We began 2010 with Renee running her first AMEC ice racing event at Caroga Lake, NY.  She ran again at the Tupper Lake double and Tim ran the remainder of ice racing events.  Next Tim competed in a Chump Car event with Team Paisley in March at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina.  Tim will focus on running Lemons events with our own car and the Adopted by Jets team and the 4-cylinder enduro at Monadnock Speedway in Norman.  Brian will be running a few SCCA Regional events in the Formula Vee, as well as the Lemons car in July.  Team Remmers has entered our own Lemons car for the race at Stafford Motor Speedway in July and enlisted the help of niece Grainne Drollas as our fourth driver for that event.  Hopefully we will have time to fit in some CART autocross events as well. 

Next Events:    August 28 -- Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, NH racing 4-cylinder enduro 

                      September 11- 12 --New Hampshire Motor Speedway Regional SCCA Race 

Event Updates:

Off Season--Tim and Donna enjoy a 10-day cruise

We flew to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 and boarded Holland America Lines Zuiderdam for a 10 day cruise.  Our Ports of Call were the cruise line's exclusive Bahaman island of Half Moon Cay; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao; Cristobal, Panama after going through the Gatun Locks and anchoring in Gatun Lake to disembark shore excursions; and Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. 

With our plane flight changed to a later time, we didn't arrive onboard the ship until around 3:30 p.m.  We went to our room, dropped off our carry on luggage, and went to Lido deck to grab a bite to eat since our dinner time wasn't until 7:45.  We went back to the room, met our room steward, Putu, and inquired about our luggage since we were moved to an outside room.  Putu promised to inquire at the front desk to make sure we got our bags promptly.  Tim and I made our way to the Lido Pool area on deck 9 and sat and had a Mojito as the ship prepared to leave the dock at Ft. Lauderdale.  We were served by Ranel who was absolutely fabulous during our entire cruise.  He set us up for the Pub Crawl to be held the evening we were in Aruba and Tim signed up for the beer tasting being held our first day at sea.  We set sail for Half Moon Cay in the Bahama Islands at 5:05 p.m.  After setting sail and finishing our drinks, we explored the ship a little.  We made our way to a liquor sampling in the Signature Shops on deck 3 and browsed the shop.  When we finally made our way back to our room to prepare for dinner, our bags were there.   

Our dinner table was No. 89 for the late seating in the Vista Dining Room and we were joined by 6 other people:  Raelene and Janice from Texas, Gordon and Sheila from Canada, and Stan and Marian from England.  They were fabulous dinner companions and we enjoyed their company throughout the cruise.  No need to say, but I will anyway, the food was very good at every meal.  After dinner, Tim and I went to the 10 p.m. movie "A Perfect Getaway" playing in the Screening Room.  It was a great thriller!  The Screening Room had huge oversized chairs that you could snuggle into--they were great.  Everyone commented on how easy it would be to fall asleep in them.  That wasn't going to happen during this movie!  It was just a shame the room was so small because it filled up fast for the popular movies.  Now it was back to the room around midnight to try and fall asleep after such an intense movie.

The ship arrived at Half Moon Cay on Saturday around 7:45 a.m. Temperature reached 81F degrees, mostly sunny and breezy.  We took the tender off the ship and enjoyed walking on the beach, visiting with our dinner table companions who all disembarked to enjoy the beach, and swimming.  There was a very nice luncheon buffet provided while on the island.  It included many choices of meats, salads, and fruits.  We took the tender back to the ship around 2 p.m.  Sorry to leave the crystal blue waters behind :(  But more will be coming.  Once back on the ship I went to a Caribbean Food talk by the ship's Party Planner Kelly.  She was informative and discussed what we could find at our various ports and where to go or not go while off the ship.  Before dinner Tim and I enjoyed listening to the Adagio Strings in the Explorer's Lounge.  After dinner we tried to attend the 10 p.m. movie Angels & Demons, but there were no seats left.  We managed to see it on TV the following day.

