Cruise passengers return to Mobile after Mexico stop

It looks like the swine flu has worked in our favor at the moment. Because of the outbreak of it in Mexico, we will not be going to Cozumel and Calica, Mexico. Instead we found out last night that we will be going to Key West and Freeport, Bahamas which we are thrilled about. I just pray that the swine flu remains mild and does not get bad. The pandemic level was raised to 5 yesterday which is not good.

Below is the article in the Press Register about the cruise that came into port this morning. There is a 4 day cruise leaving out this morning who also been rerouted from Cozumel to Key West. They will arrive back in Mobile on Mon. morning and we leave Monday afternoon.

Can't wait!!!

Cruise passengers return to Mobile after Mexico stop
Posted by Casandra Andrews and Kaija Wilkinson April 30, 2009 11:21 AM
Categories: Breaking News, Swine Flu, Top Stories
Press-Register/

Bill StarlingMichael and Kristy Buckle from Atlanta walk away from the Carnival Cruise ship Holiday after arriving in Mobile today. The ship made its regularly scheduled stop in Progreso, Mexico, but canceled the excursion to Cozumel because of swine flu concerns.MOBILE, Ala. - Passengers aboard the Carnival Cruise Line ship Holiday disembarked Thursday without incident, according to officials with the cruise terminal and Alabama Department of Homeland Security Director Jim Walker.
The ship stopped in Progreso, Mexico, during the week but canceled an excursion to Cozumel because of concerns about the spread of swine flu.
Passenger Kay Wright, 52, of Martin, Tenn., said she had never been so happy to be back in the country.
"I'd like to get down and kiss the ground," she said, bending over toward the concrete and grinning as she stepped outside the terminal into the sunshine. "We were apprehensive we wouldn't be able to get off."
At least one passenger, a teenage boy, could be seen wearing a facemask as he waited for a car inside the parking garage.
Al St. Clair, director of the Alabama Cruise Terminal, said this morning that the mood was relatively light aboard the Holiday during the five-day cruise.
St. Clair, who took the cruise, said the dining rooms, casino and public spaces were full Wednesday night.
He said he saw no passengers with obvious signs of illness and that cruise ship staff issued the usual reminders to take flu-prevention measures, such as wash hands frequently and cover one's mouth when sneezing or coughing.
The ship received news feeds from Fox News out of Denver, he said, but most televisions were tuned to soccer. He said he saw no newspapers on the ship.
Carnival Cruise Lines announced Wednesday that it would divert the four-day cruise leaving Mobile today to Key West, Fla., and the five-day cruise leaving May 4 to Key West and Freeport, Bahamas.
Guests who do not wish to sail on a modified itinerary may opt to receive a refund in the form of a future cruise credit equal to the full amount paid for the voyage through the end of 2010, Carnival said.

Grandchildren Saturday!

Wow! What a busy Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I had this weekend! Friday night, we had our Strive 09 Event at church which our department was in charge. I spent a lot of Friday going to the store and getting supplies for it and then was at the church from 4:00 until 9:15 or so.

Saturday morning, Elizabeth brought Carter over around 9:00 to stay the day with us. Ryan was out of town in a fishing tournament and Eli had a hair appointment and was giving a shower in Baldwin County. We went to the mall to look for a gift and while we were there Carter rode the merry-go-round at the mall. Afterwards, we ate lunch at Chic-Fil-A, and then on to Carter's T-ball game at 12:30.

When we left the park at 2:00, we went by the Bell's house to pick up Ryleigh. She was also staying with us while her mom and dad were out of town at Gulf Shores. The pictures you see here of the two of them were taken while we played in the back yard.

Elizabeth got back around 6:00 and Ryleigh wanted to go with them even though she was supposed to spend the night with us. Elizabeth told me she didn't mind if she came over. I knew Ryleigh would have a lot more fun with "her Carter" than with us. So she stayed with them Sat. night and we took her with us after church Sunday morning.

She spent the rest of the day Sunday with us until her parent's picked her up around 3:00.

I have been going to the tanning bed before our cruise, but I have been so busy the last 2 days, I haven't had a chance to go. So after they picked Ryleigh up, I took off to get a few rays. Then, it was time to get ready for Community group.

