An abrupt change

Thanksgiving Day dawned hot and muggy, and the mosquitoes were out in full force.  For the first time in refuge history, one of the volunteers had to work in the VIS (visitor’s center) on a National Holiday.  So, that meant we would all wait to have our dinner until Colin returned from his tour of duty.  :)  Colin is a resident of England that has flown here each fall for the last eight years to volunteer on the refuge.  He took the VIS duty yesterday so the rest of us could get the dinner prepared.  Turns out he had never heard of the sweet potato dish topped with marshmallows, but loved the traditional green bean casserole that I prepared.  Neither of these dishes are normally served in England.  As usual, there was more food available than could be consumed, but it was an enjoyable and tasty repast.
                                    Tonight’s photos are some from my recent cruise.

One of the things I really look forward to at a Thanksgiving Feast is savoring the taste of a large piece of crisp, brown turkey breast skin with a dash of salt sprinkled on it.  I know it’s not good for you to eat, but once a year I indulge and my mouth was watering at the thought of this culinary delight for me.  Boy, was I disappointed!  I don’t know what the carver of the turkey did with the skin, but none was to be found.  :(  I’m thinking I just may have to go buy one of those turkey breasts with the skin on so I can roast it and have my yearly treat.  (a whole turkey is just too big for me alone)

The wait staff put on quite a show the last night of the cruise as we dined.

After the feasting, I came back to the rig and the air conditioner was still running pretty steadily.  Then about 9:00, the wind shifted, the rain began, and the temp dropped about 30 degrees in 30 minutes!  I was suddenly getting goose bumps, and even had to turn the heat on.  What an abrupt change of weather as the cold front from the north moved through.  It didn’t drop low enough to wipe out our massive supply of mosquitoes, but today’s northerly high winds did keep them at bay. 

It rained most of this morning, and I just hunkered down inside and played on the computer.  I did a little work in the afternoon taking inventory for the VIS, but all in all it was a relaxing day spent inside with the furnace on.  Each time I took Emma out, she was invigorated by the cooler temperatures and ran circles around me at the end of her 18’ lead.  She likes the colder temps more than I do.  :)

If the sun shines tomorrow, perhaps we’ll take a drive.  Maybe I’ll make a trip to the Bolivar Peninsula.  I think I’ll pack a lunch tonight just in case…
                                        Sunrise entering the port of Nassau, Bahamas.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Nassau, Bahamas

As the sun began to rise this morning, we pulled into the port of Nassau, Bahamas.  Since our tour didn’t begin until 11:00, we took our time having breakfast and lounged on the deck until it was time to leave.
While we were waiting, our ship and another cruise ship in the harbor both practiced the abandon ship drill.  The lifeboats were all lowered, taken for a short ride, and then returned to the ship.  It was interesting to watch, and reassuring to see that the staff knew what to do in case of an emergency.
Our tour included a short drive past various sites in the city, and a boat ride out to a coral reef.  The boat that went over the reef had a ‘basement’ with windows where the passengers sat to view the fish on the reef.  This tour couldn’t compare to the sights we saw in our other tours in Spain and Portugal.  Nassau was a bit of a disappointment to us.
After buying a couple of tee shirts at the famous Straw Market, we headed back to the ship.
While sitting on our deck, we were treated to a display of hundreds of gulls flying around between the two cruise ships.  It felt like a scene out of the Hitchcock movie “The Birds.”  Some folks were tossing food scraps out of their staterooms, and the gulls were really battling with each other to catch the bits before they fell into the ocean.  We have two more days at sea before we arrive early Sunday morning in Galveston.  This little adventure is nearing it’s end.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy