Your favorite
traveling tandem is off soon on another adventure, this time on a sailing excursion
from Costa Rica to Panama. Yeah, we know, that isn’t cheap, but we did get the
trip at half-price when we saw it offered mid-December. Remember when a ship
sails with an empty berth that is revenue lost forever.
We’re
traveling again with the Unforgettable Cruises people. Readers of this incredibly
informative travel blog may recall that we sailed with Unforgettable Cruises
last July island hopping along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia on a ship that
had only 38 passengers. The London based company is attentive to details and
offer trips to destinations around the world. Their motto is “small ships big
experiences”.
At
first, we considered traveling with them on a two-week liveaboard dive
excursion in the Maldives, an expensive big-ticket bucket-list item for me, especially
now that I am dive certified for open water, but logistically it didn’t work
out. We also considered Bali and Fiji, but we jumped on their special offer of the
half-priced trip we are going on next week. Payment had to be made in full at
the time as the trip was just two months later, but we asked for and received a
modest discount on top of the set rate because we were “frequent” travelers
with the company.
M/S PANORAMA
We are on the M/S
Panorama, a three-masted motorsailer first launched in 1993 and renovated in
2014 and sail from Puerto Caldera in Costa Rica, to Panama City, Panama. There
are much cheaper ways of traveling, but the level of luxury offered by the
company makes it difficult to look elsewhere for accommodations
Readers
of this blog know Team VFH likes beer. Wherever we go in our travels we seek out
and savor the local brews.From the Maui
Brewing Company in Lahaina to De Halve Maan Brouwerij in Bruges we’ve been
known to take a seat at the bar and enjoy. Fortunately, we don’t have to travel
that far to slake our thirst for quality beer. Here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
alone there are over 300 craft breweries. Phoenixville, five miles from my middle-class garret in Collegeville, has become a mecca for craft brewing with no less than 6 craft breweries in the town and another 5 in the surrounding area. There's even a new one opening soon in Collegeville called Troubles End... we'll see if that place will be the cause of all my troubles as well.
Phoenixville
is a former rusting
steel town has been revitalized with a lively nightlife of restaurants, bars
and breweries.
Sadly though,
today’s story is not about pub crawls in Phoenixville but about Stoudt’s
Brewery which will be shuttering their production after 33 years. One of the
original craft breweries in Pennsylvania, Stoudt’s in Adamstown, outside of
Reading, produces great quality, honest beer. Led by Carol Stoudt, the first
female brew master since Prohibition ended, says it was a difficult decision,
but “we’re not moving enough volume to justify the expense of keeping the
brewery open.”
I will miss
their Double IPA and their Believer Reserve Tripel aged in wine barrels.
The other
entities of the Stoudt’s complex on North Reading Road will remain open. They
include a restaurant, antiques mall, a cheese-making facility and on premises
bakery and a lively beer garden that hosts Oktoberfest celebrations in the
fall.
I’ve gone
to Stoudt’s several times over the years for both lunch and the Oktoberfest and
I am saddened by this turn of events, but cannot begrudge Carol Stoudt from
wanting to enjoy retirement.
“We’re
not closing the doors to any business opportunities that could help the Stoudt’s
brand live on,” said Ms. Stoudt, but she was one of the first in the exploding
craft beer world, and “now it is up to a
new generation to continue the tradition of innovation that defines craft beer.”
Given the
landscape around this neck of the woods, she’s left us in good hands. The announcement for the closing came last week with an eventual shut down in early spring.
On January
17, 1920 the United States entered into the dark ages. On this sad day the 18th
Amendment went into effect and Prohibition began. Enforced by the Volstead Act,
the amendment prevented the manufacture and sale of alcohol throughout the U.S.
and it lasted 13 sorrowful years until its repeal by the 21st Amendment.
Nationwide the law proved difficult to enforce and the party never really
stopped, it just had different hosts.
Think
of bootleggers Lucky Luciano and Al Capone and think of that army of
Federal Prohibition agents or Prohis like Elliot Ness trying to crash the
party. They called them there days the Roaring 20’s for good reason.
