Okie Noodling - Kid Rolls Eyes

Well we thought we would go to Grenada to meet friends, but that didn't happen. Between taking the SAT and ACT and the Kid's job, hitting the road has been a no-go. Months ago we gave up on cable and satellite TV and got the HD converter box. We have a total of 14 channels, mostly PBS stuff. This small amusement lets us "travel". Sometimes we'll encounter Rick Steves, sometimes Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow traveling in Spain but the other night was the prize of all prizes Okie Noodling.

I was fascinated, The Kid went to bed.

Not Back to School: Camping With Eating Machines

The thing about going camping with two teenage boys is that you begin to realize that there is a thin line between sanity and insanity. Tea Lake campground at Algonquin Provincial park is a quiet place to get away for that last week of summer, just before you don't go back to school. It was there I spent 5 nights with The Kid and his cousin.

It's a 12 hour drive from Cincinnati to Algonquin, and for once I was grateful for iPods. Not being into the sort of tunage that teenage boys are, I didn't drive them crazy with Jimmy Buffett, and they didn't drive me crazy with the likes of White Stripes.

The funny thing about teens is that they can find stuff to do no matter where they are. My nephew was absolutely sure he was going to catch a fish while we were there and to honor that hope, I brought along three sticks of butter that we were going to use to fry them up over an open fire. Needless to say, the fish eluded us all week.

The first time we went to Algonquin, The Kid bailed on a camping trip that involved paddling. We of course had to take our cousin to show him the wonders of camping from a kayak at the ranger station. It seems kayakers are required to take toilette "kits", not the kind you're thinking about, along on the boats. They were both glad we had vault toilets in the campground. It's the simple things in life.

WARNING: One cooler and three crates of food is not enough for two teenage boys who have played hard all day. Why do boys eat so much?

With that idea I'll leave you with an eating machine food hit.


Campground Nachos
In the following order place these ingredients on a large square of foil:

1. A mix of Mild Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Pepper Jack
2. Sliced Black Olives
3. Canned Salsa
4. Corn Chips, Tostitos work best
5. Another large square of foil
   

then

1. Crimp foil edges together to form a foil package.
2. Place foil package on the open fire, provided you got the fire started in the first place.
3. Wait until you hear sizzling.
4. When you hear sizzling, remove from fire.
5. Flip foil package over on large platter so the cheese is now on the top.
6. Peel back foil.
7. Feed eating machines.
8. Start next batch.
   

Travelin' With The Kid in 2008

With the state of the American stock market and the economy in general, it's very difficult to think about actually planning a real trip this year, but it can be done. Recently friends of ours did a traditional Windjammer trip, not on a tallship, but out of backpacks and on local ferrys and mailboats! These folks aren't teenagers either!

Grenadine Ferrys & Mailboats

It's possible to to travel and see all kinds of wonderful sites, even with the current strength of the American dollar! So here's to hitting the road in 2008!

Cheers!

It's Good to Be Sunburnt and Greek

One of the really wonderful things about homeschooling and travel is that you get all that great socialization, especially if you are willing to participate in local cultural events.

We went to the Greek Festival in Sarasota, Florida over the weekend. More precisely it was called the Greek Glendi - A Greek Festival hosted by St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church. According to the program brochure we received, they were celebrating the music of Greece, which fits perfectly with our recent music studies.

There was a lot of music and dancing, with explanations of many of the dances.The St. Barbara Hellenic Dancers were in colorful costumes that showed authentic Greek history and culture. Every Greek costume is an interesting combination of garment and accessories that is characteristic of a group of people who live in a particular region of Greece. According to the narrator at the festival, there are songs for washing sowing, harvesting - there are love songs, lullabies and laments.

The Greek Orthodox Church evolved in the era of the Great Byzantine Empire, for those of you not up on the middle ages. Byzantine chanting is where a lot of the songs we heard came from. These songs were full of melody and harmony. The folk music of Greece claims a history that is long and checkered and worthy of every homeschoolers attention. Popular music commonly known as Bouzouki music possesses unique characteristics that existed in parts of Greece, yesterday and today. The emotions of the Greek people show through in the dances and and in the music we saw and heard. Greek architecture is a study in itself. Some say the Greeks invented architecture. Anybody who saw the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" understands that sort of enthusiasm for anything Greek. But most Greek Orthodox Churches I have seen so far in our travels are pretty interesting structures and this building in Sarasota is no different. A beautiful dome amidst Palms and Banyon trees adorned with Spanish Moss. If you're interested, you can go inside these churches and see many beautiful icons, lots of candles and gold ornamentation. Though the music and the architecture are part of the "study" of local culture, at a Greek festival, in our book, the food is always the attraction. Greek pastries and food are the best "fast food" you can get in my opinion. There's nothing better than a Gyro and Baklava and a stroll through the other food and crafts booths. Church festivals always seem to guarantee that homemade touch and the little old Greek Florida ladies were out in force at this one for sure....though none of them had key lime pies on hand...
At the Greek Market
Greek Jewelry	Greek Shaws

Happy Birthday to The Kid

We celebrate a birthday at our house for a week. Often the celebration includes some sort of trip or a series of outings, often a chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and always some laughs. This week is a birthday week for us.

