All Things EARTH... part 2

[awhfy]

We supported the local economy too!!

[jhsocal]

Did anyone wear hose or is it strictly bare legs when dressed up? At my age, bare is a little scary.

[PurpleHays]

6 hours ago, jhsocal said:

Did anyone wear hose or is it strictly bare legs when dressed up? At my age, bare is a little scary.

I skip hose and blind everyone with my redhead white legs. I'm in my late 50s.

[slidergirl]

7 hours ago, jhsocal said:

Did anyone wear hose or is it strictly bare legs when dressed up? At my age, bare is a little scary.

go bare or don't go at all!!!   😉  At 67, I'm still baring it...

[MJC]

I think you should do what you are most comfortable with. But for a few exceptions (conservative religious wedding, winter formal, etc) I don't wear hose, and that is common where I live. If you are used to wearing hose and feel more comfortable that way, then go for it. I've been on 2 cruises since November and formal night dress varied so much, plus you have all the people who don't dress up at all. The important thing was that everyone was having a good time.

 

 

[MJC]

On Thursday we went to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We have never been there and opted for a ship excursion called Mystic Mountain and Ragamuffin. I had to google it to figure out what it was. We didn't want to be gone all day, and we liked the fact that there were shuttles back to the ship so we could leave whenever we wanted to. Their website isn't very helpful so it took some hunting to actually find out what was there. This is a pretty good overview:

 

https://things-to-do-in-jamaica.com/mystic-mountain-jamaica/

 

It started with a chairlift up the mountain. The view of the harbor was fantastic, and we could hear all the birds singing in the jungle around us. We could see rain in the distance.

 

 

A hawk flew into my frame just as I took this one:

 

 

 

There were beautiful plantings and flowers everywhere.  There was a nature trail but it was closed that day.

 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2022 by MJC

[laurspag]

23 hours ago, jhsocal said:

Did anyone wear hose or is it strictly bare legs when dressed up? At my age, bare is a little scary.

It really is a personal choice, and I think you should do what what you are comfortable with.  I work in a very conservative line of work, and it wasn't until 2 years ago that we were allowed to not wear socks or hosiery.  At first, I was against it because I didn't like my legs.  Then I realized that if I wanted to be okay with my body and looks, to just tell myself to do whatever feels good.

 

I don't wear hosiery on a cruise these days, as I have grown comfortable with that now.  For the record, my legs are pasty white, filled with spider veins and I have wonky looking knees.  🙂  

[laurspag]

That looks like a fun excursion, Margaret.  We just signed up for an excursion in Roatan that I think we will like.  It is a eco hike, I guess you could say.  More of a walk, where we get to see wildlife and get a little bit of exercise at the same time.  It looks fun.

 

Currently, our cruise (I'm referring to the October cruise, by the way) only has about 6 excursions showing for all three ports total!  I'm guessing it is because they are waiting to see what happens with COVID first.  It must be a pain for them.  I was thinking of checking to see if it is too early to reserve Nachi!  I too have a picture from there.  I am sure I will get another one when I go back because we always have big smiles on our face there!

[laurspag]

Edited February 26, 2022 by laurspag
Why is this upside down? Lol

[laurspag]

[awhfy]

50 minutes ago, laurspag said:

That looks like a fun excursion, Margaret.  We just signed up for an excursion in Roatan that I think we will like.  It is a eco hike, I guess you could say.  More of a walk, where we get to see wildlife and get a little bit of exercise at the same time.  It looks fun.

 

Currently, our cruise (I'm referring to the October cruise, by the way) only has about 6 excursions showing for all three ports total!  I'm guessing it is because they are waiting to see what happens with COVID first.  It must be a pain for them.  I was thinking of checking to see if it is too early to reserve Nachi!  I too have a picture from there.  I am sure I will get another one when I go back because we always have big smiles on our face there!

Not too soon for Nachi!!

[MJC]

More pics from Jamaica. I didn't take any of the small open-air museum of the history of Jamaica, which we found very interesting. There were also a few vendors there selling crafts and jewelry. It faced a square that also had an eating area and another side with shops I don't remember. On top of that building was the restaurant. You had to go around and behind these buildings to get to the infinity pool. Inside that building is the bobsled ride down the mountain, which we didn't do. The fourth side of the square was the chairlift that brought us up and down. Behind that was a rope playground and climbing wall. You wear a color-coded wristband so they know which package you bought. Our excursion included the entrance fee and the Ragamuffin ride.

 

 

See the wet pavement? As soon as we finished the museum, the skies opened with a heavy downpour. So we sat until it passed, maybe 15 minutes or so.

 

Our next stop was the Ragamuffin ride (included in our excursion ticket). It was set in a beautiful garden full of flowers, and overlooked the ocean. The ride swings out side to side so you feel parallel to the ground... sometimes over the garden, sometimes over the cliff. I was laughing and screaming a bit. They let us go again. I think I was good marketing because by the time we were underway again we could see people coming up the walkway.

