A Quick Trip on a Norwegian Cruise

 Eldy is always full of surprises...He'd been busy doing a lot of research like he always does, and decided Sparky needed to get away during her fall break from school, from the endless round of doctor appointments, scheduling and side effects battle. So he planned a four day cruise to the Bahamas, using as many points as he could for airfare and a bargain rate for a really nice ship cabin--a balcony "club suite" cabin on Norwegian cruise lines  (NCL) on the ship Norwegian Getaway, for less than 500.00 a person. Without getting complicated about package deals, we got a beautiful cabin with one complimentary expensive restaurant dinner, and 50% off a second restaurant dinner, all gratuities paid for, a drink package and more. Eldy used to be a cruise agent many years ago, and he has been on MANY different cruise lines, Norwegian being the first time. He chose the Norwegian Getaway for an affordable option for us.

our cabin #13322

The balcony...which is very narrow...

If you have never cruised, it would be too difficult to explain all the ins and outs, advantages and disadvantages of special deals, different cruise lines, etc. so just know Eldy worked his magic and off we went. We spent the night before at a hotel in case of airlines snafus and to be ready to board the next day....

Here are some impressions of our Norwegian Getaway (that's the name of the ship) cruise as a seventy plus years of age couple: 

Every cruise has its party side...people who love to drink, relax, get a little crazy, dance and get down. The party people are usually found hanging out at the pool area and there are several bars there to accomodate them. In our younger days, we would have hung out there and done some line dancing, or boogeying off to the side, but the nightlife didn't get going until 10:00 and later, and we are long past enjoying that (although Eldy enjoyed the constant bathing suit "show" haha) but we could be found usually on the "quiet" side of the ship, the opposite side where there were nice lounging chairs and sofas and where it was a great place to read a book or snooze and where it was QUIET.  

The "free" or complimentary restaurants and the main buffet, the Garden Cafe, were average food, nothing to write home about. They get VERY crowded. If you went to the buffet early or late you could avoid the crowds and lines which really get busy during peak times. Hand sanitizer was offered as a spray at entrances to the buffet during operating hours. There were hand washing stations as well at the buffet station.There were tons of options for food choices, and the breakfasts were wonderful and really varied. However, we have experienced better dining options on other cruise lines that were much better. We ate at one specialty restaurant called Cagney's steakhouse. It was OUTSTANDING and probably the best meal of the whole 4 day cruise. Eldy had prime rib, Sparky had a small filet with a wonderful wedge salad.

The second specialty dining restaurant we tried was called Teppanyaki. The food was good, but the atmosphere was LOUD. The usual Japanese steakhouse has the grills, you sit around the table communal style, the chef cracks jokes, does a lot of fork and spatula spinning complete with a dizzying display of dexterity, cooks your meal in front of you, then you get the usual soup, salad, fried rice, and steak, chicken or shrimp. Here, the grills on board the ship were back to back, with two chefs tightly working behind each other in about a two foot narrow space. If they weren't careful, they could bump butts, it was that narrow! This restaurant decided to go with singing and clanging utensils in a football stadium type rhythm OFTEN. Think 4 or more chefs clanging their cooking utensils all together, singing/yelling "WE WILL, WE WILL ROCK YOU!" CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! banging on the grill in rhythm....and periodically, choosing other well known songs from the 70's and 80's while banging their utensils in unison, hoping patrons would join in, along with the other chefs, which they did..."This chef is on FIRE!" and more.... There were a few jokes interspersed among the banging and clanging. Sparky's Apple Watch went off twice warning about decibel levels damaging her hearing, which she couldn't hear what the chef was joking about anyway, there was so much noise/singing/banging/clanging all around the small restaurant. The chefs really were enjoying themselves which added to the lively atmosphere. Very different fun experience but not great for the hearing. BUT--The highlight was the salad was a fantastic seaweed salad that was positively delicious but very small portioned. That was the best part of the meal, and the Wasabi cocktail which Eldy had. 

