Awakening to rain on the porthole window, the Spirit sailed into Roatan, Honduras.   While some were disappointed with the rain, we were gladdened for a somewhat forced slowdown for reading, journaling, and general downtime—we all need some rainy days in our lives—and this one was overdue.

We left the ship after an early breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, bacon, cereal, etc. in a light drizzle.  As with the other ports of call, this one was very commercialized, having made sweetheart deals with the various cruise lines.  All the stores begin to look the same, and sell the same merchandise—gold, silver, liquor, perfume, and some local stuff, mostly made in China—and except for the local stuff, the ship is about 5-10% less expensive.This commercial development is known as Mahogany Bay, and we had our picture taken with the Baxter Bulletin in front of the Mahogany Bay, Roatan sign; the Baxter Bulletin is our local paper, and once a week includes photos of residents holding the paper in far away locales.

As we continued our time at Roatan, the drizzle turned to outright rain, then back to drizzle, then to rain, etc.  After visiting all the shops, we returned to the ship and spent the rest of the day enjoying our downtime.

After departing Roatan, our ship headed south around the island, then north towards Cozumel, Mexico.  Winds were blowing directly towards the starboard side of the ship, and we were rockin’ and rollin’ in the Gulf of Mexico, forcing us to take a sea sick pill or two, and wondering if we would sleep during the night.

Sailing further south, we arrived in Belize City, Belize, at 8 a.m. today.  Belize is known as one of the best snorkeling and diving locations in the world, second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and beating out Bonaire, Dutch Antilles.  (Turneffe Islands Atoll is one of the best bone fishing locations in the world, but we couldn’t make it happen this trip.)  One interesting tidbit about Belize is that prior to 1972 it was known as British Honduras, and is the only English speaking country in Central and South America stemming from its settlement by the English in the late 1600s.  Consequently, many Americans winter here.

Kay arranged a snorkeling and beach excursion for the morning, so we were up early, on the tender for transporting us to shore, then on a catamaran for our activities.  Belize City is the only port of call at which our ship is anchored offshore, with passengers being tendered to the city.  We arrived at the pier, and were led to an awaiting catamaran which took us to a part of the barrier reef, the second largest in the world.  On board the catamaran, we met a couple from Searcy who knew many of the same people in White county that we knew.  After fitting us with fins, masks and snorkeling tubes, and flotation devices, the crew gave us a few snorkeling pointers, and we jumped in the water for a great 45 minutes of snorkeling. We saw many types of coral, and several species of fish.  It was an exhilarating time.

Following the snorkeling adventure, we motored to a private island for some beach time.  After a freshwater shower, and a brief walk around the rather small island, we spent the remainder of time onboard the catamaran which provided complimentary rum punch, sodas, and water.  The trip back to shore was lively with good music and dancing. 

Back on shore in Belize City, we split a shrimp appetizer and entree at one of the local restaurants, and walked the commercial area near the pier.

It was hot and humid, forcing us to head back to the Spirit for a shower and nap.  After a long afternoon resting in the cabin and a mediocre dinner (seems like we missed the lobster dinner as no one told us), we attended the tribute to Rock and Roll of the ‘70s, and a quite humorous newlywed and not so newlywed game.

We sailed south, and slightly east, all yesterday and last evening, arriving this morning in Costa Maya, Mexico, on the north and east side of the Yucatan Peninsula.  Costa Maya is a relative new city, created primarily for passengers from cruise ships.  Consequently, most of the infrastructure is relatively new, and the area most visited is very commercial.

Upon arriving in Costa Maya, we visited all the tourist shops, had a Coke and appetizer at a local restaurant, and watched people from 3 different cruise ships wander through the small town. Though Costa Maya offered snorkeling, beach time, and jeep tours, we opted to explore Mayan ruins.  A modern bus took us from the pier to the ruins, almost an hour west by highway, and our guide for the day, Sergios Puc, a young man of Mayan descent, presented a brief history of the Mayan culture in his limited English.  Neither of us knew what to expect, and as we entered the archeological site, we saw a Mayan pyramid, and assumed that it would be the centerpiece of the day’s exploration.  Restrooms at the site were modern and clean; we were off to a good start.  The Chacchoben archeological site is one of many found on the Yucatan Peninsula, and was, in fact, a small Mayan city.  We saw several pyramids, and what was once an open plaza surrounded by houses occupied by the wealthy.  We were impressed with the extent of site.

