StLouisCruisers

Graham and Pauline, my condolences on the loss of your dear Aunt who passed away. Age 97 is a good long life, but I'm sorry to hear she had Alzheimer's. I'm sure you have many happy memories of time spent with her.😢 Lenda, my oh my, I would guess you two aren't happy about this delay in your trip. I wish there was more around for your entertainment over the weekend. I second the adult beverage suggestion. You'll get lots of reading done, too. I'm sorry this had to happen to your new RV but at least you weren't out in the middle of nowhere, even though Van Horn feels like that! This article talks about Gilbert's Restaurant which may be the one John Madden ate meals at, as @SJSULIBRARIAN said. It's on East Broadway. https://texashighways.com/culture/people/welcome-to-van-horn-the-biggest-little-town-in-west-texas/ Good luck and keep in touch.

Bruce, thank you very much for your kind remarks. I'm just glad I could help Rich out so he could enjoy his cruise. I hope Sue is feeling improved every day, and am glad to hear the duct replacement has helped your allergy symptoms. Something for all of us who have homes of a certain age to consider if we have those types of health issues.

Annie, I can just picture you out in the parking lot last night! Thank you for that! I'm sorry you had such a long day and the keyboard ended up broken too. I'm glad to hear the questions were asked of Chuck twice so they could get a good idea of his health problems. And very smart idea of Chuck's DB to get a hold of you to set up a text chat to discuss Chuck. (I hope he doesn't read the Daily everyday or he will see that!). We had a late dinner last night and I did get some sleep, but I'm feeling tired today. If need be I'll head to the nap room! Anyway, glad to see you back here on the Daily!! Thanks Graham so very much! You and Pauline are so wonderful to stay up and pray for me last night. ❤️

While I'm sorry you all have to leave the Westerdam today, I wish you a safe trip home and many happy memories of your fantastic Legendary Voyage - Rich @richwmn, Joy and Allen @Seasick Sailor, and Ray and Sara @USN59-79!!

For Joy and Allen @Seasick Sailor I wish you a very happy day celebrating your 33rd anniversary!

Hope Fred @Overhead Fred has a wonderful celebration today!

The third morning we were back on the bus, first on the "red" route and then connecting to the "green" route. Highlights of this route were the Burj Al Arab hotel, the white sandy beach, and Atlantis the Palm resort. Burj Al Arab hotel The Atlantis Palm resort Dropped back at the Dubai Mall, we again went to lunch there because of the huge variety of restaurants to choose from. This machine at the Mall would locate any store or restaurant in the Mall for you. Very handy because this place was BIG. Back on the bus, then dropped off at the nearest stop by our hotel so we could pick up our bags and take a taxi to the airport. Time for our journey to end. It was a fun time in Dubai. Sorry I've taken up so much space on page 1 today with my photos. It's just a huge place with lots to see!

The following morning we took a taxi to our hotel Hyatt Place Dubai/Al Rigga and settled into our spacious room. Then we headed out into the heat of Dubai to walk to the nearest Big Bus sightseeing bus stop. Walking through a pedestrian walkway over a busy street. We walked to the Deira City Centre to catch the next bus. We bought two day passes because there's so much to see. First up was Wafi, a connecting station, then the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world. This is Wafi, a complex which includes a mall, hotel, restaurants, residences, and a nightclub. The "city" is styled after Ancient Egypt. Below are a waterfall fountain and the Aquarium at the Dubai Mall, largest mall in the world by total area. We went in the mall and located a place for lunch. Then we checked out the Aquarium. The immense Aquarium has windows into the mall to draw you in! These divers were cleaning the Aquarium while we were there. My granddaughter is a Dive Master and certified instructor and would love a chance to dive here but I always worry about SHARKS! Here is a fountain with "diving statues" which is very interesting to see in person. From near the mall, the Burj Khalifa behind DH. We got back on the bus and finished out the "red" route. DH and I got the front seat of the top deck of the double decker bus. Lucky us! We viewed all the downtown high rises and had a front row seat for the traffic of Dubai. A closer look at the Burj Khalifa. A view of a building called "The Frame" under construction. During our route back we passed the Dubai Museum, then saw the Emerald Princess at the waterfront getting ready to sail for India. We also passed the Old Souk, the Gold Souk and the Spice Souk. Oh my! Still one more day left of bus riding. Coming up.

