After working really hard in 2008, we needed a vacation so we booked a cruise on the Celebrity Summit with a day before and 4 days after in Puerto Rico. If you want to read more and see some pictures, click on "Read more" (warning--it's long).
We flew into San Juan on 1/9 and stayed overnight in a cheap hotel in the Isla Verde section of San Juan.
The next morning, we caught a local bus to within 1/4 mile of the pier. The trip was easier than expected, so we ended up being the first people on the ship at around 11:40 am.
The Celebrity Summit is a lovely ship with great service in all areas. Here are a few pictures of public areas of the ship:
Since our stop in St. Martin was on a Sunday, we walked around town then spent most of the day on the ship. 
This would be our first trip to Dominica so we wanted to see as much as possible. We booked a tour with Levi Baron to visit Morne Bruce, the Botanical Gardens, Titou Gorge (scene of some of the Pirates of the Caribbean II action), Trafalgar Falls, Woven Wotten, and Champagne Reef.
On our way back from Titou Gorge, we encountered this scene:
Fortunately the workmen had a great chainsaw and had the road cleared in about 10 minutes. Then on to Trafalgar Falls, a pair of waterfalls, one of which has hot springs below.
Since it's Tuesday, this must be Grenada, another lush, hilly island. After spending the day in a van full of fellow passengers in Dominica, we opted to only spend a small part of the day in a van with total strangers in Grenada--taking the local bus to the beach. Bus service in Grenada is primarily provided by Toyota HiAce vans with a 2 man crew, one to drive and the other to round up passengers.
After a scenic drive mostly along the coast, we debarked at Grand Anse beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean.
The wind was a bit strong so we decided to walk over the hill to Morne Rouge beach which was more sheltered. Unfortunately, the snorkeling was pretty poor, but the beach was lovely.
After lunch on the ship, we explored Ft. George, a fort built by the French in the early 1700's. It's located on a volcanic spine overlooking the harbor in St. Georges.
Our stop in Bonaire was a short one, 1 - 7 p.m. Not having made a definite plan for the day, we followed a group of passengers who seemed to know where they were going. It turns out they were headed for Karels pier where one can catch a water taxi to Klein Bonaire, a small island just off the coast of the main island. Since we had read that the shore snorkeling was poor following the fall visit of hurricane Omar, we decided to give Klein Bonaire, supposedly less affected, a try. 
Klein Bonaire is an uninhabited island that was purchased by the Bonaire National Marine Park. The only structures on the very flat island are some slave huts and a couple of small shelters built by tour operators. 
The snorkeling was a bit disappointing because the water was a bit rough that day (we even had a brief rain shower) and because the shallow reef was a bit too shallow. It was necessary to find a break then swim on the outside in order to view, and impossible to swim over it. Most of the few pictures I took did not turn out due to mess up in settings.
There is a bit of shopping in the capital, Kralendijk, and a few historical buildlings.
The final port of call, and definitely the most Americanized was Aruba. Having visited before, we opted to take the local bus to Arashi beach, passing by all the fancy hotels on the way. From Arashi we swam south to Catalina Cove for some snorkeling.
After lunch back on the ship, we explored the downtown area of the capital, Oranjestad, where the ship docked.
Sadly, the cruise was over:(
But wait, we still have 4 days of vacation left! touring the island of Puerto Rico. After picking up the rental car in San Juan, we headed west toward Aguadilla, stopping at the Arecibo Observatory on our way.
After checking into the hotel, we stopped at Crashboat Beach just as it started to rain. If it had been a sunny day, this is what we would have seen:
The hotel that had seemed like a good choice got a zero star rating from us when we were kept awake by a band playing in the hotel bar across the parking lot until after 2 am. (we got a refund). I was not amused to see this sign the next morning:
After our night of revelry, we tried in vain to find the local LDS church the next morning. Perhaps we failed because there were no street signs in evidence. After giving up, we continued south from Mayaguez to the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse:
Now heading east, we continued on to Ponce, the second oldest city in Puerto Rico. We stayed at the Hotel Belgica in the heart of the old city. 
Continuing to the East the next morning, we searched high and low for the Coamo hot springs, even asking several people for directions. When we finally found them, we discovered that they are closed for construction.
So, we continued eastward along the southern coast of Puerto Rico.
Then it was North again on a hair raising trip over the mountain on a road that was often missing the lane closest to the edge. By the time we reached the northeast corner of the island, we had had enough of poorly marked roads in lousy condition, noisy hotels, problems with the toll road, and closed attractions so we opted to try to check in early at the Fajardo Inn and skip the rainforest.
Now, that's more like it. We relaxed by one of the pools all afternoon and met a nice couple from PA who own a home in Rincon. The house was rented for a week so they were temporarily homeless and exploring the island. Since they also planned to take the ferry to Culebra the next day we agreed to show them the ropes.