So far our week has included our annual trip to Amish country for a checkers set. I have an agreement with the Kid that when he can beat his mom at checkers, he’ll be ready to leave home. That agreement can contain a lot of symbolism if you know the rules of checkers. People generally react to the idea of this simple pleasure that it is an easy way for The Kid to stay at home forever, or they’ll say “what if he never beats you”. (Those folks do not understand the true nature of a homeschooler or The Kid!) Our outings in this week of celebration in addition to Amish country include a trip to the Cincinnati Flower show , a golf outing to maybe beat Grandpa this year, a trip to Montgomery Inn for world famous ribs. There will also be Birthday cupcakes from Grandma, hamburgers on the grill and of course, a game of checkers.

Visit our archives to read about a year of our adventures!

Celtic Music, Bockwurst and a Pint of Guinness®

Quite often travel can involve not leaving your own backyard. You can tour the world in your mind through the study of music. Music study doesn’t need to involve the Symphony or Opera, it can involve World Music too. World Music is one of the best ways I know to travel when travel isn’t an option....

Recently I had 2 tickets to see a popular musical group that has been around for 40 years and always sells out when they come to our town. The Chieftains have had 19 grammy nominations and have won six grammys and have collaborated with Jackson Brown, Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Sinead O’Connor, Emyylou Harris, Ricky Scaggs, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Earl Scruggs and others I am sure I have missed. Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains were nominated for the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Folk Album- Live From Dublin - A Tribute to Derek BellThe thing about this group is that they always surprise you and you don’t need to travel far to see them, especially if they come to your town.

Though The Chieftains still invite you to enjoy the finest Celtic music around, they also invite your mind to venture into listening to sounds and songs from other places in the world. In concert with The Chieftains was The Cottars, a group from Nova Scotia also incredible musicians and capable of some pretty interesting music.

The sounds you hear when you listen World Music inspire you to recall imagery from your own travels. If you are unable to conjour up the imagery yourself, enjoy the poetry of the stories that come with the music. This particular form of World Music has drawn many cultures and age groups together. The Vice Mayor of our town, Jim Tarbell, was on hand to make that observation and to present the key to the town to Paddy Maloney of The Chieftains.

And speaking of our Vice Mayor, as luck of the Irish would have it, I was able to tie the whole evening together for "The Kid". Earlier for dinner we went to Arnold's Bar & Grill, Cincinnati's oldest tavern, was owned by Jim Tarbell from 1976 to 1999. (Owner Ronda Androski bought Arnold’s from Jim Tarbell in 1999 [history].) So that appearance by the Vice Mayor was really perfect for me as I was able to string that Cincinnati history together with the culture of the food we ate.

At Arnold’s we ordered 2 Bockwurst Plates, a pint of Guinness® and a soda. Even though we were going to listen to Celtic Music, but being in a German town and having dinner at Arnold’s the oldest Bar and Grill in town, we naturally ecountered the Springtime tradition of a Bock Festival. Bock is a style of lager beer which originated in Germany. It is traditionally brewed in the fall, at the end of the growing season, when barley and hops are at their peak. It is "lagered" all winter and enjoyed in the spring at the beginning of the new brewing season. Bocks can be pale (helles) or dark (dunkles) and there are double (doppel) bocks which are extra strong. Even though I do appreciate a good Bock, I definately prefer Guinness®, it’s a better dark beer and just the ticket for the evening! Typically eaten with bockbeer is Bockwurst is a german kind of sausages. Bockwurst is one of the most favourite sausages eaten in Germany, but tonight we ate it with Guinness® and Soda in honor of the Celtic culture we were about to absorb.

Our study of Music and the culture of the world continues! We’re thinking about Southern Europe next!

The Travelin' Homeschooler Takes a Break

I have an acquaintance who scuba dives. To hear him describe the activity and characters that live beneath the sea is true poetry.

