Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami warning

NOAA buoy detects Tsunami

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Did you hear about the Alaska Tsunami warning?

Imagine if you had been cruising when the tsunami warning came on! I was about to tell you about cruise #3 which was to Alaska but I decided I wanted to know more about the tsunami and earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska. How do these events affect a cruise ship?

Earthquake under the Sea

Its pretty interesting. If you are on a boat and there’s an earthquake near you, you won’t even notice it. Imagine a cork in a bowl of water. Tip the bowl and the cork won’t move. Same idea but the ship is the cork and the bowl the ocean. If you are tied up in port your experience might be a little different. The dock will be affected because it’s connected to the land. Since the ship is tied to the dock tie lines may jerk and the ship may bump into the pier. All that energy is being transferred to the ship.

But What about a Tsunami?

Those are pretty big waves. It would seem that they would affect the ship. Remember the movie “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972 & 2005)? That is not what is going to happen. At least not if you are out at sea. If you are on a cruise ship in the ocean you might not even notice the Tsunami! Much like the cork above, your ship will probably just ride over it.

The Shock Wave that is a Tsunami

Tsunamis can travel at speeds of 500 mph in the open sea but it isn’t a wall of  water. It’s not until it hits shallow water in a harbor or along a coast that it is compressed into a big wave. Stay away from land and you should be good. Experts say that large cruise ships probably won’t be affected even when docked because they need at least 30 ft of water which is still considered fairly deep.

Alaska’s Alert

Although everyone was evacuated from the low lying coastal areas near Kodiak, the tsunami never materialized. By 7:30 EST the alerts and warnings along the west coast were being canceled. That’s good news for all!

 

Cruise Dos

Poolside (c) Dusty Roads Photos

Cruise Number 2

The 2nd cruise was a few years later, 2013 to be more specific. Once again I was teamed up with my BFF. This time it was just the 2 of us. The other thing I did differently was plan the excursions in advance so that both of us were on the same page. We were doing another 4 day cruise, this time to Cozumel, Mexico.

Leaving from The Port of Miami

This cruise seemed to get off to better start. I flew down to Orlando the day before departure. We drove to Miami together to board the ship. Once on board we checked out the state rooms. This one was larger than the one I shared on the last cruise.

Sunset at the Port of Miami (c) Dusty Roads Photos

Cruise ship in Key West (c) Dusty Roads Photos

First Port of Call- Key West

Our first port of call was just down the coast in Key West. Joe had lived and worked in Key West at one time so he was very familiar with it. I’d had the opportunity to visit him so it wasn’t new to me either. We wandered around playing tourist just the same. It was a nice, relaxed day.

Beware of Thieves

I don’t remember which day it was but we decided to take our breakfast plates outside to a deck table.

Sneaky Gull- (c) Dusty Roads Photos

The morning was beautiful. The gulls seemed to know the cruise guests would be out with food and some were quite aggressive. Do not leave you plate unattended as a gull will be in that food in a heartbeat. One of the funniest moments (for me) was when a particularly determined gull decided it wanted Joe’s breakfast. Even though Joe was seated right there I watched the sneaky bird creep up the rail behind Joe. It was obvious the bird knew exactly what it was doing. Joe had no clue what was about to happen. When the bird swooped over Joe’s shoulder to raid the plate I laughed until I cried. Joe was not amused!

Tulum

Mayan Ruins, Tulem

Photo by Dusty Roads Photos

When the ship docked in Cozumel we took a shuttle to the Mexican mainland. That was one wild ride as the seas between Cozumel and the mainland are extremely rough. The crew of the shuttle were handing out seasick bags! But once on land we connected with our tour guide and got to explore the Mayan ruins of Tulum. These are both beautiful and  fascinating. Well worth the discomfort of a rough channel crossing.  I never expected to be surrounded by such history in my life.  This cruise was more to my liking!

 

Experience Rating

 

Reminiscing

First Cruise and Reminiscing

Reminiscing, remembering, a walk down memory lane. What’s the point of making memories if we don’t pull them out and dust them off now and then? Sometimes things look different after some time has passed. For example let’s talk about cruises. If you ask me now if I like to go on cruises I’ll tell you no. It’s not my cup of tea. I’ve been on 3 cruises in my life, The  Bahamas , Cozumel and Alaska. Now I’ll share my feelings about each cruise, the good and the bad as I remember it. I wonder if I’ll still feel the same way after I’ve brushed off the memories.

The 40th Birthday Cruise

The first cruise was a “destination” cruise. My BFF was turning 40. It was a traumatic milestone for him so 3 of us got together and decided we’d take him on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was a short cruise. If I recall it was just 4 days. We spent one day on a private island. That was the best part of the trip for me. I got to spend the day snorkeling. My 3 friends hung out on the beach.

