tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57265332024-03-05T14:18:31.890-08:00Subwaymark Travel BlogRiding the rails around the worldMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-52388984258929499902015-03-27T22:05:00.001-07:002015-03-27T22:05:18.115-07:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 11: Guatemala<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WV3oreghnwn6EzziyL2d3-wi2egRyBhFpiGUhxLyBJMZylwDYdlaEbT36c-dPEVS2a5JzHJkppdeJwbMVgoGfAyPtRoyE-KoTHE9WAMmArj6s4y75OehL5NTcKejAY3Y5CSoJA/s1600/Guate-Volcanos-032614-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WV3oreghnwn6EzziyL2d3-wi2egRyBhFpiGUhxLyBJMZylwDYdlaEbT36c-dPEVS2a5JzHJkppdeJwbMVgoGfAyPtRoyE-KoTHE9WAMmArj6s4y75OehL5NTcKejAY3Y5CSoJA/s1600/Guate-Volcanos-032614-03.jpg" height="200" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volcano</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After Costa Rica the ship headed out for one day at sea before getting to Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. It was a quiet day of recovery at Sea before our next port...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"School" buses</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We arrive at Puerto Quetzel on time, and this time there was no problem with disembarkation. Many of the cruise Director's staff was on hand to make up for the issues we had at Costa Rica. We quickly found our bus for our full day tour to see the Mayan Ruins.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">City Model</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: center;">We boarded a full size bus to head up for the 2+ hour journey to our destination. I found it interesting that aw we left the port, a police vehicle tagged along behind us. We got to see several volcano cones heading out, including one that was puffing smoke. But about 30 minutes into the bus ride, the bus started to have trouble shifting. Ten minutes later the bus pulled to the side of the road, Our tour guide told us another bus was called as the bus we were in was faulty. The police were outside standing guard. Surprising we only waited about 15 minute before another bus pulled up and we all transferred to the new bus. Since we were now a bit late, we skipped the "potty break" stop to head directly to our destination.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cyn in front of old Temple Ruin</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We passed many ex-US school buses along the way that were now jitney passenger buses, many decked out in odd colors, some still had the name of a US school district on the side. Now I know where school buses go to retire.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Altar</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soon we arrived at our destination, Iximche. This was one of last Mayan cities being built in 1470, and then conquered by the Spanish and abandoned in 1524. But the history felt very real here. There was a small museum giving the history of the site including a scale model of the city at it peak. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTEq1_ksLKzCrxGglpuCAu6Utl3A2DW2_hG9Yc8fMUqJGHTdEZj2x-uGaQmZJHYs0HC1qZkksU1SJ4Xniv9PWonrFVyA0MNQplkHIMnt6r9xPVe-ZE8lv4aXrCRR1kmddr5_VTg/s1600/iximche-ruins-032614-34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTEq1_ksLKzCrxGglpuCAu6Utl3A2DW2_hG9Yc8fMUqJGHTdEZj2x-uGaQmZJHYs0HC1qZkksU1SJ4Xniv9PWonrFVyA0MNQplkHIMnt6r9xPVe-ZE8lv4aXrCRR1kmddr5_VTg/s1600/iximche-ruins-032614-34.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We walked thru the ruins of the city. The only other groups were local school children. The local high schoolers were very intrigued by foreigner interested in their heritage. They practiced their English on us, and asked to have photographs of us taken with them. It was rather fun. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLGVVkhYB5fpY-usy2nSBkVZ-HZj40KrGLSVjQo6A0bOgWi_NBWqR4ziJeQAa0Q8P5qFvD7CHoJ2Mg23sQf460jx-nBSYRf5u2ykPL3aYpn2E75_niQTLobSehmvkzbkS-BnuJ9A/s1600/iximche-ruins-032614-50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLGVVkhYB5fpY-usy2nSBkVZ-HZj40KrGLSVjQo6A0bOgWi_NBWqR4ziJeQAa0Q8P5qFvD7CHoJ2Mg23sQf460jx-nBSYRf5u2ykPL3aYpn2E75_niQTLobSehmvkzbkS-BnuJ9A/s1600/iximche-ruins-032614-50.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group photo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We even walked into a ritual by the local direct decedents of the Mayan who were offering goat sacrifice to their Gods, ad they still consider this location sacred ground. Out of respect no photos were taken.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soon we were back on the bus. As we got back to the little village before the highway, the bus had to maneuver thru some tight corners. At on intersection, the bus driver had to go back and forth several times to make the the tight corner without taken out the local businesses awnings. We all applauded as he made it without scratching the bus or anything else.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85hv0mA_slTzLggCs67wfzLh0rJcS7JlqrO2vQn18Ycez_PtIrCjxrXMGxyznTjUYooQiq5WX8eOKJX_9f3h11Hn6mJcZd-IUO4s_t63lfgdNkoCy6bDonmy7IzULIvrgMZGDDg/s1600/Guate-Restaruant-032614-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85hv0mA_slTzLggCs67wfzLh0rJcS7JlqrO2vQn18Ycez_PtIrCjxrXMGxyznTjUYooQiq5WX8eOKJX_9f3h11Hn6mJcZd-IUO4s_t63lfgdNkoCy6bDonmy7IzULIvrgMZGDDg/s1600/Guate-Restaruant-032614-01.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cantina</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our next stop was a late lunch at a local cantina, The meal was included as part of the tour. We had a nice grilled chicken with refried beans and a local beer (we did not dare to drink the water). Outside of the cantina were many vendors selling their wares.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The rest of the bus ride was uneventful. We had time to go thru all the shops at the port and bought a few things. I had also set up a geocaching event in the port, as there were no geocaches near the port or along our journey to Iximche. Two cachers from the ship did show up for the event while drinking coconut juice, straight from a coconut, and another local beer ($2 a beer was cheap).. son we were on board ship. I continued the event on the ship as it was leaving port in the Crown Lounge. 2 additional cachers showed up. The goal for all of them, including myself, was to add Guatemala to our caching map!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJ2JCJcjm6Tjt9HWktYyh2kfr7z3v2qY95WAoesblDv5tB5MRmrPC10QAFsHX2TZHofltgK2uHbAPiva4cXCHWpg1ti80kkaesfIi_L7RImVUOTsKNdx8oXHrJttt-lCx6clkGg/s1600/iximche-ruins-032614-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJ2JCJcjm6Tjt9HWktYyh2kfr7z3v2qY95WAoesblDv5tB5MRmrPC10QAFsHX2TZHofltgK2uHbAPiva4cXCHWpg1ti80kkaesfIi_L7RImVUOTsKNdx8oXHrJttt-lCx6clkGg/s1600/iximche-ruins-032614-06.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Ball Court</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We really enjoyed the day, and the shore excursion to Iximche was the best ship lead excursion we have been on to date. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temple Ruin</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old City square</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Li_1O84iOt7sYckzbFDNK2-X4JgxEYV8-h5Uf3dWvXIHeNAcOGitFAI_p7p3kvr1GcKVwMshyphenhyphen9H0zTyJwnXv_hK_iNWiikcdH7r93cwxoR8fobee6Z-zsfNtLnuAQfARbU_Lhw/s1600/iximche-ruins-032614-29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Li_1O84iOt7sYckzbFDNK2-X4JgxEYV8-h5Uf3dWvXIHeNAcOGitFAI_p7p3kvr1GcKVwMshyphenhyphen9H0zTyJwnXv_hK_iNWiikcdH7r93cwxoR8fobee6Z-zsfNtLnuAQfARbU_Lhw/s1600/iximche-ruins-032614-29.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temple Ruin with a Tree growing in it.</td></tr>
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-13807704490631650152015-03-02T21:38:00.001-08:002015-03-02T21:38:15.446-08:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 10: Costa Rica<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Needless to say after the Panama Canal, the excitement waned a little bit, but we still had </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chef in from of tonight's dinner, Lasgna</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">half a cruise to go! The day after the canal was a day at sea. The ship had a Make a Wish Fundraiser walk up on deck and were selling t-shirt signed by the crew which Cyn purchased. While she was relaxing and enjoying the morning, I was taking a behind scenes tour of the ship.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlb3GWAEL6v3ftg8jPxUgLIMFIPW4qpXvMYCfN__JVQfISUpBEuwwBcal0bmxoQvQacl4QU3mzhFO1etSkROa41PuPzaqtCDuQNdGsmJ6RXlHbur4ShrJBKr2IeKqFSlNrmKIKgA/s1600/RCI-Leg-Crew-032314-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlb3GWAEL6v3ftg8jPxUgLIMFIPW4qpXvMYCfN__JVQfISUpBEuwwBcal0bmxoQvQacl4QU3mzhFO1etSkROa41PuPzaqtCDuQNdGsmJ6RXlHbur4ShrJBKr2IeKqFSlNrmKIKgA/s1600/RCI-Leg-Crew-032314-01.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crew Mess</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The behind the scenes tour is rather expensive, but it was worth to see. I am very interested in logistics and operations of anything. The first stop was the Galley. We were lead by the head Chef of the ship. He was obviously very proud of his galley and staff. The Galley was on 2 decks. We also went down to deck zero and saw the stores area of the ship. They waste no space.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9f3DqZ0MOPfvaVJXvw5Fvoip4oWmM22SZ8HgYP3YcP06GiZhIaG4pVfgt9RJ0I3GsDXRvYc-ukrPoN0JJGAmCQLbRy0R5U7Aw0HJ7d6JdXRGeoFtNZ3Fhuiiie7CXZUW4DAhpg/s1600/RCI-Leg-ECR-032314-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9f3DqZ0MOPfvaVJXvw5Fvoip4oWmM22SZ8HgYP3YcP06GiZhIaG4pVfgt9RJ0I3GsDXRvYc-ukrPoN0JJGAmCQLbRy0R5U7Aw0HJ7d6JdXRGeoFtNZ3Fhuiiie7CXZUW4DAhpg/s1600/RCI-Leg-ECR-032314-03.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Engine Control Room</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got to see the crew mess and break areas and had a chat with the HR director on board. We also had to do a security check. At this point a security guard had to be with us.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlfxMJtNvKn-7f22IPKAgifvlrz8uLdLXTyemWwrOIEg0dyiKyEX7S6RNvrDP41AMuiTjFHhclz4gvmTpeXT2GMLYSBln79_p1CO-5ZBYJsbVxx9vGc1WGiKaP8bAROQIwgAhyphenhyphenA/s1600/RCI-Leg-Laundry-032314-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlfxMJtNvKn-7f22IPKAgifvlrz8uLdLXTyemWwrOIEg0dyiKyEX7S6RNvrDP41AMuiTjFHhclz4gvmTpeXT2GMLYSBln79_p1CO-5ZBYJsbVxx9vGc1WGiKaP8bAROQIwgAhyphenhyphenA/s1600/RCI-Leg-Laundry-032314-12.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laundry</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5InBUPUOIxStXi8H0Yxymp_0m6tClwx8vD0G86ad5So0ST9SrDsVlqSBNG4ml8ZqVYG1UE0uAq3ZlzIlsGAodnc2JGqogdnwCkQSrz4RW3TxNsLZzyZfXUqOL8riQWx8lY79LGA/s1600/RCI-Leg-Stage-032314-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5InBUPUOIxStXi8H0Yxymp_0m6tClwx8vD0G86ad5So0ST9SrDsVlqSBNG4ml8ZqVYG1UE0uAq3ZlzIlsGAodnc2JGqogdnwCkQSrz4RW3TxNsLZzyZfXUqOL8riQWx8lY79LGA/s1600/RCI-Leg-Stage-032314-03.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Backstage, a lot of wigs</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The tour then took us down "I-95" then runs through the center of deck 0 to the Engine Control room. We could not see the actual engine room (darn). But we did get to see all the control and cameras for the engines. The Legend of the Sea maybe a small ship, but she is the fastest in the Royal Caribbean Fleet. She is also used as the first ship to open any new port for RCI. She has a lot of plaques up on deck 9 with all the new ports she has been to on behalf of RCI.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWk18iUuo83Hdn-NntWgvAq_BISCT0YE2J7SG3npnCmIvbkqUwTXM5y9N6D1xHxaElFCeJNNzziK_q1tkNwgg8rlRAWUJnp3MSE6KsDeN7VP2nFZ2zjkJW1ceEFkyVAIRBzwuWWQ/s1600/RCI-Leg-Bridge-032314-26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWk18iUuo83Hdn-NntWgvAq_BISCT0YE2J7SG3npnCmIvbkqUwTXM5y9N6D1xHxaElFCeJNNzziK_q1tkNwgg8rlRAWUJnp3MSE6KsDeN7VP2nFZ2zjkJW1ceEFkyVAIRBzwuWWQ/s1600/RCI-Leg-Bridge-032314-26.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTeDeHPXpAj6OKJiIV2IvceRTOzbw-w0lJRIxb4PQ6MWAE3KHSFO6DYB1UiGL9YHtrygQvYb3iy8qgizA0Nac2pQ1S0JYrQSY6fqYUdfkOxQDu02KXz7-OPfmQEMVZVgmyZkozKw/s1600/RCI-Leg-Bridge-032314-32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTeDeHPXpAj6OKJiIV2IvceRTOzbw-w0lJRIxb4PQ6MWAE3KHSFO6DYB1UiGL9YHtrygQvYb3iy8qgizA0Nac2pQ1S0JYrQSY6fqYUdfkOxQDu02KXz7-OPfmQEMVZVgmyZkozKw/s1600/RCI-Leg-Bridge-032314-32.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bridge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the Engine Control room we went down to deck -1 to the Laundry room. We then went up to backstage of the theater and even chatted with the ships entertainers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last stop was the bridge. The captain was not up there but the first mate was who gave a tour. What a great view. The tour ended in the main restaurant for lunch with a small parting gift.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The show for the ending was Sing City by the ship's entertainers. Cyn and I really enjoyed the show!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijlZDRzh9f4K_golr9h79dN5OOOi1aBKup1J6AKm7V1WKRuC01MPKGwuLNU_UR9qUUK1_Rh5nQFCKF23-RvSCXQCXFJhSS3qBt26CPypwXbilKBG4Hh0v8j9a9Uh3UoV7NRGA9yg/s1600/CostaRica-Pacifico-032414-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijlZDRzh9f4K_golr9h79dN5OOOi1aBKup1J6AKm7V1WKRuC01MPKGwuLNU_UR9qUUK1_Rh5nQFCKF23-RvSCXQCXFJhSS3qBt26CPypwXbilKBG4Hh0v8j9a9Uh3UoV7NRGA9yg/s1600/CostaRica-Pacifico-032414-12.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Costa Rica Train</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following day was out next port, Punterenas, Costa Rica. The ship arrived late and then we had gangway problems. It turned into a mini-disaster as the crew kept giving passengers conflicting information on what deck the gangway would be on. One we got off we found our shore excursion bus. We could tell the tour operators were feeling rushed as they were running nearly one hour late.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTRPf4QxpbcqFtZYdCyjygdnuUELzfWqbLY2jEzrp5fiIIgZnkk4bAYkAtNmIyfzceOeXb4i4iEddqNvmR4cLSSnnAM3p7qJ0hfZHRkNBLnvWUmTRCga-l1ebtq4TFAuhaesuwzw/s1600/CostaRica-Misc-032414-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTRPf4QxpbcqFtZYdCyjygdnuUELzfWqbLY2jEzrp5fiIIgZnkk4bAYkAtNmIyfzceOeXb4i4iEddqNvmR4cLSSnnAM3p7qJ0hfZHRkNBLnvWUmTRCga-l1ebtq4TFAuhaesuwzw/s1600/CostaRica-Misc-032414-11.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty river, no crocs</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We took a train/crocodile tour. This was probably the most disappointing excursion we have ever taken. The train ride was short, with not much history about the train. The line is narrow gauge and used to connect Punterenas with San Jose. But after an earthquake several years ago, the line was abandoned. This short section with a tunnel survives. I estimate the train went about 3 miles thru a tunnel, then we backed up about .5 mile to re-board the busses. The bus then took us to a river crocodile tour. We board a boat with about 20 people looking at wildlife and allegedly looking for crocs. We saw the head of one from a distance. Then we went back and they had local fruit to eat. The bananas (or were they plantains) were good. But we were very rushed by the tour as they needed to head back to pick up the afternoon tour groups.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNrFGQ08gx4gfg9Gs4ks7U5SWSrjAUdULx9vAKd2luodrPMEoXhSxH5AUsI6LRnGyw9fxihPA1Gnc_6j_vPuGepUh5Dgeis4OiE3rDEmTmb2oVt8R6wXy4RhXkZwDI_WCQ3DpZRA/s1600/CostaRica-Misc-032414-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNrFGQ08gx4gfg9Gs4ks7U5SWSrjAUdULx9vAKd2luodrPMEoXhSxH5AUsI6LRnGyw9fxihPA1Gnc_6j_vPuGepUh5Dgeis4OiE3rDEmTmb2oVt8R6wXy4RhXkZwDI_WCQ3DpZRA/s1600/CostaRica-Misc-032414-24.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty Flora</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9Lq3d-ckz0EIQtJSTPAFy1l6Tak_SggiTg8Gtc7QkeU8qyA-PyyekAn-Yqp4KGIqOLiRaUQqFGOqG5B5xXCFgl0RDVRp1XhIdwPpRFiqmuUiZfoA5rIJr3CQH_ZyN2uOJRP88A/s1600/CostaRica-Misc-032414-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9Lq3d-ckz0EIQtJSTPAFy1l6Tak_SggiTg8Gtc7QkeU8qyA-PyyekAn-Yqp4KGIqOLiRaUQqFGOqG5B5xXCFgl0RDVRp1XhIdwPpRFiqmuUiZfoA5rIJr3CQH_ZyN2uOJRP88A/s1600/CostaRica-Misc-032414-22.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snacks</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once back at port, there was a crafts market with very inexpensive gifts. This was the redeeming value of the stop. We got a dish of ice cream, which got us free wifi so I could Skype Emily to see how everything was doing (Our cat had a urinary tract infection which Emily had to deal with). I also went over to a local pub to have a local beer. Puntarenas itself was not much once you go 1 block away from the pier. I would not recommend it for sightseeing.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5YSUnnznsdVNCGZ7uYhcD6TLjX6rmtpWSNAOU6ofoD-8rIFRD2ypJf2JPliDoZc89j_YtoasFzssZDX-PFs4qk7Xj0ZhNGLYWkTdehvdNHJ78NaMltlcBzh5UbrRHs0IfgJ5Ug/s1600/CostaRica-Puntare-032414-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5YSUnnznsdVNCGZ7uYhcD6TLjX6rmtpWSNAOU6ofoD-8rIFRD2ypJf2JPliDoZc89j_YtoasFzssZDX-PFs4qk7Xj0ZhNGLYWkTdehvdNHJ78NaMltlcBzh5UbrRHs0IfgJ5Ug/s1600/CostaRica-Puntare-032414-06.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puntarenas "beach"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Entertainment on the ship for the evening was Dee Dee Martin. As I writing this nearly a year later, it did not leave me any lasting impressions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On to Guatemala....</span><br />
