2024 Feb 4-10, Five-Day Carnival Valor Cruise to Cozumel and Progresso, Mexico (5 Day Crusie)

 Sunday, Feb 4, Travel to Slidell, La.

Stopped at Jack's for breakfast gravy, sausage, and biscuit. We stopped at Murphy's in Petal, MS, to fill up with gas.

We stopped at McDonald's for a couple of pies and to use the restroom.

We checked in at Hampton Inn by Hilton Slidell, LA, room 213, and then went to eat dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I ordered grilled chicken and a baked sweet potato with rolls. Hubby ordered Caesar salad, steak, and baked potato.

Grilled chicken and baked sweet potato

We returned to the hotel, where we met a man unloading his car. He asked us if we were cruising with Carnival. I think he saw the Carnival luggage tag on my carry-on baggage. He and his wife were from Birmingham, AL. He said they had been cruising since the 90s. They had been on about 30 different cruises on different ships. We saw them leave the next morning.  

Monday, Feb 5, Travel to New Orleans 

Ate breakfast at the hotel with 2 waffle rounds with whipped cream, sausage, and cranberry juice. 

Checked out of the hotel and headed to New Orleans around 10 AM. 

Paid for parking at Erato St Cruise Terminal $125

Parked the car and walked to the elevator down to the boarding process. For lunch, we ate at Guys Burgers. 

And ordered a cheeseburger and fries.  Our room 6434 was ready by 1:30 PM. 

The ship left port around 3:30 P M. Let the party begin. 

It was too cold on the Lido Deck, so everyone met in the American Lobby. 

the Crimson Trio 

We listened to the Crimson Trio in the American Lobby. 

We ate dinner in the Lincoln Room. I ordered a shrimp cocktail, a crawfish strudel(savory baked phyllo, sweet corn remoulade), Szechuan Shrimp (scallions, garlic, angel hair noodles, peppers, and bok choy), and Cheese Cake with strawberry sauce. 

We sat next to a couple from the State of Washington. Said they lived on an island and watched cruise ships come up the Pacific Ocean. 

We also sat next to a mother and daughter from Columbus, Mississippi. 

Tuesday, Feb 6, Sea Day 

Watched the sun come up from my balcony. 

sunrise

At the Omelette Station, I ordered a loaded omelet made to order, with bacon and chocolate milk for breakfast.

9:00 AM made two necklaces at Creativity at Sea in the American Lobby. 

We went to the Fun Ashore Giveaway at 10:30 in the Ivanhoe Theatre but didn't win anything. 

Lunch was at the Mongolian Wok, where I ordered a shrimp stirfry with veggies.

Mongolian Wok Asian flavor your stir-fry bar with rice noodles,  veggies, sauce, and shrimp (double) cooked in unique culinary creations. 

Met a woman from Louisiana who loved Mongolian food. She had several bowls of food for crew members because they did not have the time to wait in line.

Took a long nap.

Dinner in the Lincoln Diner, where I ordered Herb-crusted salmon with asparagus, sweet potatoes, beurre shrimp cocktail, and Carnival's Chocolate Melt Cake with Ice cream. 

We once again sat next to the mother and daughter from Columbus, Mississippi. 

We went to the V IP Show at 7:00 PM in the Ivanhoe Theater. 

Wednesday, Feb 7, Cozumel 

Breakfast in Lincoln Dinner ordered waffle, omelet, sausage, and water. 

Went ashore in Cozumel around 9:00 AM.

We walked around to several shops and bought Ron a pair of Crocs. 

Took several pictures. Walked up the street to Margaritaville, where we ate lunch. 

We ordered 3 tacos, 1 Pepsi, Sunrise Margarita. We Walked back to our port area, stopping to take several pictures of the Coral Reef display. 

Stopped to take pictures in front of a couple of donkeys at the 3 Amigos. 

Dinner in the Washington Dining Room, where I ordered a Shrimp cocktail, Chicken, Veggies, and chocolate melt cake with ice cream. 

We listened to the Crimson Trio in the American Lobby. 

Chac Mool ("Red Claw") 

Thursday, Feb 8, Progresso 

Breakfast: Omelet bacon, pastry, and Chocolate milk. 

All-inclusive Shore Excursion at 9 AM to Mi Casa Es Su Casa Private Beach your way. 

