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I did notice it at the time & was going to post a wise remark like "It's 10 pm, do you now where your Gas Range is?" Now I wish I had. But I figured I had hit my sarcastic comment quota for the day.

I not sure I have a favorite ship as I've loved every ship I ever been on. They all have their pros and cons. Having said that, Liberty is a sentimental favorite of mine. She was my first cruise and my last, most recent cruise. I think I sailed her 4 or 5 times including a 9 nigher out of NJ back in 2015. That's when I decided that anything less than 9 nights would be too short.

Spectacular photo. Your DS seems to be embracing life's adventures. Good for him! 👍

My first time to Miami was mid-Nov 2009 for a cruise. Temps were hovering around 70 while dining outdoors (back in NY it was probably mid-40's) & we are enjoying the comfortable night wearing short sleeved shirts & shorts when the restaurant workers started to wheel out the patio heaters! We politely asked them to not turn on the one closest to us & the one guy laughed and said we must be from the Northeast. That's also when we noticed everyone around us hand long pants and windbreaker jackets on.

Make that 2,001. It does sound perfect.

I never heard of Visalia until I read the article. They focused on small to medium sized cities although they probably could picked any one of 3 dozen similar communties. Maybe the writer had a house there & wanted to drive up home values. 😀

I've been to Long Beach once. Not for the beach but to meet friends at a restaurant. It is a beautiful area with beach resort feel. Hard to believe its so close to the city.

Knowing me, I'll over-analyze things for a year or two, then decided I don't want to move too far from family & friends and since they don't seem to be going anywhere, I'll stay in NY and maybe move to a slightly less expensive county 🙂

I was pleasantly surprised to find out how manageable taxes are in Pennsylvania. I guess I always figured they'd be high like the rest of the Northeast. I've googled "The most tax friendly state for retirees" and the results were a little surprising as it included some states and a few others that I thought would have been on the list were not. It looks beyond the usual no income tax / low property tax and examines different scenarios such as if groceries are included in sales tax, are there any tax breaks for people 65 year or older, etc.

Yes! Not sure how I missed North Carolina but that does check a lot of the boxes on my list. VA is on my list.

One day drive would be the maximum distance for overnight trips but closer would be better as I'd like to do day trips. Right now, it takes me about 1 1/2 hours to get to the closest ocean beach but that can stretch out to 2+ hours if there is an accident or heavy traffic. I don't mind the drive when going to the beach but it can be annoying on the way home.

My brother-in-law keeps reminding me that as soon as I move away from the NY / NJ / CT area, I'll instantly have an extra $10-$12,000 in my pocket every year just from the tax savings. And that doesn't include the lower cost of living. Of course, he still lives in NY although in a more rural portion of the state. I'm still in the very, very early part of the process. I'd figured Id pick 3 or 4 places before doing a "deep-dive" research into things like cost, taxes, amenities & activities, etc A friend gave me a copy of Kiplingers retirement guide and they list Visalia, CA as one of the 7 Great Places to retire. Taxes seem to be a mixed bag. High sales tax but low property tax, no tax on SS income but other forms of retirement income can kick you into a high tax bracket. But they recommend it based on other things - lots of outdoor activities, easy access to medical care, lively downtown, manageable drive to LA & SF, etc etc As you said, no place it ideal and since DW passing, my retirement years are going to be a lot different than I thought. I'll need to reevaluate & re-prioritize my list of attributes. I doubt I'll be making any moves for a couple of years.

Good luck. Like most other New Yorker's, I've considered moving someplace cheaper and warmer. But then I go thru my list of attributes as well. I like 4 seasons of equal length which eliminates the southern half of the county. I would like to be within a one day drive of an ocean which eliminates the entire mid-west. I like to hike with some elevation so there needs to be decent sized hills, not necessarily mountains but more than gentle rolling hills. That eliminates a lot of flat states that have already been eliminated. Nothing against West Coast but it is far from my family here on the East Coast. So I think I'm down to staying in NY, or moving to Pennsylvanian, New Hampshire, Virginia or Tennessee. That last one surprised me. Apparently depending on where in the state you live, the ocean is within a one day drive. Well, at least the Gulf of Mexico which is the ocean with smaller waves And Nashville Predators are my 2nd favorite team after the Rangers.😉

The author is Irish? 😉

My favorite "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey "If you ever fall off the Sears Tower, just go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will try to catch you because, hey, free dummy." Get it? Hey, Free Dummy! IDK, it just so stupid, it's funny.

Only 30 minutes? Is that normal? That's barely enough time to get settled in & get a drink(s).

It would be great if that private party that you were invited to was in the Solarium so you can get back to posting! 😁

Me too actually. Which is why I posted it. My kind of humor. The Far Side was one of my favorite comic strips. Similar type of humor.

No need to apologize as it hits close to home. Not just physically close, while you may not know the victims personally, there is a pretty good chance that you know someone that does.

Ah, got it. Thanks. Too much outdoor time has left my reading comprehension iffy. I'll blame it on allergies. 🙂

Have a great Birthiversary cruise.

All this talk about looking forward to going to a diner makes me realize I better not take for granted that I have 7 diners within a 20 minute radius of my house. Ok, so NY not NJ diners but the only difference is the lack of "disco fries" in NY. 🙂

Good to know. I missed most of it. Caught the last 10 minutes on CPTV (Connecticut Public TV) which is a station I didn't realize I even had. Saw a bit of Katie Perry and the band that followed and the broadcast was abruptly halted. I guess the concert ran long & CPTV had to move onto the next show.

Safe travels. Is the 10 days strictly in NJ or does it include driving time? Or are you flying?