My Trinidad Trip

Trinidad here I come!!
Come to Trinidad with me. Grab a cuppa tea - WARNING: this will be a long visit. Trinidad from the air. (Double click on any pictures to enlarge them)
I came back from two wonderful weeks in Trinidad, and was able to see and spend time with my family there, (my dad,my two sisters, and their families). What a blessing it was!!

This is where I stayed (on the 4th floor) with my sister Joanne and her family - a gorgeous five star condo that my father had just moved out of but had not sold yet. (While we were there the first people who saw it bought it).

What a blessing to be able to stay there while Joanne's house was being remodeled. (One of the main reasons I went was to help them with their huge remodeling and decorating job of the entire first floor.) I had no idea where I'd be staying - I was ready to sleep on a couch if necessary in the midst of the remodeling mess. God is sooo good! Thanks Dad!!

This was a gated community and I felt completely safe. I could even go down for a swim after dark alone.(Especially since there were guards, and the people who lived in the penthouses had two bodyguards per person. . . no kidding! )

Crime in Trinidad has escalated in recent years. While I was there my sister's friend was kidnapped for a rather large ransom. This is very common now. It's really a shame because Trinidad is a beautiful little island with some lovely people.

The swimming pool was gorgeous with an island (left) in the middle.
It was right on the sea. As you can see there was a huge ship going by in the distance.

This was the entrance to the condo (I should have used a flash). The colors were lovely - this entryway was a rich salmon color.

The living room. (Sorry it came out so dark - it really was extremely bright in every room).

It had three bedrooms and fully furnished with AC)

My sister Peggy enjoying the view from the balcony as we chatted.

It was so wonderful to see them all, and to have sisters again.

The view from the balcony.

Joanne's house. The new dining room, after the walls were broken down and new floors, and ceilings put in. It's now a very open and beautiful floor plan.

I never got to see her kitchen finished, but she says it's wonderful. (The door blocks the rest of it, but it really is a lovely kitchen, with a bar area to the right of where Joanne is standing).

It's all open now, and there's always a lovely breeze coming through. I just love when those French doors are open and she is in the kitchen she can now enjoy her beautiful garden and all the birds.

She chose some great colors. The furniture is new also - not unwrapped yet as the kitchen still was not finished. We pushed it by putting everything in place before I left. What fun we had!!

OK> This I just could not resist. I whipped out my camera as fast as I could =)

We were in a traffic jam when I saw these construction workers walk by.

Check out the one with the "dread locks" piled on top of his head, and then the required safety helmet on top.
("dis eh no joke - is fa reel" as dey say).

We had a lovely time and a delicious meal together at the Yacht Club - right on the water. The moon was full and the night was perfect.

I had spent so much time at this Yacht Club while I lived in Trinidad, and it was good to be back.

From left to right is Russell (Joanne's husband), my sisters Joanne & Peggy, then Dad at the head, Nicholas (Peg's youngest son), me and Rebecca (14, and a beautiful young lady - what a delight she is).

I sure miss everyone!

The pool from another angle.

Below are vacation homes "Down-the-Islands". These are small islands off the NW tip of Trinidad.

Dad has a nice speed boat, and we went all around the islands and ended up at Scotland Bay where we always went swimming. It was all delightful!

We stayed here a couple of times - remember Marguerita Bay guys?

Look Timothy, there's Jo's boat =) It's been totally remodeled though, and the family has stayed there since and says it's gorgeous. It even has a courtyard in the middle apparently.

I love this one. It's beautiful on the inside too. The very top is the master bedroom, and the view is amazing.

See the small house on the top right? That's the caretaker's house. You'll see small houses close by these big island homes, because the owners must pay "caretakers" to live there, or they will be vandalized, as most of the time they are vacant.
This is one of my favorites too because of the location.

Sorry - fast moving boat =)

Not all of them are huge.

In the boat. Dad and Russell with Rebecca between them, and Joanne in the back.

