During the last leg of our 2016 Flower Power Cruise, we docked in Cozumel, an island in the Caribbean off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. To make the most of the few hours available, we purchased "The Best of Cozumel" tour package from the cruise line and hit the ground running. Duty-free shops offering liquor, jewelry and souvenirs were directly located at the end of the pier and we took a few minutes to browse among the many selections before climbing aboard a van that whisked us away to our first stop, "Discover Mexico." A visit to "Discover Mexico" starts with a short film portraying the Mexican people, their culture, crafts and countryside. Afterwards, visitors stroll through a small arts and crafts museum. This particular sculpture is known as a "Tree of Life." Such modeled clay sculptures originated in the colonial period as a way for Spanish friars to teach the biblical story of creation to the native population. They later included non-biblical representations. This one is covered in Monarch butterflies, which are known for their annual winter migration to a remote spot in Mexico.
"Tree of Life"
Seen here is sand art titled "Our Lady of Guadalupe" and an attractive folk art trunk.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Sand Sculpture
Folk art trunk
As we made our way outside to the park and walked the grounds, we encountered miniature representations of various Mexican landmarks, like the Great Pyramid of Cholula. Located four miles west of Puebla, it is the largest man-made structure in the world by volume. Dating back to 300 BC, the structure was built in six stages, with the Oto-Manguean as the original architects. In 600 AD, the Oto-Manguean were conquered by the Olmeca-Xicallana, who added another layer to the pyramid. Between 900 and 1300 AD, they, too, were conquered and the Toltecs added more layers. Finally, when the Aztecs conquered the city, the inhabitants fled and it fell into ruin.
When archaeologists tunneled into the the pyramid, they discovered the remains of 400 sacrificial victims, many of whom were children of both sexes.
The Great Pyramid of Cholula
Another miniature site included Palenque's Temple of the Inscriptions. Founded around 2,200 years ago, the pre-Columbian city of Palenque is located in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The Temple of the Inscriptions was built as a tomb for K'inich Janaab' who was known as one of the city's great leaders. It is said to be decorated with some of the most detailed inscriptions in Mayan glyphs ever discovered, giving an account of rulers and their accomplishments.
Palenque's Temple of the Inscriptions
The old village of Miguel de Xamancab
This gentleman was making customized bracelets with thread in record time at the park.
After viewing to-scale replicas, we were treated to this daredevil exhibition before boarding the van to the Mayan Cacao Company. (The full video can be seen on the Cheese Plates and Room Service Facebook site since blogger wouldn't allow it here.)
The "Discover Mexico" park tour finale.
At the Mayan Cacao Company we learned a little more about the history of chocolate and its roots in the Mayan culture. Afterwards, we participated in a chocolate tasting and were served an authentic mole on a tortilla crafted onsite. My husband, meanwhile, sneaked off to snap pictures of birds he discovered on the property.
The Mayan Cacao Company offers tastings, demonstrations and products at their gift shop.
A chocolate-making demonstration.
Birds cozy up on the premises of the Mayan Cacao Company.
Next, we were off to what was once the capital of Cozumel. El Cidral is a small village and is home to the oldest Mayan Ruins on the island, dating back to 800 AD. Here a warrior guards the ruins and tourists pay for pictures.
"Mayan Warrior" guards the ruins.
During our time in El Cidral, we browsed some of the souvenir shops and I purchased a pair of silver earrings for a very reasonable price, but of course bartering is de rigueur in El Cidral and the shopkeeper accepted my first offer. Afterwards, she followed me around urging me to buy more before hustling me over to her brother's tequila shop. I learned later that a few people have had issues with some heavy handedness of some of the merchants and that it's better to visit El Cidral as part of a tour group than trying to "wing" it on your own. We escaped to join our scheduled tequila tasting at the Hacienda Tequila Museum just a few doors down.
