sippy straw! Well, you know we had to get a to-go cup because the next bar was 5 blocks away!!

The very best place for a Bloody Mary is this place, in my opinion, Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the place. I had to have two Bloodys in the short time I was there.

We didn't stop here this time....but here is the Smallest Bar!!

And of course, we did the requisite drink at Sloppy Joe's. I'm not really sure what I had here but I know it was alcoholic!!

Needless to say, our group was a teensy bit intoxicated when we boarded that Conch Train back to the ship. It was about 126 degrees in the shade that day and the little train had to stop and everyone had to show their ship card and picture ID to the MPs. Let's just say, it's probably easier to herd cats then to try and get 25 drunks to not only understand the command but comply with it.

When we got back to the ship----finally-----and after sweating off a pound or two in the sun, we got into that air conditioning, decided we were just going to go back to the room to shower and then head up to the pool. Ummmm..... yeah......six hours later we woke up, showered and went to dinner. LOL

I've also visited during the Wine and Food Festival they hold in January. While I enjoyed it, I don't think I would do it again. You should be a very big wine connoisseur to truly enjoy what it has to offer. Wine, wine everywhere and all I wanted was a beer or a gin and tonic!! The trip was a gift though, so I just went with the flow!  I did love the food events we went to though.

And I visited with several friends a couple of times. We stayed at a hotel across the street from the Southernmost point in the United States. We cabbed it to the Sunset Celebration and after imbibing quite heavily there, decided to walk back (a couple of miles) to our hotel and visit every bar on the way back for a drink or shot.

It was during this trip back to the hotel that I was somehow talked into posing with some sort of parakeet, a lizard of some sort and a snake, artfully coiled around me. We're talking some EPIC drunkenness. Of course, this was when I was much younger and could still run with the big dogs!!
I do have the pictures, but I think I will allow you to just use your imagination here!

And the picture everyone has to take when they visit:




And remember, if you go to Key West, your liver will need several months to recover afterward.

Priceline is NOT always your Friend

I have been using Priceline for years to book hotel rooms prior to cruising. After all, it's usually only for one or two nights at the most. I estimate that about 90% of the time, I got a really nice hotel for far less than other booking engines or the hotel website.

If you've never used Priceline, it works like this:
You tell it where you want to stay, (In large cities, you need to specify an area like "downtown" or "beach")
How many 'stars' the hotel should have. (This is supposedly based on the type of hotel or quality of the hotel)
The date(s)
And finally, how much you are willing to pay.
You then proceed to enter your personal information---INCLUDING a credit card number.

Once you agree to their terms and press enter, if your bid is accepted, you are stuck with the hotel they choose for you. There are no refunds. You cannot change the hotel if you don't like it.

That is a very basic explanation of how Priceline works, but there is additional strategy to get free bids, rebidding or to see which hotels are being assigned. I always do the extra research...but.......

Last September, I took my nephew on a belated 21st birthday cruise. I had given him several options and he chose the cruise where Styx was performing on board. The cruise was on the Carnival Ecstasy, out of Miami.

So, I went to Priceline and chose the area "Miami, Downtown" as this encompassed the port area as well as a Shopping/Restaurant area we planned on visiting. I named my price and it was accepted. The hotel that came up was one that I had not seen on other search engines in the Downtown area.
Hmmmmm.

I went out to Trip Advisor and searched the hotel. OK---maybe it won't be so bad I thought. There were some negative reviews but I always try to balance them out with the positive ones.

Off we fly to Miami. We take a cab to the hotel and the cab driver cannot find the place and we are moving further and further into what I will just describe as the "Hood". OMG! We finally find the place and it is a high walled complex in the middle of said hood with all sorts of security in and around the place. Great.

The hotel itself was very nice and appeared very clean. It was a Springhill Suites by Marriott. It offered free breakfast and a free shuttle to the downtown shopping/restaurant area. Cool beans!