<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-41917724432966249092015-01-05T09:16:00.002-08:002015-01-05T09:16:25.418-08:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 9: The Panama Canal<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdebDaHnJcUxOEY2y09p2g8BCASc8q2np6_gawIk8IkrcAVu2c_4u9TJ1f28Pw6VAKjW6Wbli35CFlO8NBLe21ZkwSadSeB0-9ijA4SZHRsGMlKHRVigejvyQhT8_LLxjqwoRJcA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdebDaHnJcUxOEY2y09p2g8BCASc8q2np6_gawIk8IkrcAVu2c_4u9TJ1f28Pw6VAKjW6Wbli35CFlO8NBLe21ZkwSadSeB0-9ijA4SZHRsGMlKHRVigejvyQhT8_LLxjqwoRJcA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-026.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Panama Canal</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ah, the post I've been waiting for, the whole reason why we took this cruise, other then the fact it was our 25th wedding anniversary, the Panama Canal. It turned out to be a VERY long day!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We woke up at 5:30am, as we were scheduled to transit the canal starting at 6am! Right at 6 we crossed over the bar from the Caribbean to enter the canal area. Soon the tugs boast came out to meet us, and it was barely light out.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWF7KMsUuT9JRPurbG7BIBrWRJYzVxQNndWMiukDQdQHjhkfh2CYeXTQbSC5NwrJV4MFpntZXVBCrLuWfQQh5aTJoTNEK_GcWzhvHHVuyEQvz4finLvjlrnXeipsXExdvwAe-o2g/s1600/PnCn-NewGatun-032214-09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWF7KMsUuT9JRPurbG7BIBrWRJYzVxQNndWMiukDQdQHjhkfh2CYeXTQbSC5NwrJV4MFpntZXVBCrLuWfQQh5aTJoTNEK_GcWzhvHHVuyEQvz4finLvjlrnXeipsXExdvwAe-o2g/s1600/PnCn-NewGatun-032214-09.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new Canal Lock doors for Gatun</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nearly the entire ship was on the outside and forward deck to watch us slowly inch towards the first set of locks at Gatun. It was pretty crowded. The crew had cornered off an area to allow the ship photographer to take photos of passengers as we went thru the canal, which we took advantage of.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the ship's PA they gave a history of the canal as well as pointing out what was going on step-by-step, including when the Ship's captain was no longer in charge as a canal Pilot was on the bridge. This becomes an important fact later in our journey.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMn6A4B2NU8tFVglrJapGeXvE-J52LbsxQECkAeW-eig4i23l3k116vDKyMAacWQTq5lsV3RNiFgHnagQET4bfqSt61EKl5VCbxLVNyiGxl7wz7FzySgta9neDdbumgUDdGmpNQ/s1600/PnCn-OldFrench-032214-005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMn6A4B2NU8tFVglrJapGeXvE-J52LbsxQECkAeW-eig4i23l3k116vDKyMAacWQTq5lsV3RNiFgHnagQET4bfqSt61EKl5VCbxLVNyiGxl7wz7FzySgta9neDdbumgUDdGmpNQ/s1600/PnCn-OldFrench-032214-005.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old French Canal</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We saw the remains of the original French attempt to build the canal to the ships right. Even current PanamaMax ships have nor hope trying to go thru the original French size canal. On the ships left was the making of the new set of locks which are 50% bigger then the current locks. The new lock doors were sitting at the entrance waiting for their placement. They were HUGE! After listening to our guide in Panama yesterday, as seeing the status of construction, I think 2018~2020 is realistic as to when the new locks will be finished, not 2014/15 which was the original plan.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVPKpcc4KxQGJHZNuxGgZQBbJf9Cn3InoZNJIMcjaqLlN6yYPbh9bQdEmEah7IEViM7uOi1j3QNB9VhHCLeUkr41iT8a5TduAKb3fRmj3H6XH5R9qC3oSsRuN-sEf0nQ5Ue7O_Q/s1600/PnCn-PedroMiguel-032214-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVPKpcc4KxQGJHZNuxGgZQBbJf9Cn3InoZNJIMcjaqLlN6yYPbh9bQdEmEah7IEViM7uOi1j3QNB9VhHCLeUkr41iT8a5TduAKb3fRmj3H6XH5R9qC3oSsRuN-sEf0nQ5Ue7O_Q/s1600/PnCn-PedroMiguel-032214-10.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A "Mule"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soon our ship was connected to the "Mules" at the first set of Gatun Locks. Mules are electric locomotives that run along the side walls of the locks that keep the ship centered as it moves thru the locks. The mules so not pull/push the ship. The cables are kept taut or slack to ensure the ship never hits the lock walls. They are powerful little beasts. Their electric power comes from a slot between the rails, much like streetcars in Washington DC and New York City did back in the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soon we were in the first lock. Once in the lock with the doors closed, it takes about 8 minutes for our ship to rise enough to enter the second lock. Gatun has 3 sets of locks before allowing us entry into Gatun lake. Each lock requires the addition or release of over 26 million gallons of water. Luckily they were ships going up and down on either side of the canal, so ultimate "only" 26M gallons of fresh water from Gatun Lake is washed out to sea for every ship that transits the canal.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLwRG1jwzlrO5MrtoO78HIDB6d4nswodh_Iw-O2ZaFNPEoj3sc4kCGtkwrNSW2z5YygM5krIoS_A7f2koJY4gcHSmD1rUwH80k382EMtLe4hale0iTptXg37XtK9wTNqqCoqTVQ/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLwRG1jwzlrO5MrtoO78HIDB6d4nswodh_Iw-O2ZaFNPEoj3sc4kCGtkwrNSW2z5YygM5krIoS_A7f2koJY4gcHSmD1rUwH80k382EMtLe4hale0iTptXg37XtK9wTNqqCoqTVQ/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-108.jpg" height="244" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entering Gatun Lake</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By around 10~11am were started our transit across Gatun Lake and into the Culebra cut. This was a very slow transit with ships everywhere. Gatun Lake is the source for water fro the canal. Luckily it rains a lot in Panama to be able to have this huge man-made lake. But Panama does have a dry season, where they were in the middle of, so the lake was lower than normal. This would prove important later on in our journey</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As stated earlier, the French had tried to build a canal before the Americans. But the French plan to to have a level canal. There was thought that the Pacific and Caribbean had different water levels, but that is plain false. What is true, is the Pacific side has tidal influences which can affect the water height by up to 18 feet depending on the time of day. The french plan did not work, and with Malaria, it made it impossible. Soon the Americans took over and decided to go over the mountains. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUDhcMHDVGmrYZT_Nls6gU-tnxlxorHYhn_FGqUOfMBUkc1bXGSLBpKn585s_JN7WXTHfGpIvsSXc05lUpgD1erxEx4bqdrm8Eu-0-7oQg8S1eaVFuIiiXTfBkE1t0FVUNhXCug/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUDhcMHDVGmrYZT_Nls6gU-tnxlxorHYhn_FGqUOfMBUkc1bXGSLBpKn585s_JN7WXTHfGpIvsSXc05lUpgD1erxEx4bqdrm8Eu-0-7oQg8S1eaVFuIiiXTfBkE1t0FVUNhXCug/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-016.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gatun Lake control house, finished in 1913, <br />
the canal opened in 1914</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The canal opened in 1914 with 3 sets of locks on the Caribbean, and 1 set of one, plus another set of 2 locks on the Pacific side. The total canal length is about 48 miles. The canal overshadowed the first American Transcontinental Railroad, the Panama Railroad (not the UP/CP line in North America), but the Panama Railroad is still an important lifeline in Panama. The locks do not require any pumps. The only energy used in canal operations is the opening of the lock doors. Water is strictly gravity fed thru gate valves. Very efficient, just with a huge water loss. The new set of lock intends to be able to recycle 50% of the water, which is good since the new locks will require more water. But again, gravity will be it friend, with the addition of water storage. An interesting fact about the canal, is when you head from the Caribbean to the Pacific, when you exit on the Pacific side, you will be further east then when you started in the Caribbean. Bizarre, yes, but when you look at a map, most of the transit you are heading more north/south then east/west. So geography over-rules your common sense.... Check it out...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobfAHjhIfPCG92kFr0CHZTEIJu5rZbvsKyVgEZ-a0MlqG_SDro4SzFsDoroZfsW7LdVIsfq21TgBbOLMeWbMShjugetdDUnifZINVdxGhQNxYa0KEH2LRvQ-wikuuH-_VgXlszQ/s1600/PnCn-CulebraCut-032214-27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobfAHjhIfPCG92kFr0CHZTEIJu5rZbvsKyVgEZ-a0MlqG_SDro4SzFsDoroZfsW7LdVIsfq21TgBbOLMeWbMShjugetdDUnifZINVdxGhQNxYa0KEH2LRvQ-wikuuH-_VgXlszQ/s1600/PnCn-CulebraCut-032214-27.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New bridge over the Culebra Cut</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After going thru the tight Culebra cut, we enter the Pedro Miguel lock. It is single set of locks that drops the ship from Gatun Lake into Lake Miraflores. This is where the dry season, and that the Canal Pilot is in charge becomes important.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ship connected to the mules again, just like at Gatun. We entered the singe lock with out fan fare and soon we were dropping about 31 feet. The the forward lock door opens and we slowly head into Lake Miraflores. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYWsyZ-zAREoX8hxdw5wVV_8hlOjZggOC7oDxSlIrqiL6G1u3uPrz-6_rrFV5LhprINHOcZh0pAJoJMSAaO15ev5tiNnuAtDyuxaoCdIPmRNAIq1ApKppmzzLo35TPUYOCOocng/s1600/PnCn-PedroMiguel-032214-26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYWsyZ-zAREoX8hxdw5wVV_8hlOjZggOC7oDxSlIrqiL6G1u3uPrz-6_rrFV5LhprINHOcZh0pAJoJMSAaO15ev5tiNnuAtDyuxaoCdIPmRNAIq1ApKppmzzLo35TPUYOCOocng/s1600/PnCn-PedroMiguel-032214-26.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "notch" in the control house roof was caused by our ship</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the side "fly" bridge was starting to go past the Control house, something happened with one of the tensioning cables from the Mules that allowed the ship to sway towards the building. The Fly bridge is wider then the ship itself, then there was a crashing sound. The fly bridge was crunching the roof of the Pedro Miguel control house. Roofing tiles came crashing onto the rails for the mules below. However the ship never stopped moving. Stopping would cost more money. Ground workers quickly removed the tile pieces to allow the locomotives to pass. Later the Ships Captain explained, that yes he was on the bridge, but the Canal Pilot was in full charge of the ship, including the tension cables on the Mules. It sounds like there were a variety of factors that lead to the incident.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) The fly bridges on the Legend of the Seas, had been made a little wider during a recent retrofit since the ship had been thru the canal last.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) Lake Miraflores was lower then normal due to the dry season.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) One of the cables on the mules was allowed to go slack when ti shouldn't have. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-QJvu8Bz3jMveRNWV-0bgKxMhWBMYxJr1_1uV0QBDyGYwbgAyh7DVKEhZgjeCznWIgrARojKDNO99F7-FNZ8P6ESdHuwAuyBtguBJR4PF4iiYZVW4bxoFlgxooGwt49iltCQvg/s1600/PanCan-Miraflores-032214-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-QJvu8Bz3jMveRNWV-0bgKxMhWBMYxJr1_1uV0QBDyGYwbgAyh7DVKEhZgjeCznWIgrARojKDNO99F7-FNZ8P6ESdHuwAuyBtguBJR4PF4iiYZVW4bxoFlgxooGwt49iltCQvg/s1600/PanCan-Miraflores-032214-15.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miraflores Visitor's center as seen from our ship. <br />
We saw the canal the day prior from the visitor's center.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All 3 factors worked together to allow the roof of the control house to be damaged. However, Royal Caribbean International, or the Captain of the Legend of the Seas, will not be held accountable, since the Canal Pilot was in charge. The Captain seems to smile when he said that, and maybe he should charge the canal to fix the paint scratch on his ship :).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After that excitement we were soon coming up on the last set of lock, Miraflores. These 2 locks till lower the ship from Lake Miraflores into the channel that takes us to the Pacific Ocean. There was not excitement like the last set of locks, but a send of accomplishment was building on the ship. Before long we were on the Pacific side and by 6pm we were crossing under the Americas Bridge and heading to sea.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EDAenVnivuRqwLENmjD5YJDFR7iA9ySxIcWxeGvSM0AXuVLTZjgPyGPxvcFxBJCYTCh3aCWGoin6BKYGhhRTNZxDIic3fM6IeH4DaBDCus6-KQiyX-qccH9X9Nfwk3Gx5IubMQ/s1600/PnCn-PacificEnt-032214-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EDAenVnivuRqwLENmjD5YJDFR7iA9ySxIcWxeGvSM0AXuVLTZjgPyGPxvcFxBJCYTCh3aCWGoin6BKYGhhRTNZxDIic3fM6IeH4DaBDCus6-KQiyX-qccH9X9Nfwk3Gx5IubMQ/s1600/PnCn-PacificEnt-032214-16.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The America Bridge and our exit from the canal</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In total is took us 12 hours to transit the canal from end-to-end. I walked about 5 miles on board ship watching its progress. Admiring the engineering of the 1914 canal and seeing the building of a 21st century canal was awe inspiring, and exhausting. Royal Caribbean paid about $300K in tolls for us to transit the canal, with the use of pilots and tugs and Mules. The Bucket list item complete!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the evening, I believe we skipped the night's entertainment, but did eat sushi at the Izumi Grill for dinner. Soon we were in bed for the night. It was hard to believe we still had 8 days left on board ship....</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9RtFK5wNqq1WBw2dpnW7owQ6GS11HYKM-4FBWnj-Dmq48RXye2tmKec1aw_SIuWCdALCt_3YQ5KhDFkvYNP7AWks-3i2rJC11qQEtBfb3xA0m-6z4W4k1tVguN6IPIWyxYMuQA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9RtFK5wNqq1WBw2dpnW7owQ6GS11HYKM-4FBWnj-Dmq48RXye2tmKec1aw_SIuWCdALCt_3YQ5KhDFkvYNP7AWks-3i2rJC11qQEtBfb3xA0m-6z4W4k1tVguN6IPIWyxYMuQA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-105.