ABSTINENCE,
BUBBLERS AND CAPONE
The
question needs to be asked. Now, why on God’s good earth would anyone want to
ruin a good time by prohibiting alcohol? Don’t they realize that’s the best
they will feel all day if they don’t drink? Sobriety, I’ll drink to that.
Well,
the temperance movement was churning along for decades before the Prohibition
Act was finally ratified. Teetotalers strongly felt there was a direct
correlation between alcohol consumption and the loss of self-control, disease,
death, suicide and crime and that abstinence was the only way to combat this
affliction.
Also,
because of the industrial revolution there was a need to have people operate
the machinery of the day safely, and, during WWI there were scattered worldwide
prohibitions in several countries. Grain was in short supply and needed for
food and not distilling into alcohol.
ALCOHOL…
THE CAUSE OF AND SOLUTION TO … ALL LIFE’S PROBLEMS!
During
this time much of continental Europe, the UK, Finland, Canada and even Russia
had some sort of restriction on alcohol, although this all eventually melted
away after the war. Still, the U.S. stuck to their guns and carried on with
prohibition until it was finally repealed in 1933.
WHEN I
READ ABOUT THE EVILS OF ALCOHOL, I STOPPED READING
One “refreshing”
attempt to keep people sober can still be found today in Portland Oregon. In
1912 Simon Benson, a local entrepreneur, gave the city $10,000 to install bronze
drinking fountains in the downtown area hoping this would encourage his workers
to drink water in the middle of the day and not alcohol. If you needed a drink
have water instead. The fountains were affectionately nicknamed Benson
“Bubblers” and Portland Oregon even has a walking tour of the fountains that
still run 365 days a year, except when there is an extreme cold snap.
24
HOURS IN A DAY … 24 BEERS IN A CASE? NOT A COINCIDENCE!
Well,
despite the best efforts by teetotalers and our government to save us from
demon drink, Prohibition was very unpopular through much of the country and
bootleggers cashed in and fought vicious turf wars to maintain profits.
Think St. Valentine's Day Massacre...
Although
the Volstead Act stipulated that individual states should help enforce
Prohibition, compliance varied from state to state. Some state governors would
not appropriate money to this cause and Maryland never enacted an enforcement
code and became staunchly anti-prohibition. It is estimated that in New York
City there were 30,000 illicit Speak-easies, or illegal bars, but by 1923 the
Empire State had repealed its measures. By the late 1920’s Americans were
spending a lot on black-market booze. For example, the booze “industry” in
Detroit was second only to the auto industry. When the Great Depression hit,
anti-prohibitionist argued for repeal because the lost tax revenues to the
government were too costly to ignore. Franklin D. Roosevelt campaigned on a
promise to repeal the 18th Amendment and he won the election in a
landslide.
I
DRINK TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE MORE INTERESTING
Though
Prohibition ended at the federal level some states still banned alcohol within
their borders. Kansas was a dry state until 1948 and Oklahoma until 1959 and
Mississippi was dry until, gasp, 1966!To this day there are still 10 states that have dry counties.
Even New
Jersey, that great corridor state has over 30 towns that are dry to this day.
Many of these dry NJ towns are in the southern half of the state and have
strong ties with various religious groups like Quakers and Methodists, but
there are a few in the northern sections as well, like Saddle River and
Pennington and Far Hills. Though you can’t purchase alcohol in these towns, you
can still drink, although you obviously can never drink and drive.
Incidentally, DWI arrests are higher in dry towns, because you can’t walk home,
but have to drive.
Some have
BYOB restaurants and some dry towns, oddly enough, have breweries and wineries
within their borders. This may not make sense, but licenses to manufacture
alcohol are issued by the state and not the municipalities.
For
example, Kings Road Brewing Company is located in the dry town of Haddonfield
and their tasting room is open every day except Monday.
Another
lasting reminder of the Prohibition era and today a very popular sport is NASCAR
or National Association for Stock Car Racing. Bootleggers and rumrunners relied
on cars that could pass the eye test for looking normal on the street, but with
modified engines that made them faster than the ones driven by Prohibition
agents and police chasing them. Drivers with daredevil abilities at negotiating
sharp turns at reckless speeds while maneuvering along dirt, gravel and
blacktop roads were busy from Washington to North Carolina throughout Prohibition.
