Green Chile

Green Chile. How do we love you? Let us count the ways. Well, one is on cheese burgers. If you were to ask the chefs on the Zuiderdam for a green chile cheese burger they might go rummaging around the kitchen and bring you out a bell pepper.

Not to fear. Rodger Beimer is here. We celebrated today with the canned green chile he brought along to ease us back into New Mexican food. We had a ceremony in the Lido pool dining area to decorate out burgers. MMMMM!

Ed Mahr explained green chile mysticism to Cia and Uming of the Lido Staff.

Tonight we pass Havanna but since Obama hasn’t done change we believe in yet we can not stop there.

Home on Thursday. We hear that it will only be 33 degrees on Thursday. Arghh!

Costa Rica

We spent Monday exploring Costa Rica. We sailed into Puerto Limon, Banana capitol of the world and set off for the rain forest. The rest of the gang went to a banana plantation. They day started with out a cloud in the sky. It was beautiful at the rain forest preserve we visited. It went from full sunshine to hard rain in a matter of minutes. I got the feeling that walking ten feet into that rain forest would be lethal. All sorts of toxic things in there. Snakes, frogs that kill, beetles the size of a Pontiac.

Tuesday and Wednesday we will spend at sea as we race across the Caribbean to dock the ship in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday morning. Then back into cold weather. I would take dry climates to wet any day.

Panama

We spent the day at sea on Saturday and arose at 6am to watch our ship enter the Gatun Locks in Panama Canal. It really is a marvel and now we have been here. This is a pic of the gang of six, minus part of Connie. We took a cruise on the Chagres River and a walk in the rain forest. It rained there. Tomorrow we are on to the rain forests in Costa Rica.

Curacao

Bobbi and I crossed to the main shopping area on a pontoon bridge.

Curacao is interesting because as you get off the ship you are in an area of markets and local stores intermingled with a lot of tourist traps. It is a pretty place that has humidity in spades. But it was endurable. Fresh Fish from the Caribbean and fruits and veggies from Venezuela which is just miles away. No sign of Hugo Chavez though.

Gang of Six

Here is the Gang of Six, Rodger and Connie Beimer, Ed and Jolene Mahr, Bobbi and me after we demolished Thanksgiving Day Dinner onboard Zuiderdam. We toured Aruba all day and came back for dinner on the ship. Tomorrow we go to Willemstad for a day of walking the old city. Then on to Panama.

Half Moon Cay

We had a great beach stay at Half Moon Cay. It might be the nicest beach we have ever been on….anywhere.

Rodger and Connie thought about pedaling back to the Zuiderdam but they might have been identified as pirates and had the fire hoses turned on them.

I have to say I am disappointed in seeing Obama thinking of sending more troops to Afghanistan. How does the military industrial complex get to a buy like Obama? Maybe they all know something we don’t, but no one has ever brought order to that country and we won’t either. Like a leopard that cant change its spots.

Speaking of spotty….Martin Chavez showed his in his signing agreements on arbitration. I often wonder if it is even constitutional to give a way power to a faceless arbitrator in cutting contract deals with labor unions. That person is not elected. Shame on Marty.

Cruisin

They say pictures are worth a thousand words. Rodger and Connie Beimer are at the Crow's Nest Bar along with Ed and Jolene Mahr. We plan on having fun but will all go our own ways when we hit ports.

Delta Frown

Delta is my airline. They had a bad day yesterday with broken planes and misplaced luggage. That stuff happens occasionally and is just unavoidable.

However, the strain of reduced salaries and increased work loads is showing on Delta employees. We spent a good ten hours dealing with Delta on Sunday and I can honestly say I never saw one employee actually smile. They look stressed to the max. It might be time for Delta management to wake up.

We will be leaving to board the ship soon. This morning I took a long walk in Fort Lauderdale on my quest for a Starbucks. One thing I noticed was help wanted signs in many windows. That is a good sign....right?

Outta Here

We will all be at the airport Sunday morning for our flight to Fort Lauderdale to board our ship. Here is hoping Delta Airlines and the FAA can manage to get us there. Then overnight before embarking on the Zuiderdam. We have been on four of Holland America's Dam ships now.

Ten days of snorkeling, sitting on the beaches, excursions in Panama and Costa Rica and then back again. I will post pictures if the internet on the ship is up to it.

It would be nice to get back in ten days and find that the Senate has passed some healthcare reform. Who knows? I think we are close to something happening. Let us hope the abortion issue proponents or opponents don't sink the greater bill. This issue can always be handled later if need be. I say this at great risk to my progressive credentials, but I think the greater good is passage of a bill.

We will return after Mayor Berry takes office. So far his appointments seem okay. It is apparent to me that the wing nut republicans are not offering up any qualified candidates to run city agencies. I think the only thing they can do is criticize government. They don't actually have anyone who can participate in it because they have no real world experience. Except for whining.

Bobbi and Me Cruising

Bobbi has laid out all of her clothes for our upcoming cruise to the Caribbean next week. We will be joined by friends this time and it will be a more relaxing cruise than we usually embark on. Lots of beaches and lazy days. Panama and Costa Rica are included along with all of the tropical isles. As usual our home is protected by gun toting guards and alarms.

We were thinking today how great it would be when cruises can start off loading in Cuba. A visit there by Americans dropping dollars would do a lot of good. I guess Fidel has to croak first so the right wing Cubans in Miami can't complain.

We will sail on Holland America's Zuiderdam. It is a bigger ship that we are used to being on so it might be different. However, I will never get on those new behemoths that carry 7000 passengers and crew. If I want to stay in a city I could just choose not to cruise.

Our next cruise is in March. Rio de Janiero to Buenos Aires and back. Lots of heavy duty excursions on that one.

Misc.

Bobbi and I went to see that disaster movie last night. 2012 seemed to be a satire on the republican party. Yuk.

The Associated Press has laid off many veteran reporters including Deborah Baker in Santa Fe. They now have one staffer left in Santa Fe. This is really bad. The AP could always be depended upon for reporting not dictated by publishers of local newspapers. This is really bad.

Mayor Berry is still filling out his team. He is taking many long time city employees and putting them in charge. That will result in a mixed bag of results. Some good and some bad. Like I said in my blog yesterday about the federal Bureau of Land Management, will folks like this serve the well being of the bureaucracy or the new policy initiatives of the Mayor elect? It may not come to that since the financial mess Mayor Berry is inheriting will trump everything.

This is a picture I found from my Land Commissioner campaign in 1991. We all won that year. This was Bruce King at his best. What ever happened to Casey Luna? I wonder if he will visit the Capitol tomorrow as Governor King lies in state. I certainly plan on going.