2023 Oct 6-14, CARNIVAL SPIRIT Cruise (from Mobile) The BAHAMAS 8 Days: Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Freeport, & Bimini (9Days)

 Day 1: Friday, Oct 6, Mobile:

We ate breakfast at Chick-fil-A a couple of buildings down from our hotel. I ordered chicken minis and Diet Coke. 

Loaded our luggage into the shuttle and were taken to the docks. 

We went through customs and loaded onto the boat before 12 p.m. 

We stopped for a quick lunch and went to our room. The ship was leaving port around 4:30 P.M. 

Party time 

We went to the deck to join the sail-away party.

We were in stateroom 6117 (Deck 6) and our boarding time was 12:30-1PM. 

Muster Station 5.

Hotel The Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel and Spa 26 North Royal St Mobile, Al 36602

I bought CC Home Port Deck Pictures 2 5x7 for $31.65

I bought a Lanyard lock for $7.65 for my Carnival Card. 

We joined our friends in the dining room for dinner. For appetizers, we ordered a shrimp cocktail and Caesar salad. For our main course, I ordered grilled salmon for dessert, and I ordered chocolate molten cake.  

Grilled Salmon with Veggies 

Show Inside Scoop Shopping and Fun Ashore. 

After dinner, we went back to our cabin where we watched Weathern Heights on TV, then went to bed. 

Day 2: Saturday, Oct 7, Sea Day: 

Up early walked around the upper deck stopping to talk to people along the way. I went downstairs to get a pastry and some fruit juice. I was writing in my journal when hubby joined me for breakfast. 

Sea Day Brunch in the Empire Room where I ordered a skillet cake with two link sausages and water. 

Hubby's Sea Day Brunch ham, steak, fries, eggs, fruit 

Hubby bought a Mt Dew cab for $3.54

Went back to our room watched 24 hours on TV and took a nap. For lunch a hamburger from Guys Burgers. 

For dinner, I ordered grilled shrimp, appetizers mushrooms, and dessert?

Carnival Spirit Halloween Pumpkin 

After dinner, we enjoyed watching the 80's Show performance. 

Went to our room watched Harvey the Rabbit with Jimmy Steward and went to bed. 

Day 3, Sunday, Oct 8,  Bimini:

Was up at 4:30 AM went to the upper deck to walk and watched the sun come up. 

Met a family from Alabama and one from Madison, MS. Took several pictures. 

Took a free trolley into Bimini then a taxi to the old town. ($20.00)

Bimini 

Hubby bought a sun hat and we walked to the beach. I got into the water while hubby sat on the beach. 

We stopped to take pictures of the Bimini Museum outside for the museum was closed.

We met several children playing and we stopped to talk to them. 

We took the taxi back to the trolley area and then back to the boat. 

We ate a late lunch and then took a nap.

Sunset on Bimini 

Dinner in the Empire Room.

After dinner, we watched The Magic Show with Side Show Bert in the Pharoh Room. 

We stopped in the bar area where Mootown Trivia was going on. 

We went to our room only to find out there was a leak and the floor was wet on hubby's side.

Hubby put several towels down to dry up the floor. 

Day 4, Monday, Oct 9, Free Port:

Breakfast consisted of a cinnamon raisin roll with juice. 

Bought an excursion Garden of the Groves Tour.  $129.98

Senor Frogs before the Garden tour 

We boarded a bus to take us to the Garden of the Groves. 

Met up with our guide and she led us through the gardens where we saw waterfalls, birds, Royal the cockatoo,  turtles, ducks, a cat,  a church, a labyrinth, and many flowers.

We ended the tour at the gift shops where they sold local items including souvenirs from things in the gardens. 

Hubby and I ordered a Chicken quesadilla and diet cokes at the nearby restaurant. (25.00) 

Quesadilla and Coke at Garden of the Groves.

We sat at table 5, Our server was Mel. Loaded back onto the bus and was dropped off at the nearby port. 

There we shopped and stopped at Zorbas Greek Cuisine and bought a slice of Carrot cake and a bottle of water. which hubby and I shared. (S10.00)

We were back on the ship by 2PM 

Banana Split 

For Dinner, I ordered Prim ribs and dessert Banana split 

After dinner, we watched the show Get-Away Island.

