Day 3 - St. Maarten

St. Maarten was known for it's salt back in the 17th century.  Dutch settlers sent shiploads back to Europe that they had harvested from the Great Salt Pond. 

The island is split between France and the Netherlands Antilles.  We docked on  the Dutch side in Philipsburg, the capital. 

Marty and I have been to St. Maarten before and knew the beach we wanted to spend the day at.  Orient Beach.  Not the blue umbrella section.  That is the topless section.  However, the tend to stroll down the beach proudly in a little more than their birthday suit.  But really, they should be in full beach wear because rarely do you see anyone who causes more than a snicker.  They're usually a little too tan and gravity has kicked in a lot!

Here are some pics of the beach sans the blue umbrella people.

First morning in San Juan

We slept great last night and we're at Voga for breakfast.

Planning to head to the gym afterwards.

We could see our ship from the top floor. It looks like it is about a mile away.

Here are a few pics. There will be much more later so please come back in a day or two

We took some great pic from the top of the hotel.

Branson in May

Weekend trip to Branson

If you live in the Midwest, a trip to Branson, Missouri is a must.   Marty and I went toBranson with my parents this May and found some new places we would like to take our kids.

Driving South from Kansas City, you have to stop at the Osceolacheese factory on Highway 13 in Osceola, Mo. As the name indicates, they have cheese, cheese and more cheese and theyhave samples of every kind they make. They also have really good ice cream. http://www.osceolacheese.com/  Couldn't resist the hoakie picture taken by my hubby of me above.

We stayed at The Thousand Hills Golf Resort.  They have condos and cabins.  http://www.thousandhills.com/ We stayed in a two bedroom condo andwere very comfortable.  Once we checkedin and got settled, we went to Landry’s and had seafood for dinner.  This was a view seen from our patio table.

 Marty had crab legs and the rest of us hadfish and we all split a Banana’s Foster. Mom said she needed to try one since that is her maiden name.

Saturday morning we got up and got ready and went tobreakfast at Chateau on the Lake pictured above.  They have an incredible brunch with a beautiful lake view.

Thenwe went out to the Wilderness Club to check it out.  It is a really neat place and we aredefinitely going to take all the kids there for a vacation.  They have a lazy river, horseback riding,pools, volleyball, shuffle board, paddle boats, and more. 

Saturday evening we went to the Branson Landon for someshopping and ate dinner at Bass Pro’s seafood restaurant.  This time we opted for fried seafood.  I had the fried catfish dinner and Mom, Dadand Marty had the fish and chips. 

Sunday morning we had an excellent brunch at the WormanHouse at the Wilderness Club.  It wasexcellent.  They had everything you couldimagine on the buffet, live entertainment and another great view of the lake.

Branson has so much more to offer.  If you haven't been you should go.

Travel & Leisure Photo Contest

http://community.travelandleisure.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=40020749&as=135852


I just entered the Travel & Leisure photo contest for the month of May.  The theme is water. 

This is one of my favorites.  I took this in Maui.  This boat Captain got in big trouble.  He came too close to the coral reef and beached his boat.  They were not able to move it because it would harm the coral too much so they just left it there.

This is a little canal entrance for small boats into the main Marina in Cap Cana Dominican Republic.  It reminds me of a pictures from Italy.

I love this picture because it was the most peaceful place to be.  We spent one afternoon that rained inside here reading. 

This was taken in the Riviera Maya area of Mexico.  I was playing around with Black & White and Sepia. 

Let me know if you can access my profile on Travel & Leisure.  My user name is jenland.

Cancun

Heading to Cancun next month

We just booked a family vacation to Cancun.  We will be traveling June 14th - 20th so I thought I should write a post about preparing for the trip.  Everyone except Marty and I need passports so I am going to give some info on getting passports.

This time, we won't be just landing at the airport and heading out of Cancun.  This time we are staying on the hotel strip in Cancun at the brand new Riu Palace Cancun Peninsula.

Alisha and Jerad and Haylee had to get new passports but Shelby's was a little more challenging because she already had one that had expired.  I went to the post office and they gave me an application and the location of three post offices that could help us with Shelby's passport.

  We ended up going to a completely different location then they had given us.  Long story short, call and ask someone and then call someone else and double check with them.

Everyone got their passports this week so we are set to go!

 

 

Puerto Vallarta in April

Almost a year ago my husband surprised me for my birthday and took me to Puerto Vallarta for my birthday!  What a great birthday present. 

This is one of the many beautiful statues along the Malecon. 

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip because Marty didn't know I was taking it.  He was sitting in front of the Cathedral drinking a bottle of water.  Below is the Cathedral.

I highly recommend Riu Palace Resorts anywhere you travel.  They are beautiful and have excellent service.  They will spoil you rotten.

The coastline along Puerta Vallarta.  We were on an excursion heading to a horseback ride up a waterfall.

My favorite little cafe in Puerto Morelos

I intended to blog when I was traveling, but since the website was in Spanish and I don't speak enough Spanish to figure it out, I didn't keep up my blog as I was traveling.  I have some great pics and memories though because I keep a travel journal so I am going to post them as I can now.