There were only two ports of call on this cruise. The first was Great Stirrup Cay which is a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines. The second call of port was Nassau. Because Sparky was experiencing significant problems needing close proximity to facilities, and there was a LOT of long walking distances once getting off the ship, which were problematic for the both of us, Eldy with a bad hip and the aforementioned problems Sparky was having, we stayed on board. Those smoothed out by the end of the trip! Wouldn't you know.....

Some of the cool/fun things we saw or did....Participating in the initial "sail away" where everybody goes out and lines the decks to watch leaving the harbor...

Sitting on the balcony watching a rainstorm blow in and out, leaving a unique rainbow in the distance....

Watching how people choose to spend their time on board...

Noticing the architectural features on the ship...Cruise ships are usually decorated very elegantly.

Looking towards shore with a different perspective from the 13th deck....

Returning to Miami

Noticing the small things that make a cruise a little more special for some...

On our last day, disembarking day, we had a snafu. We got up super early, and if you carried your own luggage, you could plan on getting off the ship starting at 7:45. At 6:45, we were on the seventh deck, in a line of about 50 people standing and waiting. It would be just a few minutes until the line started moving toward the gangway exit. Sparky felt like something was missing. She looked down and NO FANNY PACK which she wears all the time. No wallet, no passport, no money, no driver's license, NADA and NO getting off the ship without it. She went into full blown panic mode--grabbed the room key card from Eldy and started to retrace her steps. Where could the fanny pack be? Did it come unclasped from her waist somewhere on one of the elevators? Which one? Which one to try? A crew member suggested going back to the room and starting from there. Sparky was on the verge of tears and panicking BIG TIME. She got off the elevator at the 13th floor (hmmmm, unlucky number?) and ran to the room, meeting the room steward at the door. Wild with fear, she said she forgot her fanny pack, the steward pointed to the desk counter and asked if that was it. YES!!!!! She grabbed it and could have hugged the room steward but there was no time. Apparently, she never had put it on, having thrown on the backpack instead and left the purse on the counter. She ran back to the elevator and back down to the 7th floor. By this time, the long line had progressed to moving to another location, and a forlorn looking, sort of pissed off Eldy was waiting patiently, but he didn't say a word, (which was a blessing), and off we went to wait in another line. WHEW! We got off the ship without further problems, and Ubered to the airport.

All in all, it was an enjoyable trip...although we would not pick this particular ship again...There were some frustrations with the disembarking process, (not involving Sparky haha) it was very disorganized, the food was just so-so, our room was missing basic supplies when we arrived, service at the complimentary restaurants was very slow, experiences for our age group seemed to be limited. The positives were the staff was SUPER nice, super friendly and helpful wherever we were on board. It was great to get away from our little apartment for awhile, and again, Sparky did not have to think about hospital visits, testing, infusions, or appointments at all! We would definitely go on a cruise again sometime, and if you ever want any help planning the best prices and flights for your own special trip, Eldy would be happy to offer his expertise and advice on how he does it.  

             Bye for now!                 Sparky and Eldo

Fun Fall Times in Shipshewanna

 It's good to have things to do when your mind is occupied with tests, results, meds and side effects. It feels most days like that's all I have in my head and my body constantly reminds me of where I'm in this cancer journey, so if we can do something ELSE, let's do it! Eldy is so wonderful about that. He's always up for day trips and special trips to help and he's the best navigator/planner to do it efficiently and frugally.

One of my favorite things to do is take little day trips or side trips that have tours online. I love the Heritage Trail Garden Quilt tour in the middle of summer--blog post link here: summer quilt garden tour 

My next favorite thing to do when visiting Shipsewanna, is to check out the Giant Hay Bale tour in the fall, from Aug. 31st thru October 4th. In early September, when the summer gardens have been pulled out, hay bales appear all over Amish country and a little tour is available. The tour takes you through four charming towns of Shipshewanna, Middlebury, LaGrange and Howe. There are about 32 bales to see this year. My favorites are interspersed throughout the blog today...

