My Thoughts on Cruising

 This will be the last post about our vacation. It was such a wonderful change from the cold and snow that is now limiting our outside time! My brother Andrew organized the family event, and our group was 16 in total. We chose a family-friendly ship, complete with waterslides. After we boarded, it was one of the first things we visited. They had three different sizes of waterslides, from Desert Girl's size, to medium, to really large. And Desert Boy was just tall enough at 42 inches to meet the height requirements, which made him so happy.


I never could figure out how to go fast down the yellow slide, but one of my brothers and sisters-in-law could really whoosh down it. (Thanks to various family members for this photo and several of the following ones.) I was intending to perfect my technique on the At Sea day, but it turned out that it was so windy that day they had the big slide closed.

Here was the view from the tall water slide stairs towards the front of the ship. We were on a five-day four-night itinerary, leaving the afternoon of the first day, spending time in Key West the second day, Cozumel the third day, at sea the fourth day, and returning to port at 8 am the morning of the fifth day.

 We left the port of Miami at 4 p.m., and it was interesting seeing all the tall buildings. I can't imagine what it's like in hurricane season!

 We had two U.S. Coast Guard boats accompany us down the channel, with a guy at a machine gun on each. It was different.


The sun was setting as we left the port, and my brother Ed captured the above photo, with a second cruise ship following us away from the city.

One of the main reasons people go on cruises is to eat, and we quickly found our way to the food.

 Desert Girl discovered her love for butter--with a little bread to go along with it. She got to put her own butter on her roll, and some meals didn't consist of much more than that for her.

 In addition to three meals a day available in the formal dining room, there was also a main buffet and several other places to eat. And in case you're hungry at some strange time, pizza and ice cream were available 24 hours a day. Desert Boy ate ice cream four times one day and thought he was in heaven.

 Croissants need a little extra butter, right?

 The ship had a mini golf course, but both times we used it the wind was blowing so hard that it was really hard to play.

 The kids thought it was great fun anyway.

 We went to a variety of shows, such as comedy and singing and dancing. We had some members of our group chosen to go up on stage for a couple of the shows, which made it extra fun to watch.

 One event we went to was towel folding. You may see fancy-folded towels if you come visit us!

 Desert Boy and Desert Girl both enjoyed Camp Carnival. Desert Boy went several times and came back with various projects, including some sand art and a t-shirt he colored. Desert Girl's favorite was a crown she got so that she could be a princess.

 The upper berth became a hangout space. Some of the rooms can technically hold up to five people, but I'd say that would be crowded. We managed fine with two adults and two little kids in our room.

 We all liked hanging out at the back of the ship, where the wind wasn't as strong and we could relax and look at the seemingly endless ocean.

 A collection of towel animals. The service throughout the ship was attentive and polite.

 Desert Girl giving her towel bear a hug.

 I would have liked to have spent more time in Cozumel, but overall the cruising experience was pleasant. We got to have lots of family time and had a variety of activities. I probably wouldn't do it every year, but I'd consider it again in a few years. One of the best parts of the trip was relaxing in warm weather--I so much enjoyed outside time with family when I knew it was so cold back home. We might have to find another warm destination for next winter!

Christmas Nativity Play

 The kids were able to participate in the annual Nativity play this year, something my budding actors really enjoy. This year Desert Girl was an angel and Desert Boy was the innkeeper/priest. I managed to get them to stand together before the start so I could get a photo.

 Then Desert Girl promptly went and tickled her cousin, who was trying to get in a quick nap on shepherd's hill.

 The play is led by the magnificent Sharon, who manages to pull the whole production together despite kids missing practices, limited rehearsal time, and difficulties learning lines. I'm amazed at how she does it all. Thanks, Sharon!!

 After a quick run through of the songs with the piano, it was time to take their places.

 The angels crack me up every year, and this time was no exception.

 They sit center stage for most of the production, and it's just a little hard to sit still and look angelic that whole time.

 Hmmm...

 The audience got a good laugh when an obviously pregnant Mary came out to announce to Joseph that she was with child. Where had he been that he hadn't noticed?

 Soon Mary and Joseph were looking for a room, and the Innkeeper told them loudly, "All my rooms are full!" Desert Boy really got into his part and said his lines with a lot of emotion. He always learns his lines faster than I do.

 Then the baby was born and wrapped in swaddling cloths.

 Meanwhile the shepherds out on shepherd hill were learning the exciting news.

 The angels went over too, and one little angel couldn't help but give a look at her shepherd friend.

 Before long, Three Wise Men were on their way to the Newborn King, with a stop at King Herod's palace, with the guard and priest in attendance. The size discrepancy made the Three Wise Men seem even more impressive!

 The angels were still up on center stage, and Desert Girl was having a mighty hard time sitting still.

 I'm not sure what she was looking at, but it had to be interesting.

 It was almost See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil!

