1997 Bahamas Bimini Blackbeard Dive Trip

Blackbeard cruises are a week on a boat, with nothing to do except man the boat and dive. Sounds like heaven to Randy, but not to me. On the other hand, a week by myself sounds like a real vacation to me. So I stayed home (literally - I only left the house to go to my job) and Randy went diving. 

The boat was the Morning Star.

 Bimini Island

Morning Star boat from Paradise Point

Paradise Point, Rockwell mansion

 Paradise Point, Rockwell mansion

1997 Bahamas Blackbeard dive between Bimini and Cat Cay

Kort, Laurie, Jason, Tammy, Barbara, Paul, Tim, Scott, Dave, Chris, Glen, tim B. Tamera, Bob, Debbie

Monday, July 26, 1997
Captain: John
First Mate: Craige
Engineer: Robert
Cook:  Dan
D.M. Emo
Deck Hand: Sabrina

Left around 3:30 pm.  6 hour trip to Cat Cay.  Went swimming at night – very clear water.  Saw whelk and crab.

Tuesday July 27, 1997
Dives:  

1. Turtle Rock
2. Lunkhead
3. Miami Rita
4. Miani Rita

Saw turtle, stingray, lobster, parrot fish and angel fish.

Wednesday July 28, 1997
Dives:  

1. Dead Grouper
2. Hog Heaven
3. Spear Fishing
4. Hog heaven – at night.

Thursday  July 29, 1997
Dives: 

1. Antlers
2. Bull Run with shark feeding
3. Blue Chromis.  

Passed on night dive.

Friday July 30, 1997
Dives:

1. Wall Drift Dive
2. Big Greenie
3. Sapona
4. Bimini

Saturday July 31, 1997

Hawkshill.  Great trip!

South Cat Cayes Island

South Cat Cayes Island

1997 Blackbeard dive trip

Tower of London

Today we got up at 8 and went downstairs for one of Kathleen's great breakfasts. Randy had a cooked breakfast (what they call bacon looks like thin ham slices) and I had some of that great muslix cereal, toast and tea. Around 10 we left and went to the Tower of London. The most recognizable part of the Tower is the White Tower, named for the big square section seamed with white bricks. 

From the River Thames, a section of old Roman wall near the Tower can been seen.

Most of the corner towers are square, but one is round.

We took a guided tour, which was pretty interesting. John was the Yeoman Warder and our Tour Guide today. We were taken into the chapel that is used by the Warders, where Queen Anne and others were buried. When the chapel was renovated awhile ago, they found that 1,500 people had been buried there. Most were reburied elsewhere, except a few that were buried under the chapel alter. 

John told us the Ravens, and the legend that there must always be Ravens at the Tower or England will fall. To prevent this, they keep tame Ravens here, spoil them rotten and clip one of their flight feathers. The Raven houses are backed up against one of the walls.

Traitor's Gate was particularly interesting to me. I have read so much about Henry VIII, and Traitor's Gate. Anne Boleyn, Thomas More and Princess Elizabeth all came to the Tower via this gate, and by its very  name, that was not a good omen. 

After the tour we went to see the crown jewels and a display of diamonds and crowns that are no longer used. Imagine having more diamonds and crowns than you can use! We went through the armory and the Tower chapel, then snacked on peanuts and water until we left, around 3 pm. By 5:oo we were at the Hard Rock Cafe, having a pig sandwich (aka pulled pork) and a steak sandwich. The food was OK but Hard Rock is definitely overpriced now. However, we bought souvenir t-shirts for Jeff H. and Shirley Richert. 

After we left the Tower we walked a long way in a light sprinkle to Kensington Palace, which unfortunately was closed to visitors. 

So we went back to Duke's Bar and got a sandwich, which we ate while walking around Soho, checking out the stores, including a really great pinball/game store. We went back to Clapham North and went to a pub for a drink, and were home by 9.

Walking around London

Up at 8 am and downstairs for breakfast, where Kathleen fixed us a "cooked breakfast" of sausage, broiled tomato, and eggs (less than a week old - she has a source for fresh eggs). She also served fruit, muslix cerial (which I loved), toast with 6 kinds of jellies, and tea. We didn't leave until 10 o'clock!

We decided to buy a week ticket on the Underground, which is also good for other forms of public transportation. For this we needed a travel card, which required a passport photo. 2.5 pounds at a quickie photo booth outside of the Underground took care of that. We went to Victoria station to admire the station and use the bathroom (for the low price of 20 pence),

then walked to Buckingham Palace. We watched the changing of the guard before walking down the London Mall to see other parts of town.

We walked through the Horse Guard exercise yard,

and watched the changing of the Horse Guards. Not as big a spectical as Buckingham's Changing of the Guards, but still nice.

Then we walked over to admire Big Ben; this is iconic for a reason - it's so beautiful.

We got ice cream cones, topped with Flake, and ate them as we walked over to Westminster Abby; it was open and we were able to go through it, which was wonderful. We also went into the smaller church there. Next we got on a double-decker bus for a short ride around, getting off at Oxford Street where we had dinner at Deep Dish Pizza buffet (which was pretty good). We found a Marks and Spencer store nearby and bought soap, chocolate, bread and cheese. Then we walked to Duke's Bar in Soho, where we bought a sandwich for later. We went to see the Tower of London again, because you can never see that too much, and walked across Tower Bridge after dark, snacking on the chocolate bars.

We continued walking down to the River Thames to view the HMS Belfast, then over to the area around the London Dungeon. From there we went to the Elephant and Castle Underground station and headed back to Clapham North. Upstairs in our room we had dinner: Duke's sandwiches, bread and cheese, soda and beer.

First day in London this year

At the St. Louis Airport we exchanged $51.95 for 30 pounds. We boarded our flight 720 at 6:45, and it took off at 7:40 - close enough! We got to board right after 1st class because Randy had a gold card, from his frequent trips for Boeing. This flight was worth 4,199 frequent flier miles, but as a gold card member, Randy got double. These frequent flier miles work for us - we usually pay for our trip to London with them. It was an OK flight - these trans-Atlantic flights are always so long. The nice Philippine lady named Belle sitting next to me thought Randy looked just like Bill Gates. For a moment she thought she was traveling with a celebrity!

We arrived in London around 9:45, went through customs, got our luggage, took the Underground to Clapham North, and walked to Kathleen's place. 

The living room, dining room, kitchen and children's playroom are on the first floor, and a den is on the 1st landing. On the second floor are 2 or 3 bedrooms and the family's bathroom. The guest bathroom is on the 2nd landing, and there are 2 guest bedrooms on the 3rd floor. Our room was welcoming, and Pearl the cat was there to make us feel at home. 

We unpacked and took a hot bath. The tub has separate hot and cold faucets, which were a challenge for us.

Next we took the Underground to Piccadilly Circus, where we decided to exchange another $200 for 115.50 pounds. Now it was time to walk around! We had lunch at Duke's Bar, a sandwich shop on Old Compton Road in the Soho area. 

I had a chicken, bacon and avocado sandwich, while Randy got a prawn sandwich, with bottled water. We walked around the Soho area and went to see Harrods. Harrods is such a British store - a little formal but welcoming and so interesting. 

Then we took the Underground back to Clapham North, and, to round out the day, walked around to see that area. For dinner we got some fish and chips, which were pretty good. It was a long day, and we went to bed around 8:00.