MISTER 67

Greetings from beautiful Port Charlotte.

A warm 75 this morning and heading up to 82 with a chance of late afternoon showers.

I guess Louie Louie day is about the famous 1960s song by the Kingsmen, I never really cared for that song but IMHO the 60s was the best decade ever for pop music. We have a lot of kitchen cabinet space in our new home but no pantry. National pet day is a good thing.
The quote is a hoot.

I would give the meal a try.

The Masters first round is today but there will a delay with tee times as they had quite a bit of rain overnight.

Have a great day and stay well.

13 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

We enjoyed a visit to Aqaba and Petra in October 2016 on the Emerald Princess.  We took a private tour with a roll call group and it was excellent.  Draining though with the heat so drink twice as much water as you think you should.  I nearly fainted at the end and had to plop down on the ground to prevent injury as we got back to the visitor center.  But I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

 

On Oct. 10, 2016 our private tour group drove 2 hours from Aqaba past the Wadi Rum desert wilderness area and arrived at Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world.  We arrived by 9 am which is a good thing since this is a very hot, dry area and it only gets hotter as the day goes on. 

 

 

The entrance to the visitor center. 

 

When you first start out there is an area on your left where they keep the horses.  You can either ride a horse, take a cart, or walk.  We walked.  The long walkway here is called Bab Al Siq.

 

 

Next you'll see the Obelisk Tomb.

 

It's named after the four Indian obelisks that decorate the top of the tomb.  This tomb has two stories to it.  

 

 

 

The Siq is a spectacular gorge that leads into the ancient city.  The original channel cut in the walls to bring water into Petra can be seen, and in some places the original terracotta pipes are still in place. 

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite photos of DH walking through the curvy walled tunnel.

 

 

One particular rock formation looked like a fish from the side but an elephant from the front. 

 

The elephant view

 

The colors of the rock can vary widely.

 

Most interesting are the many niches carved into the sandstone walls.

 

Suddenly ahead we saw, through the gap in the rock, the magnificent Treasury!

 

It rises to almost 128 feet and is intricately decorated with Corinthian capitals, decorative bands, figures and more.  It is crowned by an urn, which according to local legend conceals a pharaoh's treasure.

 

 

 

To the left of the Treasury is this area to rest and shop. 

 

You could rent a camel for a ride here in case you were tiring from the walk.

 

From the Treasury we proceeded on to the Street of Facades, the name given to the row of monumental tombs carved into the southern cliff face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Theatre

 

 

Our guide Zayed and some of the Royal Tombs.

 

 

 

 

We walked as far as we could.

 

All the way to the Nymphaeum, a semi-circular public fountain shaded by a 450 year old wild pistachio tree.  No water here!

 

Further down was the Colonnaded Street which would have been a shopping street in ancient Petra, but by now we were ready to turn back.  We had miles to walk, uphill to return to our bus.

 

 

When we walked back past the Treasury there were lots more people there.  Glad we got there early!

 

You had to watch out for carts and horses all the time or risk getting run over.

 

 

On to lunch at a Petra restaurant in the next post.

An amazing place and great photos.

Greetings from beautiful Port Charlotte.

68 this morning and a little warmer this PM with a high of 85.

Good selection of days as is the quote.

I like stuffed cabbage rolls with ground meat but not sure I’d like them with veggies.

My cold is much better but I going give golf a pass today and wait until Friday, instead we will make it a beach day, unfortunately DW now has the sniffles and maybe the sea air will help.

Have a great day and stay well.

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good morning from a wet 46°F NE England.

Thank you for today's FR&D.

3 interesting days and quote.

I will give today's food a rest.

Prayers for good health for all dailyites.

I have a skin cancer check up later.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

A little video from our Fjord's cruise June 2023 of what we all love to do.

 

Thanks Graham, I appreciate it when you give the reasons for certain days, I had no idea what Jenkin’s Ear day was about, I thought it was maybe some kind of a disease .

1 hour ago, Overhead Fred said:

We had a lovely anniversary in the Canaletto last night. I finally tried the Osso Bucco -

 

 

Pat, Ann, Tony, and Martha helped us celebrate -

 

And we got a nice cake - we shared, of course!

 

Very nice photo, happy to see you people dressed so nice and not like some of the slobs we see on cruise ships in this day and age.

Greetings from beautiful Port Charlotte.

A pleasant 63 this morning, another nice day coming up with sunny skies and high of 83.

Some silly days but the quote makes sense.

I’ll take an order of the broccoli and cheese muffins.