Pulling into Scotland Bay with Rebecca in the bow.

Swimming in Scotland Bay. The water is crystal clear and maybe 15 feet deep here.

We just anchor and jump overboard.

I learned to water-ski here when I was 7yrs old. This place holds so many memories for me, as I spent so much of my life in Trinidad enjoying this lovely bay. There are no houses or buildings here, and you can only get to it by boat. There are Howler monkeys in the hills surrounding the bay however =) We've heard them at night while sleeping on the boat many times.

This bay is also special because there is a lovely beach just to the left of the photo.

Rebecca had us all sticking our toes out of the water for the pic. (Dad took these from the boat)

To top off the day, on our return we saw dolphins - a rarity in Trinidad.

(Thanks Lord for Your many, many blessings!)

Dad is still a master at maneuvering a boat. He backed it right into the spot next to the "jetty" for us to unload. Then a huge forklift came and lifted it out of the water and placed it right into his storage garage. The boats were stored in "shelves" two and three stories high as you can see at the right of this picture. It was fascinating to watch, as well as how quickly this was done.

Dad's boat being lifted out of the water.

On Mother's Day I went with Joanne's family to Russell's sister's house in Central Trinidad.

It is gorgeous here and each person owns around 10 acres of beautiful land. The tropical vegetation and landscaping was so lovely and different from what we have here in PA.

Below are some pictures of their home, where there is no "burglar-proofing" (bars) and of course no screens (only in the US). It's apparently quite safe here in "Central".

Russell and Jo, with his family on the right. (Covered area next to the pool)

We had a great time (except for the little lizard in the car when we went for a drive around the neighborhood =)

I wanted to show you their doors just open onto a gorgeous view ( which you cannot really see in the photo) - even their master bedroom is like this.

There is a 12 foot drop or so, but you sure enjoyed the indoor/outdoor feeling and the view.

Pretty amazing! (They don't have grandchildren as yet =)

Take a look at the Trini vegetation - so lovely here!
The following pics were taken around Port-of-Spain (North) driving with Peggy.

We spent a beautiful day together, but I wish I had taken some pics of us together at Cruz Inn having their wonderful buffet, as well as all the other things we did together that day.

We had so much fun. (Peg, I thoroughly enjoyed our time together - doing our "colors" around the pool with Dad, Jo and Rebecca with the neighbors joining in, having the delicious local lunch together that you prepared for us - thank you, thank you - it was all loads of fun!)

Real tropical bamboo.

Look at the size of the fish these guys caught. (The sea is in the background).

Peggy & I were just driving through Carenage when I took this.

The following are some Trinidad homes. I love all the woodwork on this porch (friends of Joanne).

What colors! "Hot fa so!"
I'm sure this one would stand out on Google earth. (No need to "pin" it =)

Typical older home. My grandparents lived in one like this only larger.

SISTERS!!!!

Jo on left with me on the right, swimsuits on, and we're heading to Maracas Beach.

We are actually on the lookout point on top of the Northern Range and...

This is the view!
Maracas Beach is in the right top of the picture.

Bourganvillia - all colors!
The following pics are of Maracas Beach which I frequented all my life in T'dad.

Lots of memories here!

Jo and Russell. (Thanks guys for such a lovely time).

The water was warm and clear.
We swam outside of these big ones, and got tumbled by some, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

The "bathing beauties"

Russell and Jo
Yes Sean, "Shark 'n bake" - except they now call it "bake 'n shark" =)
These venders sure do a great business. It is sooooooooo delicious!
What a treat! I think I put all the fixings on mine.

In case you're wondering where are all the people - it was Tuesday morning.

The village at the end of Maracas Beach. I just love all these boats.
..and this lady just sitting and watching the sea. I'm hoping to paint something from these pics.

See the sein (fish net) in the background drying?