We went to Morris' and Julie's for our group time and then out to eat at Cracker Barrell. I have been busier this weekend than I am during the week when I work. Whew!!! I'm pooped!

Getting Ready To Cruise!

Today is Wednesday, April 22 and we leave on our cruise one week from Monday. We are really getting excited. Randall and I went out last weekend and bought some much needed summer clothes for the cruise. Since our last two vacations were taken during cold months, we have not purchased any new summer clothes in quite a while.

We made purchases at Stein Mart and Academy Sports. Once I got home and began planning my clothes for each day, I determined that I really had too many clothes. So I took back a pair of shorts and a top on Sunday. I ended up buying 3 tops and two pair of shorts. I tried on swim suits, but I have such a weird body that nothing looked right. I think I will just use an old one I already had and Linda has also loaned me one of hers that looks decent.

We began placing all of our new clothes and all that we plan to take with us in the guest room. You probably won't be able to go into that room by the time we get ready to leave:)

We also picked me up some sandals at Shoe Station and Randall some sandals at Academy Sports. I think this is the first pair of sandals Randall has owned since we married 32 years ago. It's just not somthing he cares for. I have a feeling that once he begins wearing them, he may wear them a lot. As a matter of fact, he is already wearing them.

I know most people say they always think they will need more clothes than they do on cruises. I have planned one outfit for each day and one for each night for dinner. I may still have too many clothes. But I would rather have too many than not enough:)

I also started tanning at the tanning bed just until we go on the cruise. This fat really needs all the help it can get to look better. Tanned fat just looks better than white fat!

I went today at lunch and got the hair taken care of. I got fresh highlights and cut as well. It sure does feel better.

This weekend looks like it will be pretty busy for us. Beginning Friday, we have a churchwide discipleship event called Strive 09, that I am helping with. That will require a lot of my time on Friday afternoon and night. Saturday, we have been asked to keep Carter during the day and take him to his t-ball game. Then we are to keep Ryleigh Saturday night and Sunday morning. So we probably won't have time to do much else this weekend.

I think we are ready for the most part. We will still have next weekend to get any last minute things we need.

Happy Half A Decade My Sweet Carter!

Happy 5th birthday to my oldest grandchild, Carter Christopher Stanford. We had a wonderful Batman themed party, complete with Batman Jumps A Lot and Batman cupcakes that his mother made. The children had a great time and so did the adults as well. His party was held on Saturday, April 18, but his actual birthday is today, April 19.

What a joy he has been to our lives for these past 5 years. We love you Carter!

Server Down..Not Much I Can Do!

I returned to work on Tuesday morning to find out that our server on our computers has been down since last Thursday and we don't know how long it is going to take to fix it. I was told we would definitely not be able to do anything that day.

We have begun to try to spruce up the front offices and there was a few things that still needed painting. Linda and Donna were going to paint, so I decided to join them. So I went home and got some painting clothes and we got to work painting trim. There are not too many things that I hate worse than painting, but it was better than doing nothing. I might as well be constructive.

At lunch, Linda and I went to check into tanning at Palm Beach Tans. We want to have a little color before our cruise and it is only 19 days away. It's time to get started! We weren't real happy with what they had to offer, so we decided to shop around to see if we could find a better deal. I went to Ultimate Tans and they had unlimited tanning for a month for $35. That's more like it. So I had my first session then of 10 minutes.

We are really getting excited about our cruise now! It seems like it has been so far off...but it's right on top of us now. Really hope I can drop a few lbs. before we go because from what I hear, we will definitely be eating a lot on the ship.

Good Bye for Now

Grandmother Erma had explicit instructions of how she wanted things at her funeral. She wanted the wake and funeral to be held back to back on the same day. So Monday, April 13 at 11:00, family and friends came to Radney's on Dauphin St. to pay their final respects. The funeral was held from Radney at 12:00 and the burial was held after that at Mobile Memorial Gardens.

After all the services were complete, about 50 people went to mother's house for lunch. Our friends from Dayspring had provided our meal and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Randall and I stayed at Mother's and Daddy's until around 5:30 or 6:00 and then went home and just relaxed. It has been a busy few days.

I'll see you in Heaven Grandmother Erma! Good Bye for now!