On weekends “runners” throughout the
south would race each other for fun in their modified cars on makeshift dirt
tracks, which eventually evolved into NASCAR in 1947. Today races like Daytona
500 and the Brickyard 400 are just a few of the well-attended races on the
yearly schedule.
YOU’RE
NOT DRUNK IF YOU CAN LIE ON THE FLOOR WITHOUT HOLDING ON
So, the
great Prohibition movement to keep us sober started on January 17, 1920. Now,
there’s no law that says you can’t drink, or get drunk. It’s not illegal to be
drunk in public, but you can’t drive. Please remember that! You can be drunk,
but you can’t be a nuisance and disorderly and give your bartender a hard time.
He has a difficult job as it is trying to figure out if someone is drunk or
just stupid.
Vacations
From Home was born in 2009 amid an extreme lull in my work. Faced with dwindling money reserves
but still having that itch to see the world, the approach behind this blog was as
necessary as it was functional. Sure, we wrote about the far corners of the
world, but we learned the importance of destinations just around the corner. We’ve
had fun making light of mooching, but depended at times on the generosity of
friends. In our ten years we’ve seen a lot, but there is so much more to see.
So, here’s
my yearly advice to you, be nice to everyone you meet and not just the people you
like. This will get the new year off to a fine start, but it may also reveal a
new destination opportunity that you may otherwise have missed, or at least an
invitation to a pool party.
Those in the Philadelphia television market will know this tune. Let it guide you through your days. AND, be nice... you'll never know when that will pay off!
A
saeculum is an ancient Roman measurement of time meant to chronicle major events
like a war or the foundation of a city and spanning anywhere from 90 to 110
years, effectively a lifetime. Everything that happened after an event would be
considered a part of that saecula.
official VFH t-shirt design
Vacations
From Home is entering just its second decade of bringing you rewarding and
entertaining tales of traveling on the cheap and extravagantly, both near and
far, but according to a recent report from Team VFH central command we have already
experienced an entire saecula of global jet-setting and mooching. In effect your
dedicated chroniclers of escapades have exceeded its allotment of fun and
travel that most people would never approach in their lives.
You don’t
think we’re going to stop do you? Remember it’s a big world out there and
someone has to see it.
CHASING
THE SUN
This year
has been especially adventurous for this vivacious and charismatic traveling
tag team (and might I modestly add devilishly handsome scribe). We have
been blessed with the opportunity to travel quite a bit and hopefully dear and
noble reader you have followed our attempts to chase the sun in 2019.
If not,
here’s a quick recap:
January
Janet was
off to England to visit her daughter and the grandchildren. I still work occasionally;
I am freelance and decided to stay home.
SUNSET MALLORY SQUARE KW
February
Escaping
a snow storm in the northeast, we spent nearly 3 weeks in the Florida Keys. We
flew into Miami and worked our way down the string of islands. We stayed on Big
Pine Key on the way down at the Looe Key Dive Resort, had a week in Key West
and stayed a few days at Amoray Dive Resort on Key Largo. We never got to dive
though although we did hit a number of dive bars in Key West.
March
While I
worked the NCAA tournament for CBS Janet flitted off to visit her other daughter
in Austin Texas with a couple of her friends from college. I may be somewhat
retired, but the money is too good to pass up. I got to stay in New York City
for two weeks.
April
We did not
travel, but I did get to Newark NJ (where I was born) to enjoy the Cherry
Blossoms in Branch Brook Park. In full bloom in April there are more Japanese
Cherry Blossoms planted in Newark than in Washington, D.C.
LAKE WINDERMERE, ENGLAND
May
We spent
2 weeks in England. We had gotten very inexpensive airfare.
This was
Janet’s second of three visits to her daughter and grandsons this year. We
spent most of the time in Nantwich but also took a three- day side trip via
train to Lancaster to stay at the Sun Hotel and to walk along the picturesque
canal. We spent a day in the Lake District a 45-minute train north from
Lancaster and took a boat ride on Lake Windermere, the longest lake in the
District. It was quite beautiful in the Lake Districts. The more we travel to
England the more I think of returning.
