Monday, December 25, 2017

Monday, December 25, 2017


Tonight's picture was taken on Christmas of 2008, Mattie's last Christmas with us. Mattie was home between treatments and was recovering from limb salvaging surgery. Mattie was dealing with a lot of pain, depression, and medical traumatic stress. He was not in a good or happy place, but despite that, I was able to capture this funny moment between himself and Peter. Mattie's friends dropped off these Christmas antlers, hat, and noses and together they made the best out of a very challenging situation. 





Quote of the day: Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. ~ Calvin Coolidge

I think it goes without saying that celebrating another Christmas without Mattie, is packed with many challenges. We had 7 Christmases with Mattie, and now 9 without him. Let that sink in.... more without him, than with him. It is no picnic seeing families with their children whether in person or on Facebook. I naturally want to wish my friends who have children a Merry Christmas, and yet there is a part of me who doesn't want to see the MERRY or even hear about it. 

As it is Christmas, many attractions and activities in Fort Lauderdale were closed today. However, that did not stop our adventures. We went on a "Venice of America Tour." Which basically takes you for a 90 minute cruise on the intercoastal, to see homes, canals, and the downtown area. 

Peter and I had done such a cruise once before on a different boating line. Today's tour with Riverfront Cruises was much better than the previous tour we took. Captain Louie was humorous and gave us a lovely tour, and when he wasn't talking, he was playing old time Christmas music..... all the classics featuring Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Dean Martin, etc! I also love how they took a souvenir photo. 

My mom took a photo of Peter and me with the 17th street bridge in the background. I love all the bridges in Fort Lauderdale, as most are draw bridges that go up on the half an hour. An activity Mattie absolutely loved to watch. 

My mom and me. 

Going through the intercoastal canals. You can see why this is referred to as the Venice of America. The building on the right, that is a mint green is the Riverside Hotel (built in 1936). The oldest hotel in Fort Lauderale. 

In a way such a tour makes you feel like you are experiencing the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. 

Fort Lauderdale is a boating capital in the US. You won't believe how expensive some of these yachts are.... millions and docking them each day costs around $7 per foot. Keep in mind these boats are 300 feet or longer. Therefore, at minimum to park a boat is $2,100 a day. Not for the average person. 

Where was everyone? ON THE WATER!!! Totally different kind of December than most of us face in the North East!!! Hard to believe it was in the 80's on Christmas. 

Can you see this boat that looks like a tiki hut? Literally it was a floating bar!

Stranahan House is the home of Fort Lauderdale pioneers Frank and Ivy Stranahan. Built in 1901 as a trading post and converted into a residence for the Stranahans in 1906, the house is the oldest surviving structure in Broward County.

Fort Lauderdale also has a White House! The White House is an 11-bedroom mansion built in 1938 and lived in for years by the man who made his fortune selling air-conditioning assemblies to car makers. It was listed for $35 million, but then was marked down to $28 million. If you do buy it, prepare to pay more than $600,000 a year just in property taxes.

Wayne Huizenga's (American businessman and entrepreneur. He has been involved in the founding of three Fortune 500 corporations and is responsible for six New York Stock Exchange listed companies.) $15 million estate, is the only home on the New River with three waterfalls and a bell tower.

Can you believe this house was sold for $100 million? It kind of boggles the mind. Meanwhile, as a house owner here, you have boats staring into your backyard and skyscrapers hanging over you. 

A typical yacht that we passed!

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2007. This was Mattie's last Christmas before his cancer diagnosis. As you can see Mattie was wearing another adorable sweater, he had his antlers on, and his Christmas train running around the tree. This photo was featured on the cover of our 2007 Christmas card. 


Quote of the day: Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever. ~ Bess Streeter Aldrich

This is a photo that Cristina, our waitress, took of us last night on the Viking Sky. We were at the Ship's specialty restaurant and I would have to say the specialty restaurant is a TON better than the regular restaurant. The food is better prepared and tastes completely different. 

I want to mention that the Viking cruise ships are owned NOT by a corporation, but a family. So it is a family run business, and as such it has a very cozy and more personal feel. Nothing is marketed or pushed on you and what I noticed is the crew seems to be happier. 