We didn't plan on leaving the hotel except on the shuttle so all seemed well.












We settle into our room and early evening we decide to take the shuttle and go to dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp. As we leave our room, and head to the elevator, we notice a very medicinal smell in the hallway and it gets stronger as we head to the elevator. Waiting for the elevator was what I can only describe as a Hospital Patient minus the butt showing gown. It was a woman, attached to an IV, with a massively bruised face and a cast on her arm. OOOOOOOOK.

We get on the elevator and head to the lobby and make our way to the shuttle. After eating at Bubba Gump's, we walked around for a couple of hours and decided to head back to the hotel. The shuttle arrives and we make our way back to the hotel passing some scary looking individuals. I was honestly a bit scared when we stopped at red lights. Anyway, we made it back to the hotel and up the elevator.

As we make our way back to our room, there is a team of paramedics attempting to move a large man on a gurney, complete with IV, out of his room (2 doors down from ours) and down the hallway. The man is moaning and while not exactly screaming, he is making quite a bit of noise.  WTH?

We go back to the room and just look at each other, not knowing what the hell is going on. I decide to go back downstairs to speak to the people at the front desk.

It turns out that this hotel is very close to a hospital and they send out of town patients here to recuperate after surgical procedures before they let them go back to wherever they are from. I said to the woman at the desk and you don't think this is something you should note on your website? Or something you should inform guests when they check-in? Apparently not.

All I am thinking is, I wonder if these people are allowed in the pools and/or hot tub. What cleaning agent they use to disinfect the rooms? Does it kill HIV or Staph or whatever??  The germaphobe in me is on high alert. Then I start thinking about the air conditioning system. Could any type of disease be spread through the air? OMG I'll never sleep.

At some point, exhaustion takes over and I fall asleep only to be awakened several times by screaming sirens on the streets and highway near the hotel.

Finally, it's morning and we can get the hell out of Dodge, so to speak. We go downstairs for the free breakfast and Nuh-Uh.. there is no way  I am eating any of that food that has been breathed on or touched by anyone staying here. We console ourselves with a cup of coffee and some boxed cereal and boxed milk.

Needless to say, I wrote quite a scathing review for both Trip Advisor and to the Hotel. Oh and the best part--my credit card information that I gave the front desk for 'incidentals' got stolen and there were fraud charges showing up for weeks after I was in Miami, LOL  Luckily, I was not responsible for any of it and a new card was issued.

The experience had no impact on my use of Priceline or on the vacation itself. I just wanted to warn everyone that Priceline is not perfect. It's really good most of the time though.
My nephew and I had a wonderful cruise and Styx was amazing!

That's how close we were to the stage! It was great. They performed for over an hour. Not bad for $10 a ticket!

Despite the ship being older, I LOVED it. I thought the decorating in the various venues was great. I would sail this ship again in a heartbeat.
One of the Bars:

 Piano Bar:

 Lobby

 Lobby/Atrium

So there you have it my friends. Priceline is like that one friend you have that is a good friend most of the time, but once in awhile becomes an obnoxious drunk!

Hey Jealousy....It's not just a Song

I thought of that song by the Gin Blossoms--"Hey Jealousy" today as I was reading my friend's blog. She and her husband are in Tahiti and have been for quite some time now sailing on the Pacific Princess.
Here is a link to her blog. It is very entertaining and very informative:
http://www.pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/

Anyway, back to jealousy. I was feeling a bit down what with the time change looming over my head, feeling cold weather breathing down my neck, less and less light each day. Well, basically feeling sorry for myself. I was jealous that she was there... again and I was here. Before I got myself into a full blown wallow, I pulled on my theoretic 'big girl pants' and made myself think of all that I have to be thankful for.

First of all, out of all the people I know, friends and family both, I am the only one that I am aware of that's done a vacation like I've just done. The people I know are not wealthy. We exist in that class that is known as the middle class. Some of us are high middle class and some are at the bottom. But middle class all the same.

