Day 279 - The Jameses Arrive!

Wheeeeee! I haven't been this excited to see somebody in, well, I can't remember when!!!! The Jameses arrived around 1300 & they were as handsome as ever! I was giddy to have them here! Finally!!! I hadn't seen them for 53 weeks! It's about time!


Big James & I worked on a few ships together & spent my best & 2nd last contract sailing around Europe. He is one-in-a-million & I am so happy that he has found his one-in-a-million to spend the rest of his days with! Little James is an incredible Dancer & actually calls Grand Prairie home! He is one of those people that you feel like you've known them forever from the first time you meet them. 


Additionally, Big James' Dad, who is also named James (!), was the Pastor at our wedding in South Africa! I met Jim when he turned 60 & visited his son on the ship for our Egypt cruise. I know where Big James gets his wonderful personality & kind heartedness from! 


The Jameses are on the next leg of their honeymoon, as they just got married in Vancouver! I'm very happy that they will be in Canada more often - hopefully we'll have more get togethers! 


We visited for a bit in the house & then I took them down to Elbow Falls & Forget-Me-Not Pond. The weather was stunning, so it was great for taking a few snaps & showing off the beauty of Eastern Kananaskis. We sat on one of the benches at Forget-Me-Not & caught up on all the happenings in their life for the past year or so. 


One of my favourite things about working on ships is meeting up with people you are never quite sure exactly when you will see them again. It makes the times extra special. They have no idea what their stay means to me! Truly 2 of my most cherished friends. 


After our visit to the tourist attractions, we headed for town. I was treating them to ice cream. Of course, our drive to down was rather wet & cold! It hailed half way & POURED rain the other half of the drive! They were quite excited to see the ice cream choices & I'm pleased to say we all enjoyed a scoop of chocolate peanut butter, among other flavours. Big James is enjoying the truly Canadian flavour of Tiger. :o) Btw, if you're in Bragg Creek, the little ice cream shop on Whyte Ave gives the biggest & best scoops in town! 


We headed home to find Mom whipping up a storm for dinner. We were barbecuing some big ol' steaks, corn on the cob, greek salad, pear & blue cheese salad, mint potatoes, and of course, baked brie with pecans for an appetizer. Oooh & blueberry crisp for dessert! It was a feast! 


The Jameses & I walked down to the barn before dinner to bring the truck back, but as we were driving back, Jim (also a James & owner of the ranch) asked us to give him a hand with some panels to stop the cattle from the park crawling through the fence. We drove out to the field & loaded up the panels. Oh my word. The mosquitos are out in FULL FORCE! I haven't seen them this bad for a VERY LONG TIME! We were all swinging & swatting & itching like crazy! I think I had about 12 new bites in a matter of a few minutes! They are thirsty little critters! UGH! We were moving as quickly as we could! Jim commented on finding a dead calf the other day. I asked him what happened to the calf. Jim replied, 'He stopped living.' He's a funny guy for 86 years of age! I also admired his bailer twine suspenders! :o) Still practical after all these years!


We enjoyed a hearty meal & more wonderful visits. I was surprised to hear about Little James' Champion Mutton Buster & Steer Riding past! I guess I thought I was a rarity in working on ships with a 'western' background! I knew something was up when he was so prompt to get the gates & knew which way to swing it! 


They plan to work a while longer on ships, as Big James has recently been made Manager of the Photo Department. I'm so proud of him! It's difficult for the two of them to snag the same ship together, so say a little prayer they both end up on the same ship. I know what it's like to be away from the one you love & it's NOT FUN. 


Today was also my first Neupogen shot. I was feeling a little rusty, as it's been a month or more since all the fertility shots. But, I managed to get it all in my leg & didn't keel over. I took a Tylenol straight away to keep any bone pain at bay. I didn't feel anything until about 0500 the next morning. I felt like I'd been riding a Clydesdale all day. My hips & lower back ached like crazy! UGH. I hope it passes soon!


Anyhow, what a great day. I can't sing the Jameses praises enough... I love them to bits & can't wait until our next visit... Travel safe & enjoy what's left of you holidays... Sending you love & hugs...


OH! I forgot to mention... Big James' little brother is a professional Wrestler - Leo Kruger. He's just started in the US, but next season he'll be on the reality tv show, NXT. If you're into that scene, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for him!


Maria & Valentina
xxxxxxx

There were a bunch of artists painting at the falls today.

Always time for a touristy pic!

