US Sightseeing

New York City was a blast with son Phil, daughter-in-law Eliza and grandson JB. We took the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty which was on all of our lists to see.  It was inspiring and emotional to see her in New York Harbor.

We were busy for three days visiting: Manhatten, Wall Street, 911 Memorial, Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller and Lincoln Center, Katz Deli, SoHo, Greenwich Village, Empire State Building, Trump Tower, Central Park, and one of my favorites the original Cartier building.

I was skeptical about visiting but it was a fun City.  I don't think NY is back to work yet as the subway and sidewalks were not crowded.  We were surprised at how clean it was and there were very few homeless people on the streets. the New Yorkers were really nice and friendly every where we went.

On to Boston with the whole family.  We went to Chinatown, Little Italy, Boston Commons, Boston library, Beacon Hill, saw the USS Constitution, Boston Harbor, took a boat ride on the Charles River, Castle Island, cemeteries where famous historical figures are buried,  and churches (there are lots of churches). Boston is such an historical city  and then there is the contrast with the new Boston.

We really loved Boston but it was hot. We took advantage of the water feature. 

Whale watching in Boothbay started off warm and ended in cold blowing rain.  We are all smiling and happy but then... 

Maine is beautiful.  We got see lots of shore line as we traveled by boat most of the time. The locals thought it was hot but those of us from the islands just thought it was another day on .the beach

We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on July 20th in Maine.  

We stopped in Miami on the way back to Bonaire for a shopping spree. Two red headed parrots visited us regularly outside our window.  

Thanks to Stephanie Luce for being the trip photographer. Thank you for letting me use these photos.

Grampy

We went to the US to spread ashes for Rick's dad or "Grampy" as he was known by his grandchildren and great grandchildren. We all met in Boothbay, Maine and boarded a charter.  The grandkids read poems, and shared memories. Rick gave a eulogy recalling that Grampy never complained and never gave up.  This inspired us all to be better.

On a bright sunny day at sea we spread his ashes into the sea and he joined his beloved wife Shirley who preceeded him by 30 years.

Grampy's final wishes were to be buried at sea  with all his family present followed by a lobster dinner on the wharf in Boothbay Harbor. So that's what we did!

The lobster dinner is the best when its on the wharf.  This was one of Grampy's favorite things to do. 

We went to see the Grandparents house. They live on through their family.

 

Sunday

Lazy Sunday in Bonaire.  We ate a sandwich at MG snacky bar and then off to rediscover another snack bar that we had been to several months ago on the snack tour. 

After a bit of driving around we finally found Den Baraku snack bar. It has the best funchi we have ever had and their beers are super cold. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon.

This snack bar is in a local area that is one block from the mansion and compound of Don Andres. He is the shipping magnate that is responsible for all ships coming into Bonaire.

Den Baraku is in the middle of Papiamentu neighborhood.  We had trouble ordering and a nice guy helped us with the Papiamentu words we needed to order funchi and eat it at the bar:  "Asa funchi kome aqui".  The bartender and cook only spoke Papiamentu.  We love the funchi which is fried polenta with a sweet chili sauce.

We were watching a televised game of the Netherlands and Germany play field hockey.  Next to the TV, we  noticed a clock that had all the continents displayed.  The ABC's were shown in black marker dots. Too funny!

You can see three dots on the top of South America just off the coast of Venezuela to the right of the "9"...that's the ABC"s.

After four beers and funchi we were happy campers.  Great way to spend Sunday afternoon. 
 

The Storm that Wasn't

Bonnie, the tropical storm, was to hit Bonaire with 12 inches of rain and winds of 50 mph with gusts of 100 mph. The Caribbean Weather Channel kept using words like cyclone, hurricane, flooding, high winds, and waves of rain. They warned us to prepare for a major storm.

It rained for a full day which is unusual but not dangerous. No high winds, no power outages, no uprooted trees, no flying debris. It was the storm of the century that never happened.

The day after Bonnie was to hit Bonaire, the sun came out and we had a beautiful day.

We had removed everything from the patio. It never looked so clean and uncluttered. We brought all the pillows, cushions and couch covers, furniture and decorations inside so they would not blow away and because our insurance only covers things inside our house.

We spent the day putting everything back in place. At least now we have tested our disaster plan and implementation. Everything worked as planned.  I was also able to practice my worrying skills.  I am glad to report that I excel at this skill.