In general, most of us are happy to have our two weeks at the beach every summer, with a trip to Disney, the Caribbean or a cruise thrown in every few years to change things up. As a matter of fact, I felt that way for many years. Then I got bitten by the travel bug..........

Back in the late 90s and early 2000 was when I got my first bite. I got a passport and went on a cruise to the Bahamas and that was all it took. I began to long for distant destinations, more exotic locales, new adventures, ancient history and cultures foreign to me.

A new savings account was started-this one strictly for travel. As my salary increased at work and my kids grew to adults my travel savings account grew. Some people choose to use their increased disposable income for the latest car or a new house or the latest gadgets. Me, I choose to drive an old car and keep my old house. I also think I am the only person on the planet that does not own a flat screen TV. I choose to spend my money on travel.

Don't get me wrong, I have spent money on my house over the years. It has a new roof, windows, furnace, front porch, deck and kitchen. All necessary improvements done over the last 15 years. I also did a lot of work myself-painting, installing shelving, a new hot water heater, hanging blinds etc....And I think my house looks pretty nice.

Oh, I got lost there for minute. Back to the travel bug. Once bitten I'm pretty sure there is no cure. At least there doesn't appear to be one for me. The further afield I roam, the further I want to go. My latest obsession is Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. But I was very impressed by French Polynesia and would love to spend more time getting to know a few of the islands in more detail.  So who knows what the future has in store!!!

For me, part of the excitement of the trip is doing the research and planning. Learning about the country, culture and history. For about 3 years prior to my trip to French Polynesia, I read about the islands, explored the various ways to visit. And during those 3 years, I saved money to finance the trip.

And here we start talking about another type of jealousy. Other people's!
That's what a lot of people don't understand. They asked me over and over how I afforded it or said snarky things like "it must be nice". I didn't pull this money out of the air, I don't have a sugar daddy footing the bill, I did not run up credit cards to pay for it. I saved for it. I chose to bring my lunch to work. I chose to only eat out once a month or so. I chose to only buy the things I needed--not the things I wanted. I lived on a budget.

I created spreadsheets and budgets for the trip so I understood what I could afford and what I could not. (This is nothing new. I have done this for all the trips I've taken-although not to this extent) I also researched how much things cost and how to save money on airfare or hotels. And in the end, I was able to do and see everything I wanted and spend almost 3 weeks in paradise.

After writing all of this, I realize I am no longer jealous. I am grateful for what I have. I have both of my parents--both in good health, living independently and loving me like no one else ever will. I have siblings that I am thankful for. Especially my sister. She has been there whenever I have needed her to help me or just to listen.

I am also blessed with nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles--all of whom have had a hand in making my life full of love and happiness. My mind is full of memories of time spent at family reunions or just visiting for the weekend or the evening. Holidays full of family and too much food made with love. Laughing until it hurt......

My friends need to be included in this list of gratitude. I don't think I tell them often enough how much they mean to me and how much they've enhanced my life. My true friends have ALL been there for me when I needed help or just someone to listen.

And finally, my children. I don't think they have any idea how they've made such a difference in my life and how much I love them. I remember their first everything and how proud their father and I were, and still are, of them. I celebrate every one of their 'victories' perhaps even more than they do. Until I had them, I never knew it was possible to love anyone that fiercely or as much as I do.

I am blessed.

So, in closing, a post that started out full of 'woe me' is ending with me feeling teary-eyed and grateful for everyone and everything in my life.

I think this Gypsy is going to take a stroll down memory lane in future posts. I'd like to relive some of the more memorable places and experiences I've had over the years. I hope you'll follow along!

Vacation Time Rant

While on my Pacific Princess cruise, I had the opportunity to speak to people from Australia and New Zealand about Vacation Time in their country. This is what I was told:

In both Australia and New Zealand, EVERYONE gets 1 month of vacation time. You also have the option to 'buy' up to another month off and the cost is taken out of your pay for the next year.

