Puerto Rico

Saturday, November 30th
Tres' Birthday
Seabourn Sojourn
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Arriving:  8:00 AM
Departing:  5:00 PM
Partly Sunny with Showers - 84 Degrees

Puerto Rico, the least of the Greater Antilles, has been a commonwealth of the United States since it was ceded by Spain, along with Guam and the Philippines, by the Treaty of Paris at the end of the Spanish-American war in 1898.  The end of more than 400 years of Spanish colonial rule began with American colonial rule, but gradually led to increasing self-governance under US control.  Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States and elect a governor and bicameral legislature.  They are subject to all acts of Congress "not locally inapplicable," and are represented by a non-voting member of congress.  Puerto Rican sovereignty continues to be the focus of public debate to determine whether the island nation should pursue independence or statehood.  In a non-binding 2012 referendum, 54% rejected the status quo, with 61% supporting statehood in a separate question.

The future of Puerto Rico is still to be determined, but the past is rich with history.  San Juan is an American city, but it is considered the most Spanish city in the Caribbean.  Old San Juan was founded in 1521, and is graced with elegant 16th and 17th century Spanish colonial architecture.  Now a US National Historic Zone, more than 400 buildings have been restored.  The streets are narrow, steeply rising up from the water, and paved with adoquines, beautiful blue glazed bricks imported from Spain as ballast.  The full spectrum of blue is represented on each brick fading in and out from deep and intense to light and translucent.  They are as treacherous as they are beautiful, jagged and jarring, and slippery when wet.  And they are wet today.  We walked off the ship to a torrential downpour.  With only a day in San Juan, we didn't have the luxury of waiting it out.  As we walked through the city, the rain would come and go, and the sun would come and go, leaving us both soaked, and sunburned.

We paid our respects to the remains of the Spanish explorer and conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon, the first Spanish governor of Puerto Rico, at Catedral de San Juan Bautista.  Rebuilt and destroyed many times since its beginnings in 1520, the current sanctuary dates from the 19th century.  While the glory of God glows ever brighter, the glory of the Catedral is fading.

Old San Juan has some lovely parks and squares, both old and new.  Plaza V Centenario is one of the latter.

We stopped at Don Ruiz Coffee in Las Americas Museum for a refresher and a respite from the rain, while Spanish guitars played in the courtyard.  It is housed in the former Cuartel de Ballaja, the infantry quarters, and fronted by another of San Juan's new parks, the Plaza de Ballaja.

The remains of two great fortresses stand sentry over Old San Juan.  Castillo San Cristobal, a National Historic Site built in stages from 1634 to 1785, was the "Gibraltar of the West Indies."  Castillo San Felipe del Morro, or just "El Morro," is "the promontory."  Perched on a rocky promontory at the northwest tip of Old San Juan, this sprawling six-level fort is spectacular, rising 140 feet above the sea.  Built over nearly 250 years from 1540 to 1783, it is a warren of turrets, towers, and tunnels with commanding views out over the harbor and back toward Old San Juan.

El Morro is the ultimate fortress experience, a well-preserved historic fort, set in an incomparable location.  It could have been medieval England, it was Spanish colonial, and it is all American.

The birthday celebration kicked into high gear back aboard ship.  The cabin was decked out with a banner, a balloon, and a cupcake, soon to be followed by birthday wishes and a bottle of wine from the captain.  Four years ago on this day, we were floating in the Red Sea aboard Oceania Nautica, luxuriating in the Thalassotherapy pool high above the bow, watching dolphins play in the sun.  Today, we were floating in the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Seabourn Sojourn, luxuriating in the hot tub on the bow, watching San Juan recede in the pouring rain as thunder and lightning closed in.  Everything else different, the joy the same.

Restaurant 2 is Sojourn's special occasion restaurant, and this is a special occasion.  It's a modern room in black lacquer and red velvet, the menu set in nine courses, with matching wines from the premium collection.  Johannes from South Africa presented the food, Sebastian from Argentina poured the wine.  It was an evening of hits and misses, but every swing was for the fences.  Our favorite was the corndog / kafta / parcel trio, each hot and crispy, unique and flavorful, paired with its own luscious schmear.  The salsify and apple cappuccino was a surprise success, the odd couple in perfect harmony, silken smooth.  The duck was outstanding as well, pink and pleasant, tender to the touch.  The California chardonnay was the best of the wines, acid, oak, and citrus in perfect balance, and our hearts always melt for ice wine.

Restaurant 2 Menu:

• Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut, Epernay, France
• Chef's Cocktail:  Grilled Octopus Ceviche, Fennel Salad, Lemon Grape Juice
• Pommard, Louis Latour, Burgundy, France
• Lobster Corndog, Truffle Sauce
• Crisp Lamb Kofta, Sun Dried Tomato Coulis
• Chicken Brick Parcel, Mustard Dip
• Butternut Squash Presse, Foie Gras Sandwich
• Salsify & Apple Cappuccino, Mushroom Crostini
• Hanzell Chardonnay, Sonoma County, California
• Roasted Sockeye Salmon in Sake Ginger Brine, Melted Cous Cous
• Orange Soy Burberry Duck, Artichoke Tart Tatin, Quince Puree, Prosciuto Sauce
• Inniskillin Vidal, Ice Wine, Canada
• Florentine & Pumpkin Nougtatine, Banana Toffee, Sauterne, Bourbon Ice Cream
• Birthday Cake

Next Stop:  St. Kitts

Turkeys & Apples

Thursday, November 28th
Thanksgiving
Seabourn Sojourn
At Sea
Cloudy - 77 Degrees
Winds at 30 - 40 Knots

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It was a quiet day aboard the Sojourn.  Moderate winds and moderate seas made for a bit of a bumpy ride, and the persistent cloud cover put a damper on the fun in the sun, but we are happy to be at sea.