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gatun Locks looking towards the Caribbean</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl9UZqhT4vyVe62nJqRhgNvZluKBDEoF7K4otxmHBjWahm0DJk-fqv1rL5E8UtYzo2dDQ-KINGbsvDTinvmW7KxrBICbEVcbia5NgAHAecH68AaKLD7JMVDkcaGjEPft09dznmIw/s1600/PnCn-PedroMiguel-032214-31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl9UZqhT4vyVe62nJqRhgNvZluKBDEoF7K4otxmHBjWahm0DJk-fqv1rL5E8UtYzo2dDQ-KINGbsvDTinvmW7KxrBICbEVcbia5NgAHAecH68AaKLD7JMVDkcaGjEPft09dznmIw/s1600/PnCn-PedroMiguel-032214-31.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit taken out of the Pedro Miguel Control House</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2tW2s-QWmqalImCazDEMCytWQoWsgcx76uILiHl7QHLQJ1Q_gfvqpuoS7_8MLrb72n_3DQG11ep6hiGpuJR4BCDYKMQi1qzByRdP8QcRtdbT2amhhemQSHcwYWN4lTX-6OAjdg/s1600/PnCn-PedroMiguel-032214-30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2tW2s-QWmqalImCazDEMCytWQoWsgcx76uILiHl7QHLQJ1Q_gfvqpuoS7_8MLrb72n_3DQG11ep6hiGpuJR4BCDYKMQi1qzByRdP8QcRtdbT2amhhemQSHcwYWN4lTX-6OAjdg/s1600/PnCn-PedroMiguel-032214-30.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roof tile on the trackway</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yZ9SX_zyW64c2UOMBjtDiO-l3Zv9SONtVC-pUl719flO7nizA1WhutD1a0Sz5Ryhuzn43etvB4O5cW136pAmttbZbrkKZrTHF_jV_BBPRXKupV15HGLJcQrhdkaYBuD_juUYQg/s1600/PnCn-NewGatun-032214-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yZ9SX_zyW64c2UOMBjtDiO-l3Zv9SONtVC-pUl719flO7nizA1WhutD1a0Sz5Ryhuzn43etvB4O5cW136pAmttbZbrkKZrTHF_jV_BBPRXKupV15HGLJcQrhdkaYBuD_juUYQg/s1600/PnCn-NewGatun-032214-13.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new Gatun Locks under construction</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57-Bm2rI5DwNS56CSm0vUDSq05ot-A1joAJiQQxirvL9x8uOBYf_ZMt_YNUnj3-i9Ls-_KECUY3xUZOvQTfKODmZQfIW9cygaq4ypbT74gnVOxSDZUxcUD2i8UU0ov_SIGoxcRA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57-Bm2rI5DwNS56CSm0vUDSq05ot-A1joAJiQQxirvL9x8uOBYf_ZMt_YNUnj3-i9Ls-_KECUY3xUZOvQTfKODmZQfIW9cygaq4ypbT74gnVOxSDZUxcUD2i8UU0ov_SIGoxcRA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-112.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The canal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8K8nGQyJ3jMv1UL-UYdqZ9_C69wywXWMV_xSoFqEQOdbAwyYvTaZlJ-NUjMdn2SKJB8600SoqS2j6IFlpyQQloIfIRzY9lf3RJ4x0AdbwxFedHm3a3t5LWdCxAVHzoBpqqcOKoA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8K8nGQyJ3jMv1UL-UYdqZ9_C69wywXWMV_xSoFqEQOdbAwyYvTaZlJ-NUjMdn2SKJB8600SoqS2j6IFlpyQQloIfIRzY9lf3RJ4x0AdbwxFedHm3a3t5LWdCxAVHzoBpqqcOKoA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-109.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Railroad crane for canal maintenance</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UZkxJWzAH27kWwKDq_9JIS3zbAACty48K5WbZeaMGb0vxVo9YVm9yjpATZYff5ewoqkbnWnfepsmJxDOqs4GihYwdDboP4S5OjUiwdBj8rQJHIvbCX7Rys55aRNlrQx2DfAZLQ/s1600/PnCn-PedroMiguel-032214-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UZkxJWzAH27kWwKDq_9JIS3zbAACty48K5WbZeaMGb0vxVo9YVm9yjpATZYff5ewoqkbnWnfepsmJxDOqs4GihYwdDboP4S5OjUiwdBj8rQJHIvbCX7Rys55aRNlrQx2DfAZLQ/s1600/PnCn-PedroMiguel-032214-21.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back from the Pedro Miguel lock</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqPliON7zSLfZCbQ6kRnqGIhTUSq86bg_lHsvX1kxDvpbmPawgDPH9d0Mw9N-CttapvbXm5m6tYOUL9NWMTGhzQ0YIpFLTVVrc3Vhu8b66j1MG_yFfdUHm3eN1XbgXpQSTfQEMw/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqPliON7zSLfZCbQ6kRnqGIhTUSq86bg_lHsvX1kxDvpbmPawgDPH9d0Mw9N-CttapvbXm5m6tYOUL9NWMTGhzQ0YIpFLTVVrc3Vhu8b66j1MG_yFfdUHm3eN1XbgXpQSTfQEMw/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-064.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the gap between the ship and the canal wall...</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLEyW1k0SFPqMsVmNzAj2j27fyDVrUICp4Cn9rAvynDH66qEs7jpKT2DgDmdryY-3E2fMrzhfY_FaC1uRIn4z_p2whTxkTejciCsMCFnwLRKUz3_H0oi0IHc-bEkbCYZdFEWvCA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLake-032214-33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLEyW1k0SFPqMsVmNzAj2j27fyDVrUICp4Cn9rAvynDH66qEs7jpKT2DgDmdryY-3E2fMrzhfY_FaC1uRIn4z_p2whTxkTejciCsMCFnwLRKUz3_H0oi0IHc-bEkbCYZdFEWvCA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLake-032214-33.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Dredge in Culebra Cut preparing it for the larger ships<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHgSEWWFS7yLg3tk4S7Y6QY_hUlkPJkUYjGPL3taSPOeDcw7UZ8HDxMWQjknlAr1gmaAja7b0LvMjHjyFaeKNSSVd4No1Do-oebdtdn7LY6mJEAygNXIo4ARRc947N1NhTTwc5vw/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHgSEWWFS7yLg3tk4S7Y6QY_hUlkPJkUYjGPL3taSPOeDcw7UZ8HDxMWQjknlAr1gmaAja7b0LvMjHjyFaeKNSSVd4No1Do-oebdtdn7LY6mJEAygNXIo4ARRc947N1NhTTwc5vw/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-088.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Gatun Locks</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnzZIofAmG-JFgOPV4aPmvIEtWb263n53fKJWENJt0GC55ObHfXf_ylRaokjMh5EPFv_3UAawquggwCLK6FibkUw9hmgGa3jRRJEiruiU49j46nvSX1fvfZ4eicsKGok_pDp_KCQ/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnzZIofAmG-JFgOPV4aPmvIEtWb263n53fKJWENJt0GC55ObHfXf_ylRaokjMh5EPFv_3UAawquggwCLK6FibkUw9hmgGa3jRRJEiruiU49j46nvSX1fvfZ4eicsKGok_pDp_KCQ/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-041.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a> <br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_Si5f4kKKAAEo_2QtZjXj69UAxu45laoBTjYX5fosac2GpStCN22ZS5dHmKwdm7NqIwkMnb7lxwZRDQPp8_j0rb-u94BoTwLUB9Zm90uw40xL2siqXcvlvA-9VjueF38MW68yA/s1600/PnCn-CaribEnt-032214-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_Si5f4kKKAAEo_2QtZjXj69UAxu45laoBTjYX5fosac2GpStCN22ZS5dHmKwdm7NqIwkMnb7lxwZRDQPp8_j0rb-u94BoTwLUB9Zm90uw40xL2siqXcvlvA-9VjueF38MW68yA/s1600/PnCn-CaribEnt-032214-05.jpg" height="124" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Canal Tug<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4McR3hwDqpMboP2jM9r9GETQYKqI35CyCHj7BmdXc7N5z5bLiyXzC8cc5jnFCGVikUOg_i0vjWi_DE530V9XbIPrELkaLqplcYC5dd4rT6H0XVm9iG6VLOD1zhmjX0hQszoeYOQ/s1600/PnCn-GatunLake-032214-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4McR3hwDqpMboP2jM9r9GETQYKqI35CyCHj7BmdXc7N5z5bLiyXzC8cc5jnFCGVikUOg_i0vjWi_DE530V9XbIPrELkaLqplcYC5dd4rT6H0XVm9iG6VLOD1zhmjX0hQszoeYOQ/s1600/PnCn-GatunLake-032214-15.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Gatun Lake<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFIg-KD0c-emdQ7sCGTyzQDAMw7kJq97K480-BjxOyQlFUwlSzw_1CszvP3bOmLiUNZ1retzwiZ-bphuteHFKZJJAip3zAgmT_TNhfIxO_jlF8JvvLSU200fSY4h_VLvuEvjoFg/s1600/PnCn-CulebraCut-032214-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFIg-KD0c-emdQ7sCGTyzQDAMw7kJq97K480-BjxOyQlFUwlSzw_1CszvP3bOmLiUNZ1retzwiZ-bphuteHFKZJJAip3zAgmT_TNhfIxO_jlF8JvvLSU200fSY4h_VLvuEvjoFg/s1600/PnCn-CulebraCut-032214-11.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Culebra Cut</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MB6UvuCz5vg5XYcysi7nae8PXemC-gdvtnMv9vsliHJNjWIftx-77hPvEVLu3fotjGv5Uf2tyy9cvX73GveXAdu7LaRpcoqvKt2OFCweajsqa9gbTZy-okNm8KHuU16hbrKWeA/s1600/PanCan-Miraflores-032214-29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MB6UvuCz5vg5XYcysi7nae8PXemC-gdvtnMv9vsliHJNjWIftx-77hPvEVLu3fotjGv5Uf2tyy9cvX73GveXAdu7LaRpcoqvKt2OFCweajsqa9gbTZy-okNm8KHuU16hbrKWeA/s1600/PanCan-Miraflores-032214-29.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSOvhunvFh12-U6tiqvdPDUPFp7r3XzJBv3E4aNxex5s4Z-tH9QSPKJ39D1M3v3klCTJCBxRtcdprpG77hyFlMb-YcrYEQM7bYgbsQv2P9jQSX9OZQUyL_JPxQj_qt0LmLMomDA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSOvhunvFh12-U6tiqvdPDUPFp7r3XzJBv3E4aNxex5s4Z-tH9QSPKJ39D1M3v3klCTJCBxRtcdprpG77hyFlMb-YcrYEQM7bYgbsQv2P9jQSX9OZQUyL_JPxQj_qt0LmLMomDA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-020.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Railroad Crane<br /></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkXioaviWVzHpcTsX9SxK-2Fo7jsy3bcXCkb_XfmjcEYocT1_rqmcTOTC_0vTGBJ9kS-O4RulIHwyeXA8Tt-fTSXKTLX-NgpQjxC1ItlwMoVSNdkL58AIPlu2JEbSkxqDbM8oGA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkXioaviWVzHpcTsX9SxK-2Fo7jsy3bcXCkb_XfmjcEYocT1_rqmcTOTC_0vTGBJ9kS-O4RulIHwyeXA8Tt-fTSXKTLX-NgpQjxC1ItlwMoVSNdkL58AIPlu2JEbSkxqDbM8oGA/s1600/PnCn-GatunLocks-032214-022.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a> </div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-54648069067016704032014-12-30T09:55:00.006-08:002014-12-30T09:55:54.440-08:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 8: Colon & Panama City<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to part 8 of this series, getting very close to the whole purpose of this cruise, the Panama Canal. Today our ship docked on the Caribbean side of the canal at Colon.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaO492cwpzgXY_8gnj520ORapD-7QV_FFmdtMaPmMfehU6bj7OFpImI7_J8GfFoFnFVPYabkTLQafHaY7e-gKhKFlp4ZApxayjYbj4tE8Lmt18RzMpZi11VMAODejesRBAkKLE5Q/s1600/Pullmur-Monarch-032114-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaO492cwpzgXY_8gnj520ORapD-7QV_FFmdtMaPmMfehU6bj7OFpImI7_J8GfFoFnFVPYabkTLQafHaY7e-gKhKFlp4ZApxayjYbj4tE8Lmt18RzMpZi11VMAODejesRBAkKLE5Q/s1600/Pullmur-Monarch-032114-02.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Monarch</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our ship arrived at Colon first thing the morning. We got to see a former RCI ship, the Monarch of the Seas, now simply call The Monarch and owned by Pullmur. It is a smaller ship than the Legend that RCI let got a couple of years prior.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had booked a non-cruise ship shore excursion, which is considered risky by most, and believe me I was concerned. The name of the tour group is My Friend Mario, or Almiza Tours. We were given very detailed directions on where to meet the tour guide with a warning that other folks may try to say they our tour guide, but in reality, they may not be. When we walked off the ship we headed straight to the meeting point, and we were accosted by several other tour operators along the way. But we found our Tour Guide right at the bottom of the escalator just as promised. Apparently this was Mario # 3, and we were to be with Mario # 2 (there are at least 4 Marios that work for this company). He said we had to wait since they were waiting for others to come off the cruise ship as well, and directed us to the gift shops nearby to wait.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHHVFP65O2VARKVXeF-4bewmOH_sXYJRTsU2VCNJRRwHHXmcZbt4IGHKrNPHrT4DziXKyXEFB2Oe2oYBFVMsXLpe46R6IN5corFAQa-MTlPOdBYl_ai_OlV1SDzJ4GcfY7BjSKw/s1600/PanCity-Balboa-032114-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHHVFP65O2VARKVXeF-4bewmOH_sXYJRTsU2VCNJRRwHHXmcZbt4IGHKrNPHrT4DziXKyXEFB2Oe2oYBFVMsXLpe46R6IN5corFAQa-MTlPOdBYl_ai_OlV1SDzJ4GcfY7BjSKw/s1600/PanCity-Balboa-032114-02.jpg" height="298" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Balboa Statue</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About 20 minutes later we were all lead down to waiting mini-buses. But Cyn and I were told to wait as they were loading up 2 other tours first. We then found out that Cyn and I were the only 2 people who signed up for the Panama City and Canal tour. So we were going to ride in the back of Mario #2's taxi for a personal tour. This had me a little more nervous, as I figured the rates we to pay I would have guessed would require more people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We got into the car and Mario started driving first to a gas station to fill up. Colon is a very run down and in fact very scary city. Very dirty and just felt very uncomfortable, and this from an ex-New Yorker. Luckily our tour had nothing to do with Colon... Soon enough we were on our way. First Mario started heading to the Gatun locks, but decided against it as all the cruise ship buses were heading that way, so change of plan and we headed straight to Panama City. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaibpFKPgr6w-UBeuY-QLDPzmWRBZftosAHbEvG2M2xZJVM6u3U9cCthHqRvLILmD46V80svcj4lWMIt3khrX8nS6zeFkGqlIgeRnWHEyBi3Xex7WA3e769jO4uw9bv1VeNKTLw/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-30.jpg" height="213" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church at the main square in San Felipe</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaibpFKPgr6w-UBeuY-QLDPzmWRBZftosAHbEvG2M2xZJVM6u3U9cCthHqRvLILmD46V80svcj4lWMIt3khrX8nS6zeFkGqlIgeRnWHEyBi3Xex7WA3e769jO4uw9bv1VeNKTLw/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mario, while driving, gave us a great history of Panama, including what fruits grow there and the weather. He very much stressed the importance of the Canal and Balboa in the development of Panama. The only scary part is he was pointing out features on laminated maps to us while driving at 60mph... Balboa is such an influence in Panama, that many roads in Panama City are called Balboa, the port is called Balboa, there is Balboa Statue, and the currency is called Balboa's. The US Dollar is directly interchangeable with Balboas in a 1:1 ratio and both are widely accepted in Panama.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhyphenhyphen0aE4PYaQ3unMeg7F0_dCQE9aRyb-glWZfXwQSZzMFDOyK9UrpGKYkwp5U02GfZQ7jh7PCdAl1_bRDPHUs7WOEGsI9GymyVdvo7BrRT1VohNDi1abWQLK5OaGScSPYA9MpGng/s1600/PanCity-AcnonView-032114-08.jpg" height="213" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modern Panama City from Ancon Hill</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhyphenhyphen0aE4PYaQ3unMeg7F0_dCQE9aRyb-glWZfXwQSZzMFDOyK9UrpGKYkwp5U02GfZQ7jh7PCdAl1_bRDPHUs7WOEGsI9GymyVdvo7BrRT1VohNDi1abWQLK5OaGScSPYA9MpGng/s1600/PanCity-AcnonView-032114-08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soon enough we were in Panama City which is a traffic nightmare. We drove by an elevated station of the Panama Metro, which was not quite opened yet (it should have been open the month before, but did not open until May). We went by the ruins of the original Panama City, comparing it to the modern Panama City, then headed to the old town (San Felipe) for lunch. We ate a nice cafe/hotel. We picked up lunch for Mario, as thus far he was doing a great job of giving us a personal tour. We then walked around the old town. I got to see tracks in the streets of the old streetcar line in town. He pointed out the differences between French and Spanish influenced homes and old churches. We saw cruise ship tour groups walking around, and Cyn and I felt confident we were getting a much better tour.We walked along the sea wall and stopped inside an air conditioned church.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvij7RjI19rS1p9hGbPUj3TtVDCfVXTapnh5vwVGlGGqO816tg0SgkCUcJj4mgqgy2nKEKVF2jB8LE2Ggf7TZSocXmeziOsVOahE-JFZ2Dproh2Zp4jb3knUAGyDNJXhd1uMrVFw/s1600/PanCity-AcnonView-032114-10.jpg" height="213" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panama City from Ancon Hill</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvij7RjI19rS1p9hGbPUj3TtVDCfVXTapnh5vwVGlGGqO816tg0SgkCUcJj4mgqgy2nKEKVF2jB8LE2Ggf7TZSocXmeziOsVOahE-JFZ2Dproh2Zp4jb3knUAGyDNJXhd1uMrVFw/s1600/PanCity-AcnonView-032114-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our next stop was going to the top of Ancon hill, which was part of the old American military base. We got a beautiful view of Panama City and the Canal. I then checked to see fi a cache was nearby, and yes there was about 250 ft from where I was. So while my wife walked around the hill with Mario, I quickly side-tracked to find the cache. It was a quick find. Caches hides here have to be weather proofed due to all the rain they get. The cache was double bagged, as well as the log...