The Last Trip

So here we are at the end of another volume of my life. These photos were taken on our last trip together. 17 hours after we had gotten home from the cruise we headed up to the mountains. We spent a lovely afternoon at Grandfather Vineyard and Winery. Rather fitting that our last trip would take us to where we had gone on our second date. Six days after these photos were taken Micheal suffered a stroke, followed by several seizures. He passed away on August 8th, 2014.

I will come up with a new blog soon as I get ready to embark on yet another part of my life. The plan is to get the estate settled and move back to Florida so I can watch my granddaughter grow up and be with my daughter and son in-law. I have some great friends in Florida and am looking forward to being with them again. In the meantime please enjoy this last post.


We started out by enjoying a wine tasting. We each chose a different tasting.

 

After the tasting we took two bottles of wine and headed out to sit by the river and enjoy a picnic lunch.

Nan was having fun messing with Micheal.

After lunch we enjoyed a cigar.

 Nan took this great photo of me.

And in return I got this shot of her.

We had a great weekend and I am sorry that it is over now. But, I am a strong woman and I will be okay in the long run.

Duck Commander Cruise, Part 4.

This is the final cruise post. It is all photos that the cruise line took and Micheal scanned for us so we could share them. You can double click on any photo for a better view of it.

The Carnival Victory sailing out of The Port of Miami.

Micheal at dinner on the first night of the cruise.

Yours truly at dinner on the first night of the cruise.

On the gangway in Key West.

Black and white in Key West.

As we left Key West all the people with early dining got their photos taken with the entire Duck Dynasty crew. Here we are with John Godwin and Martin.

All the Robertson men. From left to right: Alan, Jase, Phil, Si, Willie and Jep.

The Robertson ladies: Lisa, Jessica, Miss Kay, Korey and Missy.

Formal night on the cruise. This is one of 3 photos we bought.

On the gangway in Cozumel, Mexico.

On the pier on Cozumel.

On the last night of the cruise at the wedding vow renewal ceremony. The cruise line had prepared this cake for all those who renewed their vows to share. One couple had been married 58 years so they were given the cake topper.

Duck Commander Cruise, Part 3

It is now the last day of our cruise. It is a day at sea as we head back to the Port of Miami. Today's highlight was 'Shop Talk' with the duck call room guys. Somehow I did not get a photo of Jep or Godwin.

But I got Martin who had taken the beads out of his beard.

Jase, the man never seems to stop moving.

and Uncle Si.

The view from our stateroom. Micheal kept saying that someone had used an awful lot of blue food coloring in the water. I assured him that God had done a marvelous thing when He created the oceans and all the many shades of blue water.

Since it was the last night, the theme was Redneck, White and Blue. Here we are with our braids and our US Constitution shirts.

When we got back to our room our steward had set up all our towel critters for us along with a heart for our last night.

Duck Commander Cruise, Part 2

So now we are in Cozumel, Mexico. Exactly where every heat-hating person needs to be in the middle of July.

As the dock crew was working on the lines I spied this ship heading into the pier. I laughed and Mike asked why. My response, because they tell all the gullible tourists the "this is the same Black Pearl they used in the movies". Nope, not at all, not the same ship. But at least these guys have 3 masts like the real ship. Unlike the one in the Bahamas which only has two masts.

At the end of the pier our tour guide offered to take our photo. Our ship is the big one in the background. Check out the new sunglasses from Ron Jon's. We forgot Mike's sunglasses in the truck back in Miami and I had left mine on the ship.

For our excursion in Cozumel we chose "The Jose Cuervo Tasting Experience". Our first stop on the tour was a movie room. Nicely cooled by A/C and then we got an 8 oz. frozen margarita to enjoy while we watched a video. The next stop on the tour was the museum of modern history. They had all sorts of really neat stuff in the museum and I took pictures of just about everything. You can thank me later for not posting them all here.This little item is called a 'Tree of Life'. Each little piece was handmade and painted from clay.

This hummingbird was carved out of wood.

Next up was the main event. How to properly drink tequila. Not in shots or margaritas but like you would a fine single malt scotch.

We each got 3 glasses with tequila in them. Our placemat told about the different parts of the mouth giving you the different taste sensations. There was also some water and different things to cleanse your sense of smell and your palate.

