CRUSIN' ABOARD THE CARNIVAL PRIDE

Since I haven't been Blogging for quite some time, there have been some things that I have wanted to do for many years.  This is one of them, that I finally got to do after waiting so long.  Take a Cruise aboard one of the Cruise Lines to the Bahamas.  The Wife and I decided upon going aboard the Carnival Pride that had Ports of call to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk Island, and Freeport.  It was not just us two that went.  We had another couple go along that were real good friends of ours.  My Brother was supposed to go along, but he canceled out.  He decided to go to Vegas too see the Star Wars characters, since he is a big fan of Star Wars.

This was the first time in my Life that I have ever taken a Cruise.  I have heard and read so much about them and where we were going to go that I could hardly wait the six months till we left.  We had made the reservations back in Feburary of last year, but the ship didn't depart Baltimore Harbor until September.  Ever make reservations for something that you wanted to go on and had to wait for a long time?  Well, this is what was happening to me.  I wanted to go on this so bad I could taste it!  I always kept telling people that this is the first Cruise I can take without getting shot at!

A bus took us to Baltimore Harbor, about a 2 hr. drive from here.  Finally, I got to see the ship we would board and stay on for 7 day's.  It sure was a big one.  All I wanted to do is get aboard and start having a ball!  Customs is one of the things that are a big pain in the ass, but necessary.  Having to stand in long lines, waiting for the Customs Agents to check your belongings and Passport is rather annoying.  It took us more than a hour to go thru everything, until boarding the ship.

Our Cabin was a bit on the small side.  Just enough room to do your thing.  After all, your hardly ever there.  All you need a Cabin for is to sleep and shower.  It was well kept, and clean.  You had your own personnel room aid.  He made your beds and cleaned up everything, everyday.  All we did was give him a tip.  All of your activity is up on deck and roaming around the ship.  There was always something going on.  Lots of activity aboard while at sea.  Swimming in one of the 4 swimming pools, sitting at the bar having a drink, and just general relaxation was a pure pleasure to do.  We spent 2 day's at sea, which didn't bother me at all, and then hit our first Port of Call.  While at sea you can eat something most all the time.  There is always something there to eat.  Food was plentiful.  The Main Dining Room was on the Stern of the ship and very well decorated, with great food and as much as you wanted!  All included in the price to Cruise.

Grand Turk Island was real nice.  Tourquise warm water, nice sea breeze, and white sand were just outstanding to behold.  The only problem was that the ship stayed in Port for just over 4 hours, and then departed for Half Moon Cay.

Half Moon Cay was one of the best islands that we went too.  The sand was so white, and soft that I wanted to stay there for more than the 8 hrs. we were there.  I even tried some snorkeling.  Something I've never did before.  It was great, but it's not quite as easy as you might think.  Takes a bit of practice to do.  Of course, there were plenty of shops to snoop around in for souvenirs.  Prices were rather cheap at some shops, but others were a bit expensive.  I was sorry to leave Half Moon.  I just loved that place.  However, when the ship say's that it is departing at a certain hour, you'd better be there or you'll be stranded!

Next stop was Freeport.  Upon our arrival there were 2 other Carnival ships there.  Lot's to see here and do, also.  Strolling around, shopping and enjoying the island were just a pure pleasure.  Again, the ship didn't stay here very long.  Only about 5 hrs. and then departed for home Port.  It took us 2 more day's at sea to get home.  Again, there was always something to do aboard the ship.  Always something going on. You never will get bored, that's for sure!

I enjoyed that Cruise so much.  I loved it.  I have never done anything in my Life that was so enjoyable.  Waiters walking around the ships deck would get you just about anything you wanted.  You are catered to hand and foot.  People were so very friendly to talk to.  People that you've never seen before talk to you as if they have known you for a long time.  I was not used to that, but I learned real fast.

We liked it so much that we're going again this year in October aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line.  Again, I can't wait!

Until next time  .  .  .  Thanks for reading and commenting

Les

I HAVE RETURNED!

Hello there, to all my followers that used to follow my Blog.  I don't really know who is still out there yet, since I have not posted anything for more than a year or more.  Not sure just how long it's been, but it has been quite sometime!

