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a great evening with ‘Watoto’
  Here’s a hint … ‘watoto’ is Swahili for ‘children’ … so there you have it … I was able to enjoy an evening with the African Children’s Choir tonight. For those of you that know me a ‘hint’ … you can only imagine how much I enjoyed my evening! So much so, that I really have no words … I’ll leave you with a few pictures though … the young eight-year-old boy that’s ‘front and center’ for most of the pics – and wearing a perma-grin … his name is Innocent and he wants to be a pilot when he grows up. A few other stories that ‘caught my attention’ were of James (who stood on the far left of the group) and Vincent (who stood on the far right of the group). Go figure … ‘James Vincent’ … then in a row in front and standing more central to the group was a young boy named “Jimmy” – his name of course also caught my attention, and only to find out when he told us his story that he was now 10 but at the age of five was left abandoned on the side of the road in his home-town.
 Bless the children …
a walk in the park!
 So I've decided to join Sue-Ann and 'the boys' to support my uncle and all those affected by Alzheimers walking on Saturday, May 10th in the Walk for Memories ... it'll be my third year ... it's a walk to help raise funds for the Alzheimer Society - a good cause that provides support to those who have been affected by the disease. If you're interested in supporting me in the 5k walk (and supporting my uncle in his walk through this disease) click here and make your pledge on-line (you'll even get your tax receipt via e-mail almost immediately).
Want to support? click here
time for everybody to sing!!
the long and winding road …
Well, as with most ‘last days’ go … we were up and at ‘em early – grabbed a bite to eat, went through customs, found our luggage and then we were off on our way for a bus & boat tour of Miami while we waited for our ‘journey home’ to start. Our flight home actually took us back through Chicago … with a few delays here and there – it meant we didn’t get ‘home’ ‘til close to 1am. A long day to say the least … but still, fun!   
 
days of ‘Freedom’ coming to an end
Our final day at sea, lots of stuff to keep us occupied. Our list of ‘things to complete’ kept us busy for the day. Some of the things we managed to do today was take in “Freedom Fest”, the circus, ice-skating, mini golf, the flowrider, meeting ‘the captain’, watching a dance troupe from Lloydminster, Alberta! Tonight’s show featured another comedian and a duo-acrobat team. All fun!!   
  
  
 
moments with Flipper’s look-a-like
A day in Cozumel, Mexico, found us spending time with Athenea the dolphin. Another great experience. We spent about an hour swimming and playing. It was only a 5 minute taxi ride from the port so after our time at ‘the park’ we went into town to do a bit of shopping and walking around before we go back on the ship for the final time … the next time off will be in Miami … We shopped ‘til we dropped today – and I mean dropped! Either way, it was a good day all around – yet again!  
 
  
a ‘heck’ of a good time
We checked out Grand Cayman today – started off in Georgetown – toured a few coral reefs (saw some fish, sea turtles and ship wrecks). After our semi-submarine ride we drove to the turtle farm and saw some improvements to this park since our last visit here of nearly five years ago. After this we made our usual stop in Hell and sent a postcard home! Didn’t buy many souvenirs here this time around, figure there’s only need for one set of souvenirs from Hell! We then did a wee bit of shopping near port before we got back on ‘the boat’. It was a lovely day weather-wise for us, it was sure nice to not see rain. The clouds were a welcome break from the direct sunlight though! This evening’s show was called: "Once Upon A Time”, as per usual the Freedom Dancers and Singers did an awesome job and kept us well entertained.  
  
  
  
the back roads of Ocho Rios, Jamaica
from ‘air’ port to ‘sea’ port
  
So we started in Toronto in the wee hours of the morning today, flew to Miami – jumped off the plane as fast as we could – got into some summer-wear and made our way to ‘port’. We checked-in and boarded the ship a lot earlier than we expected – but that was great - ‘cause it just made it feel like our ‘vacation’ started a bit early – from what I could tell – there were no real complaints there!! Here’s to enjoying the shows and the Promenade while on the ship …   
  
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Here’s a hint … ‘watoto’ is Swahili for ‘children’ … so there you have it … I was able to enjoy an evening with the African Children’s Choir tonight. For those of you that know me a ‘hint’ … you can only imagine how much I enjoyed my evening! So much so, that I really have no words … I’ll leave you with a few pictures though … the young eight-year-old boy that’s ‘front and center’ for most of the pics – and wearing a perma-grin … his name is Innocent and he wants to be a pilot when he grows up. A few other stories that ‘caught my attention’ were of James (who stood on the far left of the group) and Vincent (who stood on the far right of the group). Go figure … ‘James Vincent’ … then in a row in front and standing more central to the group was a young boy named “Jimmy” – his name of course also caught my attention, and only to find out when he told us his story that he was now 10 but at the age of five was left abandoned on the side of the road in his home-town.
Bless the children …
