Travel Tip for packing!

This is one of my favorite items when I travel.....my packing cubes!  All of our clothes are folded and zipped up in these lightweight mesh cubes!  It makes packing and unpacking your suitecase easy. Everyone has their own cubes!  They come in many different sizes and can be purchase online or at local stores that have a travel section.  I purchased mine online from Rick Steves'.  They are often on sale - 1 large cube and 2 smaller cubes for less than $15.00!

Travel cubes....one large and two small...makes packing a breeze!

Around the Ship…..Carnival Magic

Spa Area - Casino - Vibe Disco - Plaza - Promenade - Plaza

We really enjoyed the Magic!  There were many things we liked and many things we disliked!  It is a much larger ship.  There was plenty of seating around the eating areas, but the lines for food were very long.  The buffet areas were not any bigger than the smaller ships.  The hamburger grill always had a long line that was 10-15 people deep.

Promenade Deck - Serenity Area

Bathrooms in the Deluxe Ocean View Room

We had a deluxe ocean view room for our family of four.  The room had a queen size bed, sofa bed, a pull down bed, and picture window, as well as two bathrooms.  One bathroom had a tub/shower and a vanity with a sink.  The other bathroom had a shower, toilet, and a larger vanity with a sink.  This room configuration was perfect for our family.  The boys could shower at the same time, or I could get ready while someone else was showering. 

 There are two pools on the ship.  The main ‘Beach’ pool has nice areas to sit in an inch of water and also find shade under two covered areas.  The ‘Tides’ pool at the back of the ship was always crowded and had many kids in it.  There are also two hot tubs on each side of the pool, and those too were often full of kids.  They were not very hot.  The hot tubs on the Promenade deck were very hot and large.  They didn’t have many people using them, so it was a great place to relax. 

Beach Pool                                Tides Pool

Looking down at the Promenade Deck - Hot Tubs

Chess - Basketball - Sky Walk and Putt Putt

The kids enjoyed the Sky Walk!  Our family also played putt putt golf, and went on the waterslides.  You can also play soccer, basketball, and dodge ball in the netted area.  There are many activities for the kids.  Our kids even participated in kids club.  My older son liked the crew leaders in the club for 15-17 year olds.  One night, they were out late, but there was always a crew member with them. 

Waterslides on the Magic

One of our favorite places on the ship was the Red Frog Pub!  They make their own beer, and it was very good and reasonably priced.  We played bean bag toss and the Bimini Ring game.  We also liked the layout of the Vibe Disco.  It is very open and a lot of fun!  One night they had free champagne for the ladies. 

Red Frog Pub

The ship also has a Serenity area for adults only and a spa area (cost extra).  The spa area had fancy showers, steam rooms, and stone beds.  The Serenity area has hammocks, comfy seating, is quiet most of the time.  It is located just outside the water park area! 

All in all, we liked this ship, but still prefer the slightly smaller ships.  In future blogs about this cruise and vacation, I will show more pictures around the ship and in port!  Enjoy!

NASA Space Center – Houston, Texas

Saturn V Rocket

Rocket Park

The NASA Space Center in Houston is rated the #1 visitor attraction.  Plan to spend at least half the day at the Space Center.  We arrived shortly after it opened.  You can buy your tickets online and save $5, or do a search and find a $5 discount coupon to print out.  The first thing I suggest is to get in line for the tram tour.  Hopefully the wait will be short.  We only had to wait 10 minutes to board the tram.  Because we went the day after Thanksgiving, they were expecting big crowds.   They changed the tours slightly. Usually both tours go to the same place, just alternating the order the tram stops.  In our case, one tour went to the astronaut training center for the space station and Saturn V Rocket and Rocket Park.  The regular tour also includes the historic Apollo Mission Control Center. 

There are many other attractions worth seeing.  In the Space Center Theater, you learn about past and presents strides in space explorations.  We learned a lot about the space station.  Before you enter the Theater, you stand in the Blast Off Theater and feel of a space launch.  When you enter the Starship Gallery, you watch a video called “On Human Destiny”.  You then proceed into the Gallery where artifacts and hardware are displayed. 

The Boys stand in front of the podium where President Kennedy gave
a speech recognizing the Space Program

Moon Rocks

There are many other attractions to enjoy.  We highly recommend the

NASA Space Center if you visit Houston Texas. 

Apollo 17 Command Module

Carnival Magic - Review will be posted shortly!

This is a fun, panarama view of the Magic!  You can see the hot tubs protruding from the Ocean Plaza (Deck 5).  I am working on a review from this recent cruise along with details and photos of the new ship!  Stay tuned.......

