HBE4

Congratulations on the Phillies moving on. They sure made it look easy. Great to see the crowd exceptionally enthusiastic. Is the picture Hoskins spiking his bat after hitting a home run? I noticed a few Phiile players were extra celebratory when they got big hit. Such showmanship. 😉 I forgot to record the Yankee game & missed Judge's 2 run HR. Did anybody boo?

That you for the reminder. I forgot chowderfest was reschedule. Not to mention the warm and sunny weekend is going to have sun worshipers tying to get the last of the beach days in. EDIT: And feel better. Hope the symptoms are mild and wishing for a speedy recovery.

@Sea Dog So no FlowRider this week? 😉 Just kidding, sorry to hear that you are starting off the cruise by getting hurt. Feel better and use the sling to your advantage. For example, people letting you get on the elevator first, or going right to the front of the line at the crowded pool bar, etc. 🙂

Ah, it would have been nice to finally meet someone in person but unfortunately I'm going in the beginning of the week. While Hard Rock was generous in luring me back to help me spend my money, they weren't generous enough to comp me weekend nights. The offer was good for Sun night - Thur night. Normally I would book as late in the week as possible as I feel they energy level gets higher as the weekend approaches - more people, more things to do, bands, shows, etc. Early in the week tends to be quieter. But I have my annual physical on Thursday & I need to be home and detox for a few days prior. I had thought about rescheduling but my family doctor is so popular he's now booking 14 months out! However, I am hoping that quiet casino leads to more available slot machines that pay out more often & lower table limits.

I'm determined to keep up with this live review & not fall weeks behind. Like I usually do. 😃

I'll be heading to Atlantic City for a couple of days next week. Hard Rock Casino is comping me 2 free nights. Not sure why as I haven't been there in 3 years. Then again, that's probably exactly why! Fingers crossed for good luck. 🤑

I remember that. This was the song they would play at the beginning of the broadcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceAu4rPH9no Not to many people realize that there are lyrics to the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L--1E6xl6VM

I'm glad you are seeking a second opinion. Maybe the next doctor can recommend a pain management specialist as well.

Worse thing they can do is start the game, then go into a rain delay after a few innings, espically if the starting pitcher is on a roll. Looks like it's raining right now but should end by 7 pm, according to Wunderground. Yankees have the same issue. For some reason, they are off today & play tomorrow. It's supposed to rain all day in NY tomorrow. Wish they could move the game forward a day as it's a beautiful, 70 degree sunny day right now. Too bad TV networks control the baseball schedule.

Must be cat nap hour.

I'd might also add "Lenny, please don't pick the Yankees to win either" 😉😇

Certainly a great way to start the playoffs.

I love your "picture stories".

Good night tonight. Rangers beat Tampa 3-1 for a good start to thr hockey season. Rangers looked good, hungry and aggressive. They had complete control of the game from the first puck drop. Hope it continues for the next 81 games. Yankees won 4-1 and the Phillies beat Atlanta. A trifecta night. Could have been a quadfecta night if Seattle could have held a 9th inning lead against Houston. Train ride home was packed with giddy Ranger & Yankee fans. Twas a good night. 👍

I need to boost my post count so I limit my Floataway lounge participation. 😁😁😁

I think I read in an earlier post that it's about a 12 hour drive but you are budgeting about 14-15 hours for various stops. That sounds about right. Having done several long road trips recently one thing I didn't take into account - and it's a real obvious one - is that traffic conditions will change as you are driving. So Google Maps or Waze will give an ETA of 12 hours when you leave the house but as rush hour traffic jams form or accidents happens, they would slowly revise the ETA up in small increments so the actual driving time without breaks was 13+ hours. Another thing for me was at the start of a trip, I'd try to cover as much ground as possible before stopping, and then only real quick 5 minutes stops. As the day wore on - and I wore down - the stops would become more frequent and longer 20-30 minutes as I needed more time to stretch my legs, recharge, etc. Now I take them more frequently - but shorter - and that seems to keep me fresh and alert the whole day. I'd map out ahead of time where the highway rest area were or truck stops. One of my favorites go-to places is Loves Travel Stops which has everything a road warrior needs - gas, fast food, plenty of coffee, snacks, clean bathrooms, wiper blades, gifts, sanitary needs, etc - and they are always right off the highway exit ramps I actually download their app to my phone so I would know their locations along my route and plan my stops accordingly. The app also has other useful info such as current gas price, amenities at each location, etc. How long is a flight, 45 minutes? I once flew from New York to Boston (normally a 4 hour drive for me) and it felt like as soon as the plane reached cruising altitude, it started to descend. I think flying time was 40 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of taxiing on the runways at each airport. So true. I have 2 cars that have very different driving experiences. One is large, spacious, comfy seats and a very smooth quiet ride. Driving it is almost effortless. The other is a convertible that is a lot of fun to drive but it'll get tiring on long trips. Even with the top up, there is a lot of road noise and the sport bucket seats, firm suspension & super responsive steering means you are constantly paying attention to the road. Fun for short rides but tiring on the long, bumpy Interstate highways.

As you can see from the many quick replies, you already have an online support group. Feel free to vent as much or as little as possible or not at all. No trips planned? No problem. Weather updates, food porn, complaints about gas prices and pet pics are always appreciated. The effort you are putting in to take care of your mother is a testament to your character and to hers are well, for raising you to be the person you've become. As tired and frustrated are you may be, when all is said and done, you will be happy to know you've made the right choices.

I've been spending too much time discussing baseball on this thread and falling way behind on several of the live reviews. I didn't realize @bobmacliberty reached Hawaii and only made it as far as@A&L_Ont 1st day of his cruise. 😄 I got some catching up to do.

@John&LaLa I sorta went down a rabbit hole. The organization that is currently known as the Atlanta Braves (formerly of Milwaukee and Boston) was founded back in 1871 before there a MLB or even a National League. Prior to being called the Braves, they operated under several other names: Boston Red Stockings (not to be confused with the AL Boston Red Sox which were not yet in existence), the Boston Red Caps, and my favorite, the Boston Beaneaters. 😄 True story! They became the Braves in 1912. Regardless of the name or which league they played in, they can claim to be the oldest, continuously operating baseball team. Fun facts to tell at parties.

I just saw the baseball schedule for tomorrow. I had been hoping the Yankees would get the early day time game slot as I'm going to the Rangers home opener tomorrow night. But they have the prime time slot so there goes my plans to watching baseball during the day and attending hockey at night. Normally, I would record the Yankee game to watch later but I'm sure I'll be getting regular updates throughout the night.

I've done several day trips to Galveston when visiting Houston. My favorite spot is slightly different from your spot. It's aptly named The Spot. They advertise 5 different venues under one roof but it's really just 5 different rooms with each bar having with a slightly different theme. But I am a sucker for a beach-themed bar. https://www.islandfamous.com/thespot/

If the food is real bad, check out Giovanni’s. Personal opinion but I think it's better than Jamies on other ships. It's never disappointed me. Ossobucco was one of the better dishes.

When my step daughter was living in Houston, I made sure she had a steady supply of NY Yankee apparel. 😇

Rumor has it he was hungover during that game, although he denied it. Alcohol as a PED? I was picking the losers. 😉 No, I have not but friends have also told me I would like it. Braves go all the way back to Boston in the early 1900s.

The Astro's used to be the "other team" that I cheered on since my step-daughter was living in Houston at the time. That changed when they started to routinely beat the Yankees in the playoffs. 😊 Duly noted. Was the original name based on the gun or the malt liquor drink? 😁 I still think the Brewers are in the NL.