What a dreary sight out our window. Fingers crossed that the rain here won’t delay our departures, and that the snow back home will not delay our arrival home. It’s nice to have a car service, so we don’t have to worry about driving. We do need to worry that our driver will stay on the road, and that no one rams into us. Fingers and toes crossed!
We got on the tram to the gates. Steve successfully picked the right tram to go on. If we picked mine, we might still be circling the terminals! Just kidding, it would have been only a few more stops. After dropping off our bags we found the signs for TSA pre-check and off we went. We did have a complaint that the TSA pre check sign was not very visible, but we successfully found the entrance anyway. Once again, only one or two people ahead of us in line. Here is a statue of President George HW Bush.
That’s our hotel! Glad we got to use underground trams instead of walking and walking.
We passed by a bar in the terminal. I hope this doesn’t give CB any ideas! Although I looked closely and it seemed many bottles were repeats. It still was impressive!
For breakfast we couldn’t find Ruby’s, so we had breakfast at Cat Cora’s Restaurant. I think that she is on the food network.
Steve had scrambled eggs, that he liked very much.
I was debating between the waffle and the fried eggs. The waffle has whipped marscapone on it, so I got the eggs. I do not like mascarpone at all. The breakfast was tasty. The coffee was burnt and thin.
We had found our gate prior to breakfast and then returned to sit there for an hour before our boarding to La Guardia.
We were not sure if we would have delays on our trip home as there was snow in the New York area. There were rumors that we would have a 2.5 hour delay. That was not going to be fun!
We were off! Goodbye Houston airport, you can hold a lot of cars in your parking lots! 
Yummy warm nuts. 
I watched the Mr. Roger’s movie. It made me cry. 
Lunch was the macaroni and cheese with grilled chicken. It was no better this time around. 
There was snow on the ground. I think this was a cemetery. We ended up landing right on time. We also didn’t have to wait for our luggage, as it had flown out on the earlier morning flight!
It took us longer than expected on the drive home, but no one ran into us, and our driver didn’t run into anyone so it was all okay.
I hope you enjoyed our trip to Belize and back!
Did you vote for George HW Bush?
Do you watch the Food Network?
Do you make home made macaroni and cheese?
Good morning! Today we leave Copal Tree Lodge for Belize City, and then on to Houston where we will spend the night. Then we fly to New York on Wednesday.
I enjoyed my glass of watermelon juice. I would have preferred the fresh squeezed pineapple, but none were ripe in the garden. We were told that a large percentage of the food is from the property. The little boy in the background was trying to get a closer view of the hummingbirds. They had canopy suite 14, which was across the pool are from ours. They had a lot of people in that room, the two parents, a nanny, two smaller children and a nanny. Not sure where everyone slept!
I had the french toast, with toasted pecans.
Steve had the egg burrito. He ate it with a a fork and knife. Otherwise he would have ended up with a big mess.
Steve is not exercising, he was reading a book about fly fishing in Belize and practicing for next time. I asked Steve is there were pictures of the different places to stay in that book. He told me that it was basically about the fishing, anglers don’t really care about the accommodations as most of the non anglers do. The anglers only want to know, what kind of fish is there, and how many. Steve related to me that one lodge was described as fairly basic. Definitely not a lodge for me!
We said good bye to the GM and told them that we were looking forward to coming back to Copal.
Good bye to the one lane bridge.
Good bye Punta Gorda, although this sign says “Welcome!”
This family had their laundry hanging outside to dry. I think it was going to get very dusty from all the cars that drove by. Most of the time it is dry season, and very dusty here. During the rainy season, I am sure the mud was very bad.
The airport in Punta Gorda was very small.
This is a map of Belize. We will fly to Placencia and pick up more passengers and then go to Belize City. On our way to Copal, we stopped at Dangriga also. 
Our plane was a small one. 
We sat right behind the pilot. There was no assistant pilot on the flight. Of course I told him I would be able to help if needed. How many times does he hear that? I am sure too many!
Not much leg room here. 