Is it just me or did the country go a bit overboard and the media overhype the eclipse, like I said the other day, at 78 years old nothing excites me that much anymore.
We cruised Alaska back in 2000, beautiful scenery but it was August and it wasn’t what you call summer and we were happy when we were back home in Florida.

My cold is much better and I’ll play golf tomorrow.

Have a great day and stay well.

1 minute ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Good morning friends!  This morning it's 50F so not too bad.  Today it will be 77 for a high with a sunny morning and a partly cloudy afternoon.  I think I'll sit on my porch during the eclipse and watch the darkness appear.  I don't have a pair of special glasses so won't be looking at the sun.  I'll record the news reporting of the eclipse and watch it afterward to see as much of it as I can.  I do think my twin and her DH are going to go to a good spot 2 hours south of her home in Missouri to take part in it.  They will be in the 100% totality area, we are around 80% totality here.🌞

 

Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps for us.  Isn't it cool that HAL has 3 ships in the area of Mexico where the solar eclipse will be? 🚢 Koningsdam, Volendam and Zaandam!  Anyway today we can celebrate D.A.R.E. Day, artists who draw birds, and Roma.  From Wikipedia this is what the D.A.R.E. program is all about.  "Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., is an education program that tries to prevent use of controlled drugs, membership in gangs, and violent behavior."  So you can see how important that is to our schools.  I think the quote is a good one, will skip the meal today for something else, pass on the Cotton Candy drink and the wine.  Hurray for Hank Aaron's batting abilities.  Thanks to our F&B Dept. ladies Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reports!

 

Prayers said for everyone here on the Daily in need of them.  Special mentions made for many of you.  Also for my DB, great nephew Alex's twin boys, friends Scott, Susan and Sandy, the people in Israel and Ukraine still fighting for their countries, hostages held 6 months later, and our military members in the region.  🙏

 

Congrats to all celebrating happy special events and to our cruisers!  🎂🚢  I wish my twin Linda a very happy birthday. 🎉 She is 6 minutes younger than me.  Also happy birthday to Kathy @Norseh2o!  Happy anniversary to @erewhon.  🥂 And happy anniversary to Fred @Overhead Fred and Mitzi!  🥂Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your excellent list keeping and the mention of me and my twin.  Prayers for you daily!!

 

The port today is Darwin, Australia, an interesting and hot spot Down Under.  We had that port before on July 3, 2021, Oct. 24, 2022 and Dec. 24, 2023.  I've enjoyed Darwin twice before and have some photos to share again.  Here are the links for you.

 

 

 

 

 

Have a great day!  I think we'll go out for lunch today.  I prefer to be home for dinner.  And of course time spent outside during the eclipse!  Stay safe and keep well everyone!

@StLouisCruisers Have a great birthday!

Greetings from beautiful Port Charlotte.

60 right now with another sunny day with a high of 81.

I’m all for DARE, our young people must be made aware of the evil of illegal drugs and the harm they cause which can lead to death.

As a Greek Orthodox Christian, I love the quote.

I’m not a fan of artichokes so I’ll pass on the meal even though I love just about any kind of chicken.

People are really excited about todays eclipse, at 78 I don’t get too excited about anything anymore.

My head cold is a tad better this morning but I’m not going to play golf. 
I am a little excited as it’s Masters week and from Thursday through Sunday I will be glued to the TV watching my favorite Golf Tournament, I was lucky to be able to see the Masters live and in person back in 2001, hard to believe it’s been 23 years.
A couple of years after we were married we moved from Chicago to the suburbs a mile away from Medinah Country Club where I saw 3 US Opens, one of them was the Senior Open in 1988 which was won by Gary Player. Believe it or not I caddied for Player in 1960 at Edgewater Golf Club in Chicago in a Pro-Am which our club always hosted right before the Western Open, I was14 years old and there was a drawing in the Caddy shack and I drew Player who had just won the British Open 2 weeks earlier. 
Have a great day and stay well.
 

23 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

Wow, now that’s a large meal!

Bob, you wouldn’t have lost those 3 pounds with those great looking meals.

Greetings from beautiful Port Charlotte

59 this AM heading up to 81 this afternoon.

I have no idea what Snail-papers day is about and am perplexed by the quote.

I’m fighting a head cold right now, I’ve gone through 2 boxes of Kleenex since Friday night, no coughing or fever and tested negative on Covid but I probably won’t play golf tomorrow.

I love all kinds of potato salad but not as a main course meal.

We have been to Costa Maya many times taking a few tours including Tulum. Our best tour in Mexico was out of Cozumel when we flew to Chichen Itza on a 20 passenger turbo prop plane, still can’t believe we took that tour as most know we hate flying but it was a great trip.