After our trip to the Everglades, we went to Captiva and then on to Key West, a grueling schedule as I am sure you can imagine. Once that leg of our journey was completed, I traveled to see my friend in Grand Cayman. Everyone should travel to the Cayman Islands!

You don’t go to Grand Cayman to see the architecture, the landscape or the tourist attractions. In fact, hurricane Ivan destroyed much of this beautiful Caribbean Island. Grand Cayman, just like much of the British West Indies in the Caribbean, has remarkably recovered from this natural disaster and the original beauty of the island is still apparant and is as vibrant as ever. There is new building going on all over the place, and many of the places that were damaged have been restored. It was difficult for me to imagine what Ivan did. There is a very moving book called “Paradise Interrupted“ by artist and photographer Courtney Platt that illustrates the devastating effects this hurricane had on Grand Cayman in September, 2004. A good book to choose for visual learning about Mother Nature's power.

You go to Grand Cayman to explore a world that most people forget exists on our planet. That world is the one that only Neptune himself and those crazy people who don scuba gear and jump out of boats into the dark and mysterious sea below know. I am not a diver, but the folks I spent 4 days with were as fanatical about diving as I am about travel. Yes, the Travelin' Homeschooler enjoyed 2 days reading on the beach while these crazy folks explored places called “Babylon”, “Snapper Hole” and “The Maze”. According to my host who has been diving for many years, the best place to go diving in the Caymans is in the East End out of a place called “Ocean Frontiers“ Situated in a pretty cool resort area called "Compass Point Dive Resort" . Compass Point is a place for divers, comfortable, beautiful, right on the beach, in view of the reef. Away from the busy Seven Mile Beach and the tourists there, Compass Point and the folks at Ocean Frontiers will take care of the travelers in our homeschooling community. This place is truly a place to learn; where, if you are brave - you can learn about reef life by diving, by snorkeling or by simply swimming off the beach at Compass Point. My friend took me snorkeling each day I was there and it was truly a memory I will have forever. The first day the reef revealed amazing residents. [You can check out photos of some of the colorful reef residents at the photo gallery at the Ocean Frontiers website.] The second day the reef residents were out entertaining the divers and I got to take in the beauty of the colors of the coral. There were so many colors that you wouldn't ever imagine existed under the water. It was the most beautiful natural wonder I have ever seen - so far!

Grand Cayman is also a place where there is some pretty good food if you are so inclined to indulge in local cuisine. Portofinos, a favorite of my host, offered pretty incredible Italian food and a decent wine list. The Lighthouse Restaurant at Breakers in Grand Cayman also offered a pretty amazing menu. They even had grappa on the menu! One place I wanted to visit and hope to go the next time is Vivine's Kitchen, a place for local cuisine, is located only 500 yards East of Ocean Frontiers at Compass Point.

For more dive information contact [Ocean Frontiers]. For information about staying on the beach near the reef contact[Compass Point Dive Resort].

I'm Pretty Sure It's Not Poison Ivy - The Whole Story

We often take our schooling on the road. Last February we went to Cabbage Key, Florida to study Botany and Conservation. We're thinking about a return engagement, this time we'l take the kayaks.

My journal from that week...
I'm Pretty Sure It's Not Poison Ivy
Cabbage Key, Florida - February 2005

Journeys in My Own Back Yard: Ferocious Wolves and Pizza Eating Yogis

Recently we moved into the city. We have a park nearby. This morning t 6 AM, I decided to start power walking again. I headed up the hill - straight up the hill. At the top of the hill where the path through the woods to the park begins, I saw a wild animal. Well, I saw his (or her) hindquarters and a fluffy tail resembling that of a wolf.

I froze. I waited. I turned off my Jimmy Cliff CD and hoped this creature would disappear. I braved the path slowly remembering the Dimple Dell Canyon in Utah I used to walk where they warned of lions, tigers and bears - oh my (no really, it was coyotes, wolves and mountain lions). I completed this wild city path without another sighting of the ferocious wolf. Once I was actually in the park, I passed a person peacefully practicing yoga. I figured a wolf of all creatures would respect a yogi. I sighted another power walker and asked them if they had ever encountered a wolf in the park. She said there were no wolves and that she was glad I saw the local fox.

When I returned home from my walk, my garden was populated with a lizard, a snake and a hummingbird. A good day was beginning for sure.