This doesn't feel like Thanksgiving at all.  It's gray enough to look like home, but too warm and humid to feel like home.  We haven't had a single argument about what part of a turkey to cook, by what method and for how long, or whether to cook one at all.  Our germophobe is obsessed with norovirus from the buffet and hand sanitizer instead of salmonella from the turkey and Clorox cleaner.  There isn't the faintest whiff of sage in the air.  There's no football on TV.  There is certainly much to be thankful for, both here and now, and back at home, but that is about the only reminder of Thanksgiving to be found.

Destinations Manager Chad gave the "Port and Tour Talk" today, with a primer on each of our ports of call, and a review of the tours on offer.

Ports of Call:

Saturday, November 30th
San Juan, Puerto Rico
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Sunday, December 1st
Basseterre, St. Kitts
10:00 AM - 11:00 PM

Monday, December 2nd
St. Johns, Antigua
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Tuesday, December 3rd
Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI
7:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Wednesday, December 4th
Isla Catalina, Dominican Republic
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Destination Expert, and guest lecturer, Niki Sepsas gave his first talk today, "The Fairest Sea I Ever Beheld: The Caribbean Sea of Christopher Columbus."

"A pen and a passport have been the tools of the trade for Niki Sepsas for most of his life. He learned at an early age that he had a problem keeping the seat of his pants attached to the seat of a chair. Any chair. After college at West Point and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Niki served in the army before embarking on a thirty-year travel career that has taken him to more than 160 countries and each of the world’s seven continents."

"Niki began fueling his passion for adventure by signing on to work for oil drilling companies operating offshore rigs in the Arctic Ocean of Alaska, Southeast Asia, the North Sea, and the Middle East. Realizing that he was enjoying climbing the hills as much as he relished discovering what lay on the other side, Niki began working as a freelance tour guide and tour manager for travel groups visiting Europe, Africa, Central/ South America, Antarctica, Asia, and throughout North America. His myriad adventure programs now include Mount Kilimanjaro climbs, hot air balloon trips across the Serengeti, kayaking in Iceland, paddling canoes through the Amazonian rainforest, hiking the Peruvian Andes to the lost city of Machu Picchu, and other excursions to the world’s wild and scenic places."

"As a freelance writer, Niki has documented this world of wonders that beckons to each of us. More than 900 of his travel adventures have been published in over fifty national, regional, and local magazines and newspapers. He is a contributing author to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books and has written more than a dozen coffee table books, several personal memoirs, and a novel."

Cruise ship lectures are almost always informative, sometimes well-researched and well-presented, occasionally entertaining, and rarely riveting.  Niki Sepsas brings it all.  If there was a cruise ship lecturer action figure, it would be Niki.  He is like Jack Ryan, MacGyver, and Rick Steves, all in one.  The theater is always the coldest place on a cruise ship.  Niki Sepsas makes it cool.

Finally, this evening, it was time to celebrate Thanksgiving.  We had Thanksgiving dinner in The Restaurant, our first time back in the main dining room since the lifeboat drill last night.  Thanksgiving dinner out, rarely turns out well.  Even at the very best restaurants, the food is prepared in advance with neither the comfort of home, nor the thrill of the road.  This was not the best Thanksgiving ever, but it was far from the worst, and may be the best holiday meal we have ever had at sea.  The turkey was moist and, if anything, just a degree underdone.  The roulade of dark meat was nice in theory, but rubbery and flavorless on the plate, easily passed over in favor of the thick slice of juicy breast, well-seasoned, with an impossibly crisp layer of shimmering golden skin at the top.  I can't remember a better executed bite of bird.  The roulade was the foundation for a matching round of dressing, pleasing in texture, but too subtle in flavor.  The peas and carrots were nicely done, fresh and bright, with the perfect balance of crunch and yield.  The sweet potatoes were not unpleasant, but a side of mashed potatoes soaked up the gravy and rounded out the plate.  The "Traditional Pumpkin Pie," was more a variation on the theme than an authentic reproduction, but satisfied our need for pumpkin spice at the end of the meal.  This Thanksgiving dinner at sea was actually something to be thankful for.

We hope your tables were full, your bellies bursting, and your hearts overflowing with thanks.


Friday, November 29th
Seabourn Sojourn
At Sea
Mostly Sunny - 77 Degrees

This was a much nicer day at sea, some sun to go with the wind and waves.  We took our books, and took a little nap, up on deck this afternoon with the rock of the boat and the sound of the surf.

As much as yesterday didn't feel like Thanksgiving, today does not feel like the Apple Cup.  We can't watch it on TV, but we have ESPN Gamecast on the laptop, and we are ready to rumble.

GO COUGS!!!

GO DAWGS!!!

Next Stop:  Puerto Rico

Seabourn Sojourn

Wednesday, November 27th
Seabourn Sojourn
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Embarkation:  6:00 PM
Departing:  8:00 PM
Mostly Sunny - 78 Degrees

Seabourn Sojourn was delayed arriving at Port Everglades due to a medical emergency on the previous cruise.  As a result, embarkation was delayed until 6:00 PM, and departure was pushed back until 8:00 PM, four hours later than scheduled.  The delay was an inconvenience, and communication was handled poorly by the home office, but not a big deal.  We will still be able to reach our first port of call on time, and there will be no further disruptions to our itinerary.