Back on the ship by 3:30 PM 

Lunch: avocado dip, chips, Pina cola, and coke. Watched our host make an avocado dip using Mangos and tomatoes. Cilantro, salt, pepper and avocados.

Dinner: Stuffed mushrooms, Fried Mississippi Catfish(cornmeal-crusted), spinach, mac & cheese, tartar sauce, and a banana split. 

Excursion to a Private beach with around 40 people took the bus with 2 children. A nine-year-old named Sabrina. Our host cooked us lunch: Mexican Avocado dip, chicken tacos, etc. We had a bartender who mixed drinks. I ordered a Pina cola and my hubby a margarita, both virgins. 

I walked along the beach, and the water was cold. Monday, a storm had come through with 50 MPH winds, so the water was a little choppy and dirty. Not many people went into the water. Most everyone sat in beach chairs, and some under umbrellas. Lunch was served around 10:30 AM. 

Around 10:30-11 We heard a mother call out  Sabrina, where are you?

She was nowhere to be found. Everyone joined in the search for Sabrina up and down the beach, inside the house. Going from one neighbor's house to another.  A neighbor called the police. Five showed up at the beach. A detective went along the beach, circling Sabrina's footprints. Neighbors called their friends, and several said they saw a small girl walking up the beach crying. 

She had walked about 1 1/2 to 2 miles up the beach to the nearby hotel. When they found her, she said, "I thought my family had left me, so I was walking back to the ship. You could see the ship from the beach. 

They took her to the hospital to be checked out for dehydration. 

The family was brought back to the beach house, where everyone enjoyed the rest of the day, eating and drinking. 

Everyone was so proud to see the little girl, Sabrina.

I overheard the mother ask Sabrina about her adventure, but she just said I don't want to discuss it. 

The mother's feet were covered in scratches from running through the thickets, looking for Sabrina. 

Everyone loaded back onto the bus and began our journey back to the ship. Thank God we were able to return with everyone. 

We were back on the ship by 3:30 PM. The ship's time to leave was 3:30-4 PM, but we didn't leave until almost 5 PM because a bus full of people was running late getting back from an excursion. 

The bus drove straight up to the ship, letting people off right at the boarding area. This was a very eventful day. 

Welcome to Yucatan

Friday, Feb 9, Sea Day 

Breakfast with Doctor Seuss Cat & the Hat, thing one, thing two in the Lincoln Dining room.

Hubby ordered Green eggs with ham and funny Belgian Waffles. I just ordered Funny Belgian Waffles with Moose Juice.

In the Ivanhoe Theater, we made a bulldog and an elephant out of towels and bought the Towel Art Book. 

Lunch was #6 Cuban Mixto: roasted pork, ham, yellow mustard, Swiss cheese sandwich, 3 cookies, and vanilla ice cream. 

Bought Build-A-Bear for St Jude on the Lido Deck. 

Hubby took a long nap while I watched TV.

Ate a salad for dinner. 

We watched 90s music and We Are the World in the Ivanhoe Theater. 

We did the Debark process in the Carnival App.

funny Belgian Waffles

Saturday, Feb 10, Travel Home

Breakfast Lido Deck 9 Omelets, chocolate milk, pastry. 

Waited for our app to tell us when to embark. 

Went through the immigration process, loaded our car, and started for home. 

We stopped in Petal, MS, to fill up with fuel. 

Stopped at Welcome Center  for a break

Ate lunch at Cracker Barrel in Meridian, MS

I ordered Fried Shrimp, Pinto Beans, cornbread, chow, and tartar sauce. 

Bought some chocolate candy and hubby a shirt. 

It began to rain in Russellville and rained all the way home. 

 

2021 Nov 14-20, Carnival VALOR 5 Day Caribbean Cruise to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico

2021 Nov 14, Sunday Day 1:

Monday, Traveled to Slidell, Louisiana. We stopped in North Port at Mapco and filled up with gas for $29.49. We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel in Meridian, MS I ordered pinto beans, fried okra, and grilled chicken. $6.53 We also had cornbread, biscuits, jelly, and water. Bought gas at 2.99 a gallon at Mapco in Northport, Al. for $29.49 and bought gas at Texaco Carrier, MS for $3.09 a gallon. We stayed at Hampton Inn in Slidedell at 4:40 PM. We watched TV and went to bed early. We skipped supper full of lunch. 

We stayed one night at Hampton Inn 56460 Frank Pichon Rd, Slidell, La. 