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xK0F75D3PyPnt3vsBBjzZj1hl5gvhchs__QRdQRGf8XEaU43tG8Qsge4QeVOrrO4z4qB0tqBaklZjzGNC-G9_vGjO_HtXpZY8OQ1Z7CpJWJPEGcRvdSR7OrvLC88WMoCOlqJkQ/s1600/PanCan-Miraflores-032114-20.jpg" height="213" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miraflores Locks</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xK0F75D3PyPnt3vsBBjzZj1hl5gvhchs__QRdQRGf8XEaU43tG8Qsge4QeVOrrO4z4qB0tqBaklZjzGNC-G9_vGjO_HtXpZY8OQ1Z7CpJWJPEGcRvdSR7OrvLC88WMoCOlqJkQ/s1600/PanCan-Miraflores-032114-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After Ancon hill, Mario took us to the Miraflores Locks visitor center. We spent a good hour at the center. Mario got us brochures that the cruise ship groups were giving out, which was cool. We watched sail boats as well as a large freighter go thru the locks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was starting to get dark, so we headed back to Colon. Again seeing Colon, I have no interest and touring that city, but Panama City was wonderful! We got back in plenty time to do some shopping at the port. We paid Mario for the tour (Which was less then half the cost of the Cruise ship tour to Panama City), plus a pretty hefty tip for the great job he did. I would recommend My Friend Mario tour anytime!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On board ship we ate in the main dining room and saw the evening entertainment, Glenn Smith, pianist/entertainer who was fun to watch...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next stop: Transit the Panama Canal!! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-8efToBNB9v_Yp0Gpi3M1mLStsn7P7lDjQwY6xyD73qm9iLw7oeiVC5buL_BJ8eD1vX7K1Bsts7puVssxUVmCs6F6fkOryFPr9QI-BmbZ4fCHzTjJ0gHnt7ZagAJ61ypWxqE0g/s1600/PanCan-Miraflores-032114-09.jpg" height="133" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sail boats going thru MiraFlores Locks</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-8efToBNB9v_Yp0Gpi3M1mLStsn7P7lDjQwY6xyD73qm9iLw7oeiVC5buL_BJ8eD1vX7K1Bsts7puVssxUVmCs6F6fkOryFPr9QI-BmbZ4fCHzTjJ0gHnt7ZagAJ61ypWxqE0g/s1600/PanCan-Miraflores-032114-09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-92TBRh39k5IW4xyc70USml2TZ5mWITP2t9N-_4jhvoqYusRu7YifTG9VcNXeZ8oVwmvX8yMyUdqUc07AM_dZA7Hr-b0u113rZZKSEyQt7BU0nHucCSv3kEP_PFQ_yoUW1ZuIg/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-26.jpg" height="133" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Streetcar tracks in San Felipe</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2mAO4uKs0wzZ752GO0xLtRPeoDWwtll31yzn80DOmQH0BKIXaLRPYInxlBWGQZnq3YAjdpzHomfgTh9jLLDG59ynF_5R-XlonSZcJSggatQRiloDqs9Ctubnul3xhlXExfbuTnw/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-15.jpg" height="133" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Felipe</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-g8uNZAgILBN8QE6AGfcYXbyTejW9dKqABhi33VvMNDmbTinDfxOa6aEpjmt9lbdoO_uyMSs6GtIwBAHwt8XBGoS7Ba7JifyZu7TKzpsAj5ONDHMVUWrBWt2gBoC3Zvyh0XkEA/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-54.jpg" height="133" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Felipe</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-g8uNZAgILBN8QE6AGfcYXbyTejW9dKqABhi33VvMNDmbTinDfxOa6aEpjmt9lbdoO_uyMSs6GtIwBAHwt8XBGoS7Ba7JifyZu7TKzpsAj5ONDHMVUWrBWt2gBoC3Zvyh0XkEA/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2mAO4uKs0wzZ752GO0xLtRPeoDWwtll31yzn80DOmQH0BKIXaLRPYInxlBWGQZnq3YAjdpzHomfgTh9jLLDG59ynF_5R-XlonSZcJSggatQRiloDqs9Ctubnul3xhlXExfbuTnw/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-92TBRh39k5IW4xyc70USml2TZ5mWITP2t9N-_4jhvoqYusRu7YifTG9VcNXeZ8oVwmvX8yMyUdqUc07AM_dZA7Hr-b0u113rZZKSEyQt7BU0nHucCSv3kEP_PFQ_yoUW1ZuIg/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvk_sfeh7ZaobMzd-xDEBFiTVhnnGlpjhGV8bpvSHiumLkPOsyjOCxVwOXBvR53S7Eqv1_e6W-9g9JmfZ1KeAVaf5awpl1yJOd_ZDxMNdPTXBctm-DB8uo_RUgEmkumqziSy0aQ/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-10.jpg" height="133" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Felipe</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvk_sfeh7ZaobMzd-xDEBFiTVhnnGlpjhGV8bpvSHiumLkPOsyjOCxVwOXBvR53S7Eqv1_e6W-9g9JmfZ1KeAVaf5awpl1yJOd_ZDxMNdPTXBctm-DB8uo_RUgEmkumqziSy0aQ/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixenBgR09osCYXYiE6nIuhYpxQZ__jAdzuivI0PrlqfbwVriyKeT_anxWNnO657EIKrGZMT6X5p6u3t6en0XyR2x4efZfSMGL_16DK_4S3XnSEb0bIrzz6pWSvsUaymzAmOdNE0g/s1600/PanCity-AcnonView-032114-01.jpg" height="133" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Americas Bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigyVgGPeoGSs92YMr3XE90YKBSEiQUn3WaCp0OHVtmz77e5TuD9pXGIpPuKCMbN6QKp7drqQl1yQn751zopN4pNvez4J8r2ST5WjAyRIeh8E3n5jGllUC9XemD5E4K6CGIzPmsqg/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-16.jpg" height="133" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Felipe</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigyVgGPeoGSs92YMr3XE90YKBSEiQUn3WaCp0OHVtmz77e5TuD9pXGIpPuKCMbN6QKp7drqQl1yQn751zopN4pNvez4J8r2ST5WjAyRIeh8E3n5jGllUC9XemD5E4K6CGIzPmsqg/s1600/PanCity-SanFelipe-032114-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixenBgR09osCYXYiE6nIuhYpxQZ__jAdzuivI0PrlqfbwVriyKeT_anxWNnO657EIKrGZMT6X5p6u3t6en0XyR2x4efZfSMGL_16DK_4S3XnSEb0bIrzz6pWSvsUaymzAmOdNE0g/s1600/PanCity-AcnonView-032114-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-85943904457327106262014-12-28T21:25:00.001-08:002014-12-28T21:25:15.263-08:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 7: Cartegena, Columbia<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to Part 7 of our anniversary trip. Today was our first Port-of-Call on the ship, Cartegena, Columbia.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsidsAxflwb8uD_jGkwgyNu0_GmfbifC34XMyZaew7yhmOI7AJT3h0v7sqhaEJ30f_EYDkbwChxUG5JtNPMvIULZo2VX6Jo8vit71Epmhjwed5ziMSWEEDbmeYgPrCzFtzA5j6PQ/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsidsAxflwb8uD_jGkwgyNu0_GmfbifC34XMyZaew7yhmOI7AJT3h0v7sqhaEJ30f_EYDkbwChxUG5JtNPMvIULZo2VX6Jo8vit71Epmhjwed5ziMSWEEDbmeYgPrCzFtzA5j6PQ/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-121.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We booked a city tour which included some entertainment and a beverage. We boarded our mini-bus on the dock right by the ship. Our driver was missing some fingers, but seemed to be able to drive around okay. Cartegena maybe a historic city, but it is not a very pretty one. Very pushy hawkers would flood the bus doors every time we got out to look around. Cyn and I avoided them like the plague. We did go up tot he old church on top of the hill overlooking the city which was quite nice. We saw the ruins of an old Spanish fort. We went into the market place, with pushy vendors.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9pSvogZkqt4A9hQpJ47j-YhZ2kspPeUpRK6827gZJMgv3c3pG81EZv3-fFDQmBvVsRGSCxWzyKPKM52SRAnWN03AWvRJH-TCJ1fTkC5Q74CZyiYhtGZkXTND_kxMGVRPC78IZw/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9pSvogZkqt4A9hQpJ47j-YhZ2kspPeUpRK6827gZJMgv3c3pG81EZv3-fFDQmBvVsRGSCxWzyKPKM52SRAnWN03AWvRJH-TCJ1fTkC5Q74CZyiYhtGZkXTND_kxMGVRPC78IZw/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-092.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entertainment</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our break was at a small cafe along the waterfront. Local dancers did a nice routine for the the cruise ship tourist. I got to try the local Columbia beer, which wasn't bad. We then went on a walking tour thru the old city whcih was pretty neat before be shuffled onto the mini-bus to head back (A bit rushed). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did get to see the makings of what is to be a Bus Rapid Transit System. There were stations in the middle of some streets. In doing some <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VNpcviU3MQWNZmjRXrVRh1Q0K3690y8cQ1UvDMyl-FOG3DO7_8jv78Hezb7bSIAf8YKwA-lwyxOTvWDY0ATZ4m3-k1lYy74Z7xIz_ChGwOGhoJNewcR0Yz9_snjMrUC-t3O52Q/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VNpcviU3MQWNZmjRXrVRh1Q0K3690y8cQ1UvDMyl-FOG3DO7_8jv78Hezb7bSIAf8YKwA-lwyxOTvWDY0ATZ4m3-k1lYy74Z7xIz_ChGwOGhoJNewcR0Yz9_snjMrUC-t3O52Q/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-090.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Columbian Beer</td></tr>
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research, that BRT has been under on/off construction for some time. The traffic in the city is horrendous, and filled with Jitney buses. A full fledged transit system is needed, but who knows if it will ever get finished. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once back at the dock, I went out to grab one geocache that was right by the cruise ships. The coords on the GC page were way off, but reading the logs made finding this cache easy, and my first, and only cache in Columbia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I believe we skipped the evening show that evening and just ate in the main dining room.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhCEq6cpKgDcu_y08Kqh0uyzkZ7xrETpTNZWtUjO5u5IXAu7bDQa_6SuYaXLXppTI1qTq-YOkTKYtLqH3RAjbRE01p3fw1JCUbjpFKN1bpJf0ASLhA7QLfgrY0LK0DKc1fdMs2Q/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhCEq6cpKgDcu_y08Kqh0uyzkZ7xrETpTNZWtUjO5u5IXAu7bDQa_6SuYaXLXppTI1qTq-YOkTKYtLqH3RAjbRE01p3fw1JCUbjpFKN1bpJf0ASLhA7QLfgrY0LK0DKc1fdMs2Q/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-024.jpg" height="149" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spanish fort</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-AlDMNT8BLbZTr67iKk-EUUXvyjjTEpxGCo8nZEzANbV5mLe6tszFraHffXPOcc3lNmjbRUhDNglJin-tOc-xpa0UFzQbZQokqEPG_oKcBoO5Em1a2IqxEYdhz3wjbsG4Z4TBg/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-AlDMNT8BLbZTr67iKk-EUUXvyjjTEpxGCo8nZEzANbV5mLe6tszFraHffXPOcc3lNmjbRUhDNglJin-tOc-xpa0UFzQbZQokqEPG_oKcBoO5Em1a2IqxEYdhz3wjbsG4Z4TBg/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-045.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Church courtyard</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_x1u6JqMQ9NomI0PkmXGvBbW1yw8JLYQb1yx0IYqQtpg9GOGniImCKpdlt08zoUE_7flW5nQOH_fGzZ_XgAIpNpWNDgJZftD5H13es0wIly-QzURWDm9vjO2eB-_ewF24fC8L0w/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_x1u6JqMQ9NomI0PkmXGvBbW1yw8JLYQb1yx0IYqQtpg9GOGniImCKpdlt08zoUE_7flW5nQOH_fGzZ_XgAIpNpWNDgJZftD5H13es0wIly-QzURWDm9vjO2eB-_ewF24fC8L0w/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-049.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">City view</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRl7Ns5RT2tEHPWcR82V_mg6W4oh_ibrj4UEwhy7jUn7srdh6EktdBxsznuaExcotB2_t7KDDcYNs849GEbCC_AGiEMQXbWNbbh8XvnPDG0zIlFgET3ywTWgB_95IKiav49UPMQ/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRl7Ns5RT2tEHPWcR82V_mg6W4oh_ibrj4UEwhy7jUn7srdh6EktdBxsznuaExcotB2_t7KDDcYNs849GEbCC_AGiEMQXbWNbbh8XvnPDG0zIlFgET3ywTWgB_95IKiav49UPMQ/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-034.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cruise Ship Mini-buses everywhere</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjLkcE1wF7LtlEMdD641zDdRU8DcGO3HNPtFuetxrys5hAJkQv0A4tgMi0y4pIA2X9FwZGVzsLBjoglFo4rXU_dcWMTvoqZgUjU-XFJW7OI8ngovPootidbGl81rj4isAVHMNMQ/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjLkcE1wF7LtlEMdD641zDdRU8DcGO3HNPtFuetxrys5hAJkQv0A4tgMi0y4pIA2X9FwZGVzsLBjoglFo4rXU_dcWMTvoqZgUjU-XFJW7OI8ngovPootidbGl81rj4isAVHMNMQ/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-052.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cruise Ship Port</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKIaxvM7aAU9F_UUhCUShQtIntD741Rx8NpMLohv-a5kpVH5DpxalQOhjLISaKSXcB-8GadBfFmT1vs9mrnZf-MmHJGJbf2EqA_4UiGlnV4BaTchrIRTRauFuIMtL5Lw6PNoIjg/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKIaxvM7aAU9F_UUhCUShQtIntD741Rx8NpMLohv-a5kpVH5DpxalQOhjLISaKSXcB-8GadBfFmT1vs9mrnZf-MmHJGJbf2EqA_4UiGlnV4BaTchrIRTRauFuIMtL5Lw6PNoIjg/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-059.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Future (maybe?) BRT Station</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jWgo9gcRKqR9dr_qToFOSswmZkc2DDpt7dDhZYqZRKR0_6UbXpjKWMzcFv1z-dgeCXiymAGaR-JBVT2j5rLE5ZJgSLnB8Ul2mrnVK1Xbhcojvd9RPW6hfEaAxNJ_BwHaftsCEA/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jWgo9gcRKqR9dr_qToFOSswmZkc2DDpt7dDhZYqZRKR0_6UbXpjKWMzcFv1z-dgeCXiymAGaR-JBVT2j5rLE5ZJgSLnB8Ul2mrnVK1Xbhcojvd9RPW6hfEaAxNJ_BwHaftsCEA/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-077.jpg" height="275" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy wanted money for photos to be taken, I got him while on the bus...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKluAcl9iYuPRTUP2KzjsKrmkc4MghmZKrm1PYjocKWT7jx6_2F1c0sue-gxPhvuTE73-WDDfFMmTdY0_rwvX5NufutbpSmmPMKi9EToVZwpQXyH7OTqcwC6jxsAOdRGybtDCJTQ/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKluAcl9iYuPRTUP2KzjsKrmkc4MghmZKrm1PYjocKWT7jx6_2F1c0sue-gxPhvuTE73-WDDfFMmTdY0_rwvX5NufutbpSmmPMKi9EToVZwpQXyH7OTqcwC6jxsAOdRGybtDCJTQ/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-100.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Town, reminds me of New Orleans</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlaZ3BDKCNrMgCi6xWGEYEPH2GJh1GLbRPghDGossNl5Ljl2RnMWPTbGIQr0qIGsymSLQw8oj3UnTZHJQCVap9dnFlNG8EMH4v737ilZmR2y5URmhEaPrAzcVzpQqe9sWtuCdsQ/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlaZ3BDKCNrMgCi6xWGEYEPH2GJh1GLbRPghDGossNl5Ljl2RnMWPTbGIQr0qIGsymSLQw8oj3UnTZHJQCVap9dnFlNG8EMH4v737ilZmR2y5URmhEaPrAzcVzpQqe9sWtuCdsQ/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-109.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Town</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgWBFVOfi0jvaE14n_SzMbbZ3STq7PiBoYTbWlMht2BlArfAFG40QmlNiYYcn_wnYCLYi_VwbRQP8CIt_47Ffl-SoQqgcnUvnbFpy7dnH4J4k_7bfhlpkNioKmVGZri1QCr5UsA/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgWBFVOfi0jvaE14n_SzMbbZ3STq7PiBoYTbWlMht2BlArfAFG40QmlNiYYcn_wnYCLYi_VwbRQP8CIt_47Ffl-SoQqgcnUvnbFpy7dnH4J4k_7bfhlpkNioKmVGZri1QCr5UsA/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-017.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Cartegena</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZqkF7X6DFLwCFhWyABKCq-6gqbjKUPGZEOoYHWsyqq6IahJyzQO2iX3Ag3qL3fUgJcXKSjH4S8vFVtPQ4h723Xm6ezzaZm3AHjoWt9iHVQ-kzfiJJKK46BMcSzRdj5X9uzs0NKA/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZqkF7X6DFLwCFhWyABKCq-6gqbjKUPGZEOoYHWsyqq6IahJyzQO2iX3Ag3qL3fUgJcXKSjH4S8vFVtPQ4h723Xm6ezzaZm3AHjoWt9iHVQ-kzfiJJKK46BMcSzRdj5X9uzs0NKA/s1600/col-Cartegena-032014-122.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Tpow</td></tr>
