HBE4

If football games, amusement parks and concerts were to be allowed this fall in NJ / NY, why not cruises? Is it because Royal will be concentrating its limited cruises to Asia, Europe and Florida/Texas? Sounds like something I would do when I was in my 20's and 30's. Now in my 50's, I'd need 3 days to recover from a drive like that. Sharing I-95 at 3 am with tractor trailers has to be a bit monotonous. I would need to crash at a cheap roadside motel for 5 or 6 hours.

Yeah, I did. The discount was to good to pass up. It was at a small, regional airport - San Luis Obispo, CA - and there were not a lot of choices. Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out next time. 👍

Or maybe the priority should be who spent the most: higher priced cabin + excursions + drink package + speciality restaurants. After all, Royal needs the money. I'm sure the early bookers, who tend to spend less for a cabin, wouldn't mind. They tend to be the most loyal customers and I'm sure they want what's best for Royal. 😇

Its probaly been 10 years since I last went there but all the meals have always been exceptional.

Growing up in the northern suburbs of NYC, it seems like half of the people moving in to town were from The Bronx/Yonkers (I consider Yonkers to by NYC unofficial 6th borough). First complaint - can't get a good slice of pizza at 2 am, followed by too much wildlife. I didn't even know what a White Castle was until I was 18. Good friend of mine lives in Forest Hills, Queens. I'm always teasing them about living in The City or Long Island. They insist Queen is neither. LOL EDIT: With the exception of the capital city of Albany, 80% of upstate New York is solidly republican country too. Every 10 years or so, someone floats the idea of splitting off and becoming the 51st state of North New York. It quickly dies when they realize the tax revenue that would be lost from NYC.

Graziellea? Buon Amici? Tres Angeliea? I worked in White Plains for 20 years.

I actually prefer Robert Moses. Less crowded and I enjoy the walk to the lighthouse. And on the wide open Ocean Parkway, it's only 15-20 minute drive past Jones. But after admiring the views of the Manhattan skyline while crawling across on the Whitestone Bridge and then checking out the local scenery on the Northern and Meadowbook parkways while wearing out the cars brakes, my DW and bladder tell me it's time to stop as we drive past Jones. My exact situation.10 hours is the minimum. Gotta make the drive worth it. Although the drive back can be tough some evenings.

Good question but I don't know. Probably more than I would like. Although, with several layers of sales tax (town, county, state), one of the highest sin tax (cigarettes & alcohol), one of the highest gas tax, plus various taxes disguised as surcharges and fees, plus school and property taxes that people pay either directly or indirectly (for renters), it's hard for someone to not pay something in taxes.

You are correct. I think many people have forgotten that the lockdowns were meant to prevent the hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. Now it's time to transition into a world where we live in with Covid-19. Hopefully with the proper safety precautions and knowledge we'll gain, a 2nd wave will be nothing more than a blip. Antibody testing in NYC has shown about 20-25% of the people have been exposed. That's been a consistent number as testing has been expanded. I'm surprised it's that low and does not bode well for hear immunity in the near future ,which I beleve kicks in around 70%, I think

Thank you, And right back at you. It's been a pleasure and definitely a fun distraction. Plus, I learned a few things along the way as well 👍 And if we can't have fun while posting, then why do it? But perhaps someday. Although, in real life, I'm probably not nearly as witty or articulate as I seem to think I am on these boards. 😉 LOL. I did hear about it on CNN but actually read up on it here. verified it on a local news outlet. 😎 https://www.al.com/news/2020/05/montgomery-running-out-of-icu-beds-as-coronavirus-cases-double-in-may.html "Montgomery hospitals are starting to run low on intensive care beds, said Dr. David Thrasher, a critical care doctor at Montgomery Pulmonary Consultants. The four counties making up the Montgomery metro area have seen a combined 721 new confirmed coronavirus cases since May 4 – an increase of 110 percent. Mayor Steven Reed said the virus is straining the city’s hospitals. “I’m concerned about the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Reed said. “We are seeing an increase in the number of people who test positive. Occupancy in our Intensive Care Units has reached a critical point and Montgomery hospital officials are now referring some cases to Birmingham.”

How is it that you Long Islander guys don't go while I trek 1 hour, 20 minutes from upstate (well, above Westchester) 3-4 times a year? Anyway, A lot of money has been spent on Jones Beach the past few years. Large sections of the boardwalk were rebuilt, new bathrooms and showers so they no longer look like something out of a 1920's prison, some new food concessions, a new beach bar with the requisite bar games (giant Jenga, Giant Connect 4, etc), new shuffleboard and basketball courts with proper lighting. I usually make a day trip out of it and will stay well into the night playing shuffle board or mini-golf. This weekend, I don't think they are limiting residences as it's a state park (I think that is for other LI beaches). But they are limiting parking to 50% capacity and expect them to be filled by 10-11 am. Also, no food concessions or beach games allowed. I probably won't go until after 4th of July at the earliest.

Avis rent-a-car kinda sucks too. Almost to the point, I wanted to seek out Car Rental forums.

Fingers crossed. https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29202574/sources-nhl-discussing-24-team-conference-based-playoff-format NY Rangers in a "Play-in" series. Sadly, no Sharks.

This post is so awesome, I'm quoting the whole thing again for effect.

Hmmm, seems like you are politicizing the debate. 😉 I thought you didn't like that. Even before the pandemic, I never went to NYC beaches. Too crowded and too inconvenient for me to get to. I could be at a nicer beach much more quickly. I might go to LI beach but not right away, water is too cold. I also don't go to Walmart. Too crowded, but I will go to essential stores. Physically attending church right now is not essential to me. You are somewhat right. I'm okay with the country reopening ,especially less affected areas. I'm okay with NY reopening too in a gradual, common sense manner. I might even go as far as to say I feel better about NY than I do other parts of the country. At one point, NY accounted for 50% of all new cases & deaths in the county. Today, the daily totals in NY are less than 10%, meaning that 90% of all new cases & deaths in the country are in places not named New York. The daily numbers have been declining every day for 30+ days while in 30+ states, numbers continue to rise or stay the same. Two people can look at the numbers in Texas, Georgia, SC and Florida and say they are not as bad as expected. Person A will say 'Good for them, they locked down the state before the virus took hold and squashed the curve before it had a chance to rise. Good thing they didn't hesitate a few days like NY or Italy did". Person B will say "See, it was no big deal. Media Hype. Fear Porn. So many people over reacted". Honestly, Person B scares me more than the virus. How many other things are they going to deny? Even worse, should there be a 2nd wave, those will be the ones making it worse than the 1st wave. Or if there is another, new disease in a few years, they'll point back to this and say, "see, the world didn't end", forgetting that countless lives have been saved. How many? Who knows. Maybe 2.1 million if some estiimates are to be believed. Bottom line, it is real, just because you don't see it in your backyard. We can argue with numbers, morality rates, rates of transmission etc. all day long. But it happened, in China, Iran, Italy, Spain, NY, New Orleans, Michigan, Navajo nation, and meat packing plants across the country. You and I probably agree more than we disagree. It might not come across that way as we both get stuck in the details of our debates. So on that note, enjoy this holiday weekend with your family, especially your daughter from London. Happy Memorial Day. Stay safe. #flattenthecurve, #stopthespread. P.S. - Montgomery, AL is running out of ICU beds and Ford closed down 2 plants it just reopened due to covid. Not....quite....out...of...the...woods....just....yet. The floor is yours. 😇