You can get a map at the Shipshewanna visitor's center in downtown Shipshewanna. The address is 350 S. Van Buren St., Shipshewanna. I was unable to find an actual map online this time. You can go online and see photos of all the hay bales and their locations in a sort of different map if you go here: hay bale tour

I believe there are nine hay bales just in Shipshewanna...The minions are in abundance downtown! The Grinch is there, too. Here are a few more of them..."Six, Seven" was a popular expression thrown out last year by the kids at school ALL THE TIME! Where it originated was online, Tiktok maybe...it drove the teachers crazy for a time being, the meaning not really known. It was a non-sensical "brain rot" expression, sort of a way to say something was "so-so"....Sparky thinks a teacher was behind this artwork, haha...

This one below is in front of the visitor's center in Shipshewanna....Perfect theme!

This one below is over by Das Essenhaus Restaurant in Middlebury..

Can you stand a few more??? The detail on the hides of the Highland cows was beautiful.

How about the Wizard of Oz? Incorporating a little more to the hay bales, but still allowable. This one is in Shipshewanna on a side street.

Sparky thinks this one reminds her of graffiti artwork...spray paint was the medium on these bales over at Rise and Shine Bakery in Middlebury. Of course, we had to stop and get "crack donuts"--those heavily cinnamon sugared donuts at the bakery!

It was a beautiful day to drive around, shop, explore, and eat...Not a cloud in the sky...We went in the afternoon and felt the sun's angles were better for capturing decent photos, rather than starting out in the morning. One last photo...we missed this one, but it sure has a cute name! This photo is from a page listing all the bales and where they are on the Shipshewanna visitor's page on the internet.

See you on another day...Sparky has a full week off from school, and testings, and scans....Eldo is busy planning something special...Thanks for following along!

Charlevoix Charm and Family Time

We love the small town of Charlevoix, MI. It is about a little over four hour drive from Elkhart, IN, and some of my family were gathering together there in mid July. 

It's a scenic resort city of about 2300 people year round, and it sits on a narrow isthmus between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix. Round Lake is a natural harbor right downtown. Charlevoix is also the major ferryway to get to Beaver Island, the largest island in Michigan. We didn't take the ferry, but we probably will on our next visit!

Sparky loves the "mushroom houses"--two dozen whimsical stone homes with wavy roofs built by architect Earl Young. They are built with local boulders and limestone. So picturesque, Sparky went around town snapping away....You can rent some of these, that would be cool!

Sparky and Eldo stayed one night at the Charlevoix Inn and Suites, a much more dated hotel. Rooms were clean but the place was in need of refreshing. The next night we decided to move to the Weathervane Hotel, where some of the family was staying, the hotel is in the style of the mushroom houses and built by Earl Young as well. It has 67 rooms and although the outside looks old, (it's built in a castle style-with turrets (!), the rooms have been refreshed and you are right on the waterfront! Actually, 300 feet from the beach. Rooms offer views of Round Lake, Lake Charlevoix, and the Charlevoix drawbridge. The suites feature fireplaces, two person Jacuzzi tubs and balconies.

The Weathervane Hotel

The downtown area is small but jam packed with many different types of restaurants and shops. The surrounding homes are full of character and whimsy, along with the mushroom houses.

There is lots to do here and some great restaurants and shopping as well. Sparky hopped on the Little Traverse Wheelway bike trail (26 miles if you ride all the way to Harbor Springs by way of Petoskey) with two of her brothers for a short ride one day, as the trail was blocked off for repairs. Still a good ride, I think we did about 12 miles after wandering through town trying to find where the start of the bike trail was! The trail skirts the shoreline of Lake Michigan and Little Traverse Bay. We rented bikes thru  Revolution Bike Shop and it was very reasonable. They did a great job of fitting the bike to the person as Sparky needed some adjustments before heading off and preferred a different bike style. No problem!

There is a shorter trail for riding bikes and it is the Lake to Lake Trail, a 4.5 mile paved path between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix.

We stayed at Sparky's cousins' place on a lake nearby, and had laughs, great meals and fun kayaking! 