My Shutterfly photo book of our Ancient Lands/Suez Canal cruise in the fall of 2016 on Emerald Princess has quite a few pages devoted to Dubai. We had an overnight there on the ship before we disembarked, then spent a third day there sightseeing because our flight home wasn't until nighttime. This day was very smoggy looking. Thank goodness the remaining days were sunny with blue skies. On the first day we packed for disembarkation which was the next day, then looked around the fantastic terminal building where there was lots of shopping. Then we prepared for our evening Dhow dinner cruise with our CC roll call group. One of the largest, fanciest cruise terminal buildings I've ever seen. And the shopping Arriving at the Dhow (traditional wooden vessel) for our dinner cruise. The glittering lights of Dubai being seated for dinner Before dinner we were entertained by a whirling Tonoura dancer We were able to step outside to watch our passage along the Dubai Canal, and see all the lights and sights. Day 2 in Dubai coming up next.

Good morning friends! Today’s weather report is 57F and clear. The high later will be 83 with lots of sunshine. We sound like a broken record but everyone is enjoying it unless they like cool falls. We wouldn’t mind a tiny bit of rain here and there to keep our lawns, shrubs and trees healthy. Thank you Rich @richwmn for today’s Daily and Fleet Report. The days to recognize today are Food Day, Recycle Your Mercury Thermostat Day, and United Nations Day. Of course food is important and some people are suffering in this world without enough so that is easy to support. I’m guessing there are still some mercury thermostats out there so if you can, find a place to recycle them when replacing. IMO the United Nations could do a little work on their organization so today would be a good day for them to look within. I agree with the quote that the way we lead our lives is most important so hurray for excellence in all things. The meal today would be nice and sounds easy to prepare. I’ll once again pass on the cocktail, and will save the Cabernet Sauvignon for the red wine lovers. The Sheffield FC club received quite the honor in 1857. Thanks so much Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for the food and beverage reports. Other days we can recognize on this date are My Best Winter Skin Day, World Polio Day, National Bologna Day, World Tripe Day, National Jamaican Jerk Day and National Kangaroo Awareness Day. I'm sure there's something for everyone there! Prayers today for my DB and myself, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, the troops helping out overseas, and the people affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Let’s not forget our Daily Care list group including Tana and Terry, Annie and Chuck, Roy, Jacqui, Nancy’s DB Nick, Melisa and her DH, Elizabeth, Vanessa, Terri and Jim and Carol and Sam. Ren’s MRI came back clear so he doesn’t have a torn meniscus. His trainers can now get him game ready. Cheers to all who are celebrating a special event in their lives on this date, those cruising and preparing to cruise. Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for the wonderful job she does keeping up with us all. Hope you’re 100% soon Vanessa! The port of the day is Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This was the port before on May 10, 2022 and Dec. 13, 2023. I’ll provide the links for your convenience. We have been there once and have photos to share next. Hoping for good luck and good health for all of us today! Fingers crossed and prayers said!

