Aloha to Royal Caribbean Weekend Cruise - Fort Fincastle

 

After our Segway Tour, the shuttle took my friends back to the port ... but I asked the driver to take me to Fort Fincastle. From nassauparadiseisland.com,

Erected in 1793, Fort Fincastle was named after British captain Lord Dunmore—and his second title, Viscount Fincastle—who had it built to protect Nassau Harbour and watch for encroaching pirates. Since it was located atop Bennet’s Hill, the highest point on New Providence Island, the fort provided fantastic views of Nassau and Paradise Island as well as the eastern approaches to New Providence. Its appearance alone must have been daunting enough to all would-be marauders since its cannons were never fired! Open seven days a week, 8:00am to 4:00pm.

The fort was constructed from limestone in the surrounding hills, creating the Queen's Staircase which I'll spotlight tomorrow.

  

Fort Fincastle is shaped like a steam paddler ... thus nicknamed the ship that goes nowhere.  It reminded me of Blackness Castle near Edinburgh, Scotland (link) - it is also shaped like a ship!

Although the castle was closed, it still intrigued me!

The cannons were never fired ...

... but the castle gives an excellent view of Paradise Island ...

... home of the Atlantis resort.

I also spied the three cruise ships docked in Nassau.  Do you have a favorite castle?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's posts win a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, November 7, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, November 8.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Aloha to Royal Caribbean Weekend Cruise - Nassau Segway Tour

On Saturday afternoon, my friends and I donned hair nets ...

... and bike helmets for the Nassau Segway Tours.  From its website (link),

Explore Nassau’s spectacular blue waters and beaches, as you and your Segway glide along the walkways lining Nassau Harbor. Your tour starts just a mile from the cruise ship port, where our complementary van drops you off at our home-base, located just behind the Cricket Club. Here you will be assigned a Segway, meet your tour guide and receive a brief orientation and personal training. You will be surprised at the ease with which young and old alike learn to master riding the Segway.

Now it’s time to experience first-hand the Segway’s amazing abilities as you and your Segway roll along scenic Nassau Harbor to Junkanoo Beach. Here you make your turn back toward the sights and sounds of the colorful collection of local restaurants and bars known the world over simply as “The Fish Fry” for a brief break and a chance to purchase refreshments. Next, your new found skills are apparent as you and your Segway have some good natured competition with the other guests on our low- activities course and enjoy a great view of historic Fort Charlotte atop the hill just above you.

I was curious about Fort Charlotte.   From the Bahamas website (link)

Built in 1788 by Lord Dunmore the fort was named after the wife of King George III, Queen Saharia Charlotte. The middle bastion, Ft. Stanley and the western portion, Ft. D'Arcy were added later.

This fort has a moat, dungeons, underground passageways and 42 cannons, which have never been fired in an act of aggression.

Our tour guide, Amine, introduced us to Goombay Punch - a carbonated pineapple drink bottled in the Bahamas by Coca Cola.  I loved it!

Amine also introduced us to the "Fish Fry" - a row of fish stalls turned into restaurants which delights locals and tourists alike. Twin Brothers was featured in the finale of Top Chef All Stars.

We tried fried conch - it was delicious!  Would you have tried the fried conch or Goombay punch?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's posts wins a book choice from my convention stash.   Comments are open through Saturday, October 31, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, November 1, at SOS Aloha!

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Majestic tree at the foot of Fort Charlotte.

Aloha to Royal Caribbean Cruise Weekend - Junkanoo Beach

Junkanoo Beach is a short walk from the cruise ship piers.  It offers everything you would expect from a Bahama Beach ... white sand, Caribbean music, and coconuts galore.

I walked out onto the jetty, finding a new friend.

Across the channel is the tip of Paradise Island with a historic lighthouse and more lush beaches.

Ah, this is the life!

Three ships brought tourists to Nassau ... our ship, the Enchantment of the Seas, is sandwiched in the middle.

Who doesn't love coconuts?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 31, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, November 1 at SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Below is a satellite image of Nassau on New Providence Island, the lower land mass.  Junkanoo is the thin white strip to the right of the white rectangle.

Aloha to Royal Caribbean Cruise Weekend - Nassau, Bahamas

 

Our ship, the Enchantment of the Seas, pulled into Nassau, Bahamas, with the help of the pilot boat.  From the Bahamas website (link),

Nassau, the capital city of The Bahamas, is located on 21-mile-long New Providence, our 11th largest island. Nassau’s main harbor is protected by Paradise Island. The harbor attracted settlers in the early days, particularly pirates. In fact, Nassau’s population consisted mainly of pirates until 1718, when The Bahamas first Royal Governor, Woodes Rogers expelled them, restored order and built Fort Nassau. The Bahamas for centuries adopted Rogers’ motto, “Expulsis Piratis, Restituta Commercia,” which means, “Pirates Expelled, Commerce Restored.” Now, 212,000 people call New Providence Island home, with a large portion of them residing in Nassau.

My friends posed in front of our ship before their shopping adventure.

Of course I took time to take a picture of a ship from the Royal Bahamas Defense Force.

My group stopped in the famous Straw Market ...

... where you can find anything made of straw!

Nassau is also home to duty free shopping, including iconic watches from Little Switzerland!

I left my friends to venture into the neighborhoods outside the shopping district ...