We were happy. Steve is giving the camera that crazy eyed look. One of these days i will find the license he was given to fish in the NYC watershed area. We joked that if you took a look at the picture you would want to lock him up! 
Here is a view of the island where the cruise ships stop. Those ships are humongous! 
These are shrimp farms. 
We landed at Belize City airport and went to pick up our luggage. 
It was pretty cold in the airport again. I was bundled up in my anti bug scarf that made me look like I had a schmatte on my head (schmatte is a Yiddish word for rag). Steve bought a big KitKat bar and a dark beer for a snack while we waited for our plane. I had a water. You can see a few of my grey hairs in this picture. I may need to have to buy a face cream with a little tint to it to cover up my age spots. On second thought, I am 62, and people who are 62 are old and can therefore have age spots. My crows feet are in good shape, and as long as I keep yapping my nasolabial folds don’t look that bad. The scarf covers my neck so we can’t discuss whether or not I have a turkey neck. 
After a four hour wait we finally got to board the plane. The man in front of me ordered a Prosecco, so I did too. What could go wrong?
We were offered warm nuts and more alcohol. I had another glass of Prosecco, this time in a proper glass. Steve had his usual wine. 
I ordered the barbecue short ribs with kale and yams. Meh. 
Steve had the spinach ravioli. 
We had to circle Houston for quite awhile. There had been rain storms. 
We had to collect our luggage and bring it back to the hotel with us. Steve is noticeably unthrilled here. 
Especially as he knew I was going to take more room pictures! 
Soon it was lights out, except for the airport outside our window and we went to sleep.
Good morning from Houston! Last night when I looked out the window, I thought that was a another hotel. Ha Ha Turns out it was a parking garage!
Look at all the different hallways on our floor. The suggestion of using colored lights was a smart one. Makes it much easier to know what direction you need to go to find your room. I don’t know how many times I have screwed up going in the wrong way after getting off an elevator because the signage was poor. Silver lettering on a grey background and a small font! This is much better, “Go down the yellow hallway!”
We entered the elevator and pushed S for shuttle. That was easy!
This is where Linda screwed up. The tram went in a big circle, and Steve wanted to go right. I insisted on going left. Going right meant you went directly to the D/E terminals. Going left meant you take the scenic route. Which we did. We went by the B and A terminals, then the Marriott stop, then the C terminal and then finally the D/E terminals 
However taking the scenic route meant we were on an empty tram. No one in this direction. 
No one in this direction also. Which means, you know what happens next don’t you? 
Yes, Linda tries for an eyes open wide smooch on her husband. 
I think the plain old selfie was a better picture. 
We finally found our terminal and it was time to look for breakfast. Steve saw the sign for Ruby’s and thought it would make a good choice. The Siracha Bloody Mary scared me away. Remember, I don’t like spicy stuff. We were going to try Starbucks, but they didn’t have the egg sandwiches that Steve likes. 
Instead we went Gavi. They had the ordering system on iPad’s which I always find difficult. The waitress had to come over to help us. 
Steve had and omelette with home fries. The home fries had been prepared yesterday, so they were a bit cold. The ketchup was great with the homesfries though.
I had the lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberries. Well actually five blueberries and some compote. I ate one pancake. It tasted like a cross between a pancake and lemon loaf. Not sure what I had expected. 
I thought about watching Bohemian Rhapsodey, but the screen was pretty tiny and it started with some notes on paper that I couldn’t read, so I decided I would watch it at home from a library DVD. 
There were five planes ahead of us. 
We were off! Good bye Houston!
Lots of white fluffy clouds. Houston looks like it is around a lot of water. I was trying to figure out if I could tell where there was flood damage. I don’t know what the area looked like before so….who knows? 
I will tell you we were heading south from Houston. 
I was exited about watching “Hoarders” on the plane. One of my guilty pleasures is watching that and “My 600 Pound Life”. It always makes me feel good about myself, my life is nowhere that much out of control. Although if you did see my paper book romance collection and my 23,000 photos in my iCloud you would roll your eyes at me!
We got our warm nuts and my ice water. 
