Formal night

Our second day at sea brought formal night along with the Captains party. For dinner we had filet mignon and chocolate souffle for dessert. Yum!!

2nd Day at Sea

The second day at sea was pretty rough. The weather was rain, extremely windy and chilly. You couldn't hardly walk out on deck without feeling like the wind was going to blow your hair off your head. The sea was big, rolling waves. Everyone looked drunk trying to walk down the halls. We started our day in the gym at 11:00 and worked out for an hour. We ate lunch with a wonderful couple from England. Then when grabbed a couple of zzzz's since we had not much sleep from the night before.

Arriving in New York

Caribbean Princess behind the terminal
Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
Luggage, luggage everywhere !

When we first arrived in Brooklyn, it was semi/cloudy and 69 degrees. Our shuttle ride from the airport was exciting and the traffic was incredible. It's really exciting when you first pull up to the terminal and see your ship. Ours was a beauty! She is over 3 football fields long. We arrived about 1:30 - 2:00.

Princess is very concerned about the stomach(I forgot the fancy name for it) virus. We had to sign papers stating we did not have any symptoms of it when checking in. Then once we were on aboard in our rooms we were handed papers stating that if we did experience any symptoms please notify the medical office at once. Also, at every eating station, hand sanitizers were used. Luckily there was not an outbreak on the ship. None that was recorded anyway.

The Adventure Begins............

We're back!!! We just returned home from our wonderful cruise. I've decided to write about a couple of days at a time instead of getting bogged down with adding many photos at once. We got up on 6/4 about 2:30 a.m. for our 6:00 flight to NY. This pic was taken about 3:30 before leaving the house. It took about 30 - 45 minutes to drive to the airport. When the ticket counter finally opened at 4:45 we got in the check-in line. We were flying Delta by the way. When we approached the desk, we were not greeted with a happy "Good Morning" but with "You have an invalid passport" and hands it back to me. Okay, this is not something you want to hear this early in the morning. David and I exchanged glances and both our hearts jumped up in our throats. Then she says, "You haven't signed it". Okay, so I don't know about you but I think this could have been handled a little bit better such as, "Good morning and oh my goodness, you need to sign your passport". Or anything would have been better. Then when I asked to borrow her pen, she acted like it killed her to do so. Whatever happened to a little kindness?

Flowers, flowers everywhere

Marigolds (Yes, I know they stink)
Dreamland Zinnia

Gomphrena (Globe Amaranth)


Cleome


Mexican Petunia

Angelonia (Summer Snapdragon)

Knock out rose
Portulaca
Periwinkle or Vinca
Lantana
More lantana

One of the most popular questions I get working in the nursery is which plants are the best for this summer heat. In my opinion, the above listed plants work best. Of course, some customers don't care much for some of these. I'm just a believer in using what works.

I'm very much aware I have a rose listed. I never really tried growing roses before until I bought the Knock-Out rose. It is mildew and pest resistant. Blooms beautifully with at least 5 hours of sunshine. It doesn't have that great rose smell like the old fashion kind but I like it.

I know lots of people don't like the smell of Marigolds much either. But they perform well and are great planted around veggies to help keep bugs out.

Please note these are mostly annuals. There are some great perennials out there as well. Maybe I will cover that another time.

Tiger, our hunter

This is Tiger our kitty at work. He has a great life! Comes to the nursery when it's raining and likes to stretch out on the couch in our break room. Food and water is always available to him. His hunting abilities are superior and leaves us little presents on the floor.

Sometimes he even comes out to bedding plants, the area I work in, for a visit. Then he's off to chase the little lizards that are always hanging around.

Critters in the park

The geese in the park are the cutest things! They are not scared of you at all. I love their little black eyes.

Strawberry Patch Park

After church today we went to Strawberry Patch Park for our daily torture(exercise). This park has a good bit of shade, which our neighborhood doesn't. Lots of people come here to relax, watch their kids play, fish, picnic, walk, you get the picture. Oh, but not us. We're gluttons for punishment. Ninety degrees and loving it!(yeah, right). It would be nice just to come here to relax but we feel so guilty if we don't exercise. We're obviously sick and need some serious help.