Hawaii Sunset

Big Island, Hawaii

Travel Quote

"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." -- Robert Louis Stevenson

Hafa Adai (How's it going? - Guam)

Getting ready for a dive...

Japanese Defense Caves

We began the morning with a dive at San Luis Beach on Big Navy.  Near the beach where we entered, we saw Japanese Defense Cave Fortifications.  In 1944, hundreds of Japanese sought refuge here from attaching US Marines.  We also saw a brown tree snake trap!  Brown tree snakes are an invasive breed that have destroyed much of the natural bird habitat on the island.  The snakes were introduced to the island accidentally as stowaways on ships.  They are poisonous, but rarely bother humans.

Brown Tree Snakes

Fish Eye Marine Park

Tom looking into the window

Our second dive of the day was really cool!  It was also a shore dive at the Fish Eye Marine Park.  It is sometimes called the Piti Bomb Hole.  The collapsed underwater caves create a great spot to dive and a great home for marine life.  A highlight of Fish Eye is the underwater observatory.  On the upper deck, you have a 360 view of the ocean, and from the bottom deck, you have 24 viewing windows to observe the marine life and divers!  Jill, Austin, and Lil Brett were in the observatory, while we dove.  We could see them through the windows!

Lil Brett inside the window

Ritidian Beach

We spent the afternoon at Ritidian Beach!  The water is crystal clear and the sand is pure white!  It was a beautiful beach!  The boys had fun finding albino hermit crabs! 

Pacific Island Beach Club

For our fifth day, we headed to the Pacific Island Club.  It’s is a hotel with a water park.  We were able to buy day passes that included the water slides, pools, boat lagoon, and buffet lunch.  It was a fun day! 

Austin, Lil Brett, Toni, Brett, Tom, Jill

We had a wonderful time in Guam and the best hosts!  I am not sure if we will ever get back to Guam, but we have memories that will remind us of the great time we had. 

Cheers to good friends and a great time!

Our travels back to Washington State were not without the usually troubles.  We left Guam on time, but the plane had trouble with the de-icing gear half way through the flight.  We had to turn around and return to Guam and switch planes.  Needless to say, we missed out connecting flight from Japan back to the states.  When we arrived in Japan, it was the same crew that we had trouble with on our flight out.  They were very nice and put us up in a hotel in Narita.  They even gave us vouchers to pay for all our meals.  We had a 24 hour stay in Japan before we would return home.  The boys had stayed with Brett’s parents and my mom and were very glad to see mom and dad!

***Because of the frustration with our flight from Japan to Guam, I wrote a letter to Continental.  Remember they had said our seats had been given up, but Brett flew to Guam with the seat next to him vacant.  When you write a complaint letter of any kind, be sure to specify what you would like for compensation and include any receipts.  Don’t just complain about the situation.  In our case, I asked to have my ticket refunded.  They not only refunded my ticket, but half of Brett’s! 

Welcome to Guam!

July 2003 - After the flight mishap, we both arrived in Guam safely!  This was a special trip for us for many reasons.  We were going to spend time with best friends Tom, Jill, Brett, and Austin Hatch!  We were also going to visit the home that Brett’s parents lived in when they brought his brother Todd home from the hospital.  Guam houses a large navy base.  Brett’s dad was stationed in Guam during the mid to late 1960’s.  Now Jill is stationed in Guam!

Toni, Lil Brett, Brett, Austin

We were officially welcomed to Guam with this cool sign the Hatch’s had made for us!  Unfortunately, it was a bit stormy the night we arrived, so we went out to see the sign first thing in the morning.  We had a great first day!  We headed down to Tumon Bay (also known as hotel row) for lunch and to check out the beach.  Tom had a meeting in the afternoon, so we enjoyed the pool at the Nikko Hotel.  Residents can purchase passes to use certain hotel amenities.  It had a water slide, which Brett, lil Brett, and Austin enjoyed.  Jill and I got to relax in the sun and catch up!  It was a great day topped off with a great sunset.  There are amazing sunsets in Guam, and we watched the sun go down at Haputo Point this night!

 Locals eat stuff off the beach  -  Tumon Bay

A private beach near Haputo

Brett and I brought a suitcase full of dive gear.  Our first dive was from a boat that we rented.  Captain Jeff took us out of Agana to Double Reef (near Haputo Pt.).  We saw a lot of fish and a white eel during the 44 minute dive.  During our second dive at Gun Beach, we brought along some frozen hot dogs.  The scissortail sergeant and surgeon fish loved them!  After a long day on the water, we relaxed at home with homemade chili and card games.