... including the Christ Church Cathedral.  From its website (link),

Christ Church Cathedral is the "Mother Church" of all of the Anglican churches in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. In 1670, King Charles II granted the colony (of the Bahamas) to the Lord Proprietors of Carolina. The Proprietors were instructed to "build churches and chapels in furtherance of the Christian Religion." 

The staff was preparing for a wedding but allowed me to snap a few photos.

Again from its website, 

The building is of Gothic architecture. It is made of locally quarried cut lime-stone blocks, which are held together primarily - though not entirely - by their size and the weight of gravity rather than by cement.

I noticed this beautiful mural ...

... en route to the beach.

Next stop:  Junkanoo Beach.

Do you have a favorite souvenir?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's posts win a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 31, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, November 1.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Aloha to Royal Caribbean Weekend Cruise - Port Canaveral

Last weekend, I flew to Orlando, where I joined a group of college friends for a Caribbean Cruise. We collectively celebrated our 50th birthdays.   We cruised on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas.  From its website (link),

Adventurers, relaxation seekers, cruisers young and old – here's the ship for you. Enchantment of the Seas® boasts bungee trampolines to spring you sky high, rock-climbing wall, and an interactive Splash Deck – along with plenty of spaces that soothe, like the VitalitySM Spa and the adults-only Solarium pool. When the night heats up, follow dinner with a scoop from Ben & Jerry's, a Broadway-style show, and salsa moments at Boleros Latin-themed lounge. Now that's a day and night to remember!

We boarded the ship for lunch and enjoyed a cocktail upon arrival.  My choice - Mai Tai!

At 4 pm, we departed Port Canaveral ... 

 ... with a pilot boat by our side.

Meanwhile, the cruise director kicked off the party on the pool deck!  Next stop:  Nassau, Bahamas.

Have you taken a cruise?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's posts wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 31, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, November 1, at SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

The pilot boat left us to navigate the Atlantic coast.

On this day in history ...

US Suffragists - 1913
Public Image (link)

On this day in 1915, women marched in New York City for the right to vote.  

Susan B. Anthony, a pivotal player in the suffragist movement, noted:

Modern invention has banished the spinning wheel, and the same law of progress makes the woman of today a different woman from her grandmother.

One hundred years later, we have 22 women serving as political leaders (link).

Let's keep our right ... go vote in the November elections.

Have you visited New York City?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's posts wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 24, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 25, on SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

US Suffragists - 1917
Public Image (link)

Wednesday's Warriors - Arnold Air Society at Anchorsplash

My oldest son is a freshman at the University of South Florida (USF).  He is also enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program - the same detachment where I received my commission as a second lieutenant.   

My son's picture popped up earlier this week on the AFROTC's Facebook page, engaging in extraneous exercise.  I just had to laugh as the only exercise we did was march around USF's Sun Dome parking lot, practicing the 54 commands that we would never use on active duty.

Above is a picture from my freshman year - I was one of twenty plus scholarship students at the University of Tampa (UT) who participated in the AFROTC program at USF.   I'm the second from the left ... it looks like I rolled out of bed.  Of the 13 in the picture, I still keep in contact with three. 

In 1986, during my junior year, I was a member of the Delta Gamma (DG) social sorority at UT.  Our symbol was the anchor.  I should have been in Navy ROTC!

I recruited the AFROTC's "fraternity", Arnold Air Society, to participate in DG's annual fundraiser - Anchorsplash.   The fundraiser pitted fraternities against each other in a series of contests.  The first contest was held Friday night - Mr. Anchorsplash.  Remember, this is the late '80s!

I procured a flight suit for the cadet above who shall remain nameless.  He came up with his own routine to the tune of Top Gun's Danger Zone.  He won, snatching the trophy away from traditional fraternities.   During our drill the following week, the ranking cadets presented gave him a bouquet of flowers ... there may be a picture somewhere in the detachment. 

Next week I'll share the pictures from the pool events of Anchorsplash.  Yes, bathing suits!

Do you have a favorite song from the 80s?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blog posts wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 24, 10 pm in Baltimore (keep 'em clean).  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 25, on my book blog, SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Mr Danger Zone and I celebrate the victory!

On the day in history ... American football rules

Walter Camp
Public Domain (link)

On this day in 1873, representatives from Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, and Yale drafted the first code of football rules, including 20 players on each team to play on a field of 400 by 250 feet.

The rules continued to evolve among the college powerhouses.
In 1880, Yale player Walter Camp coordinated the changes which reduced the teams to 11 players and implemented the snap.   Camp is considered the Father of American Football.

One hundred and forty two years later, American football is a part of our nation's culture.  From Steve Deace at USA Today (link),

I believe we're so passionate about football because it embodies everything we love about American exceptionalism. Merit is rewarded, not punished. Masculinity is celebrated, not feminized. People of various beliefs and backgrounds — a melting pot, if you will — must unify for a common goal for the team to be successful.

In football, fortune favors the bold, just as it once did in the American frontier. But football also sprinkles in the right amount of fairness by letting the bad teams draft first in the NFL, so there's at least a chance that one day the glass slipper fits Cinderella.

Who is your favorite football team - high school, college, or professional league?  One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 24, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 25, at SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City 

William "Pudge" Heffelfinger, widely regarded
 as the first professional football player
Public Domain (link)