I still look pretty much the same as what you see above.  However, since I last posted there have been some changes in my Life.

First, there are a few reasons why I have not Posted anything in so long.  One of them is I've had some trouble with others out there reading my Blog and making fun of it.  I didn't take to kindly to that.  Don't know just why they would do this, but I just got tired of it.  I'm hoping that this does not happen anymore.  Another one was I was running out of Historical places to go around here.  I have been to most everything around, and showed where I was here on the Blog.  Maybe I just got tired of doing it or bored.  Needed something different than what I was doing.  There are still places to go and see, but they are a bit on the far side to travel.

I've also retired from working, now that I've reached the ripe old age of 66.  I was at my other job for just over 14 yrs.  Just didn't want it anymore.  Got tired of putting up with idiot employees, nit-wit customers, working every other week-end, and the job in general.  Guess that it was getting to me for a long time.  I've had enough of working a long day, coming home dog tired, doing what someone else wants me to do, and many other things that influenced me to call it quits.  I've been working since I'm 14 yrs. old.  I think I'll let the younger generation do what I had to do over the many years of being employed.  I can now collect my Social Security that I have paid into for so long.  I hope that the stupid Gov't doesn't screw it up for us "Baby Boomers!"  I really don't think that I will totally retire, and not do anything.  Will try and find a part-time job, just to keep me out of trouble.  3 day's a week is more than enough for me.  I don't want to sit around and waste away to nothing!

I have also purchased a new Pentax Camera.  I now shoot a Pentax K10D 10.1 Megapixal DSLR.  It has a number of different functions that my Pentax K100D did not.  It does a whole lot that I'm still getting used to.  The Lens's that I had will all fit the K10D, so I didn't have to worry about that.  I've added 2 more Lens's that I didn't have before.  One of them is a Pentax 80-320mm Telephoto Lens, and the other is a Vivitar 500mm Mirror Lens.  You can get right close up and personal with these!

That does it for right now.  As usual, thanks for reading and commenting.
Les

FLEETWOOD HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1966

Sorry that I have not Posted anything here on my Blog for a few day's, but there has not been a whole lot to Post about, until now.

This past Saturday, the 17th of September, the Fleetwood High School Class of 1966 had our 45th Class Reunion at the Lyons Fire Company, Lyons PA.  The Class Colors were Red & White - Fleetwood High School was known as the "Fleetwood Tigers."

Lets go back to 1966.  This was our school as it looks today.  There have not been any changes to the outside.  It still looks the same as it did, but now it is used as a Administration Building (I think), and has a Museum down-stairs.  The inside has not changed all that much, either.  The floors are still linoleum, as they were before.  The steel lockers that were on the walls are gone.  In their place are wooden panels, that have been painted the same color as the walls.  It looks like a big open space, where something used to be.  The gymnasium looks the same as it did years ago.  The stage and Class Tiger is still there on the floor, but is badly warped from a leak in the roof.  I could still remember where my Locker was.  The Walls have a fresh coat of paint, but most everything has remained the same.  Across the street, and out of the picture, is some tennis courts and beyond that was our Athletic field which you can still see, what is left of the track, we had for Track & Field events.   Back then we did not have all the fancy stuff that the new High School has.  There was no air-conditioning, no carpeted floors, no computers, and no fancy cafeteria that the new High School has.  The school bus's used to stop just to the right and behind the last car you see.  There are no school bus's here anymore.

So here is my Class today.  Each of us wore a "picture tag" with our name so we all could tell who was who.  I'm standing on the top row, extreme left.  Since our Class Funds were very low, we could not afford a Pro Photographer, so word must have gotten around that I like Photography and since I had my Pentax and Tripod with me, I was asked to shoot a Image of the Class.  I was a bit worried about using the Lens that I had thinking that it might not cover everyone.  It did just fine, as you can see.  I shot 4 of these, but deleted 2.  We all have changed in one way or another.  We all have gone our separate ways.  Most of us have Grandchildren now and some have retired.  I can look at this Image and remember so much from those day's.  Fleetwood High School did not really have big graduating Class's.  Not like other schools that had 500 or more.  I really can't remember just how many were in our graduating Class.  It was much less than 100.  There were other members of the Class that just did not come, or have moved too far away to attend.

