Judy's Holiday

[IzzieK]

Just a bit interesting...I like your others shots better.

[rtbaum]

This being Judy's holiday, I feel it appropriate to show her in action. This being a family attraction, an obstacle course had been set up. Judy, she that is pushing 60 years, found it irresistible.


Still feeling pretty darn confident at this point!




OK... this is not as easy as I thought!


A little helpful advice is appreciated


This definitely getting a little hairy!!


It is duly noted that as she was swinging in the trees, I was sipping blue mountain coffee

The fact is that she does have guts, I certainly did not have.....and that is why I love her

[IzzieK]

You sipping coffee while she struggles? Mean man! you watched while taking pictures of her...tsk...tsk...and you are still alive to tell the tale? How lucky can you be?

[rtbaum]

Some one had to document the endeavor . Besides....I led the cheerleading, I was not alone in this. She was very pleased with herself and gained respect the remainder of the excursion.

[rtbaum]

I lucked out on this excursion, just as I boarded the van for the return to the ship, it began to rain (it is a rainforest, duh).



I enjoyed watching as we passed people going about daily chores



Cruise ship terminals are reminiscent of airports. Montego Bay is located on a spit of land; standard parking lot bordered by industrial buildings



After dealing with the rigmarole of boarding, security checkpoints, and more lines; I was aggravated, as a bird shooter, to see this a mere 10 minute walk from the ship


Crap!!!!


As we set sail for our next port-of-call, it was time for parting shots,



sunsets,



evening entertainment,



and my 3 AM wandering




trigger a flashback?

[rtbaum]

We woke up as we approached Georgetown, Grand Cayman to a very nice sunrise.....finally!!

[IzzieK]

I like your bird reportage shot...I can't help but laugh loudly at your adventure there with the birds...the gods are not with you when it comes to the birds but you did document this trip very well...I hope Judy enjoyed that cruise very much....

[SamRothstein]

Really like the 3am deck chairs. The perspective really shows the after hours vibe of a ship.

[rtbaum]

Really like the 3am deck chairs. The perspective really shows the after hours vibe of a ship.

Thank you, Sam. Those early AM walks were my favorite time on the ship

[rtbaum]

Our debarkation was a little different this time as we were loaded on a shuttle and taken ashore


I had to take a picture of the mooring rig...I don't know why....but I felt compelled


Obligatory Cruise Ship Photo

Our excursion in Grand Cayman was a jeep tour to Queen Elizabeth II Botanical park and Pedro St James. The difference between Jamaica and Grand Cayman was like night and day. Whereas Jamaica had mountainous terrain, rain forest, and was shall we say economically challenged; Grand Cayman was flat as a pancake, arid, and clearly doing quite well financially.



Our first stop was a small local market were Judy shopped and I, you guessed it....I took pictures.



This group was considerably older this time, kind of nice being the youngest. I think I made some points assisting them in and out of the back of the jeep on each stop. I know that I quickly got a reputation as ' The Chicken Whisperer'



After a past hurricane, shoes were found scattered about.....thus the birth of the shoe tree



Being a native Minnesotan, I was enthused to see flowers in late November







Our first stop was Pedro St. James located on lovely piece of land on the coast



I quickly established myself as more interested in photography than following the herd, when I opted out of the half hour presentation of the history of the site. I was drawn to that pristine shoreline.








Pedro St. James....next post



The Chicken Whisperer strikes again!!

[rtbaum]

Built in 1780, Pedro St. James is described as the Caymanian equivalent of an European castle. On 3 May, 1835, Robert Thompson, sent from the Governor of Jamaica, held court at Pedro St. James to issue the proclamation ending slavery in the British Empire.





I enjoyed exploring this site, I did not feel the pressure that I had to rush to see the next sight. I was allowed to wander and explore some of the nuances.










This is one of those photos than I really enjoy playing with in Lightroom.


At some point, some soul suggested not sitting under the coconut palm on windy days......seemed prudent.

[IzzieK]

I really like that building in #2 shot that I kept coming back to it...

[rtbaum]

For me it is the rocking horse


version 2

[rtbaum]

After visiting Pedro St. James, we continued to Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park. My purpose for visiting was two fold; I am always happy seeing flowering plants, tropical flowers was clearly icing on the cake. The second reason for visiting this site was the blue iguana, endemic to this area of Grand Cayman. I had hopes that I could capture the shot in the wild. Such was not the case....dogs had made it into the park 2 weeks previous and killed a number of the population of these endangered iguanas, volunteers are in the process of gathering every individual possible to be placed in a chain link fenced enclosure with limited access. I had to make a special request of the tour guide to take the group to the area as it is not pert of the normal tour. We very lucky to arrive to find one in the open, even luckier when the volunteer was present and lured the iguana into better light. I had to shoot through the chain link, blessed be the clone stamp tool.



After watching the imprisoned lizard eat its tropical snack, it was off to the garden for a rather quick tour.


Rainbow tree






Breadfruit


Calabash



At about this point, I began noting a few birds about.


Bananaquit


accidental Bananaquit on Bird-of-paradise


Croton, found on many Caribbean islands

I could have stayed here for hours looking at tropical flowers and chasing bananaquits (or were they chasing me), but it was time to return to the ship and on to another port of call

[IzzieK]

Beautiful story to go with it too...I can't wait for the next loads of images. Thank you for taking us so far into your cruise...now I will not stop until I get Bill to take me to one, too...

[SamRothstein]

More good stuff. Waiting the next batch with Izzie. Also wanting to hop on a ship now! Izzie, I don't think you'll disappoint yourself with a cruise

[rtbaum]

After a nice meal of lamb and dessert of some chocolatey goodness, we saw a very nice sunset,




and enjoyed some nice entertainment.



When we turned in for the night, we found another stranger in our room. We asked where he had come from, but his response was unclear



We slept with this mystery on our minds.

The next morning, I was determined to solve this great mystery. I searched the ship and interviewed others about this strange phenomena.

I interviewed the wise,




The ancients,



the mighty,



Yes, even a surfer dude!



The origin of these creatures remains unclear.

What IS clear, is that they only wish for good clean fun...........A good thing............because they breed like rabbits!!!!!!

[SamRothstein]

Fun stuff Randy. I took the behind the scenes tour of my cruise ship, and the life of a towel is quite fascinating!

[IzzieK]

I enjoyed your interview with the towels...thanks for the morning laughs...

Sam -- I did look in your Flick'r site looking for some towel characters but didn't find any...I will look again tomorrow after our trip looking for eagles with a park ranger...

[SamRothstein]

Sam -- I did look in your Flick'r site looking for some towel characters but didn't find any...I will look again tomorrow after our trip looking for eagles with a park ranger...

I don't think there are any pictures from the cruise on Flickr. I do have several snaps of towel critters, and a few other 1/4 decent shots I can mess with and upload. The behind the scenes tour didn't allow any photography though; couldn't even bring your phone.