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-72177219850961614492014-12-28T09:58:00.001-08:002014-12-28T09:58:22.828-08:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 6: Boarding the Cruise Ship & 2 days at Sea<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to Part 6 of our 25th Anniversary trip. Here we are embarking on out next leg of our trip by boarding on our Cruise Ship...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhXfP3KeQccWNjG2KQgbmHyNryRGwR9GNs5m2hgehpliERpK1zkc5MkwS1Gv9odunHY7NegqUb7rHeIDexAPEqoEvwH4lW9_U3WoD4omF2P1Bc2bfwrhoFJGpL19GOw7jU3Dy7Lg/s1600/mia-cr-DaniaBch-031714-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhXfP3KeQccWNjG2KQgbmHyNryRGwR9GNs5m2hgehpliERpK1zkc5MkwS1Gv9odunHY7NegqUb7rHeIDexAPEqoEvwH4lW9_U3WoD4omF2P1Bc2bfwrhoFJGpL19GOw7jU3Dy7Lg/s1600/mia-cr-DaniaBch-031714-04.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tri-Rail at Dania Beach Station</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We woke up that Monday morning with a lot of excitement, as today we were boarding our Cruise Ship to head to the Panama Canal. First though, I needed to get a couple of geocaches and do some rail photography. We were staying at the Marriott Courtyard near Ft. Lauderdale Airport. It just so happened to be across the street from the Ft. Lauderdale Airport Tri-Rail Station. Tri-Rail is a Commuter rail line that runs to Miami with trains running pretty frequently, especially on a weekday. I found the geocaches quick enough (one was specifically for Tri-Rail), and got several images of the trains coming in.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0w0gPP8zDBdNgjs024dzaIgKrKsc-sYdpT-JXqL0EL1l3VgPgfZYPEm3eBtMbZiQJHUEqXNP34RlX3zpeAXVpBReS1ykiTlN0GZwuVeWlc2hJuF-SJn9_b7j1TZDZyCz3KhT_YQ/s1600/RCI-Legend-032014-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0w0gPP8zDBdNgjs024dzaIgKrKsc-sYdpT-JXqL0EL1l3VgPgfZYPEm3eBtMbZiQJHUEqXNP34RlX3zpeAXVpBReS1ykiTlN0GZwuVeWlc2hJuF-SJn9_b7j1TZDZyCz3KhT_YQ/s1600/RCI-Legend-032014-04.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our home for the next 15 days</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After breakfast we brought our luggage down as the hotel offered a free shuttle to the cruise port. There were 3 ships at the cruise terminal, so our mini-bus was full, and everyone's luggage was put in a trailer behind the bus. Soon enough we were at the cruise port and dropping off our luggage to be delivered to our stateroom later. We got through check-in pretty quick (I forgot to bring one check-in document, but they found us quick enough). We were able to go straight on-board, but were not allowed in out stateroom for another 30 minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our ship was Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas. It is one of RCI's smallest cruise ships. There were to be about 1700 passengers on board. Our stateroom was on deck 6, an interior room. Our only other cruise was also in interior room. The room was pretty good size and were were just a short walk to the Centrum and a quaint coffee shop. I'll cover that more in a later post. Our luggage arrived several hours later. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We went up on deck when it was time to leave port which is always fun to watch us head out to sea and wave to the folks on shore.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoKwAZOyL011G3MUMvWGkVC19VLnyU4J7_nwgqf-ATcqKZvl2asMhc6x2RUtxswcZx9nbCws1lMAvpnVzdnf0DRtAP8bhCocZkutPdlqdgUBKejyW3IAWoUF3CajOCrtg-vBauA/s1600/rci-Leg-TwlAnimal-031814-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoKwAZOyL011G3MUMvWGkVC19VLnyU4J7_nwgqf-ATcqKZvl2asMhc6x2RUtxswcZx9nbCws1lMAvpnVzdnf0DRtAP8bhCocZkutPdlqdgUBKejyW3IAWoUF3CajOCrtg-vBauA/s1600/rci-Leg-TwlAnimal-031814-02.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had opted for my time dining, but I had already made our dinner reservation times for every night, but I varied the times. We ere very happy with this approach as we got to seat with different people every night. Our dinner the first night was at the same time as the welcome entertainment show was going on. But from what we understand we did not miss much..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next two days were spent at sea. For a portion of these 2 days the seas were a bit rough, but we got used to it. We did some of the activities on board. One of the more fun ones was attending a gathering by Cruise Critic. I had did research for this cruise using Cruise Critic and had entered the Roll Call forum for this specific cruise. As such, we were invited to a small reception in the Viking Crown Lounge. We got small gifts from RCI and met fellow cruisers. We were able to join a group to do a room crawl. Some of the CC members opened up their room for tours, this way we go see other types of rooms. We saw everything from an interior room like our to a mini-suite. We really enjoyed seeing what the options were.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenlu6adh2IOh2OjSiPhVANe-CG9Yul6gDOfVnVoh_AJFmDot1OA0lYHm_wVbSgIukaOuSC5K7lGH-gTHuewJOep_aa-7-HQ6gD4_Q1MWW95QSLuHnKcPcdqsaNti8mUdcTvv7Lw/s1600/ChopsGrill-031814-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenlu6adh2IOh2OjSiPhVANe-CG9Yul6gDOfVnVoh_AJFmDot1OA0lYHm_wVbSgIukaOuSC5K7lGH-gTHuewJOep_aa-7-HQ6gD4_Q1MWW95QSLuHnKcPcdqsaNti8mUdcTvv7Lw/s1600/ChopsGrill-031814-05.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flaming dessert at Chops Grill</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The main show on day 2 was by a group called Horizon who sang Motown hits, and were enjoyable. For dinner on Day 2, it was our actual 25th wedding anniversary. It was also formal night. We ate at Chops, 1 of 2 specialty dining restaurants on-board. We really enjoyed a great dinner with steak. The staff did a great job of ensuring we had a great time for our anniversary!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On day 3 we watched a sushi making demonstration, and I attended a beer tasting which was fun. The evening show was called "Let's Dance" which was a great show performed by the Legend of the Seas singers and dancers. Dinner we ate in the main dining room. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our next stop was our first port of call, that will be in Part 7......</span><br />
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<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-6946855188060339002014-12-24T12:44:00.002-08:002014-12-24T12:44:25.991-08:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 5: Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Ft. Lauderdale<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5J2z-bxe4fw4mF_MBTIJAryYzuUasUAHsMdvrslpFAtPuro6SJITDvJxnb_w6Y5XYbUvwruob7OV6e_RIDRX4BuPJswjTfrZNl7MQX6jO_hk_uYhRE-BTdSlimt_yBsm2ZQkc5Q/s1600/MK-CK-HlywdStud-031514-09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5J2z-bxe4fw4mF_MBTIJAryYzuUasUAHsMdvrslpFAtPuro6SJITDvJxnb_w6Y5XYbUvwruob7OV6e_RIDRX4BuPJswjTfrZNl7MQX6jO_hk_uYhRE-BTdSlimt_yBsm2ZQkc5Q/s1600/MK-CK-HlywdStud-031514-09.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fingering 25 Years under the Mickey <br />hat at Hollywood Studios</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to Part 5 of our Anniversary Journey. It covers 2 more days of our trip. A half-day at Hollywood Studios, Half Day at Animal Kingdom, then our departure from the World heading down to Ft. Lauderdale via Cocoa Beach.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cyn woke up still feeling pretty awful from her infection from yesterday. So I let her rest in the morning while I did laundry since we still had a huge chunk of vacation in front of us and laundry on Royal Caribbean is not self service, and thus a bit expensive. Laundry at the Pop Century was not far from our room and it was a nice facility.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAvrhF19F-rZyd3uUIHNUgAsitV1EUuHPgg4fS1VpJ6HE41vi5yiwluXQ8CG-zL45_AMvGDxwkyf88HqCe80yCPD8Gi459in8ee9cFfoecNPkxGuTyR9yQFpxgcSuMVXsW-KhaQ/s1600/WDW-RaglanRoad-031214-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAvrhF19F-rZyd3uUIHNUgAsitV1EUuHPgg4fS1VpJ6HE41vi5yiwluXQ8CG-zL45_AMvGDxwkyf88HqCe80yCPD8Gi459in8ee9cFfoecNPkxGuTyR9yQFpxgcSuMVXsW-KhaQ/s1600/WDW-RaglanRoad-031214-05.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ranglan Road</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By lunch time Cyn was feeling a little better and we had a date with her Sister Cara at Ranglan Road Irish Restaurant in Downtown Disney. We hopped on the bus to Downtown Disney as we had heard parking is a nightmare. Although the bus ride was a little long in itself. We met up with Cara and enjoyed a great lunch. Cara had driven down for the day from her home in Jacksonville just to meet with us. We sat in-between the stages to had to watch our heads when the dancers were going. We had a great time and enjoyed a stroll thru Downtown Disney. Soon though Cara had to go. Cyn and I went back to the hotel by bus then hopped in our car.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwr77Cw4zlv7xfhdhDT_8K5dvsBVjRGnKYt7i4m9bKHxUhVUfuciqK7chIwD-tUFp-Pdhmj1xahuPLGtpSk0U2KulBAbGlMyo2zJzDhfKzP3Y0mo7bNOuZ7nhQ1-RIWftF7t9Lw/s1600/wdw-hs-misc-031514-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwr77Cw4zlv7xfhdhDT_8K5dvsBVjRGnKYt7i4m9bKHxUhVUfuciqK7chIwD-tUFp-Pdhmj1xahuPLGtpSk0U2KulBAbGlMyo2zJzDhfKzP3Y0mo7bNOuZ7nhQ1-RIWftF7t9Lw/s1600/wdw-hs-misc-031514-03.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The best attaction in WDW, <br />Tower of Terror</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our first stop was Epcot Guest Services as Cyn had left her Credit Card at the Beirgarten the night before by accident. Once we got her card we drove over to Hollywood Studios.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Studios was packed with teenagers as a Cheerleading competition was going on. This made a huge wait times everywhere. We had dinner at the Brown Derby which got us two fastpasses to see Fantasmic. We did get great seats for Fantasmic... We ended the night with myself getting one ride on the most excellent Tower of Terror. Once thru and the park was closing, so we made our way to the exit for the evening.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTPCeJSw3um5m0hwCdDFO2NEdM-js2UyY63sc9DuW8D4XtAWX89UcH-bBZ4nvfZ2DH9AMmCsCaqPez8gMnpsHbdCQPfCBdYfEvRbo0q-nUkNtojB3B9T4GuGLNg3xsiU0kLKaPw/s1600/MK-CK-AnimKing-031614-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTPCeJSw3um5m0hwCdDFO2NEdM-js2UyY63sc9DuW8D4XtAWX89UcH-bBZ4nvfZ2DH9AMmCsCaqPez8gMnpsHbdCQPfCBdYfEvRbo0q-nUkNtojB3B9T4GuGLNg3xsiU0kLKaPw/s1600/MK-CK-AnimKing-031614-03.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark & Cyn at the Animal Kingdom</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next morning was spent finish packing and loading up the rental car. We headed to Animal Kingdom as soon as we could. We had only been to Animal Kingdom once before soon after it had opened. The park is much bigger and better now. We walked around the taking in all the e-ticket attractions. Our favorite ride was Expedition Everest. The first time we had fastpasses with only a 10 minute wait vs. 30 min for standby. We loved it and wanted to to it again. Now the Standby was nearing 1 hr. So we decided to to the single rider line with 10 minute wait. We lamented that we probably wouldn't get to sit together, but that was okay. I got called first as a single-rider. Then the person who was to be with me disappeared. Next thing I know, Cyn is walking up behind me to join me. How awesome is that in random chance. So we got to ride our now favorite roller coaster twice together! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDjq9ScHAOthTSKSxy84bPv223zmJgGIMme7hKXMtsqDQ7coenaP-vXKR0QSprLecf7IVjx0YIsSbVgYrLNpIMgFxRCdspfwgy_FR8tvAK8-VwZZur-Ylti6qDla9eG-2s3sQdA/s1600/wdw-ak-doug-031614-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDjq9ScHAOthTSKSxy84bPv223zmJgGIMme7hKXMtsqDQ7coenaP-vXKR0QSprLecf7IVjx0YIsSbVgYrLNpIMgFxRCdspfwgy_FR8tvAK8-VwZZur-Ylti6qDla9eG-2s3sQdA/s1600/wdw-ak-doug-031614-02.jpg" height="320" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doug from UP! signing autographs</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From there we went to the Yak and Yeti for a nice lunch. Soon it was getting close to our next fastpass for Dinosaur. I'm not a big fan of it. I think the Indian Jones ride in Disneyland is a better experience even though the ride systems are identical. Before heading out we saw the Doug (dog) and the Wilderness Explorer from the Pixar movie Up!, We love Doug. Sadly, the line was long and we were running short on time, but at least we got to see him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We then got to our rental car to start the next leg of our journey. We drove over the Cocoa Beach to meet up with my Aunt Helen and Uncle Harry for a nice dinner at their place. It was great to chat and visit with them. But we had to </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">head south for our final stop of the day was a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. Along the way Mark stopped a couple of geocaches to drop off a Travel Bug with a specific mission. But due to cache sizes and one spook experience (night caching in Florida is very spooky with creatures all over the place), the mission was overshot by about 40 miles. But at least got him near to his goal. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsGMaVEqPiJShy2PTxvoF-7oEExjrwXqq1107SF256hpJU6i8DNOsFNk8A1puABhlZVLsixDUan5Ib_4yTCDaPYyUFlVlTzTbIhEDJV0xuclT6LC4Kk0avYRHTwXvqHhSQLj0fQ/s1600/Tuckers-031614-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsGMaVEqPiJShy2PTxvoF-7oEExjrwXqq1107SF256hpJU6i8DNOsFNk8A1puABhlZVLsixDUan5Ib_4yTCDaPYyUFlVlTzTbIhEDJV0xuclT6LC4Kk0avYRHTwXvqHhSQLj0fQ/s1600/Tuckers-031614-02.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark's Uncle Harry and Aunt Helen</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We got to the hotel around 10:00pm. I then dropped off the rental car at the nearby airport and had the hotel shuttle take me back. Ft Lauderdale airport was a zoo at 11:00pm at night... But we soon got some sleep in preparation for the next exciting portion of our trip, boarding a cruise ship. That will be covered in Part 6....</span><br />
<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-89422008160948825292014-12-24T08:56:00.003-08:002014-12-24T08:56:53.485-08:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 4: Magic Kingdom & Epcot<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQtaEP4qJtEXZwYCBWw7nfBUc8p54mJqdGx58PWaWGCI563IihhcxxgkClzr9CrU1b0r63EM0wc5jh7SrVU06gpi1KyeoBfrx_pajU_GlKRI3UtQ_2yVSIx_zH9OyN5zy-Y1APQ/s1600/MK-CK-Castle-031314-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQtaEP4qJtEXZwYCBWw7nfBUc8p54mJqdGx58PWaWGCI563IihhcxxgkClzr9CrU1b0r63EM0wc5jh7SrVU06gpi1KyeoBfrx_pajU_GlKRI3UtQ_2yVSIx_zH9OyN5zy-Y1APQ/s1600/MK-CK-Castle-031314-04.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to Part 4 of the series on our wonderful 25th Anniversary trip. Here we focus on two days at Walt Disney World. We spent on full day at the Magic Kingdom, and a half day at Epcot plus lot of other fun stuff.. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBQNu-qyulEfGO3L_Fw_nU70-hs1lw6fdPc-5U1y4JajX4Jhv9WK_jDiRyjIOfzhezNHjZ4z7rTQEkuPsDsKvJ7RIhZjHurpMgFzw24d10VsvnFF0TxjEtt69GvbEkLNh6gGcFQ/s1600/wdw-castle-031114-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBQNu-qyulEfGO3L_Fw_nU70-hs1lw6fdPc-5U1y4JajX4Jhv9WK_jDiRyjIOfzhezNHjZ4z7rTQEkuPsDsKvJ7RIhZjHurpMgFzw24d10VsvnFF0TxjEtt69GvbEkLNh6gGcFQ/s1600/wdw-castle-031114-01.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On March 13th we woke up to head to the Magic Kingdom for the Extra Magic Hour which we could do as a park resort guest. We decided to use the bus system today from our resort. The Disney Busses do accept the motorized scooters, although there is some driving skill needed to park them on the bus. The bus was very full heading to the Magic Kingdom. The advantage of the bus is it ran non-stop to the bus center right by the main gate to the MK. No need to park at the TTC and transfer to the Monorail or Ferry. The bad part was the bus was SRO. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Y1-bkwl6E23fpKnDNSen8ifaJUjQPKBtdQlpE5spLSEIYAOW6kPI6q2GJHWcxaDpJ6a3_KnuPxguM9xP1pxH1_7u70f9kPtvxS5xMq9dKoga41xfvLd4X2yrey9b2znEdeuMAA/s1600/WDW-RR-MainSt-031314-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Y1-bkwl6E23fpKnDNSen8ifaJUjQPKBtdQlpE5spLSEIYAOW6kPI6q2GJHWcxaDpJ6a3_KnuPxguM9xP1pxH1_7u70f9kPtvxS5xMq9dKoga41xfvLd4X2yrey9b2znEdeuMAA/s1600/WDW-RR-MainSt-031314-02.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We arrived at the park in time to see the pre-opening show in front of the train station before rope drop. The entrance plaza was very crowded. From Rope drop we headed to Space Mountain with a 10 minute wait. From there we just leisurely walked around the park hopping on all the popular rides. In the early afternoon we took the bus back to our hotel to rest for a while. We then walked over to the art of Animation Resort to east dinner there before heading back to the park via the bus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We did more walking around the park and hitting our favorite rides like Pirates and the Haunted Mansion. Then we headed back to the hotel for the evening.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGehyphenhyphenOVEM9TeLppJ9HBDruWHFsw0OGO_BD0_wrRncMd7zrQZ70UJwlCIvJ1XH1YJe3tKPFFpC7HYlFtvPi03Q4JG1hqTo7YyVP3hlgQtVJVyflXDLuf8_yNTBkd3Y20FpaFz471Q/s1600/WDW-mr-TTC-031414-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGehyphenhyphenOVEM9TeLppJ9HBDruWHFsw0OGO_BD0_wrRncMd7zrQZ70UJwlCIvJ1XH1YJe3tKPFFpC7HYlFtvPi03Q4JG1hqTo7YyVP3hlgQtVJVyflXDLuf8_yNTBkd3Y20FpaFz471Q/s1600/WDW-mr-TTC-031414-01.