Monday, March 1, 2010

Monday Afternoon Hypnosis 3/1/10

What a strange week this has been! Where has this month gone? It seems like yesterday it was the first week of February. I hope this year will not keep that same pace up or I will age faster than intended. I know I am sort of old already, but let me stop every now and then and smell the peppers! (I mean Roses) My food senses have been going wild! I love to play with food and I have been cooking some insane food! Check out "Cookin with John" for some great recipe ideas. New recipes are updated weekly. My wife is back in Big D full time while our home in San Antonio is looking for the perfect home buyer. I know everyone has different things that they believe in and those beliefs are their own. I had a friend of mine on Facebook who recommended that I go to a Christian book store and buy a statue of St. Joseph and bury it in the yard and your house will sell pretty quickly. I was not sure of this as I thought it would be sac religious, but I was very wrong as I researched this process. I went out and bought my very own St Joseph statue with a burial bag and buried him in the yard. The instructions say to bury him head first facing the street with his feet facing the heavens. Then you say a prayer and then your home will sell. Once your home sells you de- earth St. Joseph and you place him in your new home. I have never heard of this and I am willing to believe! I will keep you posted of our progress. The Travel Business has been all over the place. There has been a lot of interest and quoting, but not very many bookings this week. I love what I do and will always have a positive "Cruisitude" If you want a non biased hard working travel agent to take all of your researching headaches away; I have one to recommend to you. All kidding aside if you have travel questions or need recommendations I am here for you. As a Cruise Planner and a Tour/Resort Specialist you will be in good hands. Test me out sometime! I bet you will be very impressed. It’s time to get your beverage on as we get ready for day 4 on the Norwegian Pearl. I decided to go the martini route today. Are you ready for a "Hypnotize Me"? Your ingredients consist of 3oz(s)Ketel One Vodka, 1 oz Strawberry Vodka, 1 oz Hypnotiq (Hpnotiq is an exquisite blend of premium vodka, natural tropical fruit juices and a hint of Cognac), 1 oz Strawberry Liqueur, 1 oz Grape Pucker and 3 Drop(s)Dry Vermouth. Did I say all liquor? Take your favorite martini shaker and fill with ice, then add all of the ingredients and put the lid on. Get your groove on and shake your bootie! Take your favorite chilled martini glasses and pour. This is one potent drink and now I know why you are hypnotized after you drink this. I guess I can officially say I have been hypnotized! That was a crazy drink! Day 4 on the Norwegian Pearl begins with a hop, skip and a jump on deck 7! This walking and prune juice is going to get the best of me! I must keep going. Our port of call today is St. Thomas. Can you say paradise? We decided to eat breakfast at the Blue Lagoon Cafe. It is a 24 hour a la cart cafe. My breakfast consisted of a croissant scramble, hash browns, bacon and prune juice. It was simple and hit the spot. St. Thomas is known for shopping and Magen's Bay. St. Thomas is a shopper’s paradise. Havensight and Downtown Main Street are the prime shopping areas. The beaches in St. Thomas are known worldwide. National Geographic has rated Magen's Bay one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Although all the beaches on the island are public, there is a charge of $3 to enter Magen's Bay. Morning Star beach is also lovely, well worth a visit and it tends to be a little less crowed. Taxis are available on the pier and generally charged per person. There are no meters in the taxis so negotiate the fare in advance. We decided to go the taxi route and venture out and see what St. Thomas was all about. We were very lucky and hooked up with a local driver named Ever-Ready. He does a 3 hour tour of the island with many stops and photo opportunities. The island of St. Thomas is 3 miles by 12 miles. There are no manufactures on the island. They also have one of the world’s largest saltwater to freshwater conversion plants as there is no fresh water on the island. Medical care is free to all of those who live on the island. They are still in the re-building stage from the last four hurricanes that have hit the island. Most of the people cannot afford to rebuild their homes as the costs are too high. The Governor is in charge of the island. We went to Blackbeard’s Castle and to the St. Peter Great House on the World Famous Mountain Top. The St. Peter Great House provided great views of Megan's Bay, St John’s and St Croix. We were able to take some breath taking photos from here as well. One thing that the St. Peter Great House is famous for is the Banana Daiquiri! I am not sure what all of the ingredients were except a lot of dark rum and fresh bananas. It was just awesome! I am glad that we took the 3 hour tour of the island. Ever-Ready was a wealth of information as we developed a true appreciation for the island. We head back to some of the shopping areas and check out some of the local bargains. There were some great deals and everything was a little crowed as the Oasis of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Carnival Liberty and the Costa Atlantica were all in port. We decided to go back on board the Pearl to eat lunch. Why spend extra money when all of your food is included with your cruise? You can come and go to the ship as long as she is at the pier. After lunch Pea, Pod and I decided to walk around the pier area for a while. We found this small beach hut bar with live music and Caribe Beer buckets for $10. Good music and a good cold beer! What could be better? St. Thomas had been awesome and with so many things to do on the ship we headed back. We decided that the pool was calling our name. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the pool. Pea and Pod played in some of the pool games with the cruise staff. It was pretty funny watching some of the stunts they did. Sailing on a cruise ship makes it so easy to visit all of these different ports of call and you only unpack once on your floating resort. Before dinner tonight we were going to visit the Star Bar. From 6 - 7 they offer 2 for 1 martini’s and in my opinion one of the best drink deals on the ship. I had a Pear Pleasure, Pea had a Cocotini and my wife had a Raspberry Fruitini. This was just an awesome start to a great evening. We met back up with Pod and headed to Indigos for dinner. My meal would start off with a potato goat cheese tart and some chicken french onion soup. Then it was off to tilapia topped off with a lemon butter sauce and capers. Dessert was this yummy chocolate cream cake with a warm chocolate sauce. I am in food heaven! I think I need to take a walk. All of this food is getting a little heavy. The show tonight is Sea Legs, A Showgirl Revue. Showgirls perform to the music of Frank Sinatra and Beyonce. Then it is off to the Caribbean Deck Party for Hot Dancing under the stars. It is shake your bootie time! For those of you who know me I am a terrible dancer and shaker. It was fun to watch though! Our night ends at the blackjack table. I broke even so I was ok with that. Wow, what a day this has been. As you can see you can do as much or as little as you want. It is your vacation and the choice is all yours. St. Thomas I thank you for allowing me to visit and see the true beauty of the island and the people who live here. I think next time I visit St. Thomas I will visit the St. Peter Great House again and then go hang out at Magen's Bay. I heard they make some awesome pizza beachside. My heavenly bed is calling my name. Tomorrow we are headed to Tortola (B.V.I) I can't wait to see what day 5 brings us on this awesome journey! I appreciate all of those who are following and if you know someone who likes to travel I would be honored if you would forward them a link to "Travelin with John" Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! If you know someone who travels send them my way. You know they will be taken care of. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!

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