Wednesday 27 June 2007 - Rocky Mount to Fayetteville

From Rocky Mount we slowly headed South stopping at the Smithfield Outlet Mall for some retail therapy and lunch at the Cracker Barrel, a country cooking restaurant which has become a favourite.

The photo shows that Ian has adopted the American way of driving!!!


It was good to see JB and Betty in Fayetteville again and their son, Brian had arrived home from Hawaii where he had been based with the US Army. Their other son, Bradley is due home this weekend from Iraq to be with his wife for the birth of their fourth child. JB and Betty's worries for their boys can be put on hold for a little while.

Tuesday 26 June 2007 - Nags Head to Rocky Mount

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAYDEN!

Drove to Kill Devil Hill the site of the Wright Brothers first flight. The site is administered by the National Parks and is very well preserved and includes an excellent museum. The large monument in the photograph was erected in 1928 for the 25th anniversary of the first flight. In one of the photos you will also see four granite stones marking the distances of the four flights of the first day, 17 December 1903. The brothers took it in turns to fly the aircraft..the first distance being just over 100 feet and the last being in excess of 800 feet. The photos also show a sculpture of the Wright flyer celebrating 100 years of flight.

Wright Brothers - Kill Devil Hill

We then took Highway 64 West to the mainland, crossing Roanoke Island the place where the first English child was born in the new world. On through the low lying country of Dismal Swamp to the little historical town of Plymouth which has a great Civil War museum and a 6:10 working model of the Confederate States ironclad Albemarle. For those of you who are interested, the story of the ship is well worth a Google search as it was quite unique.


We walked through the historic part of town admiring some of the buildings which still show damage from civil war days. A replica of the original lighthouse was interesting as you can see from the photograph.


We pushed on to Rocky Mount for the night.

Sunday 24 and Monday 25 June 2007 - Cedar Island to Nags Head

We drove on to the ferry for the 2.5 hour trip to Ocracoke Island at the Southern end of the Outer Banks. This is where Blackbeard had been captured, beheaded, his head hung from the bowsprit for the 5 day journey up to Virginia to show the Governor that Blackbeard would be causing no more trouble.

Ocracoke with its lighthouse is a very pretty place. We walked around the marinas, checked out the shops and found The Flying Melon Restaurant which had been recommended to us by the crew of a local yacht charter boat. They were right...it was very good.

It was time to say goodbye to JB and Betty who were returning to Fayetteville.

We drove on Northward to the end of Ocracoke where we got on to another vehicular ferry to Hatteras Island. Drove to the Northern end admiring the scenery to Cape Hatteras the location of the famous Hatteras Lighthouse. At nearly 300 feet high it is the highest brick lighthouse in the world. It was openned in 1870, but due to the shifting sand and the danger of it being claimed by the sea it was moved in 1999 about half a km inland...a great feat of engineering. It was basically jacked up onto a sled and dragged on railway lines to its current position.

I climbed to the top to enjoy spectacular views. The Outer Banks of North Carolina are also called the graveyard of the Atlanic. In the last 400 years well over 600 vessels have come to grief along their Eastern shore.




The only thing allowed to be picked up off the beach and kept are seashells and driftwood. There are still stories of pirates and Spanish gold being washed up after heavy weather.

After more sightseeing we arrived in Nags Head and found a motel right on the beach. We spent Monday on the beach and looking around the area. We enjoyed the architecture which is unique to the area. Nearby was the Beach Road Bar and Grill which served great chicken wings.

Saturday 23 June 2007 - Fayetteville to Cedar Island

Betty and JB in their Subaru and us in the Blue Goose departed Fayetteville for the Coast.

Tom took us through rural areas of Eastern North Carolina through Jacksonville, a big US Marine town, through Morehead City and on to Beaufort, a wonderful old historical seaside town.

It was in the vicinity of Beaufort that Blackbeard the Pirate's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge was sunk in the early 1700's. There are quite a few artifacts in the local maritime museum which we visited after a great long lunch at the Waterfront Bar which overlooks local anchorage. There was a great deal of activity with people fishing, sailing, tourist boats...plenty to watch. We also took a walk along the boardwalk checking out boats on the various marinas. The stars were a 90 foot motor yacht from the Cayman Islands and two old timber schooners.

We drove on to Cedar Island to board the ferry to Ocracoke the next morning. We spent the evening watching an amazing sunset and walking along the beach.

Wednesday 20 to Friday 22 June 2007 - Fayetteville

Vegged out in Fayetteville catching up on things like laundry, car servicing, sightseeing and socialising with Betty and JB.