We arrived at Port Everglades at 6:20 and breezed through registration.  As we boarded the ship, we were whisked into the main dining room, where the lifeboat drill was about to get underway.  By 7:00, we were in our cabin, and by 8:00 Sojourn cast off her lines, pushed back from the pier, and set sail on her Caribbean Sojourn.

The first impression of Seabourn and the Sojourn was a little awkward, but that faded rapidly as we fell in love with the ship and her crew.

"The second of Seabourn’s new class of ships, Seabourn Sojourn, built at the T. Mariotti yard in Genoa, debuted on June 6, 2010.  Like her sisters, the older Odyssey and the younger Quest, Seabourn Sojourn enchants her guests with an array of public areas scaled to encourage a relaxed sociability.  The Spa at Seabourn is the largest on any ultra-luxury ship, 11,400 square feet encompassing indoor and outdoor space.  A variety of open terraces are scattered over seven decks, offering places to gather with a few friends or spend an isolated hour with a book.  High atop Deck 11 is a Sun Terrace with 36 tiered double sun beds.  Seabourn Sojourn offers six whirlpools and two swimming pools, including a whirlpool spa on the open bow deck all the way forward on Deck 6.  The Pool Patio, with a pair of large whirlpool spas and a “beach” style pool, is the setting for a casual Patio Grill and the Patio Bar.  On the sun deck above sits Seabourn’s popular open-air Sky Bar.  The panoramic Observation Bar on Deck 10 offers 270 degree forward views over the sea.  The Club is a lively spot for dancing before and after dinner, while the larger Grand Salon is used for dancing as well as lectures, production vocal shows, cabaret performances and classical recitals."

• Ship's Registry:  Bahamas
• Guest capacity:  450
• Crew members:  330
• Tonnage:  32,000grt
• Length:  650 feet
• Breadth:  84 feet
• Guest Decks:  8
• Cruising speed:  19 knots
• Maiden Voyage:  June 2010

This is our first cruise on Seabourn, the premier luxury line of the World's Leading Cruise Lines.  This is the most intimate ship we have ever sailed on, catering to just 450 passengers.  Sojourn is the most advanced ship we have ever sailed on, her maiden voyage just three years ago.  Seabourn is the most all-inclusive cruise experience we have ever had, with no charge for food and beverages.  Seabourn is the highest rated line we have ever sailed with, earning the top score by virtually every publication in the industry.  It is the highest ranked line we have ever cruised, named the number one small ship line by the largest publications in the industry.

• World's Best Small-Ship Cruise Line
  Travel + Leisure
  2009 - 2013
• Best Small-Ship Cruise Line
  Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards
  2010 - 2013
• International Six Star Diamond Award
  American Academy of Hospitality Sciences
• Best Culinary Cruise Line
  SAVEUR Culinary Travel Awards
  2013

While the itinerary is standard Caribbean fun and sun, this is the most highly anticipated cruise we have ever taken for the shipboard experience we expect to have in terms of quality, comfort, and service.  High expectations as we found our cabin forward on deck 5, starboard side.

Seabourn offers an all-suite experience, so the standard cabin is a spacious 385 square feet with separate sleeping and sitting areas.  There are no inside cabins, all but the lowest category have verandas.  There are also several categories of Penthouse and Owner's Suites.  We are in a standard Veranda Suite, V1507.

The colors are muted and calming, earth tones and natural surfaces.  The cabin is the model of efficiency, back-lit blonde wood cabinets with soft-close drawers.  There is enough storage space for a full season at sea, the walk-in closet is tight, but affords enough space for a private quick-change.  The five-piece bath is wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling natural stone.  The basins and faucets pair to good use, maybe a first for a bathroom at sea.  The shower is a right triangle, the hypotenuse just long enough for elbows in full swing.  The fixed shower head has adequate pressure and volume, plus an additional wand to put the water where you want it.  The entertainment system is also the best ever, with on-demand movies, music, ship cams and route information, account access and transactions, however the television programming is severely limited.  The bar is fully stocked with water, sodas, and mixers.  Passengers are invited to select two standard-size bottles of wine or spirits for the cabin.  The veranda is small with two metal and mesh chairs with matching footstools and a small table.  The railing is two-thirds solid metal, one-third glass, and provides an adequate view.  The veranda is well protected, shielded from the worst of the weather, but also the best of the sun and ocean breezes.  This is just half the space we had last year in the South Pacific, but easily the most comfortable standard cabin we have ever cruised in.  Our cabin stewardess Elen is from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and she is a star.  She does the work of two, with good cheer, admirable grace, and maximum efficiency.

As we noted in 2009 aboard the Oceania Nautica, the classic cruise ship is garish and gaudy, with loud colors and vibrant patterns, totally lacking in subtlety and class.  Nautica was a step in the right direction.  Sojourn completes the journey, with modern elegance and rational design.  Everything is ship shape, clean, and well maintained.  That is not a given, even with a relatively new ship.  It is a work in constant progress.  This ship is as well designed as any at sea.  She is near capacity with 441 guests, but never crowded.  The deck plan flows from space to space in an intuitive way, while still providing places to be surprised and get lost for a while.  The hallways aren't all straight, but they take you where you want to go.  The decks aren't all symmetrical from port to starboard or forward to aft.  On most ships, most decks are dedicated to cabins or public areas, but not both.  On Sojourn, the forward end of most decks is residential, the aft end has public space.  The circular staircase amidships spirals from deck 4 up to deck 9, where it is crowned with a massive skylight that connects the atrium of the ship with the pool deck.