Easter 2009

Easter had with it this year a lot of emotions for me. Easter Sunday has fallen right in the middle of Grandmother Erma's death and her funeral. She passed away on Thursday, but Radney would not be able to schedule the wake/funeral until Monday. So on Easter Sunday, my thoughts were in the middle of all of this. As I contemplated the resurrection of Christ and it's significance, it meant all the more to me realizing that because of Christ's death and life, that I will see Grandmother Erma again!

Easter Sunday, we were all at church, with the exception of Ryan, Elizabeth and Carter. They go to Tuscaloosa on Easter to be with Elizabeth's family. After church, Brandon, Brittany, and Ryleigh went to eat lunch with Brittany's family. Mother, Daddy, Morris, Julie and their kids, Randall and I met Uncle Jan, Julie, Geoff and Uncle Jan's girlfriend, Sheila for lunch at Wintzell's downtown. I do not remember ever having eaten at Wintzell's downtown. Randall thinks we went there one time about 30 years ago. I can't remember yesterday, much less 30 years back. Nevertheless, the food was very good and we enjoyed our Easter lunch.

After lunch, Randall and I came home and relaxed. Randall took a nap, but I just wasn't able to fall asleep which is very unusual for me.

A very different Easter, but one that will be memorable.

Erma Hawkins Smith

SMITH Erma Hawkins Smith - a 91 year-old native of Starkville, MS and longtime resident of Mobile passed away at a local hospital on Thursday, April 9, 2009. She lived her life for her faith and her family. Mrs. Smith was a longtime faithful member of Dauphin Way Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 48 years, Herman Smith, and brothers, Bill Hawkins and Junior Hawkins. Mrs. Smith leaves to cherish her memory two children, Travis Jan Smith of Atlanta, GA and Nita Northcutt (Morris, Sr.) of Mobile; sister, Mildred "Millie" Beene (Charles) of Thomasville, GA; sisters-in-law, Lela Gregg of Saraland, Dorothy Hawkins of Baton Rouge, LA, Mary Smith of Columbus, MS, and Jo Jones of Mobile; four grandchildren, Geoffrey Smith (Trish) of Arlington, VA, Julie Smith Dean (Tony) of Manassas, VA, Morris Northcutt, Jr. (Julie), and Vallie Stanford (Randall), both of Mobile; seven great-grandchildren, Lauren Dean, Allison Dean, Brandon Stanford (Brittany), Ryan Stanford (Elizabeth), Trey Northcutt, Thomas Northcutt, and Ainsley Northcutt; great, great-grandchildren, Carter and Ryleigh Stanford; dear and faithful friends, Nelda Christopher, Betty and Bobby Earhardt, and Mollie Etheridge, all of Mobile; numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. Funeral services will be held from the chapel of Radney Funeral Home on Monday, April 13, 2009 at 12 noon with Dr. Bill Whitfield officiating and Jane Brown serving as musician/soloist. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 11 a.m. until the service hour. Interment will be in Mobile Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Dauphin Way Baptist Church, 3661 Dauphin St., Mobile, AL 36608. Arrangements by RADNEY FUNERAL HOME, 3155 Dauphin St., Ext., Mobile, AL 36606.

Life Throws A Curve

You never know when a phone call will bring about a drastic change in your life. Last night around 7:00, I had just taken my makeup off and got into bed to watch T.V. I thought that the worst thing about this night was that I still had a headache that I had been dealing with all day. But one phone call made me forget about that headache.

It was mother calling to say that she had just received a phone call from the lady who was sitting with my grandmother. She said that my grandmother had past out and that the ambulance and paramedics had been called Mother and Daddy were already on their way over there. Thinking that maybe she had just fainted, I told them to call me as soon as they found out something.

A few minutes later, they called back and said that she was in cardiac arrest. We then jumped out of bed and headed to the hospital. Immediately upon arrival they moved our family into a private waiting room and told us to wait to speak with the doctor. The E.R doctor came in and told us basically that she was alive only because she was on a respirator. He didn't give us very much hope. We were allowed to go back and see her. This was so difficult because she was hooked up to so many machines. The doctor told us a decision would probably have to be made soon about how long to keep her on life support.