There we learned a little about the history of tequila and gathered around to try five different types of the beverage made from the blue agave plant. I am not a fan of tequila, but I enjoyed all of the samples--go figure. Perhaps it was the setting and the fact that I was on vacation. I left before any of the salespeople spotted me and learned later the prices on the tequila were quite high.
Let the tequila tasting commence
Before we boarded the van to our next stop on the island, we stepped inside the first Catholic church built on Cozumel. Located up on a hill near the small ruins, the chapel is open for visitors and we had the place to ourselves as we strolled around taking pictures.
Inside the first Catholic Church erected in Cozumel.
Our tour van traveled along the eastern shore of the island for a brief stop at the beautiful El Mirador beach where we had just enough time to snap a few scenes and spot a bride posing for wedding pictures.
Scenes from El Mirador beach
After strolling the beach for 15 minutes, it was time to head to our next destination. My heart-rock-collecting friend asked me to find her one for her collection while visiting Cozumel, so we had to scour the beach in record time. I didn't think I did too bad with this one.
Our final tour stop was San Miguel, where we enjoyed lunch at Pancho's Backyard , an attractively appointed restaurant where we snacked on a sampler platter of typical Mexican fare. Afterward, we browsed the large gift shop located in the front of the restaurant and stocked with a wide variety of Mexican products.
A picture taken from our seat through the windows of Pancho's Backyard.
On the way back to the ship, I viewed San Miguel from the windows of the van and wished they would have allowed us more time to walk the streets, stroll along the wide sidewalks next to the seawall, or peer inside the shops and galleries, but the clock was ticking and the ship was waiting. Perhaps another time.
Although it was a whirlwind tour, it was a lot of fun and I felt like now we have a good sense of where we should spend more time should we decide to return.
Ports of call on the Flower Power Cruise 2016 included a stop in Key West, a small city in Florida, which is walkable at only four miles long, so we set out on a self-guided tour of the area. Our time was limited, but we did manage to see a lot in the few hours we were there before returning back to the ship. Because it was the first week of March, the weather hovered at a comfortable 73 degrees.
One of the first buildings we passed was the Key West Art & Historical Society Custom House. The landmark is an award-winning museum and home to the Key West Historical Society and if we had more time, we would have ventured inside. These cool statues out front caught my eye.
Statues in front of Art & Historical Society Custom House Museum
Our next stop was Mallory Square, which I understand is hopping at night. It was a good place to scout out a few bargains, from jewelry, to clothing and souvenirs. I ended up with a cute pair of sandals that cost a mere $10. The place was rather sedate that particular morning, I suspect because the "Sunset Viewing Party" is the big event of the day. During that time, street performers entertain the crowds who flock there to be amazed and amused. I found this clip of some of the regular performers captured on YouTube. Because we were instructed to be back on board the ship by 4 p.m., we had no choice but to miss the popular event, along with the Shipwreck Museum and the Aquarium also located in the complex.
Sights at Mallory Square
During our stroll around the island, I was impressed with the quiet beauty of the area and snapped a few pictures of the surroundings--including this house, formerly owned by Joseph Yates Porter, the first health officer for the state of Florida. Across the street, a Yuengling truck pulled up to make a delivery to the Whistle Bar, which reminded me of my home in Pennsylvania where it seems like everyone is a Yuengling fan. As we gazed up at the top deck of the Whistle Bar, we noticed a sign that read "clothing optional." My husband said he saw a topless woman through the slats. I noticed he was squinting pretty hard, but I kept it moving, ha.
Beautiful travelers palms, ficus trees and ginger blooms dotted the island. We spotted a few interesting trees as well. Shown below is a Banyon and a Kapok. Kapok trees were known as the sacred tree of the Mayans and used to make caskets and dugout canoes.
Formerly home to Joseph Porter Yates, M.D. and first health official of the state of Florida.
A taste of Pennsylvania in Key West.
Banyon Tree
Hens and roosters are also a common site in Key West and were originally brought to the area by Cuban refugees back in the 1950's. Today, they are considered part of the area's charm.