When my student got up, for what I hoped was one of our last days of school work, I told him about the wolf-fox. He laughed. He wanted to know where the path came out because we tried to find it the other night from the park-side. When we went for coffee and croissants, I drove to the park to show him. The yogi was the only other person in the park I observed, still peaceful as the time of day. I showed my student where the path came out. As we left the park a Dominos pizza delivery truck was entering the park. My student said “20 bucks says the yogi ordered a pizza.” “It’s like you and your Twinkies ”. We giggled.

Log Book: Cabbage Key, Florida USA

Cabbage Key, Florida - February 2005 I'm Pretty Sure It's Not Poison Ivy

DAY 1 & 2
The whole point of Cabbage Key was to study Botany and do nothing. That’s what we did for seven days. Cabbage Key is directly across from marker 60 on the Florida Intercoastal Waterway. That’s due west form Pine Island, Florida, USA. . Sanibel and Captiva islands are 8 miles to the south. The high point of this morning so far was watching Chip the dockmaster at Cabbage Key replace the Channel Mark signs stolen away by hurricane Charley. This high point however was soon replaced by our sighting a lone dolphin scoot by the dock.

We debated if reading "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway is considered doing nothing. But we decided reading was an activity, especially when it’s Hemingway, so we went back to watching the dolphins and the Osprey. My student was learning that it was very difficult to do nothing.

Our “school days” on Cabbage key begin on our dock reading. Along with studying Botany, we’re finishing "A Farewell to Arms" and “Sophie’s World” by Jostein Gaarder. When you travel to an Island that you can only get to by boat you choose your school materials carefully. We thought Botany, Philosophy and Hemingway made an interesting accompaniment to learning the art of doing nothing.


DAY 3
At Cabbage Key we leased the Tarpon Research station. The original buildings on Cabbage Key were built in 1929, by Alan Rinehart and Grace Houghton Rinehart as their winter estate. The Rineharts financed the research lab in 1940. It’s a rustic place and a good place to study Botany. Even though it was clear the effect of hurricane Charley remained, the island was managing to recover. Our study of Botany involves photographing and identifying 40 vascular and 5 non-vascular plants. Cabbage Key is a great place to do just that. So was a neighboring island Cayo Costa.

DAY 4
Cayo Costa is a Florida State park where you can find and abundance of wild life and plant life. We saw osprey, sharks and sea urchins. We also photographed many different plant species. Cayo Costa is another island you can only access by boat but it is well worth the effort. There are secret lagoons, miles of unspoiled beach and acres of wild Florida. This place allows you to imagine what Native Floridians lived like. You can camp at Cayo Costa and there are primitive cabins you can rent, but we chose to stay at cabbage Key.

DAY 5
There are some very good nature trails at Cabbage Key, there is also something very good at the restaurant here. Magically, between the hours of 11 & 2 PM hoards of boats bringing people for lunch ascend on this island. We ate dinner up at the main building but then there is no parade for dinner, so one of these days we’ll meander over there at lunch, but today we’re content watching the boats come and in enjoying our studies on the dock.

They say Jimmy Buffett wrote his song “Cheeseburger in Paradise” at Cabbage Key. There’s a nice photo of him in the bar here. In fact the the bar and the entire main building walls are lines with dollar bills stapled and taped up. There are thousands of them and Mr. Buffet's is framed along with his photo. Today is the day we’re going to go for Cheeseburgers. In fact, that’s the big plan for today, but we’ll see. It is cloudy today, so we don’t expect the parade of boats. At dawn there was a parade of birds at our boatdock however. It might indicate the front they predicted is really going to arrive. Each day I watch the osprey dive for fish at around 4 PM. Today is the first day they’ve been at it this early.

Taking the learning on the road is one of the great things about homeschooing. It can be done rather inexpensively if you choose do it that way, or you can spend a royal fortune; fun, but not really necessary. There isn‘t a tuition paid anywhere that can bring your student what they can learn traveling. We generally travel to a place for a specific reason. In the case of Cabbage Key we wanted to study plants. We took the books: Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification by Thomas J. Elpel, Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida by Richard P. Wunderlin, Bruce Hansen, Bruce F. Hansen, Florida Wild Flowers and Roadside Plants by Ritchie C. Bell, Bryan J. Taylor and several rolls of film to photograph plant life so we could assemble a presentation of our study and identify the plants later at home. We always come away from a place with more experience and knowledge than we expect. For example, on this trip my student learned how to navigate a small water craft through oyster beds and mangrove keys.

My student also learned how to “almost catch” a fish as big as himself - or so it looked. Fishing is a big deal here. Many people have large fishing poles on their boats and we can see boats sitting for hours in shallow water fishing. I always imagine what it is like for the fish. It would be like if my cup of coffee here was the bait and when I drank it I would be ripped out of this chair from the face of existence as I know it. Wow.