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Monorail of the day</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the morning of 3/14 we had to get up really early as we had booked a Behind the Magic Steam Train Tour which we needed to be there at around 7am. We drove to the TTC, as the busses were not running yet. We got the very first and closest parking spot as the parking lot was empty! We then boarded the very first resort monorail train of the day (the express monorail did not open until later). We got to the main gate at the MK with 20 minutes to spare before our tour started.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_R8a7HA0A-ue2aP2Hl4ALWeZ2TQ8rMMogtoQU6kdEBX5FtHtLZZfaX8UmzNCUQ7TupVpYRkLsLfMRG2P56f9osgoVp-XYDvl-vmYy79Sin1_ty0ZwXjM3IMcOeERS1hrdLAg4g/s1600/wdw-mk-MainSt-031414-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_R8a7HA0A-ue2aP2Hl4ALWeZ2TQ8rMMogtoQU6kdEBX5FtHtLZZfaX8UmzNCUQ7TupVpYRkLsLfMRG2P56f9osgoVp-XYDvl-vmYy79Sin1_ty0ZwXjM3IMcOeERS1hrdLAg4g/s1600/wdw-mk-MainSt-031414-01.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Empty Main Street</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tour involved hopping on a tour only steam train before the park opened. It was odd to see a very empty Main Street. The train then took us to the Steam Train/Monorail maintenance facility (it had to back into the single track spur. There is even a public RR crossing, which Mark took note of for a future visit. We were not allowed into the actual Maintenance building but photography was encouraged. It was neat to be underneath the beams for the Monorail yard above and the old steam train below. A great history of the train fleet was explained and how a steam engine works. They even took us by couples into the cab of one of the engines to show us the layout and take our photo. I wish they would do the same for the monorails. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZNMBEZMORUHmc4NkcTc_iKE6DnrEbn53eo1PP0y4cwgN7CTHZWKPbCuo9dWYLpDrNn2OSZOhge_bR-HRqeund7jlTYfPSVP0oR8Cz5_W8Z1jWMF7yQoYSoPtfJNJlYjURZuyJFQ/s1600/MK-CK-WDW-Train-031414-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZNMBEZMORUHmc4NkcTc_iKE6DnrEbn53eo1PP0y4cwgN7CTHZWKPbCuo9dWYLpDrNn2OSZOhge_bR-HRqeund7jlTYfPSVP0oR8Cz5_W8Z1jWMF7yQoYSoPtfJNJlYjURZuyJFQ/s1600/MK-CK-WDW-Train-031414-03.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the cab of a WDW Steam Engine</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soon the train took us back into the park to complete the circle back to the Main St. Station with no-stops. We had a 15 minute break before heading into the station again for more history about the Walt Disney's fascination of Railroads and why they were at the parks. At the end of the tour we were given special collectible pins to remember the tour by. We both very much enjoyed the tour, as a history fan and a railfan!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-qbyolEJJ_GBR7UnkzzKC9V9ak_1r26-_9ntd5clYHU8mQL_z7ujawPmmC8iRllHXaRaaZUji8EFxU1K3Jusk-YOppn8Q5wnRkgiDHMZm7Ev7I_U3ZikVaELZaNsIjXowu2K-Hw/s1600/MK-CK-Epcot-031414-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-qbyolEJJ_GBR7UnkzzKC9V9ak_1r26-_9ntd5clYHU8mQL_z7ujawPmmC8iRllHXaRaaZUji8EFxU1K3Jusk-YOppn8Q5wnRkgiDHMZm7Ev7I_U3ZikVaELZaNsIjXowu2K-Hw/s1600/MK-CK-Epcot-031414-21.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flower and Garden Show</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a short stroll in the park, we then hopped on the monorail to head for lunch at the Grand Floridian Resort. We had great laid back lunch there. After we felt full, we hopped back on the monorail to the TTC, there we transferred to the Epcot Monorail.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pyGUFbzdxl7GsOg_wKHFfH7kLhXGP2smwFLJuMsd55iNYIY8T9hvSuYXQlFwRjIiOeLFEum3ilYJ7NGVMU4ZV6evZIQAsYGa1H3pP6fe25FrIRO7ODVMU6_SHUiTGKFe0z1i2g/s1600/MK-CK-MaryPop-031414-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pyGUFbzdxl7GsOg_wKHFfH7kLhXGP2smwFLJuMsd55iNYIY8T9hvSuYXQlFwRjIiOeLFEum3ilYJ7NGVMU4ZV6evZIQAsYGa1H3pP6fe25FrIRO7ODVMU6_SHUiTGKFe0z1i2g/s1600/MK-CK-MaryPop-031414-05.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Poppins</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At Epcot we rode Mission Space and the revised Test Track before heading into World Showcase. I tried Agent P's adventure game, which was fun for a little while (in Mexico), but the phone soon died. I later got another phone to try in Germany, but it went bad as well. We enjoyed a stroll around the "World". We had photos taken with Pooh and Tigger as well as Mary Poppins. We also enjoyed the Topiary as it was the Flower and Garden show. For dinner we ate at the Biergarten in Germany. We did see the Illuminations before we left, but Cyn was getting very sick. We jumped on the monorail to head back to the TTC to get back to our car. From there we wound up going to a local Urgent Care Clinic. We spent about 2 more hours there. Cyn wound up with a urinary track infection. We got a prescription for it then headed back to the hotel after a very long day.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wsn0IzSvTE4oN6ajuWcSBjknGoR_yJkUoCu9MHOMqKBYjbMk0c6ZVA1HN1gD_5332xtTeclM7DguMCQUV25i8P0xfD9a6bwI-aOTpmyFZrLRMfh5oZsME5Gj6DTaX23kMQb9ew/s1600/MK-CK-TiggerPoo-031414-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wsn0IzSvTE4oN6ajuWcSBjknGoR_yJkUoCu9MHOMqKBYjbMk0c6ZVA1HN1gD_5332xtTeclM7DguMCQUV25i8P0xfD9a6bwI-aOTpmyFZrLRMfh5oZsME5Gj6DTaX23kMQb9ew/s1600/MK-CK-TiggerPoo-031414-04.jpg" height="132" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7melY0eba7DrRlD9eSfJ9Gla19G_PhIE6iFoB81hNcaxJwmxGqIiVoxFna86HFhH4YtiuNiqU-Fv5w5YaTlxJCK-PzGoEb2kIUx9f9qIJxWIa-pAaKunJ7qbQpmPBgSLuoiSUVA/s1600/MK-CK-WDW-Train-031414-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7melY0eba7DrRlD9eSfJ9Gla19G_PhIE6iFoB81hNcaxJwmxGqIiVoxFna86HFhH4YtiuNiqU-Fv5w5YaTlxJCK-PzGoEb2kIUx9f9qIJxWIa-pAaKunJ7qbQpmPBgSLuoiSUVA/s1600/MK-CK-WDW-Train-031414-01.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stay tuned for Part 5: Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and to Ft Lauderdale</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-13159745139130014632014-12-23T21:45:00.001-08:002014-12-23T21:45:18.378-08:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 3: Universal Studios<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQIwWkGpbvCEiiEOccXT79wkytiLc97yoF42F6HLr85jSoxWyPq6XJr1sF-3YaP1RwGFcDfsHi7SuA2HbqTzi_amHnEFvzr4Zx2ijQOq8XVUf7ktGCpr2iIPmtLVUONVnbkyVvQ/s1600/IOA-HarryPotter-031214-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQIwWkGpbvCEiiEOccXT79wkytiLc97yoF42F6HLr85jSoxWyPq6XJr1sF-3YaP1RwGFcDfsHi7SuA2HbqTzi_amHnEFvzr4Zx2ijQOq8XVUf7ktGCpr2iIPmtLVUONVnbkyVvQ/s1600/IOA-HarryPotter-031214-19.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark at the "fake" Hogwarts Express</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to Part 3 on our 25th Wedding Anniversary journey. Here we focus on our day at Universal Studios Resort in Orlando.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We drove to the park first thing tin the morning so we would be at Isles of Adventure at rope drop. We had one goal in mind, to ride Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey. We had been to Universal about 2 years prior, and at the time Cyn tried to ride it, but the latch would not close so they would not her her continue. I rode alone and actually got quite sick on it at the time. But decided it was time to try it again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We joined the line quickly, but the wait time was about 50 minutes already. Cyn had parked her scooter and was using her cane. When we came up to a junction in the queue, Team-members had us take a different route that did not involve stairs. It did involve 2 elevator rides and a bit of a maze. We were in a special handicap loading area that was separate from the main loading area. It took a while before we were loaded. Cyn was so happy that the restraint more then fit this time. But even after we were loaded we had to wait for a break to join the main track system.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqfA4Ht1k5bz9yOCOFHDAXHk-b7HehUj8quQjEzt6s6vrUJTR4jyvqlUBX7WyaXcNh3Ic0Bkb5fmhCsn5laGlk92iXojtMsGMrEr99WbipSPaGjzLFBAqYwJ6FwXshKs_fz7TWQ/s1600/IOA-HarryPotter-031214-24.jpg" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="239" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hogwarts Castle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This time I fared a bit better, except for the spider scene, I am not a fan of spiders. We had the same reverse maze back. We decided to ride again, but this time the single rider line. This involved stairs, but not too bad. We loaded int he normal loading area this time. Because we did tow non-standard queues we did not the full queue of Forbidden Journey, but that was okay. We rode the Hippogryph and the Dueling roller coasters before having an early lunch at the Three Broomsticks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After lunch we walked around the park and only rode on Spider-man as it is an awesome trackless ride. Since we had a park hopper ride I really wanted to head over the the Studios to see what we could see of the yet to be open Diagon Alley.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenuCLELn7-J1SUBxKF7hOoslJ4jF6mBHEgFsVi3Lb0Wyoa8XhMJILNoa0t3fBEzDKUo6ICQ0gNNi-kYcb5Nlw1_aOncjPRWkqcGD8WOPIwsBOZ60Nlxb6Q40nFat8tPUcabO_TQ/s1600/cyn-minion-031214-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenuCLELn7-J1SUBxKF7hOoslJ4jF6mBHEgFsVi3Lb0Wyoa8XhMJILNoa0t3fBEzDKUo6ICQ0gNNi-kYcb5Nlw1_aOncjPRWkqcGD8WOPIwsBOZ60Nlxb6Q40nFat8tPUcabO_TQ/s1600/cyn-minion-031214-01.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cyn with a Minion!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We went into the Studios and first stopped and the Minions Ride as Cyn really enjoys those cute yellow guys! Then we were off to Springfield where we stopped at Moe's Tavern for a snack and a brew. We were able to see Diagon Alley, London Waterfront from across the lake, and even the Hogwarts Express Train. But temporary walls prevented us from getting closer. We did ride MIB and slowly walked around the rest of the park before calling it a day at Universal.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAJoULvwITlGraEMxWtc37H6_9rf_zuhFXD6Ms4XVNvBZO9Ga_U0MtLBjXyN6LQHeXnD8UCVJih0mU1tXOaWDibUueUiiygNwDTsWhY62ERQsPhV021h8CQp8XjbLgBIfrdXgSg/s1600/UnSt-Simpsons-031214-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAJoULvwITlGraEMxWtc37H6_9rf_zuhFXD6Ms4XVNvBZO9Ga_U0MtLBjXyN6LQHeXnD8UCVJih0mU1tXOaWDibUueUiiygNwDTsWhY62ERQsPhV021h8CQp8XjbLgBIfrdXgSg/s1600/UnSt-Simpsons-031214-02.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Springfield</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That evening we had dinner reservations for Raglan Road, the Irish pub/restaurant in Downtown Disney. It was a bit crazy as the St. Patrick's Day Festival was in full swing. But they did seat us with great view of the dancers and singers. We had a great time before calling it a day back to the hotel.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7b08yMun66cyiGGvjCSPK14Mxh2XAnXIADYkgzZj5HU633klwM2XoXmdyr2iWzHGP9K1DJeVEFCDWmdCCiqkyYyTaiWBgU5YHYhhNo2xcLUH_r2_1UvtzOkYgOeiDcHxUIJfTw/s1600/UnSt-DiagonAlley-031214-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7b08yMun66cyiGGvjCSPK14Mxh2XAnXIADYkgzZj5HU633klwM2XoXmdyr2iWzHGP9K1DJeVEFCDWmdCCiqkyYyTaiWBgU5YHYhhNo2xcLUH_r2_1UvtzOkYgOeiDcHxUIJfTw/s1600/UnSt-DiagonAlley-031214-05.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">London Waterfront</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So ends part 3 of the trip, with much more to come!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFni7R6e2s5B41cRr5O3TrTROUFqiQVGQxzcN-nspr9MKFmX8cyrdJoAmrYGEK3btf4prHcnVD0c5l3vSfMUz_y4SuNVVMnabbmU7b6T2AqM5qLV8Xhz7A5MPsGi5h63tKzyqUVQ/s1600/UnSt-HogwartExp-031214-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFni7R6e2s5B41cRr5O3TrTROUFqiQVGQxzcN-nspr9MKFmX8cyrdJoAmrYGEK3btf4prHcnVD0c5l3vSfMUz_y4SuNVVMnabbmU7b6T2AqM5qLV8Xhz7A5MPsGi5h63tKzyqUVQ/s1600/UnSt-HogwartExp-031214-03.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Howarts Express</span></td></tr>
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-68955208737468204362014-12-23T16:01:00.002-08:002014-12-23T16:01:43.353-08:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 2: Start of the trip to Be Our Guest<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to Part 2 of our great 25th Wedding Anniversary Adventure. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbvkLMRd5ba-j19XyJESQL0iamiEL2bWu4t5aVVDdLtUJRqCCXS027l7-gZNTt9DdWJ_M_hW2leRQnZoD1CZAyfE4_9NLuCTtEHX_sjE3GHAgRgMThCElka7euAJ6DaDQilL5Fw/s1600/delta-B757-atl-031114-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbvkLMRd5ba-j19XyJESQL0iamiEL2bWu4t5aVVDdLtUJRqCCXS027l7-gZNTt9DdWJ_M_hW2leRQnZoD1CZAyfE4_9NLuCTtEHX_sjE3GHAgRgMThCElka7euAJ6DaDQilL5Fw/s1600/delta-B757-atl-031114-01.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delta B757 at Atlanta</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our trip started Monday evening on March 10th. We had a Delta Flight leaving Portland Int'l Airport at 10:30pm. Richard and Ellen drove us to the Airport from home which saved on parking fees since we were going to be gone for just over 3 weeks!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We checked our bags without an issue. It is good to be Silver Elite and have the Delta AMEX card which allowed for free luggage check! I had paid for the both of us to get Economy Comfort seats on the non-stop from PDX to Atlanta. This way we would have more legroom to try to get some sleep on this red-eye flight. The flight was uneventful and landed at ATL around 6am.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since we had a decent layover time, I was able to get a virtual Geocache located on the landside of the airport. It was nice to be TSA pre-check which expedited me getting back to Cyn who was eating a light breakfast at the gate.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3QslLWozEI-ieDTFypA7YDKkpXZ-FRD8nDRnp6QHaGEMbg0RUW6bHYBbPKb2m6QOqkAGWXgud9SOZRPJW5czeQuV-XmYKKs9ROGCrdx20J67iLaapNZ-PdLMkJMcr6GYXVuBxg/s1600/wdw-bs-MagicExp-031114-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3QslLWozEI-ieDTFypA7YDKkpXZ-FRD8nDRnp6QHaGEMbg0RUW6bHYBbPKb2m6QOqkAGWXgud9SOZRPJW5czeQuV-XmYKKs9ROGCrdx20J67iLaapNZ-PdLMkJMcr6GYXVuBxg/s1600/wdw-bs-MagicExp-031114-01.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disney Magical Express</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our short hop flight from ATL to Orlando (MCO) was again uneventful and on-time. Upon arrival at MCO at 10:30am, we had to board one of the Airport trains to get to exit the terminal. Since we had put Disney Luggage Tags for the Magical Express on our checked bags, we did not need to pick up the bags. We went straight to the Magical Express Bus center to catch our bus to the Pop Century. Once we boarded the bus we had to wait about 10 minutes before we departed. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjumZ4fxL-trD2SladkP5jvdbpill4B0XmtGVwGs_-6nbFp0NEXhb4PU9ss5rZSygDXW9a_nURJxl5yQE02ZpC93EIHkdrtCJ7rJPc5AmuePg1wxVUdiXX7MbxBZ2YQdyhygGKYaQ/s1600/wdw-PopCentury-031114-09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjumZ4fxL-trD2SladkP5jvdbpill4B0XmtGVwGs_-6nbFp0NEXhb4PU9ss5rZSygDXW9a_nURJxl5yQE02ZpC93EIHkdrtCJ7rJPc5AmuePg1wxVUdiXX7MbxBZ2YQdyhygGKYaQ/s1600/wdw-PopCentury-031114-09.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disney Pop Century Resort</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Bus's first stop was the Disney Pop Century, which was most fortunate. We were able to check-in with a "roving" cast member since we already had our Magic Bands. We also picked up Cyn's Rented scooter and went to our room. We were in room 3413. It was a quiet outside corner room facing Hourglass Lake on the 4th floor. The room was small but sufficient for our needs. Soon we got a call from Mickey Mouse welcoming us. We got lunch at the resort's cafeteria and waited for our luggage to arrive. Mark also picked up a Rental Car as the next day we were heading to Universal Studios. We also went down to the Concierge Desk to get <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvauWyuoTnxn9TVbK0_m1G5OezbDoW7O5Ly6S2G_2Q55SI5AejpbrlXPwi6soli4dCIMwU6t25bQ_XCljBwxigioX64naw25BlewE3J3wAb01-Hxpzy1KEZhQKR-EFZs9hK5lVQ/s1600/wdw-BeOurGuest-031114-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvauWyuoTnxn9TVbK0_m1G5OezbDoW7O5Ly6S2G_2Q55SI5AejpbrlXPwi6soli4dCIMwU6t25bQ_XCljBwxigioX64naw25BlewE3J3wAb01-Hxpzy1KEZhQKR-EFZs9hK5lVQ/s1600/wdw-BeOurGuest-031114-17.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Be Our Guest</td></tr>