 

 

There's our pretty ship in the harbor.

 

 

[MJC]

At the end of the ride we could see the waterslide and pool. Of course I was fully prepared since I've never heard the word "waterslide" without trying it. My outfit for the day was bathing suit, workout shirt and shorts, socks and sneakers. Off came the clothes -- except the bathingsuit, natch -- and off I went. You have to climb some stairs to the top. The slide is fun but a bit slow, and the water was cooold! But not so cold I didn't do it three times. 🙂

 

The slide is adjacent to the restaurant (behind Mark) and overlooks the pool and the ocean. Very pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

The bobsled ride comes out of the building where the restaurant is, around the pool (you can see the tracks) and then down the mountain. I think you have to take the chairlift then to come back up.

 

It was quite warm, so when I was done sliding I just put my clothes back on, sans socks, and off we went.

Edited March 2, 2022 by MJC

[MJC]

The last thing we did was visit the hummingbird garden. We had learned that the national bird is the Swallow Tail Hummingbird, which we didn't expect to see. But we did! Unfortunately the rest of the nature trail was closed that day. From the chairlift on the way down, though, we spotted a hutia in the jungle, which we had learned about in the museum. No photo though.

 

 

Natural air conditioning 🙂

 

 

The shuttles did stop at a small shopping area for people to get off, and again at the port area open air market in the parking lot.

 

And that was the end of our visit to Jamaica!

[slidergirl]

the bobsled rides are fun - we have them all over ski resorts for summer fun.  Just don't touch the brakes!!!  

[awhfy]

13 hours ago, MJC said:

At the end of the ride we could see the waterslide and pool. Of course I was fully prepared since I've never heard the word "waterslide" without trying it. My outfit for the day was bathing suit, workout shirt and shorts, socks and sneakers. Off came the clothes -- except the bathingsuit, natch -- and off I went. You have to climb some stairs to the top. The slide is fun but a bit slow, and the water was cooold! But not so cold I didn't do it three times. 🙂

 

The slide is adjacent to the restaurant (behind Mark) and overlooks the pool and the ocean. Very pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

The bobsled ride comes out of the building where the restaurant is, around the pool (you can see the tracks) and then down the mountain. I think you have to take the chairlift then to come back up.

 

It was quite warm, so when I was done sliding I just put my clothes back on, sans socks, and off we went.

I, too, love water slides!!  

[jhsocal]

Would there been a place to change clothes if you had wanted, or the towel juggle act?

[MJC]

There were restrooms and lockers in the building with the restaurant and bobsled ride. You should bring a towel from the ship if you plan to get wet. I just didn't feel like carrying a tote bag that day, I wanted to be hands free so I could take pics with my waterproof camera. For me that was a really low maintenance choice! Normally I have all the just-in-case stuff with me ashore. 🙂

 

 

Edited March 2, 2022 by MJC

[MJC]

We had never been to Ocho Rios so I took some photos showing what the port is like, when we were back on deck. I went all the way to the top and views were fantastic.

 

There is a long zig-zag walk from the ship to shore. The second part has cover but it depends on the angle of the sun.

 

 

The low green-roofed building is where immigration is. We were grouped outside by excursion, had tickets checked, and then were led through the building when our bus was next. There is a large cul-de-sac for the buses with parking in the middle, and some shops. All the vendors were set up outside with tents, though, and it was the touristy stuff (no diamonds!!) not the usual port stores. When we returned we only had to show our Medallions, but it is recommended that you bring an official ID ashore with you at all the ports, which we do anyway JIC.

 

 

To the left of the port area is a public beach where you can rent chairs and umbrellas. It looked very clean and the water was beautiful and clear. In covid times, I'm not sure if the gate to access it is still open, I couldn't find any reports of people trying this yet.

 

 

If you continue left down to the end of the beach, this resort at the end supposedly has day passes. We had other plans so we didn't check it out. The square area roped off in the bay is where there was a dolphin activity. It looked like children and very small dolphins, but I was far away and high up, so hard to tell. I did see the dolphins leap a couple of times after the people left the water. You can tell by the sky that it was hit or miss all day with the rain. We were lucky we just had the quick burst at the beginning of our day.

 

 

CB was docked aft in, good view of where our cabin was, but it was sunny and hot out there all afternoon. Our bathing suits dried in record time.

 

The red arrow is where we dance at night, Skywalkers nightclub. It was beyond quiet up there this cruise, less than 12 people each time we were there, but we loved it. By the third night the DJ would see me arrive and put on some disco. 😉

 

The green arrow is the deck with our favorite pool, the Terrace Pool (adults only). You can usually find a shady spot and the bar is on the quiet side, easy to get a drink. We've had some nice chatting with folks up there.

 

The black arrow is our aft cabin. There are only four of the Vista suites and we just love them. We never heard the people next door or saw them on their balcony, so we felt like the only people on board when we were out there.