Have a great day and stay well.

52 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

Sorry, can’t make it. Always park on Level 3 because besides ground floor only other place where there is a parking validation machine. When we arrived off the NS last week there were +20 people in line with luggage waiting on the elevators to the upper level of the main garage. I just walked up the steps to Level 3, validated my parking ticket and drove to the terminal to pick up the Misses and the luggage; all in five minutes!

We do the early walkoff and I mean early, DW is usually first or second in line ( I meet her a little later) and we never have to wait at the garage to pay at the machine. 

1 hour ago, RedneckBob said:

The Ascent also leaves on Dec 1. Based my advanced math studies and what happened this past year at Port Everglades, there are four ship in ports on 12/1/24. Expect the Reflection to leave from Terminal 19 and the Ascent Terminal 25. Meet you in Main Parking Garage on 12/1, Level 3 at 10:45 am!

Make that level 2 and it’s a date.

13 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

Which ship in December on Celebrity? We are trying the Ascent.

Dont know about food in MDR. Never dined there. We were lucky to dine at Speciality restaurants six of seven days. They were are excellent except for Canelltto. Disappointing. I had forgot the variety of foods at the Lido Restaurants compared to other cruise lines. The deli/pizza grill was good but only ordered once. Took over an hour to get a pizza!

The Reflection on December 1.

31 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

Thanks for the Fleet Update and General Info from all contributors!

 

Todays day! Nothing like having a large Charlie the tuna sandwich with a hostess twinkle while driving to put you to sleep.

 

Another update from my N. Statendam cruise last week. Good to see HAL has restarted having professional entertainers in the showroom like comedians, magicians and singers. In fact the magicians show was so popular that the showroom was full 15 minutes prior to its start and the cruise director had to keep announcing that there were no seats left and please leave and return for the late show; no seating on stairs or in aisle.

Happy to hear that HAL is rectifying the entertainment problems they have had for awhile, I guess the food has improved also so maybe we will book another cruise with them down the road, we have a Princess cruise coming up in May and 2 Celebrity cruises in August and December.

Greetings from beautiful Port Charlotte. 
57 this AM with a sunny high of 77 today.

Another good selection of days especially for Gold Star Spouses.

Strange quote.

I think I’d like the meal.

Off to the course in a few minutes with an early tee time.

Tampa Bay Lightning win again, I like their chances in the playoffs.

Have a great day and stay well.

1 hour ago, RedneckBob said:

Go Bolts. Been following the team since they played at the Florida Fairgrounds!

Living in Chicago until 1993 I was a diehard Blackhawks fan but now after 31 years in the Sunshine State I feel like a native and the Bolts are now #1 in my heart but I still have a little Blackhawks DNA in me.

Greetings from beautiful Port Charlotte.

65 right now, sunny skies coming up with a high of 77.

We had a front come through yesterday with 35 MPH winds, I manage to shoot an 80, considering the conditions I was quite happy especially after my lousy round on Monday. 
I didn’t post yesterday because of an early tee time but I’d take a Yogi Berra quote over a Marilyn Monroe quote any day of the week.

Good selection of days but I’m not sure about the quote.

Leftovers again? Actually some meals taste better the next day.

I’ve only been to Ireland once as we had an medical emergency stop in Shannon on a flight from Athens to JFK.

I’m a big Tampa Bay Lightning fan and over the last 4 weeks they have been the best team in the NHL and will be tough in the Stanley Cup Playoffs plus we have the best goalie in the NHL. 

Have a great day and stay well.

31 minutes ago, Moondogy said:

Thank you for your service sir...and welcome home.

Your’e welcome, good to be home.

8 minutes ago, Moondogy said:

We had an inside cabin for our alaskan cruise and glad.....a balcony would have went to waste never being used by us floridians....50 degrees is way too cold 🤣

Amen to that, 31 years in Florida for us and we did Alaska one time and that was enough, places like Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, Ireland and Scandinavia are not on our Bucket List.

2 hours ago, Nickelpenny said:

Good morning to all and thanks for the daily and fleet reports.  Not a fan of PB&J, do like ferrets and I don't want to "love" a produce manager!  My father used to tell us kids - Always do the best you can.  It might not be as good as yesterday or tomorrow, but always do your best.  I don't think I would like the meal at all, the drink sounds (and looks) delicious, yes to the wine, and I have never been to Townsville.  What an explorer Ponce de Leon was!

 

Thanks @Sharon in AZ for the heads up about the SpaceX launch yesterday.  Unfortunately, I went to bed early as I started coughing and feeling crappy.  A friend in Yuma posted some pics they could see from there.  Amazing.