Grandmother Erma had a mild heart attack and slight stroke about 6 weeks ago. After leaving the hospital, she did stayed in a recovery center for 20 days. She came just came home on Tuesday, but she had been saying she just didn't feel good. She ate dinner and then sat down in her recliner. Molly, the lady that stayed with her at night, said she then began to have a really bad coughing spell and then she just passed out.

This morning when we got to the hospital, nothing had changed. Her life long doctor, who really cared a lot for her, advised us that there was absolutely nothing could be done. My uncle and mother made the most difficult, but most unselfish decision, to let Grandmother Erma go.

As Mother, Daddy, Morris, Julie, my cousin Kay, and I were by her bedside, we had the honor of watching one of the sweetest ladies on earth take her last breath. She is now in the presence of Jesus. She will be greatly missed. Thanks for all the love you have given me for 49 years. We love you.

Pictures from Camping Weekend April 2009

Exquisite Camping Weather!

Well, I must say, I enjoyed this camping trip 100% more than I did our last one due to the fact that I was well this time and did not have pneumonia. We had absolutely perfect weather for enjoying the great out of doors.

Randall and I got up early Friday morning. After Randall got the boys ready with their jobs for the day, we were ready to leave right at 9:00 a.m. Randall already had the few groceries we were taking and since the trailer was already at the campgrounds, all we had to do was load the truck. We arrived at Gulf Breeze RV Resort around 10:10. I was hoping for a site on the lake, but all of those sites were occupied. We got an end site with a slight view of the lake. It was just fine. First of all we went to the storage area and picked up the TT and delivered it to the site where set up went very smoothly. Randall handled the outside while I moved things from the truck to the inside of the camper and then made all the beds with the sheets we had taken home to wash. Making the beds is one of my least favorite things to do because of the positions of the beds. They are very hard to get to!

Once we got set up, it was lunch time. We decided to go to Foley and have lunch at one of our favorites....The Mellow Mushroom. We split a small Caesar's salad and an order of Humus for an appetizer and order a small white pizza which we also split for our main meal. We still had enough left over to take back to the TT and have for another time. After lunch, we ventured out to find Bella Terra RV Resort that just opened recently. Evidently this resort is only for expensive Motorhomes only. That is all we saw when we rode by and all that is shown on their website. I don't think they even allow nice Fifth Wheels to stay. I believe their lots are mainly for sale and not so much a place just to spend the week. Their rates are extremely high, but what we could see from behind the iron security gate with guards, this didn't look like anything that we would be interested in anytime soon, if ever.

After relaxing in the sunshine back at the campgrounds for a couple of hours, we drove just over the bridge at Orange Beach and walked the State Park wooden hiking trail down to the beach. This was such a nice walk. We remembered the time when our boys were younger that we walked with our boys out to these same jetties and fished. This wooden walk path had not been built at that time and walking out there in the sand with all the fishing equipment was a very difficult walk. With this wooden walk way, it would be a piece of cake! Oh well, we were younger then and it wasn't so bad.

On our way back to the camp, we decided to go to Gulf State Park campgrounds to see if we could spot our friends, Richard and Valerie Jackson, who were supposed to be arriving there Friday as well. After driving all over the campgrounds, we determined they had not made it yet. Then as we were driving out the entrance, there was their truck and fifth wheel parked at the check in office. So we waited on them to come out just so that we could speak to them. They were staying all week.....those lucky dogs!

Once back at the campground, Randall grilled some sausage dogs and we had them along with potato salad. We also picked up some Cheesecake Cupcakes at the Cheesecake Factory on our way back to the campground and we had them for dessert...yum. It was such a nice evening outside, we ate out on the patio. After sitting outside a little longer, riding my bike, walking around the campground and sitting a little while longer, I finally went inside for the evening. We watched the movie "Marley and Me" which is one of the best, but saddest movies I have seen in a long time. I hate it when dogs die.