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Anniversary Pins to wear. The Concierge even wrote 25 with mouse ears on the pins, and covered the writing with tape so it wouldn't smudge. We proudly wore them in all the Parks!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So it was time to head to the Magic Kingdom as we had hard to get dinner reservations for the Be Our Guest restaurant inside the Magic Kingdom. We drove to the TTC and boarded a Monorail to the MK. We did a couple of rides before our reservation time. Sadly the 7-dwarfs Mine Train was not open yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We enjoyed a great meal inside Be Our Guest. The theme was great and we even got our picture taken with The Beast. They also brought out a special Gray Stuff dessert for our anniversary. After Dinner we pretty much was exhausted and just went back to the hotel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Part 3 will be Universal Studios!!</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-16256728394794226122014-12-23T09:01:00.000-08:002014-12-23T09:01:58.159-08:002014 25th Anniversary Trip Part 1: Trip Overview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTB_2ZRq09aRY5yozWZz9QVCc3Gdzl2p9GQ1ZejwgNklAXxkffV8YZ-x-f7nPU9sc6vhQp-rNsxIgXhyy6agRHLViawVK_UPoDwExVIl0kjK97xoe4aqef73VL9TM38uzu7CQyw/s1600/RCI-Legend-032014-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTB_2ZRq09aRY5yozWZz9QVCc3Gdzl2p9GQ1ZejwgNklAXxkffV8YZ-x-f7nPU9sc6vhQp-rNsxIgXhyy6agRHLViawVK_UPoDwExVIl0kjK97xoe4aqef73VL9TM38uzu7CQyw/s1600/RCI-Legend-032014-06.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In March 2014 it was the 25th Wedding Anniversary for Cyn and I. We decided to go big for this very special occasion with a 3 week long adventure. About 15 months prior to our wedding anniversary I was looking up things to do. I was focusing on a doing a cruise for our anniversary. We had only done one cruise before to the eastern Caribbean. We both wanted to do another on. Finding cruises in mid-March is not the easiest due to weather and Spring Break. I gave Cyn some options. A cruise around the Mediterranean, around the Caribbean, or a unique one was one going through the Panama Canal. She surprised me by saying the Panama Canal was a bucket list item.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then the planning started. I picked a 15 day cruise on Royal Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego such that our anniversary would be on-board the ship. Then it was hard to go to Florida without going to Walt Disney World, so we added that to the trip as well. Mark had started earning 4 weeks of vacation the year before, so decided to go big!</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This multi-part blog post with cover what we did. Here is a brief itinerary we followed.</span><div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 10th: Depart Portland heading to Orlando via Atlanta on a Red Eye Flight</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 11th: Check into Disney Pop Century Resort, have dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 12th: Universal Studios Florida resort, both parks</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 13th: Magic Kingdom</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 14th: Behind the Scenes Train Tour at Magic Kingdom, then Epcot</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 15th: Meet with Cyn's Sister for lunch, & Hollywood Studios</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 16th: Animal Kingdom, Meet with Mark's Aunt & Uncle for Dinner, and drive to Ft. Lauderdale</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 17th: Board the Legends of the Seas for a 15 day trip!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 18th: 25th Wedding Anniversary!! Ship is At Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 19th: Ship is at Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 20th: Cartagena, Columbia!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 21st: Colon, Panama</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 22nd: Transit the Panama Canal</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 23rd: At Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 24th: Puntarenas, Costa Rica</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 25th: At Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 26th: Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 27th: At Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 28th: At Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 29th: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 30th: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 31st: At Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April 1st: San Diego, California</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April 2nd: Fly home from San Diego to PDX via LAX.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April 3rd: Return to work (sigh)</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will break up this trip into several, currently undetermined parts (Will edit this when it is done). Suffice it to say, this was a trip of a lifetime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So be sure to put this blog on your watch list as I add more parts!!</span></div>
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-80786901314410083372013-10-20T14:40:00.001-07:002013-10-20T14:40:23.572-07:00Don't Ever Miss a Flight Out of SingaporeIn August of 2013 I was sent on a business trip to Singapore for one week. I will detail this trip on a future Blog post. This post is to highlight a lesson learned about missing a flight out of Changi airport to head home.<br />
<br />
I was scheduled on a Delta Flight out of Singapore that was scheduled to depart at 5:25am on a Saturday. I was staying at a hotel in downtown Singapore. However, I had checked out of that hotel Friday morning. I left my bags at the hotel and went to work for the day. I was able to get out of work a little early. I had picked up my bags at the hotel at around 3:30pm and took the MRT (Metro) to the airport. I had made reservations at the Crowne Plaza at the airport. The intent was to shorten my journey for the early morning flight. <br />
<br />
I checked into the hotel around 4:15pm. They had upgraded me into a large one bedroom suite. Sadly it did not overlook the runways at the airport as some room had, but the room was great otherwise (with 1.5 bathrooms). I decided to head back into Singapore for dinner and see if I could get some gifts. So I took the MRT back into town to do just that. <br />
<br />
I got back to the hotel around 9:30pm. I stopped for a beer at the lounge since the hotel had given me a free drink coupon due to my elite status. By 10:15pm I was back in my room. I had a couple of business calls to make, plus prep my packing for a quick exit in the morning. I was lights out by 11:00pm. <br />
<br />
I just could not get my mind to shutdown to go to sleep. I must have woke up every 30 minutes or so. I had set my iPhone Alarm Clock app to go off at 3:00am. I had looked at my iPhone clock at 2:00pm, but tried to get some more sleep. I had been waking up at 3:00am every night previous, so thought it was low risk, plus the alarm. The next time I rolled over and looked at the clock, and it showed it was 4:02 am, with the display showing the alarm was going off, but no audio. I paniced. <br />
<br />
I quickly got dressed, zipped up my bags and went down to checkout. Got to the airport terminal area just to find out that the internal train system to take me from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1 does not start running until 5am. I tried to figure out how to walk there, but it turns out there is no direct walkway from T3 to T1 on the land side. I ran back to the hotel to ask what to do. They stated there was a bus that I could take. I went to the bus stop just as a Taxi pulled up to drop someone off. I asked if he could take me to Terminal 1. He said hop in. I threw my suitcase in the trunk. 5 minutes later, and nearly $10 later we were in front of T1. <br />
<br />
I ran inside to the Delta Ticket Counters which was just about empty. Time was 4:30am. The security check guy stated I may have a problem as the flight was closed. I went up to the ticket counter, and indeed, the flight was closed, and my seat had been given away. I nearly had a breakdown. It just got worse. I was informed that the next available Delta flight was Monday morning, two days from now. I had made arrangement for my wife to meet in Seattle for the weekend. She was schedueld to take a train and we had train tickets to return home, plus hotel reservations. I almost lost it. I apoligized to the ticket agents, as it wasn't their fault, I was mad at myself.<br />
<br />
The ticket agents then started working on possibilities. They then made arrangements to put me on ANA to Tokyo (Narita) that evening, with a transfer to a Delta flight to Seattle from Tokyo (Haneda) with 18 hour ground time in Tokyo. It was better than staying until Monday. I had asked if they could route me directly to Portland, but that was not "allowed" on my ticket. I took the reservation with the flight schedule to fly out 12:30am about 20 hours from this point as it was 9around 5:15am now.<br />
<br />
I got onto the airport wifi and purchased an Alaska Airline ticket from Seattle to Portland. I was able to cancel our train tickets, only losing $5, and cancelled the Seattle hotel with no fees. I was able to call my wife and let her in on the situation. She wasn't super upset about the Seattle trip (in some ways I think she was relieved), only concerned that I was exhausted and she was missing me.<br />
<br />
But now what to do, it is 6am, and I didn't need to check into my flight until 9pm or so, and I was exhausted. I decided to go back to the Crowne Plaza hotel and see if they would give me my room back since I had paid for it until 11am checkout. The airport trains were running now, so getting back to the hotel was easy. I went to the front desk at the hotel, Not only did they allow me to check back in, but they allowed me stay until 4pm if I wanted to, with no fees. So I went back to my old room, and tried to get some sleep. <br />
<br />
By about 12:30pm I was unable to get anymore rest. I got some lunch then decided to check-out. I left my suitcase and large backpack at the hotel and just brought my small (geocaching) backback and headed back into Singapore. I did some more touring around town which will be covered in a seperate post. By 8pm I headed back to the airport to get my bags at the hotel and head to Terminal 2.<br />
<br />
At 9pm I went up to the ANA counter to check-in. Now problem # 2 started. Delta had never confirmed my reservation, so I did not have a seat and the flight was full. They tried to contact Delta, but getting nowhere. They told me to come back at minight to see if a seat was available. I asked for a pass into the Transit area of the airport, but they refused. So I was stuck on the land side of the airport. I was pretty upset and getting very exhausted again. I pretty much hung around the airport got some dinner and pretty depressed. <br />
<br />
By 10:30pm, I went back to the ticket counters. This time the agent handed me a boarding pass, Delta had come thru!! I was even able to enter my US-Airway FF # since ANA is part of Star Alliance not Skyteam (Delta). I went thru passport control and was on the air side of the airport in no time. The flight left on time at 12:30am Sunday morning. <br />
<br />
We landed at Narita airport on time around 8am Sunday. My next flight was scheduled for 1:30am Monday out of Haneda Airport. So I went around Tokyo which will be covered in a seperate post. I arrived at Haneda airport at 9:30pm. Being hot and humid in Tokyo I was feeling pretty yucky. Luckily Haneda airport shower available for about $10 for 30 minutes. this was a godsend. I was able to take a shower and change clothes. My flight left on time at 1:30am Monday to Seattle. I arrived in Seattle at around 3pm on Sunday (yes backwards). I had to go to the land side of the airport to check in to my Alaska (Horizon) flight to Portland. I had about 2 hours to kill so had dinner. Got to Portland on-time and my wife picked me up at the curb to head home. What a long 48 hours.... <br />
<br />
Note to self, NEVER miss a flight out of Singapore again....Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-89430317498763513892013-03-06T21:39:00.001-08:002013-03-06T21:48:34.786-08:00My First trip to Japan, Or How I Almost Missed My First Shinkansen Ride<br />
<div class="MsoTitle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><strong>My
First trip to Japan; </strong></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Or how I
almost missed my first Shinkansen ride.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">(First written in the late 1990's) </span></o:p><br />
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I have been a long time Rapid Transit fan since I was a
little boy growing up 10 block away from the Elevated F-Line in Brooklyn NY. I
never thought at that time that I would ever see any transit system beyond my
native Brooklyn. As a teenager I moved to the northern suburbs and experienced
commuter trains. Somehow I got a job in the Semi-conductor industry and
received a job transfer to Oregon as a Field Service Engineer. This job
requires travel. With this job I have seen many different transit system of the
US. So far my favorite place to visit is Japan. The intensity of rail service
is a traction buffs dream come true!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>My first trip to Japan was in December 1990. I had to go to
Oita Prefecture on Kyushu. It is here that I first experienced Japan’s rails
for the first time. I had a Sunday off, so 2 of my American co-workers and I
decided to fly from Oita to Hiroshima, then take the trains back. We had made
arrangements for a taxi to pick us up at a local train station at a certain
time to bring us back to our hotel (we were out in the boondocks, but a 10-yard
walk to the ocean.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>We walked around Hiroshima. I would recommend everybody to
stop at the war memorial and museum. It is very sobering, and would cause even
the greatest warmonger to understand the importance of peace. Anyway, it was
time to go to the train station so we could catch a Shinkansen to Kokura, from
there we would transfer to a local train to our destination. We jumped on a
streetcar to the train station. This was very brave because we did not have a
clue if we were taking the right one or how much it cost. I have proven to
myself that the Just Do It! Phrase does work. We arrived at Hiroshima Station
without incident. The problem was the person who keep the time, mis-read the
time of our train. We went up to the ticket window to purchase our tickets. The
ticket clerk told us we had no time to purchase tickets; our train was
scheduled to arrive in 2 minutes. He told us the track # and that we should
RUN! Which we did. We ran through the wickets and down to the platform just as
the train stopped. We jumped on board. The conductor told us to walk to the
unreserved section, which we did and found seats for our journey south. I don’t
remember much about the actual train ride except there were a lot of tunnels.