In Memory of those who we lost over time.

The Reunion lasted until around 11:00 p.m.  I guess that we were all getting tired.  We had good food & drink, plus a DJ that played music from the 50's & 60's, that we enjoyed dancing too.  Now, in another 5 yrs. it will be our 50th Reunion.  Don't know what this committee will plan.  Maybe something different.  It's hard to believe that time has gone by so fast.  Where did time go?  It was a time when everything was much more simple, and we didn't have much of a care in the world.

Until the next time  .  .  .  .  Thanks for reading & commenting

Les

HIGH WATER

If you remember in my last Post I had mentioned that it rained so hard yesterday morning that you could barely see in front of you?  Well, this is what happens down on River Road just 3 blocks from our Home.

River Road is just off to the right.  Across the Road are Homes, but are up higher than the road.

This sign is more than 6 feet up on the tree.

The River is usually way beyond those 2 trees.  Allot of power out there with the water running so fast.  Would not be a good place to be.

These Images were taken just yesterday evening after I came home from work.  There were lot's of other people walking down River Road, even though the National Guard was patrolling the area just to keep people from doing something dumb.  I checked the River this morning on my way to work, and it was much lower.  The River is getting back to it's normal flow.  However, I'm thinking that there won't be any fishing around here for a while.  All the fish have been probably washed down stream.  More showers for tomorrow, and thunder storms are in the forecast.  Great!  Just what we need.  More rain.

Until the next time  .  .  .  .  Thanks for reading & commenting.

Les

LANCASTER COUNTY IN HDR

Before I show you some of the Images that I had taken while in Lancaster County that I changed over to High Definition, I'd like to tell you about the rain we have been having here.  For the past 2 day's it has done nothing but rain, rain, and more rain.  Most of the time the rain has been on the light side with a few times of heavy rain that did not last very long.  The ground is just totally soaking wet and really can't absorb much more.  The bad weather has been preventing me from working on the outside storage shed.  I have to replace the whole front of the shed with new weather resistant plywood, re-trim the outer edges, and re-paint what I have to replace.  I had vacation from work for 4 day's and was planning on doing this, but the rain has put a stop to all that.  Today was much the same.  More rain, but this time it rained so hard that it was a real deluge.  A real "toad soaker", as they say.  It rained so darn hard that you could barley see what was outside.  It came down in buckets for about 15 minutes and then just let up to a drizzle.  Trying to get home from work was a real pain in the butt.  Streets were flooded, and had traffic all snarled up so bad that I had to find an alternate way to get home.  Usually, it takes me only 15 min. to get home here, but because of all the flooding and streets that were blocked off, it took me more than a half hour!  As I write this, there is a Flash Flood Warning coming over the radio.  More heavy rain is expected.  This is not good.  The River below us is already close to over-flowing.  More rain, just might send it over it's banks and flood out River Road.  The water will never reach our home, cause we live up on higher ground.  I think that I have had enough rain for awhile, but there is not much I can do to stop it.  I'm ready for some sunshine!

My High Definition Program, known as HDR, does a pretty good job in bring out more of the color in the Image.  This is just one of the Images that I chose to convert over to HDR.

  This is one Image that I didn't Post about in my last one.  As you can read it's just one of the many little stores in the Kitchen Kettle Village.  I went in here to "snoop around" and see if I could find a nice Country Candle for my Wife.  There was all kinds of stuff in here.  I did find a nice Candle and holder for her, which she did enjoy getting.

Now, for a complete change from Lancaster County to something that has been wrong with me for more than 40 yrs.  As most of you may know by now, I served in the US Navy for 11 yrs. and had a Tour of Duty over in Vietnam.  The above picture, taken on the USS New Jersey, is a Duel 5"54 rapid fire gun battery that was my Battle Station aboard the Destroyer I served with.  Because of a gun battery like this, firing in my Left ear many times, my hearing in my Left ear has been bad for all these years.  The Ear Specialist I went to confirmed that I have "diminished hearing" in both ears.  Well, now after filling out paper work more than 2 months ago, I finally got the Veterens Administration, in Lebanon, PA to give me a complete physical and maybe address my hearing problem.  I am told by other Vietnam Vets that they will pay for a hearing aid, pay for any medicine that I take, pay for glasses that I wear, and much more that I don't know much about yet.  I'll have to find out more when I get there.  I will also get discounts from different places of business, that I have already used.  Lowes Hardware Store is just one of them that offer a 10% discount to all Veterans that served their Country.  To get this discount, you have to show proof that your a Veteran, such as your DD-214 paper.  They just don't hand it out to anyone.  This is the way it should be.

