The JimAnna Chronicles

A little further north, we stopped at Costa Maya, Mexico.  A town literally made for tourists.  But, it’s also close enough to some Mayan ruins that it was a fun stop.

Although I love history, I admit I don’t know as much about the Mayan culture as I do about some others.  However, as I understand it, no one really knows that much.  Enough of that, on with the pictures!

Upon arrival, we navigated our way our of the modern, ultra-touristy mall complex, through the standard maze of aggressive taxi drivers and quasi-tour operators to find the tour we booked.  Fortunately, this was a much better company than our experience in Belize.  We hopped on a bus to Chacchoben ruins about an hour away.  Here are the images from the city that was built sometime around the 8th century in the current era.

These ruins were only excavated in the last 20 years and open to the public since 2002.  So, it’s kinda nice to be a little less well known.

Anna was a trooper to trudge around all day, again.

Ravishing, don’t you think?

An insect’s eye view.

A not-so-little friend we found walking back to the ship.  He was just hanging out.

One of the most interesting experiences that day was stopping to buy some pineapple.  It was slice of super fresh fruit in a plastic bag, AND had cayenne spice.  Absolutely delicious!  Yumm.

Anyway, that covers our brief time in Mexico.  We were supposed to stop in the Bahamas, but high winds and waves kept the tenders from safely operating and consequently, we just hung out on the boat for another day.  That was just fine with us.

After we finally disembarked, we spent another couple days checking out the sights in Miami.  Unfortunately, our good friend Tom had already moved to Europe, but he offered some good tips.

Until the next post…

–Jim

The first stop on our Caribbean adventure was in Roatan,  Honduras.  I was able to do a little SCUBA diving, while Anna snorkeled.  Then, a massage for each of us … all of this on a private resort.  Heavenly.  But, alas, no pictures sorry.  The next destination was over to the tiny country of Belize.  They are also world-renowned for SCUBA (thanks to people like M. Jacques Cousteau).   Since we had just been diving in Roatan, we decided to trust TripAdvisor on the number one activity.  Cave tubing.  It was a lot of fun, but the tour company, Explore Belize Caves, left many things to be desired (we would NOT recommend that company).

Anyway, since there was a little time in the afternoon, we decided to see the most talked about dive site in Belize … The Great Blue Hole.  There are two ways to see it:  dive it, or fly over it.  We opted to rent a Cessna 172 and fly over.  Unfortunately, the plane had a pilot included, but it’s always fun to be in light aircraft and even more fun when you fly over something as spectacular as the Great Blue Hole.  This is the site of M. Cousteau’s expedition.  The reef surrounding the hole is relatively shallow, but the hole itself seems to plunge to an abyss.  It wasn’t until M. Cousteau brought in the famous Calypso that the true depth was discovered (124 meters).  It is strikingly symmetric and 300 meters across.  M. Cousteau declared it was one of the 10 best dive sites in the world.  I’m not sure about that, but here are the aerial pictures.

The Great Blue Hole, Belize.

Getting ready.

Enjoying the ride!

A little perspective.  Although the hole is massive, it is dwarfed by the rest of the reef system.

We circled the Great Blue Hole a few times at various altitudes to see it from all angles.

The reef line.

Anna captured this image of a boat going up the canal.

Looks like a nice place to live, huh?

Yes, this is in fact the airport.  I’ve never landed at such an austere airfield … right next to the sea!

A view from the tender taking us back to the Norwegian Jewel.  Since this was our third cruise, we’re getting a better idea of what sort of things we like and what we don’t.  The Freestyle Cruising that Norwegian advertises is great for some people, but not us.  Why is that, you ask?  Well, it’s varies by cruise, but the biggest difference at Norwegian (that we saw) was the dining.  Normally, cruise lines seat everyone at the same time, and your tables are assigned for the duration.  That is nice because you can make friends with your table mates and the wait staff gets to know your preferences.  However, at Norwegian, they don’t have a set meal time.  You just show up at one of the main dining rooms or make a reservation at a specialty restaurant (steak, sushi, French, Italian, etc).  Seems like a great concept, right?  Well, in practice, the quality of meals is sub-par at the “regular” restaurants and there is a cover charge at the specialty spots.  Plus, on top of that, you’re always anonymous at meals.  It’s not a huge deal, but something we observed and have decided will point us toward other cruise lines when we take our next cruise.

Up next are the Mayan ruins at Costa Maya, followed by some time in Miami at the conclusion of the Baby-moon.

Until then…

–Jim

Lest I get too far behind in my posts, please allow me to post some images from our “Baby-moon” trip we took back in March.  It was our last pre-Alexander trip.  We decided to fly down to Miami, rent a car, and drive to Key West (a destination we’d heard much about, but never visited). Then, after a few days on the island, head back to Miami (via the Everglades) and hop on a cruise for a week.  Finally, after all that, back to DC, and fly on to the next chapter of our lives … parenting in France.  🙂

Ok, so these next few images are from a great sailing trip we took with Danger Cruises.  We highly recommend their Wind and Wine Sunset Sail.  It was quite simply, spectacular.