DAY 6
Today I am going to have another cheeseburger. The main activity yesterday was to find out what the attraction was at the main building at lunchtime, and now I know, it was the burgers. Boy were they good. The other big thing scheduled for today is to talk to the captain who will be taking us back to the mainland. The big decision is to go on Saturday morning or on Sunday morning. The front they predicted arrived, there’s no rain but there are tremendous winds. The temperature dropped from the high 70’s to the mid 50’s, so it’s difficult to do nothing on the dock today. Even a hike on the island’s trails would be difficult because the sand is blowing. We met a man yesterday on the dock that was going camping at Cayo Costa. I thought about him this morning as I made my coffee in semi warmth. He didn’t have a sleeping bag, so I imagine he was pretty chilly. Today is also the first day I had trouble getting my student to do his reading. I suppose everyone who chooses to home school hits difficult days. I think back to the days when I was in a classroom and remember how I longed to be anywhere else but in that classroom and I look at my student being stubborn about reading this morning in this beautiful place. I wonder how many other homeschooling moms play with the idea of sending their students to a school just so they understand how the many of their peers are being educated.

Log Book: West Indies, Caribbean

West Indies, Caribbean 2004

A Little Bit About Irie
How do you describe the Caribbean to someone who hasn't experienced it? That's what I tried to do with my student. You can't describe it - well not really. The pictures you'll see on these pages will not color the sea the right shades of blue, will not allow you to feel the salt air, will not allow you to know the culture of the Caribbean. You'll have to go there to enjoy that! These web pages are intended to introduce you to 12 beautiful islands in the Caribbean. The photographs on these pages will allow you to preview some of the sites and people you'll find in the West Indies. These pages will also introduce you to some of the "pirates" you may find there sailing on Windjammer ships.

Taking your homeschool on the road is always an experience. Many people have heard of homeschooling but still ask a lot of questions anyway. Once they find out they are in the middle of your "classroom", they share a wealth of information with your student - especially if he is willing to ask questions.

We sailed for 13 days on the S/V Mandalay, one of the prettiest ships I have ever seen. We met some of the most interesting people on this trip, and the best part was that these interesting people were also great pirates! So in part this web site is for them, but it is also our class review of the 13 days we spent in the Caribbean.

Ship Facts: Mandalay

They say the Mandalay is the queen of the Windjammer fleet. Here's why. It is a 236 foot Barquentine commissioned by E.F. Hutton in 1923.

A Barquentine is a vessel with at least three masts, all of them fore-and-aft rigged, except for the foremost one, which is square rigged. Three-masted barquentines were very common in the Baltic and the North Sea, and three- and four-masted barquentines also sailed on deep-water trades. A number of five-masted barquentines were built, and even some six-masted ones in America. It can be argued that the barquentine belongs to the family of schooners; indeed, in Scandinavian languages the barquentine is referred to as a "schooner ship".

E.F. Hutton sold this beautiful ship in the 1930's because his wife didn't like the size of it and he built a sister ship called the "Sea Cloud", which we saw in Antigua. What's not to like about the Mandalay?

It has a crew of 30, it has 72 berths and a Draft of 15 ft. It's the kind of ship you only see in the movies, but I got to sail on it to some really neat remote Islands.

Grenada
From Grenada's first sighting by Christopher Columbus in 1498 all the way up to 1650 when French settlement began the indigenous Caribs greatly resisted European settlement on Grenada.

For me Grenada was the perfect "intro" to the sights, smells, sounds and the people of the Caribbean. We had a cab driver nicknamed "One Time" he pointed out all different kinds of plants like Cocoa, Nutmeg and this one plant with flowers that had 37 different colors on them! He also showed us the Dasheen plant that Callaloo is made of. He took us to Concord falls and Dougaldston Spice Estate. At the spice estate we saw drying Cocoa Beans, Cinnamon bark and Nutmeg pods. Then we went to Concord falls for a swim and after that we went back to the ship.


Carriacou - "Land of Many Reefs"

The island of Carriacou has awesome beaches and a pace of life that can only be described as slow motion. There are about 12,000 residents on Carriacou, and half of them are goats! Carriacou has great views of the neighboring Grenadines and a couple of near shore islets of its own that can be visited for picnicking and snorkeling like Sandy Island.