Also, you are EXPECTED to take at least 1 month of vacation each year. If you don't voluntarily do this, the company you work for will TELL you that you are on holiday for the next XX days. If you chose to come into work, you are working your holiday.

This completely blew my mind. A person, I used to work for, tried to make me feel guilty for using all of my vacation time. There are even those people that lose days or must take days off from time to time so they don't lose them.

I say, what the hell is wrong with that picture? The company says to you: We are giving you these days off and we will pay you for them and some people say "No thanks, I'd rather work"

Who is the crazy person here? I'm thinking it's not me.

The people I talked to were just incredulous of the atmosphere in the US regarding vacation time.

Staying 'connected' while on your vacation, taking your work laptop or checking Email when you were on holiday...Their eyes got big and said Ummm.. No, we don't do that. Our time off is so we can come back refreshed and ready to work.

According to Miriam Webster, here is the definition of "vacation":

• a period of time that a person spends away from home, school, or business usually in order to relax or travel
• the number of days or hours per year for which an employer agrees to pay workers while they are not working

I believe the US has somehow lost the concept of a vacation. How have we let the companies we work for make us believe that vacation is wrong or something you are not supposed to do very often or for very long? And by God, the 'you better stay in touch or else' mentality has spread from upper and middle management to the peons that work for them. 

This is an excerpt from an article:

U.S. workers are using only 77 percent of their paid time off, according to the research group's report released Tuesday. And the decline is not just tied to recent economic worries; use of vacation days are at their lowest point in the past four decades. In 2013, U.S. workers took an average of 16 days of vacation compared with 20.3 days in 2000, according to the report.

The link to the full article is here:

http://www.cnbc.com/2014/10/23/unused-vacation-days-at-40-year-high.html

169,000,000 days forfeited to the tune of $54 billion in benefits . Look at all those zeroes...That's MILLIONS my friends. 

I think we need to take a long look at where we work and why we are doing this. Is this a choice we are making for ourselves? Or is the company or management trying to discourage vacation time? Perhaps it's time to reevaluate our priorities and move the company from the #1 position in our lives.

Just my opinion of course.

I Finally Used the Cubeshaped-like Appliance in my Kitchen

I know, I know? I haven't really cooked a regular meal in a long, long time. But, for some reason, I just couldn't get the Chef demonstration on the Pacific Princess out of my mind. He cooked up this pasta dish that smelled heavenly and looked even better.

Now, I did not have scallops or peppers---but I did have some diced tomatoes and fresh mushrooms. a shallot, cream, a lemon and garlic. Oh and pasta. So, I improvised!  

And, guess what? It tasted pretty darn good. I was proud of myself. My culinary skills are very, very rusty. I would make this again and use more fresh lemon and more garlic and add pine nuts! (Sorry no pictures of the finished product. I ate it before I remembered I was supposed to take a picture)

Oh and in case you were wondering, my feet are still cold and the heat is still on. UGH It's going to be a very, very long time until it's warm enough for me.

What the Hell happened while I was gone?

It seems like I can't leave this state for a minute and it all goes to hell.

When I left for my vacation in late September, it was still hot enough to use the air conditioner. Now, only three weeks later, I need socks, long sleeves and I had to turn the heat on. I am NOT liking this one bit.

I wanted to flaunt my tan in capris and short sleeves. Dammit, my legs are probably the most tan they have ever been. Sadly, the only person who will see them is me. Sigh.

Leaves? Frost? Pumpkin flavored everything.  And to make matters even worse, according to PennLive, the only thing newsworthy in our area is freakin' Football. UGH I honestly don't care who "WE ARE" and I am never going to be "Ready for Some Football".

It's Ova Joey, It's Ova

Day 20 – Moorea Day 7

Since I left home on September 25^th to start this amazing trip, I’ve not had one episode of insomnia. Not even a mild one. Each night I crawled into bed rather early, was asleep in minutes and stayed that way for a good 7-8 hours. It was a thing of beauty. I used to sleep like that every night. 

