HBE4

Add me to the list of people thinking and praying for you and your family during this difficult time. We are here for you. As you know, often times the sense if loss is worse when everyone returns to their "normal" lives.

I usually like to turn off the heat mid-April & not turn on the air conditioners until mid-June. Doesn't always work out that way. Had the heat on until mid-May & would have turned on the A/C units had they been in the windows. Right now, they are still sitting in the garage. If it's going to be hot for just 2-3 days, I can "rough it". By the time I get home, the temps should be back to normal - 70 during the day, 50's at night. Let's see if I can make it to the end of May before installing the window units.

Greetings from Seneca Lake. Not a bad view to wake up to. I've been up for hours but just getting around to posting now. Been busy relaxing & enjoying the sounds of nature.

Wow, this is a trip down memory lane. I'm having flashbacks to the 1980's. The Park Ridge Diner was about 10 minutes away (Montvale) from where I had my first professional office career job. Had many a lunch there. The place on Route 4 in Paramus is the Suburban Diner, if it's the one I'm thinking of (there are a ton of diners around there). I did all my clothes shopping in NJ since there was no sales tax on clothing unlike NY and this was back in the day office workers had to wear suit & ties so the savings was substantial. Anyways, I'd always stop at that diner after shopping at Paramus Park or Bergen Town Center. New City, Blauvelt & Nanuet Diners are all faves. Some where from my childhood. Dad was a diner man would take all 4 of us kids (& mom too) or sometime just me to a diner at least once a week. As I got older, they became oy "after-hours" eating place once the bars closed down.

Thank you. You too. Its going to be in the low 90's this weekend. It's been over 2 years since I was last at LBI. Looking forward to your report if anything is new.

The Tick Tock Diner in NJ is a classic. Huge portions, reasonable prices and tasty food. Love the "Disco Fries" which is a poor mans version of Poutine. Best drunk food, so a friend tells me.😇 I haven't been there in many years. They have another location in Manhattan (same owners) , right across the street from Madison Square Garden but the place is always packed after a Ranger game so I've never been in there.

Funny, I like to wash the car too before taking a long road trip. Hate looking thru dirty windows at a dirty hood for hours at a time & getting my hands dirty every time I touch the door handle during my (frequent) rest stop breaks. Heading upstate NY to the Finger Lake region first thing tomorrow morning. I was going to wash the car today but it was so chilly, gloomy and drizzled on and off all day, I did not. I could wash it first thing in the morning - like 6 am when it's going to be 50 degrees. LOL. But between the tree pollen and bug splatter from driving thru the Catskill Mountains, the car will be filthy before I arrive at my destination. Plus the neighbors will think I'm crazy. 😁

Interesting. I've vacationed in Aruba at least 8-9 times - 2 weeks at a time - and always rented a car. There used to be traffic lights. Last time I was there was Nov 2020 and I did notice several traffic lights were replaced by traffic circles. Told it was to improve traffic flow. I guess in the pass 18 months they got rid of the last of the traffic lights.

Well, this was back in 2017 so the timing is right! 😆

Texas has a hockey team as well. The Dallas Stars. Rangers visit once a year to play them. Fun Fact: The NY Rangers are so named because the teams first owner was a man with the nickname "Tex". The New York sportswriters - being the witty bunch of writers they are - would refer to the team as "Tex's Rangers" I went to a Yankee-Astro game in Houston when my step daughter was still living there. Knowing how proud and passionate Texans feel about their teams, I wasn't sure how "good-natured " the ribbing would be when I showed up in my NY Yankee gear. So I hedge my bet by wearing an Yankee t-shirt with Andy Petite name on it. Andy is a hometown hero having grown up in Houston, pitched for the Yankees during their glory years, helping them win 4 World Series in 5 years, then returned to Houston with his family. Pitched a few years with the Houston Astros and is currently actively involved in the community. More than a few comments started with "Ugh, a Yankee fan....oh wait, he's got an Andy Petite shirt on. Y'all right, we won't give you any s**t", followed by a hearty slap on the back that almost dislocated my shoulder. 😃 In all seriousness, probably one of the more fan friendly ball parks I've ever been to.

The only thing I ever got from a Labadoozie was heartburn.

It's always a mystery as to why some threads get deleted while others just get locked (but remain readable) and some will only have the offending posts remove but the thread stays active.

