Insanity runs Rampart in My Home

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Insanity runs Rampart in My Home

Yes, I know, I have 2 kittens, both under the age on 1 year. Of course life is insane but as I sat here this morning  watching them race around I found myself reminiscing. 

I thought back to when Rocky was a tiny kitten. His “Big Brother” was a senior kitty called Little Joe. Little Joe was the original “Grumpy Cat” He didn’t like other cats. He was a smush-faced Persian, kind of slow moving, aloof and just wanted to be left alone. Rocky was a tiny hellion who bounced off walls and loved his grumpy Big Brother. I spend a lot of time separating them so no one would get hurt.

Baby Rocky

 

I remember one time I heard little muffled whimpering and when I went to investigate I found Little Joe dragging Rocky across the floor…but not by his ruff. No Little Joe had Rocky’ s whole head in his mouth. That was why Rocky’s cries sounded muffled! But both Rocky and I survived his kittenhood and eventually Rocky became the “Old Man”.  And now I have kittens again.

Banner

His Highness- Banner

Banner is 6 months old now and starting to look like an adult. He’s going to be a fluffy cat and his tail is still his biggest feature. Banner is kind of slow moving. We play a game of soccer with tiny soccer balls. I throw them down the hall and Balboa chases them. Banner is like the goalie. Only he stretches out across the hall and if Balboa doesn’t catch the ball before it starts down the hall, Banner just bats it away with his paw and lays back down.  No racing around for him.

Banner

 

 

This morning as I got ready to take my shower I saw Banner get ready to use the litter box. His tail was sticking out over the side of the box. To my surprise Balboa came running and pounced on Banner’s tail! Oh no! I figured that would distract Banner- maybe even cause an “accident”  but no, Banner  paid no attention to Balboa chewing on his tail. He took care of his needs then calmly pulled his tail away so he could turn and cover up his business.

Balboa

Balboa is the crazy one. They said he was shy when I adopted him. Ha! They lied or else he had them all fooled. He is 2 months younger than Banner. Where Banner is poufy and lazy Balboa is lean and sleek. He’s shorthaired and shiny black with the energy of a formula one race car. Banner is very patient with him but once he wears out his big brother he heads to for me and we play fetch for an hour or two!

Wild Thing

 

 

Balboa, often called BB for short is also known fondly as “Sir Talks A Lot”. He mutters. Yup he wanders around the house talking to his toys, to Banner and to me. He doesn’t do anything in silence except maybe sleep. Balboa is my lap cat. Once he finally runs out of energy he just collapses like a limp rag and can stay on my lap all afternoon if I let him. Banner might make a short stop to say hi but then moves on. Not Balboa, He’s my buddy.

Don’t leave anything around where you don’t want it checked out either! I made the mistake of setting a bowl on the table while I got some other items out of the cupboard.  This is what I turned around to!

Not in the bowl!

Luckily I had another bowl and could run that one through the dishwasher again. 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas and Bye Bye 2020

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Merry Christmas to all

It doesn’t feel like Christmas this year. The parties and holiday spirit just doesn’t seem to be here. I think it’s because we’ve spend almost a full year locked down. I didn’t even send Christmas cards this year. Oh I made them up and put them together ready to send but then I never got around to addressing them and putting them in the mail. Do I send them late, an after Christmas wish or save them for next year? In case I decide to save them, here’s my Christmas wishes to all.

Busch Gardens – Santa

Bye Bye 2020

I’m happy to be saying good bye to 2020. It wasn’t bad enough that we’ve spent most of the year in quarantine but we lost my beloved sister -in -law, Robin.

 

And I lost another  piece of my heart when my furry feline companion  of 19 years crossed the rainbow bridge in March.

Rocky’s spirit lives on in his namesake, Balboa. Rocky was named after Rocky Balboa from the Rocky movies. When I adopted Balboa I decided to keep his name. It just seemed to be the right thing to do.

So now I have Banner and Balboa to brighten up my days.

 

Banner & Balboa 2020

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

So with two kittens (Banner 6 months & Balboa 4 months)  in the house I decided to skip the Christmas tree this year. Then I found a cat tree that looks like a plant, maybe not a pine tree but at least a tree. The tree is a hit. Both cats tear around and through it.

