We clean up nice After ringing in the new year shortly after our return to Florida, we then gathered with Dave's family to celebrate Christmas and a plethora of January events. Then we left for a few days to sail to Mexico – on a cruise ship, that is. In between, we made our Florida residency official by getting driver's licenses and such.
Carnival Paradise in Cozumel Big Ship Cruising
It's been a couple of years since we took a trip on a big boat. Of course, compared to Orion Jr, everything is a big boat. However, for 5 days, we got together with Pat and Fred and let a Carnival Cruise Line captain do the driving. The ship was appropriately named Paradise. Departing from Tampa, we had ports of call in Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Cayman. For the most part, the weather cooperated as we left the cool temperatures behind in Tampa. It didn't take much coaxing to relax and enjoy the excellent service, food and entertainment aboard the ship. Dave counted 14 different places to eat on board and we're pretty sure we sampled 13 of them – just not all in one day.
It's been a couple of years since we took a trip on a big boat. Of course, compared to Orion Jr, everything is a big boat. However, for 5 days, we got together with Pat and Fred and let a Carnival Cruise Line captain do the driving. The ship was appropriately named Paradise. Departing from Tampa, we had ports of call in Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Cayman. For the most part, the weather cooperated as we left the cool temperatures behind in Tampa. It didn't take much coaxing to relax and enjoy the excellent service, food and entertainment aboard the ship. Dave counted 14 different places to eat on board and we're pretty sure we sampled 13 of them – just not all in one day.
Our last night out Having convinced Pat and Fred to join us for the trip, we had a great time together, whether exploring the ship's offerings or checking out the ports. However, we couldn't completely leave our sailing perspectives behind. We would study the weather and the ship's position and try to understand when we were crossing the gulf stream. Before we left cell phone range, Dave pulled up the weather and saw some impressive winds that were going to kick up the seas in the gulf stream. When our non-sailing dining partners asked why we were so interested, we told them the next day would likely be rough. Sure enough, the boat was rocking enough that the dancers in the night's performance had to keep each other upright at times. As we pulled into Grand Cayman, we joked that the anchorage was too crowded and there wasn't enough room. We supervised the anchoring process and actually saw the anchor hit bottom as the chain was paid out. And we checked to make sure the quarantine flag was flying. (It was.) But Pat and I had to remind the guys that the similarity to small boat cruising was not universal. They shouldn't expect to be eating like this once we got back to the real world.
Making it Legal
On January 2nd, we took a trip down the street to the local Lakewood Ranch DMV to get our Florida driver's licenses and to transfer registrations to Florida. This had the potential to be a disaster, given our non-conventional lifestyle. But the agent we worked with was pleasant, knowledgeable and efficient in getting our legal documents transferred to Florida. We are even more official now.
On January 2nd, we took a trip down the street to the local Lakewood Ranch DMV to get our Florida driver's licenses and to transfer registrations to Florida. This had the potential to be a disaster, given our non-conventional lifestyle. But the agent we worked with was pleasant, knowledgeable and efficient in getting our legal documents transferred to Florida. We are even more official now.
Tampa RV Show
They bill it as the biggest in the nation. Who knows for sure? At any rate, we discovered that the Tampa RV Show was going to be held the weekend we arrived back in port. So, we headed straight for the show from the ship. Pat and Fred went in search of solutions to some issues in their RV, while we found the 2 vendors that actually had truck campers on sight. We also learned more about a problem we're having with our freezer. By the end of the day, we were shivering in the chilly breeze and wishing we were still in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
They bill it as the biggest in the nation. Who knows for sure? At any rate, we discovered that the Tampa RV Show was going to be held the weekend we arrived back in port. So, we headed straight for the show from the ship. Pat and Fred went in search of solutions to some issues in their RV, while we found the 2 vendors that actually had truck campers on sight. We also learned more about a problem we're having with our freezer. By the end of the day, we were shivering in the chilly breeze and wishing we were still in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
Diane with her Mickey pot. Christmas in Florida
Christmas with Dave's family in Florida often means a Disney trip. This year was no different. After a Christmas dinner on the 3rd, we headed up to Disney on Monday, which was also Wendy's birthday. Our welcome may be wearing out, but we'll likely stay a few more days before we move further south to the Keys.
Christmas with Dave's family in Florida often means a Disney trip. This year was no different. After a Christmas dinner on the 3rd, we headed up to Disney on Monday, which was also Wendy's birthday. Our welcome may be wearing out, but we'll likely stay a few more days before we move further south to the Keys.