So wonderful to be with family...Sparky had recently celebrated her 76th birthday back in Elkhart, and the family thoughtfully celebrated it again with birthday wishes, presents and the most beautiful flan dessert which tasted a lot like creme brulee, Sparky's favorite dessert. We had some great laughs about that, as Sparky's sister thought her favorite dessert was flan, so cousin Jill drove all over town trying to find a decent flan. Grocery shopping is not for the faint of heart in Charlevoix, just the basics are there. Thank you, Jill...it was the most beautiful flan I've ever seen! And the first one I've ever had!

We also ate at the Weathervane Restaurant inside the hotel, and the food was terrific! The restaurant has big picture windows all along one side of the restaurant facing the drawbridge so you can watch the boats coming through about every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour.

It was so wonderful to be with family. We are spread out all over the country. Sparky's brother Charlie is in California, her brother Rich and his wife are in Massachusetts and her sister, Lyle, and her husband are in MI. Hard to get everyone together....

Sparky is back into a more rigorous treatment plan, a second round of chemo with a newer drug and tougher side effects upon returning home, so it was heartwarming and a boost of spirits to be with family. Love you guys!

Now That We are Back Home...

Now that we are back from our trips, we are looking around for local things to do and there are plenty! July is the time of year when the quilt gardens in the area are in full bloom. The Heritage Trail Quilt Gardens are an annual thing in our area and are one of Sparky's favorite summer things to do. (Mainly because I drive her all over the place, in an organized route and she gets to do her photo thing and eat snacks from her favorite places along the way, laughs Eldo.)  Like Jojo's pretzels in Shipshewanna. And yes, Eldy really knows how to navigate in the best way not to waste gas....

The gardens are planted around May 30th and bloom thru the summer but by September 15th, they're ready to give it up for fall weather and festivals coming. Hay bale trail, anyone? Stay tuned for that one in and around September.

There are 16 super sized garden beds all over the area, and 14 giant murals as well. 

Mural at Bonneyville Mill Park

Each year over a million blooms are planted in geometric quilt patterns using floral gardens. The seven communities participating are Bristol, Elkhart, Nappanee, Middlebury, Wakarusa, Shipshewanna, and Goshen. Maps are available online and you get to see the surrounding communities up close and personal when you stop to take photos. Such a wide variety of shopping and dining experiences and places to stay if you wanted to spend more time!

We did the tour in one day over a period of about 4 hours, but that is the quick way Sparky does it...hop in and out of the car, grab a photo, and on we go! Much more fun if you stop and stay awhile, like at the Kryder Gardens in Middlebury. That is a fantastic place to picnic and stay awhile.....It's also right beside the Pumpkinvine bike trail.

The order of the garden route we drove: 

1. Dragonfly Daydreams at the Elkhart Environmental Center on Lusher Ave. in Elkhart with its own special sign....Apparently the rabbits got into the garden...

2. Carolina Lily Garden in downtown Elkhart, at the Central Green park. This was one of the prettiest gardens, in Sparky's opinion. Each garden has a regular sign with the pattern block on it, what types of flowers were used to make the pattern, and what is the symbolism behind the pattern choice. In addition, the signs have a bar code you can scan for more information about the area.

3. Pease and Plenty Garden...at Wellfield Botanic Garden, on N. Main Street in Elkhart..no photo as it was planted later in the season, and wasn't looking its best when we viewed it.

4. Railroad Garden at the Ruthmere Mansion on Beardsley St. in Elkhart...the mansion is a historically preserved house from one of Elkhart's early founders, Dr. Havilah Beardsley. We took a field trip there last year for school and it was amazing to see and hear all about the art, architecture and history of a bygone era!

5. Log Cabin Garden at the Elkhart Historical Museum in Bristol, a short distance away from Elkhart, on West Vistula St. This is a very traditional quilt pattern.

6. Trip Around the World Garden at the Farmstead Inn in Shipshewanna. Shipshewanna has wonderful homemade pretzels, candy, cute boutiques, Amish meat markets, antiques and ice cream shops. OH! And a terrific fabric shop called Lolly's. (Sparky ALWAYS comes home with more fabric and pretzels and popcorn after visiting Shipshewanna, Eldo explains.)