June
Janet was
in Austin, Texas yet again for a week and when she returned, we began to prepare
for our major trip the next month.
ZELJKO AND HIS TOYS
July
We
traveled three weeks in Croatia. We traveled like tourists AND as Croatians.
After a
couple of days in the walled city of Dubrovnik we cruised through the Dalmatian
Islands aboard a luxury yacht. Then we rented a car to hike in the beautiful
Plitvice Lakes National Park. Then, we stayed with old friends at their summer
home in Trpanj on the Peljesac Peninsula. It had been 35 years since I had last
visited with my friends. It was a very special trip. (Not saying staying with
the in-laws is any less special)…….
August
We rested,
gardened and grew our peppers. We invited ourselves to friend’s pools and bbq’s
and these friends were so happy to be regaled with tales of our travels.
I made
hot sauces and pineapple/habanero jelly.
September
As a
working stiff in the television industry for decades there was never a
chance to visit the Jersey Shore after Labor Day. Kids were in school and
tennis tournaments and football was gearing up. Janet as a teacher also had to
work. Even though it was still summer life got in the way.
WILDWOOD NJ
Free now
from such burdens we decided to go to Wildwood NJ the week after Labor Day and it
was glorious. Though many of the attractions of the seaside resort (where Janet
spent much of her youth) were closed, we still got to eat pizza at her favorite
place and walk the length of the boardwalk and trudge out onto the quarter mile
wide beach to frolic in the still warm water. It was a beautiful relaxing time.
October
AGAIN,
Janet travels to England for a third time this year. The kids grow quickly
after all. She took them out trick or treating on Halloween.
GETTYSBURG
I took a
day trip to Gettysburg. We had been there several times before. It was a warm
early autumn day and a pleasant day for me. On the way out I treated myself to
a breakfast at the all you can stuff down your throat Shady Maple Smorgasbord.
On the way back home I had to buy new shocks for the car because of weight gain.
Thankfully
a quiet month of just hanging around the home. We did not cook a Thanksgiving
meal but instead ate at the Black Lab Bistro in Phoenixville and then saw The
Irishman at the Colonial Theater. Both places were busy.
We
wrapped up this exceptional year with another trip to a Sandals resort. This
time we stayed at the Royal Bahamian. I truthfully would never have considered
an all-inclusive, adults only, couples only resort, because of cost, but in the
long run, especially when the scuba diving is free it makes for a great trip. I
passed my PADI Open Water certification.
SANDALS ROYAL BAHAMIAN
We have
already booked our trip next year to Sandals South Coast in Jamaica.
Thanks
for reading. It has been a great decade of seeing the world. Please come back to follow our antics as we move into 2020!
You know,
it’s really easy to overlook history and just sip rum drinks and bask in the
sun of The Bahamas, but here at the Sandals Royal Bahamian resort on Cable Bay
one is reminded of the interesting history of The Bahamas and her former
governor David Windsor, what with all the pictures and love letters adorning
the walls of the Piano Bar, in the Balmoral Building at the resort. You would
know David Windsor as King Edward VIII. His family and close friends called him
David, but his full name was Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick
David…Windsor.
SHE
LOVES YOU
He was
King Edward VIII for just a few months in 1936. Soon after his coronation he
proposed to an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, who at the time was seeking a
divorce from her second husband. As the head of the Church of England, Edward’s
proposal to a woman whose two exes were still alive was politically and
socially unacceptable and he was forced to make a choice.
DIRTY BANANA
He
listened to his heart and chose love. He stepped down, his younger brother
became king and when he passed his daughter became Queen. She’s still there,
Queen Elizabeth II.
TWIST
AND SHOUT
Right
about now you’re probably saying ‘who cares? And, where’s my Dirty Banana
drink?’ Well, while alternating between that sweet concoction and the deadly
Zombie, that is mixed with 4 types of rum, it’s still hard to ignore the
history of the old Balmoral Manor and in its current iteration as Sandals Royal
Bahamian one is reminded of the luminaries this place has hosted.