Last night, I was awake until 2am, tossing and turning and when I finally did go to sleep, I woke up at least once every hour. UGH Of course, when the alarm went off this morning, I didn’t want to get out of bed. But out I got and into the shower.

I headed over to the restaurant at the hotel for a continental breakfast. They did have a decent spread of “cold” food. Lots of fresh fruit, lunch meat, cheeses, cereal, yogurt, assorted decadent pastries and breads, several kinds of fresh juice, water, coffee and tea. I tried to savor every slice of fresh pineapple, papaya and those cute tiny bananas. I think I could have lived life on those and a fresh baguette!

After I checked out, I went down to the reception desk and asked if they would print me an up to date summary of charges. I guess I should have expected it when the place charges 1875 for a pina colada and 500 for a can of soda. The cost of that breakfast: 3210. But Ehh, we live once!

I was given access to a transit room where I could shower and change before I needed to leave. It’s basically just a room with a shower, sink, chair and table that they clean and restock with new towels, shampoo etc. Nice touch as they couldn’t give me a late check out this morning.

So, I spent about 3 hours sitting under an umbrella by the pool trying to memorize everything. It was overcast but not raining and I think maybe that made it a bit easier to leave. The colors were not nearly as vivid. I got into that water a few times and finally it was time for me to shower and get ready to go.

My shuttle arrived on time and took another couple and me to the ferry landing. We boarded the ferry for the trip back to Papeete. The water was pretty choppy going across but it felt like a rocking chair to me.

Once back in Papeete, all the available taxis at the ferry landing had disappeared, so I got a nice workout in by lugging all my baggage about ½ a mile to another taxi stand I knew of. But before I hired that cab, I stopped at The Retro bar and café for a final Hinano. Sigh

$20 for a ride to the airport and the poor old man driving the cab could not lift my bag into the back of his minivan. So, I hoicked it up there and off we went. I arrived at the Open Air Tahiti International Airport where it felt like it was at least 100 in the shade. I was dripping sweat. Ugh. The time was about 7PM. We waited until 830PM until the signs were put up showing you where to queue to sign in for your flight.

Then I had to march to another office “down there a bit” to get my VAT tax refund processed for the pearl I bought. Finally, you got to queue for the pre-queue for security. Then, after being scrutinized by some sort of guard and asked a few questions, you could continue queueing and finally make it passport control, where you are again questioned about your trip. Finally you are off through the actual security line.

I got stopped in security because they spotted manicure scissors in my carry-on. They searched my bag and took out the offending scissors because they had a ‘point’. I think this was wrong but didn’t want to get put on the TSA naughty list so I just said.. Ooops, sorry. The guy filled out a form and make me sign it. It was all in French. I said what does this say? He said, Just that the scissors were yours. Oooooooook!

After waiting another half a lifetime, it was finally boarding time—11:40PM flight. You walked out of the terminal and across the tarmac, in the rain, to a covered set of very steep stairs. You schlep aboard with all your carry-on. As I walking to the jet, I saw this man, carrying this disgustingly dirty plastic handled bag with stains on it that looked like blood. He was very dirty looking and when I got closer to him, he smelled awful. My seat companion for the next 8 hours? BINGO He was wearing shorts as was I and his wiry leg hair kept touching my leg freaking me out once we got seated.  

I asked the stewardess if she could move me… NO CAN DO. What could I do? I reached down into my carry-on and pulled out my trusty bottle of Ativan, took a couple, inflated my travel pillow, covered up with a blanket and faced the window. And thank the Good Lord, I slept like the dead until we got about 1 ½ hours from LA.

Breakfast was being served so I ate my crepe and fruit, left the yogurt, tried one of the bisquity crackers and left the other two on the tray. Unfortunately, my seatmate is still there, stinking and in addition, has taken off this shoes so I could view his lovely thickened and discolored toenails. He is also playing chess on the seat back monitor and every few minutes he utters in a thick German accent, I VIN AGAIN.