Discovered that the charger and battery for the camera had been left in Cherokee plugged in to the wall for charging. Phone calls and emails have been unsuccessful in finding it, so the hunt has begun to find a replacement!!! Gloom and doom!!!

Ian and JB had Friday night drinkies at Charlie Mike's Bar, the hangout for crusty old soldiers who get together once a week and talk about their adventures of a hundred years ago....the older we get the better we was!! I don't think this refers to some of them, especially guys like Kenny Mack, who was on the Son Tay Raid.

Tuesday 19 June 2007 - Cherokee to Fayetteville NC

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!

Packed up and left Cherokee early. Saw three deer as we were driving into the township. Then on outof the hills through lovely countryside and arrived at JB and Betty's in Fayetteville at about 4pm.

TBetty arrived home after work and trook us to meet up with JB who was at General Jackson's Bar. Had a drink there and then went to The Brewery for dinner. It is a micro brewery which also serves great steaks.

Saturday 16, Sunday 17 and Monday 18 June 2007 - Cherokee

The town of Cherokee has lots of Indian craft and souvenir shops, Indian museum and village.

We explored a replica of a late 1800s farm, checked out the Hurrah Casino, went on several walks though the forest trails and drove a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The mountains, rivers, trees and wildflowers are spectacular. We were unlucky in that we only saw one enormous stag, a squirrel and lots of birds but no other wildlife which abound in this area.

Smoky Mountains spectacular scenery	The Mountain Farm Museum at Oconaluftee
Wildflowers	The Cherokee Indian People

Friday 15 June 2007 - Pigeon Forge to Cherokee NC

Drove through the forest to Gatlinburg and then had a steep climb to the State line at New Found Gap. The Appalachian Trail is accessible here. Very winding road through breathtakingly beautiful country brought us to the Cherokee Indian Reservation. We stayed at a KOA Kampground.

Thursday 14 June 2007 - Nashville to Pigeon Forge TN

Said goodbye to Nashville. Tom easily got us out of town and on our way to Pigeon Forge which is at the foot hills of the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. It is also the home of Dollywood and is very touristy.

Wednesday 13 June 2007 - Nashville TN

Ian located the Nashville Military Museum and I went exploring. Walked toward the Cumberland River and found City Hall, the Courthouse and an observation tower. At the top was a good 360 degree view taking in the river and city. There was a detailed history of Nashville on plaques around the tower. Walked down to the river and found Fort Nashville, a replica of the original. There are a lot of deros around and they were all stretched out recovering from last night. Also saw the railway station outside of which two mounted police were feeding horses. I then zigzagged through The District back to the motel.

In the evening we went downtown for more music. Bought a cd from an excellent girl band, lead by Shelly Bush. We spoke to a street performer who informed us he was from Rhodesia. I told him that Tracy was from Zimbabwe and he gave us a copy of his cd. He works under the name Leon Zimbabwe.

Nashville TN

Yes, Melinda, we did get to the Wildhorse Saloon for the second time and it is pretty awesome! Also a message from Ian to you...be careful flying around in helicopters that haven't got a door gunner.

Some of the other bars visited include Legends Corner, The Wheel, Full Moon, The Stage and Paradise Park Trailer Resort. All of the entertainment was excellent.

Tuesday 12 June 2007 - Ringgold to Nashville TN

Took a side trip to Lookout Mountain which overlooks Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley. Magnificent views, although a bit hazy because it is summer. In winter you can see seven states. Beautiful wooded countryside with lakes, rivers and mountains!

We watched a very good electric map show which described the Battles of Chattanooga which included the Battle of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge.

Then on to Nashville where we have booked in to a motel in Downtown - The District. Had a quick change of clothes and then off to explore Broadway which is full of bars with live music. The musicians are all excellent - waiting to be discovered by playing in these bars for tips. Visited a few, listened to some excellent music and then got a motorised tricycle ride back to the motel.

Monday 11 June 2007 - Tifton, GA to Ringgold, GA

This has been a great day with the wargasm continuing and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

We left Tifton bound for Andersonville through beautiful green farmland. We came across lots of cyclists who, we found out later, were part of a 1700 strong group of families cycling around and through Georgia.

Andersonville is a quaint little town which was established during the Civil War to supply the nearby Confederate prisoner of war camp called Camp Sumter. During the camp's fourteen months of operation in 1864 and 1865, 45000 Union prisoners were held there and nearly 13000 died and are buried in the National Cemetery. Andersonville is also the memorial to all prisoners of war in American history. The National Prisoner of War Museum is located on the Camp Sumter site.