The ship's crew are an international lot, largely from Eastern Europe, South Africa, and South America, and they are fabulous.  Cruise ship work is indentured servitude.  Cruise lines pick and choose which laws from which countries they are going to abide by, and labor laws are not among them.  As we saw in Charleston, however, there are better masters and worse masters.  Seabourn is at the right end of the scale, and it shows on the face of every crew member.  These are some of the most engaged, friendly, charming, and hardworking crew we have encountered.  On Seabourn, "Tipping is neither required nor expected," so the service feels more genuine.  We delight in our interactions with the crew and look forward to seeing them every day.  We hope to be a positive influence in their day, just as they are in ours.  We already have a list of favorites.

There are four dining venues on board Sojourn:

• The Restaurant
  The main dining room, with sit-down service for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• The Colonnade
  The casual venue, with buffet service for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as ala carte items that are made to order and available every day.
• The Patio Grill
  A limited buffet poolside, with pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs on deck for lunch and through most of the afternoon.  At dinner, there is sit-down service of grill specialties.
• Restaurant 2
  The specialty dining room, the only one that requires a reservation.  It is small and very modern, serving a nine-course tasting menu that changes daily.

There are four bars and lounges providing full beverage service all day and evening.  The joy of the complimentary beverage program, though, is that there are self-service beverage carts throughout the ship with water and soda, so you never have to wait for service.  There is service everywhere too, with several wines and virtually any drink available at no cost at any time.  They do have a premium wine list, and fine aged scotch and cognac, for a charge, but you can drink long into the night, and very well, without paying a premium.  The espresso stand is open early, most of the day, and late evening with complimentary coffee drinks, also one of three places on board with ice cream service, all made on board.

And there are a thousand little touches that nobody else has thought of that make cruising with Seabourn a pleasure:  a complimentary customized guidebook featuring all of our ports of call, a ship-issued photo ID so there is no need to carry a driver's license or passport into port, a guest directory to allow easy contact with fellow passengers.

This is not a revolution in cruising, but it is certainly an evolution, and a step above where we've been before.

Tonight we had a very nice dinner in the Colonnade, a walk around the ship and a nightcap in the Observation Bar.

Tomorrow:  Thanksgiving At Sea

Hollywood

Monday, November 25th
Cape Canaveral, FL
Mostly Cloudy - 71 Degrees

The Kennedy space Center was our last "To Do" to do, so we continued another 229.5 miles down the coast on I95 to South Florida and a rest on the beach before the cruise.  The cruise embarks from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.  Hollywood is a beach resort community just south of Port Everglades, on a sliver of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.


Hollywood, FL
Cloudy & Windy - 76 Degrees

The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa is one of our favorite hotels.  It's a high rise in the shape of an "H" for Hollywood, with great views out over the Atlantic.  It has a fabulous two-level pool and it's right on the beach.  It's a business hotel with an attached convention center in a great location with access to Hollywood / Fort Lauderdale International Airport and Port Everglades, and an easy drive to Miami and the Beaches.  But, we haven't stayed there since 2006, and it hasn't aged well.  It's looking a little ragged around the edges and doesn't hold up to a capacity crowd, which it has this Thanksgiving holiday week, including way more kids than we are comfortable with.  We love the kids we love, and the others, not so much.  With that and the marginal weather, this is not going to be the relaxed and comfortable pre-cruise experience we were hoping for, but it will do just fine.

We checked in late and tired, and in the mood for a little luxury.  The best rated restaurant in Hollywood, according to Zagat, is the steakhouse at the Westin, Hollywood Prime.  They were essentially full for the night, so we went down and camped in the bar to wait for a table.  Standard steakhouse fare:  salads, prime steaks and sides, homemade cookie and ice cream for dessert.  Not cheap, but good, and a good night.


Tuesday, November 26th
Hollywood, FL
Scattered Thunderstorms - 81 Degrees

Since we didn't get our laundry done in Cocoa Beach, and it's not much of a beach day today anyway, we set out to find a laundromat.  We got the job done at Spin Cycle, three loads in about an hour and a half, and about eight bucks.  It was an authentic slice of life at a place where English isn't even the second language, but service is of the first order.

Wanting to stay with the theme, we followed Zagat to the best Cuban place in Hollywood, Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine.

"Mariel Boat Lift 1980, 126 thousand Cuban's abandon the communist island in a massive exodus. The Vilariño family were among the fortunate to make it through the turbulent stretch and reach the land of the free. After years of hardship the family was determined to make the American dream come true.  In 1984 Antonio, his wife Nilda and five daughters bought their first restaurant, Las Vegas in Hollywood. While Antonio learned to cook, Nilda and the girls catered to loyal patrons providing personable service, which has proven to be a drawing factor in their enduring success. Shortly thereafter, Las Vegas became known as the Cuban hot spot in Hollywood, guaranteeing customers authentic Cuban dishes and the friendliest service in town. Today with many more restaurants, the family continues to offer the same quality service, food and atmosphere that attracted locals for the past twenty years."

The matriarch greeted us at the door and showed us to a table.  The place was packed with workers at lunch, in suits and hardhats, and everything in between.  Good people, good food, huge portions, and great fun.

Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine Menu:

• Mariquitas ~ Plantain Chips
  Green plantains thinly sliced and fried, topped with a mojito garlic sauce.
• Empanadas
  Cuban turnovers filled with either chicken or ground beef.
• Ensalada de la Casa con Aguacate
  House salad with avocado
• Sandwich Cubano
  Cuban Sandwich: Serrano ham, swiss cheese, pickles, roast pork, mayonnaise on a Cuban bread crispy toasted.
• El Trio
  A Combination of our most popular entree, Chicken Fillet, Pork Chop, Palomilla Steak, served with White Rice, Black Beans and Sweet Plantains.

We took a swim in the afternoon, but couldn't work off our Cuban lunch, so we had a light progressive dinner at the hotel, happy hour in the lounge, and another cookie from Hollywood Prime.

It was a stormy night, as forecast, and we had a front row seat.  Lightening lit up the sky, defused by low cloud cover and too far away to hear the thunder.  Until it was right on top of us.  A series of three bolts of lightening exploded right in front of our 9th floor balcony, and the claps of thunder that followed had such concussive force, we thought the sliding glass door might shatter.  It was an amazing show.


Wednesday, November 27th
Hollywood, FL
Mostly Sunny - 78 Degrees

There are very few things left in this world that are unique to time and place.  We ate lunch at one of them.  Can you still call it a hole in the wall, off the beaten path, one of a kind find, if it's recommended by Zagat, Oprah, and GQ Magazine?  Maybe not, but this place has tons of personality, great burgers, and you will never find anything quite like The Le Tub Saloon anywhere else.

"Established November 2nd 1959 as a Sunoco gas station.... Closed by the energy crunch of the early seventies, your Host purchased the barren property in 1974 and dedicated a concentrated year personally hand building LeTub totally of Flotsam, Jetsam and ocean borne treasures all gathered daily over 4 years of day break jogging on Hollywood Beach. All landscaping, planting and decor by your host. We are a Multi-level , Outdoor seating Saloon, located on The Intracoastal Waterway. "

This mostly outdoor ramshackle shack has a very short menu, highlighted by a straight-up hamburger.  No fancy accoutrements, no farm-to-table brand name organically sourced ingredients, just real food.  A hamburger that's about the hamburger, and nothing else.  The "kitchen" is just a grill and a cloud of smoke.   So crowded with burgers, more balls of beef than patties, the grill looks like a checker board at the start of play.  GQ called it the best hamburger in the United States.  We're not going to disagree.  The crust is hard and dark and salty, the inside is soft and pink and beefy.  If it's been a while since you've had a real hamburger, maybe you've forgotten what a hamburger should taste like.  This is it.

Le Tub Menu:

• Bloody Mary
• Sirloinburger
  13 oz. ground top sirloin, seasoned, charbroiled, served on a bun with lettuce, tomato, onion.
  w/ Cheese
• Fries
  Fried in Peanut Oil
• Key Lime Pie
  Made with fresh limes

Fat, dumb, and happy, full, and full of smiles from Le Tub, the Southern Charm Road Trip is at an end, after 1,183 miles.  We dropped the car off at the airport and took a cab to Port Everglades to board the Seabourn Sojourn and set sail for the Caribbean.

Kennedy Space Center

Sunday, November 24th
Savannah, GA
Mostly Sunny - 61 Degrees

We drove 314.5 miles straight down I95 from Savannah to Cocoa Beach, Florida.  About half-way down, we asked Siri for the closest Costco for cheap gas.  We followed her to an abandoned industrial area in Jacksonville.  No Costco.  Not even close.  We weren't desperate for gas, but needed a potty stop, so we found the nearest gas station, and a gathering spot for the homeless, degenerate, and mentally ill.  We escaped with our lives, half a tank of gas, and who knows what from the toilet seat, but it was a close call.  Cocoa Beach is nothing special, just a low rent surfer town on the Florida coast, but Cocoa Beach has a pretty cool address:  Cape Canaveral.  We are going to the Kennedy Space Center tomorrow.

Cocoa Beach, FL
Partly Cloudy - 75 Degrees

Cocoa Beach doesn't have five-star accommodations.  But, the Four Points by Sheraton Cocoa Beach is part of "The World's Largest Surfing Complex," just off the widest beach in Florida, with a full service Starbucks and the Shark Pit Bar & Grill onsite, and a self-service laundry room to refresh our wardrobe for the rest of the trip.  All that...and we could pay with Starwood Points...and a bag a chips.

This is the kind of place that makes you feel a little bit dirty as soon as you walk in the door, and that was before we saw the room.  We checked-in to Room 206, parked the car on level 3, lugged the bags from the garage into the hotel, and into the elevator.  Second floor, no problem, 206, no problem, key in the door, no problem, opened the door, problem.  The room hadn't been cleaned, or more precisely, had been cleaned, and then used as a **** pad, and then hadn't been cleaned again.  New room, 306, no problem.  But the place was still icky, the laundry facilities limited and out of order.  So we had the best dinner you could expect for a place called the Shark Pit Bar & Grill, and went to bed.


Monday, November 25th
Cocoa Beach, FL
Mostly Cloudy - 71 Degrees

Not quite refreshed after a night at the Four Points Surfer Hell, at least we had breakfast at Starbucks to look forward to.  The front desk gave us breakfast vouchers as an apology for the dirty room, a nice gesture to be sure.  Turns out the "Breakfast Vouchers" were good for exactly one roll and one drip coffee each, no substitutions, no credits, no exceptions.  Now, we're from Seattle.  Who the hell orders drip coffee at Starbucks???  That's only two words and, as we all know, the minimum Starbucks order word count is, like six, at least, or something.  So, we ordered what we wanted, plus the stupid free drip coffees, and delivered them to the drips at the front desk.  And we got our points back.