The crew still work in 7 month contracts and so many are parents and separated by thousands of miles from their loved one. Many are working on cruise ships because the income they can make on the ships is three times what they could earn at home, to help support their families. So it is truly a personal sacrifice these individuals make for the stability of their families. The beauty of Viking is they give their crew free Wifi, to connect with friends and family, free laundry, food, room, and so forth. This isn't always the case on larger commercial cruises. I think this is a noteworthy fact, which makes me happier to know the bigger picture of what my vacation is supporting. 

I can't tell you how many crew members on this ship thanked me for taking the time to talk to them, to learn about their lives, and to greet them everyday. I am not sure why other passengers don't do this, but to me part of the beauty of living is interacting with others and learning about them. 

Last night when we got back to our cabin, Peter told me to come outside. At first, I saw the sea at night and of course the ship creating waves through the water. But when I looked up......

There was an incredible Mattie Moon! Somehow being over the water and seeing the moon, hit me in a more profound way as to who is missing in our lives. Not that I am not aware of Mattie's death on a daily basis, but the mind is a beautiful thing. It can protect me at times, and other times, the reality is more transparent and raw. 

Literally the Viking Sky blew its horn three times this morning. Probably around 5am, and it scared me out of a deep sleep. When I got up around 6:45am, here is what I saw.... Miami. 

Miami looks impressive from one's balcony. 

Can you see the shorter high rise in this photo? The one closest to the boat. It had a ticker tap going across it that said..... GOOD MORNING MIAMI! I caught one of the O's in this photo. 

We are staying in Fort Lauderdale until Wednesday. When we checked into our hotel room, this was the beautiful intercoastal view outside our window. I of course added the Christmas decorations. 

After lunch, Peter, my mom, and I took a 3.5 mile walk on the boardwalk of A1A. Each year there is a huge holiday decoration by the beach. Last year it was completely different. This year it is a snow man. Love his ORANGE! 

Of course no day is complete without checking in on Sunny! Sunny has had a hard adjustment while we have been gone. Refusing to eat. But now that they have added fresh chicken and rice to his meal, he is back to eating. I love how Dogtopia text messages me daily on Sunny's progress. Between their messages and the video cam, I know exactly how he is doing and know he is in good hands. Sunny is the reddish dog on the left, sitting on a cot! Later this afternoon, we tuned in and Sunny was playing around with a black lab! 

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2006. Mattie was four years old and clearly got the art of smiling for the camera. In all of our Christmas card photos, Mattie featured an adorable sweater! In addition, you can see Mattie's Christmas train riding around the tree on its track. Mattie loved that train and from that year moving forward, Mattie's train always surrounded our tree. It became a tradition.
 
Quote of the day: The smells of Christmas are the smells of childhood. ~ Richard Paul Evans

Today was a day at sea, and tomorrow we dock in Miami. Amazing how fast a week goes by. Peter and I had a chance to sit in the stern of the ship for about an hour, watching the water, the birds, and even flying fish!!!

In recap, this was our cruise on the Viking Sky:

• Miami
• Key West (tour town and Hemmingway's home; tour guide was Lora)
• At Sea
• Belize (tour to Altun Ha; tour guide: Ken and on-site: Esther)
• Cozumel (tour of the ruins at San Gervasio and tequila distillery... Regalo De Dios; tour guide: Gustavo)
• Merida (tour of Chichen Itza; tour guides: Alesanjdra and Ricardo)
• At Sea
• Miami

Favorite people we worked with on the Viking Sky:

• Johann (Restaurant Manager)
• Ramanito (Cabin Steward)
• Jeffery, Marie, Ariel (Waiter, Assistant Waiter, Captain)
• Steven (Shore Excursion Manager)

This was the beauty of the stern today! The Viking Sky is a very peaceful ship to traverse on..... as you can see, passengers do not crowd in public spaces and there is a place for everyone to talk, read, play cards, etc! Very different from previous Princess Cruises we have been on..... with constant noise, congestion, lines, and non-stop marketing of items to passengers. NONE of this exists on Viking. 

This was the view we had on the deck tonight. We have seen some amazing sun rises and sunsets on this trip!

The beauty of the atrium! The ship is very high tech. The blue photo you see at the top of the staircase, is not a photo or a painting. But an LCD screen, which changes the image periodically. 