Tom, Jill, Austin, Brett, Lil Brett, Toni

There are many sites to see on Guam.  One famous site is Two Lovers Point.  The legend says that two lovers, whose parents forbid them to marry, tied their hair together and jumped off the cliff.  The views from the point were amazing. 

Two Lovers Point, Tumon Bay, Guam

Tumon Bay (Hotel Row) in the background

30 Begonia!

One of the highlights from our time on Guam was a drive around the island.  Our first stop was at 30 Begonia!  Brett’s parents lived here when his dad was stationed on Guam.  When Brett’s brother was born in September 1967, he was brought home to 30 Begonia!  We made it just in time too, as they were starting to demolish the old apartments.  As we continued around the island, we drove over the Old Spanish Bridge, past Cocos Island, to Jeff’s Pirate Cove. 

We stopped at the famous restaurant for lunch.  The restaurant is near Yokoi Cave in Talofofo.  Talofofo Falls and Yokoi Cave became famous when a Japanese soldier found refuge and hid in a cave for 28 years following WWII.  We finished off this day with a walk in the Hatch’s back yard and a sunset at Tarague Beach.  We headed out looking for boonie – hot, wild peppers.  We didn’t find any, but we saw lizards and wild pigs.  It was another amazing sunset at one of Brett’s parent’s favorite beaches too! 

Wild pigs at Talofofo        Wild pig in the Hatch backyard

                The Hatch's                           The Troutner's

The small island of Guam is probably not at the top of anyone’s vacation list, but it is a great place to consider.  More on this island in the Pacific soon…..

Tarague Beach

Travel Tip

I purchase these pencil pouches at Target in August/September when they sell school supplies.  You can usually get them for less than a $1 each.  I cut off the 3 ring binder stip.  They are great for tickets, passports, and important documents.  I also like to keep a pack of sticky notes, pens, sharpie, and highlighter in it.  It works great because you can see through it!  Hmmm….what else can you use these for?  Be creative!

Japan Continued!

Tsjukiji Fish Market- early in the morning at 6am

What an early morning…..The Tsukiji Fish Market is open from 3am to 10am (auctions start around 5am).  It is the biggest wholesale and auction market for fish and seafood in the world!  Fresh tuna (maguro in Japanese) is sold in large quantities and is often cut into pieces with a huge band saw.  Did you know that 80% of Japan’s tuna is consumed raw?  The market also supplies 80% of the world’s fish! 

Octopus - TUNA, sells for $10,000 each - Live eel

small shrine outside the fish market

The Great Buddha in Kamakura

After coming back to the apartment to freshen up, it was time to head out for a drive to Kamakura.  Kamakura was Japan’s capitol from 1185 to 1333.  It is a seaside town about an hour south of Tokyo.  We parked near a small garden shrine and bought Japanese pears and ate them on our way to the Great Buddha.  Again, upon entering the Great Buddha (Amita Buddha, 1252)) we cleansed our hands in the water.  Amita is Kamakura’s most famous site.  We actually went inside it and into the head of the large bronze statue. 

    Mai-Den stage, ginko tree on left  --  Torri Gate to Hachiman-gu Shrine

A very important shinto shrine in Kamakura is the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine.  The shrine was dedicated to the God of War and built in 1063.  There was a 1000 year old ginko tree (in my photo) that was recently uprooted in a storm in 2010. 

Squat Toilet

Interesting facts about Japan….They have a 100 yen store that is similar to our Dollar Stores.  You can find great gifts and bargains (chopsticks, pottery, slipper mats) for very little money!  When you visit a grocery store or mall, they have ‘car’ elevators that take your vehicle from one floor to the other to park.  It was bizarre!  Along with regular toilets, you often have a choice to use a ‘squat’ toilet.  It’s literally that!  You squat to do your business!  Some say they are more hygienic that western toilets and they use less water and are cheaper to make. 

We had gracious hosts and a nice visit to Japan.  Hopefully we will venture back to explore more someday!

The Troutner’s are not immune to problems when traveling!  We got to the Narita airport an hour before our flight to Guam.  We didn’t really consider the fact that we were flying internationally and needed to be there two hours early.  Needless to say, we were told our seats had been released and there was one seat available.  WHAT?!  The next flight was in five hours.  Knowing I could easily deal with the situation, I sent Brett ahead on the flight to Guam.  He would be able to hang out with Tom and Jill, and I had plenty of movies and money to keep me busy for the next several hours at the airport.  The crazy part of this story is that when Brett got on the plane, there was an open seat next to him and the gate agents would not release the seat to me.  In the end, I made it to Guam, and we were all reunited later in the evening!   Next Blog…..Guam!