Carnival Conquest Cruise, Oct. 21-28

Embarkation was very easy - even though I had left the Fun Pass in the taxi! I couldn't have bypassed the photos in the embarkation area - it was too tight and there were too many people. This was annoying to me since I do photography and I knew I wouldn't be buying the photo!

We has an inside stateroom on the Upper (6th) deck. For the price $549pp it was amazing! The comforter, pillows, and sheets were lovely and soft. The room was plenty big and the bathroom was actually surprisingly big.


There was only ONE outlet (and I had ignored the suggestion to bring a power strip!) I found no outlet in the bathroom at all.

There was plenty of closet space and all six bags fit under the bed easily.

We ate at the more formal dining room (Monet) every night of the cruise. The quality of the food was very good. Keep in mind that you're eating mass-produced foods so there are going to be sub-par qualities and above-par qualities. For instance: nothing was crispy, ever and the creme brulee was hot throughout. The meat was where the real value was! I took a galley tour and spotted their guide to cooking meat. What they show as medium-rare is what I would call medium so ORDER YOUR STEAK RARE is you like you meat not brown throughout. The waiters were so very comfortable with my sending back over cooked meat - what a joy not to feel like a jerk!

The ship employees are almost exclusively international. We noticed lots of Croatians and Phillipinos but I heard there were folks from over 50 countries! Accents were not a problem ever.

We toured the galley which was an anti-climax but worth doing.


I love the Lido deck! The music was tolerable and NO KIDS! We camped on the deck chairs Monday and Tuesday, hopped from pool to tub to pizza to chair again. This was the best part of the cruise.

We enjoyed tea-time greatly. The chicken salad and salmon sandwiches were delicate and lovely and the sweets were great as well. The tea selection was limited to six or eight teas - I had Earl Grey and Darjeeling and my DH had Orange herbal.

The coffee on board is awful but the iced tea is so bad it make the coffee look good! Bring tea bags if you require palatable iced tea. There are coffee bars on the Promenade and the Lido decks with Starbucks type and priced coffee.

We attended the Mardi Gras party on Tuesday. This is every Tuesday and I highly suggest it. It is NOT COOL in any way but has the distinct feeling of summer camp with booze and this is a good quality indeed! Drink heavily and quickly.

Jamaica was lovely! We were dropped off at the first shopping area which held out attention for about 3 minutes. We decided to walk to the Doctors Cave beach (Sunset Beach was closed according to the lady at the debarkation area).

Doctors Cave was a beautiful beach (an ex-pat said it was the prettiest in all of Jamaica...well....it was nice to hear!)
There were only tourists there - no locals.
We lunched at the pork pit (only locals).
We walked all over with no trouble. We left out wedding rings and passports on the ship to be careful but it was a non-issue. I was offered a lot of drugs and even got to look at a photo album of a marijuana plantation! Upon returning to the ship through security my husbands genitals were extensively patted down (over his shorts) to look for drugs.

Grand Cayman was wonderful also. We visit the sting rays which is a must do! They are like cats or golden retrievers who want a tasty treat.

Cozumel was amazing as usual. The snorkeling was sadly much worse than last time I was there 8 years ago. the water was still sparkling in ten colors of blue and the fish are beautiful! We saw an octopus and a sea turtle as well.

Over all the cruise exceeded my expectations. I was truly able to relax.

Alternative Universities

Try checking out more alternative universities such as the ones in Colleges That Change Lives.

Check out the book Delaying The Real World by Colleen Kinder
Transitions Abroad is a top source for anything international/travel related.

If you like performing community service and traveling, check out Up with People. It's not at all religious or conservative like it used to be in the past. AFS may have programs for older people.

Semester at Sea and The ScholarShip let you gain a semester's credit of university on a world cruise.
If you're willing to spend 3 years overseas, and you're interested in business and social enterprise, apply for the KaosPilots.

Best Swimming Holes in Texas

Rumor has it that the best swimmin' hole is just 30 miles west of Austin in Spicewood. I'm vowed to check it out in the spring. Directions: Hwy 71 west for 34 miles. Seven miles past the Pedernales turn right at the "Spicewood" sign onto Spur 191. Turn right onto County Rd 404, over the low-water crossing and see it on your left.
830-693-4181

Other places to check:
Devil's Waterhole in Burnet
From Burnet head west on Hwy 29 for nine miles toward Inks Lake State Park, Left on Park Road 4 for 3 miles. 512-793-2223

Colorado River at Colorado Bend State Park between Lampasas and San Saba
From the intersection of 281 and 183 in Lampasas take FM 580 west for 24 miles to Bend. Follow the signs. 325-628-3240

Rotary Club

I found out that my paternal grandfather refused to vow that he believed in god when joining the Rotary Club. They excepted him from this requirement. Wowza, I have a new respect!

Blanton's B-Scene

Tasty crudite and sweets are included.

The DJ spins while I tour the museum.

Wimberley's culinary coming-of-age

Wimberley has long been a popular central Texas tourist destination, offering a slow pace, cowboy-hippie culture, quaint country charm, lovely folk art, plenty of shopping, and Market Days, the second largest flea market in Texas. Tourists thirst for a visit to the Blanco River, eager to alternate days of tubing or sunbathing on sleepy banks with cooking classes and shopping. In the last 10 years the cuisine of Wimberley has grown into its britches, appealing to Austin foodies who long to experience the local fare. The Wimberley culinary tourist trend was greatly influenced by its inclusion in the list of top 10 small towns in America by Travel Holiday Magazine. The high regard for Wimberley did not escape the notice of local entrepreneurs and an array of lovely restaurants began to spring up to meet the needs of weekend visitors. Visitors soon began to encourage Wimberley cooks and authors to publish books aimed at local cooking and life and arranged for experts such as Terri Burney-Bisett and Mark Malowski to set up cooking classes to teach and promote hill country cuisine. USA Today named The Blair House Bed and Breakfast one of the top 10 cooking schools in the nation and Austin American Statesman food critic Dale Rice calls the Cypress Creek Cafe’s chicken fried sirloin “the epitome of classic fare”. The result of this explosion of quality eateries is that culinary vacations are now among the most sought-after and savored Texas vacations.

Pioneer Town-Wimberley

Raymond L. Czichos had a house on about 6 acres and people wanted to rent the rooms so he moved his family into the work house . He built the first 4 cabins in 1946. As he got the money he re-invested it in more cabins and land, eventually accruing 160 acres total. Pioneer town was built from 1946-1958. The cafe was the first part of the "town". Wimberley was 1.5 miles away and had only one little restaurant which closed at five. His guests wanted a place to eat and socialize so he put in the cafe and had his daughters do skits and sell ice cream and trinkets. The ice cream parlor went in next and after that the opera house.
The 1700's replica steam train, horseback riding, diving board and slide, and fort were shut down due to insurance costs in the last 1990's. According to manta.com the business has an estimated annual sales of $220,000. I didn't find any site offering 7A Resort for sale.