Roosters are a common sight in Key West.
During our walk, we stumbled upon the "Little White House." The dwelling, constructed in 1890, was home to Navy officers. In 1911, it was converted into a single family residence. Theodore Roosevelt visited in 1917, 1926 and 1939 and Thomas Edison stayed at the house for six months while working on 41 new weapons during World War II. Harry Truman used the house for 175 days during his administration and eventually the dwelling became known as the "Little White House." President Dwight D. Eisenhower conducted meetings there while recovering from a heart attack and Bill and Hillary Clinton used the house as a weekend retreat. The structure is considered the birthplace of the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force. Tours are conducted daily every 20 minutes from 9-4:30.
The "Little White House."
We decided to forego the "Little White House" tour due to the rather long line and because I had my sights set on the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum located about a mile away. When we arrived, we were free to venture inside, at which time I had a few minutes to shoot a picture of the dining room and kitchen before the crowds poured in.
Outside of the Hemingway Home and Museum
Kitchen and dining room of the Hemingway home.
During the tour, we learned all about the Hemingway homestead and a little more about the life of the prolific writer. The house was built in 1851 and Hemingway resided there from 1931 to 1939 with his second wife Pauline. The dwelling was presented to the couple as a wedding gift from Pauline's Uncle Gus, who purchased it for $8,000. The grounds are also home to 54 descendant cats, many of whom are polydactyl and consume about 80 pounds of food a week. We learned that Hemingway was once a boxer, a bit on the clumsy side and suffered from a total of nine concussions, which may have contributed to his sometimes erratic behavior.
This picture was taken just a few weeks before the famous writer committed suicide.
We also viewed his writing quarters which, in the past, were initially accessed via a catwalk from the second floor of the main house. The catwalk no longer exists and visitors climb a set of narrow stairs resembling a fire escape to peek into the room, which is barred off to direct entry. Here the late Nobel prize winner penned works like "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "Death in the Afternoon," and the "Snows of Kilimanjaro."
Hemingway's writing room.
The Hemingway headboard is a gate from a monastery and yes, that's a real cat.
The in-ground pool seen below was a bone of contention between husband and wife. According to the guide, his intention was to build a boxing ring, but when Pauline got wind of one of his affairs, she commissioned a crew to install a pool for $20,000--a mighty sum for the time and understandably so since the labor intensive project was hand dug with pickaxes. To this day, it is the largest residential swimming pool in Key West.
Word has it that when Hemingway learned of the cost, he tossed a penny on the ground and said, "Well, you might as well have my last cent." She memorialized the moment and visitors can view the penny embedded in the cement.
Hemingway's "last cent."
The urinal he dragged back from Sloppy Joe's (his favorite bar) during a renovation is now a water source for the cats that roam the grounds.
One of the 54 happy cats who lay claim to the Hemingway home and grounds.
When the couple parted ways and Hemingway set off for Cuba, Pauline resided in the home until her death in 1951, after which the family decided to sell it to Bernice Dixon, who now runs the museum. Thirty-minute tours are conducted 365 days a year from 9 to 5 p.m. Tickets (cash only) can be purchased at the door. Prices can be seen here.
As we walked down the street a few blocks from the Hemingway House, we spotted this structure with an interesting plaque out front. I researched the house a bit and didn't learn much, other than the realtor said it was built in 1928, so someone is likely pulling our legs. Last I heard, the house was for sale.
On the way back to the ship, we peeked in a few shops and I snapped a picture of the infamous "Sloppy Joes," which friends tells me is huge now, compared to 20 years ago. Here's a link to the history and a few pictures of how it looked back "in the day."
We shopped a bit on Duval Street and enjoyed lunch in the courtyard of a lovely restaurant called Bagatelle, before returning to the ship.
Uncharacteristically quiet moment on Duval Street
A unique truck we spotted parked on the walk to the Hemingway House.