Some of the time, I wear a hat that say's "US Navy Vietnam Veteran."  I usually don't say much about what I've seen over there and what I did, because most people really don't care, so I have been led to believe.  When I do wear it, I have had people come right up to me, stick out their hand, and Thank me for serving our Country in time of War.  I have never met these people before!  I'm not used to that!  I've had this happen more than 5 times, so far.  The first time it happened, I did not know what to say.  I was dumb founded, if you can believe that.  Things are changing for us Nam Vets since the bad times in the 60's.  It has been a long time coming.  Would you believe that I could still load and fire this battery just like I did more than 40 yrs. ago?  I remember to this day.  It will remain in my memory until I'm dead and gone.

Until the next time  .  .  .  .  Thanks for reading & commenting.

Les

INTERCOURSE, PA

Again, today I had another day off from my job.  I had stated before that my place of employment did not have power for 2 days, from good ole' Hurricane Irene coming to visit.  It finally got power back yesterday, and went back to work last night.

I have a small problem with the weather is real nice.  I want to get "out there" with my Camera and visit places that I want to see.  So, with all the outside house work pretty well done for now, I decided to hit the road and go back down into Lancaster County to a Town named Intercourse, PA and get some Images that I've been wanting to shoot before, but never really did get to do it.  This time I think I did much better than my previous Post.

This gives just a small description on just how the Town got it's name.  If you might be thinking that it had something to do with the union of 2 to produce an offspring, it had nothing to do with that!  LOL.

The Town of Intercourse is not a very big Town.  Just a small place that has lots to offer those who want to Tour the Amish country side, and see all the attractions that are around the area.  One of the major attractions in Intercourse is a place called the Kitchen Kettle Village.  It has many little shops for all to shop and snoop around in.  You can find just about anything here that has to do with the County and the Amish people.  This is just one of the many little "stores" that can be found here.  Has all kinds of little trinkets and crafts.  For those of you that like Country stuff, you can find what you want around here.  This is just one of the many little craft shops you can visit.

Here you can purchase just one of the many Quilts that are all hand made by the Amish people.  I thought the sign was made rather pretty.  The Quilts that are hand made can get on the expensive side, depending on what you want.  The more fancy they are, the more the price is.  Some of the Quilts can cost more than $600.  However, they are worth the money.  Some of the ones that I saw were so very pretty to see and were not cheap.  The Amish people don't make cheap stuff that will fall apart in years to come.

This is just one example of the colorful Quilts that are on display for those who want something like this that will keep you warm during cold Winter months or just to hang in your Home as a Banner, which some do.  I have no idea just how much this one is, but you can bet it's well over $200.00.  I'd almost be afraid to sit on something as pretty as these are.  Let alone, use it for a bed cover.  You gotta hand it to these people.  They know how to sew!  Remember this is all made by hand.

Ok.  Moving on here, this is one of the 3 carriages that Tourists can take a 5 mile ride on around the Lancaster country side.  It even takes you over a Covered Bridge and back all for $12.00 a person.  This was shot in the Kitchen Kettle Village.

Taking a break.  I think that these Horse's have such a pretty chestnut color.  Trust me.  These horse's are well cared for.

Again.  Remember the movie "Witness" with Harrison Ford and the Lady who wanted to take his picture while he was in hiding with the Amish?  This is the Country Store where that segment of the movie was shot.  Notice the metal rails where horse & buggy's can be tied too while shopping.  The 2 Gentlemen, on the porch, were watching me as I took this Image.

This was my Main reason for coming down here.  The Amish Horse & Buggy.

Standing at the entrance to the Village, I just happen to hear the "clip-clop" of a horse & wagon coming behind me.  I had to turn and shoot this Image quick before he went by.  Notice the straw hat, which most Amish men wear.

