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)

On this day in history ... the Surrender at Yorktown

John Trumball's Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
Public Domain (link)

We have a new feature here at Aloha On My Mind where I share my love of trivia.  On this day in 1781, British General Cornwallis surrendered to Patriot General Washington after the Siege of Yorktown.  His surrender ended the American Revolution, led to the the Treaty of Paris in 1783, and created a new nation.

From the National Park Service (link),

The American Revolution had entered its seventh year when, in 1781, British general Lord Charles Cornwallis brought his army to Yorktown to establish a naval base. In the siege by American and French forces that followed, much of the town was destroyed.

Today, there are still some tangible reminders of Yorktown's historic past that have survived, giving much of the town a colonial atmosphere. During your visit to Yorktown, stop at the Nelson House on Main Street, the home of Thomas Nelson, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and commander of the Virginia Militia during the Siege of Yorktown. For hours of operation, see Yorktown Programs and Activities.

As you stroll the streets, you have the opportunity to imagine Yorktown as it once was--a thriving tobacco port--that witnessed the last battle of the American Revolution.

Have you visited Yorktown?  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.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 24, 10 pm, at SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

US Postage Stamp, 1931 issue commemorating
150th anniversary of the victory at Yorktown
Public Domain (link)