Here and There Blog

The other side of the hotel has the good view. Rain aside, I had to make sure I got one photo to show more than a parking lot. On each side of the river are river-shack style houses or boating cottages. No otters. 2 days = 2 meals. Fajita Burrito and a Sol cerveza at El Papalote and today a burger at local fav 7 Leguas. Tomorrow is looking like pizza. Such is the life when trapped indoors for 11.5 hours with only 45 minutes to eat. Maybe I'll try having breakfast too instead of this once a day nonsense.

This is my Tampico. I know there's a nice beach, I saw it as the airplane landed. As I looked out the window it occured to me that given my work schedule, I can spend 9 days here and that airplane look could quite possibly be my one and only glimpse of the water until I leave.

Tampico, MX is next up. A work trip that I should be able to do in my sleep which means that I'm about to forget everything and end up with sleepless nights on the road. Or it could be that beds in Mexico are rock hard and pillows are so flat that only a turtle would like them. So I'll make the best of it and count the time until I'm back. Considering I wanted to go this is an odd take to have on the trip but what I really wanted was a one day, one night deal and instead I get a week+ deal. Such is life.

Yup, I didn't think I'd make it through the day but here it is, 5:45 pm and I'm still awake. I really wanted Diet Coke for the entire day but was too lazy to make a run to the store. After all, I'm only home for a couple of days so what is the point of grocery shopping? I returned home last night to the sound of my home alarm beeping away. In normal circumstances that might be a bad sign but I don't have an alarm service. Pressing the off button did the trick until this morning when it went off again. Lesson - even if you don't activate the alarm service the batteries in the unit tend to go low. Disconnect the battery and problem solved.

The transport Bridges and bridges Water and Trees A house And hay. I was bored.

By the time I made it to the Lake, the sun was high, the weather was for bathing suits and I didn't bring sunscreen. This is the place to relax, eat ice cream, drink beer, and people watch. Had I turned left instead of right, I would have done the lake cruise instead of the river cruise but that's how it goes. Worth a photo but I have no idea what the fountain is for.

Giant Checkers & Chess waiting for the crowds. Yesterday I couldn't get this photo because people really do play and all the games were in play. The Flower Clock And the Flowers Along with the Rhone all this on a Sunday morning pre-crowds.

Lesson Learned from Florence - Pickpockets are working harder than ever to get you money. It's hot. I didn't eat. I was irritable and not in the mood. So when the guy behind me kept getting closer when the sidewalk had room for 4, I sensed something was up. Not being totally sure I didn't do anything but when I sensed that personal space was way to close and hands were about to touch my backpack, I swung my right hand around and flat out hit this guy on the chest. Not lightly either. I made good contact with a resounding smack. Then I was so startled that I did that I jumped. The guy was pretty astonished and either played dumb or was dumbstruck. Not sure which. Then, not wanting confrontation I apologized and told him I was crazy. Score: Karen 1 - Pickpocket 0.

By the lake

An unexpected bonus of staying in Geneva is the the free bus card you get with the hotel. This eliminates the need to find coins, validate passes, and worry about taxis. The buses are everywhere. Except when they're not. The directions seemed simple, go out on the main road to the store and go up the stairs to the bridge and get on #29 to Old Town. The only problem is that the bridge is under construction, the stairs closed off and #29 missing in action. So the first hour of my day was spent walking around in circles before I gave up and walked to the airport to catch the wonderful #10 which showed up on time and took me out and about. The downside was that I was late getting downtown and missed the city tour that I wanted to take until the trolley came along. Normally, I stay away from the tourist trolley but my legs were sore, it's really hot out and I wore too many clothes, and the trolley was pretty inviting at that moment and on the way to old town so on I went. Sadly, my ...

Geneva is having a heatwave. Did I pack wrong!

Geneva. A nice long flight where I can maybe sleep, watch a movie, and consider reading. My guess is that it will be movie, sort of sleep and skip the book. This weekend? Walk around downtown GVA and hope that no one around me is paranoid of American's with Swine Flu. Go over to the French side and check it out. Hang, relax, whatever. The perfect weekend!

Stella Artois in St. Louis

Home last night around 7:30 pm, laundry done and repacked in the next suitcase. Up at 3:00 am and now at SAN waiting for the flight to STL. Not sure how this happened and where all my sleep has gone. Sleeping in my own bed was great once I remembered that the reason that the ship wasn't moving was that I was in a house and not on a ship. Amazing how that makes sense that houses don't move. Except last night they did - Earthquake in LA but I felt nothing. If I had, I would have thought I was back on the ship.

Lisa in front of the perfumery gardens Me in the Stocks! I was busted for drinking too much! Who can resist a canon picture?

On a sunny day, when the wind is still, the world can be almost perfect sitting on a Bermuda beach with a Dark N' Stormy rum drink in hand! Canvas cottages - fun to contemplate but I'm not so sure about weathering a storm in one.

More pictures later. Today we took the ferry to St. George and walked around. The coolese thing there was the unfinished church which was as good as any British ruin. Well, I have been at sea for a while so anything is looking good now! I'm relaxed enough and getting twitchy from being in one place for too long. I guess I'm ready for a normal day in my life (whatever that may be) and hit the road once again.

It is a pretty island

Better than KS and way more than I could eat. Homer wasn't here to finish the food!

2 beer - neither are floating

Drinking beer at Frog and Onion Pub.

First beer. Trunk Island Pale Ale.

First Stop - right next to the ship!

Star Trek themed renewal of wedding vows for Wayne & Rita's 30th anniversary. Wayne, the Admiral, Rita

Arrival Cheese Platter and Champagne! Yes, I liked the movie. Sailing Away

Survived Day 1 and now we have rain plus cold air surrounding our passage. That's okay because I'm not going outside anyhow. Today is Trek Family Feud and later yes, a Trek renewal of wedding vows. People will be in costume. (Not me) I will take pictures. I'm looking forward to land in 20 hours. The countdown continues. Still not sure why I get on ships that have sea days.

After last night's acupunture for seasickness (while still on land) I woke up to only mild motion sickness and was able to weather out the first few hours. Now the ship is far from NY and the coast and the water is calm, dolphins are swimming next to the ship, and I can even eat. Trek - yes we do stuff but I can't make it sound exciting so I won't try. Actor's Q&A was first, followed by Trek Pictionary which I normally will play when we do teams but this year was one-on-one. Too imitimidating but great fun to watch. Afternoon is all Trek geek stuff so later dudes.

Did acupuncture for seasickness. Now only mildly sick.

Great hotel and location but best of all - free! Our hotel