                              Half Moon Cay, Bahamas                                 View of Oranjestad, Aruba from Zuiderdam at dock

We were at sea on Sunday--weather 84F and mostly sunny.  We started our day with breakfast in the Lido followed by Yoga at 9 a.m.  (We signed up to do Yoga each day at sea.)  Afterward Tim and I went to a Culinary demo where Chef Vijay prepared a paella salad and salmon with rosemary crumbs.  We got to sample the paella salad and it was great!  The best part was getting recipes at each of the culinary demos.  This was followed by a tour of the ship's kitchen, which was just okay.   We went to the Explorations Cafe library and checked out books to read during the cruise.  (Never did get through mine--to busy; but Tim read 2 books.) Tim went to a beer tasting at 1 p.m. and I attended a spa seminar: Secrets for a Flatter Stomach.  Of course they try and sell you more spa items.  But at least the talk was informative.  We enjoyed the day, sitting on deck 3 in a lounge chair reading, walking around the ship on either deck 3 or 10, attending activities, watching the sea birds, and meeting people.  Of course, I had my camera and took any opportunity to snap pictures.  During the course of the day we met two couples from England traveling together and chatted it up with them. 

Monday we arrived in Aruba just past noon.  It was 82F and mostly sunny (what some might call "partly cloudy" but I like to stay positive and the weather really was spectacular.  We did not book a shore excursion, which in hindsight was a mistake since we never made it to a beach.  Our day consisted of walking around Oranjestad browsing in some of the shops, stopping in jewelry stores for some "freebies" and then chilling in The Paddock for a cocktail.  Tim had a second 1/2 pint as I browsed the marketplace next door to hunt for souvenirs for our grandnieces.  Then it was back to the ship--with a stop in the large indoor market area at the dock.  Tim actually bought something!  I convinced him to come into a shop and listen to the shop owner explain the process of Mopa Mopa used on the items in the shop.  Tim decided to buy a set of coasters with colorful geometric designs.  Even though the ship didn't leave port until 10:45 p.m., we came back on board for dinner since we were signed up for the Pub Crawl at 8:30 that night.  We had good food and conversation at dinner as we all got to know more about each other.  Then we were off to do the Pub Crawl--5 bars, 5 drinks :)  I believe there were around 32 people who enjoyed the event.  (Well, maybe a couple didn't fair too well from what I heard later in the trip.)  Off to bed as we needed to be up early the next day for a shore excursion in Curacao on the Beach Express which we booked at the last minute. 

                    Otrabanda, Curacao                                                  Punda, Curacao

We arrived in Willemstad, Curacao on Tuesday around 7:40 a.m.  Fabulous day for the beach and snorkeling--89F and partly sunny!  Got off the ship and onto the "Beach Express" to Cas Abou beach.  It was a natural coral rich beach and we saw a wide array of fish while snorkeling.  I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the beach, it was so nice--despite having to work your way out into the water over all the uneven coral at the edge of the beach.  The plus side was going in the water just several steps and seeing fish.  Those that didn't want to snorkel could at least see some of the fish.  I saw at least 6 different kinds in the shallow water.  This excursion ended too soon.  We would have loved to lay around on the beach awhile and then head back in the water for more snorkeling, but we had to head back to the ship after 1.5 hours at the beach.  The tour guides pointed out local landmarks and points of interest.  We stopped at the salt flats and saw a couple flocks of flamingos on the way back. 

Once back to the ship, we quickly showered and dressed for shopping in the heat of the day as it was now 1 p.m.  We walked across the footbridge to the Punda side and made our way down many, many blocks of shops.  The shopping area was much larger than at the port in Aruba, so we spent a couple hours wandering the streets and browsing several shops, checking out the open-air fruit market and then crossing back over the bridge to Otrabanda.  There we browsed the open air souvenir stands and went into the Fort Rift marketplace to browse before getting back onto the ship.  It was up to the Crow's Nest to hang out for awhile and have a drink before dinner.  After dinner we attended the 10 p.m. performance by Island Magic Steel Band from Trinidad.  They were totally awesome and received a standing ovation.  We are looking forward to their final performance on the final night of the cruise.  Afterward we headed to the Northern Lights Nightclub to check out the Karaoke.  As we walked in we noticed Stan and went to join him.  It was very entertaining, and a couple of folks were quite talented.

Another day at sea as we sail toward Panama.  Temperatures reached 95F even though it was mostly cloudy.  At one point during the day there was a brief shower--just enough to make everyone scramble to move their deck chairs.  Again, we started our day at sea with a Yoga class at 9 a.m.  I darted from class to a watch Chef Vijay prepare Indian cuisine in the Culinary Arts Center while Tim headed back to the room to freshen up and grab his book.  The curry dishes looked and smelled fabulous.  The rest of the day was spent leisurely wandering the ship, doing a little shopping onboard, sitting on deck reading, and hanging out with folks with met on the ship.  Before dinner we had a glass of wine in our room and caught part of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince showing on TV.  After dinner we went to the 10 p.m. performance of The Zuiderdam Singers & Dancers in the Vista Lounge.  The show was very entertaining with a variety of songs and good choreography.

