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 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!

Quick Trip to Miami

I had a quick trip to Miami Florida this week for a business meeting (National Association of State Workforce Agencies) I represent Oregon on the Employment and Training Committee of this organization so end up travelling out of state three or four times a year for meetings. I was looking forward to a little warm sunshine for a break from Oregon Winter weather...I got the sunshine but not the warm...it was unseasonable cold there this week. Not cold by Oregon/Washington standards (low 60's) but very cold by theirs. I didn't have much time to see anything except for one evening walk towards the South Beach area.

The picture above is the beach right behind the hotel the meeting was in. Below is the lobby of the hotel...yes they do celebrate Christmas in Florida.
One view out my Hotel window of the canal on one side of Miami Beach
The Ocean side from the other side of my room window.
Below, the outside of the Hotel I was in.
And across the canal one of the little houses on the shore.
Lots of interesting architecture around South beach. Mostly small hotels and condos

It was a quick trip- left Monday Morning, and got back home Wed. night. Now back to the regular grind.