 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2022 by MJC

[MJC]

New topic. Has anyone seen this catalog? The clothes are so beautiful, but quite pricey.

 

https://www.peruvianconnection.com/category/womens+dresses.do

 

I'm in love with this from jjill in the color called sea:

 

https://www.jjill.com/product/embroidered-soft-cotton-twill-top?searchTerm=

 

They also have a nice EARTH color called olive oil, and a good neutral called canvas.

 

Also like goldenrod:

 

https://www.jjill.com/SearchDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&searchSource=Q&pageView=&beginIndex=0&pageSize=36&authToken=&searchTerm=goldenrod

Edited March 3, 2022 by MJC

[slidergirl]

29 minutes ago, MJC said:

New topic. Has anyone seen this catalog? The clothes are so beautiful, but quite pricey.

 

https://www.peruvianconnection.com/category/womens+dresses.do

 

I'm in love with this from jjill in the color called sea:

 

https://www.jjill.com/product/embroidered-soft-cotton-twill-top?searchTerm=

 

They also have a nice EARTH color called olive oil, and a good neutral called canvas.

 

Also like goldenrod:

 

https://www.jjill.com/SearchDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&searchSource=Q&pageView=&beginIndex=0&pageSize=36&authToken=&searchTerm=goldenrod

I've received the catalog from The Peruvian Collection for years.  There have been many items I would have loved to have from that catalog, but alas, too pricey for me.

 

But, nothing like the things in the Gorsuch catalog!!!

[laurspag]

I have never seen that catalog before.  It has some beautiful things in it, but too pricey for me also 

 

I'm loving your review, by the way, Margaret.

 

I have had a lot of misses when it comes to clothes lately.  I found a few formal dresses a few months back, but not much else.

 

Except a swimsuit.  That I didn't need.  Athleta fits me well, and they had a tankini in a nice color.  I'm waiting for it to come in. Brown doesn't happen often!

 

 

 

 

[awhfy]

10 hours ago, laurspag said:

I have never seen that catalog before.  It has some beautiful things in it, but too pricey for me also 

 

I'm loving your review, by the way, Margaret.

 

I have had a lot of misses when it comes to clothes lately.  I found a few formal dresses a few months back, but not much else.

 

Except a swimsuit.  That I didn't need.  Athleta fits me well, and they had a tankini in a nice color.  I'm waiting for it to come in. Brown doesn't happen often!

 

 

 

 

I wondered if you’d grab that one!  Just don’t wear it in hot tub or pool, it’ll fade like the dickens. I took a new Athleta swimsuit on our October cruise & it faded horribly. I actually took it back & they reordered it for me saying it was supposed to be chlorine resistant (but obviously wasn’t). I’ll keep my Athleta for ocean only

 

nice catalog, but Wowie pricey!!  Melody

[laurspag]

Melody, I've learned not to wear anything in the hot tubs other than this light colored peach tankini, which was already ruined by the chlorine.  😞  I usually don't have issues with pools, but I am not in pools a ton.  I find that they usually hold up in the pool okay.

 

One thing I was looking for not long ago was something to replace the bad peach tankini.  I was looking to see if I could find an ivory or ivory print that might work.  I really do hate that tankini, to be honest.  I found an ivory one piece in Target last year, but I didn't like it on.  Miraclesuit has one, but we know how expensive that brand is.  I didn't feel I could justify it just for the hot tub, you know?

 

I continue to look when I remember, but I tend to forget until I am close to travel time.  Overall, I find Athleta to really fit me well, and they are well made. The amount of chlorine in a hot tub is damaging to any brand, I think.

 

My daughter loves hot tubs and pools, so I was thinking we might want to bring extra.  They don't take up much room.  We have our two port days in a row, and need a swimsuit each day.  They don't usually dry overnight so I need two for those days, and then I might bring one or two more, between the sea day and the hotel.  I doubt I will need them all, but it doesn't hurt.  

 

We are having the best weather today.  A few days ago, the temp got down into the teens.  It is currently mid 60s and sunny, but windy.  My daughters and their two cousins rented an Airbnb about a mile away for the weekend.  They don't have a lot, but this cottage was available for cheap and they really just wanted a little break.  They all had such a good time.   They came back early today, and we went to lunch together.

 

It will be back down in the 40s tomorrow, I believe.  

 

Remember the dress that was on clearance at Dillards but full price at Macy's?  The Vince Camuto dress?  I decided to take a chance and order the final sale one from Dillards, and it fits great.  🙂  I know ivory isn't my best color, but it is much warmer IRL than in the photo.  I'm so glad I took the chance because it fits great.  It isn't a "bodycon" fit - it is a loose sheath that follows your body shape, if you know what I man.  I am very happy with it.  I will get a picture in a bit.

[laurspag]

Target has another one that may work.     Women's Scallop One Shoulder High Coverage One Piece Swimsuit - Kona Sol™ Ivory L : Target