Goodbye Wal-mart and hello 5 day cruise!!

The Carnival cruise we were booked on left at 4pm but we could board around lunch time. After some debate about the best place to park we ended up paying to park at the er for $20 a day (ouch). At least Hank was undercover and secure while we were away.

Day 1 Cruise: As we were cruising on a budget Marc snuck some ‘Sailor Jerry’s’ rum in with his checked luggage (fingers crossed if would get through). Getting on the Cruise was a little bit like getting on a plane; security, check in, sign up to sail and sign then wait to board the ship. It took a little bit to get on board but once on board we made ourselves at home. Our stateroom was on the main floor, an inner suite and quiet roomy compared to the car.

After dropping off our luggage we went upstairs for some lunch and to check out the rest of the ship. It was pretty sweet, my only disappointment was the pool was a lot smaller then I was expecting but at least we had a pool. After lunch we enjoyed some cocktails in a glass that said ‘The Best Day Ever’ Marc loved it and was super excited. I was a little nervous about going into the open ocean but no turning back now.  We left Miami at 4pm and before we set sail everyone had to go to their evacuation deck for a drill to make sure we knew where to go in case the ship sunk (fun!). 

Back on the main deck the farewell Miami party was in full swing. Then we were off, the massive ship was smoothly maneuvered out to sea. On the way out we had a lovely view of downtown Miami and passed the million dollar mansions near south beach that were huge. 

We went for dinner at 6:30 our designated dinner time for the trip. Dinner was in one of the dinning rooms and we were shown to our seat, which was actually a 4-person booth. We were surprised we had so much room considering it was just the 2 of us. After we had munched on some bread and ordered our food another couple joined us. Jill and Ron from Canberra, Australia. It was funny we were sat with another couple from Australia but not a problem we shuffled around and had a good chat about everything that had been happening back in Aus. 

That evening we went to the palladium to watch the ‘Welcome on Board show’ it was entertaining but the best part was when I got picked out form the audience to come up on stage. After a quick introduction where the host said that I sounded like Nichole Kidman. We all participated in a game they were playing which involved 2 teams dropping a spoon attached to a long bit of rope down your top and then passing it to your team mate to do the same thing. Then get to the end before the other team. My team won which was awesome then to give the other team a chance to win we passed the spoon back the other way as fast as we could. We won again. At the end of the show we all received plastic gold trophies of the Carnival Destiny ship. The rest of the night we looked around the ship stopping off at the sports and piano bar before crashing for the night in a bed.

Day 2 – Day at sea: We had a pretty good night sleep however when we woke up were out at sea and the boat was very rocky. I was freaking out a little and asked Marc to go up top to check what the weather was like outside. Marc went for a look and came back to inform me that the weather was perfect outside and it was just the ocean rocking us about.

The day at sea was very ruff but still relaxing. Marc did not cope very well with all the movement and felt sick for most of the day. In the morning we went to a workshop on diet and toxins. Marc could not stay as the motion was to much, but I stayed and found out that they were just trying to get more money out of you (bastards). After the workshop I found Marc; then we just lazed around on the deck, went for a swim in the 2 small saltwater pools on board and played on the waterslide for the rest of the day. As marc was not feeling well we did not do too much more. I really enjoyed being out at sea, the ocean was the most amazing colour blue and you could see the massive ocean swells move in that was making it so ruff (the roughness was caused by the hurricanes that had just passed the area).

That night was the Captain’s dinner, this was formal night for most people on the boat and boy did everyone dress up (except for us). At dinner Jill and Ron did not make an appearance so Marc and I dined alone. After dinner we went to the palladium show again; this time it was a show about Paris. It was not the most entertaining show but was something to do.

Day 3 - Grand Turk: Marc was up early again and went upstairs to check everything out. It was only a short stop as we had to be back on the boat by 3pm. After breakfast we made our way off the boat and onto the Island. It was really cool getting off such a big ship at such a little Island. Once off the ship had a look around Grand Turk port which was very touristy. We had some vouchers for a free necklace and poster so we picked up the free stuff then decided to go to the town centre to see what the Island was actually like. Taxis were lined up out the front to take you in and out of town so we taxied it in. We shared our taxi with a couple on their honeymoon from Ontario, we had a good chat to them before being dropped off at the edge on town.