As I handed my tray back to the flight attendant, my man snatched the open bisquits from the tray and picked the (unopened) yogurt out of her trashcan. Oh yes, pure class. Swear to God! I couldn’t make this stuff up.

I reached down for my trusty carry-on and got out my little package of handi-wipes, that I personally think smell like some sort of petroleum product, and proceeded to wipe down all the surfaces in and around my seat and seat tray area to overpower some of the stench. Now, all I smelled was ‘gas station’. A huge improvement.

I fumbled my way through Customs at LAX although it was fairly painless and actually organized. My next flight was on Southwest so my bags and I made the trip from TBIT to Terminal 1 and checked in for the flight to Phoenix.

Quick flight and I was in Phoenix phoning Miss Lindsey to pick me up. Off we went to my hotel. I was staying at a very nice Holiday Inns and Suites near the airport. After I showered and disinfected myself, we set off again. We drove to her apartment and she showed me all her new shelving and some new decorating in the bedroom. Their place is looking nice.

Once Ryan got home from work, we all chatted a bit about my trip and then we were off to Pappadeaux’s for dinner. OMG that place is amazing. We had the best dinner. Started off with a dozen raw Blue Point oysters and a seafood trio appetizer to share (Salmon, Alligator Tail & Crab Dip. A crusty baguette appeared and then our dinners. Ryan got the Shrimp and Oysters on some sort of Spinach Risotto. Lindsey got the special—Halibut topped with Scallops and Shrimp served atop Dirty Rice. I got the Costa Rican Mahi topped with crab served over Dirty Rice and Asparagus.

Then we had desserts---3 of them.  Pumpkin Cheesecake, Hazelnut Cheesecake and Hazelnut caramel Bread Pudding. Can you say STUFFED????????  I love this place.

I’m very tired and have the rest of this long journey home tomorrow. It was so good seeing my kids, even if we only spent a few hours together. They caught me up on what’s going on in their lives and I got to hug and kiss them in person! I am most certainly most blessed. Life is very, very good.

Mauru-uru and Nana!

Things I will miss:

·         The millions of shades of blue.

·         Healthy coral reefs

·         New friends

·         The weather

·         Hearing La’orana every place I go

·         Sleeping like the dead

·         Hearing the roosters crowing all the time

·         Seeing the stars with little light pollution

·         Being in the water every day

·         Waking up to ‘that’ view

·         The soft feeling of the air at night

·         Fresh Pineapple

·         Fresh flowers perfuming the air

·         Baguettes for less than 100

·         Crepes

·         Fresh coconut

·         The fact that you will never starve here because you can find fresh fruit trees everywhere and the fish is plentiful.

·         There is no place Flip-flops are not acceptable

·

Things I will not miss:

·         3210 for a Continental breakfast at the hotel

·         84000 dogs running lose all over the islands

·         Blisters on my feet

·         Mosquitoes

·         Having to pay for water

·         Men with serious man-scaping needs

We Interrupt this Practically Perfect Vacation with a TSUNAMI Siren

Moorea Day 6

I start this blog post in the shade of the umbrella next to the pool. It’s almost 4PM and soon time for happy hour. Feeling quite sad but at the same time so grateful to have had this chance to visit this gorgeous country. The sights, people, colors, reefs and all the ocean wildlife I’ve encountered are forever etched upon my mind.

God willing, I will be back here in a few years to experience it all again.

My day began at 5:22AM and to a very loud noise I couldn’t identify. I searched all around the room and finally deduced the sound was coming from outside my door. I pulled some clothes on and peered out my door and the only thing I saw was an empty corridor and the noise—even louder. I went back inside my room and called the front desk to inquire about the noise. This is what I was told. The noise is the tsunami siren. Please come to the front desk immediately. WTF?