So, so sorry to hear this horrific news. Way to young for all involved, they are in the prime years of their lives. Whenever someone so much younger than me passes away, I always think of all the things I have done since I was their age. It feel grateful that I had the opportunity for those experiences but it saddens me that they did not get the same chance. 😢

Thank You. Another nail biter with lead changes & momentum swings with neither team dominating. I think I got my 10,000 steps just pacing around the room. It was looking pretty dire for the Rangers as they were losing 3-2 with 5 minutes left in the game. All in all, it was a pretty evenly matched and hard fought series. They'll need all the luck they can get as I think Carolina Hurricanes have beaten them 5 of the last 6 times they met. Many experts didn't think the Rangers would make it this far so I'm happy and now greedy for more.😄 Great pics and enjoy the rest of the cruise.

Makes sense as the Islanders are Long Islands local team. I remember the outcry when they moved to Brooklyn, how Long Island was "losing" it's team, even though technically, the team (and Brooklyn) was still on Long Island. 😉 Even though we grew up in the northern suburbs of NYC (Rockland County), my brother is an Islander fan as he grew up during their dynasty years of winning 4 Stanley Cups in a row, a feat that has not happened in the past 40 years. I will not be attending tonight's game as its sold out. People that are reselling their tickets are wanting $700+ a seat. $600 for an "obstructed view" seat. Crazy prices. I did think about traveling into the city to watch the game at a nearby sports bar and see if prices come down, which usually happens just before the game starts & people will dump their tickets at the last second. But instead, I'll be going around the block to a friends house to watch. My 55 inch TV is dwarfed by his 75 inch TV. And it will only cost me a 12-pack of beer!

Dodgems are Bumper Cars called in England? When I'm driving one of those, it's more like Ram'em😁 Great pics as always.

Did Royal have any special events for solo cruisers? Any kind of "Meet-n-Mingle" type of events? Or was that all left for social media aka FB or Roll Calls?

I need to start paying more attention. I just realized @Lionesss & @h20skibum are on the same cruise & thread. lol. I thought I was reading 2 different "live" reviews (3 counting @Ozark_Kid but I know that is totally different ship & itinerary).

Love seeing snow capped mountains in the distance.

Thank you! If your anything like me, it's next to impossible to sleep before a cruise. Any vacation actually. lol Of course, had the Pens won, you could've enjoyed the sleepless night. I recorded last nights game & watched it when I got home from dinner. Finished around 2 am and was up until almost 4 am. Checked prices for Sundays game 7, cheapest ticket being resold was around $700. No thank you. Beer and food is cheaper at my house & I don't have to travel 90 minutes each way. Enjoy your cruise. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect Sunday. This series has been crazy and the momentum swings pretty wild. It's hard to imagine the Pens losing 3 straight games, then again, I didn't expect the 7-2 blowouts earlier either. 🤷‍♀️

Yes it was. Another come from behind victory. So glad I recorded the game as I had dinner plans with a friend I haven't seen in 5 years. At the restaurant , sat with with my back to the TV and avoided all text updates from my friends. Got home long after the game ended. Even fast forwarding thru the commercials and intermission, it was 2 am before I finished. Of course, the adrenaline kept me up for another hour or so.

I received 2 text messages today informing me that my Citi account has been compromised and frozen. Click on the link to reactivate. Joke is on them. I don't have a Citi account. Hope your arm is feeling better soon.

I wonder if the person napping in the parking lot also enjoyed 6 drink vouchers? 🤣😇

You said the only game you went to was in 1960? I'm guess you paid about 1/4th the price of my $8.95 hot dog. To be fair, it was a foot long loaded with several toppings (cheese, bacon etc). Probably was a good 1,500 calories, so on the dollar per calorie scale, it wasn't too bad. Don't get me stated on the $18 beers. But at 24 oz, it's really 2 beers in one. Most sporting events these days have dynamic pricing. Weekend games cost more than week day games, night games more than day games, games again division rivals will always cost more. So the same seat can cost anywhere from $90 to $150 depending on the time, day & opponent. Not counting the 2 playoff games, I think my average cost per seat was around $120, near top row, for the 10 regular season games I went to. The two playoff games were $145 each. If they were to make the next round - a huge IF - the cost doubles, which is why I doubt I'll be attending any more games this year.

They might have been thinking: 'Is that the woman that is writing an awesome solo review on Cruise Critic? She said she'd be dining in Sabor tonight. Should we invite her over? Is it rude to have a selfie taken with her?" 🙂