Geo: 24.1267, -80.6836Our third, and final day at sea. I'd feared the waves would pick up as we neared the Bahamas, and got closer to Hurricane Earl, who was moving up past Florida, but the worry was for naught. If it weren't for the pictures on the news channel, we'd never have known there was a storm not too far away. Both of us spent the morning in the spa area, as Anna had her hair styled (no time for a back-to-school cut in Virginia before we left, so we had it done on board), and I had my final bootcamp class. At least the pain in my legs was gone by today's workout. We lost a couple class members who chose (or couldn't) return, but joining us was someone I'd never seen before. He and ... read more

Geo: 16.3302, -86.5194I can honestly say that I never expected to visit Honduras. When I was working in Panama, I used to think I'd live to visit Nicaragua or Belize...but not Honduras. It was a pleasant surprise. We didn't arrive in the port of Roatan until almost 0900, so we had time for breakfast and then we went to the way top of the ship -- 18th story -- to watch as we cruised along the coastline of Roatan island, to port. We were amazed, but aside from one other family, there was no one else on top with us. Most of the excursions on the island seemed focused on "beach breaks" and snorkeling. They say the second largest reef in the world is off the coast. Anna had decided against trying snorkeling at this time, ... read more

Geo: 23.6445, -84.0234 Waking to bright blue skies and calm seas had us wondering if there really was a hurricane out there. We were, of course, headed the opposite direction, so my analogy is unfair. Still, it was nice to wake to a nice breakfast while cruising within sight of the Cuban mountains. I had signed up for a "Body Sculpting Boot Camp" the day we arrived, and the first of four workouts was Sunday morning. Anna checked out the scene in the kids program, while I proceeded to nearly kill myself in this boot camp. Watching the Dutch gentleman across from me "lose his breakfast" after the intense workout, had me feeling a tad more confident after successfully completing the torture -- for which I paid?! I wouldn't know it until later that night, but ... read more

Geo: 26.1228, -80.1505Originally, Anna and I were to be gone the week before Katherine and Jane headed to England, but a change by the tour company moved their tour up to coincide with ours. This had Anna and I leave early Saturday morning, while K and J flew out that evening. Dulles saw a lot of the Steele/Lucal family that day.Our chauffeurs (read Katherine and Jane) dropped us off at the airport before 0600, as I'd expected a madhouse scene. As it was, we were checked-in, through Security, and on the terminal train before Katherine even made it home from the airport. There is a first for everything.Our flight to Ft. Lauderdale was uneventful, and we had no trouble meeting up with our van transport down to the Port of Miami. I had never really appreciated ... read more

Geo: 38.9765, -77.5254... read more