When we were in Carriacou we took the island tour we saw hand made boats, sugar mills and the Carriacou museum that had Carib Indian artifacts. It also housed the artwork of Canute Caliste. His style is "folk art" and feature Island people and local scenery. One of his paintings hangs in the White house. We also learned that there's no local lakes or rivers and that people have to catch the rainwater in their own cisterns to have water for their family and gardens. Carriacou once had sugar cane plantations, but they are now farming fields with a variety of plants for food. One of the sugar cane plantations now hosts a Jazz festival every year. The other beautiful tree that grows here is the Mahogany tree which furniture is made from.

I also learned about more that 100 rum shops in less than 3 sq miles. These rum shops will sell different rums as well as Jack Iron rum. Jack Iron rum I learned can be used as lighter fluid as I learned from Tuck! Tuck also told me that Jack Iron rum is made in Trinidad and sold throughout the Caribbean. It's the same stuff that Windjammer buys, in Trinidad, for Swizzles. On the Mandalay, they keep the Jack Iron rum on deck in huge barrels. Tuck has a great collection of information about rum if you want to learn more: "Rums of the Caribbean" - about halfway down the page.

After the tour we spent the rest of the day goofing off and snorkeling at Sandy Island (it's really a Sand Spit island!)

Union Island
Tour Book description of St. Vincent and Grenadines: A multi-island nation well known to wintering yachties, aristocrats and rock stars but off the beaten path for most other visitors. St Vincent is a refreshingly rugged and raw-edged backwater, while the 30 islands and cays that comprise the Grenadines are among the most popular cruising grounds in the Caribbean. The Grenadines reach like stepping stones between St Vincent and Grenada and are surrounded by coral reefs and clear blue waters ideal for diving, snorkeling and boating. Fewer than a dozen are inhabited, and even these are lightly populated and barely developed. Although some of the Grenadines, like Mustique and Palm Island, cater to the rich and famous, others, like Bequia and Union Island, attract an international crew of sea salts and beachcombers and offer decent places to stay and eat.

Union Island was a beach day for us. We walked along the beach and snorkeled a little bit (that's where we saw the flying fish but my web picture is from a book called "Coral Reefs of the Caribbean, The Bahamas and Florida" by Alfonso Silva Lee and Roger E. Dooley I bought in Bequia). It was a rainy day so we basically hung out. My friend Spice and I took on a crab with an attitude. While we were skipping rocks, he came out of the ocean with his pinchers armed! He was not happy that we had invaded his beach! He chased us, then we chased him and we tried to fool him, but he was a smart crab! He eventually retreated to the ocean, quite proud that he had kept his beach free from humans.

I also learned about knot tying along the way. In Bequia, I bought a book called" Knots and Splices" by Cyrus L. Day and I practiced tying knots. Between, Duane, the First Mate, Kevin one of the deckhands and Captain Matt, I learned quite a few really useful knots. If you are interested in seamanship and knots, Tuck sent me some really good links: Boy's Manual Of Seamanship And Gunnery & BOY'S MANUAL OF SEAMANSHIP AND GUNNERY: SECOND I NSTRUCTION SECOND INSTRUCTION

Mayreau

On Mayreau we hiked to the top of the island and visited the only school on the island where we watched Crystal, the Activities Mate from the Mandalay, play hopscotch with the kids. The School on Mayreau is Mandalay's adopted school. They bring school supplies donated by Windjammer and passengers and other items to the school. We sent some school supplies to the school too.

We also encountered some high school students who were aboard the sailing vessel Spirit of Massachusetts while we were at the school on Mayreau. The Spirit of Massachusetts is a ship used by Outward Bound Hurricane Island School where high school age students can test their mettle sailing in the Caribbean for 90 days. The ship itself is similar to sailing ships that came to the Americas and West Indies in the 1700 & 1800s.

After our stop at the school of Mayreau, we hiked to the other side of the island to Saltwhistle Bay and got something to drink. We saw the cemetry on Mayreau on our hike to Salt Whistle Bay. People live a long time it seems here on Mayreau. Tuck sent me some really good photos of the cemetary and he said I could post them here.

After some pineapple juice and feeling rather lazy we took a water taxi back around the island to where the Mandalay was anchored. For lunch we had a picnic on the beach. The crew went to a lot of trouble to make this picnic happen. They hauled food and grills and tables from the ship to the beach. They were really hard workers. After lunch we went sea kayaking. We got sunburned!

Some things I learned about Mayreau was that it had just gotten electricity within the last two years and that it was a private island owned by the Eustace family until 1915. Eventually it became part of St. Vincent but is still governed by Eustace family heirs. It's a really good place to just get away from it all!!