If you'll look closely on the cliff you'll see some of the best real estate anywhere - and I'm sure living there is free. Lots of times they just build their little houses wherever they want, and after a while they have "squatter" rights, and they are allowed to stay. ("das de life man!!")

Back to P-O-S and Bayside Towers, and another swim, in the pool this time.

I felt like I was on Gillian's Island =) I so enjoyed this pool with the sea in the background.

Where Peggy and Dad now live there is also a pool. (They each have a condo in the same development, a stone's throw away from the other.) I think Dad is much happier there, as it's more of a community. I seldom saw anyone here.

I'm in Heaven...... but after two weeks - ready to get back to my hubby and family.

There were always birds, especially Pelicans on the pile-ons
Snapshots of the Northern Range on the way to the airport early in the morning.

Thanks guys for all that you did for me. I love and miss my Trinidad family very much.

The Trinidad flag.
Heading home. (This flight will take me to Miami, where I get another flight to Chicago, and then onto Harrisburg - I got there at 10:45 pm after travelling all day)

HOME SWEET HOME.

Easter and my birthday

These are some pictures I wanted to post for a while now of my birthday when we had all the PA grandkids, and of Easter. From left to right is Tim (10), Mary Kate (1 ), Grandmum, Megan (5), Owen (7) and Andrew (9)
They were staying with us for a couple of days.


Me with my Birthday flowers and cards. I was so blessed! (Tim got me the ones on the right, and they sure smelled good)


Whenever I take out the camera everybody makes their "picture face"

Mary Kate thought I wanted a picture of her mouthful of banana =) So cute!

The gang with Grandmum. (Nice pic Al)

Owen - pretty scary eh?
Easter Sunday. A very serious game has just begun, but Megan still has a smile for me.

Chess is one of their favorite things to play, especially Andrew (besides lego).

Chocolate face - after the frantic Easter egg hunt! (Aren't they beautiful??)

It's always great fun at our house. I'm not sure who enjoys it more the adults who get to hide them, or the kids who get to hunt for them.

Below is a picture of the calm after the storm =)

Mary Kate, with Mom & Dad (Dana & Will) behind her, me and Al (my Honey), sitting chatting after dinner.

I know this is not in order, but I thought these worth posting. I especially like to keep you all up to date with pictures since Dana & Will do not have the time for a blog.

They just recently added a puppy to their family ("Jackson" - the children named him - cute!). He really is adorable, but lots of work to train, as all puppies are. He's a Golden Doodle, which is a cross between a Golden Retriever and a standard Poodle. They are supposed to be fantastic dogs. I'll find out soon when I have them all for Will and Danes to get away. I hope he's at least potty trained by then, (although this is a good time before they lay their permanent flooring - they are still in the midst of remodeling & putting on the addition). Also the kids are now off on summer vacation and are able to spend the time training him. (They promised to do "everything" for him, I'm sure =)

Owen wrote the cutest heart-warming story entitled "The Boy Who Wanted A Puppy".

Well, maybe with permission from the author I'll post it at a later date with pics of "Jackson"=)

Our painting trip to Bedford County

I have so much I want to post so I thought I'd better put aside some time today and just do it.
I had mentioned going away for a few days at the beginning of April with an artist friend of mine Sharon Jenne who has a lovely cabin in Bedford County. Well here are some pics of our trip. We painted for a few days together though the weather was not too cooperative. We nearly froze one morning while painting (we had layers upon layers of clothing as well as gloves on ). What a day, but we set up our easels and painted.
My reward? I got three (almost four) nice little paintings done. The sad thing is I sold one I really wanted to keep =) Ah well! This is the gorgeous view from Sharon & Bill's cabin of Shawnee State Park and lake.

(Can you tell how cold it was?)

I'd like you all to meet Sharon Jenne. She is a wonderful artist. I especially love her 'still life' paintings. She's a real blessing to me and we had a fantastic time together.

Thanks Sharon! I always enjoy being with you. You are a great encourager!

The cabin from the inside - out!