After the hot and humid afternoon, we returned to the Spirit, showered, and had an okay dinner.  After dinner, we enjoyed a Cirque de Soleil type show featuring an acrobatic couple from Moscow, Russia, both having been trained and performed in classical ballet; they were really good!  We adjourned to the Galaxy Lounge on the 12th floor to here a really funny comedian from Houston.  It has been a good day.

Today was spent cruising south and slightly east towards the Yucatan Peninsula.  We ate, exercised, sat around the pool, and got familiar with the ship.  One of tonight’s highlights was a song and dance Broadway-themed stage show.

With only a few hours sleep, we awoke early, drove to Jenny and Brian’s, loaded their luggage, and headed towards New Orleans a few minutes before 6 a.m.  The drive was uneventful, and we arrived at the port about 12:30 p.m.  Parking and unloading at the New Orleans Port make it easy as the multi-deck parking lot is immediately adjacent to the ship.

Checking in and boarding were accomplished quickly, and we climbed to the upper deck, and buffet, until our cabins were ready.  The embarkation party was on decks 12 and 13 near the four hot tubs and pool.  They had a full grill going and a band playing great music.  Jenny and Kay danced with a group doing the electric slide, then the Macarena, and finally the song, YMCA. Brian and Donald were probably hoping that no one noticed we were with them!  We are always amazed by people who cruise.  On this particular cruise, there seem to be more smokers, more people in wheel chairs, walkers and canes, and more people with health problems.  It’s pretty easy to see why our health care system is in such dire straits!  The food at the buffet is much better than it was on Norwegian’s Pride of America in Hawaii in May.  Today, the fresh fruit was particularly good.

Our cabins were ready about 2 p.m. but luggage arrival was late.  In fact, Kay’s luggage did not arrive—the tag had been lost, and she had to retrieve it at the reception desk—whew!

The orientation show featured most of the acts we would see during the week, and was so so.  Interestingly, the cruise director made several jokes about the sizes of the cabins and their bathrooms.  He obviously has never traveled in an RV.  Kay thinks the shower is pretty nice.  It’s just a matter of your perspective. 

With full tummies, and all of our luggage, we turned in for the evening, making our way down the Mississippi River, and out into the Gulf of Mexico.

Note:  Excepting weddings and such, we try to take a trip with one of our kids each year—as it seems the only way we get one-on-one time without too many distractions.  First was Jenny’s wedding in 2006, then Ron accompanied us to Quetico Wilderness in 2008, then Karyn and Matt were married a few weeks later that same year in the Bahamas.  So, we’re back to Jenny for the cruise to the Western Caribbean.  Karyn, it’s your time next, IF we don’t run out of money or good health.

Departing home shortly before lunch, we drove towards Memphis for an overnight stop before continuing south to New Orleans where we board the Norwegian Spirit for a Western Caribbean cruise; more about that tomorrow.

At Franklin, AR, we stopped near noon at a restaurant that had been given some good press, Calibama, so named because the couple who own the place hail from California and Alabama, respectively.  It was opening day of deer season in Arkansas and most of the clientele were wearing camouflage. We were not impressed with the food or ambiance, and would not rearrange our schedule or plan a route to stop there again.

We arrived in Memphis about 4:00 p.m. and immediately drove to Costco, though the much sought after bargains were not quite as important as when we were 4 hours away looking at their sale brochure and internet site.  A few texts back and forth with Jenny to arrange dinner, and we were off to our hotel for the night.  We ate at Genghis, a Mongolian grill, visited with Jenny and Brian, and retired to the hotel for a short night’s sleep before departing for New Orleans.