I think that this is my best shot of the visit.  Again, standing on the other side of the street, I was rewarded with this Horse & Buggy coming around the corner from where I was standing.  I almost did not hear the "clip-clop" of the horse and wagon cause they came from my left side.  Since, I have some "diminished hearing" more in my left ear than the right, I was sorta surprised by them coming.  I just didn't hear them coming until the last minute.  I turned and took this Image, and thanked them as they went by.  Notice the name "Stoltzfus" on the sign behind them.  It is a very common name around here.  So is the last name Lapp.  Also, notice the black shield behind the horse.  That's for "road apples!" or "exhaust" from the horse.

A parting shot and "THANK YOU" for letting me get an Image of what I came here for.  Be well, and travel safe, my Amish person.

Just another Image of the Horse & Buggy's that are around the area in the Kitchen Kettle Village.

Look how fancy this carriage really is.  Has turn signals on the right & left sides.  The door has a polished look to it, and the inside was very clean & neat with polished wood!  Humm .  .  .  .  I'm wondering just who owned this carriage.  It was sure allot more fancy than the others I saw.

Here is something that you see quite allot of around the area.  This is not a bicycle.  It's a scooter!  Notice that there are no pedals like a bike.  It's all done by "push power" just like the scooters we used to have when we were much younger.  Notice the wheels.  Much bigger than what we ever had.  I can remember when I had a scooter.  It was a whole lot smaller than this one.  I had to take this shot, knowing that the Amish don't care to have their picture taken, quick before she turned around.

Just a parting shot of the surrounding country side.  Looked like it was going to start raining, but it never did.  Was a bit on the cloudy side while here, and starting to get a bit humid.

Hope you enjoyed your Tour of the Town that is so well known in the Lancaster area.  Hope that I didn't get too carried away with this Post and you were not bored.  I hope that I didn't get "too long winded" here.  I really wanted to get some shot's of the Horse & Buggy's that I had mentioned about before in my previous Posts.  I was rewarded well for my persistence.  I still may come back here in the Fall when Nature starts changing color for the last time before Winter set's in.

Until the next time  .  .  .  .  Thanks for reading & commenting.

Les

AFTER IRENE

Now that Hurricane Irene is long gone, I had a chance just to take a short 3 minute drive down to the Felix Dam Park area just to see what damage has been done, if any at all.  While Irene was here we really did not get that much damage at all.  Lot's of wind & some heavy rain, but that was about it.  We lost power just for a short while, and then it came back on.  Not like other places around the area that still have no power as I write this.  My place of employment has had no power for 2 day's now, thus leaving me without a job to go to until it get's turned back on.  I won't get paid, but that's ok.  Just as long as it does not last a long time.  I can find things to do around the house here while I'm off.

This is the Schuylkill River just down the road from us.  It's where the old Felix Dam used to be that I have posted about before.  It's much higher than it usually is and the water is brown in color.  It has not gotten much higher than this, thank goodness.

Taken at the old Lock in Felix Dam Park.  The plaque there tells all about how the old Felix Dam was torn down, or what was left of it.  It was high water like now and Hurricane Floyd years ago that gave the ole' Dam it's demise.

Walking down the bicycle & walking path there are some trees down and leaves all over the place.  Not that bad at all.  Could have been allot worse.

Looking up-river from Kelly's Lock.

This is looking down River Road that I had mentioned before.  No real damage here at all.  Just a few tree limbs that blew off and leaves.  It's been all cleared away by the Township.  The Brown plaque in the foreground say's "Kelly's Lock Overlook."  It's where I took the previous Image.  Kelly's Lock has been here for many years.  The parking lot used to be dirt, and us kids in High School used to use this area to "Watch The Submarine Races!"  They still do to this day.

Here I am standing at the ole' Lock Handles that used to open and close the old Lock for the barge's that used to pass thru here back in the 1800's.  I just never do take a good Image of myself.  However, they say the camera never lies!  I know.  I should lose some weight.  Getting older seems to give you that problem.

That's all for now.  There just is not a whole lot to Post about here since Irene has gone.  It's all still pretty much the same as it has been. 

Until the next time  .  .  .  .  Thanks for reading & commenting.

Les