The town was very small and so was the Island with a population of only 4000. We spent about 1.5 hours looking around the little markets and shops, purchasing a magnet and painting. Marc ate some Conch Fritters and sampled some of the local beer before we headed back to the pier.

For the last hour we went for a swim at Jimmy Buffets Margaretville pool. It was so nice to be able to have a couple of drinks in the pool, kick back and relax with a couple of pinocaladas before heading back.

That night we had dinner with Jill and Ron, who explained that the night before they were too sick to come to dinner. After some chit chat and food we went to check out the night life on the boat. We probably couldn't have picked a worse night as there was a deck party and all the other bars around the ship were closed. The deck party was ok but it was full of kids and parents so very quiet. We tried to get into it, but in the end just called it a night and went back to the comforts of bed.

Day 4 - Half Moon Kay: Another really ruff night on the ship we woke up and went for a run on the top deck running track. It was really nice running while the ship was still moving, we actually got to see a rain cloud in the distance and as we passed it saw a massive waterspout (awesome), but i did not have my camera so no photo :( After the run we had some breakfast and hung out in our room until lunchtime then made our way to Half Moon Kay the private island.

To get to the Island we needed to wait to be shuttled there by boat. For some reason there was an hour wait to get onto a boat and then the Island. When we finally got onto a boat we made it just in time to grab some BBQ lunch. Next we made our way down to the beach for a swim it was super hot so did not want to stay too long. The beach was beautiful, white sand, aqua water; the only problem about the whole ‘Private Island’ aspect was the 3000 other guests all crammed onto the beach. 

After the beach we made our way back to the ship as it was too hot to stay and lay in the sun. The boat back was much faster, then for the rest of the afternoon just watched a movie while Marc had a nap it was a really relaxing day.

That evening the ship set sail for our last destination Nassau in the Bahamas.

Day 5 – Nassau: Up early for a big day at our last destination. Instead of a buffet breakfast we sat down for breakfast, same food just a little hotter. Nassau was the most populated of all the Islands we had been too and also had a big casino and water park 'Atlantis' we were planning on visiting. However when we reached the tourist information we found at that it was $120 each to go to the water park. So we decided against this and hired scooters for the day instead.

We had our own scooter each, as this was easier then fighting over who got to drive. Plus I think it would have looked a little funny with Marc on the back when I got to drive. 

It was around 9am and we were off, first stop was the Atlantic resort and casino for a look around to see what all the fuss was about. On the way there we needed to get some cash out, we pulled up to the bank machine when I realised I had left the bankcard on the ship, doh. So we continued to the casino for a look before heading back to get the card.

Atlantis was a really nice casino, not very busy but big and grand all the same. It would have been cool to go to the Water Park but maybe next time. After a bit of a look around we picked up the scooters and continued looking around the Island. First point of interest Fort Montagu, a very small fort. This was everything we wanted to see on the East end of the Island so we made our way back to the ship to get our card. Marc stayed behind and I jogged to the ship and back. The ship was really far away, parked right at the end and yes it was still really hot. When I got back I was super sweaty and a little out of breath but at least now we had cash.

There was a Harley Davidson store at Nassau so we stopped in there before getting back on the scooters. On the scooters again we headed west to check out the beaches and get some lunch. The scooters were the best fun in the world. We hooned around with the traffic all the way to the end of the Island stopping off at ‘The Caves’ for a look. As we decided to stop at the caves last minute, I nearly came off my scooter, but saved it and in the process temporarily broke my flip-flop.

The Caves were really cool; they were used by pirates back in the day to hide stolen treasure. We got to go in the caves and have a look around, they were not very big and had been sealed off so you could not go where the treasure used to be hidden. The best part of the caves was the little bats that lived there; they were so tiny I wanted to take one home.

On the west end of the Island there were resorts and large beautiful houses overlooking the ocean. We were having the time of our lives on the scooters getting up to about 80km on the open roads. Once we had gone as far as we could go west we turned around and made our way back to find some lunch and a place to swim.