           Pub Crawl participants enjoying Chocolate Martinis                                Brief rain shower Wednesday at sea

It's the big day!  Since the announcement was made that we would not enter the Gatun Locks until around 7 a.m., we slept until 5:00, ran up to Lido for a quick breakfast, and then off to stand in line on deck 4 which got us a good spot at the side rail on deck for viewing our cruise through the Panama Canal.  Juice or water and Panama rolls were brought around to everyone on deck.  As there were looming rain clouds, Tim ran back to our room and got our raincoats.  He got back and shortly afterward there was a brief shower.  It cleared up as we headed into the 1st lock and enjoyed watching the "mules" pulling the cables that guided us into the locks.  There was only little over a foot of room left on each side of the ship when in the lock. 

              Approaching Gatun Locks, Panama Canal                                                Mule guiding us into lock

We were almost into the lock when the sky opened up and it started raining hard.  It was a mad dash for the many passengers that did not have any protection from the rain.  Luckily we had our raincoats.  Unfortunately it rained so hard that about 1.5 inches of water collected on the edge of the deck where we were standing.  Since the deck was mostly cleared out, I decided to run back to the room and put on sandals and my rain pants.  Good decision.  There were only about 25 people on deck so there was plenty of room at the front of the ship when I got back.  Tim had moved to the other side of the ship and toward the front so I joined him and we watched the workers securing the cables in the rain.  The rain stopped for a short time and then started again.  I decided to head up to deck 9 and check the view from behind the ship.  I got to watch the tugs head up to a ship and then watch another cruise ship entering the locks.  Then it was torrential rain and it was so hard it felt like sleet.  I decided I had seen enough and went back inside.  Thanks to all the nice people who let me under their umbrellas to take pictures in the rain so the lens stayed dry.

                     Workers securing cables                                                    Ships entering the Gatun Locks, Panama Canal

I met up with Tim at the room and we grabbed a small 2nd breakfast before heading to the Vista Lounge to get the tender to our shore excursion which left around 10:45 a.m.  Because we were late getting to Gatun Lake, the tenders took the largest groups and the longest shore excursions first.  Ours was just a 3.5 hour nature walk and Chagres River adventure so we were one of the last groups off the ship before it would turn around and head back through the Gatun Locks to dock at Cristobal, Panama.   Because of the heavy rains Panama had been having during the past couple weeks, the Chagres River was too high and we were taken onto Gatun Lake instead.  This tour was very good.  They bussed us across the Canal and we drove for about 15 minutes to a nature trail.  While it had been drizzling as we got the bus, it soon stopped and we had only one brief rain shower during the walk.  The rest of the time the weather was great--81F thanks to the clouds.  While I was disappointed that the walk was so short, we did see many different plants, Parrots, Tucanettes and other birds, butterflies, and mantled howler and capuchin monkeys.  On the bus rides we saw sloth, two types of Caracara birds, vultures, snowy egret, black iguana and a fabulous view of a mantled howler monkey. 

After the walk we headed back over the Canal and stopped at the Gatun Locks and got to view our ship going back through.  For me that was a nice surprise since I was able to take pictures of our ship from another perspective as it was going through the locks.  Then we were taken to the Melia Panama Canal Hotel where we boarded small boats which took us around to view the edges of many islands on Gatun Lake.  These are actually the mountain tops that remained above water when the area was flooded to form the large lake needed as part of the Panama Canal project.  We had informative tour guides and saw many sloth, iguanas, Snail Kites, Cormorants, a Mangrove Swallow and Split-tail Flycatcher and several other birds.  Another group was lucky enough to come across howler monkeys and a Caiman.  Overall this was a great tour for wildlife sightings. 

                 Sloth viewed from side of road                                          Mantled Howler Monkey viewed from bus

After our tour, Tim and I went into the marketplace at the dock where the locals have their wares for sale.  I was interested in seeing the Embera Indian items and asked Tim to see if he liked anything (of course he didn't).  Tim wasn't interested in shopping--I think he wanted to get back on board and have a beer--so he left and I shopped.  I managed to acquire a small Embera Indian piece right before heading back to the ship.  I spent most of the cash I had and didn't have time to go back on the ship for more since it was almost time for last boarding.  Of course, I did manage to get more items that way :)   When I got to the room I caught Tim napping.  It was a long day, after all.  We chilled in the room, had a glass of wine ,and watched a little TV before heading off to dinner.  It ended up just the two of us at the table that night; we knew Stan and Marian went to the Pinnacle Grill but expected everyone else.  We found out the following day that the rest of our dinner companions had taken a tour which involved going through more locks on a small boat to get to the Pacific side of the Canal and they got held up because they had to queue behind a freighter.  Our ship was actually late leaving port because we had to wait until 7 p.m. for the tour to return; there were over 300 people on it.  We went to the Jeff Peterson and Indy the Magic Dog comedy magic show at the Vista Lounge after dinner.  It was very entertaining.