7. The Amish Shadow Garden at Weaver Furniture Sales in Shipshewanna. This is a great town to see lots of Amish buggies out and about, Amish families shopping, and beautiful seasonal decorations abound. Some great antique stores, and also the Shipshewanna Flea Market on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from May 5-Sept. 30th from 8:00-4:00 PM.

8. The Dutchman's Puzzle Garden...at the Dutch Country Market. Stop at the market after viewing the garden and check out the wonderful variety of homemade goods like noodles, jams, honey along with local crafts. Eldo swears homemade noodles are the best but even the Amish don't make them as good as his mom did!

9. Elkhart County Star Garden at the Kryder World's Fair Garden in Middlebury...very patriotic for the nation's birthday...blue ageratum, white impatiens, red impatiens and Olympia white green leaf begonia.

The Kryder World's Fair Garden is a destination in itself. The grounds

are full of shady spots to sit and reflect, beautiful plantings and wonderful sculptures. It's a very peaceful place and is also right beside the Pumpkinvine Bike Trail in Middlebury, IN.

10. The Flowering Flag garden at the 4H fairgrounds...this was a not as photo worthy of quilt patterned gardens go so no photo. It was supposed to be undulating waves of red and white flowers, but it was hard to discern any "wave" to the floral design and then metal blue flowers were just stuck in the ground in one corner, so on we go....

11. Snowball  at Abshire Park in Goshen on E. Lincoln Ave. Sparky caught this one in June so it had not filled in yet. We think early/mid July is the best time to take the tour as the flowers are more established and filled in.

12. A City Moving Foward Garden...at the Elkhart County Courthouse square in Goshen on North Main Street. This one is also early June. It's interesting to see that they use herbs as well for the gardens. This one has triple curled green parsley in it.

13. Dutch Delight and Grandmother's Flower Garden Mural, on West Market Street at the Nappanee Center. The mural is at the top right of the photo.

The sign for the Dutch Delight Garden mentions that this quilt garden is a pattern from the 1920's. Waves of pink, orange, purple, blue and yellow create motion and festivity. This area is known for celebrations and festivals. The Apple Festival is celebrating its 50th year!

14. Celebrate America 250 Garden...at the Farmhouse Inn B&B in Nappanee, IN. 

15. Wedding Garden and Clara's Flower Garden in downtown Wakarusa, IN on S. Elkhart St. This is the garden and the mural is to the side of it on another adjacent building wall.

Clara's flower garden mural

And the last one we visited....

16. Burst of Joy ...at Grandma's Pantry in Wakarusa, IN, on Keystone Drive....A lot of begonias in this one!

OH! Sparky forgot one of her favorites! It would fit in around the Middlebury ones...she forgot to number it...The Whirligig Garden at Das Essenhaus Restaurant in Middlebury...it's always one of the most beautiful, in Sparky's opinion, so here is the best one she thinks because of the lush green grass and the beautiful background of the famous Das Essenhaus Restaurant....

After you view the garden, you can have a homecooked meal at the restaurant, walk the trails on the beautiful grounds, and visit the bakery to take home Amish baked goods.

Hope you enjoyed our garden tour for today.... We will see you again, hopefully soon....

Traveling to South Dakota 2026 Day 7, 8, 9

We traveled from Ashland, WI to Sault St. Marie, a distance of 346 miles. We decided to stay two days in town, at our favorite hotel, the Holiday Inn Express...free hot breakfast (scrambled eggs, sausage, yogurt, fruit, etc.) and it has a great view of the river and the bridge going to Canada. 

We enjoy eating at the Lockview Restaurant, downtown, which is right across the street from the locks, and if a big freighter goes into the first lock you can see it right from the restaurant windows. The restaurant food is sometimes really great and other times just so-so.

 A freighter in the first lock

We LOVE watching the freighters so that's what we did for two days. Sparky loves talking to people at the observation deck right there at the locks, finding out where they come from and throwing out a few tidbits about the freighters she finds out from the app, Marine Traffic.