Though there are over 900 passengers on this ship, the atrium space is never congested or crowded.

The primary colors on the ship are blue and beige. This is what the Restaurant on the ship looks like. 

The one disappointment to me on the ship was the quality of food. Portions are very small and the foods typically have a lot of cream. I prefer more Mediterranean based foods. On top of that issue, the cruise is advertised at "any time dining." Meaning that you can be seated to eat dinner at any time between 6 and 9pm. Sounds too good to be true and that is definitely the case. Literally the restaurant manager advised us to eat at 8pm, in order to avoid terrible crowds. The problem with this is while we are eating, people are leaving the restaurant, typically leaving us eating alone and worse with the staff cleaning tables all around us. Which doesn't make for a lovely dining environment. 

This is the explorer's lounge on the ship. I think it is a beautiful space, filled with light. 

The photo of our spacious cabin. I would say the Viking really thinks about their cabins, and makes it user friendly for guests. Every passenger cabin has a balcony!







My overall likes and dislikes of a Viking Cruise:

LIKES:

1. No crowds
2. No loud noises and music
3. More mature passengers, and no children (which for us around the holidays is a blessing)
4. No marketing materials, no constant promotions of drinks, photos, shopping items, etc
5. No charges for bottled water and house wines for example
6. A very clean ship
7. Very accommodating staff

DISLIKES:

1. The quality and lack of food variety
2. Timing of shore excursions (too tight, and no free time to experience the port after a tour)
3. No handrails in common spaces (which are a recipe for disaster, given the demographics attracted to Viking)
4. Heated floors in the bathroom (You can't shut the heat off. Probably great for a cold weather cruise, but it's like a sauna in the bathroom)
5. Can't attend any evening shows given the timing of dinner
6. The stores on the ship need to be better provisioned. The main focus in the shops are Nordic items. I don't know many people on a Caribbean cruise who want to buy Nordic sweaters. 

Friday, December 22, 2017

Friday, December 22, 2017

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2005. Mattie was sitting outside of Tower Oaks, which was one of his favorite restaurants in Rockville, MD. You can't tell, but behind Mattie was a man made pond. In the spring and summer, Mattie loved the pond's inhabitants. To me the pond and its vegetation made the perfect backdrop for Mattie's photo. A photo which was featured on the front of our 2005 Christmas card. 


Quote of the day: Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. ~ Hamilton Wright Mabie

The Viking Sky docked in Progreso, Mexico today. We then took a two hour bus trip through Merida, to Mayan ruins located in Chichen Itza. Our guides were a brother and sister duo, Ricardo and Alesjandra. Both were fantastic, passionate about their culture, and love their job. They imparted a great deal of knowledge on us today, as they literally talked for two hours on our way to Chichen Itza. Our guides told us that Chichen Itza is NOT the name of the ruins, but the name of the town where the ruins are located. 

The ruins are classified as one of the seven wonders of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. We toured the ruins with our guides for 90 minutes. There were a ton of people, as you can see the line up trying get in to park. But what is also noteworthy is the heat. I like heat, but as we were outside, I was getting light headed and thought I was going to pass out. This has never happened to me before. Typically to Peter, but not me. Whereas Peter was fine today!

These ruins are in the Mexican state of the Yucatán. It was one of the largest Mayan cities and was often referred to in later literature as a mythical city.  It displays a great variety of architectural styles with researchers believe are because of the diverse population from different cultures that inhabited this ancient city. It is one of the most visited ancient sites in Mexico with over a million tourists traveling to the Yucatan to see the wonders this ancient Mayan city.

The temple has 365 steps—one for each day of the year. Each of the temple's four sides has 91 steps (you can see the first 91 here, they are the center stairs going straight up), and the top platform makes the 365th. Devising a 365-day calendar was just one feat of Maya science. Incredibly, twice a year on the spring and autumn equinoxes, a shadow falls on the pyramid in the shape of a serpent.

The Mayans were very concerned about water and sun, two vital forces to farming. Therefore during the spring equinox, when the shadow on the temple revealed the serpent, it signified to the Mayans that it was time to plant crops. When the shadow was revealed during the fall equinox it meant it was time to pick the crops. 