Today is Food Day, Recycle Your Mercury Thermostat Day, and United Nations Day Life's like a play: it's not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca Meal Suggestion for today - Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup Drink of the Day - Ginger Zinger Wine of the Day - Bota Box Cabernet Sauvignon Destination of the Day - Dubai, United Arab Emirates Today in History: 1857 Recognised by FIFA as oldest existing club still playing football in the world, Sheffield FC is founded in Yorkshire, England Ship Locations Eurodam --- 16 days, one-way from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Florida eta 10-26 Koningsdam --- 4 days, one-way from Vancouver to San Diego At Sea Destination Catalina Island, California eta 10-25 Nieuw Amsterdam --- 7 days, round-trip Eastern Caribbean San Juan, Puerto Rico 0700-1700 Nieuw Statendam --- 14 days, round-trip Turkey Greek Isles Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey 1100-1900 Oosterdam --- 11 days, one-way from Piraeus-Athens to Barcelona La Valletta, Malta 0800-2300 Rotterdam --- 15 days, one-way from Rotterdam to Fort Lauderdale at sea Destination Nassau, Bahamas eta 10-25 Volendam --- 21 days, Drydock Freeport, Bahamas Drydock until 11-08 then At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Florida eta 11-09 Westerdam --- 24 days, one-way from Seattle to Sydney Seattle, Washington 0700-1700 Zuiderdam --- 21 days, round-trip Perfect Caribbean Escape Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 0700-1500 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam --- 28 days, one-way from Yokohama to Hong Kong Kobe/Osaka, Japan 0800-1600 Zaandam --- 51 days, round-trip Tales Of The South Pacific Dravuni, Fiji 0800-1700

We are home from the PET scan and hungry. DH is whipping up some spaghetti and we are enjoying a very late happy hour. I asked about a little wine and they said of course! The scan was even easier than the CT scans - no holding my breath briefly or anything. First they injected the radioactive "sugar" and I had to rest in a recliner for 45 minutes for it to light me up as the tech called it. Then 15 minutes in the scanner. I hope I hear something by Friday. There's no appointment so I suppose they can just do a phone consultation to report on it. That's all I know for now. BTW, the waiting room was small so some of you must have stood outside in the parking lot. Nice day in the 70's so not too much of a hardship. Thanks again to all of you here who support me along the way.❤️

Thanks a bunch Jack! Don't worry Rich, we all understand this is all done well in advance and sometimes the weather causes changes like it has this week on the Rotterdam. If you'd like to update halfacts for accuracy that would be great. I guess you're all packed for disembarkation, or will you wait until the last thing today?

This is on my laptop so I leave myself logged in. I think that's okay. Thank you Joy! I hope there is nothing to worry about from your sister when you get home. It could be anything that makes her have to change the dates of her visit. Don't worry until you have to. So sorry you had so many problems on your "vacation" aka visit to Momma Norma. It sounds stressful to me. I hope you can get things arranged now for Chuck so that will put your mind at ease. OMG on the traffic up there! Glad you are home and I hope you can get some sleep soon. Good luck with the training today.

Thank you Debbie and everyone here who have wished me well. It's good to have your "people" all around you in times of need. The first soup looks good and I would like the chicken instead of tofu too. If you make some I'll be by tomorrow for some leftovers!😁

I hear all about the pictures to open up CC but I haven't had to do that yet. Is it because I stay logged in?

Jack I'm sorry the Fleet Locations today are incorrect stating the Rotterdam is in Kings Wharf, Bermuda. I don't get to read all the threads sometimes and missed the change until too late. I'll try to make a note of it for tomorrow. Will it be Oct. 25 (Friday) that you'll be in Nassau?

Thank you Graham and Pauline! It sounds like a beautiful day there in NE England. I hate the little furry moles that tear up the lawn too, but today is in honor of a more intellectual mole. Here's what I read: Mole Day commemorates the hypothesis of an Italian scientist named Amadeo Avogadro. Born in 1776, he was one of the noted founders of physical chemistry and was only really given his dues fifty years after his hypothesis was created and after his death. He is known for his hypothesis called ‘‘Avogadro’s Law’’ in which pressure and a fixed temperature, equals volumes of gases which hold the same number of molecules. A high school science teacher appeared in “The Science Teacher” in the 1980’s explaining her reasoning for wanting a National Mole Day. Maurice Oehler, a high school chemistry teacher read this and was inspired. He created National Mole Day. After this, on May 15, 1991, an organization called the National Mole Day Foundation (NMDF) was created. The foundation’s opening was announced through news releases to alert the media.