 

We still have cool weather today and yesterday it rained off and on.  Sometimes heavy.  We may get up to high 60s and it should become clear skies but presently it is 45F under cloudy skies with 97% humidity!  This is cooler than normal for us.  

 

I am in a funk today.  I had some x-rays of the knees yesterday (trying to get into a clinical trial) and was surprised to see how bad the R knee has become.  It is now Stage 4 OA and definitely will not qualify; it is too bad.  Maybe the L will (?); we will see.  This is not good news.  I don't want knee replacement so I am looking at other alternatives.  I don't mind "fixing" my bones but I don't want "stuff" in my body.  Go figure.  I just envision a future of immobility and that just depresses me to no end.  

 

 

Very sad to read of the passing of the friends and relatives of some dailyites.  Thoughts for you and others on the care list.  Cheers to those celebrating.  Have a great day everyone.

 

Nickel penny, have you looked into Synvisc Gel injections, I’ve been bone on bone for 10 years and I get the injections every 6-7 months, they don’t work for everybody but they do for me, I can’t run a Marathon but I’m not in agony and able to play Golf 3 times a week and ride my bike twice a week

2 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

Good morning from rainy SW Michigan.  Thanks for the Daily Reports and Maps Jacqui and Roy!   I like peanut butter on a low carb English muffin though the jelly we have is set aside for the Baltimore Orioles when they show in a few weeks.   @MISTER 67 Congratulations on your first big job as produce manager, what a mess on ordering though, either run out or have a bunch of stuff go bad.  A good quote by Keith.   I will pass on today's cocktail, lavender belongs in soap not a cocktail, I make Keto French toast with real 1/2 + 1/2 with sugar free syrup.   I think I had the wine before.   I look forward to some photos of today's port but if Lenda or Sandi don't have them I hope some show up.  

Thanks for the cares and celebrations reports Vanessa.  I hope you slept better last night. @smitty34877 prayers for Tana, I worry when you said her cough and wheezing were different.   @doobieb Good luck with the bad storms going through.   John and I were driving home from Fort Lauderdale and spent the night in Huntsville.  We heard the weather reports for our morning drive and thankfully just as the storm arrived a rest area appeared and we pulled off to wait it out.  Lots of lightning.  When we travel south and north we always worry about some of the late winter storms you get in your state.  Prayers for everyone in war zones, the people of Ukraine and the innocents in Gaza.  

Since it is a lousy day we are sticking close to home.  Snow in the forecast for tomorrow, then finally I hope it warms up.  I got a happy gift from Direct TV (don't get those often) with a free week of the MLB out of market feeds.  I got to see Opening Day for the Orioles, part of Saturday's game.   I have two more free games tonight versus the Royals and tomorrow afternoon with the same team.   Hopefully they can get some nationally covered games more than in the past.  Have a lovely day!.  Nancy 

ottahand, at 18 years old I didn’t really look at it as my first big job, someone was needed to do it until they found an older Produce Manager, I started taking night classes that fall at Loyola of Chicago and the next big job I had was 4 years in the Air Force starting in 1965, LOL.

10 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

The good news is, if they DO start offering cruises to Bermuda, no one will force you to take one! For the rest of us who enjoy Bermuda cruising, it will give us another option of cruise line.

Spot on also what’s wrong with 2 days at sea, 2 full days in Bermuda and 2 days again at sea, we love sea days and that would be a perfect cruise.

16 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

Good one!

Greetings from beautiful Port Charlotte.

A pleasant 70 right now with a high of 83, IMHO April and May along with October and November are the best months in Florida.

Good selection of days, who doesn’t like PB&J, I was actually a produce manager at a Kroger store in Chicago in 1964 for about 5 weeks the summer after I graduated high school, it was on an emergency basis as the regular produce manager quit, I did a decent job as I had worked in the produce department for 2 years in an after school job and on Saturdays, biggest problem I had was I had no clue on ordering.

The quote makes sense, everything I tried to do in my life I gave it my best except a few classes in high school mainly because of a dislike of some of my teachers.

The French Toast casserole sounds good.

I had the worst round of Golf in a while yesterday as I wasn’t feeling all that well with an upset stomach and a headache, back to 100% today.

Have a great day and stay well.

1 hour ago, XBGuy said:

It's interesting that there have been several references to the Costa Riviera.  That was the ship on which we took our second cruise--Western Caribbean--in the early 1980s.

Beautiful ship when Costs was a very good line as it was family owned before Carnival bought them.