I wanted to have a picture of  before and after. A picture of the cat tree and then a picture of it decorated as a Christmas tree. I figured if I used plastic ornaments the cats could play and not hurt anything. Wrong! I never got the lights on before Banner got them in his mouth and snapped the wire right in half.

So we have the tree but no decorations… this year. Just wait you guys, 2021 will be a different year!

Cruising for Vacation, Bahamas, Mexico & Alaska

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Cruising for VacationCruise Nassau, Bahama

To cruise for vacation or not to cruise. Cruising has become the way to vacation in recent years (pre Covid). I can see the appeal. You have a floating hotel room and all of your meals. Once you board you unpack once and you are all set for the duration. For those of us who have worn out our joints so that we have had to slow down, being delivered to our location is a nice perk.

Still I haven’t been a fan of cruising in the past. My first cruise was to celebrate my friend Joe’s 40th birthday. Some of Joe’s friends and I chipped in and took him on a 4 day cruise to the Bahama’s. Since we were all on a budget my roommate and I settled for an inside cabin. It was small and cramped but we figured we wouldn’t be spending much time in the cabin so we could tolerate it. Never again. I’ll pay the extra for an outside cabin- preferably one with a balcony. The best part of that cruise for me was the stop at the private island. I spend most of the day snorkeling. There wasn’t a lot to see. Just a sandy bottom and occasional fish but floating in the warm waters was great!

I’m not a shopper so I didn’t get much out of the shopping spree in Nassau but I did enjoy the trip to Atlantis Resort. The bottom line is that Joe had a really special birthday but the experience didn’t encourage me to try cruising again.

 

Tulum

Tulum, Mexico

Tulum, Mexico

The next cruise I tried was once again with my friend Joe. We took a 4 day cruise out of the port of Miami to Cozumel, Mexico.

Before we headed out for Mexico we made a port of call in Key West. We were very familiar with Key West. Joe had worked there and I had visited on several occasions. Even so we enjoyed wandering around.

 

Once we reached Cozumel we took a wild ride across the channel to  Playa del Carmen. From there we took a bus to the Mayan Ruin at Tulum.

This was worth every penny. The ruins were amazing and when we went shopping we got to see The voladores, the flyers. These men tie themselves to a pole and and slowly descend circling the pole.

 

This cruise could have been longer as we didn’t have much time to spend in Mexico but what we saw was great. 

The Long Alaska Cruise Tour

With a couple of short cruises under my belt I let me sister talk me into taking an Alaska Cruise. What I learned from this experience is to not rely on the travel agent. As usual we were watching our pennies. We wanted to get the biggest bang for our buck. The travel agent convinced us that if we wanted to see baby animals, wildflowers and such we should take an early cruise-plus a shoulder season cruise was less expensive. Sounded good to us so we booked the first cruise of the season in late May. As our departure date neared we were notified of a cabin upgrade from ocean view to balcony. That was a great upgrade. We watched glaciers calve from that balcony.

On a shore excursion we got a taste of native culture.

Young Tlingit Dancer in Ceremonial dress

The weather didn’t cooperate for most of the cruise. Alaska had a late spring that year so there was still snow and a daily dose of cold, rainy, gray weather. We were glad we packed winter clothing. The bears were just beginning to come out of hibernation and most of the other mammals were still very pregnant. No babies yet and no wildflowers,  We were about a week too early! 

We did get to go dog sledding and spend time with the puppies. That was fun even though the snow had mostly melted there. Our sled was a big converted car body on wheels. I thought it would be too heavy for the dogs but they loved it. 

We did see Glaciers in Glacier Bay and bald eagles were everywhere. In Denali we got to see moose and caribou. At one port of call we spotted an otter! It wasn’t a total loss. I just think we had bad luck with our timing.  

Magarie Glacier

Bald Eagle on an ice floe

Even so Alaska is an amazing state. I want a return trip- by land this time. I’ve heard the way to see Alaska is in an RV but I’m still thinking about what I want from a return trip. 

Memory Lane

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Memory Lane

It’s a rainy Saturday morning. The weather folks say we’re getting a nor’easter with snow in the mountains. Seems like the perfect day to continue with my trip down Memory Lane. Last week we talked about Key Largo, Colonial Williamsburg, The Grand Canyon, and Maui. Let me see…where else have I been?