Carnival Valor Cruise Ship Stateroom   Deck   Muster Station  

2021 Nov 15, Monday Day 2:

Took a shower, ate Reese's cup, and finished my Sprite. We ate breakfast at the hotel. I ordered scrambled eggs, sausage, muffins, and cranberry juice to drink. We checked out, loaded the car, and headed into New Orleans. We ran into work traffic on 1-10 going into New Orleans. We parked on 4A in the parking deck, walked to the elevators, and went to the ground level to wait in line to be processed along with everyone else. A woman called out Have your boarding passes ready for inspection (not folded) We walked through several lines. We handed the inspector our passports, boarding passes, COVID cards, and the results of our Covid test that showed we were negative from the results of the Covid test. After several more lines, we were finally seated, waiting to board the ship at 10:40 AM. Our rooms would not be ready until after 1:30 p.m. After boarding the ship, we walked to Guys Burgers, where we both ordered a hamburger and fries. I got lemonade to drink. The dressing for the hamburger was on a buffet, I got onions and fried mushrooms. When we finished, we walked around the ship carrying several bags. (Camera bag with Nikon D7200, medicine bag, my purse, and overnight bag) Wanda had her backpack and her purse. Around 1:30pm, we walked to our cabin, unloaded everything, and rested. We went back upstairs to watch the ship leave the dock, and that’s when the party began. (4-5PM )We watched the sunset as the ship rolled down the mighty Mississippi, and it was dark by the time we reached the ocean. We went back to our cabin and changed into nicer clothes to dine in the Lincoln Room for dinner. I started with a shrimp cocktail, followed by a Caesar Salad, the entree was Sweet & Sour Shrimp, followed by Strawberry cake. (5-6PM) At dinner, we sat next to a couple from Tennessee near Cookeville, they had left their 13-year-old daughter at home with her grandparents because she refused to get the Covid shot. After dinner, we went to our cabin 9268, which had a balcony, and went to bed early. 

Leaving New Orleans on Carnival Valor 

Sunset leaving New Orleans on the Mighty Mississippi River 

 Nov 16, Tuesday, Sea Day Day 3:

Took a shower, and we went upstairs so Wanda could get her some coffee, and I got some cranberry juice. We watched the sunrise around 6 a.m. and then went to the Washington room for Brunch. I ordered a Parfait and had lots of nuts, Blueberries, strawberries, and yogurt. While we were at brunch, they cleaned our cabin and left a towel art lying on the bed. I ate a small taco for lunch. Today is a sea day, so we sat outside and watched schools of flying fish. Today was very windy, and the water was very turbulent. It was hard to walk, and at times, everyone looked like they were drunk. We had dinner in the Lincoln Room, and no one sat next to us tonight. I ordered prime ribs with gravy and potatoes, my appetizer was cocktail shrimp, and for dessert, I ordered custard pie. 

 

Sunset Gulf of Mexico (Sea Day)

Nov 17, Wednesday, Mr. Sancho's Cozumel Mexico Day 4:

Watched the sun come up and then went to breakfast. For breakfast, I ate cantaloupe, French toast with syrup, eggs Benedict (which I didn't like), and chocolate milk. Today, we docked in Cozumel. We took a taxi to Mr. Sancho’s, which cost us 17 dollars both ways. It is a fifteen-minute ride south of Cozumel. At Mr. Sancho’s, it cost us 55 dollars for all-you-can-eat and drink. We sampled a Margarita, & daiquiris while sitting under a bamboo roof.  There was a rain shower while we were there, but we didn’t get wet. We watched people swimming, snorkeling, and other activities, but we decided to just enjoy the view under the umbrella. We saw several birds scavenging for food. We were brought fried jumbo coconut shrimp with orange sauce, guacamole, salsa, and chips. We also sampled a Pina Colada, Miami Vice, Banana Mama, and Mr. Sancho’s special. Our waiter was Aldo, a charming young man who said he was married with a young son. He said that we were queens for the day. He introduced us to his co-worker he said the son of another mother both were very gracious and helpful. We took the taxi back to the shopping area in Cozumel. I bought a pair of pineapple teal shorts and a Burgundy top and spent $34.50. We went back through security and loaded onto the ship around 2:30PM. We watched the ship leave port at 4:30PM. We ate dinner in the Lincoln Room. I ordered Caesar salad, steak with gravy, potatoes, & broccoli. My appetizer was a shrimp cocktail,  and the dessert was chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Tomorrow, we will dock in Progresso. 