Tuesday found us on the ferry from Fajardo to the island of Culebra, one of the "Spanish" Virgin islands. We had been there 2 years before and were happy for the opportunity to return. We returned to our favorite haunts:
After another night at the Fajardo Inn, we headed home again, fortunately missing the coldest weather of the winter back in Virginia. Thanks for reading.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Southern Caribbean Cruise and Puerto Rico
Be Careful What You Wish For
Just last week, I had a discussion with a friend concerning the merits of being snowed in for a bit. We both agreed that we had missed having that break the past few years. Well, last night's snow of about 6" didn't exactly accomplish that--putting life on hold and relaxing. Instead, it just meant that I had to fit in an hour+ of clearing the driveway and I couldn't do some of the things I planned to do. Bummer.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Christmas 2008
It's that time of year when we get to brag about everyone in our annual Christmas letter. if you want to read more, click on.
December 16, 2008
Dear Friends and Family,
I (Charles) have been tasked once again with writing the annual McClelland family Christmas letter/email. Sooo, here goes.
2008 was absolutely the best year yet for the McClellands, with the premiere events being:
June - Matt’s completion of his University of Minnesota Dermatology Residency. After 8 years of post graduate education, Matt is finally able to live a normal life like the rest of us. Shortly after finishing his Residency, he and his family (Emily, Annabelle, Ben, Jake, and Elisabeth) decamped to Bend, Oregon to start practicing with Bend Dermatology. They love living in that vibrant community in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains. For more about the family, contact Matt at Emilatt@yahoo.com for access to their blog: Emilatt.blogspot.com
July – Chris married Christie Pennington. Christie is a vivacious and loving addition to our family, and has continued our unbroken string of good fortune in the spouses our children have married. All of our children were in the Jordan River Temple sealing room to share the occasion with Chris and Christie – a marvelous experience! And of course we got in a lot of visiting with everyone before and after, especially our grandchildren (which currently number six, but at that time only five – see next item below). Final note: Chris also received his BS in Economics from BYU and is now working for the FBI in their Salt Lake City office, while Christie continues to pursue her undergraduate degree at BYU.
August – Sara and Chris (we call him “Big Chris” to distinguish him from our son) became parents for the first time. Megan Elizabeth came into the world on August 27th (weighing in at 9 lbs. 7 oz.) and what a cute little girl she is! Sara and Chris are just about the most loving and attentive parents I have ever seen. For more about Chris, Sara, and Megan, see Hiltners.blogspot.com
As for the rest of the McClellands:
Dan: His recent calling as the Assistant Ward Clerk for Finance will be a wonderful growing experience for him, and he continues to be employed by RGIS.
Eddie and Andrea (and Thomas): Eddie is now in his 3rd year working for Price Waterhouse Coopers. He and Andrea are great parents for Thomas and are expecting another son in May. They are enjoying living in their own home, a lovely house in a quiet residential neighborhood. For more about Eddie, Andrea, and Thomas, see McClellands.blogspot.com
Dave: We enjoyed a three day road trip to Southern Utah this summer with Dave (visited Bryce and Zion). Having received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from BYU this past summer, he is now pursuing a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from BYU.
Mary Anne: As can be imagined, the events of last summer kept the Matriarch hopping, so for the last 3 months she has been taking it easy (I will be slowly killed for that remark!). This past summer, her long time job working for Joe Schafer, Washington Post Distributor, ended when her boss retired.
Charles: My game plan was to begin to dial back my work activities this year, but a major contract with the Transportation Security Administration, plus on-going teaching a Georgetown University has resulted in the busiest work schedule of my life. Perhaps next year…
Well, that is how it goes for the McClellands. We hope you and your family were similarly blessed and that good fortune will be yours in the year to come.
Love, the McClellands
For additional pictures, see additional blog entries.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Retirement Party for Joe Schafer
As many of you know, I worked for Joe Schafer for over twenty years delivery a paper route at first, then delivering missed papers and occasionally doing the paperwork for the distribution of the Washington Post. In August, he retired from his job as a Washington Post Distributor after a very distinguished career, passing on his terrific work ethic to youth carriers in the early years and being a kind and patient boss to immigrants at the end of his career. On November 1st, some of his former carriers got together at my house to celebrate Joe's retirement. The picture of Joe (on the left) shown talking to Mitch Moore was, unfortunately, the only one I managed to take of him at the party. To see more photos, click on "read more."
Before the party, past carriers from near and far sent letters to be included in a memory book presented to Mr., I mean Joe Schafer as a gift along with some gift cards to Outback and Home Depot. There were some terrific messages and updates on youth carriers that made for a real treasure. Pictures were taken of all in attendance for inclusion in the book. Since I am a lousy photographer using a cheap camera, the photos are not the best and there are not very many of them--sorry everyone.