Chichen Itza thrived between the 9th and 13th centuries A.D. Archaeologists are still trying to figure out how this ancient urban center, more than 740 acres in size, came to be.

You may not be able to see this, but there is a metal door at the base of the temple (on the left). This of course is not part of the ancient structure. But was designed at one time for tourists to enter the pyramid, to see that there were actually two other pyramids beneath this structure. Why? Each pyramid was built and dedicated to the leader/priest at the time. So literally this structure reveals the leadership or reign of three different priests. 

It is thought that the above temple was built over a cenote or sink hole. Archaeologists have found inside other local sink holes human remains and artifacts. It is thought that these sink holes served as both cemeteries and places to make sacrifices to the gods. 

Though the color has faded off the Temple of Kukulkan (above), it at one time was thought to be colorfully painted like this! 

Even though Chichen Itza had collapsed by the time the Spanish Conquistadores arrived, it was not completely abandoned. Yet when the Spanish saw Chichen Itza, they only saw the pyramids covered in jungle like vegetation (the photo our guide was illustrating here). The Spanish interpreted this mess of vegetation as an abandoned and unimportant area to the Mayans. So they moved along, leaving these ruins preserved. Which was actually a major blessing for this area and for the Mayan culture. 










Sculptures of plumed serpents run down the sides of the northern balustrade of El castillo or the temple of Kukulkan.  

During the Spring and autumn equinoxes sun strikes off the northwest corner of the monument casting a series of triangular shadows against the northwest balustrade; thus creating the illusion of a feathered serpent “crawling” down the pyramid. Millions of tourists gather to watch this phenomena.




This stone is the representative head of Kukulkan (this is the Mayan name for this god, but the Toltec name for this same god was Quetzalcoatl), the Feathered Serpent. He is the god of intelligence and self-reflection, a patron of priests. 

This platform was dedicated to the planet Venus located north of the Temple of Kukulkan. It was said that the Temple was aligned with the planet Venus. It is a rather amazing concept that the Mayans understood astrology without having any instrumentation. 







This detailed carving, reveals a jaguar in the center and it was bordered by eagles. The jaguar was the symbol of power and strength for the Mayans. Typically the jaguar was pictured with the priests and governors of the community. Whereas the eagle was the symbol of power and strength for the Toltecs. What this carving illustrates was a blending of the two groups (Mayans and Toltecs) that once lived in this Chichen Itza community. 


The temple of the warriors is another amazing construction. The Temple of the Warriors complex includes a large stepped pyramid fronted and flanked by rows of carved columns that depict the Maya warriors. It is however, thought that this structure was created by the Toltecs and not the Mayans, since it is not ornament, meaning it contains no carvings. Which was typical of Mayan structures. In addition, the temple celebrates force, fighting, and warriors. Something more noted with Toltecs than Mayans. 

This was the Wall of Heads. It was found that there were 300 skulls buried here. These were the heads from the winners of the ball games, which were played on site. I describe these games below. Do note that the heads were buried here, but the bodies were placed in a cenote!

My mom and me in front of the Temple of Kukulkan. You can't really tell how high off the ground this pyramid is, and what is even more incredible was there were no tools or technology used to build this structure. 

Peter and me!























The Ball court located to the north-west of the Pyramid “El Castillo” It is the largest and best preserved ball court in ancient Mesoamerica.

This game involved two teams, comprised of 7 players. The players used a ball, and could only touch the ball with their elbows, hips, and knees. A little bit like soccer. However, do you want to know the reward the leader of the team who WON the game received? He got beheaded! It was a human sacrifice to the gods! Why? Because the Mayans wanted to sacrifice their BEST specimen/player to the gods. To die in this ball game was considered an HONOR! 

This is the stone hoop that one had to get the ball through to win the game! If you look at the above photo, you will notice how high off the ground this hoop actually was, and therefore what a feat it was to win. 

The wall where the hoop was located, there were intricate carvings that depict the story I just shared with you. This was a carving of the actual game ball. 

This was a carving of the decapitated head of the winner.

This was the leader of the losing team who was responsible for the decapitation of the winner. 

Coming back to the ship after 7 hours of touring! This gives worn out new meaning!