Just near the caves was a food van with loads of locals lined up to get food. We thought must be a good place to eat, ordered a chicken dish and ate it down on the stunning beach. The food and location were awesome. After lunch we were back on the scooters and heading east again, next stop was a little market we saw on the way out. The market was full of all kinds of souvenirs and trinkets. After a bit of a look and some purchases we went to a bar out the front for a refreshing fruit ice drink.

Next we drove around for a bit finding it a little hard to find the perfect beach to swim at. We found one but only had a quick dip then I had a clever idea to go all the way over to the otherside of the Island. We attempted to find our way but got lost and as we did not want to miss the ship headed back to the beaches near the ship. The last beach we stopped at was really nice ‘Junkanoo Beach’ we basically stayed at this beach until we had to head back to the ship at 4pm to leave at 4:45pm. 

That evening we were pretty tired after all the scootering so we had some dinner then packed our bags before calling it a nite. It was a bit of a gong show trying to settle up our account before we left as everyone on the ship was trying to do the same thing. In the end we just gave up and decided to do it in the morning when we got off the ship. That night we actually met up with the couple from Ontario again who showed us a photo of a couple who had missed the ship and were left at the pier wondering what to do now. It was crazy to think that if we were late and missed the ship we would have needed to find our own way home.

Day 6 - The ship had docked in Miami and it was time to pack up and disembark. First we stopped for our last breakfast settled up our sail and sign account and then carried our bags off (as this was loads faster the checking our luggage in).

Over all the cruise was loads of fun however as we were in travel mode and not holiday mode it made it a little less enjoyable as we were really concerned about money. However, now I'm over my fear of boats I hope next time we can go on a cruise for a holiday

Astronauts, beaches and bikes... Welcome to Florida

It was about a 2 hour drive from Savannah to Florida. We arrived and found a campsite called Hanna Park in Jacksonville right at the top of Florida. It was a lovely park, very quiet, it felt like we were the only ones around. It was getting dark we had some diner, showered  and went to bed. The park had loads of animals making noises including squirrels and a raccoon that came up to see if we had any scraps left over pretty cool for our first stop in FL. 

Day 1: Hanna Park was near the beach, so in the morning we went for a run along the beach this time with runners (learned our lesson from Myrtle beach). It was super hot and we only managed to run about 5kms.

After breakfast we were on the move again following highway 1A down the coast. The drive was really cool; we passed loads of beach towns and massive beachfront mansions. For lunch we stopped off at a small beach. I had a swim, the water was amazing (and free).

 

        

By late afternoon we had reached Daytona Beach. However coming in via highway 1 we got a little lost and were not actually able to find the famous beach. We had actually by-passed the beach and popped out to far down the coast. After asking for some directions we found our way. However it was getting closer to 6pm and needed to find the Daytona Harley Davidson (the biggest in the world) before it closed. Luckily we found the store with about 15min to get in have a look around. The store was amazing, beautiful bikes, every kind of merchandise you could think of and a crazy workshop you could watch bikes being worked on.

After the Harley store we made our way back to Daytona Beach, driving past the famous Daytona race track on the way (it was massive would love to have seen a race). By this stage the beach was closed to cars so we did not get to drive Hank along the beach.ut we got to walk it. The sand was crazy hard, just like asphalt; you could understand why they allowed cars to drive on it.

The beach was really busy with people swimming, lounging around or ridding bikes. We walked back up along the boardwalk passing a massive slippery slide, restaurants and shops. I even got asked if I knew that Jesus loved me (Marc walked off), I said that I was a Catholic, which shut her up pretty fast. It was cool to see Daytona Beach but not too much to do there unless you were on holidays.

After our Daytona experience we made our way to get something to eat. We had decided to try an American drive-in, were going to try the chain, ‘Sonic’ drive-in but the one we were going to was closed. So a change of plan we decided to keep driving and make our way to Titusville. On the way we drove past this cute little place called ‘Pappas Drive-In’ just the place we were looking for so we stopped and had an amazing experience. It was awesome the server came up to our window took our order and then when it was ready brought it over and sat it on a try on our window. We both had the cheeseburger and shared a thickshake. The food was so delicious, burgers were full of flavour and the thickshake was mainly ice cream, the straw was useless, you needed a spoon to eat it!
 