Although it looks beautiful, it was a bit chilly on the boat.

This is the view from the tower of the Key West Ship Wreck Museum.

The museum was filled with entertaining and enlightening stories of Key West’s Wrecking past.  If you’re a little confused on what that means, so was I.  Basically, it means that the people of Key West were able to capitalize on the treacherous weather and when a ship sank, they would remove the valuables from the ship and turn a handsome profit.

A feisty moray eel in the aquarium.

Yumm.

Anna looking beautifully pregnant.

These images below are from our trip into the Everglades.  At our friend Tom’s recommendation, we took the tour in Shark Valley.

The vista from the tower reminded me of an African safari… all the way up till seeing the animals.  Of course, there were some similar species.

The alligator and crocodile are fairly similar.  These however are the variety only found in America.

A great egret stalking his prey.

A Tri-colored Heron.

Just chillin’

An Anhinga.

A Great Blue Heron.

Just a little guy … so cute!

Lounging on the grass.  Although he looks docile, I took advantage of my zoom camera and kept my distance.

Another Anhinga, trying to stay cool!

The alligators were all over.

Looked like he was hunting … but after watching for what seemed like forever (5ish min), I had to move on.  🙂

A Great White Heron, wading through the lily pads.

Yet another Anhinga.  Very pretty birds.

Did I mention we saw a lot of alligators?

An immature White Ibis.

Another Great Blue Heron craning its neck to see the water.

A final Anhinga as the sun was setting and the park closing.

Our time in south Florida was a great starter for the Baby-moon.  Next, it was back to Miami, then All Aboard the Norwegian Jewel!

Until then…

–Jim

OK, on to the rest of our California adventure. We went to the winery that Julie and Mike recommended: Benzinger Estate. Although the Benzinger family was very popular in an earlier time, they have down-sized to a small, quality focused operation. They use a closed system to produce their wine. It’s very organic and quite refreshing to see. So, when we finally got to the barrels and tasting, it was with full appreciation of the process that we sampled their delicious product.

Julie and Mike gave us their special access passes that enabled us to try Benzinger’s best wine, It was certainly worth it. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about California wine before, but suffice it to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality.

After our time in Sonoma (where we also celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary), we drove south along Big Sur. It was an epic drive, as anyone who has done it can attest. Although we did the drive in a single day, we were able to stop a number of times and enjoy the journey.

Several stops were along 17 Mile Drive around and through Pebble Beach. If you look closely, you can see the lone cypress in the background.

The coast along the whole route was gorgeous.

Anna caught me trying to get an image of the seal island. It’s funny, I recalled stopping at the same place as a kid. Interesting what you remember.

The image I was taking.

There were seals all over! Very cute and playful.

Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park has a dramatic waterfall we stopped to admire (again on Julie/Mike’s recommendation). A worthy stop and view.

The same waterfalls.

The other side of the falls’ overlook.

A ground squirrel.

Some bi-valves waiting for water to return with the tide.

At the end of our Big Sur drive we came upon a series of beaches with Elephant Seals. These massive animals were fascinating to watch. We spent quite a while admiring these enormous creatures.

These mammals spend 8-10 months a year in the open ocean. The remainder of the time, they can be found in places like this beach.

December to March is the time where males bluster and flight for dominance and ultimately, males and females court and mate.

These animals were also very gassy.

A happy family. There are nearly 15,000 in the area we visited (although we only saw a fraction of that population).

A couple males fighting. These guys can not only spar with ferocity, but also dive to a depth nearly a mile deep and hold their breath for a couple hours. Those are some impressive skills.

A pelican enjoying the benefits of the ground effect.

The sunset was amazing. We were on a bluff overlooking the ocean with Julie and Mike near their home. It was a great afternoon and evening.

The coast bathed in the same sunset light.

That concludes our trip to California. What a great place and we really enjoyed spending more quality time with Julie and Mike. We look forward to seeing them again soon.
Next up will be a couple posts of our time in Washington DC this year. I’ve selected some images that are my favorites from the last few months here.
Finally, I will add a few more posts of our last trip. We took a “baby-moon” down to Florida with some time in Key West, then a cruise over to central America. But, first, back to Washington…
–Jim

I know it has again been too long since my last post. No excuses, but we’ve been finishing up our language classes in DC and are now en route to our new home in France. However, I would like to catch you up with our trip over the holidays. We spent a week in Wisconsin with friends and family, then flew out to San Francisco and drove down to Los Angeles to celebrate New Year’s with Julie and Mike. Before I get too far in the story, here are the images to accompany it:

The Golden Gate Bridge made a spectacular appearance for us.

As you might expect, we hopped on the only moving national landmark … the SF trolley.

The hills are as steep as I remember from childhood trips, but there were not nearly as many as I thought.

We also made the obligatory stop on Lombard Avenue to witness one of the curviest roads in the world. Me being me, I ignored the fact that I was sitting in an intersection.

Interesting sign, huh?