The coffee was good this morning!  A quick visit with family was followed by a trip to our family church, Bradford Baptist Church, for FunFest 2010 breakfast.  It was even better than the all school reunion as we were able to have quality visits with many of our large extended family and friends from the past.  After breakfast, we returned to my sister’s house, visited with family some more, then readied the motorhome for our final leg of this trip, arriving home about 3;30 PM.  We dumped the tanks, repositioned the motorhome, and partially unpacked.  We so enjoy RVing, but it is nice to be in our “stick” house as well—finally, a long hot shower!

We had been looking forward to our breakfast, included in the rally fees.  We waited in line about ten minutes, only to find out that there were no more eggs or bacon, the biscuits were hard, and the gravy was thin—sounds like breakfast during the Great Depression!  (They also ran out of food at the First Timers meeting yesterday, and had a cavalier attitude about it as well.)  We made another quick walk through the vendors, then were off to attend a seminar only to find that the locations had been changed as many as three times, and the speakers were not provided with any audiovisual equipment—a sad state of affairs.  Consequently, we walked around a bit, then returned to the motorhome.

A large group from out Arkansas Travelers contingent returned to Horse Shoe Casino for the other “free” buffet meal, and the food was very good.

This evening’s entertainment consisted of a combination gospel/country western singer and his band.  He had performed on the Grand Ole Opry, Hee Haw, and other prominent venues, and was an easy listen.  Like last night’s entertainer, this group sang just a little too long for our taste.

This marks the opening day of the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) regional rally—Six State Rally on the Red—our first regional rally.  At 9 AM, we hurried to the exhibit building for a quick walk through to see if there was anything we couldn’t do without.  On the way, Kay toured some Fleetwood motorhomes on display.  Other manufacturers were scheduled to exhibit, but the State of Louisiana passed a law last year prohibiting RV dealers from showing or selling RVs at rallies, shows, etc.  The exhibit building had a number of vendors selling services and stuff, none which impressed us greatly.  Most were selling RV parts and supplies at “show” prices that were significantly higher than could be found on the internet.

We had a late buffet lunch at Horse Shoe Casino, free by signing up for one of their casino cards.  As is always the case, the casino itself is smoky, and serves a lot of strange people.  A local comedian entertained rally goers in the evening, and he was okay, but talked too long.  So far, we’re not terribly impressed by the Six State Rally.

It’s time to move on down the road, as rodeo cowboys say.  After getting up and having a cup of coffee, we began readying the RV for traveling to the Six State Rally on the Red in Shreveport.  This included dumping and rinsing the black and gray tanks, filling the freshwater tank, removing the privacy cover on the windshield, and hooking up the auxiliary brake on the Saturn.  We lined up for the two-hour caravan to Shreveport—14 motor homes in all—to be joined by another upon arrival at the Louisiana State Fair fairgrounds in Shreveport.  We departed promptly around 9:30 AM, in a long procession, with just enough space between the motorhomes into which a passing car could find refuge.  It was an unlucky day for any traffic going the same route at the same time, though we traveled at 60+ MPH.  We arrived at the fairgrounds before noon, and obtained our parking spaces on the asphalt parking lot, complete with water and electric (had we known about the water, we would not have filled our freshwater tank).  Setting up was a breeze as we had a level spot.  Kay immediately sought out shrimp po’ boys for lunch.  As this was our first regional rally, we hurried to the exhibit hall only to find it blocked off, then Kay registered us as 1st Timers.  After naps, we joined several other club members for conversation, then went to dinner at  Herbie-K’s, a highly recommended joint, with two other couples.  We all had their famous Shrimp Buster which was among the worst fried shrimp we ever ate.  It had been pounded too thin and cooked too long, tasting more like breaded cardboard than shrimp, making Herbie-K’s a One Time Only restaurant.  Tired from travel, setting up, etc., we opted to spend the rest of the evening in the motorhome.