 
That night we drove into Titusville and found a Wal-Mart to camp. The car was really hot after the big day of driving, there were mosquito’s everywhere (so we could not leave the windows open), it was very hot and humid as we were in Florida; these factors made it extremely difficult to sleep.   

Day 2: Seriously last night was the worst sleep ever we did not sleep much because of the heat. I don’t think we are going to be able to do a lot of camping in the car with the humidity and the heat. We tried everything; sleeping sitting up, on our hands and knees and even on our heads it was funny for a moment but the worst night sleep ever.

Today we are going to see the Kennedy Space Center; we were pretty excited (even with lack of sleep) and arrived just as it was opening. On the drive there Marc saw his first alligator in the marshy water next to the road but I missed it.

The space centre was awesome; to start we went on the 'shuttle launch experience' a simulator ride so you could get an idea what it was like to take off into space. It was really interesting to find out how complex everything was.  After the launch we checked out a real space shuttle and watched a 3D film on the space centre that’s currently orbiting earth which was amazing.

Last we went on a tour of the launch pads and the buildings where they get stuff ready. Everything was huge. We are so impressed with NASA now we want to become astronauts; either by going back to school or getting really rich somehow.

After the space center we continued down the coast for a couple of hours before stopping at Juno Beach for the night. The weather was still extremely hot and humid so we stayed in a Super 8 hotel for the night.

Day 3: I LOVE HOTELS!! Feeling a little more human again after a night in air conditioning we continued our drive to Miami. We followed highway 1 all the way to Miami Beach only stopping for lunch. The drive was interesting but after a while most of the Florida coast looked the same.

We arrived in South Beach late afternoon, parked the car and walked around Lincoln Rd Mall. It was a very busy place with high-end restaurants, bars and shops. Apart from Starbucks, everywhere was way to over priced for us to drink at. While we were walking around Marc saw ‘Good Charlotte’ walking down the street.  We also saw a lot of really beautiful rich people and their little dogs. It would be a cool place to visit on vacation but not when your not working for 12 months. 

That night we found another cheap hotel out near the airport to stay at before we left for our cruise. Miami was big, beautiful and expensive. I think we will look around more once we get back from the cruise.

Welcome to the South Y'all

Day 1: After a night in Richmond,VA Wal-mart, we started to drive further south to North Carolina following the I95. 

We arrived in North Carolina around lunch and stopped at the visitor center for a bite to eat. Once in NC we turned off the I95 and started heading east to get to the coast. On the way we nearly ran out of petrol again. We were off the major highway so there were not as many petrol stations around (as in none). It was a stressful 30km before we finally drove past an exit to a small town we were hoping had a gas station as Hank was running on fumes. We pulled into the small town, luckily we made it to the pump and avoided a long walk.

After another hour or so we had finally reached a town called ‘New Burn’ and Highway 17 that we were going to follow along the east coast. Along highway 17 we started to see a lot more damage from Hurricane Irene with debris on the side of the road, fallen trees (some completely uprooted), ripped billboard signs and some damaged houses. So happy we stayed back in Washington DC for the storm to pass. On the way we stopped off at yet another Harley Davidson store in Jacksonville, NC. The people were super nice you have to love the southern hospitality.

By late afternoon we had driven all the way down NC and were now in South Carolina so stoped at another Visitor Centre for some dinner before we headed into Myrtle Beach.

We arrived at North Myrtle Beach after dark, so could not really see the beach but looked around at the old school beach carnival before we decided to go and find a Wal-Mart to stay for the night. There was one just near the 'Tanger' outlet mall just down the road so we decided to camp there. The drive along the US1 was really amusing with hundreds of huge discount beach stores and mini golf, it was crazy. When we made it to the mall we took a wrong turn and somehow ended up on an expressway going in the complete wrong direction to where we wanted to be, the detour took us about 15 min to get back to the right turn, so stupid! That night we setup camp at Wal-mart again our new home.