We chose Bagatelle as our lunch destination.
To learn more about travel in the Florida Keys and Key West, visit their website by clicking here.
About a year ago, I was watching a program on an "off" channel that might have been skewed to my husband's demographic. I have no idea what it was at this point in time--perhaps Destination America since one of my guilty pleasures is ghost shows. (We once lived in a house that was haunted, but more on that later...maybe...)
The commercial which flashed across the screen promised a great time on the Celebrity Constellation with a lineup of musical acts from the "Flower Power" era, with stops in Key West and Cozumel.
I reminded my husband that my birthday would be occurring around the time of the voyage, so he purchased tickets almost a year in advance, which was a good thing because the five-day cruise sold out quickly.
We set sail on February 29 with about 2,000 fun loving music fans and a jam-packed schedule of events, which sometimes overlapped, forcing us to miss a few we may have otherwise enjoyed.
Headliners included Peter Noone from Herman's Hermits, Peter Asher, Blood, Sweat & Tears, featuring Bo Bice, Felix Cavaliere from the Rascals, Micky Dolenz of the Monkees, The Grass Roots, the Guess Who, Jefferson Starship, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders, Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, the Buckinghams and The Family Stone.
After the drudgery was out of the way, like the mandatory safety briefing and the finger-wagging lecture from a fresh face for having the temerity to pack a fifth of light mango sorbet vodka, we were off. (They confiscated the booze and returned it to me on Friday afternoon, so I was forced to pay between $11 and $13 a drink up until then. If I wanted my favorite Moscow Mule, then the heist increased substantially to $19 and change, according to the bartender. Such irony--busted as a liquor mule under Soviet-esque rules.)
The weather was glorious the entire time and the pool area was packed with revelers during the "Sail Away Party," many of whom may have done a better job smuggling booze than I did because some seemed pretty looped. Spotting a t-shirt that read, "Growing old disgracefully," gave me a laugh.
After the kickoff party and dinner, we arrived on time for a Peter Noone concert and were forced to sit in what may have been the worst seat in the house, so we quickly learned to show up a half hour early for events. The British singer was big on audience participation and people were up on their feet joining him in rousing renditions of songs like "Henry the 8th." Noone looks great for his age and at one point a lady in the audience shouted out that she wanted to see him in the hot tub later. He garnered a lot of laughs with his reply: "In my country, they call that 'fat boy soup.'"
Noone is a good sport. A few years ago I was assigned to interview him over the phone for an upcoming appearance at the Luhr's Center in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, a faulty cell phone connection made things difficult and the line went dead several times, causing me to almost blow a gasket and utter words I don't care to repeat here. Thankfully, he continued to patiently answer the phone each time I called him back.
Each morning on the long walk to breakfast, (our room seemed to be in the hinterlands), '60s-era music softly resonated down the long halls. I find it humorous when I recall the names of bands like the "The Electric Prunes," ("I had too much to dream last night,") and "Strawberry Alarm Clock," which provided us with soothing muzak as we marched towards the coffee bar.
On day one we joined about 300 other cruisers at 9:30 a.m. for a trivia competition where they played YouTube clips of songs from the Flower Power era. I found myself joining in the group singalong to the songs I knew, like Procol Haram, Iron Butterfly and Quicksilver Messenger Service. Although we failed miserably identifying the bands in many of the mostly black-and-white clips, it was a lot of fun. Mike teased me when I informed him that I used to sob when I heard Bobby Goldsboro sing this song so many years later on the radio. Now I find this YouTube clip and there's a cute little white dog in it, which makes matters much worse!
Some people on the ship went all out with the hippy garb, making me wonder where they found it all. I would have liked to have snapped more pictures, but didn't want to be a bother, so I managed to capture a few shots by sneaking around surreptitiously.
Flower Power garb
This happenin' dude wore Lucite platform shoes with fake goldfish embedded in the heel.