I paused long enough to open the safe and grab my passport. It was raining as I hurried to the front desk. There were people gathered and a woman speaking in French to the group. I asked in English what was happening and was told this: The police were conducting a test of the tsunami alarm system. The hotels were not warned but only informed after the fact that it was a drill. They did not control the alarm—the local police did and this alarm had sounded all over the island.

I made my way back to my room and tried to go back to sleep. No luck. So, I started trying to organize my stuff for the long trip home. I gave up after a short time and decided to read and get a shower. After this I went upstairs to the restaurant and had my first breakfast at the hotel. I can only imagine the cost.

I stopped at the concierge desk and picked up my copy of the whale watch. OMG It’s stunning. Of course, I look dreadful but what can you do with hair ‘out to here’ in the wind? But it’s a beautiful summary of the whole excursion. It's far too big a file to upload, but maybe I can figure a way how to add it once I get home. 

It has stopped raining at this point so I decided to go out to the pool. Even at 11:30 the pool was empty as were the lounge chairs! I had my pick. So, I set up camp for the afternoon. It was hot today too. I tried to savor the feeling as I will be missing that very, very soon. Sigh.

About 2:20 I was a little hungry again and chose the only reasonably priced item on the bar menu—guacamole for 550 and a large bottle of water for about the same. I had seen this go by a number of times in the past days here and it looked good. The chips they served with it were an orangey color and I wondered what exotic fruit or vegetable they were made with. Turns out Doritos are very exotic here. LOL Despite that, the guacamole was freshly made and delicious. And the Doritos went well with it.

I am going to go out for my last night here. I want to go someplace that serves crepes. Then the unwelcome task of repacking begins. I want to pack everything in the suitcase except what I will need overnight for the flight, in Phoenix and jeans for the way home. God, I hope I don’t need a coat when I get there.

Kim Kardashian’s ass is here in French Polynesia. A Kardashian looking chick with a butt to rival Kim’s has just pranced in front of me here at the pool. Wow. That’s one thing about being here--Women of other nations are certainly not afraid to let it all hang out. And I do mean hang out. But hey, more power to them. I would not have the guts to wear some of the things I have seen even with a perfect body. If this chick bends over in front of my face again, I’m going to be sick. It’s not like I’m trying to stare at her butt……. Jesus Jenny.

OK, I wasn't going to post it, but she did have it all hanging out there today............And her man was wearing a skin tight suit and it was easy to see how much he loved the way his woman looked. LOL

OK. Here is a photo to cleanse your mind:

I guess I should get up and get moving. Hoping the hotel gives me a late check-out tomorrow as I don’t have to catch the ferry back to Tahiti until 4:45. That will give me most of another day here.  

Back from dinner and most of the packing is finished. (I did get my crepe) I do have to check-out at 11:00am but the hotel is giving me a transit room to use. It’s private and has a place to shower and includes all the toiletries. Nice touch.

Almost time for a glass or two of wine before bed. A long day tomorrow. And hopefully, no molesters on the plane this time. 

I Can't Drive 55!

Days 18 Moorea

Monday: I rented a car today. I am pretty sure it was supposed to be an automatic but when I climbed into the tiny Ford Fiesta, it was a 5 speed. I last time I drove a manual was when I had my Tracer, which was approximately 1997 or so. I decided to give it a try. Surprisingly, it came back to me pretty quickly, although I will admit to forgetting to hold the clutch in when I parked the car a couple of times. There was one iffy moment when I stopped at a little store to buy a bottle of water. I had to back out, in reverse, on a bit of an incline AND I couldn’t see the road on either side as 2 large trucks were parked there. I did drift a tiny bit forward but then backed up without revving the engine or jerking the car. I was pretty proud of myself.

The speed limit around the island is 60. The signs say: Rappel 60.

