Blues Cruise Number 2

It's been a busy spring and early summer so far for 2016.  Also we lost my mother and our last Irish Wolfhound, Cina in February, right after we went on our 2nd "Blues Cruise" to Cozumel Mexico   Because of all of these changes, somehow we neglected to get a post put on this Blog for the Blues Cruise.   It was another great cruise, full of great music and fun, so we wanted to rectify the lack of posting now, by going back for a quick review of the trip.

It started out like our first Blues Cruise, from Miami.  And like the first trip we spent a couple of fun days in South Beach before the Cruise Began

The Weather was perfect for walking along the boardwalk  to watch the wind surfers glide through the turquoise waters.  We love the colorful lifeguard stations in Miami.

We also walked many miles exploring the cool Art Deco districts of South Beach.

Even our hotel was Art Deco, and right on Ocean Drive....a noisy but fun street right across the street from the beach.   Marlene is sitting in the Cheshire Cat's Chair I think, inside our hotel.

Marlene standing in front of a monument, that we can't recall what it was memorializing, however this was in a park where there was an art museum and a life jazz performance going on which we enjoyed for a while before continuing our explorations.

After a long day of walking all over south Beach we topped the day off with these huge drinks, and then rolled into bed.

On our first day of the cruise  as we left Miami with the wind blowing through our hair, we enjoyed   the first of many performances outside  on the Lido deck

One of many of the great artists we enjoyed was Eric Gale, and his unusual left handed guitar playing.

The great thing about these cruises was the opportunity to see new artists.  We discovered many on this cruise that we continue to follow.

And of course the highlight of these cruises is always Joe Bonamassa, who we saw in more than one performance.  During this particular performance, pictured above, we had unusual viewing position on the rail right above  and behind the stage.

This familiar face is that of Anton Fig, the long time drummer for Paul Shaffer's Band on the David Letterman show.  He was Joe's drummer on this cruise.

Another highlight of the performances this year  was Beth Hart.  She had individual performances as well as a performance with Joe Bonamassa

Our one stop on this cruise was Cozumel.  Here's Marlene on the dock as we wait for our excursion to begin.  Our ship is in the background, the Norwegian Pearl.

At our first stop on the Cozumel excursion was at a Mexican cultural center where we watched a performance of these young men doing a traditional Mayan pole spinning display.

We then went to a small village where we saw this ancient Mayan temple and Marlene posed with a native (for a small price)

An impromptu Mexican flag, near the beach

All in all a great cruise, and now we start planning for Blues Cruise #3

Winter Vacation Part 2B - Nassau, Bahamas February 20, 2015

 The last stop on our Keeping the Blues Alive Cruise was Nassau, Bahamas. We decided to take an excursion offered by the cruise line that included a guided tour of the city and a stop at the Ardastra Gardens and Zoo. Above is a statue of Christopher Columbus which is located on the square with the government buildings in Nassau. He was an early visitor to the Bahamas who helped put it on the map so to speak....Below I am at the Ardastra gardens started by a wealthy Bahamian which is now open to the public.

 The Ardastra gardens is famous for their marching flamingos, which are proudly displayed by the staff. After watching the show, I am not too clear on their ability to follow the orders that were being barked at them by their handler or just their ability to get out of the way!

 A peacock who was very happy to show us what he had to offer, proudly strutting his stuff for all to see. The birds wandered the gardens and there were warning throughout that they bite!

 Below is a picture of Martin feeding one of the Lory parrots. He ate that piece of apple down to the peel. So amazing to watch!

 I also had the opportunity to feed the Lory parrots. They were pretty hospitable to the humans considering they are wild birds.

 We also stopped at Fort Charolette, one of the remaining forts on the island.

 This is a group of the tour guides dressed in the clothing traditional to the island.

 Yes, and Martin did join the British West India Regiment for a brief moment.

 Below is the beautiful beach in Nassau, it wasn't too populated because it was an unseasonably windy cold day for the Bahamas. The temperature was only in the mid 60's very cold for the locals

 Here is a statue of Queen Victoria a remnant of the days when the Bahamas were controlled by the British.

 So this was our last night on the cruise. Martin and I watched the sun set from the forward deck of the Norwegian Pearl. A beautiful sunset our wonderful cruise was coming to an end.

 A fantastic four days of unbelievable music, fun and interesting places. Would I do it again? Yes, without a moments hesitation!

Winter Vacation Part 2A - Keeping the Blues Alive Cruise -Key West

 Our first stop on the cruise was Key West Florida. In the center of town was a square dedicated to the main source of commerce in the early days of Key West which was rescuing individuals from ship wrecks and salvaging the goods and selling them from all those ships which did not survive the hurricanes.

 Key West is also famous for being an escape for President Truman as well as the home of Ernest Hemingway. There are a huge number of ;chickens and roosters that roam free on the island. Taking refuge in the trees at night to protect them from predators. We never heard any real explanation of where these fowl came from but they seem to live in peace among the locals and the tourists..