Lunch was pretty yucky. A mushroom ravioli with more fennel on the salad. 
Dessert was a warm apple something. Not quite a cookie, nor a pie. Although it wasn’t very good I ate it. I am addicted to sugar, let’s just put it out there. 
We passed over a beautiful beach 
We are heading south over Mexico. That was Merida.
We passed over some phosphate mines and then landed in Belize City. We ended up landing before the movie was over so I guess I will have to borrow it from the library after all! 
Here is Sydney. We arranged to have her meet us past customs and help us get our plane tickets. It was a small airport, and we probably didn’t need her assistance, but as the hotel booked our next set of flights I wanted to make sure someone else was in charge of making sure we were going to get to where we needed to go. 
There were many shops at the airport. This may count as my grocery store as I don’t think that I will be wandering around town by myself.
We waited about two hours for our next flight. I would read a chapter in my paperback, then read one on my kindle app and then walk to stretch my legs. Every once in awhile we would notice someone remarkable. There seemed to be a lot of beer drinking in the airport. Steve remarked that is what most people do on beach vacation. Drink, sun and then drink some more. I sit in the shade, sober and blog. It is possible that if I drunkblogged, my blog might be more interesting. However as Steve edits the blog, it is highly likely that my drunk blog posts would not survive.
I did notice at the airport that many of the stores sold hot sauce and booze. 
Soon it was time to get on our flight. We weren’t sure how it would work, we lined up at one point thinking it was time, and then we were told to sit down. Then our names were called and they told us to follow the rest of the people onto a plane.
It is a small plane!
It was very small. As was that baby. 
To get in the plane you went through this opening behind Steve. 
They snapped one part of the door up. 
Then they brought the rest down. 
This lady was constantly on her phone going through her pictures.
We saw a number of tree plantations with some fires that looked like they were well controlled. 
First stop was Dangrio. A few people got off. 
Selfie lady was doing a good job tweeking her pictures. 
There appeared to be many big ass homes here. These homes were on the way to Placencia.
Our second stop. About six people got off here, and one guy got on with a bouquet of flowers.
A lot of stuff was loaded onto the plane.
These roses were placed behind me on the plane. They must have cost a fortune! 
The plane was pretty empty by now. They didn’t ask us to move our seats. I was wondering about that. Sometimes on the smaller planes they need to balance the load. 
This was a a cruise ship island. There was a big swimming pool, lots of beaches and chairs. 
Most of the land we flew over had lots of green, and these interesting rivers. 
We were finally near our destination. Punta Gorda. We are going to be staying in the rain forest, near the coast. Steve will be fishing, while I will stay sober and blog. I am not sure if I will go to the beach at all. 
It was another small airport.
Good bye plane! I hope someone meets us here to take us to the resort! 
We waited outside with our luggage and selfie girl with boyfriend. 
We met the driver from Copal Tree lodge, and our four bags got loaded into the Jeep.
This is the center of town where the market is held. 
If I went to a grocery store I would ask to go to Tim’s. It looks like the biggest in town.
Here is sugar cane. When they are ready do harvest, it is cut down to the ground. Then the soil is tilled and new sugar cane roots are planted. 
Follow the signs to Copal Tree Lodge. This is where we will be staying.
Yay! We have entered the grounds. 
This is a picture of a permit. Steve hopes to catch one of these. They are very hard to catch. We have our fingers crossed.
We were given a refreshing glass of ginger tea. It was refreshing but spicy!
Our room is just across the patio the left most door.
There was a small covered seating area outside the canopy suites. I am praying that we don’t have neighbors that like to party like crazy, because that seriously looks like a nice place to hang out! 
Looking in the other direction is the pool with an invisible edge. I had always wanted a pool in our back yard in Poughkeepsie. Steve tolerated my thoughts and said “Go ahead, and get an estimate!”. Well my estimate for my dream pool was over $200,000! Thankfully I came to my senses and declined the generous estimate that the pool salesman offered us. The pool would have been quite special, with an invisible edge, retractable cover, beach style entry, and waterfall. Of course, I would hardly use it at all as I am not crazy about being outside in weather that is either too hot or too cold, or too humid. I like the air around me moving just a tad and a constant 72 unless I am sleeping.