Day trip to Cozumel 

Our waiter, Aldo, at Mr. Sancho's Beach

Nov 18, Thursday, Progresso Mexico Day 5:

Ate breakfast and saw towel art everywhere around the pool area. We docked at Progresso and embarked around 9AM with my boarding pass around my neck and my iPad in my hand. We loaded into a van, and there were 14 of us. We rode about an hour to Celestron, where we used the restrooms and loaded into three boats. There were 4 in two boats and six in one boat. Wanda said I hope we don’t turn over because I cannot swim, and our guide, Misael, said the water is only two feet deep. We saw pink flamingos at a distance. Flamingos eat small shrimp that live in shallow waters. They also eat algae & crustaceans that contain pigments called carotenoids. These pigments are found in the shrimp and blue-green algae that they eat. Next, we rode a short distance and saw Blue Herons, osprey, American Anhinga, and pygmy kingfisher. We rode through a tunnel of Mangroves where we saw several termite mounds in the mangrove Yucatán peninsula biodiversity. We stopped at a boardwalk where we saw a pygmy kingfisher. We rode back to where we had parked the van, exited the boat, used the restroom, and looked at the trinkets that were for sale. We loaded into the van and rode to the beach area where our meals were being prepared. At the restaurant, we ate chips & guacamole dip, smoked fish, veggies, and a margarita. We stayed on the beach for about 30 minutes. 

Loaded back into the van for an hour-long ride back to the ship. Our guide played the movie "The Big Year," a nature movie about two bird enthusiasts trying to defeat the cocky, cutthroat world record holder in a year-long bird-spotting competition.

We loaded onto the ship and watched the ship leave port at sunset. We dressed for dinner, cocktail shrimp, Cajun shrimp, bread, and dessert We went to a show for about 60 minutes. 

Island of Progreso 

                                                                  

Some of the birds that we saw at Progreso 

 Nov 19, Friday, Sea Day Day 6:

Sea Day, we are on our return trip to New Orleans. We ate brunch in the Washington room, I ordered bread and sausage with cheese grits. We went upstairs and got in line to purchase an item that benefits St. Jude, where I bought a build-a-bear. We watched the Carnival Valor Family & Mardi Gras giveaway with Matt, the cruise director. That night in the Lincoln room, I ordered fried shrimp, salad, ribs, green beans, potatoes with gravy, and a dessert. Watched a Dean Martin special on TV, then went to sleep. 

Friday's Sunrise 

Nov 20, Saturday, Travel Home Day 7:

 Packed the night before, making sure we had everything. We went to eat breakfast, a couple of pastries, with two chocolate milk. Grabbed our bags and met the Silver & Platinum sailors in the Lincoln Dining room. Loaded into the elevators and walked to our car on level 4A. Began our journey home. Filled up with gas at Love's in Sandersville, MS, for $28.31, We ordered a sausage and cheese muffin at McDonald's. For lunch, we stopped at Arby’s for a beef & cheddar sandwich with Curley fries and a Coke. We were at Wanda’s by 4:30pm, but hubby had not gotten home from work, so we sat around and talked until hubby picked me up.

Hampton Inn 56460 Frank Pichon Rd, Slidell, La

Carnival Valor Cruise Ship Stateroom   Deck   Muster Station 

2018 March 17, & 2016, 2015 My thoughts

March 17, 2018 Today, I went to the Florence Lauderdale Visitor Center, where I saw this little Bird (Killdeer) and the little Killdeer's feathers flared out as I started walking past her, I took my cell phone and took a couple of pictures I noticed 4 eggs were laying on the ground near her. She had made a nest in the grass near the sidewalk at the visitors center That was why there was an orange cone sitting there I hope she guards them well.

Killdeer 

March 17, 2016: Today was a beautiful day the sunset was awesome. I did a little work outside this afternoon. I sat looking out my window, watching all the varieties of birds eat from the four feeders. My husband said to look, and we saw a long-eared rabbit sitting in front of the tractor, eating grass. I looked out the window on the other side of our RV and saw a groundhog come waddling down the field, looking for his dinner of fresh clover. Well, I lay on the sofa watching Wheel of Fortune (we watch it every night), and when it ended, I went to work on my computer. Every evening, I check to see what color the sunset is, and tonight it was awesome. I will post some pictures later. While taking pictures of the sunset, I turned around, looked behind me, and saw a herd of deer (doe) I counted at least eight. They just stood there while I snapped their picture. I was careful not to make any sudden moves. I have not seen any deer for some time. I think this warm weather has brought out all the animals, and climate change has caused us to have such an awesome sunset.

