onboard the Maasdam

boarded the ship after we dropped off our Hertz rental van which w*rked out great once again...met some ship'staff that we know from sailings in the past..like old times..
posted this from my cellphone
hopefully ship's satellite internet will cooperate this time around
42 Day cruise roundtrip Ft Lauderdale -Europe MAP

Plenty of room.. especially for the MISSING DUO

Out To Sea.. Again

 we're leaving for the drive down to Ft Pierce, Florida in a little while from up here in southeast North Carolina...taking a Hertz one way rental Nissan van for all of 'someone's shoes-luggage!

..then heading out tomorrow morning as we board the ship and set sail on Holland America's Maasdam at 5pm for a 42 day roundtrip cruise from Ft Lauderdale,Florida down to St Maarten in the Caribbean then across the 'big pond' to the Canaries.. Casablanca.. Tangier. and up to Gibraltar..Spain... Italy.. and Portugal back down to Funchal, Madeira then across to the Bahamas and finish back in Ft Lauderdale on Nov 30th..
 42 Day Roundtrip Ft Lauderdale-Europe Cruise MAP

we did this same cruise last year when it was a 45 day cruise ... the ship's Satellite Internet connection can sometimes be sporadic out at sea like it was on last year's Europe cruise.. we'll miss our good friends Tom and Denise who were with us on last year's Europe cruise

Sunrises and Sunsets galore..no surf fishing but I will hopefully get to fish in the Bahamas with a Charter Captain I know well......cruising is what we enjoy doing the past 22+ years in retirement....plenty of good food and travel as we celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary onboard... :) 

do I 'smell' a Camel Ride in Arrecife on the way.. you betcha  :) :)

Arrecife, Canaries Nov 11 2011

A Quiet Sunrise in the Surf

went down to the surf on Sunset Beach.. high tide after Sunrise.. a beautiful peaceful morning with very few people around.. just a few dog walkers...  didn't have any luck fishing the surf..  calm seas with very little bait around...a  slight wind was out of the NE ... just a nice early morning to be out there..

 a pretty Sunrise

 

Surf Casting video this morning

 

 a couple of Dog Walkers

Doo Wop show tonite--a day in Charleston, SC

 an early morning Sunrise  at Sunset Beach, NC ..doing a lil' bit of Surf fishing as I usually do

heading down to Charleston for the day... and to the Doo Wop Show tonite.. should be good one with the Tokens a group from my old neighborhood in Coney Island-Brighton Beach Brooklyn in the 60's as well as the Cookies from the same 'hood' in Coney Island      Charleston Doo Wop Show

UPDATE.....got back home at 130am.... what a great show...met Margaret Williams of the Cookies who still lives in the Coney Island Houses on Surf Avenue in Coney... who woulda thunk it...  super performances by all.. had us rockin' in our seats...  the Marcels with Blue Moon.. Maurice Williams with Stay... the Tokens singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight...the Jarmels  doing A Little Bit of Soap... the Skyliners  This I Swear   ... the trip to Charleston was well worth it.. brought back some great memories growing up in Brooklyn listening to the 50's and 60's music when it was...

 Sarah and Margaret Williams...of the Cookies..Margaret still lives in Coney Island

 

a signed Happy Birthday Coney Island Baby 
sing along to 'Coney Island Baby'

 

Coney Island 

 

Jay Siegel and the TOKENS

 Jarmels..A Little Bit of Soap

 the Marcels..Blue Moon

 

 Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs...STAY

 

 Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners.. This I Swear

 Finale..all groups

 here's the list of suspects that were performing last nite as per their website...A list of those original artists who will be part of The Ultimate Doo-Wop Show are: Jay Siegel’s Tokens with their special guest, Jay Traynor (The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Portrait of my Love, Tonight I Fell in Love, She Cried), Jimmy Beaumont & The Skyliners (Since I Don’t Have You, Pennies from Heaven, This I Swear, It Happened Today), Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs (Stay, I Remember, Come Along), The Marcels (Blue Moon, Heartaches, Summertime),The Cookies (Chains, Don’t Say Nothin’ Bad about My Baby, Will Power), The Jarmels (A Little Bit of Soap), The Blue Suede Orchestra (Buzz, Buzz, Buzz).

a walk around Battery Park and Rainbow Row in Charleston on a pretty day

 a wedding in Battery Park

 a near miss as the water from Charleston bay breaks over the wall

animation of 5 pics Seawall Splashover

Red Drum in Surf

caught a nice 39" Red Drum in the Surf  at Sunset Beach, NC early this morning.. also a couple of small blues... and a gull in my line..... he quickly freed himself on the way in..none the worse for wear...ALL Catch and Release 

using a St Croix 10' Surf rod with a conventional Abu Garcia Sports Rocket reel with Smoothie Drags