A James Sandwich

Forget-Me-Not Pond with Nihahi Ridge in the background. Apparently it's the ridge that Christopher Reeves flies over in Superman.

Forget-Me-Not's famous reflections

I'm so happy you guys made it here!

Uh-oh! Storm clouds are coming!

Oceana gets a lift!

Shufly & the Jameses.

The old truck in evening light.

Day 188 - St. Maarten

Whoo hoo! Another new place to tick off the list! St. Maarten is pretty much a mecca in the Caribbean. Most cruise ships will stop here & on any given day, you're likely to find a few 'boats' in port. Today, we were 4 ships. It was insanity.


The Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, owned by Royal Caribbean, was in port with us. This monster of a boat holds 5000 passengers & I don't even know how many crew! Crazy! I would never want to work on a baby like that! Ugh... The thought of ressi just makes me want to call in sick with Norovirus! Okay, so most of you will have NO IDEA what that last sentence means, but take my word for it, it would not be fun! I'm sure the ship is beautiful & all, but it's a little too 'city-like' for me. Give me my small ship of 2000 passengers (even that is big!!!)


I was very excited to hear that we were also in port with the Emerald Princess. The Medical Centre needed some meds from our ship, so Stacey, one of the nurses, headed over to the Emerald to drop it off. I went along with the hopes of seeing a photog or two. I managed to bump into Jimmy. I worked with Jimmy on the Diamond Princess in 2005. Seems like ages ago! It was great to see him! He's still crazy Jimmy!


Along with Jimmy, Dr. Rudy Bosch was working as Senior Doctor onboard & I was hoping we would get to visit with him. Rudy was Jaco's boss when I sailed with Jaco on the Star Princess. Rudy is like one giant teddy bear & he's a barrel of fun. I have yet to see him in a foul mood & he's always got something interesting to share. 


Unfortunately, Jaco had a dental appointment & missed Rudy's appearance on the ship. Vicky, one of the nurses, worked with Rudy on the Star before I arrived, so they were having a catch up visit when I came to say hello. Rudy is just plain infectious, always with a twinkle in his eye! It's no wonder people request to work with him across the fleet! He is built like a brick potty house & bald as the prairie. When I told him about my chemo situation, he said to send photos & we'll compare bald heads! What a guy! Jaco was very sad to have missed seeing him, as a fellow South African and former colleague, they have a lot in common.


After Rudy left, I took Valentina out & met Eddie to head downtown. We walked for 10-15 minutes & visited a few shops where Eddie searched for some camera accessories. We then headed to the beach. It kind of reminded me of PV or Mazatlan... There were bars everywhere & music blaring & of course, swarms of people. Completely not my scene, but it was fun for a day! We left our things at a bar where Eddie knew the bartender & headed into the water. It was a lovely hot day & the water was very refreshing. We visited with a couple couples enjoying their Carnival cruise. (Carnival's largest ship in their fleet was also in port with us) Valentina hated the water & desperately tried to make a beeline for the shore. Eddie became distracted by the topless sunbathers & I got dizzy rolling my eyes at him! 


After an hour or so, it was time to head back to the ship. Eddie had to work & I had hoped to look around the terminal a bit. Nothing too exciting to be seen, unless you're after an embroidered 'St. Maarten' shopping bag or a pirate t-shirt! What a day! I went up on deck to watch sailaway & to get a bird's eye (sort of) view of the Oasis. I had to take three photos to fit it in!


When I arrived on deck, everyone had British flags they were waving about. I wondered what on earth was going on, but apparently with all our British passengers, they have a British sailaway. They played famous British songs & everyone waved their flags. Okay, I'm down with that. We had a random power outage for about 10 minutes - I asked who forgot to pay the power bill? :o)


Another lovely day in the Caribbean & I'm loving every minute of it. My Babe, my baby, sunshine & the deep blue sea. What more could any girl ask for? Okay, fair enough, good health would be appreciated too. Have a beautiful night...


Maria, Jaco & Valentina 
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Rudy & Vicky - reunited!

Okay, so this photo was taken in March, but I swear it's a mini-Rudy! (It's my cousin's little guy - Rhett!)

Oh so many ships!

Walking down the promenade along the waterfront

Tweet Pea hitches a ride

Oh just please keep me out of the water!

The bartenders & Eddie, the bartender!

A crazy honeymoon couple we met from Mexico. She had one too many Jagermeister's, but she was still fun!

Carnival Dream & Emerald Princess in the distance

British Sailaway

Union Jacks

Oasis of the Seas