Airport CowboyJackson Hole Wyoming- 2017

My trip to Jackson Hole was a top 10 trip even though I almost got snowed in the day I was leaving. Located on the southern end of Grand Teton National Park the views are extraordinary. The Teton range rises from the valley floor with nary a foothill. Like a dragon spine the mountains are just there! Tall, jagged and majestic.  Throw in the wildlife and the history and you truly get a taste of the old  west.

 

 

A pair of Bull elk

Majestic Bull Elk in the Elk Reserve

Bear Up a tree

Black Bear

Jackson hole is not far from another amazing place. Yellowstone National Park.

Before the Charge

2 Grumpy Bison

Yellowstone National Park- 2017

Filled with geysers, mud pots and majestic mountains, Welcome to America’s First National Park.  This, like the Grand Canyon, should be on everyone’s must see bucket list. There is no place like it. This is also where I thought I was going to become a statistic- DOA in Yellowstone when 2 Bison decided my little rental car was challenging them. That was one scary moment! 

Old Faithful Erupts

Old Faithful

 

Besides the Bison I was lucky enough to see Grizzly 399 , the most famous grizzly bear mother in the world. This was a real high for me. I just wish she’d turned around for a frontal picture.

3 bears out for a stroll

Grizzly 399 and cubs

As long as we’re talking about wildlife, I can’t forget the trip to South Dakota that I took with my sister. 

Mount Rushmore

South Dakota -2010

When Sandy said let’s go to South Dakota I was puzzled. What’s in South Dakota? But it turned out to be a great trip. Besides the huge stone monuments of Mount Rushmore and Sitting Bull there were National Parks, wildlife, cave systems and the amazing scenery of the Badlands! We even got to see wild horses and visit a dinosaur dig!

 

 

Race the wind

Wild Horses

Badlands

That’s about all I have time for today so we’ll say goodbye with my little prairie dog friend. This is the iconic photo from the South Dakota trip. 

 

Prairie Dog with Flower

Oh, the Places I’ve Been!

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Oh, the Places I’ve Been!

Oh COVID how you’ve clipped my wings! But that doesn’t mean I can’t revisit the places I’ve been. Today I thought I’d take a trip back in  time to re-visit some of the places I’ve been. Care to come along?

Key Largo Fla – 2019

John Pennekamp State ParkNature at it’s finest. This northern most Island in the Florida Keys offers diving, snorkeling and a lot of Ocean Fun. My favorite spot- John  Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. But be prepared with water shoes . The shoreline is sharp coral that can bruise and cut bare feet.              

Great White Heron in Mangroves – Key Largo 2019

Iguana at Pennekamp Park 2019

 

Busch Gardens – 2018

Colonial Williamsburg, VA (and Busch Gardens) – 2018

Just weeks before my hip replacement surgery I made a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. It was much colder than I expected Virginia to be even if it was November. I was joined by family and friends. 

Colonial Williamsburgh 2018

 

Carriage Colonial Williamsburgh 2018

On the South Rim, Grand Canyon 2008

Grand Canyon Arizona- 2011

If you have not been to the Grand Canyon you are missing an amazing sight. I’ve been twice and can’t wait to go again. When I first saw the canyon my mind could not embrace it all. It was too large, too majestic. I was with a guide and he warned us but I still felt dizzy and overwhelmed. Something this magnificent just couldn’t be real! But it is. 

Grand Canyon- 2011

Grand Canyon 2011

Maui Hawaii – 2020

Hawaii is one of my favorite places. I’ve been to the  Big Island, Oahu and Maui.  My latest trip was right before the pandemic. I was back on Maui and had a chance to go SNUBA diving. It’s like Scuba but your tank is floating on a raft on the surface and you breathe though a hose. The other big difference is that you do not need to be certified to SNUBA making it something everyone can try.

snuba at Turtletown 2020

Wind Surfing 2020

Oh, the Places I’ve Been!

This was fun. It’s nice to reminisce now and again. And I have so many other trips to share. Maine for Puffin watching, Sedona and my first helicopter ride . The amazing state of Alaska and Denali National Park. I can’t forget Yellowstone and Old Faithful, Florida and swimming with Manatees or the Big Island and snorkeling with Manta Rays. Not to mention Bears and Moose and Elk in Wyoming. The Teton Mountains are magnificent rising from the valley floor. We have a lot to talk about!

The Grand Teton

The Grand Teton 2017