December 31, 1997: Grenada

Grandpa, Mom, and I took a tour of Grenada.  Grenada is an English speaking island. They drive on the left side of the street. Grenada is known as the Isle of Spice because it is the largest spice-producing island in the Western Hemisphere.   The nutmeg tree was introduced here in 1843. This island is 21 miles by 12 miles wide.   Approximately 95,000 people live on the island with 27,000 living in St. George.  The island is full of beautiful tropical forests, but it looks like a very poor country.   As we drove, we were called 'Satan' and flicked off by the locals.   I guess they don't like Americans.  We got to see an egg cactus.  We took small minivans on the tour.   We went through the mountain rainforest where we saw homes built on stilts.  The natives homes looked shabby.   Went to Annandale Falls where we saw some locals diving into the falls and stopped at Fort Frederick.  We took a huge boat back to ship as there were so many passengers needing to get back.

We had a seat left over on the tender boat, so this kids asked if he could sit there.  He was a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania and wanting to major in psychiatry.  He's from a small town near Westchester, NY.   He listened to us and said I had an accent so I asked how it sounded, as I thought the Midwest accent was dull.  He said I had a definite accent and it sounded like a perpetually happy accent.   It must be my Chicago accent.   

Charlene, Kelsey, Matt, and I went up to the deck for the New Years Eve party.   There were 2,000 people on this ship.  I swear about half of them were at this party.  I had never seen so many streamers intertwined in my life.    Peole were on the 12th and 14th decks throwing streamers.  We counted down to the new year.   

Charlene and I did the congo line and stood on the side of the pool and did the macarena dance.  Then, we went to the 'Jammers' nightclub and felt so old there.  One guy was drunk and had thrown up all over the couch. We danced there for about 1/2 hour.   By 1:30 a.m., people were going crazy and jumping in the pool with their tuxedos or dresses on.  One lady was stripping and jumped in the pool. Then, we went to the buffet and a lady took a whole cake to her table. I think she was drunk.

December 30, 1997: Venezuela

Our ship landed at the port of La Guaira, Venezuelas, which was the capital city.   Venezuela was bordered by Colombia to the west and southwest; Brazil to the south and southeast; Guyana to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the north.   Venezuela had a population of around 21 million people, about 20% of whom lived in Caracas and were of European, Indian, and African ancestry.  Venezuela was the richest nation in Latin America.   It was the largest oil producer in the world.   
Spanish was the official language.   

Charlene, Grandpa, Matt, Kelsey, and I took the 4-wheel drive coastal adventure. It was the 'Romancing the Stone' like tour.   We took this Land Rover jeep through the mountains to Los Caracas.  We stopped at this village where we were able to have a boa constrictor snake wrapped around our  neck.   Charlene, Kelsey, and I did that and got our pictures taken.  Then, we stopped at this awesome beach where the undertoe was high.  The waves were huge and could carry you out to sea if you weren't careful.  I've never seen such intense waves in my life.   Then, we stopped in this fishing village of La Sabana.   Then, we went to this natural river pool where Grandpa accidentally dropped my camera in the water.   Luckily, this kid got in to fetch it.  But, the camera didn't work.  It was quite a bumpy ride back.  We had a man and his son from New York on our jeep.    

Mom and Grandma went on the city tour of Caracas which was a 45 minute drive one way from our boat.  Mom and I skipped the formal dinner and had pizza in the pizzeria on the boat. It was delicious.  

December 29, 1997: Aruba

Our stop today was on the island of Aruba. It's average temperature was 82 degrees.   It was a small island at 19.6 miles long and 6 miles across at its widest point.     Aruba was the 'A' in the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.  The population was about 67,000 on the island. About 10,000 people lived in the capital, Oranjestad.   The official language was Dutch, Engliash, Spanish, and a local dialect, Papamiento.  

We got off the boat at Oranjestad and took the Aruba Town and Country tour from 8-11 a.m.    On our drive, I noticed this island full of cactuses. It was a pretty dry island.  We stopped at an aloe vera factory.  This was one of their biggest industries.  We stopped at Aruba's Natural Bridge, carved by the surf from solid rock.  Then, we made a stop at the rock formations of Casibari.  Our last stop was at Santa Anna's Church.  The altar was made with beautiful solid oak.   The altar was completed in 1850.   Afterwards, my mom and I took Grandma Thomas back to the boat. 

Then, we went back to town and took a taxi to San Nicholas to Charlie's Restaurant and Bar. Harold Klee said we had to go there as it was a hole in the wall.   It cost us $20 for the cab ride there.  This restaurant was all that there was in this town.   Inside the restaurant, there were tons of memorabilia from tourists.   You could post something anywhere in the restaurant, so I posted my transit card with my name and city up on this lantern above the first table as you walk in.    They had delicious food.  We were so surprised to see Kelsey and Matt come.  Kelsey and Matt took the bus and it was only $1.75 each, so we waited with the locals for a bus back to the big city.   It was pretty interesting taking the bus with the locals through the towns on the way to Oranjestad.   As you got on the bus, there was a turnstile.  The seats were hard as a rock.  Mom and I got an ice cream cone at Baskin Robbins and then went shopping.   

December 28, 1997: Day at Sea

This was our only day at sea. Slept in until 10 a.m.    Mom was annoying me with her not finding things and ironing her clothes on my bed while I was trying to sleep. I am not a morning person. I prefer to stay up late in the evening.

Went to the library and wrote in my journal.   Then, I went out on the deck to soak up the sun.    Matt was playing basketball.   Kelsey and I think the two guys sitting at our dinner table last night were gay.    Had a lunch buffet with Kelsey, Matt, and Charlene.    In the evening, we had our formal dinner.    The oriental acrobats performed the evening show.   

