11 Aug 2015 – Family Reunion (Buffalo, NY) – July 2015

We attend my husband’s family reunion each year – My Mom, daughter, granddaughter and I. There are generally about 120 family members at the reunion.  It’s a great turnout.  Each family brings a side dish, and the main meat dishes are catered.  We not only enjoy the family, but the food is fantastic!  I will be adding some Italian recipes  to this site from my husband’s family in the near future.

While in New York, we also use this time as a opportunity to take advantage of the local sites.  One year, we visited Niagara Falls!  It was awesome!

According to the History Channel:

Niagara Falls functions as one of the major power providers to New York state. Comprised of three waterfalls — American Falls, Horseshoe Falls and Bridal Veil Falls — Niagara Falls water stems from the upper Great Lakes and the river is estimated to be 12,000 years old.  Ninety percent of the water goes over the Horseshoe Falls. Originally, as much as 5.5. billion gallons of water per hour flowed over the falls. Today the amount is controlled by the Canadian and American governments to slow erosion. In addition, some of the water is diverted to provide power for the United States and Canada, making Niagara Falls the largest source of electric power in the world.

While at Niagara Falls, we traveled on the Maid of the Mist (boat is visible in pictures 4 and 5 below) which takes you by all the falls.

Mom, Granddaughter Taylor and Me - Niagara Falls, NY

Picture 1 – Mom Alice, Granddaughter Taylor and Me – Niagara Falls, NY

 

Picture of Niagara Falls, NY

Picture 2 – Niagara Falls, NY

 

Picture of Niagara Falls, NY

Picture 3 – Niagara Falls, NY

 

Here is a photo though that shows the boats out between the American and Canadian (Horseshoe) falls

Picture 4 – Here is a photo that shows the Maid of the Mist boats out between the American and Canadian (Horseshoe) falls

 

Photo Taken From http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/

Picture 5 – Photo Taken From http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/

Between The Dashes

9 Aug 2015 – Caribbean Cruise – May 2015

We enjoyed our December 2014 cruise so much we decided to go on another one!  But this time, we cruised on the Carnival Pride (see the ship below – ship capacity for 2,124 passengers).  The Carnival Pride is an older ship and is smaller than the Quantum of the Seas which has a capacity of 4180 passengers.

Carnival Pride

Carnival Pride

Our itinerary:

Day 1 – Depart Baltimore, MD

Day 2 – At Sea

Day 3 – At Sea

Day 4 – Grand Turk

Day 5 – Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Day 6 – Freeport, Bahamas

Day 7 – At Sea

Day 8 – Arrive Baltimore, MD

Cruise Map

Cruise Map

 

This cruise was so different from our first.  We did not have to travel for 6 hours by bus to get to our departure port – only 90 min with traffic!  We were able to board as soon as we arrived which was a lot earlier than our boarding passes indicated – nice! Continue reading

8 Aug 2015 – Bahamas Cruise, Dec 2014

This was our first cruise!  It was also about six months after my husband (2nd time) and I (first time) retired.  Our travel agent recommended a cruise because we had family members of various ages traveling – from 10 years to 79 years old!  A cruise has something for all ages, besides all the variety of food!

The cruise ship left from Cape Liberty, NY which is driving distance from our home.  The travel agent mentioned this as another benefit – no need to fly.  Unfortunately, it was a 6 hour one-way bus ride drive with numerous stops.  We are not doing the bus ride thing again.  Flying is definitely the way to go!

We cruised on Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas (guest capacity at 4180).  We had balcony staterooms which really adds to the cruise experience!  It’s one of their newer ships (now traveling the Asian route) with the North Star, Seaplex (roller skating, bumper cars, basketball, table tennis), rock climbing, Flowrider, Dreamworks, and Ripcord (simulated ski diving).  This particular ship set the standard for all of our future cruises.  Entertainment (Momma Mia, night clubs, movies, etc.), food, cleanliness, etc – everything was of the highest quality!  Our itinerary is listed below:

Day 1 – Depart Cape Liberty, NY

Day 2 – At Sea

Day 3 – At Sea

Day 4 – Port Canaveral, FL

Day 5 – Nassau, Bahamas

Day 6 – CocoCay, Bahamas (private island)

Day 7 – At Sea

Day 8 – At Sea

Day 9 – Arrive Cape Liberty, NY

Some photos from our trip are below.   One thing I need to mention.  The voyage was so smooth.  You did not even realize the ship was moving.  We didn’t realize how important this was until we did our cruise in May 2015 on the Carnival Pride.  Regardless, we all had a fantastic time!

Royal Carribean Cruise, 9 Days and 8 Nights - 12-20 Dec 2014

Royal Caribbean Cruise, 9 Days and 8 Nights – 12-20 Dec 2014

CocoCay, Bahamas

CocoCay, Bahamas

Oldest Daughter Swimming with the Stingrays!

Our Daughter Swimming with the Stingrays!