When we arrived in Kokura we walked downstairs to the Fare Adjustment window to
pay our fare from Hiroshima. We got on our local train and caught our taxi
without incident!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>I had two nights to spend in Tokyo on my return. I found out
about a train that went to Narita Airport. Back in 1990 the JR Narita Express
did not exist, but the Keisei Skyliner did. I went to Shinjuku Train station
for the first time (I had taken the subway the previous day, but not seen the
craziness of the main station. I had to ask a wicket (the automated turnstiles
were not in place), how much to Ueno Station and which track, he was most helpful
and guided me correctly. I took the Yamanote Line to Ueno. I then had to figure
out how to get to the Keisei Ueno Station. While looking I found the JR Shop,
which I enjoyed looking through (But seems to be gone now). I found the station
and took the Skyliner to Narita. However at this time the station under the
airport did not exist. The train stopped outside the airport (I think this is
called Higashi-Narita now). We had to go through Security checkpoint in a
CRAMPED and CROWDED building before being shoved in a bus for the short trip to
the terminal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>I am glad now the Narita Airport stations now exist. I have
since been on both the Narita Express and the Skyliner. Skyliner is much
cheaper and less crowded then the Narita Express. True the Narita Express doe
go into Tokyo and Shinjuku. I usually take the Narita Express into town and the
Skyliner out of town. Or if I have a lot of time, and am feeling well I’ll take
one of the Limited Expresses for a really cheap ride.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
This article is only the first of a series I plan on writing
on my trips to Japan. I have been to Japan on 10 different occasions over the
past 9 years, and to Korea once. I have done some crazy weekend trips to ride a
streetcar line or my favorite subways. I try to take photographs of my trips,
but I tend to be a little timid in taking photos, so I don’t have as many as I
should. However, I have posted photos of Japan’s trains on my website along
with trains/transit from the US and now Europe. <o:p></o:p>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-40126829363619259942013-03-06T21:33:00.003-08:002013-03-06T21:33:51.438-08:00A Transit Fan Visit to Prague
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Prague Traction<o:p></o:p></h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGubiypWnNffyIREAs9D6Tp0MtSXAV4SYzz1BSm3dNzkPnmbY2cpEKghsmVp-miFKCROKfsnG_sy5DjoPfqqI5qLfUNMLbTUyy4VcbmFQKWPWAGdDi2Ad91lz3FNlZa_ESXv51A/s1600/prg-lr-Vystaviste-062312-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGubiypWnNffyIREAs9D6Tp0MtSXAV4SYzz1BSm3dNzkPnmbY2cpEKghsmVp-miFKCROKfsnG_sy5DjoPfqqI5qLfUNMLbTUyy4VcbmFQKWPWAGdDi2Ad91lz3FNlZa_ESXv51A/s320/prg-lr-Vystaviste-062312-01.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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In June 2012 I was attending two conferences in Dresden,
Germany. Dresden will be a subject of a future article. I had a weekend off
between the conferences. I had purchased train tickets to go to Prague in the
Czech Republic, which is just over 2 hours away by train. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I boarded the 9:00am Intercity train to Prague at the
Dresden Hauptbahnhof. I had reserved a window seat in a compartment. There were
5 other passengers with me. The train ride started along the Elbe River to the
Czech border, then across the Czech countryside and other rivers before
arriving in Prague. Announcements were poor on the train. We pulled into a
station called Praha Nadrazi Helosovice. I panicked, and grabbed my suitcase to
get off the train. A young girl was doing the same. The door in our car did not
want to open. We went to the next car, and its door did open. We jumped off the
train just as it started pulling out of the station. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was a thrilling experience. Later I
figured out I should have gotten off at the next Prague station, Praha Hlavni
Nadrazi, but so be it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKgxkyNOhAb9IvCczwmsGJbLtZFkTQr4REhqEZyUHQm95M54yg1MTYlWhaAEPzMPWR8JgSY4CpTweJd-2uoVhVplDt809QUAdpcnKrwmLSMGfUBuwuBJafPxtzxV7l4sVNXUAuw/s1600/prg-hr-Florenc-062312-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKgxkyNOhAb9IvCczwmsGJbLtZFkTQr4REhqEZyUHQm95M54yg1MTYlWhaAEPzMPWR8JgSY4CpTweJd-2uoVhVplDt809QUAdpcnKrwmLSMGfUBuwuBJafPxtzxV7l4sVNXUAuw/s320/prg-hr-Florenc-062312-05.jpg" width="320" /></a><o:p> </o:p>I found the Transit Ticket office and bought a daypass and
got a map of the metro/tram system. I worked my way down to the metro to head
towards my hotel for the evening. I was so turned around by getting off at the
wrong station that I boarded the subway going the wrong direction. I quickly
figured it out at the next station to head in the right direction.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The Prague metro is the first Soviet style metro I have ever
been on. The first line opened in the early 1970’s. It is a three line system
with all 3 forming a triangle in city center. Some stations are deep underground
which of course doubles as bomb shelters. The escalators are long and steep,
but move very fast, faster than any escalator I have been on. The stations are
not nearly as ornate as Moscow or St. Petersburg, but the typical Soviet design
is evident in the older stations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQG9LyDhmJRwkMVocJHjlryGQpNDd08bdzaP83o5nHMlRBbBw5xkG5DWXBuvaF1M8eiQDKKyMLvsk_XmMAManGVQzcu7gKB3bMqcHjnzErkaSo3IGxTqDcEgd0S4bfLrUvzcFaw/s1600/PragueTramMuseum-062312-56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQG9LyDhmJRwkMVocJHjlryGQpNDd08bdzaP83o5nHMlRBbBw5xkG5DWXBuvaF1M8eiQDKKyMLvsk_XmMAManGVQzcu7gKB3bMqcHjnzErkaSo3IGxTqDcEgd0S4bfLrUvzcFaw/s320/PragueTramMuseum-062312-56.jpg" width="320" /></a>I wound up at my hotel about 20 minutes later and they
allowed me to check-in despite it being only 11:30am. I stayed at the Hotel
Ibis in Mala Strana. It was a quick five minute walk from the Andel metro stop
and a major tram junction. Right next to the hotel was a shopping mall, which
was originally a factory that made streetcars for Tatra as well as tanks and
such during WWII.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After having lunch at the shopping mall I headed out for a
full day of walking and riding. I boarded the metro again to head towards the
north end of the city. I then boarded a tram to take me to the Prague Transport
Museum. The museum is located inside an old carbarn. They have a huge
collection of trams with some busses, and trolley busses. Unfortunately each
car had locked gates to prevent entry into any of the vehicles. As I was
walking around the museum, I heard classical music. At first I thought it was
background music. Then I realized the music would suddenly stop and restart. I
turned the corner down one aisle, and there was a small orchestra with singers.
They were playing Bach (I believe). I later found out they were rehearsing for
a performance later that day inside the carbarn. How neat is that? The acoustic
in the carbarn was very nice for classical music. But, I did not have time to
wait for a concert. I had only 24 more hours in Prague, and there is so much to
do!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJOTh8H9ZgfaAyHUMuxB-ZX3961dfDhEpx04qI4awASx6_JcXx30Daye2fURyBqbOu90QKrl7FbWRrMhU-XpWTu0XsufIPQ1LY0iMScrbOLbU1PDZMxreut3c9vRANLDH0rRVdg/s1600/PragueTramMuseum-062312-69.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJOTh8H9ZgfaAyHUMuxB-ZX3961dfDhEpx04qI4awASx6_JcXx30Daye2fURyBqbOu90QKrl7FbWRrMhU-XpWTu0XsufIPQ1LY0iMScrbOLbU1PDZMxreut3c9vRANLDH0rRVdg/s320/PragueTramMuseum-062312-69.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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From the museum I boarded the Tourist/Museum tram line route
#95. It leaves from the museum on the hour for a trip into the old city and
back. This was a neat way to see Prague via tram. The daypass is not applicable
to this line. After a 45 minute ride into town they kicked everyone off the car
for its return trip to the museum. From here I boarded other trams to see the
city. I walked across the famous Charles Bridge. I eventually wound up at the
city’s only remaining funicular at Petrin park. I rode it to the top, and then
went up the tower for an amazing view of the city and its surroundings. My feet
were getting sore and my belly was hungry. At the bottom of the funicular
across the street was a pub. I sat outside and enjoyed a nice meal and a find
Czech beer. The purpose of sitting outside was to watch the trams parade by <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXurSJ-rBrdBzRGkek-ZQ65UodzFAkhGi5n1A6Td4Y4ydwn4PIRCTb3B4CotpxZoM-jmpN2bbieBrXhmw9EBtttbjGCPqN1qryNTkMg_lBgeN0vrfBpTcEdzOymILCTulLdZHlSg/s1600/pra-ot-PetrinFuni-062312-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXurSJ-rBrdBzRGkek-ZQ65UodzFAkhGi5n1A6Td4Y4ydwn4PIRCTb3B4CotpxZoM-jmpN2bbieBrXhmw9EBtttbjGCPqN1qryNTkMg_lBgeN0vrfBpTcEdzOymILCTulLdZHlSg/s320/pra-ot-PetrinFuni-062312-24.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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After my meal I did a bit more tram riding, but my feet were
killing me so by 7:30pm I went back to the hotel for the night. The hotel was
abuzz in the bar since it was Euro Cup Soccer (football) time, everyone was
watching the TV and drinking…..<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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The next morning I had a nice breakfast included with my
room rate at the hotel. I thus checked out, leaving my luggage at the hotel.
Today would be another busy day. I headed out to first find a few geocaches (my
other hobby which uses a GPS to find objects that others have hidden around the
world). I used the metro to get to a location with a cluster around the main
train station. I walked along an esplanade overlooking Prague’s main train
station. I was soon back on trams to head to Prague Castle. Instead of taking
the long stairway up to the castle, I took the tram up the hill. I spent a good
3 hours touring the massive castle complex. I also enjoyed a find lunch there.
I could have spent all day touring the grounds, but I did not have all day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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I walked down the steps to board trams to head the old city.
I got to the town square by the Astrological clock which is a glockenspiel that
plays every hour. My feet were again killing me, so I sat down in a café and enjoyed
another fine brew will waiting for the top of the hour. The square gets quite
crowded waiting for the clock to chime. With much fanfare the clock declared it
was 2pm, and then the crowd dispersed. It was time for me to leave as well to
get back to my hotel to grab my luggage and head to the train station. I used
the metro to get to my hotel and back to the train station.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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My train was a little late. I had several people coming up
to me asking questions on where there train would be and such. I would always
figure out the answer, but I must look like I know about trains or something. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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For the trip back to Dresden I was in a window seat in a
regular coach. The train was super crowded to begin with, but at the last stop
before Germany many people left the train. Once in Germany, train announcements
started again. Apparently the German rail system was having problems due to a
fire along the line. Passengers with connection to the high-speed ICE trains,
they were advising different routings to Frankfurt and Munich and some
passengers had no options due to a line closure. Good thing I was getting off
at Dresden.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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My brief trip to Prague was great. It is a beautiful,
tourist friendly city. The metro is the fastest way around town, but the trams
are definitely a better way to see the city. Prague has an immense tram system
with up to 5 lines running on certain streets. There are major tram junctions,
even a few Grand Unions. You definitely need a tram map to identify which line
you want. Most lines run every 10 minutes, so waits along busy stretches can be
as short as 2 minutes. Another great aspect of the tram system is the variety
of equipment in operation. Cars from the 1970’s thru 2012 are all in operation
in several different designs. The fare structure is very complex; I highly
recommend buying the 24hour day pass. It is good on trams, busses and the
metro, for about $8US, a real bargain for the amount of service provided. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Prague Castle is a must for any visitor. For bare minimum
touring allow 3 hours, but 5~6 would allow a complete visit. Seeing the
Astrological clock and crossing the Charles Bridge are also a must. The
architecture around the city is simply marvelous. I would recommend taking a
cruise along the river and through the locks, but I did not have the time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-77540284163445118952009-02-03T08:21:00.000-08:002013-11-04T09:58:55.890-08:00Phoenix Light Rail<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Phoenix Light Rail</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In January 2009 I was on one of my usual business trips to the Valley of the Sun. My hotel is 1.5 blocks away from the 44th Street station on the new Valley Metro Light Rail. I have watched the construction of the line for the past 4 years. This business trip the line was in operation, having opened on Dec. 26 2008. Here is my review of the line.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<em><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Route</span></strong></em><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It does a great job of connecting downtown Tempe and ASU with downtown Phoenix. To the east it also provides Park-n-Ride lots at the line end in Mesa and near Loop-101 at the Tempe border. On the north/west the line runs right up Central Ave then makes a jog on Camelback to 19th Ave. ending near a major shopping center.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The line is mostly in a center reservation right-of-way of wide streets in the Phoenix region. There is private right-of-way thru Tempe along a former RR alignment thru ASU campus. There is a rather nice bridge over Tempe Town Lake (Salt River) located right next the UP railroad bridge. There appears not not be much in signal pre-emption, but with the long light cycles in Phoenix, the trains usually roll right along. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The yards are located about mid-way between 44th St and Priest stations. There is a "Y" connection right where Loop-202 crosses over Washington St. The yard lead then flies over the UP RR line then dipping down into the yards which is sandwiched between Loop-202, SR-143, The Sky-Harbor Airport Freeway and the UP Mainline.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<em><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Cars</span></strong></em><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cars are 70 low floor cars by Kinki-Sharyo. They are stylized derivatives of car made for Newark/HBLR. The car shells were shipped to Phoenix for final assembly at the Phoenix Metro Light Rails shops.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The interior of cars are rather noisy in the interior with huge blowers for the HVAC system. Although this maybe necessary with the Phoenix 110+ degree weather during the summer. The car provide space for 4 bikes in the center section. This makes the center section rather cramped with the bike hooks are being used. Overall the car ride very confortably.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Stations</span></em></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The stations are all of similar design. Most are center island platforms. Their length is set for 3 car trains, although currently the system is only using 2-car trains. There is art work at each station, some giving history of the neighborhood.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<em><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service</span></strong></em><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trains run every 10 minutes from ~6am until 7pm weekdays, 15~20 minutes evenings and weekends. At least from what I saw all trains during weekdays were 2-car trains.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<em><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Critique</span></strong></em><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall the system is a nice. Trains are speedy, even if most of the line is center street reservation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do have some safety concerns only because of drivers in Phoenix are scary. One trip I made the operator had to put the train in emergency braking as a pick-up made a u-turn right in front of the train despite the red light the truck had. There have already been reported LRV/car accidents along the line.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then there are pedestrians. I saw multiple times people leaving the train, cross the trackway then cross the extremely fast streets to get to the sidewalk instead of going to the intersection to cross the street. Of course it does not help the the traffic light cycles in Phoenix are extremely long, so to get the actual walk signal at the safe crossings can take a minute or two, trying people's patience.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then there is the service. Valley metro does not publish a full schedule for the line, only the expected headways. In the few trips I made, headways were not regular. I waited 30 minutes for a train at 7pm. When I got off, there were 2 trains behind that train at 5 minute intervals. Another time I was taking photos in Tempe. Eastbound was running about every 10 minutes as advertised, but westbound, there was a gap of 20 minutes, then 3 trains in row about 5 or less minutes apart. They definitely need to tweak schedules for regular intervals. There are LED signs at each station, but they don't appear to give next arrival information, just time and safety messages.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then the connection with the airport is currently weak, with a shuttle bus from 44th Street. But SkyHarbor is building an automated people mover system that will replace the bus sometime in the future. They did build a short segment of this future line at 44th St to prevent closure of the light rail later when the rest of construction begins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was impressed with the amount of ridership the line has, even in the evening. Only time will tell how well the system will do with as spread out as Phoenix is. But all the surrounding cities are already screaming for extensions.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wish Phoenix good luck, and I do intend to ride it some more on future business trips.</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-78307763419348010842008-09-22T13:28:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:57:06.656-08:00Israel Geocaching<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Israel Geocaching</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As of Sept. 2008 I have cached in US (obviously), Belgium, Germany, Japan and Israel. I had some the most bizzarre experiences caching in Israel, and not what you might think.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first Israel geocache was the TLV Travel Bug Hotel. It is located on Hwy 1 (A major freeway) on a small pulloff for an entrance to an electrical substation. It is about half way between the airport and Tel Aviv on the westbound side of the freeway. I would pass it everyday when I was returning to my hotel from my job assignment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I pulled over to grab the cache towards the end of rush hour. It was a quick find, but decided to take it to my rental car to look through it and exchange TB's. This is where is get wierd. First a motorcyclist pulled over in front of me. Then a tractor trailer pulled in behind me. But wait is gets better.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The motorcylist drove away after about 10 minutes. But the Truck did not. He was moving around a lot in his cab. Then he got out his truck with a newspaper and toilet paper in his hand. He went behind the road barrier and well, he started doing his business in the gravel, and reading the paper at that. I did not feel like I could put the container back with a guy crapping less then 100 feet away. Wehn he finished he went back to his truck. But again he was bouncing around in his cab. After sitting here for 30 minutes, I decided I needed to leave with the cache container. The next day I replaced the container with no issues, but how wierd is that??</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next interesting cache was a new one placed in Jaffa. I had been placed there on July 20th. I was there at August 20th. It was a quick find, but nobody name was in the logbook. I was a FTF, even though it was over a month after it was published. It is not like this cache was out in the middle of nowhere. It was right by old town Jaffa (a really neat place to visit by the way). It was a 40 minute walk along the beach from my hotel in Tel Aviv, and only 15 minutes from some of the beach hotels. So why it took so long for someone to find seems strange to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are only 100 caches in the entire country of Israel, and they are not visited that frequently. In the end I got 5 caches in Israel during my 10 day stay there. 2 in Tel Aviv, 1 in Jaffa and 2 in Jerusalem. It was fun!!</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5726533.post-78043286842781666732008-09-19T11:43:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:56:32.135-08:00Welcome to the Subwaymark Blog<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Welcome to my new Blog. </span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This Blog will bring stories of my trips over the world. It will include my experiences with trains, subways, light rail, and geocaching.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See my website for photos of railroad/transit systems from around the world, </span><a href="http://ktransit.com/"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://ktransit.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. My interest in railroads and transit began in childhood growing up in Brooklyn, NY. The F-Line Ave I and 18th Avenue stations was a 10-15 minute walk away. The N-Line 18th Ave station was a 25 min walk. Some boys grow out of interest in trains, but I did not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Geocaching is my newer hobby. This is basically high-tech treasure hunting using a GPS. To sum it up, I am using Billion Dollar satellites to find Tupperware in the forest (or tiny containers in the city). See </span><a href="http://geocaching.com/"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://geocaching.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for more information</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As far as my extensive travels, most of it has been due my job. I was a Field Service Engineer in the Semiconductor Industry for 14 years, now I'm a Technical account manager. (I've been in this industry for 21 years). These travels have taken me across the US, Europe and Asia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope this blog is interesting to all readers. But its main purpose is for me to document my trip experiences so I can remember it later.</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809492200880440478noreply@blogger.com