Our
favorite bar in the joint is the Piano Bar, which we have affectionally dubbed
the “Wrinkle Room” (because of the older crowd). Here pictures of Edward /
David and Wallis are everywhere and at the Cricketeer a British-style pub (fake
hand pumps) Beatles paraphernalia and photographs adorns their walls. The
Beatles stayed here while filming scenes for their movie “Help” and celebrated
George Harrison 22nd birthday at the Balmoral "Amoral” Club.
THE WRINKLE ROOM
THE
LONG AND WINDING ROAD
When
Edward VIII abdicated the throne, he and his wife received the title of the Duke
and Duchess of Windsor and lived in relative exile in continental Europe. England
had never had a former king live beyond his reign and the Duke was eager to remain
relevant and to have his wife treated as a full member of the Royal family. When
the German government extended an invitation for them to visit Germany and to
meet with Hitler they readily accepted. In October 1937, the outcast
couple visited the country and met with Hitler at Berchtesgaden and they were
indeed treated with all the dignity and status afforded to royalty. Covered
extensively by the German media this visit served as great propaganda for the
Nazi regime and the Duke was even photographed giving full Nazi salutes.
NOWHERE
MAN
Prior
to 1917 the House of Windsor was actually called the House of Saxe-Coburg and
Gotha, with the direct Germanic connection through Albert, husband to Queen
Victoria. During WWI anti-German sentiment was at a fever pitch especially when
the Gotha G.IV heavy bomber capable of flying across the English Channel began
bombing London in March 1917. The house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha wisely relabeled
themselves as Windsor in order to distance themselves from this unenviable
connection with their enemies.
When the
Duke of Windsor decided to take the Nazis up on their invitation just 20 years
later the English government was not happy, and when two years later with the
war gearing up there were persistent but unsubstantiated rumors that the Duke
pressed the Germans to relentlessly bomb England to force a peace and that Germany
wanted to reinstate the Duke as King to form a puppet government..
WE CAN
WORK IT OUT
You
can’t kill him, but you can’t keep him around, so the English government forced
the Duke to accept the position as governor of The Bahamas. The Duke groused that
this was a 3rd rate British colony, but the arrival of the Duke and
Duchess in 1940 captured the hearts and imaginations of The Bahamians. Wealthy
islanders were hopeful this former King who abdicated his throne for love would
help label The Bahamas as the “Islands of Romance” and help the fledgling
tourist industry. Poorer islanders hoped their presence would bring attention to
inferior living conditions.
IN THE BAHAMAS
I’LL
FOLLOW THE SUN
The Duke
of Windsor actually enjoyed some success as Governor including funding
development of the Out Islands and brokering closer ties between the United
States and The Bahamas and he remained governor until 1945.
Another
achievement were the extensive renovations the Duke and Duchess made to the
Government House in Nassau. Infested with termites and shabby furnishings
dating from the Victorian era, the Royal couple sought funding and also
provided some of their personal monies to extensive renovations that including
new electrical wiring and plumbing. This beautiful pink black and white building
remains the official residence of the Governor of The Bahamas.
While
the renovations of the Government House were completed, the Duke and Duchess
stayed with a Canadian ex-patriot, Harry Oakes, at his mansion Westbourne, near
to where the present Sandals Royal Bahamian sits. I’m not sure if they too
lolled about poolside drinking Dirty Bananas while there, but if you’re gonna
get exiled it’s Better In The Bahamas.
THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE, NASSAU
The Bahamas
became a Commonwealth realm in 1973 and today she is actually the third richest
country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada, due to their tourism
industry and offshore financing.
Team VFH
is living it up again, this time in The Bahamas. We are staying at another
Sandals, our second stop at this Caribbean chain of all-inclusive, adults only,
couples only resort. First started in Jamaica, there are now several resorts
throughout the islands. We had spent our honeymoon at a Sandals in Antiqua and
were quite pleased with the level of luxury and opulence we enjoyed. Here at
Sandals Royal Bahamian, an older, more compacted resort than Antiqua, we are
still enjoying the same level of food and drink and service as our first stop
with Sandals.