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Formal Night

Like most cruises at that time, one night was formal night. We were cruising with the Royal Caribbean. We all got dressed to the 9’s and had our picture taken with the captain. Then we retired to one of the lounges. The entertainment was big band music. Everyone was dancing. We didn’t stay long. My 3 companions didn’t want to dance at least not ballroom dancing. Instead we went to one of the shows. I’m a team player so I went along. Most entertainment on cruise ships is top notch and these shows were no exception. It was a good 2nd choice to the dancing.

Chihuly

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Bahamas

When we arrived in the Bahamas my 3 friends wanted to go shopping. I suggested we explore the ocean activities, like swimming  with dolphins, as I was not interested in shopping. I can go shopping anytime. Once again it was 3 to 1 so we went shopping. After shopping was over we took a shuttle boat to Paradise Island to visit the famous Atlantis Resort. I saw my first Chihuly, a glass masterpiece and became an instant fan. The aquarium under the resort was very cool too. It was like walking through a submerged ancient city. 

Atlantis resort

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The Cruise Home

The last day was a sea day. We were headed home. Since I don’t gamble I avoided the casino. I wasn’t interested in the art auction either. A deck chair and Dan Brown‘s book, The Da Vinci Code were calling my name.

Experience Rating

Colonial Williamsburg

A Vacation in Colonial Williamsburg

Colonials on horseback

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As I mentioned previously, July is not the time to vacation in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Too hot and humid! I poked around some and finally settled on early December. The weather looks to be cool but not freezing and there’s so much to do!

Colonial dress

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Williamsburg in December

According to the website the Village is decked out in traditional decorations. You can keep busy with Santa sightings. Re-enactments and carolers in traditional dress roam the streets. Horse drawn wagons jingle their way through the streets. Sounds like a scene right out of Dickens!

Jamestown Settlement

Jamestown ruins

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Not far from Williamsburg you’ll find  the remnants of the Jamestown settlement. You can walk through a real archaeological dig. This should be just enough to get your mind ready for  a museum and a reconstruction of the life and culture of 17th-century Virginia.  I bet my sister, a real history buff, will love this!

Glass Blowing Anyone?

Glassblowing

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Once upon a time Jamestown officials thought Jamestowncould make glassmaking a profitable venture. In the end it wasn’t the right thing for Jamestown but the Jamestown Glasshouse is still one of the main attractions. We’ll have to check it out.

This one’s for my Sister

She’s the wine connoisseur. We can tour the Williamsburg Winery and enjoy a wine tasting. There are also several restaurants. Special meal packages can include the meals paired with fine wines.

Casks of wine

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How about some Peanuts?

I like peanuts. Whitley’s Peanut factory has been producing peanuts for 30 years so they must be good. Besides classic salted peanuts there’s sea salt & caramel, Butter Toffee, Pumpkin Spiced and more. Bring your taste buds and appetite!

peanuts

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This one’s for me

Zebra at Christmas

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Busch Gardens has a Christmas Town in December. With over 8 million Christmas Lights it is the largest light display in North America! Disney at Christmas is pretty spectacular so I need to see if this is really as amazing as they say.

Family Fun

One of my brothers and his wife live in Virginia. So a visit to their state wouldn’t be complete without invading their space at least once. I’m absolutely sure we’ll be getting together.

Who Doesn’t Love an Extra Vacation?

Tulum

Tulum, Mexico

Bonus Vacation Week every 5 Years

Whether you’re a stay at home person or a world traveler, how can you not like an extra week of paid vacation? The company I work for may have its faults but giving its employees time off isn’t one of them. You start out with 3 weeks. What company does that!? One or two weeks to start is the norm and you have to earn the upgrades. For the last 4 years I’ve been enjoying 3 weeks of travel every year! 2018 is my 5th year anniversary so I get a bonus week to use in 2018.

Yukon Suspension Bridge

Yukon Suspension Bridge

What to do with that extra week?

Oahu, Hi

Oahu, HI

My other 3 vacations are all repeat locations. That’s not to say that I won’t have new experiences to share but I try to get at least one new location every year. That is getting harder to do because I love so many of the places I’ve been. So I decided to not do a repeat with my bonus vacation. After some consideration I decided to take a Virgina vacation. I have family in Virginia but although I’ve spent time visiting them I am not sure that counts as another vacation destination. I thought a trip to Colonial Williamsburg might be fun. I could see the family while I’m there too.

Planning Colonial Williamsburg

colonial horse drawn wagon

My first thought was to plan my vacation for the week of 4th of July. I figured there should be lots of extra special things going on for our Nation’s Birthday. I invited all the family but no one seemed particularly excited about Williamsburg in July. After some more research I learned why. July weather is brutal in Williamsburg. It’s hot and humid. Temperatures hover in the mid to high 90’s. I also try not to travel on holidays because the roads and airports are always extra busy so more things can go wrong. So it seems more research needs to be done find a good time for this trip.