The freighters are nicknamed the "Salties" (for the narrower ones entering from the Atlantic Ocean thru the St. Lawrence Seaway). They are smaller because the Seaway's lock system is narrower than the Soo Locks. The "Salties" typically measure up to 740 feet in length and have a more pointed bow. They also have multiple deck cranes. The "Lakers" are exclusively freshwater ships that can never leave the Great Lakes so they are the massive, 1000+ footers. We love hearing their booming horns as they pass through the St. Mary's River.

St. Mary's River at Veterans' Park

Our other favorite spot to view the freighters is at the Veterans' Park on the outskirts of town, where the St. Mary's River narrows signficantly and the freighters come by a stone's throw from the shore--at least that's what it feels like! The Veterans' Park is just about right next door to the Aune Osborn RV park.

We went to the park on three different occasions to watch the freighters and a little boy of about 10 was there each time waving a Canadian flag and hoping the big boys would blow their horns if he made the universal gesture of pulling his fist down in a pumping motion. Usually the freighters sound the horn when moving through the river channel but not this time. 

Kewadin Casino

For our last night in the Soo,  we chose to eat at the Kewadin Casino, at the Black Rock Bar and Grill. The meal was terrific! We did not try our luck at the casino, it's just not our thing, but we do enjoy a good meal. It's a beautiful casino, lots of wood inside and a cool art gallery as you enter. Check out the one arm bandit machines! There were other examples of native american artwork displayed in the hallway leading to the casino. 

Benny's Cafe

The next day, we traveled to St. Ignace, where the waters of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. It's a small town of about 2,000 people and has cute little shops and restaurants that cater to the summer boating folk and of course, tourists passing through. We ate a burger at Benny's Cafe, a time capsule diner, a soda fountain shop. The burgers were great! Our hotel for the night was the Breakers Resort and Beach Bar, right on Lake Huron, with scenic views of Mackinac Island in the distance. 

Lodging is not cheap for a lakefront room--276.00. The only drawback of our one night stay was midges, those pesky little flying insects that swarm in the summer. There are two types--biting and non-biting. People refer to the non-biting ones as gnats. The biting ones are no-see-ums. AND, locals call the larger non-biting ones muffleheads. (!) Sparky would love to know where that came from! If you encounter the biting species, it is the females who bite. The midges are related to mosquitoes and their bites are worse than a mosquito because their mouthparts slice into your skin. Tiny, but painful! There were clouds of them here and there and seemingly everywhere. It's that time in the summer where you are going to encounter bugs and more bugs in northern Michigan. 

Huron longhouse

There is a Museum of Ojibwa Culture in St. Ignace and it is amazing. It sits on the grounds of a 17th century Huron village and has the burial grave of Father Marquette, a Jesuit missionary and explorer, and an authentic traditional longhouse on the grounds with beautiful metal sculptures depicting the roles in the clans. 

Sparky loved seeing the costumes of the dancers, especially the jingle dancer costume. The jingle cones were originally made from snuff and chewing tobacco tins rolled into cones. There are between 200-365 cones on a dress and when the dancer moves, it creates a very melodic tone. One foot is always touching the ground, maintaining a physical connection to the earth. The jingle dance is very popular at pow-wows and often performed to bring spiritual healing and pride at stressful times and events.

Also inside there are immersive exhibits, personal stories and recordings-some that detail the treatment of the tribes through the years and the government's efforts to take away their culture. Very interesting yet disturbing reading at the same time.

If you are ever in St. Ignace, check out Jose's Cantina, right next door to the Breakers. The food is great, but we didn't get a chance to eat there. It comes highly recommended from family members. We did eat at the Gangplank Pub and Grub, with a protected outdoor patio and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, the food, and our cheeky waiter.

The next morning, we headed for home, planning to drive all the way, and we did! A six hour drive from Mackinac Island for a distance of 343 miles. Gaylord, MI is on the way home, and there is a resident elk herd there in a large enclosed area, should you want to see some Michigan wildlife.....We wanted to get home and relax so we didn't stop this time. 

The trip was wonderful, the weather was great, and now it's time to settle down for a bit and enjoy (?) the summer...Ahhhh-h-h-h...the nineties....Uh, Eldy, when is our next trip up north? Sparky wants to know.....Until next time....

                                        Sparky and Eldo