Andersonville, GA

We drove on to Juliette where the real Whistle Stop Cafe is located. A train came by just as we pulled up. Of course we had Fried Green Tomatoes for lunch. The photos show what a great little town this is.

Whistle Stop Cafe, Juliette, GA

Back in the Blue Goose and on to Atlanta....we got there at rush hour! Our TomTom did a wonderful job getting us through, but it was pretty hair raising!! Finally arrived in Ringgold which is very close to the Tennessee border.

Sunday 10 June 2007 - Orlando, FL to Tifton, GA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TRACY !!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANTHONY !!!

After hearing the weather forecast predicting 100 degrees farenheit and having been warned about the fact that it is school holidays here and that means millions of kids and huge queues, we reluctantly made the decision to give the Epcot Centre a miss and head on North to Georgia.



Took this great photo of the cloud with a silver lining during the drive. We enjoyed seeing lush, green farming land and arrived in Tifton at about lunch time and decided that that was enough for the day. Enjoyed a lazy afternoon going for a drive around town and finishing with dinner at a Cracker Barrel Family Restaurant. Excellent southern country cooking.

Saturday 9th June 2007 - Key West to Orlando

Left Key West at about 9am and traveled through to Key Largo where we stopped for an early lunch at an excellent Italian Restaurant. We then carried on until just South of Orlando, a distance all up of about 350 miles with heavy rain for much of the drive.

Friday 8 June 2007 - Key West

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KEN!!!

What a day! I started out by going for a fast walk through residential streets, finally reaching the White Street Pier, a very long concrete construction reaching out into the Atlantic Ocean. At the start there is a memorial to Aids victims. What I haven't told you is that this town is the gay capital of the US! When I told Ian that this week is Gay Pride Week here, he went quiet, then a bit red in the face before exclaiming "**$##!! pootfas!"

Came back to the motel and Ian and I walked to Ernest Hemmingway's house. We had a look through and around the gardens and patted the cats. The cats are all supposed to be descendants of Ernest Hemmingway's cat and have an unusual feature in that they have an additional toe. You will be able to see this in the photo of the black and white cat.

Ernest Hemmingway House

From here we walked along Duval Street and found Caroline's where we had lunch before going on to Captain Tony's. Had a look around Mallory Square then back to Sloppy Joes where a Marlin on the wall was caught by Ernest Hemmingway. There is live entertainment in all the bars and all of the entertainers are good.

We headed in the direction of the motel via Willie T's. Came across a gay parade which was just finishing. Saw the biggest Dorothy ever but missed getting a photo.

Key West

Thursday 7 June 2007 - Florida City to Key West

Key West

The drive today was pretty spectacular driving along all the bridges that link the Keys. There are lots of them, the main ones being Key Largo and Marathon. Heaps of marinas and offshore mangrove islands.

Key West is a party town! Ian is feeling better already!! We booked into a Great Western motel which is located very close to the Southern most point of mainland USA. After we had visited that we walked all the way across Key West down Duval Street which is full of art galleries, bars, souvenir shops, bars, restaurants, tour desks, bars and bars. We stopped at a few including The Bull (great entertainer Yankee Jack - we bought his cd which features cultural songs such as "Beauty's Just a Light Switch Away". We also found Captain Tony's which still has the "hanging tree" through the middle of it. The Green Parrot finished us off and we came back to the motel.

Wednesday 6 June 2007 - New Port Richey to Florida City

Said our goodbyes to John and Anna and, of course, Miss Kitty, before programming Tom to direct us to Florida City - about 350 miles. Tom told us that we would be traveling on a toll road and we accepted that...we didn't bargain on seven or eight toll stops ranging in cost from $1 to $2.50 at each!!! We will avoid those in future!

We enjoyed driving through the Everglades and along the spaghetti roads around Miami then on to Florida City.


Very heavy rain and thunder followed the photo of the storm brewing.

We were pretty tired of driving by the time we arrived. Checked in to a Super 8 motel for the night and went to Applebees Neighbourhood Bar and Restaurant for dinner. Ian had steak and I had ribs. Yum!

Tuesday 5 June 2007 - New Port Richey

Today was a logistics planning day for month two of our holiday. Anna took us for a great drive around the New Port Richey area. We saw some grand houses and stopped and shopped at a H U G E Westfield Mall before collecting a Papa John Pizza for dinner.