Fifty miles east of Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center isn't just a theme park, it's the real deal.  History was made here, triumphs and tragedies realized, heroes made and lost.  This has been, and may be again, the very forefront of human endeavor, the highest technology, the basecamp of exploration, the font of discovery.  This is an inspiring place, in large part created by, and dedicated to, an inspiring leader at the dawn of an inspiring age.

"Welcome to the greatest space adventure on Earth! Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the only place in the world where you can walk under the largest rocket ever made, touch an actual moon rock, meet a veteran NASA astronaut, experience the International Space Station and stand face-to-face with Atlantis – all in the same day."

Admission to Kennedy Space Center is pricey, but it includes more to do and see than a single day can accommodate.  We only saw a fraction of it, and started with the basic bus tour included with admission.

"Short of becoming an astronaut, there’s no better way to get a glimpse of Kennedy Space Center than on the Kennedy Space Center Tour."

From the visitor complex in one small corner of the Kennedy Space Center along the Indian River, the bus tour took us past some of the most iconic structures of the space age.  The Vehicle Assembly Building was the heart of the Space Shuttle program.  It predates the Space Shuttle, used to ready rockets for launch since 1968, but it is known as the home of the Shuttle.  It is the largest single-story building in the world, but at 526 feet high, you could fit a forty-story building inside of it.  And It is one of the largest buildings in the world by volume at 129,428,000 cubic feet (still less than one-third the size of the Boeing Everett plant by volume, but impressive nonetheless).  The doors are the largest in the world at 456 feet high, so large, they take 45 minutes to open all the way.  When preparations began for a Space Shuttle Launch, the Shuttle would be rolled into the VAB vertically on the Crawler Transporter.  With preparations complete, it would roll back out on the Transporter Crawler and crawl to the launch pad at one mile an hour along tracks as wide as an 8-lane highway, paved with crushed river rock specially selected to minimize friction and static electricity.  Following mostly the same route the Shuttle took, we were transported to the launch pad as well, both LC-39A and LC-39B, where all Shuttle launches took place.  LC-39B is currently being reconstructed for the next wave of launches, rockets made by third-party contractors like Boeing.  The final stop on the tour is Apollo / Saturn V Center.

"This is where it all began. On July 20, 1969, millions of people all over the world held their breath while a single man put his foot onto the moon’s surface. Recapture the wonder and excitement of that day with a visit to the Apollo / Saturn V Center – the one place in the world where you can reach out and touch a moon rock!  You’ll feel the space race come alive as you stand under the largest rocket ever made – the mighty Saturn V. This monumental 363-foot rocket was America’s lunar transportation for 27 brave astronauts who traveled to the moon and back, fulfilling the dreams and imagination of people around the world. The same sense of awe still overwhelms visitors today."

The Apollo / Saturn V Center is an awesome experience.  It begins as huge payload doors open into a theater with a big-screen movie of the history of the Apollo program, culminating in the loss of the Apollo I.  On a low note that almost makes you forget how the story ends, another set of doors open revealing the actual mission control room for the Apollo launches.  It has been reconfigured, but the equipment is original.  From this vantage point, another movie, with newsreel clips and live footage of launch control, tells the story of the successful launch of Apollo 8 and orbit of the moon.  More doors open leading to the exhibit with an actual Apollo / Saturn V rocket, so big, pictures can't capture the enormity of the achievement, just the business end of each stage.  This is still the largest rocket ever made and launched into space.

The latest and greatest co-star attractions at the visitor complex are the Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit and the Shuttle Experience, just opened in June this year.  A full-scale mock-up of the external fuel tank and rocket boosters greets visitors at the entrance to the exhibit.

"At Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Space Shuttle Atlantis is the new $100 million home of the priceless, historic spacecraft that tells the incredible story of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle Program. The 90,000 square-foot Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction is the marquee element of the Visitor Complex’s 10-year master plan. Space Shuttle Atlantis features state-of-the-art multimedia presentations and more than 60 interactive exhibits and high-tech simulators that bring to life the complex systems and components behind this incredible feat of engineering. One of the most complicated and sophisticated pieces of equipment ever built, the shuttle is a vehicle that launched like a rocket, flew in orbit like a spacecraft and landed on a runway like a glider."

This is hands-down the coolest, most extensive, most fun exhibit of any kind we have ever seen.  It is multisensory and totally overwhelming.  Shuttle Atlantis is AWESOME!!!

Space Shuttle Atlantis is majestic suspended in midair, payload bay open, robotic arm extended, but it is an artifact.  Like a piece of taxidermy, it tells the story of what was, the structure and mechanics, but there is no anima.  That requires the Shuttle Launch Experience.

"Shuttle Launch Experience combines the detailed accounts of astronaut experiences with the expertise of premier design engineers to produce a true-to-life experience unique to visitor attractions around the world.  The technical highlights include an amazingly realistic simulation of the space shuttle’s eight and a half-minute ascent into orbit, custom-designed crew cabins with unprecedented vertical range, high-definition audiovisual effects, and advanced seating effects to maximize the sense of realism.  The journey begins as crew members enter the Shuttle Launch Experience, an ominous structure architecturally consistent with space shuttle facilities at Kennedy Space Center.  As crew members ascend along the gantry, astronaut testimonials set the stage for what is to come. Entering the heart of space shuttle operations for the pre-launch briefing, crew members are guided by veteran space shuttle Commander Charlie Bolden as he takes them step-by-step through the launch sequence.  Passengers then enter the crew cabin in the space shuttle’s payload bay and strap in for launch.  For the next five minutes, the cabin’s 44 passengers see, feel and live the powerful journey to 17,500 mph. The payload bay doors open, to reveal a breathtaking view of Earth seldom seen in the first person."