Ruy - pronounced Ray - was our tour guide. He explained how to smell the tequila from 3 different places in and around the glass. Then you inhale and take a sip. Hold the tequila in your mouth for about 5-6 seconds then swallow and slowly exhale. It takes 3 sips for the full flavor of the tequila to be noticed.

Mike paid very close attention to the proper drinking techniques. Mind you, we are sitting in an air conditioned building. I think they had the A/C set about 85 degrees.

Next we got to go out in to the heat but were treated to frozen mango margaritas. The stuff on the rim of the glass is a mixture of chili powder and dried lime zest. Then you put a squeeze of some sort of chili sauce in th eottom of the glass before you pour the margarita in. They were really good.

Even though we were out in the heat Mike enjoyed his drink.

On the way back to the ship we stopped so we could get our hair braided. I got 3 braids while Mike opted for the whole head treatment. Photos of that in another blog post. While the ladies were working on Mike, Martin from Duck Dynasty came and sat down to get his beard braided.

That night after dinner I participated in an apron contest. Some of the aprons were amazing. But at least I got to curtsey on stage.

Duck Commander Cruise, Part 1

This was a fun trip, however I took roughly 306 photos so not all will be posted.

Like any trip there are good and bad memories. On the first day of our two day drive from home to the Port of Miami we got caught in a torrential downpour on the wrong side of Jacksonville, FL. With the wipers on high, flashers on and going maybe 25 mph on I-95 it was decided that we needed to get off the freeway before someone got hit or hurt. About the time we made this decision a semi hit a car on the north bound side. We pulled into a gas station to fill up. Mike stood guard as I pumped the gas. I then climbed back into the truck and waited with doors locked and my gun handy while he went to buy us something to drink. I am happy to say that we made it back onto the road with no shots being fired.

When we got to Miami on day two of our trip, we stood in line for security screening for almost an hour. A Carnival employee saw Mike's cane and offered him a wheelchair which got us priority in getting through security. However, we had to go through different lanes. The guy pushing Mike never stopped so Mike could retrieve his cane, change or pocket knives. I had to run back and get them. Once we got our room key cards we were told to wait and someone would assist us getting onboard. After 20 minutes no one came. I got a nice couple to help us and we took the escalator then got someone to give us assistance to our room.

At dinner the first night almost everyone who had early seating in the aft dining room had been assigned to the same table. It took us an hour to get seated. Then we were told to hurry and eat so the late diners would not have to wait. This was not the start I had hoped for as this was Mike's first cruise.

Good memories were several wonderful sunsets, fun shore excursions, great shows and we renewed our vows. This was our first sunset as we sailed towards Key West.

Most of our stateroom. Our room steward created towel critters for us each night.

We woke up in Key West and watched them secure the dock lines and get ready for all the photos as you stepped off the ship. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in our stateroom before heading ashore for our trolley ride around the island.

Between the 1st an 2nd tour stops some idiot in a pickup truck backed into our trolley.

We had to wait for the police to arrive and also another trolley. Ours was only dented but since it is a "commercial" vehicle it had to stay for a lot longer. On the front fender of the officer's Harley it reads 'Protecting Paradise'.

Along the tour route we saw this guy on a sidewalk. There was another larger Iguana on the lawn behind him.

As the ship sailed from Key West the Robertson clan gathered so all early diners could get their photo taken with everyone. Here are Jase, Phil, Si and Willie waiting.

Godwin was being very patient.

Jessica, Korie and Missy waiting on Miss Kay and Lisa.

Out towel critter for the second night.

Our sunset as we headed toward Cozumel, Mexico.

Stay tuned for more adventures.

Day Trip to Sparta

Back on June 26th we needed to make a day trip to Sparta to pick up some stuff that Mike had purchased on the internet. It was a lovely day for a scenic trip.

Early in the day we passed this little gem in the parking lot of a restaurant in Walnut Cove. Rather snazzy.

I especially liked this guy on the back.

We stopped at a scenic overlook. I spied this building off in the back of a field next to the parking area.

Pilot Mountain loomed on the horizon.

This was the view of the pasture land to the right of the building we had traveled to visit.

This is the road we drove down to get to the place. Thankfully, it was a beautiful, bright and sunny day. Would not want to be here in the dark, this is out in the middle of nowhere.

As we were leaving Mike and I admired the guy's chicken coop. Small but bright.