There is only one road around the island with several turn offs to the mountainous interior. Off I went in a counter clockwise direction. I encountered what is known as the ‘bad road’. It is the same road only a part of it was damaged during heavy rains. They are in the midst of repairing it but have quite a bit to complete. As with everything here, the repairs move on island time and no one is in a hurry. It’s nice though because it forces you to slow down. I had zero incidents of road rage!!!

I came up to the top of a hill and there was a scenic overlook. Stunned once again, I pulled over to take some pictures. I cannot imagine waking up every day to scenes like this. It was honestly like this all around the island.

I stopped at a variety of places looking for the perfect gifts for myself, my mom and my sister. My Mom’s being a late birthday present and my sister’s being a future Christmas present. I am positive I am not going to find anything for my sister because when I returned the car, I had nothing.

I went into a pearl shop called Eva Perles and found a gift for myself. It is the single most extravagant jewelry purchase I’ve ever made. I am not a big jewelry person but this pendant spoke to me. I worked with the owner, a lovely French woman, who has lived here for many years. She owns the shop. As I was the only customer at the time, she was very informative but not ‘in my face’. 

I ended up purchasing a grade A with a very good luster, baroque shaped pearl. She hand wrote the certificate of authenticity and noted the color as follows: Peacock bleu heart, rose body color and emerald green overtone. Now, at first I was drawn to a more purple colored pearl. However, when we went outside to view the pearls the purple one looked dull against my skin but the one I bought looked beautiful. Maybe because of the orange-y base tones of my skin and the green-ish color being complimentary?  Well, enough of that, I am thrilled with the purchase.

And here is a sort of blurry picture, that doesn't do it justice...

I also went to the Lagoonarium near the ferry dock. It’s 3200 and you park your car near the dock and a boat comes and takes you to the motu. It’s about a 5 minute ride. They have a website if you google and the pictures on the website are true to what the place looks like. It is open from 8-4 and you can stay all day if you like. I stayed for about 2 hours. I wanted to snorkel and was not interested in the fish feeding.

They had a series of buoys in the water with rope between each buoy and stated if you wanted to snorkel you MUST hold onto the rope. You could tell why almost the minute you entered the water. The current was very strong and I’m not sure even a great swimmer could have made their way without crashing into coral heads or being carried away. The coral was in decent shape and there were many, many fish. Some of them were very large and you could feel it when they bumped into you. There were also the resident stingrays and sharks milling about.

It was a good snorkeling place but a difficult one. Once through the snorkeling area was enough for me—it was tiring.

I missed lunch and most of the places were closed until dinner time so I headed back to the hotel and made do finishing up the stuff I bought. I have a can of tonic and a yogurt left! I estimate I saved myself about $200 buying food and water at the store.

I spent the remainder of the day by the pool just reading and then at the bar having my 2 complimentary mai-tais and watching the sunset over the mountains. Tough work but someone has to do it!!

I retired to my room and from there watched another Polynesian show complete with fire dancers. 

Oh and in case you were wondering, this is the view from my bed: 

A day of Rest

I was going to rent a car this morning, before I remembered that Sunday is really a day of rest here. So, I decided to go native and rest! I laid around in bed until an obscene time, got up, got dressed and took a walk around the resort.

The place is actually quite large and is home to a dolphin center and a turtle sanctuary. There were only 3 injured turtles there and one looked dead—although there was a sign saying she wasn’t. LOL

After a stop at the front desk and the concierge, I ended up back at the pool bar where I sat reading my book until happy hour. Tonight I decided to try the Jack Daniel’s Mojito. Two drinks later, they showed me who was boss and it wasn’t me. WooHoo! I was forced to order some food as my room seemed a bit far away. I got a large fruit plate an order of fries and a large bottle of water.

Obviously, I am back in the room now, with a to-go box containing fruit for tomorrow morning!

Absolutely nothing blog-worthy happened today.

But, here are some pictures of the resort.

There are so many kinds of flowers just blooming like crazy all over the place. It smells heavenly here. 

Up early tomorrow to pick up my car rental!  Lot’s to see and do!