Day 2: In the morning we made our way into Myrtle Beach. We parked a little bit back from the main beach, then ran up the beach to check everything out, it was about a 5km run in total. Both Marc and I ran in bare feet it felt pretty good except for the blisters on our toes from the sand. 

Myrtle beach was full of high-rise condos and another beachfront carnival. The beach was still super straight and there were loads of people out enjoying the sun. After our run we went for a swim it was a ruff swim with loads of waves and a steep drop from the shore but it was really refreshing. Beaches are great because after the swim we had a free ‘Beach’ shower, we wanted to break out the soap but decided against it :)

 

All clean we made a move for Savannah our next destination. On the drive out of Myrtle beach we stopped off at Myrtle Beach Harley Davidson to get dad yet another pin for his collection. The SC costal drive was very similar to the NC drive just with no damage from the hurricane. For lunch we stopped in at a picnic area that also had a farmers market. We did not look at the market just stopped to make some sandwiches. While we were there one of the workers came up and had a little chat with us. We told him where we were from, what we were doing and he was in ore. He asked loads of questions about Australia, listed off some famous aussies and said that he always wanted to go but it’s only a dream at this stage. After talking to this guy it really made us stop and think about just how lucky we were to be on this amazing trip.

After lunch we continued down the coast passing through Charleston, SC stopping only for petrol. At the petrol station I got haggled by a homeless guy for some change. He welcomed me to Charleston and opened my car door for me, he knew that I had change from the petrol and there was nothing I could do god dammit.

Before we left SC we stopped off at the ‘Carolina Cider Company’ a shack on the side of the road. It was a great place to stop as we got loads of free samples of their cider, condiments and boiled peanuts. Everything was tasty, so of course we walked away with our own; a bottle of peach and cherry cider, jar of horse radish mustard, cherry jam and a small pecan pie mmm.

We arrived in Savannah, Georgia by late afternoon and stopped off at a visitor information centre and booked ourselves onto some tours. A Ghost Tour as Savannah was the most haunted city in the US and a Paula Deen Tour (food Network celebrity chef), as we liked her southern style of food. 

That evening we were booked onto the ghost tour so we parked our car and walked down to River Street that run right along the river for a look. Savannah was beautiful, full of old parks and streets lined with big oak trees covered in Spanish moss it was very picturesque. River street was lined with renovated warehouses that now housed restaurants, bars, souvenir and gift shops. It was a very busy place.

8:45pm we were on our ghost tour, much to our disappointment our tour guide was a drama student and instead of telling us the ghost stories ended up loosing us in the explanation of the different sad events that had occurred. Savannah was very beautiful at night and a little creepy so not a total loss. The tour ended on a high note when we were taken to a creepy warehouse, another actor did a much better job explaining one of the sad stories and trying to freak us out.

After the tour we made our way out to another wal-mart for the night about 10min out of town.   

Day 3: Ah Wal-mart you did it again, it was a little hot but a good night. After some breakfast we made our way back into Savannah for the Paula Deen tour.

 Paula Deen is famous for her southern cooking. The start of the tour was a little slow as we just drove around Savannah for a bit listening to bits and pieces about her life, and how she got into cooking. We passed her famous restaurant ‘Lady and Sons’ then went about 15 min out of town to Wilmington Island, Paula’s brother bubba’s restaurant ‘Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House’. The food really was awesome it was a buffet style but nothing like a normal buffet as it was done on a much smaller scale. Everything was so delicious but my favourite dishes were the mash, green beans and desert ‘Gooey cake’. I loved the food so much I even purchased a copy of Paula's first cookbook so I can try and reproduce the food back at home. On the way back to Savannah the tour guide raffled off a small goody bag and much to our surprise we won (out of 7 people).

 Next we made our way back to River Street and picked up a couple of souvenirs (including another Harley store) and had a better look around. Mid afternoon we stopped in at the ‘Moon River Brewery’ for a couple of local beers, then last but not least we had a quick drive around Savannah following the tour route looking at all the beautiful old houses, parks and the cemetery, before we were back on the road and heading for Florida.