Rabbit 

March 17, 2015, was such a beautiful day; the sun was shining, and there was no rain, snow, or sleet. I enjoyed it very much, we did not go anywhere, just worked a little in the yard. The older that I get, the less I want to do any manual labor, for it makes me hurt all over, I guess that is old Arthritis working in my bones.

2021 Mar 9, Day trip Oak Mountain State Park Pelham, Alabama

Today, we rode to Pelham via hwy 43 through Russellville, ending on I-22 going into Birmingham. We filled up with gas at Loves Gas in Jasper and took a restroom break. We traveled through Birmingham I-65 to Pelham. We stopped at the Interpretive Center and Treetop Nature Trail, where we saw a Eurasian Eagle-Owl and Shelby the Bald Eagle. Most of the Interpretative Center was closed for renovations. We also saw several hawks and owls in another area.

Bald Eagle 

owl 

As we were coming back inside the center, we met a Park Ranger with a Red Tail Hawk that was blind in one eye. We talked to her for several minutes and watched while she fed the hawk. She said that its food comes to them frozen, so they just thaw it out for them. She was returning the hawk back to its cage. We thanked her for taking the time to show us and tell us about the habits of the red-tail hawk.

Red-tail Hawk 

We began our journey back home we had not eaten any dinner, and both agreed that we would like to stop at O'Bryan's in Hartselle. I ordered a petite Sirloin steak with a sweet potato. Hubby ordered a Delmonico Steak, baked potato, and salad bar. After we ate, we took pictures of the Blues Brothers statue and other memorabilia at the steak house.

O'Brien's Hartselle

We stopped at Krogers in Hartselle and headed for home. We traveled from Hartselle to Decatur, taking Hwy 20 alt 72 to Wheeler Dam. The sun was going down as we were near home.

Sunset

We had a great day both wore out from all the traveling.

2018 Dec 18, Christmas Trees, Cards, Cranes and Ducks Athens, Decatur, & Madison, Alabama

Today, Hubby and I visited the North Pole Christmas Tree Stroll at Big Spring Park, Athens.

North Pole Stroll Athens, Alabama 

Mallards, White Ducks, and goldfish greeted me as I approached the pond at Big Springs.

I enjoyed two(Grinch) buttermilk pancakes with a hint of green topped with sweet cream cheese icing and red candy hearts. Crowned with creamy green whipped topping & 2 link sausages at IHOP in Madison.
Hubby ordered fried Fish, shrimp, fries, toast, and a stack of 3 buttermilk pancakes.

Grinch Pancakes 

fish, shrimp, fries, toast 

Hubby drove us through the larger-than-life Christmas Card Lane that is showcased in front of some of the historic homes in Madison along Front and Chruch Streets.

Thank You for Visiting Christmas Card Lane

Magical Christmas Tree Trail Madison, Alabama Different sponsors of Madison decorate a tree, and the trees are located on both sides of the Main Street Cafe.

We rode to Wheeler Wildlife Refuge in Decatur via I-65 workers working on the bridge over the Tennessee River traffic backup. 

View of Decatur from the bridge where the traffic was backed up 

We walked down to the overlook to see the Cranes and ducks. Not as many sandhills and Whooping cranes as last year.  

We saw thousands of Sandhill Cranes but only one White Whooping Crane
The Whooping Crane, at 5 feet tall, is the tallest bird in North America and one of the most endangered. They are named for their whooping unison calls. 

Our last stop was Founders Park in front of Old Historic Bank to tour the Enchanted Forest Christmas Tree Stroll. 

Enchanted Forest Christmas Tree Stroll in Founders Park, Decatur 

By the time we finished, it was beginning to get dark, but the solar-powered lights had not come on. 
By the time we arrived home, it was dark. Hubby stopped at McDonald's for a hamburger, fries, apple pie, and Ice Cream. I ate a piece of the fish he had left over from lunch. 
Uploaded some of my pictures after I arrived home.

Sunset