It’s not
“traveling”, but vacationing and so far, we like it so much we’re planning a
third Sandals to yet another one of their resorts. There is an incentive to
planning the trip while here, for we joined their “loyalty” program and we get “points”
and discounts when we act early like this.
SANDALS ROYAL BAHAMIAN
THE
LAND OF NO “NO’s”
No matter
the request, no matter how odd the words may seem coming out of your mouth, here
at Sandals we have never heard the word “no”. At your surf and turf dinner you
want a second, or third, lobster tail, just ask. If you want Milk… does your
body good milk… you can get it at the swim up bar instead of a Zombie or a
Mai Tai. If you’re lolling by the water or the pool and you need a drink,
someone from Sandals will soon saunter by to fill your request, or fetch a new
towel if needed. Sandals is remarkably attentive and each request is filled
with aplomb AND brilliant unforced smiles.
Sandals
Grande Antigua was spread over a larger area and perhaps because of this had a
more sedate feel to it and seemingly an older crowd than in The Bahamas.
Stretched along much of the picturesque Dickenson Bay, Antigua catered to a
more international clientele with British and American electrical plugs in the
rooms, and it is a newer facility. Restaurants were scattered throughout the
grounds as well as requisite pools with swim up bars.
The
Sandals Royal Bahamian does not lack in swim up bars or restaurants, but it is
an older facility. Once called the Balmoral that had been acquired, repurposed and expanded by the Sandals Company, the place is a lot more cramped than Antigua. Yes, the
Sandals in The Bahamas offers everything Antigua did, but here it’s all
clustered in a much smaller area. Neither is it set off in a remote location, but
there are businesses and homes right outside the gate and even a Starbucks just a short
distance away.Most of the Sandals restaurants are
found in one building; Janet and I call it “the Mall”. We’ve also named the two
pools….the “quiet” one and the “noisy” one. Most of the crowds gather at the noisy pool for
the daily dance antics and foam wackiness. There are more younger Americans
here.as Nassau is just a half hour flight from Miami, and it’s much cheaper to
come to Sandals Royal Bahamian than Antigua.
BALMORAL ISLAND
Although
the beach here is much shorter than Dickenson’s Bay with jetties helping
collect sand for the beach, there is also a private island off shore that has a
restaurant, pool and isolated stretches of sand. A launch takes patrons on a five minute ride out to Balmoral
Island and we have spent a couple of afternoons there. The sunlight here is
perfect for stretching out to tan; while at the pools one has to dodge shadows as the
day progresses. Although clothing optional beaches are illegal in The Bahamas,
evidently this rule is overlooked on Sandals Island. Balmoral Island is a very nice feature of this resort.
BALMORAL ISLAND
GOING
DOWN
Aside
from all the decadent care afforded by Sandals are their watersports.
Everything from paddle boarding to kayaks to snorkeling to diving is free. In
fact, no other resort offers free diving like Sandals which was one of the
tipping points for us in selecting Sandals as our destination resort. Here
in The Bahamas the diving has been incredible. During this trip we have gone on
several two-tank divers (two dives in a day), swam with sharks and schools of
neon-blue fish coursing over the reefs like an underwater river, explored a
shipwreck, watched a massive sting ray flit out from beneath the sand and at
one point dove to a depth of nearly 80 feet.
BRIAN AND ME
Diving
was an unnerving sport for a novice like myself, but the attentiveness and care
the fellows at both dive shops in Antigua and The Bahamas has gotten me
certified as an Open Water Diver. There is a cost for the PADI (Professional Association
of Dive Instructors) and if you want to rent a wetsuit from Sandals, but otherwise
it is all free, even the little sandwiches and fruit the resort sends along.
Instead of wetsuits we wore UPF protection long sleeve shirts and even though
it’s December it is The Caribbean and warm.
A few of
our dives were from the other side of the island, so the resort would transport
us to the boat. We got to see a bit of Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas in
the process, an added bonus.
Given the
care and attentiveness, food and drink AND the diving, Sandals may be expensive
but it worth the visit.