Went to bed and watched TV. 

Day 5, Tuesday, Oct 10, Half Moon Cay:

French Toast for breakfast. 

Had to take a ferry over to the island of Half Moon Cay. 

Beautiful Blue Waters of Half Moon Cay

We bought an excursion for the Glass Bottom Boat which took about an hour. ($98.34)

We bought a hat and a bottle of Mt Dew. ($16.81) (($16.01 hat)

Took the trolley to the beach where we boarded the boat.

The ship's crew was doing a free cookout for lunch.

I ate a hamburger, cookies, cake and a drink. 

Wearing my new hat on the Island of Half Moon Cay

I think the hamburger was not done because that night I got sick and could not eat my dinner. 

After lunch, we walked to the beach. I fell when the sand broke away from the bank causing me to fall. 

I was not hurt. I only broke my pride. 

We walked along the beach and back to the ferry that took us back to the ship.

We joined our friends for dinner but I could not eat my stomach was churning and I had to leave. Went to bed early that night. 

Day 6, Wednesday, Oct 11, Nassau:

Breakfast cinnamon roll.

Shore Excursions we went to  Junkaco Museum. (22.00)

Junkaco Museum 

We went to the Straw Market where hubby bought a button-up Bahama shirt at the Salty Waves gift shop. ($30)

At Del Sol, I bought 2 tees and a bag that changes colors in the sunlight. (63)I bought a smoothie. ($11)

It was awfully hot and we did not stay long at Nassau.

Leaving Nassau 

We walked back to the ship around 10:30 and wrote in my journal.

We got a hamburger and fries at Guys Burgers. 

Dinner was Alligator Bites and ribs, french fries, corn, and baked beans. 

Watched show 88 Keys 

Day 7, Thursday, Oct 12, 

Sea Day: Up in time to see the sunrise was very windy.

Beautiful Sunrise Sea Day

Sea Day Brunch was a parfait and steak with eggs and fries. 

Found a couple of ducks. 

Dinner consisted of Lobster tail, baked potato, and pie with ice cream.

Took a nap earlier in the day 

Bought 2 Alaska T's, and a pair of shorts. ($35.49)

Watched the Epic Rock Show at Pharoh Palace. 

Day 8, Friday, Oct 13, 

Breakfast was a cinnamon roll

Lunch was a ham and cheese sub with ice cream cake.

Took a nap and watched movies. 

Bought a build bear at St Jude fun-raiser (34).

Dinner was baked salmon and fried shrimp with baked Alaskan Ice Cream.

Ice Cream

Packed everything and went to bed.

Day 9, Saturday, Oct 14, 

Ate breakfast and got ready to leave the ship. (2 pastries and juice)

We stopped for fuel in Mobile at Murphy's at Springdale Blvd. 

Bought a kit cat and coke. 

Stopped at Sonic in Thomasville for Corn Dogs and tater tots.T's

Stopped at CVS in Haleyville to buy some dental floss.

A six-hour ride home. 

Sunrise Mobile

 

 

🚂🚂🚂2016 October 15, Saturday, Train Ride! Monterey Fall Foliage Excursion

The sun was peeking through the clouds as we rode through Columbia, Tennessee.
We ate breakfast at Burger King in Columbia, Tennessee. Hubby ordered an egg, cheese, and sausage croissant, I ordered two pieces of sausage and three French breadsticks with syrup and water to drink.
We arrived around 7AM at the Central Railway Museum 220 Willow St Nashville, TN.
Several people had arrived they were parking wherever they could find an open spot. We were the last ones to park in a gated area.
We walked to the museum there were people already standing in line.

We walked into the train museum there were several rows of people sitting. We walked to the back of the museum where we saw a miniature running train display,

At 7:30AM we heard the train whistle, letting everyone know it had arrived and was time to begin loading.
The train holds 500 people and the excursion was sold out.
There was an older couple who had just sat down on a nearby bench.
The woman said the train does not leave until 8:00AM and it will take a while for all these people to board, so we decided to sit down next to them and wait.

The couple had seats in the dome train car.
We were sitting in  25 & 26 on TCRX  4719 First Class.
The conductor/ticket collector had a list of all the passengers and he checked them off as people boarded.