Monday 4 June 2007 - New Port Richey

New Port Richey

We took a trip with John and Anna to Tarpin Springs which is known locally as Greek Town. It is a very quaint place with boats that go out to gather sponges. Great old boats and some real characters. We met a Greek man running a small bar, who had worked in Darwin, Mt Isa and Perth for twenty years.

After dinner at Hooters we went back to John and Anna's for the night.

Sunday 3 June 2007 - Tampa to New Port Richey

Surprisingly quick through customs and disembarked Legend. Picked up the van from its parking place and drove to John and Anna's at New Port Richey. Had a relaxing afternoon with them talking about the cruise.

Saturday 2 June 2007 - At Sea

Yesterday was a big day, so we had a slow start! We had breakfast and packed up ready for our arrival in Tampa tomorrow morning at 6am.

We lazed around the ship for the day and didn't do much until the evening when we had dinner in the Unicorn Cafe and met up with people we had met on board for farewell drinks.

Friday 1 June 2007 - Costa Maya.

Costa Maya, Mexico

A short overnight cruise at 7 knots brought us to Costa Maya where there is a fantastic new cruise ship terminal which is quite a contrast to the rest of the place. Another Carnival cruise ship was moored right beside us. We had a look around the shops at the cruise centre before catching a bus into the town of Mahajual. This is right on the beach. There is no traffic in town and the roads are sand.

Mexican touters all wanted us to have a massage or a drink or something to eat or to buy souvenirs, clothing or artifacts. Ian sucumbed and bought a cactus hat and we were lured into the Black Cat Bar. I wonder why??? We met the proprietor who is an interesting Canadian woman who produced two black cats which she had brought with her from Canada some years ago. She had been a mechanical engineer and chemist in Canada. Now she and her husband are trying to develop a small hotel in Mahajual and in the meantime are living in an old trailer behind the Black Cat Bar.


We got a cab back to the cruise centre and came back on board. We left before the other ship and there was a great to-do about leaving. We all cheered on another and the ships horn sounded, etc, etc. Ian proceded to get very drunk with Randy, Mark and George, a big Texan. Might have had something to do with the fact that it was full moon. With the evening star and the other cruise ship was beside us. It was quite a sight and I tried to get a photo of the scene.

Tonight was the second formal night on board, wo I left Ian to it and got dressed up and took myself first to the shopping deck where there was a gold sale on. Then to dinner, a play at the casino and the show. Tonight's show was spectacular with all the glitz, costumes, lighting, big band and dancing girls.

Carnival Legend Grand Buffet

The Grand Buffet, which is a feature of the cruise was at 11.30pm. It was amazing and I have made a slide show which gives an idea, but doesn't do it justice.

Found Ian, got a cup of coffee to take back to the cabin.

Thursday 31 May 2007 - Belize City, Belize

The ship anchored way out in shallow water and high speed tenders transported passengers ashore. We had booked a tour called Altun Ha and Belize City Tour. We found our bus and enjoyed four hours of sightseeing with commentary from a very informative tour guide.

Altun Ha is a Mayan ceremonial site and where the 9.5 jade head of the Sun God Kinich Ahau was found in the tomb of a Royal Priest.

We were allowed to climb to the top of the main temple and got some fantastic photos.

Came back to near the pier and had a couple of local beers at the Iguana Rana Bar before the tender ride back to the ship.

Belize

This was a great day.

Wednesday 30 May 2007 - Cozumel, Mexico

At 10.30pm every night there is a show, so we went and saw an amazing balancing act followed by a not so terrific comedian.

Cozumel, Mexico

We arrived at Cozumel this morning. It is an Island off the Mexican coast and is only 18 feet high. The ship moored at a wharf so we could walk off. Went for a walk along the seafront. There was a Mexican warship in the harbour. There was an ongoing amount of construction going on and several construction sites which appeared to be abandonned. We caught a taxi to town for some shopping. The Mexican shop keepers tout on the street to get you into their shops and you are expected to haggle for the best price. This is new to us and I don't think we are very good at it! However, we caught on pretty quickly and got a couple of good deals. Went upstairs to a local restaurant for some authentic Mexican lunch. Wandered around sightseeing and then found the Casablanca Bar for a Margarita. We got two buckets of Margaritas each served to us. I think these Mexicans work on the theory that if they get these Gringo drunk they will spend more money!

Had to be back on board in time to sail at 6pm. Had dinner and drinks on the aft of Deck 9 at the Unicorn Bar with our new friends Randy and Mark served by Winston.

Had a play in the Casino before bed.