Saturday morning, we got up and headed to Hazel's for breakfast. When we eat Hazel's for breakfast, we skip lunch, because we eat so much that it holds us until dinner. After Hazel's, we went back to campgrounds for a little while and then we went to Tanger Outlet just to do some window shopping. We ended up only buying things for Camp. We have tried several different collars and harnesses on him and nothing just seems to fit right. The one we bought last time we were at the Gulf, choked him because we had to velcro it so tightly around his neck. When we left it loose, he was always able to get out of it. We used this new one several times and I think it is going to work. I sure hope so. We also picked Camp up PediPaws to groom his nails. He really needed this and it worked well. His nails look and feel so much better:)

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, walking, bike riding, visiting with neighbors, etc. It was nice to see the Lutz's, the couple that had been next to us the last time we stayed at the park. We thought they were leaving to go back to North Dakota on April 1 and we didn't expect to see them. But they had a change in plans and were not leaving until this Wednesday. Many of the snow birds in the park had left earlier in the week and many were leaving this week. I think most of them leave before Alabama Spring Break which will begin next week. They know when to get out of Dodge!

Saturday night for dinner, Randall grilled chicken and I had the leftovers from Mellow Mushroom. After dinner, we began the tearing down process since we were leaving early the next morning. We packed everything into the truck except the refrigerated items and what we were wearing on the way home. We were leaving the camper on the site for the park workers to move it back into storage for us because we were having to leave so early in order for us to be back for me to work at church. But everything had to be unhooked and disconnected ready for them to move. We were able to do most of this Saturday night.

Sunday morning we woke at 6:30, got dressed and unhooked the final connections. We were on the road by 7:00 and we were home by 8:10 even with stopping and getting gas. There is no traffic that early in the morning, especially on a Sunday morning.

This was a quick trip, but we had a wonderful, relaxing time. It's always good to be able to pull away from everyday life and do something different. It seems everytime we leave, we begin planning when the next time will be when we can come back. Since we are going on the cruise next month, it will probably be June or July before we can get back over. We'll just have to see!

2001 Presidential Fifth Wheel

We are having so much fun looking at fifth wheels. We have been looking for over a year now. We know that this will be a much bigger purchase than our little 23 foot travel trailer that we have now and we want to make sure we get the perfect one for us because we plan to travel in it a lot in the years to come.

We learned our lesson from a mistake we made when we purchased our current RV. When we bought it originally, we had made up our minds to begin our camping experience with a pop-up camper. We were not sure that camping would appeal to us, so we didn't want to invest a lot of money in our first RV. So after looking only at pop-ups all over town, we decided on one at Dickson's. After making our decision and sleeping on it, Randall went out the next day to sign the papers and complete the deal. Once Randall got out there, the salesman wanted to show him a 23 foot trailer that he could get for just $1000 more. Randall looked at it, like it, and then I met him to look at it. We looked at a couple of other trailers on their lot and liked this one the best for the money and we bought it. Since then, after looking extensively at many other lots, we have found trailers that we would have liked a lot better for our needs. In other words, once we changed our mind about the pop-up, we should have taken our time to look at what was out there and I am sure we would have not gotten the one we have now. Oh well.....we learn from our mistakes.

Last Friday, March 27, Randall took me out to Johnny's RV to show me a fifth wheel that he saw earlier in the week that he liked. We are no where near ready to buy our fifth wheel. But we want to look at every make and model possible so that when we are ready that we will get just the right one for us. We have always been set on getting a new fifth wheel. While we were looking at this one, the salesman told us to take a look at a used fifth wheel they had just gotten in on a trade in the day before. It was a 2001 Presidential which is the top of the line for that model. We looked at it and it was really in great shape and was a great price. We really considered going ahead and buying it now. One problem was that they would only give us about $5000 dollars on our trailer that we owe over $13,o00 on. We figured we would be better off keeping our trailer and trying to sell it. So until it sold, we would have two trailers if we bought this fifth wheel. Another problem is that we currently do not have a truck large enough to pull the Presidential. Johnny's said they would take the fifth wheel over to Gulf Shores for us and then we could get Gulf Breeze to pull it out and in for us when we use it over there. The only probem with that is that would be the only park we could go to until we bought a larger truck.

We have also been working on an aggressive retirement plan where we are making extra payments on our mortgage on our house and putting quite a bit in savings each month. If we were to buy the Presidential, purchase a larger truck to pull it, and still have our payment for our current trailer, we would not be able to save or make additional mortgage payments. As badly as we wanted this fifth wheel and as good a deal as we thought it was, it just was not a wise move to make all things considered.

So we continue on our journey of looking at every fifth wheel that has ever been made:)