WOW!!!

The theme of risk, of dreaming big and aiming high, of extending our reach and exceeding our grasp, of bravery and daring greatly, of heroic failure and tragic loss, is a part of everything at Kennedy Space Center.  It must be an incredible honor, and an indescribable thrill, to be among the very few to have wondered what was up there, and actually gone to find out.  More than science and technology, the exploration of space is a story about people, about their honor, and their sacrifice.  The Astronaut Memorial is dedicated to the heroes we sent off with high hopes, and welcomed home with heavy hearts.

Next stop:  Hollywood

Savannah Squared

Saturday, November 23rd
Savannah, GA
Partly Cloudy with Showers - 77 Degrees

When larger, richer, smarter cities around the world want to find out how to make their cities walk better and work better, they come to Savannah.  Savannah set the standard for modern urban planning in the first half of the 18th century, and it is still a model today.

Like a child conceived for spare parts to save an ailing sibling, Savannah was created to protect Charleston.  The area south of Charleston was a breeding ground for attacks on the city mounted by natives and Spaniards.  King George II chartered a venture to build a new settlement as a buffer to Charleston in 1732, led by General James Edward Oglethorpe, whose vision was much grander than the king's.  Oglethorpe was a dreamer, an idealist, and a progressive.  Many of Oglethorpe's reforms intended to create a "classless society" didn't last after the charter was revoked and Oglethorpe was recalled to England in 1752, emancipation and prohibition among them.  In fact, prohibition would eventually give way to open consumption.  When slavery finally came to Savannah, slaves here had more freedom than any other jurisdiction in the South.

Oglethorpe's lasting legacy to Savannah is in the plan he laid out for city.  The streets form a near prefect grid pattern, the straight lines interrupted at regular intervals by squares.  Each square represents the center of a ward, the neighborhood streets that surround the square.  There are 24 squares in the historic district, named a National Landmark Historic District in 1965.  The squares are about neighborhood first, providing open space and community identity.  But they also work to knit the entire city together, providing rhythm and order, and a cohesive identity for all of Savannah.  Designed for a city without cars, the Oglethorpe plan works to seamlessly integrate pedestrian and vehicle traffic.  Both people and cars are forced to slow their pace, look for each other and at the world around them, as they proceed through or around a square, and on with their journey.

While each of Savannah's squares has its own charm, there are five "Monumental Squares."  These squares form the spine of the city north to south on Bull Street between City Hall overlooking the river on Bay Street, and Forsyth Park on Gaston Street.  Our tour of Savannah's Monumental Squares, our square route, if you will, begins at the River and goes south.

Johnson Square

Wright Square

Chippewa Square

Madison Square

Monterey Square

The pictures don't do Oglethorpe justice.  Each of these squares is a lovely place to wander through and sit for a spell.

The Mercer-Williams House, site of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, is just off Monterey Square.  The true story has become iconic of Savannah, and Savannans don't like it.  They prefer to be known for their gentility, fragile and fleeting though it may be, rather than this sordid affair.  It's a good movie, and a better book.  The house was one of Savanna's finest and most noteworthy, even before the murder, known then as just the Mercer House, the former residence of favorite son Johnny Mercer.

First African Baptist Church is one of the most historic sites in Savannah, because it is, in fact, THE FIRST AFRICAN BAPTIST CHURCH.  The building has its own story that goes back to 1859, but the congregation has been celebrating fellowship in the word of God since 1773, earning accreditation in 1777.  Founding Pastor George Liele was a freeman, and maybe the first black missionary in the colonies.  This church was built with slave labor on volunteer time.  After long days working in the fields and homes of their masters, they walked many miles to work most of the night on building their church, returning by sunup to resume their duties.  Some had been saving what little money they could earn their whole lives, so that they could someday buy their freedom, but many chose to remain enslaved so that they could donate their savings to build the church.  They could have walked the Earth free, but alone, and instead they chose to walk in chains with God.  That is faith.

First African Baptist is on the National Register of Historic Places.  It was the first building constructed of brick owned by blacks in Georgia  And, it was a stop on the Underground Railroad, the network of people, routes, and places that helped escaped slaves make it to freedom in the North.  In the basement of the church, the wood floor has been drilled with a pattern of holes surrounding each support pillar.  They form the shape of an African prayer symbol, the Congolese Cosmogram.  The decorative and spiritual aspects of the design distracted from its true purpose, ventilation for the four foot high space under the floor that hid and protected escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad.

The church itself is not picturesque, but the plaque says it all:

Now that we've been to church, it's time to speak truth to power from my favorite intersection in Savannah:

The South is the capital of BBQ, but Savannah is not the capital of Southern BBQ.  Still, can't come to the South and not hit a real BBQ joint.  We found one in Wiley's Championship BBQ.

"Barbecue caterer and champion, Wiley McCrary began his first catering business in Atlanta in 1983 producing large and small special events with the main emphasis on bbq and grilling.  In 2005 Wiley, along with his wife Janet, fulfilled a lifelong dream and moved to Savannah, GA to make it their home and create a new business, Savannah BBQ & Catering, which morphed into their restaurant Wiley’s Championship BBQ, opening  September 12, 2008.  Wiley and Janet bring a strong professional competition bbq resume to Savannah and Georgia barbecue."

Wiley's has won awards and competitions all over the South, around the country, and universal accolades as the best pulled pork in Savannah.

