Superbowl Sunday Rum Punch
Unless you have been living in a cave (not that there is anything wrong with that) or you on a cruise around the world (in which case you probably don’t care) you probably realize that tomorrow is “Superbowl Sunday”. Many of you may already know that I am a huge football fan and although my team (The Pittsburgh Steelers) isn’t playing in the big game, Superbowl Sunday is still better than Christmas for me. Being that I like to pretend like I an amateur chef I take this as a great opportunity to get into the kitchen to cook a feast big enough to feed a parking lot full of hungry tail-gaters. Naturally, with all of the food that gets consumed comes a wee bit of alcohol. That alcohol is what brings me to the subject of this blog post, a new drink recipe.
Now, when watching the Superbowl I never plan on having people over. I don’t invite anyone or anything like that, to paraphrase Field of Dreams “if you make it they will come”. So, in addition to cooking a ton of food I also make sure to have a lot of drinks. Of course I pick the staples like beer and wine I always make a special drink. This year the drink I will be making is Caribbean Rum Punch.
1 Cup Bacardi 151 Proof Rum
1/2 Cup Dark Rum (Myers)
1/4 Cup Malibu Rum
2 1/2 Cups Pineapple Juice
2 1/2 Cups Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
3 Tblsp Grenadine
Ice Cubes
Of course you can either make this by the glass or scale it up to make a bowl of the punch. Also if the 151 is a little heavy (as it is for most people) just substitute a light colored rum in its place.
Looks Like I’ll Be Cruising in March
I’m pretty excited today. Yesterday, I booked a cruise for this March. The reason I had to wait so long is because the person I travel with has all of these hoops she needs to jump through in order to get a vacation request approved. Waiting until less than 60 days can be either a blessing or a curse. Luckily, this time it was a blessing. I was able to secure a cruise, airfare and hotel accommodations for less than I have ever paid.
I ended up choosing a Carnival cruise out of Puerto Rico for my March cruise. Although some people have reservations about cruising out of San Juan, it is one of my favorite ports of embarkation. For one I love the feel of Old San Juan and now that I have cruised out of there five times I know my way around pretty well. It almost feels like home. Secondly, Puerto Rican food is one of (if not) my favorite types of food. In my opinion when faced with a similar cost cruising out of San Juan is a no-brainer.
Since the weather in the Northeast in mid-March is pretty spotty, I will be flying in a day early just in case something goes wrong. Hopefully all goes well in which case I end up with an extra day in the Caribbean. I’d advise anyone who will be flying into or out of an airport which is subject to extreme weather to take similar precautions. While spending an extra night in a hotel (as well as dining out and other expenses) does add to the total cost of your trip it is an expenditure that is completely worth it. I’m also a big fan of the extra rest not flying in the same day provides. I find that it greatly increases my enjoyment of embarkation day.
This year I have heard a lot of rumblings about a lack of deals. In my experience this simply was not true, I ran across numerous deals while I was searching. While the deals weren’t jumping up and biting me like they were last year at this time, by digging just a bit deeper I came away extremely impressed.
One Man’s Take on Haiti
I have always considered myself fortunate to have a culturally diverse group of friends. The diversity that I have experienced allows me to get a glimpse of the world not only through my eyes but also through the viewpoint of others who come from a different background. Over the last few months one of the people who I have been mentoring at work happens to be from, and still has family living in Haiti. Over the last week we obviously spent a lot of time talking about the earthquake.
Although I haven’t talked to him since last week, as of this past Friday Alex still has family unaccounted for in Haiti. Although you can tell by his general demeanor that the thoughts weigh heavy, he still somehow remains upbeat. Through our talks he has given me a greater sense of what life in Haiti is like. His stories about his childhood, family and life in general led to me having a fuller understanding of the devastating impact the quake has had. In Alex’s own words “if the Sun continues to shine for a thousand more years, Haiti will never be the same”.