On Friday, Nov. 20th we docked in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.  The morning was rainy and it was by far the coolest day of our vacation--it only reached 79F.  We headed to our Veragua Rainforest and Aerial Tram tour bus around 8:00 a.m.  Our tour guide Erik was quite informative and our bus driver Carlos was very good to navigate the dirt roads and avoid all the dogs that chose to lay in the middle of them and still spot fauna and flora for us during the 1 hour trips to Veragua and back .  The rain eventually stopped during the bus ride but it remained overcast all day.  Once at the research facility, we were placed into groups of 16 based on whether we wanted to go to the waterfall or take the trail of the giants which was the easy trail.  We went to the waterfall and while we only saw a millipede and a Strawberry poisonous frog, the sounds and smell of the rainforest were great.  Once back at the aerial tram, Tim spotted a female hummingbird.  Back at the top we took a paved trail to a butterfly exhibit and aviary then to a nocturnal frog exhibit.  Unfortunately I left my flashlight in the bus and we had to wait a little bit for another guide to show us the frogs in the totally dark exhibit.  (There was just no way for all 16 of us to look in the display at once.)   We managed to see most of the frogs and then headed for the open-air pavilion and a chance to check out the gift shop and eat lunch supplied by the tour.  It was a nice gift shop with a nice variety of items and reasonable prices.  For lunch we had a choice from 3 types of sandwiches on soft sub rolls, delicious fresh fruit and either bottled water or juice and, of course, coffee.  

While we waited for our tour to continue, I decided to walk over to the railing and look out into the rainforest to see if I could spot any creatures.  I had just started to scan to my right when  movement caught my eye and I turned to see a White-nosed Koati hiding in the bushes.  As soon as we made direct eye contact it went scurrying off into the forest.  Soon our tour continued to the snake exhibit, which many opted not to see because they were too squeamish.  It was interesting that they placed material inside the enclosure of several of the snakes which allowed us to see them but the snakes feel like they were in the rainforest.  These snakes had repeatedly hit the glass when people approached, so this was needed to keep them safe.  All too soon the tour was over and we boarded the bus for the ride back to the ship.  On the way the driver stopped and cut a couple types of flowers which we passed around.  The tour guide talked briefly about how bananas grew as we passed a property with a small grove of trees. At one point we stopped to collect another native plant specimen, but Erik first approached the property owners to ask permission.  People along our route waved as we passed.  The area was very poor, but in the rural areas the homes seemed maintained, unlike those just on the outskirts of town.  We had almost reached the dock area when it began to pour.   Our driver practically drove up to the gangway of the ship to let us get out.  Of course by the time we stopped and gathered our things the rain had lightened up.  We got back on the ship and did not go into town at this stop.  

We went to the Crow's Nest to hang out for awhile, read, check e-mails and have a drink before dinner.  While there I noticed Ian, Melanie and Laura (from England) competing in the Team Trivia Challenge, so I went over and they asked me to join them.  Afterward Tim came over and we sat around and chatted and we "made a date" for the five of us to be a team the following day for trivia.  At dinner everyone had stories to tell of their adventures in Panama and Costa Rica, so the time flew.  Tim and I went up to the Crow's Nest bar and did $3 shooters and accumulated 6 souvenir shot glasses :)  Of course our first shots were not $3--Tim got Silver Patron which set us back $15 for one shot and I had Drambuie for $5.  Mikee was the bartender and he took good care of us.  We asked to have the shooters not too sweet and he got them perfect. 

Our day at sea started as usual with breakfast then yoga.  After yoga I took the opportunity to do some last minute shopping while Tim spotted Stan and sat and chatted for a while then went to the room to shower, grab his book, then head out to find a deck chair and relax. 

See all cruise pictures by using the link from our Multimedia/Photos tabs.

NEXT EVENTS:  August 28 -- Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, NH racing 4-cylinder enduro 

                     September 11- 12 --New Hampshire Motor Speedway Regional SCCA Race 

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