While out at sea, performers kept the party going and the "love generation" let down what hair they had left and there were more than a few poolside parties. Here Beatles tribute band belts out tunes like "I Feel Fine" and "Can't Buy Me Love," and on the last day we enjoyed a poolside rendition of "Hot Fun in the Summertime" by the Family Stone.
A Beatles tribute band entertains the crowd
The guy in the background seems to be having the most fun in this picture.
Some of the indoor activities included educational lectures, all of which were not as worthless as the booze lecture. I sat in on several, including one titled, "Three Days of Peace and Music," presented by Wade Lawrence, senior curator of the museum at Bethel Woods. Lawrence's presentation included clips from each day of the iconic event, which was held in the summer of '69, featured 32 bands and cost $8 (for those who paid.) I found it interesting that Hendrix played last when the crowd had dwindled from 400,000 to a mere 50,000.
The room was packed for the "Q&A" featuring Felix Cavaliere, The Grass Roots and members of the "Guess Who," from Canada, whose concert was great, by the way. Sadly, only two original members of the the group remain with us today--drummer Gary Peterson and bass player Jim Kale. Kale revealed a shocking factoid that "American Woman" was written about the Statue of Liberty. Because I was stuck behind a pillar (once again due to not showing up quite early enough) I couldn't see him, nor gauge the audience response all that well. After sharing that with the audience, he quickly added, "We were young, dumb and we shot off our mouths." Kale then went on to tell a less controversial story about "Clap for the Wolfman." The novelty song, was initially deemed,"Clap for Napolean," but one day they happened to be listening to Wolfman Jack on the radio and decided to include him in a recording session. According to Kale, "The Wolfman" brought along his standard cigarette pack full of joints and it morphed into one big party, with the Wolfman's part unscripted. It was then that I realized he really was "rating records high."
I had to pass on a few other lectures due to schedule conflicts. One, in particular, was a seminar on renowned artist Peter Max. Most cruises hold art auctions and Celebrity is no exception. Guests are invited to sip champagne and bid on various pieces. Because of Peter Max's popularity in the flower power era, many of his works were shown in the gallery like these pricey sculptures, with pricetag reaching $30,000.
Peter Max sculptures
Other pieces presented at the auction included this one. Created by Michael Cheval; it was stunning up close. The camera does it little justice and the copper colors "pop."
Painting by Michael Cheval
My husband and I ended up with this work painted by Alexander Chen since we enjoy cityscapes and advertising.
The cruise featured a few "meet and greets," and I hear Gary Puckett was very gracious as was Felix Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals, who put on a great concert and autographed a publication for which I write.
Felix Cavaliere and me
A highlight for Mike was meeting Felix Cavaliere
Other concerts we attended included Jefferson Starship, Blood Sweat & Tears with Bo Bice and The Grass Roots. I learned while in line to meet Felix Cavaliere that Bo Bice somehow managed to offend a few people by complaining about the Beatles in relation to Blood, Sweat and Tears not making the cut for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Evidently a few walked out during the first show.
The Guess Who concert, started out on a high note with a few of their popular numbers like "No Sugar Tonight" and "American Woman," which really pumped up the crowd.
Sometimes musicians would chat with us in elevators, or we'd be relaxing in the pool with them only to see them on the stage later, which was a bit of a shock. Micky Dolenz from the Monkees was spotted throughout the ship and we sat in on a "Q&A" with him as well.
Micky Dolenz with a fan
Learning so much more about the music of the '60s and experiencing meeting members of various groups who helped shape an entire generation was interesting, to say the least. Even though some have only a few original members left, those "originals" filled in so many backstories in the "Q & A" sessions. An even bigger lineup is scheduled for next year's Flower Power Cruise, including Eric Burdon and the Animals, The Fifth Dimension, The Lovin' Spoonful, Rare Earth, and Three Dog Night, to name a few. Three Dog Night performed in our area not long ago and I had the opportunity to interview lead singer Danny Hutton, which you can read here.