We had it all, and all of it was good.  The fried okra was the best of the trip.  Slimy, yes, but fresh, and fried crunchy with custom ranch on the side.  The critics' pick is right on.  This is the ultimate pulled pork.  Not stringy shreds, but thick lobes of finger-tender smoky love, dripping with porky goodness.  This so far outclasses any we have had before, it's not worth a comparison.  This is so the real deal, that we never realized we'd never had the real deal before.  And that, is before the sauce.  Wiley's makes and bottles their own sweet "Better than Sex" sauce, and it's among the best we've had.  But the star with the pork is their vinegar-based Mountain Sauce.  It adds a little depth, a little spice, a little twang, and even more drip to the succulent pig.  The chicken is almost as good as the pork, drop off the bone tender without getting dried out or mealy.  Not outstanding, but plenty good enough, ribs and brisket rounded out the meats.  The mac and cheese was all gourmet with something like ziti pasta, and the baked beans were great too.  We took the banana pudding to go, and it went fast.  Homemade, so fresh, and so good.

Wiley's Championship BBQ Menu:

• Fried Okra
• Pulled Pork Sandwich
• Sampler Plate
  beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken, and Ribs
• Baked Beans and Mac & Cheese
• Wiley's Mountain Sauce
• Wiley's Better than Sex KC Red Competition Sauce
• Banana Pudding

Tybee Island is Savannah's summer home.  Like Kiawah, a barrier island on the Atlantic, Tybee is every bit as downscale, as Kiawah is upscale.  Miles and miles of public beach are an easy walk over boardwalk bridges spanning the dunes, and landing in the sands.  The ruins of Fort Screven, a coastal defense fortification from the early 20th century, forms a backdrop to a stretch of the beach.  There is a little town center with the typical array of beach town shops.  The Tybee Lighthouse keeps watch over land and sea, as it has since 1736, when it was the tallest structure in the Colonies.

Bonaventure Cemetery is hauntingly beautiful, just like the live oaks that keep watch over the dead.  The rich and famous of Savannah are buried here, and it is another stop on the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil tour.  The shade of the live oaks, and the scenic location on the banks of the river, also draws the family picnic crowd.  In our drive through the cemetery, we encountered a funeral in progress, mourners for those lost long ago, tourists taking pictures of famous tombs, and yes, several families at leisure at river's edge.

Elizabeth on 37th is THE grande dame of Savannah dining.  Located in an historic mansion in a transitional neighborhood south of the historic district, Elizabeth was the first modern fine dining establishment in Savannah, and has maintained primacy for more than thirty years.  Unfortunately, Elizabeth, the chef, has moved on since 1981, and the food has not.

"Elizabeth on 37th opened in 1981 as the creation of Chef Elizabeth Terry & her husband Michael.  Brother's Greg & Gary Butch, long-time employees at Elizabeth on 37th, joined the Terry's as partners in 1988. This dynamic combination has assured the continuance of Elizabeth's high standards of great cuisine & service in lovely, comfortable surroundings.  Kelly Yambor is Executive Chef at Elizabeth on 37th. Her recipes make full use of fresh coastal seafood, local produce, and the restaurant's own house grown herbs and edible flowers. Kelly is committed to giving our guests a culinary experience which reflects the South's rich heritage.  The simple elegance of the 1900's Southern Mansion sets the perfect tone for our wonderful Southern Coastal menu."

Dinner was disappointing from drinks to dessert.  Only the check succeeded in meeting expectations.  The amuse was fine, if strange.  The Surryano ham, a domestic prosciutto, as a starter, brought together some nice ingredients that never really came together.  The pork chop had been flavorfully brined, well-seasoned, and grilled just a minute too long.  The mac & cheese and collards, were both good, but certainly not the best examples we have encountered.  Overall, this was the most successful dish.  The chicken was poorly conceived and poorly executed.  It was dry and overcooked, but even a perfectly moist joint of chicken could not have overcome the discord in the dish.  The vegetables were done with an Asian palette, in total conflict with the traditional flavors of the cornbread dressing and apricot.  Most disturbing of all was the lack of skill exhibited with the meat.  A good chef should be able to judge the doneness of meat by sight, smell, sound, and touch.  A chef seeking precision, or one with less confidence, can use an instant-read thermometer.  Both the chicken and the pork had been sliced to the middle on the underside to check for doneness, releasing the juices of the meat before they had a chance to redistribute.  This is the mark of a lazy and unqualified chef.  Finally, the signature dessert is a puzzle.  The Savannah Cream Cake is like a debutante at her coming out, lovely to look at, light in substance, and completely lacking in seasoning.

Elizabeth, come back!!!

Elizabeth on 37th Menu:

• AMUSE BOUCHE
  PEI mussel with chipotle-tomato aioli
• SURRYANO HAM
  Virginia country ham thinly sliced with fontinella cheese, grilled vidalias, and pecan-pimiento sauce
• TANGLEWOOD FARMS ROASTED CHICKEN BREAST WITH LOCAL WILD MUSHROOMS dusted with cardamom, with pan gravy, apricot butter, braised collards, and cornbread dressing with shiitake mushrooms
• DOUBLE CUT BERKSHIRE PORK CHOP
  with five cheese macaroni and apple-cabbage slaw
• SAVANNAH CREAM CAKE
  Angel food and sherry laced custard cake with berry sauce and custard sauce
• CHOCOLATE PECAN TORTE
  Dense dark chocolate cream in a crushed pecan crust topped with chocolate whipped cream

Next Stop:  Cocoa Beach