December 27, 1997: Old San Juan

In the morning, I walked down the street to check out New San Juan and walked on this pier behind the convention center.   Then, I walked back to our hotel. Charlene found a great place to take pictures. We went outside behind the hotel where there was a hammock.  I sat in the hammock and she took a picture.  It was so relaxing sitting in the hammock.   At 12, we took the shuttle to our boat.    It took about an hour to get to the port.    Charlene and I got our picture taken together before boarding the ship.    Charlene stayed in Grandpa and Grandma's mini suite.   Charlene and I took a quick look at the boat before getting off and exploring Old San Juan.  

Charlene and I took a little trolley around Old San Juan and then walked up to the famous fort. The grounds there were huge.  There was a neat cemetery next to the fort that had all white gravestones.   The Catholic Church was white, too.    We did a little shopping and got back on the boat.   The rest of the family came around 5:30.    We had dinner at 7 and watched a Puerto Rican dancing show.

December 26, 1997: El Yunque, Louqillo Beach, Fajardo

Charlene and I got up quite early and walked down to the car rental place.  We were the first in line and to our luck, we got the last rental car and the last map.   Charlene drove and we stopped at a Kmart to get a few items.   The people in Puerto Rico are slow paced.    We drove up to the tropical rain forest, 'El Yunque.'  There were several winding roads up there.   We stopped at the visitors center and made it in time for the film.  We learned that the Puerto Rican parrot was becoming an endangered specie.    There were 44 parrots found in this forest.  Charlene and I walked up to Mt. Britton.  It was quite a walk.   It took about 45 minutes each way.  

Continued on the highway to Louqillo Beach.   It was a beautiful beach.   The entrance to the beach had palm trees on each side.   We hung out on the beach for about an hour.  Then, I took over the driving and we went to this absolutely gorgeous hotel, 'El Conquistador' in Fajardo.    We've never seen such a beautiful hotel like this in our lives.   It overlooked the Atlantic Ocean.   On our way out, the singing group 'Temptations' pulled up in a limousine at the entrance.   They were giving a concert tomorrow.    We had dinner at 'Pollo de sandwich' restaurant.   The menu was all in Spanish.   Charlene and I couldn't remember the word for butter even after Grandma Thomas had always told us her little Spanish, 'Pase la matequilla, por favor.', which meant 'Please pass the butter'.   

I drove us back to San Juan which was about a 45 minute ride.    The Puerto Ricans drove like maniacs.  They didn't put on their blinkers and drove in the median on the right side of the road.   I can't believe we got back to our hotel with no problems.   We had a hard time finding how to get back to the car rental place.    First, I took a wrong turn and we ended up on this highway. Then, when we'd get off to get onto a side street, we'd get onto another highway. We kept getting further and further away from the Condado section of Puerto Rico. Finally, we stopped at a 7-11 and I tried to get directions back.   The worker couldn't speak English and I couldn't speak much Spanish, so it was frustrating.  Charlene said the look on my face was priceless.    Both of us were using hand signals to communicate.   I don't know how I figured out the directions, but we went down 5 traffic lights and turned left and ended up where we had to bring the car back.   

December 25, 1997: Puerto Rico

Charlene and I left on Northwestern Airlines at 5:40 a.m. from Grand Rapids bound for Detroit.   We had a 2 hour layover there.  We talked with this guy who met his wife in Puerto Rico.  He used to live in Puerto Rico for years so he told us what we should see there.  He had this cute gorilla doll that sang the Macarena song.   We got to Puerto Rico around 2:45 p.m.   Their time was 1 hour ahead of the Eastern time zone.   The temperature was around 80-85 degrees.      

We stayed at the El Conquistador Hotel and Casino in New San Juan.  There were several pools around the hotel.  Inside the lobby, there was this huge aquarium with several Caribbean fish inside.   On the Mezzanine level, there were several shops and a casino. 

Charlene and I took a nap and then walked to this lighted bridge to check out the Caribe Hilton.   We had Italian food  at a restaurant inside the Caribe Hilton.   After dinner, we went outside and noticed a bunch of people gathering, so wanted to check it out.  It was a big festival near the capital building where they had camels, a manger scene, and food.    Charlene went to get a Coke and saw that one of the booths was selling the Macarena dolls so we each got one.   We had problems catching a cab back to the hotel.

December 24, 1997: Christmas Eve

Today, I talked to Grandma Gonyo on the phone. She's going with her boyfriend, Norm, to his nephew's house for Christmas dinner.Visited Sue and Ashley. Her mom was going to make me a cheesecake, but I was in a rush to get home and get over to Mike and LouAnn's house.   Sue got me this journal and her mom made me a cute tree skirt for my Christmas tree.  Ashley gave me a Christmas photo of herself.  

Had a wonderful dinner at Mike and Lou Anns. We went on a hayride and talked with Stacy.   The trees were glistened with snow and it was beautiful. We sang Christmas carols and passed around Butterscotch snapps.  Rode with Steve and Charlene to Grand Rapids, as I was leaving with Charlene to Puerto Rico the next morning.   The roads were horrible on our way to Grand Rapids.  We had received 6-8 inches of snow so the roads weren't quite plowed.

December 23, 1997: Home

It was very hard today to get through work with going home and the caribbean cruise coming.  Wayne Onak, my co-worker, said if I didn't finish my brand file that I couldn't go to Puerto Rico.   I knew he was just kidding.    Peggy Ryan who used to work in RDS was leaving for Florida today to visit her parents.

Took Amtrak home after work.  The train was completely full.  Passengers had to sit in the lounge car or on the floor.   Got into Holland around 9:45 p.m. and was so surprised to see my best friend Kara Filius there to also greet me along with my mom.