 The older angels were cracking up.

 Then it was time for the grand finale, Joy to the World, and bows. Well done!

 Isaac and Desert Girl were mighty proud of themselves.

It was a really enjoyable production. Again, I don't know how Sharon manages to do such a good job with such limited time. We're so grateful she organizes it, as the kids have such a good time and it is so fun watching them.

Following the play, we attended the candlelight service, which was beautiful and helped us get ready to celebrate Christ's birthday and the bringing of light into the world.

Merry Christmas!

A Celebration of Birds--John James Audubon Exhibition

We went into Ely to get ready for some Christmas festivities. One of our stops was to the ever-favorite East Ely Railroad Museum, located at the Nevada Northern Railway. I had seen flyers about an exhibition of John James Audubon and The Birds of America exhibition. While the kids watched The Polar Express, my husband and I enjoyed the marvelous paintings.

Many paintings showed birds we see in the area, like an osprey and a white-headed eagle, now known as a bald eagle. I didn't know much about John James Audubon, so I appreciated the information provided.

Audubon was born in Haiti (with a different name) and raised in France and didn't come to the U.S. until he was 18, in 1803. Lands west of the Mississippi had just been sold to the U.S. by France as a condition of the Louisiana Purchase. Audubon explored these frontier lands, collecting and drawing birds of these places. He had little formal training in birds or drawing, but his close attention to detail helped him immensely. He was also a very good hunter, and he shot the birds before he drew and painted them. In the 1830s, Audubon began commenting on the decline of some birds from overhunting, namely passenger pigeons. His name began to be associated with conservation.

The painting above shows ivory-billed woodpeckers. Another showed passenger pigeons. When I look at the paintings I'm sad that I'll never get to see these birds in real life.

The above painting showed a bird I saw recently on our trip: an anhinga, known better in the 1800s as
the black-bellied darter.

The exhibit will be at the East Ely Railroad Museum until January 6. It's free! Open 8-4:30 every day but Tuesday. They have a really nice brochure that goes with the exhibition and has a map of Important Bird Areas in Nevada and activities for kids, as well as a guide to bird identification.

To read a little more about how the exhibition came to be, here's an article in the Elko Daily Free Press.

Key West

 On our four-night cruise from Miami we had two port stops: Key West and Cozumel. I had previously visited Key West and hadn't found that much that excited me. Knowing the kids would be happiest to dig in the sand, I decided that the best place for us to go would be Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. The cruise ship docked at the Navy pier, and from there we could catch free shuttles to downtown. Our helpful shuttle driver let us off right by the entrance to the state park.

 The state park included the remnants of a fort that was built on a key, but over time fill materials had annexed it to the mainland. The fort was originally three-stories tall, but the upper two stories had been removed, leaving it not quite as imposing. Nevertheless, the large structure still had a lot of bricks.

 And a lot of cannons. This was an important defensive position during the 1800s.

 Desert Boy thoroughly inspected one cannon.

 Our cruise ship wasn't far away, but because we had to go through the almost-retired Navy restricted area, we had to go a roundabout way to tour the fort.

It was hot and muggy, and what we really wanted to see was the beach, so we didn't stay long.

 We saw a couple huge iguanas on the fort as we continued on our short walk to the beach.

 The beach has both sand and some rocky areas. The first rocky area I snorkeled by I didn't see any fish. Fortunately another rocky area did have some fish.

 Desert Boy couldn't wait to go clamber on the rocks. I followed, wincing as my sore feet came in contact with the sharp rocks. It turned out that the rocks were quite interesting.

 They had tons of fossils! Way cool!

 The water was a nice respite from the heat. I wasn't used to being able to go swimming and not come out cold.

 We watched another cruise ship heading to the pier. We were the only one there that morning, so the beach wasn't very busy.

 On the way back, we crossed the road by the state park entrance and went to the Florida Keys Eco-discovery Center, a facility sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The shuttle driver had told us it was free--and air-conditioned. Sounded good to me. (It's hard to believe that I'm writing about air conditioning when it's barely above freezing outside my house right now!) I didn't know anything about this center, as my Internet searches about what to do in Key West hadn't turned up information about it.

 The center has a number of displays about different habitats, such as the mangrove coastlines and the coral reef. The kids loved looking at the fish.

 They also had a mock up Aquarius, the only under-ocean laboratory. Desert Boy was thrilled to go in and press buttons.

 We met up with other family members, who had taken the shuttle to Mallory Square, walked along Duval Street, went to the southernmost point in the U.S., and then met us at the state park. It was a very pleasant day, and if anyone is wondering what to do in Key West that is good for kids and not expensive, I would definitely recommend these sites. I have to admit the parasailing looked like a lot of fun--but that will have to wait for another trip!

I think living in the desert makes me appreciate the abundance of water in Florida even more. The ecosystems there are so different and amazing.