Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to OCTOBER. Hope you have an awesome month!

Monday, July 27, 2015

2001 Honeymoon Cruise

Dear Blog Friends,   I am going down 'memory lane' today to share some pictures of our honeymoon in September of 2001.  As most of you know,  we were married on June 23 that year and took our cruise that September.  We flew to San Juan,  Puerto Rico---and caught the "Monarch of the Seas" (Royal Caribbean) there.  That week we visited St. Thomas,  St.  Maarten,  Antiqua,   St. Lucia,  and Barbados.  It was an awesome cruise and we loved every minute of it.

BUT--while on that Honeymoon,  something terrible happened in our dear USA...  September 11, 2001 happened.... GADS...  We got bits and pieces about the tragedy while on ship ---but didn't get the magnitude of what had happened until we headed back home on September 16.   When we got to the Atlanta Airport,  it was almost vacant.. That was the weirdest feeling I have ever had.... Needless to say,  we were glad to be home,  but so sad for our country and all of the lives that were lost.

Here are a few pictures I chose from that cruise ---and all of the side trips we were able to take that week.   Hope you enjoy the pictures!





We loved our seaplane ride over the Virgin Islands.  Look at the color of that water!



St. Lucia was BY FAR our favorite island... We loved the catamaran ride --and also the tour of the banana plantation and an active volcano.



The tour of this plantation was SO interesting at St. Lucia.



My idea of paradise!!!!!!  This picture was taken from our catamaran.



It was neat taking a ride in a submersible....  I love seeing what is deep down in the ocean... Gorgeous!



We also enjoyed this tour.  It was a beautiful church --and plantation at Barbados.



The beautiful coastline is what I remember the most about Antiqua.



See why we love St. Lucia?  SO many pictures ---and so much beauty all around!!!



We enjoyed gorgeous sunsets every evening (and sunrises every morning) from our ship.
Hope you enjoyed seeing some of the MANY pictures from our Honeymoon Cruise in 2001...  I enjoyed taking you down "memory lane" today!!!

George and I both are doing fine.  We both are working hard on healthy eating and lots of exercise these days!!!! The biggest joy is our 2.5 mile walks each evening at sunset (and in darkness) around nine holes of our golf course on the cart path (AFTER the golfers leave).   One of these days I'll share some of our pictures with you from some of these nightly walks.

Hugs,

Friday, July 3, 2015

Celebrating America's Birthday

Happy 4th of July to YOU.... As you enjoy fun times with lots of great food and fellowship,  please take a minute to thank God for our country and the freedoms we celebrate.  We also need to pray for our country and its future...

Today,  in honor of America's Birthday and our flag,  I am celebrating with you by showing you some of the RED, WHITE and BLUE flowers we have, and have had this year in our yard.

The photo above is Peppermint Splash Rose from our yard (5/27).   It reminds me of fireworks---so I'll begin with it...  Click on the photos for enlargements.


Bama Bound DayLily  (6/21/15)



Mt Hood Daffodil (3/28/15)



Electric Shock Irises (5/09/15)



  Another Combo:  Lollypop Lilies (5/20/15)



Crimson Pixie Lilies (5/20/15)



Lady Elizabeth DayLily (6/24/15)



Blue Periwinkle (Vinca Minor) Groundcover in our Yard  (3/25/15)



Another Combo:  Ronald Reagan Rose  (6/12/15)



Red Dynasty Tulip  (4/03/15)



Sweet Freedom Rose  (5/25/15)



Sweet little BLUE Pansy (4/21/15)



Finally,  here is one of my all-time favorite Roses... I like Double Delight so much that I used it for my header on my other blog post  (Betsy's Photo Blog)....  But since it is SO pretty,  I'll also include it today on this post...

Hope you enjoyed this little variety showing some of our many flowers ---and I hope that you have a happy and SAFE holiday!

Hugs,