Tobago Cays

We got into Tobago Cays early in the morning and went ashore before it got crowded. We hiked around a bit and found the fisherman's conch shell depository and found some really cool shells. Then we went to the other side of the island and hiked up to the top of the island and we could see really far! Around eleven o'clock the private yachts started to come in and destroy the calm and peace of the island. Before going back to the ship we walked the beach which was becoming more and more crowed. We saw coral fragments lying on the beach that I decided were broken off by all the boats coming in and not caring about destroying this beautiful place. I think it's good that countries are reserving more and more land for national parks.

Bequia

We got in to Bequia around dinner-time. Earlier that morning I stumped captain Matt with the question "does Mac's pizza deliver to the ship?" I had the whole ship rocking in laughter but it was a honest question! Apparently they didn't so we went ashore to enjoy some of the best darn pizza on Bequia at Mac's. Right as the pizza was set in front of me Clunk! I fell asleep right in my pizza. We boxed up the best darn pizza with the imprint of my face on it and headed back to the ship. The next morning it was kind of raining but we went to model boat builder shops and to a street festival. After that we went back to the ship for lunch and to get ready for our trip to Moonhole on the southern point of the island.

The trip to Moonhole wasn't a paved road. Most of the way we were bouncing around and watching out for chickens on the road. When we got there it started to rain again but we still had fun. Moonhole is a private house made entirely of rock and into the hillside. But Moonhole is also a sea side arch that during some parts of the year the moon can be seen through it.The original house was right under the arch but a rock fell from the bottom of the arch and fell through the house so they moved up the hill 100 or so feet. You can see the ocean 360 degrees around you. Frigate birds hover around you and the ocean breeze hits you in the face and you know this is bliss. We stopped at the open kitchen and the adults had rum punch and I had fresh limeade. I go to feed the giant turtles who lived there. Our time finally came to an end like all good things do but when I left there I had a new definition of bliss.

St. Vincent

We got into St. Vincent early in the morning after we dropped anchor we had breakfast. The sail to St. Vincent was a rough all night sail. Captain Matt did a great job despite a blown out foresail. The speedboats came to take us to Baleine falls just after breakfast. It was a hour long boat ride. We stopped at some pretty good places. One stop was at a "bat cave" which was a cave that has some interesting formations. Another one of our stops was at the Pirates of the Caribbean set. That was a great movie!

"The biggest DVD in film history was shot in St.Vincent and the Grenadines.The Ministry of Tourism and Culture of St.Vincent and the Grenadines played host to Disney Films in 2002/2003 for the filming of the box office smash PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. The movie set was built locally at the Ottley Hall Marina and Shipyard and at Wallilabou on the Leeward side of the island.More than half the film was actually shot in SVG".


Along the way was also saw LaSoufriere, St. Vincent's active volcano.

The waves near the stop for Baleine falls were pretty intense, some of the people on our boat though they were maybe 10 foot waves. It made for an interesting landing. After we landed we hiked up to the falls. It wasn't a paved trail, it was a real jungle hike. We waded though deep pools and streams to get to the actual falls. When we got to the falls, we went swimming and a couple of people in my opinon, who were half crazy, climbed half way up the falls and jumped into the pool below.

After the falls we went to where the actors stayed during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean at Wallilobou Bay. We had a really good West Indian Lunch. After lunch our speed boat captain took us to a black beach for a swim. The landing was in really deep water and the sand really was black! I brought back a bag of black sand that Tim scooped up for me. The beach was really pretty. It was bordered by Sea Almond Trees that were just starting to bloom pink. After our swim and on our way back to the Mandalay, we were treated to a siting of rare Osprey. (Birds in St. Vincent)

The Osprey, a bird of prey is related to the Hawk and the New World vulture, it is found near water in most parts of the world. American Osprey, or fish hawk, has white underparts and a wingspan of 5 to 6 ft.. It feeds and solely exclusively on all live fish and is usually seen hovering over the water, into which it plunges feet first to grasp its prey.

After our day long adventure to Baleine falls we went back to the ship. Dinner and bed felt really good!

St. Lucia

When we got into Castries bay in the morning, there was a slight drizzle of rain but even still Captain Matt still moved Mandalay up to the dock perfectly. Since Castries had dock that the Mandalay could pull straight up to, we took on fresh water. While Mandalay was busy with that we went on an 4x4 jeep tour through a banana plantation and a water fall. It might have been drizzling but we still had a great time! While we where on the jeep tour the Mandalay sailed out of Castries to Rodney Bay and at about one o'clock we meet them there and had a late lunch. then the rest of the day we spent messing around in the Rodney bay area.