We are in room 15. Get ready. 
Walking in I wanted to cry. It was so large.
There was a closet to the right, with a safe.
To the left was the bathroom.
What is that outside on the deck facing the jungle?
Why it’s a soaking tub! Of course, doesn’t everyone need to bathe with a view? There was also a large shower and a toilet, but unless it is a $10,000 Japanese toilet with fans, cleansing wands and heated seats, I will rarely take their picture!
Let’s explore the room a little more. Big bed with fake mosquito netting for a romantic mood.
Large sofa that could possible used to take a nap.
Another view of the bed.
There was a desk to throw stuff on.
Through the doors we go. 
Another sofa to hangout on to my left. 
To the right was a hammock and more chairs to lounge on. This is my kind of place! Steve tried out the hammock but said it was a little bit too small for his frame. I won’t try it unless he is around as I am likely to get trapped in it. 
‘This is a view from the outside looking in.
Here is a closeup of the beautiful birds of paradise flowers in our room. We unpacked and then it was time for dinner.
There were more beautiful flowers in the dining room.
This is where I chose to sit. All the tables were outside on the veranda.
It started to get dark pretty quick, once the sun began to set.
The amuse bouche was bread and butter. ????? I think bread and butter should always be served, but I will follow the chef’s lead on this one, amuse bouche it is.
I had the conch and corn chowder soup to start.
Steve had the chicken wings, which were really messy to eat.
Steve’s entree was lamb.
I had the lobster special. Today was the last day that lobster could be legally caught in Belize. They are off limits so they can spawn.
Steve had the vanilla spice cake.
I had the chocolate tart.
It is so much fun to leave the New York Metropolitan area out of LaGuardia airport. It may be a zoo, and a very old airport, but the views over Manhattan can’t be beat! The rectangular dark area is Central Park. The very bright street is …..Broadway!
We are flying from LaGuardia to Houston, where we will spend the night. Maybe I should wait until tomorrow for you to find out where we are going. Yes, I think I shall.
There were two choices for our entree, and they ran out of the first, some kind of salad, so I had the macaroni and cheese with grilled chicken. The chicken looks like meat loaf, but it was grilled. I don’t like spicy food, so the macaroni was a thumbs down 👎🏻 for me. The dessert was a turtle cheesecake, caramel and chocolate. Steve says that was fennel on the salad. 
We landed early in Houston, I got messed up on the time change. I thought we were going to land an hour earlier than we did. So I didn’t like that last hour. They had no entertainment in the seat backs, so I just read. I could have used my iPad and watched a movie, but then I would have had to bother Steve for it in the backpack that he had in the upper compartment. There was a lot of turbulence on the flight so the buckle your seat belt sign was on a lot. Yesterday there were a lot of twitter postings around bad turbulence with stuff strewn all over the cabins, so I think it was a good idea to keep our rears in our seats. I always keep my lap belt, low and tight while we fly unless I am getting up to use the facilities. 
There were a lot of business people in our first class section of the plane. I thought I saw red insteps on this guy’s shoes on the left. I was racing to catch up to him, to snap a picture of them. It was the first time I had seen a guy wearing Christian Louboutin shoes. Alas, he went to fast for me, and then entered the men’s room. A solid no go for me! 
We were going to stay at the Marriott at the airport. It took us awhile to figure out how to get there. Of course I didn’t listen to Steve, who actually paid attention to the directions we were given. We finally did find the tram and found the hotel. We were smart and had our luggage checked through to our next destination at the LaGuardia check in desk for United. I really didn’t want to lug our luggage (nice alliteration!) around the airport to the hotel, and back to the airport.
It was easy to follow directions to the room. The desk clerk said to go up to floor two and go down the corridor with the yellow lights. 
Room 2015 it was. 
Not a bad room. Let’s hope the a/c works, and we sleep well.