The train's horn blew at 8:00AM as we were leaving the train station.

Selfie as we began our train excursion 

At times the train gained speed up to 55 MPR and would drop down to 35, 25, 15MPR.

The restrooms were not available until the train started to move. Our conductor/ticket collector had to unlock them.
That was my first stop.
The windows on the train were made out of thick hard plastic, not glass which made it hard to get a good picture.

Riding the train up the mountain we saw lots of dried-up creeks and empty fields where the crops had been gathered.
We saw cows, bulls, and other animals feeding along with the hill country.
We rode through the towns of Lebanon, Watertown, Brush Creek, Gordonville's, Caney Fork, Lancaster, Buffalo Valley, Silver Point, Baxter, Watertown, & Cookeville.

I-40 

The train crossed over I-40 several times.
I walked to the dining car for snacks (which was several cars back) I bought two Diet Cokes and two packages of peanut butter crackers which cost me $6.00

Standing Stone Festival was taking place in Monterey, "Where the hilltops kiss the sky."
At  9AM they were having a parade, a Cruise-In after the parade, and at 10AM a Ceremony at Standing Stone.
Near noon they were expecting the Excursion train coming from Nashville.
When we arrived in Monterey the train blew its whistle, letting the people that we had arrived.
Before we left the train we were told to be ready to load onto the train at 1:50PM and the train would be leaving the station at 2:00PM.

Crowd leaving the train

The people of Monterey were prepared for visitors.
The VFW had grilled hamburgers & hotdogs, and a group of women had cooked pinto beans and cornbread.
The Blue Cup and Saucer were filling up with people from the train.

The Cup & Saucer Restaurant 

We walked down the street looking at the vendor's wares.
We stopped at a booth where several young girls were selling cookies.
We bought a package of peanut butter cookies and a package of oatmeal raisins.
We had a diet cook left over from the train ride.
We ate our snacks as we walked through the downtown area, which was a couple of blocks away.
We stopped to look at the cars from the cruise-in which consisted of about 10 cars.

I stopped to take a picture of the Civil War Historic Marker.

Stokes' Atrocity
Four miles north of this site, the atrocity occurred during the War Between the States. On March 12, 1864, Federal Col. William B. Stokes and approximately 200 soldiers of the 5th Tenn. Volunteer Cavalry (Union) surrounded the homes of a Southern sympathizer and shot six unarmed Confederate soldiers. These soldiers, led by 2nd Lt. Robert S. Davis, included members from Terry's 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment and one Alabama cavalryman. They became separated from their original outfit and had recently joined forces with Captain Champ Ferguson's independent cavalry company.
Continued

Stokes' Atrocity
Days earlier the Confederates had routed Col. Stoke's command in the skirmish at Dug Hill on the Calfkiller River. Shortly after the shooting at the house, Lt. Davis — the only Confederate wounded and not killed outright — was taken into the yard, tied to a cedar gatepost, and his body riddled with bullets. His last words were "You ought not to do this, I have never done anything but my sworn duty.

Old Fire Truck in front of Train Depot Museum 

Stone Standing Monument 

Standing Stone Monument
The Standing Stone was a 13-foot (4.0 m)-tall rock that once stood upright on a sandstone ledge in the area. It was the legendary boundary between Cherokee and Shawnee territory and marked the Cherokee Tallonteeskee Trail. The 8-foot (2.4 m) remnant of this stone is preserved in Monterey, where a Standing Stone Celebration of Native American Heritage is held each October

We wanted to see the Standing Stone that everyone was talking about, it was located several blocks away from the festival.
There was a concrete path that twisted and turned near the train tracks, which led to Standing Stone.
Standing Stone was in front of the public library.
After taking a few pictures we visited the library, I needed to charge my cell phone and use the restroom.
In the library, I noticed an article that was near the information desk

