Saltglass Steakhouse

Aloha Everyone,

On our way to Port O'Connor, we stopped for lunch at Saltgrass, the Original Texas Steakhouse.

Joe, who took our order was a cheerful young man from North Carolina. Studying Human Resources at a local college, he was curious about our lifestyle and stated that he would really like to travel.

Here is JJ's selection of babyback ribs.

I wanted to try the steak soup offered with my salad. It was thick with lots of vegetables, beans and rice with bits of steak. The combination was more like a stew. Actually J.J. enjoyed it immensely.

As I am cleaning up our cruise photos. I wanted to include the photos of one more interesting couple we met.  

Ron and Gayle are from Livington, Texas. Ron owns a custom swimming pool building company. Married for 45 years, he has been growing his beard for the same amount of time. One of the activities they do on their cruises is to have his beard braided. The lucky beauty shop he selected on this trip was located in Grand Cayman.

Aloha -- Cathi

Back in Galveston

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. and I are now safely back in Galveston Island, Texas. When asked what we liked the most about our 12 day long cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, our answer was the chance to meet and make new friends everyday. We were told that approximately 65% of the passengers were from Texas, and we met many congenial Texans on board. We also met people from Indiana, Illinois, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, New York, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Canada and Argentina, Germany and France just to name some. Yes, we also met cruisers from Hawaii and South Dakota.

Today we are back at the RV park where we left Honu for the duration of our cruise. For lunch J.J. and I went to a Chinese restaurant called Happy Buddha.

Ireland and her husband Jozef also just finished their lunch at Happy Buddha. Their vehicle was parked next to Honu and she approached J.J. A truly friendly couple from Killeen, Texas, we ended up chatting and invited them to see the interior.

Whether on a cruise or back on land, J.J. and I are grateful that our travels bring us opportunity to meet so many wonderful people.

Aloha -- Cathi

Day 12 of Cruise on Carnival Triumph - Food, Glorious Food

Aloha Everyone,

Today is our final cruising day. It seems everyone was motivated to make this the best cruise day. John and Karen are from Austin, Texas. John is a Psychiatric Nurse and Karen is a retired Registered Nurse.

Karl and his wife, Barbara are experienced cruisers from Chicago, Illinois. Karl is a retired truck driver and truck mechanic. When Karl mentioned that his son is a talented Mercedes Benz mechanic, J.J. told him that we will be in touch should Honu run into mechanical problems. Barbara works as a vacation consultant specializing in cruise and land vacations.

One of the things people love about cruising is food and endless variety. Here are some of the foods that were available at today's buffet line.

And by popular demand, I have included some dishes that we enjoyed from the dining room in one place. Ah, food, glorious food.

Aloha -- Cathi

Day 11 of Cruise on Carnival Triumph - Sea Day

Aloha Everyone,

A little diversion early morning. The ship made an unscheduled stop at the Grand Cayman to drop off a fellow passenger who required urgent medical attention. As the bulletin were passed delivered during the night and the event took place early in the morning, many passengers were unaware of the occurrence. We all wish the person a quick and full recovery and safe return to the United States.

Met two interesting couples over lunch. Joey and Carolyn are from Chauvin, Louisiana. Joey owns a commercial construction business. They also have a "fish camp" which as it was described is their private family RV park where they invite their families and friends to come and stay. They graciously extended us an invitation for us to come over and enjoy fishing and crayfish and crab boils.

Cindy, a cousin of Joey and her husband, Robert were the other couple we shared our lunch table. They are from Mississippi.

Here is some towel art that our room steward created for us during our voyage.

Aloha -- Cathi

Day 10 of Cruise on Carnival Triumph - Michael Crayton, Balloon Artist

Aloha Everyone,

Michael Crayton is a balloon artist. He retired from U.S. Post Office after working in the marketing department for 27 years. Encouraged by his wife Benda, he attended the balloon convention in Austin Texas in 2003. "That experience changed my life," according to Michael. He always played with balloons but his creations were limited to simple dogs.  He began working for Pediatric Dentists to do balloons. He also does birthdays and special events. This is his 25th cruise and on each cruise, he meets staffs and guest who have "captivating stories" to share. Michael enjoys sharing the joy of giving his balloon creations and declines to "sell" his art works to cruising passengers.

Here are some of Michael's fantastic creations.

If you want to see more of Michael's amazing work, visit his website:

http://www.magicalballoons.balloonhq.com/

Aloha -- Cathi