Setting sail on the inaugural cruise was thrilling, but I'm thinking that next year will be better as they work out the scheduling conflicts and other issues that may have cropped up. If you're considering booking a trip for next year, you can learn more here, just keep in mind, tickets sell out fast.
Up next--our visit to Key West and The Hemingway House.
Well, unless you've been living under a rock, you likely know that Pennsylvania was pummeled by an historic snowfall last week. The unlikely name? Jonas. Where's the gravitas? What I fear most, when the name Jonas is uttered, is being snowbound with nothing to listen to but their music. What's next? Hurricane Fauntleroy?
Regardless, 30.2 inches of the white stuff was dumped on us last week and we're still digging out. Thankfully, my indefatigable husband tackled it almost exclusively. (I did shovel a bit of the deck, but he has a "system," so I got out of his way and retreated to the house. I know, it sounds lame on my part, but you'd have to know him to understand.)
He took it slowly and broached the white stuff every few hours for two days, creating a tunnel from the front porch to the mailbox and removing all traces of snow from the driveway with nary more than a shovel. (Yes, we do have a snowblower, but evidently it's not big enough to tackle more than a foot of snow at a time. That's another story altogether and a rather boring one at that, so suffice it to say that a bargain isn't always a bargain.)
The front of the house after Jonas
A tufted titmouse braves the storm
He walks these streets, a loaded shovel on his back...
Anyway, it's during times like these that I am glad I work from home. I was able to juggle my schedule so that a foray into the frozen tundra was more of a cabin fever reliever than a necessity. On day four I ventured out to the local mini-mart for coffee and quickly discovered it's not just the roads. It's the HUGE snow piles that put drivers' lives in peril. Navigating around them is darn near impossible, so I reluctantly returned home to focus on my work.
Last time I updated this blog, I was concerned about a flagging writing schedule. Thankfully my concerns were (for the moment at least) unfounded and it appears that the lack of work was just the end-of-the-year budget budget blues that most newspapers suffer from I suppose. Every year the money seems to run out sometime in early December. Maybe I should be used to it by now.
I'm happy to be back on a regular schedule and even picked up a weekly health article. Will this make a positive difference in my life health-wise? I'm not really sure what I'll do with all that new-found knowledge, but I know enough about dieting to have earned a Ph.D. and that hasn't resulted in a skinny body. I'll likely just fret about how easy it is to catch, develop, or succumb to something. The more you know...blah, blah, blah. It ain't all it's cracked up to be.
I did manage to get out today to interview a new restaurateur who just three weeks ago opened his doors for business, only to get slammed with this snowstorm, which has not only hobbled travel, but also created a parking nightmare. He's still upbeat, so good for him. That seemed to be the mood of the day. When I stopped at a drug store on the way back home, a random customer happily informed me that the snow has melted to 18 inches. "Oh really, that's great," I responded. I, for one, am glad we only have about two months left of this mess. Here's what the snow looked like today when I pulled away from the house.
Taken from my windshield while leaving the house today
Regardless of what the future holds, I'm dreaming of my upcoming trip to Florida when I'll set sail for Cozumel, along with about 10 bands from the 1960's. Here's the lineup:
Upcoming cruise lineup
I've managed to sell one story in advance, so far, but am sure I'll get a few more out of this one and will certainly blog about it when I return.
The good news is that the threat of another Nor'easter has passed and temperatures will climb into the 40's this weekend, whisking away yet more of this snow, which is good because I have (yet another) day trip to Gettysburg planned. On Sunday, I'll be attending a soup cook off (hey, that's what you do here in this cold neck of the woods). You can read more about it here and keep in mind, it's not too late to attend. On Saturday evening, I am also looking forward to dining at one of the area's oldest restaurants that, not long ago, suffered a severe setback when a fire swept through damaging nearly everything. Vissagios emerged from the ashes bigger and better than ever. That will likely be a story for another day.