Martinique

Martinique is a small Island in the Caribbean : about 1100 km2, its largest side is 40km and its longest side is 80 km ! It is part of the French West Indies (FWI) with Saint Martin and La Guadeloupe. There are 32 "towns", but the main city is Fort de France, on the east side of the island.

The highest point is at 1397 m (the Pelée Mountain), in the north. About 390, 000 people live in the Island. The main language is French (and creole which is the local language), but they understand very well English.

Our day in Martinique was a "town day" we just goofed around town looked in shops. We saw the Martinique library it was very neat inside. There were a lot of old books high up on shelves. I imagined them to be the old leather kind, because we couldn't really pick them up to look. They probably were written in French. I am learning French and my mom reads some French, mostly technical stuff - and food and cookbooks! We think we can get by in French towns!!!

We also saw the Cathedral of St. Louis. It was huge. It was lit by candles and there was singing. It was a peaceful place, more stately than the church we saw on Mayreau, but equal in tranquility.

Our day wasn't with out a mission we had to get French wine for the French wine and Cheese party on the Mandalay. My mom said that the interesting part about that was that when she looked at the selections made by the other passengers, there really weren't many duplicates. That can say that Martinique really had a lot of wine, or each person on the Mandalay was really that unique!!! Mom also bought some Art, Pastis, Chicory and Oh yeah, French Pringles.

Pastis - anise-flavored liqueurs (liqueurs d'anis): This is a category of liqueurs that are flavored with either anise, star anise, or licorice. Examples include anisette and pastis from France, ouzo and mistra from Greece, anesone and sambuca from Italy, anis and ojen from Spain, and kasra from Libya. This is a licorice-flavored liqueur that the French like to serve with water. It's higher in alcohol than anis or anisette.

Beignets and Cafe au Lait (from Emeril) - Cafe au lait is brewed coffee, preferably dark French roast with chicory, with half scalded -- NOT steamed -- milk, poured together from two pots: 6 rounded tablespoons dark roast New Orleans coffee with chicory (Community, French Market, CDM, Union, etc.), 6 cups water, 6 cups milk

Dominica
Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans, due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763, which made the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after independence, Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years.

Economy - overview: The economy depends on agriculture and is highly vulnerable to climatic conditions, notably tropical storms. Agriculture, primarily bananas, accounts for 21% of GDP and employs 40% of the labor force. Development of the tourist industry remains difficult because of the rugged coastline, lack of beaches, and the lack of an international airport. Hurricane Luis devastated the country's banana crop in September 1995; tropical storms had wiped out one-quarter of the crop in 1994 as well. The subsequent recovery has been fueled by increases in construction, soap production, and tourist arrivals. The government is attempting to develop an offshore financial industry in order to diversify the island's production base.

We decided to go on a whale watch, but there was another hike you could take to boiling lake. It was an 8 mile strenuous hike, so we'll save that for next time!. I found this link at Google about the boiling lake. It has pictures and stories: http://www.avirtualdominica.com/thelake.htm

Our morning in Dominica started with a bus ride to town where we spent hal the day the shops were interesting. That afternoon was awesome. We went on a whale watching trip on the way out to the whale migration route we saw 300 to 500 dolphins swimming around our boat we only saw two sperm whales but they and the dolphins made the day one of the best on the trip in my opinion.

Iles de Saints

Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin)

Iles de Saints was another French island so of course it had a fort only this one was at the highest point on the island. It was a steep hike and about half way up people started to hitch hike. But our little group (mom, Diane, Tim, Tuck, and me) hiked all the way up. The fort is now a museum so we looked around for about an hour then we went back to town. We got some excellent ice cream then we went shopping. We looked at what felt like every shop on the island then we went back to the ship to goof around. Later that day as we left I went on the widows net off the bowsprit.

Antigua

Antigua was our last island (bummer) so we took the island tour. We saw English Harbor and Nelson's dockyard. In English Harbor we had a tour of the harbor we saw the sail mending loft, the officers' quarters, and the barracks. Today the harbor is home to hundreds of locals boats although the old buildings aren't being used as they once were. The officers' quarters is a museum of the harbor over the years. The barracks, which are now roofless due to a fire years ago, are now a bar and picnic tables. The day was very warm and calm but I sad because I knew it was the last day of being around the wonderful people on the ship and that we would have to say goodbye.

We also saw the Sea Cloud the Mandalay's sister ship. The Mandalay in my opinion looks far superior with her wood decks and her charm.

Antigua was the perfect wrap up for a perfect trip and I can't wait to go on the Mandalay again!