Day 5- At Sea and all our towel animals

This is the Dolly Pardon Bridge going north of Mobile, Alabama.

Day 4- Calica/ Cancun/ Playa del Carmen

We docked at Calica which is not anything but a port. We rented a car and drove an hour to Cancun and then back to Playa del Carmen. It was nice to see a lot of Mexico that we would not have seen without a car, but next time we will get a map! We ended up doing more driving trying to figure out where we were and where to go. We went in a real Mexican grocery store where no one spoke English. We found a few shops along the road to go into. We saw what looked like working class areas of Mexico where there would be a store and you could tell the family lived above it and their laundry would be hanging on the roof. All along the coast up to Cancun it was nothing but resort after resort. Each had a huge entry way and guard to enter. You could tell they were beautiful resorts.
This photo if of the topiary birds in the median. They were shaped like chickens, birds and stuff. I was really surprised by all the American stores in Mexico. Of coarse, McDonalds and Burger King, but we saw Office Depot, Sams Club, Walmart Supercenter, John Deere, and many other businesses. I found that my idea of Mexico has been so different than what I saw. I know we were in a resort area and it is more developed than other areas of Mexico, but we felt safe and just as if we were in America. Beautiful beaches and places to visit. I would love to fly there some day and stay to see more.

This is the center round a bout in Cancun downtown area. We saw this many times as we went round and round. Along this area there were shops. Nothing is air conditioned. It almost looks like storage buildings along the street. They pull open the front door and open their shop, then close it down at night.
This was an area between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. There were alot of condos and there was a lot of new construction going on.
It was different to see thatched awnings and little huts on the roof. It would just be an occasional condo with one. The next would have tile shingles.
Two ladies on a scooter holding a new etagere she just bought.
I wanted pottery from Mexico. I was so excited when we drove up to this shop. Most of the bowls on the wall are sinks. I wanted one so bad, but it would require a huge remodel cost of the bath. The platters and dishes were really expensive- like $70 for a platter. I was so disappointed. This was in that area that had a lot of construction building condos and shopping centers. I think it was a resort area and the prices were inflated like our beach shops. We went in a few furniture stores and it was like $3000 for an armoire and really high prices. I was hoping to find some well priced pieces but not this time. I did find a shop where I got an oval platter for $15.00. I will have to take a photo for later.

Scuba Diving in Cozumel

We did not pay for the scuba excursion, instead we took a taxi to Chankanaab Park and hired an instructor there. We had to pay a park entry fee and pay for the taxi there and to return to the dock it was still less expensive than the boat excursion. If we would have gone with the excursion we would have been with a group. Since we went by ourselves we got to scuba dive alone with the instructor. If you ever get a chance to go it is well worth the money. I rank it up there with the best experiences of my life. We were only able to go about 25 feet without being certified. I never had any fear of the sea life. It is so strange because you feel like you are in a different world. I was so calm and relaxed looking at all of the sea life. We saw a baracuda. I empressed the instructor that I swam up to the baracuda instead of freaking out. You just do not feel threatened. We saw a group of tarpon fish and I actually thought they were a group of small sharks. I was not afraid thinking they were sharks. I really want to go again!

They had two statues sunken in the water.

This is a lobster coming out of a hole.We swam through a cave tunnel. This is coming out the other side of the tunnel.
The baracuda we saw. Fabio, our instructor, is behind the fish.

Old Mill in Pigeon Forge

Dixie Stampede

Some photos of Gatlinburg

This was our view from our balcony of our cabin. We had beautiful sunrises and sunsets. We got there Wednesday afternoon. The cabin was at the top of a mountain and was a really great location off 321. It was about 10 minutes from Pigeon Forge and 15 from Gatlinburg. It was about 20 from Cades Cove.


Thursday we went and walked down the main strip in Gatlinburg. We went to the Dixie Stampede that night. It was pretty good but I think it was a one time thing to do. On Friday we went to Cades Cove and drove around and looked at the historic homes and churches. We saw many deer but did not get to see any bears although the numbers are supposed to be up this year.



We went to Dollywood at 3 and stayed there till 7. If you go after 3 you can go the next day free on that ticket, so we went back to Dollywood on Saturday. At Dollywood they were having a Festival Of Nations. They had groups from Ireland, Russia, Zambia, Germany and other nations that put on shows and had crafts and demonstrations in the park. We went to the Ireland show which was similar to the River Dance show. We also went to the German show and the Russian show. The photo is from the Russian show. I had no idea their dresses were so colorful. The inside fabric of their dresses were really big floral fabrics that were so pretty.

My camera is locked in the car with my keys in my husband's truck at work so I have not down loaded all the photos yet.

We're On Our Way

We are packed and cleaned and ready to head out in the morning for Gatlinburg. I hope that we will at least be able to dial in to access internet but we do not know for sure if we will have it in our cabin. So, if you don't hear from me in a few days we are hopefully having a good time in the mountains. If we can gain access I will post some photos.

Gatlinburg for Spring Break

We have booked a home and are making plans for spring break. I would love to hear from others any ideas of cool things to do and places to eat while we are there. I know we are going to Dollywood and the Dixie Stampede. We aren't planning on spending a lot more on entertainment so we need cheap or free ideas. We are buying our DW and DS tickets from the base here, which is a better price than the deals online. I didn't want to tempt waiting till we were there to find-or not find- deals advertised when we get there. The Dixie Stampede is a splurge. It is going to cost $200 for all 7 of us. The normal price is $40 for adults. That is a lot for a dinner night out but we are getting back a really good tax refund and the tax rebate.We have worked many years two or more jobs and just had a year where we had two house payments that killed us and our daughter is graduating in May so we are really due some time away and a little splurge. We plan on hiking and hopefully fishing and of coarse shopping a little. I saw there is a mirror maze with a 10 minute light show on the main strip. I did't see a price for that. Has anyone done that? I am really looking forward to getting away up in the mountains. Our house that we rented is on the top of a mountain and has a pooltable. It also has a full length of the house porch so we can sit out there and read or just look out.