Someone was kind enough to take our picture.

This battleship was a majestic foreground to Alcatraz Island.

The Buena Vista bar on Hyde Street had authentic Irish coffees that were delicious. The process was an art form.



As we walked toward Fisherman’s Wharf, we hopped on a small charter boat to tour the bay.

She looks like a lucky lady, but I don’t know if I’d push my luck in a storm with her…

The boat took us out around the old maximum security prison, Alcatraz, underneath the Golden Gate Bridge and back to the wharf. The next few images are all of the Golden Gate Bridge and our little craft.




We also had a chance to tour this WWII submarine, the USS Pampanito. It was built in late 1943 and completed 6 combat patrols, including a couple near our old home in Guam.

The red lights kept night vision, and avoided using white light during critical missions.

Anna’s inspecting the map … ensuring we were on the right course.

Torpedo tubes loaded.

We again headed out to Alcatraz Island. This time, we opted to stop and tour the facility. Its infamy lives on today. It began as a military fort in the civil war, then a military prison and was closed as a federal prison in 1963 (it was cost prohibitive). When it became excess land, a group of Native American’s moved out to the island in order to occupy it. Their rationale was that by treaty in 1868, all excess land should be returned to them. However, the government didn’t want to let the island go, and a lengthy dispute ensued. Eventually, the island was turned into a national park. When you visit the island, there are remnants of all phases of the life on the island.


This magazine (one I enjoy reading from time to time) is representative of an inmate’s cell in the 1960s.

This is the view of the cell as it looked one night in June 1962. There were four prisoners who attempted to escape the purportedly inescapable Alcatraz. Of those four, three (Frank Morris and brothers Clarence and John Anglin) were able to get out of their cells and use a homemade life raft to attempt the impossible. The dummy in the bed gave them a little longer head start. The vent in the back is where the men were able to get out. Then, they proceeded into the wall, and eventually off the island.

Here is the back side of the wall where Frank, Clarence and John all worked their way out.

The San Francisco skyline.

Muir woods is the home to some of the world’s largest trees, the California Redwood. Not only are these trees massive, but also ancient. Some are thousands of years old. It’s humbling to walk among them.


We walked among the giants with our friend Gabriele.
These next images are again of the Golden Gate Bridge … this time at night.




This is the Bay Bridge connecting San Francisco and Oakland.

That finished our time in San Fran. Next we headed to the wine country in Sonoma County for a couple days, then down Big Sur to meet Julie and Mike in Los Angeles.
Those images and the story of that adventure will be in the next post. Until then…
–Jim

Once we came home from Emma and Scott’s wedding in August, we packed up the house and moved back to the States in September (for a little while at least). We headed to the Washington D.C. area for our intensive French language class.
Soon after we got here, we learned there was a little one on the way. Nevertheless, we wanted to make the most of our time in the US, or as the French say we could profiter. So, we headed up to the great American city, New York .. twice. The first was over Columbus Day weekend and again over Martin Luther King Jr weekend. This post is a melange of the images from those trips.

Although this image is from our second trip, the Guggenheim Art Museum is an architectural masterpiece. Designed by a Wisconsin son, Frank Lloyd Wright, it soars out of 5th Avenue. It’s my favorite piece by the man who was named best American Architect by the American Institute of Architects.

Central Park is a great place to take a stroll.

Anna snuck up behind me…

We also happened upon a parade during Columbus Day Weekend. These women represented Uruguay.



It takes a lot to control the huge volume of traffic in the city. New York’s finest were doing a great job.

Love was in the air … and on the street.

Radio City is always fun to see.

Times Square always seems to be a-buzz with activity.

On both trips we had the opportunity to meet up with our friends John and Gee. They joined us for a Broadway show and we joined them for a delicious brunch and trendy market. Each meeting is accentuated by great conversation. We look forward to hosting them in France.

John captured this image for us.

After the show (In the Heights … which, by the way, we HIGHLY recommend) we went to 30 Rockefeller Plaza to check out the skating rink.

The fountains are also pretty nice at 30 Rock.

The Top of the Rock had an amazing view and inspires an Empire State of Mind.

Central Park at night is like a void in the cityscape. The George Washington Bridge in the background.

Times Square was aglow.


No, we didn’t go back for another safari. This is in the New York Natural History Museum.

The exhibit on Native American nations was very well done. This canoe was one of my favorites.

The life size blue whale was also unique.

Or a chimp,

I always love seeing gems. Anna … not quite as much, but doesn’t mind receiving them.

A star sapphire.

Another image of the home of the Rockettes.

I had forgotten how amazing the Metropolitan Museum of Art was. We began the visit with some wine, cheese, classical music and finished with a phenomenal collection of art from around the world.




The hall of statues was full of classical and modern masterpieces alike.

The mighty Perseus.


The Guggenheim again.

Rockefeller Plaza was great when shrouded by clouds.
So, that covers our trips to New York City. We really enjoyed our time there and look forward to making it back soon for more show, museums and city life.
Until the next adventure…
–Jim