The article said: that Thomas Jefferson Whittaker 
Dec 18, 1818-Nov 30, 1900 "Murdered by Grandson just 150 ft Yards from here."
This piqued my interest so I read the article. 
One of the earliest pioneers of Standing Stone, now called Monterey, T.J. Whittaker stood 6-ft 2in. in his stockings. The son of Capt.  John Whitaker was a War of 1812 Veteran who fought in Gen. Andrew Jackson's Army. Whittaker was born about two miles from the present town. 
He married Nancy Dillard Clark in 1841 and raised a large family. In 1853, he bought the old homestead from his father. The home is set on what is now the corner of N. Elmore St. and Old Walton Rd. 
An Avid hunter, Whittaker killed deer, bears, wildcats, wolves, panthers, and more. 
Whittaker Park was donated to the town by him.
On his last day on earth, Whittaker arose early. About noon, he took his mules along with some horseshoes to the blacksmith. Returning home about 4:30PM on that Friday afternoon, he came across his grandson, Jackie Whittaker, and a Cooper man arguing in front of the Standing Stone monument. He tried to get his grandson to go home, but it seemed to make the situation worse, so he pulled the mule and headed home.
After traveling about 150 yards, Whittaker's grandson came up from behind him and demanded his mule and took it away from him. Whittaker picked up a stick to defend himself, but his grandson stuck a knife into his grandfather's neck, killing him. 
Jackie Whittaker ran home and got his pistol, daring any of the womenfolk who had gone to help TJ Whittaker. Police Chief Alec Weeks (Later Putman Sheriff) came to the scene. The young Whittaker fired at him, by missed. Weeks returned fire hitting him twice. The grandson recovered to spend time in prison. Thomas Jefferson Whittaker is buried in the Whittaker Cemetery, just north of here on Elmore St. not far from where he lived and not far from where he died. 

The Story Teller 

We walked to the Train Depot Museum, there were many people from the train Excursion inside.
We walked through the museum viewing the many items that were on display and heard locals telling stories about Monterey.
When he finished talking, I said we have stories about our town that are similar, especially about the war.
I told him a story about an ex-Civil War Soldier named Tom Clark and his gang of bushwhackers, how they came into our town and ravaged it.
He and his gang were captured and hanged. Tom Clark said (so they say) that no one would ever ride over him.  He was buried in the middle of Tennessee Street and is rode over every day.
The man laughed!
He said, my last name is Clark and I have a distant relative named Tom Clark how ironic is that?

1909 Imperial Hotel 

We walked back to the vendors to buy some meat skins and water.
We bought the water from the group of women selling beans and cornbread.
One of the women asked how much it cost to ride the train.
We walked passed the 1909 Imperial Hotel stopping to take a couple of pictures.

We heard the train whistle.
People shouted THE TRAIN IS COMING!
People were taking pictures and videos as the train made its way toward us.

When the train came to a complete stop, the conductor called OUT ALL ABOARD!

While we were visiting the town the train had rode up to the switchyard.
Switching the Engines from the front of the train to the back of the train.
Now the gift shop, dining cars, and women's restrooms were in front of us.
The conductor had turned our seats in that direction.
After everyone loaded into the train, the conductor checked his list making sure that he did not leave anyone behind. He had told us earlier that the train would leave at 2:00PM and anyone left behind would have to take a taxi home.

As we were descending down the mountain the train moved slowly, breaking so the train would not become a run-a-way train.
Sitting in front of us was a man from Connecticut, he was telling the conductor a funny story.
I told the story of my daughter's plane experience. How a doctor or nurse was needed and she and a dentist were the only ones on the plane.
A woman was in the restroom, sweating profusely, she had taken two Ex-Lax Laxatives before boarding the plane.
When my daughter bent down to take the woman's blood pressure, her pants couched on the edge of something and made a big rip down the back of her pants.

My daughter lived in Newington, Connecticut, Boston, Mass, and Providence, RI.
I told the man from Connecticut, about all the places that we visited when I came to visit her.

The sun was setting and I wanted to get a picture so I walked to where the train cars connected.
I stuck my head out the window and started taking pictures. I even got one of the full moons.

We arrived at the train depot in Nashville around  7:57PM.

Full Moon 

Panda Express

Cream  Cheese Rangoon

Honey Walnut Shrimp 

We stopped at 7:50 p.m. at Panda Express, Spring Hill, TN.
Hubby ordered a plate with Chow Mein, orange chicken, broccoli & beef, and one chicken egg roll.
I ordered a small plate of Honey Walnut Shrimp and three Cream Cheese rangoons.
We were home by 10:00PM, hubby's bedtime.