 We visited the Shipwreck museum pictured below. It was an interesting look at the history of Key West and the Florida Keys.

 Some of the booty pictured below that was removed from a shipwreck then sold to the locals and to other parts of the United States via laws that allowed this during the 1800s.

 Attached to the museum is this tower which is the highest spot on the island. We climbed this tower and were treated to an incredible view in spite of the cloudy windy day.

 Here is a picture of Martin at the top of the tower. It wasn't exactly the tropical weather we were expecting on this cruise. At least it didn't rain!

 Oh, yes, we can't forget Key West's other claim to fame. It is the southern most point in the continental US. Only 90 miles to Cuba!

Winter Vacation Part 2 -" Keeping the Blues Alive Cruise" February 17th - The Music

 On Tuesday, February 17th we climbed the gangway and embarked on a 4 day "blues cruise" that was like no other cruise that we had ever been on...the music started out before we left the dock. One of our favorites is pictured below. Robert Randolf and his Family Band.

 The cruise was organized by J&R productions which is Joe Bonamassa and his manager Ray to highlight Joe's charity which is called Keeping the Blues Alive. Joe raises funds for music programs and instruments to keep kids playing the blues. Norwegian Cruise lines kicked in $25,000 for the charity. Joe is pictured below with us. We saw him perform 4 times while we were on board and were not disappointed. He was a very gracious host for all 2500 of us cruisers. It was an awesome opportunity to rub shoulders and meet some of the most talented individuals currently playing the blues. They were patient, funny and couldn't have been nicer to everyone!

 Below, is blues harp player Brandon Santini. Incredibly nice young man and talented harp player. He was one of the new talents on board and was a crowd favorite. There were so many fantastic groups on this cruise. John Hiatt was amazing as well as Robben Ford, Kirk Fletcher, Josh Smith, JD Simo  and two of the hottest female blues guitar players I have ever seen Ana Popovic and Joanne Shaw Taylor. Check out Youtube for videos taken by our fellow cruisers that highlight all the talent and incredible music we experienced while on this cruise.

 Below is Bernie Marsden, one of the iconic British guitar players and for all you Whitesnake fans the original guitar player and song writer extraordinaire. He has written some of my favorite songs. He is an incredibly nice guy, whose grin reminds me of a garden gnome.

 Close up of Bernie Marsden below. I wish we had taken more pictures, but in some ways it was overwhelming. I am happy that many of the other cruisers have provided us with thousands of pictures taken on this cruise.

 Below is me, a break in the action and a wonderful dinner on board ship. The food was fantastic and the service was wonderful.

 A toast from Martin to the fantastic music and wonderful new friends we made on this cruise. We heard on Friday night that Joe Bonamassa is willing to do it again next year in February of 2016!

This is just the music portion, follow the next posts for our stops in Key West and Nassau Bahamas.....

Winter Vacation 2015 - Part One: Miami South Beach February 15, 2015

 We left Portland's airport in the wee hours of Sunday morning February 15th to arrive in Miami in the early evening. We stayed at a hotel called the Dream on Collins Ave, it is a little boutique hotel from the 30's that has been refurbished and maintained the Art Deco features of the building.. Collins is one of the main streets in the South Beach area of Miami. Above I am pictured with a statue that was in the bamboo garden of our hotel.  We were delighted to find the next morning that our hotel was located in front of Gianni Versace's mansion which is now a high end restaurant on Ocean Ave.

 Ocean Ave is just that, it borders a huge park and the beach. It is such a beautiful white sand beach. Much different from what we are used to on the Oregon and Washington coast. We were out early on Monday morning and were delighted that the temperature was already in the low 60's.

 Below, is the view across Ocean Ave from the park and beach side. You can see all the Art Deco architecture that has been preserved in spite of modernization of the interiors of the buildings.

 We walked almost 10 miles on Monday the 16th. Below you see the view of downtown Miami from the South Beach Pier.

 Here is a picture of Martin standing on the South Beach Pier. It was such a beautiful day in the low 80's and the beach was enjoyed by everyone.

 One of the most poignant places we visited on our walk was the Miami Holocaust Memorial. From far away you see a hand reaching toward heaven, when you get closer you see that the arm is covered by the victims of the holocaust reaching up toward heaven.

 There are tablets which list the names of those who were killed and a memorial flame to commemorate their loss of life.  It was so touching, I cried as I realized we have learned nothing from this massacre as individuals continue to be murdered based solely on their religious beliefs.

 Such a beautiful place to remember such a horrible event in our history.

 A closer picture of the hand reaching toward God....

 After our walk we ate at a fantastic Italian restaurant and talked about everything we had seen on our hike through South Beach. Even though the afternoon was waning the beach was as beautiful as can be....

 The night brought out the art deco highlights on the buildings surrounding our hotel.

 And Tuesday morning brought a glimpse of the cruise ships and where we were heading for Part 2 of our trip!