At Sea

Sorry I'm 2 days behind on my entries, but there is just sooo much to do on board.  On our first day at sea we went up to the pool deck for morning meditation with Nana Visitor (Major Kira) and then stayed on to watch the Klingon vegetable carving. Looked more like fruit than vegetables to me, and I'm not quite sure what it had to do with Klingons.  Anyhow, when that finished we suddenly realized we were late for our photo session with George Takei.  Had to rush down to the Grand Pacific dining room. Fortunately the whole thing was running late and there was still a queue. Mr Takei even apologized to us for the "long wait".  I don't think we endeared ourselves to him by admitting that we had forgotten the photo session and had only been in the queue for 5 minutes.

After a quick lunch in the buffet it was off to see a John De Lancie (Q)  piece about the Scopes Monkey Trial.  Very well acted by Bob Picardo (the doctor), Rene Auberjonois (Odo), Ethan Philips (Neelix) and a bunch of others including John De Lancie himself.  Also a cooking demo by Nana Visitor. 

In the evening we decided to go to one of the special restaurants: the Klingon Karnivoria (AKA the Brazillian steakhouse).  Followed by an incredible night's entertainment.  First the Interstellar Improv with Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar), Ethan Philips and Rene Auberjonois. They ad-libbed an alternative soundtrack to an episode of the original series.  I laughed so much my stomach hurt.  Then the Rat Pack show with Jeff Combs (Weyoun/Shran), Casey Biggs (Gul Dukat), Armin Shimmerman (Quark), Max Grodenchik(Rom) and Vaughn Armstrong (Admiral Forrest). Oh and Ethan Philips again.  They sang, told jokes, played various instruments. I can't believe how talented these guys are.  I've got to say that all the entertainment is way better than the shows on a regular cruise.

Beam me up Scotty

Connor Trinner - Trip from "Enterprise"

 Headed on-board our cruise ship this morning.
 We brought our swim suits in our hand luggage, so Bridie and I were able to spend sometime in the hot tub before everyone else was aboard.  Then I had a Romulan Ale (an interesting concoction made with blue curaco).
Finally the Federation flag was raised (by George Takei) and we had a sail away party with all the actors.
After a very nice meal in the dining room, we are now getting kitted out in our Star Trek outfits ready to go have our photo session with Brent Spiner.

Nana Visitor - Major Kira from DS9

The Conch Republic

Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday.  We had a long day, getting up at 6am to head off for the Florida Keys, and we didn't get back to the hotel until 10pm.  43 islands are connected by 42  bridges. The 7 mile bridge shown here is well known from movies like "Fast and the Furious" and "True Lies".

I learned some fascinating facts about the Florida Keys area (otherwise known as the Conch Republic).  In 1982 the police set up a roadblock to try and catch drug traffickers and illegal immigrants coming from the Keys.  This caused 25 mile tail backs and it was taking 12-13 hours to get into or out of the Keys, which was ruining the local economy.  So the mayor of Key West decided to put together legal documents saying that if the police were going to treat them like a foreign country they were going to become one and declared independence.  They also declared "war" on the US.  Hostilities included throwing stale Cuban bread at the US Navy ships in Key West Harbor.  The "war" lasted one minute. After which they "surrendered" and asked for a billion dollars of foreign aid. They didn't get the aid of course, but the huge amount of publicity generated did succeed in getting the road blocks taken away again.

Key West is home to the Southernmost point in the USA (only 90 miles to Cuba as Kennedy was fond of saying during the Cuban Missile Crisis). Also it's home to Key Lime Pie (of course we had some), one of Ernest Hemmingway's houses, a whole lot of cigar manufacturers, and some chickens roaming the streets.  We went down to the sea front and had a great view of some pelicans fishing.  

We left Key West at about 6pm, but it took a good 3.5 hours to get back to Miami. 

Later today we board our ship, Norwegian Jade, to start the cruise part of our trip.

Alligators and Crocodiles

Jam packed day today.  We started with breakfast on the patio at the News Cafe on Ocean Drive.  This is a cafe where Versace used to hang out (Versace's house is a few doors down on Ocean Drive).  Lovely breakfast, and a lovely view of Miami Beach as well.  Then we were picked up at the hotel for a 3 hour Everglades tour.  The ride on the air boat was so much fun - better than a roller coaster.  Sadly it was a bit cool today (by Miami standards) so the alligators were staying in their nests.  The Everglades is the only place in the world where you can see both alligators and crocodiles.  The crocodiles keep down near the sea, while the alligators keep to the fresh water. 
When we got back to the park headquarters we were able to see some alligators up close, both a baby and and adult, and even had our photos taken with a baby alligator.
We were a bit dubious about having our photo taken with the baby alligator on the grounds that it might be exploiting the animal, but apparently this alligator was born in captivity and apparently the National Park Service are not even allowed to put captive born alligators back into the wild.  So the baby alligator will have to live out its life in the "tourist" zone of the park anyhow.

This evening we decided to try out some Cuban cuisine at a restaurant called Havana 1957, again out on Ocean Drive with a great view of Miami beach in the dusk.  Amazing meal and some out of this world mojitos! 

Art Deco

Miami Beach is a city full of historical art deco buildings.  This morning we took a walking tour to take in some of the architectural history of the city.  It was a good opportunity to walk off the Grand Marnier banana french toast we had for breakfast.
We then walked up to the shopping area at the North end of the island and had a light lunch before taking in the new Star Wars movie in the afternoon.


It's a long movie, so by the time we got out it was dark and we decided to have supper outdoors at one of the many lovely looking street restaurants in the main shopping area. 

Grand Marnier banana french toast for breakfast.  We're pushing the boat out for our first meal here in Miami.  We're going out on a walking tour this morning to see the Art Deco architecture in Miami Beach.  Hopefully we'll be able to walk off some of the calories.

Party in the city where the heat is on

Made it!
Landed in Miami about 5pm.  Bridie's flight was late, but we met up eventually and got a taxi to the hotel.  Very nice hotel.  Free cocktails on arrival!

It was freakin' freezing in Montreal this morning when Andy dropped me off at the airport. So nice to be here in a lovely warm place.