@1ANGELCAT thank goodness you are all safe! That must have been so frightening and could have ended in a bad way. You are a big supporter of fire departments, right? They have proven to you why you support them as we all should. I've seen our fire department in action when the house down the street caught fire and burned down. It could have spread to the neighbor next door but that home was saved. I hope you don't find much damage downstairs. Someone will need to keep a close watch today to be sure embers don't reignite. That happened 12 hours later down the street. Embers sparked in a garage wall and the fire department came back out to put it out and check for other hot spots. Take care and try to get a nap today! Hugs to you and the cats!

Our visits to Amsterdam were in 2015 on Royal Princess and 5 more times on the Prinsendam from 2016 to 2019. Amsterdam was the beginning or ending port of most of our times spent there. One time we flew there from a cruise which ended in Montreal. So we got a flight from Montreal to Reykjavik and then on to Amsterdam to pick up our next cruise on the Prinsendam. This was the view as our Icelandair flight landed in Schiphol airport in Amsterdam that trip. A few weeks later on turnaround day in Amsterdam. Busy day! The Prinsendam docked next to the Koningsdam that day. On deck at sai laway time we heard two ladies talking and wondering which direction we would be headed. Uh, do you see that low bridge ahead of us? I don't think there's any chance we're going to go that way. But the trip we spent the most time in Amsterdam was in the middle of B2B cruises on Prinsendam in 2017. Another turnaround day. It was a misty day but we went out anyway. The date was June 3, 2017. A short walk from the ship was the very busy Centraal Station. This building worried me. I wouldn't want to sit outside in front of it to enjoy a beverage, with those walls leaning like that. Madame Tussaud's This stop was just a walk around day for us, with no plans made ahead of time. We do that a lot. Once we took a canal boat ride. Only Amsterdam wasn't our port that day, Rotterdam was. This was on Royal Princess in spring of 2015 and we were with our friends who insist on ship tours if we take one at all. So we all four got a tour to Amsterdam, and on the way to our stop at the canal boat ride starting point, our bus was hit by an electric tram. We had to get off and walk a few blocks to get on the canal boat. It was our driver's fault really because we were stopped at a red light, the road was curved and he didn't pull the bus forward enough. The left rear bumper of the bus was overhanging the electric tram tracks. The blue and white vehicle outside the window is the electric tram. We filed off... You should have heard the irate motorists stuck behind our bus! honk, honk, honk! The scene from our walk to the canal boat. Now the sirens were wailing! The canal boat rides in Amsterdam are outstanding and I recommend them to you. We've taken canal boat rides in Suzhou China, St. Petersburg Russia, Amsterdam, Bruges Belgium and Copenhagen and probably others. Love them.

The port of IJmuiden is interesting. Really, there isn't much to see since you basically take your transport/transfer there, get on the ship, then it leaves. It is close to the mouth of the North Sea and saves that journey down the canal from Amsterdam. Photos from 2016 along the ride from the Amsterdam Airport to the ship. Our boarded our beloved Prinsendam Then this past summer on Zuiderdam we stopped there 3 times for turnaround day. Lots of supplies were loaded, and quite a few new passengers (many were Dutch). We did not get off the ship those days but I can offer one photo taken at dinner because we had a table next to a window. The lighthouse as we headed into the North Sea.

Good morning friends! Today’s weather report is a clear morning and 52F. High temp will be 81 with more sunshine. The laptop arrived and DH started working on it. Hopefully the old one holds out for a few more days. We should keep it for parts to use on the new one several years down the line, for instance the old one has ONE good hinge we might be able to use! Thank you Rich @richwmn for today’s Daily and Fleet Report. Today we have National Mole Day (chemistry not the furry animal), Swallows Depart From San Juan Capistrano Day, and TV Talk Show Host Day. I think Johnny Carson was a great one, today's hosts not so much. JMHO. I like the quote but I don't like tofu so will skip the soup. No thank you to the cocktail and since I don't know the wine will have to wait to decide. A major discovery in 1977 in the fossil field. 3.4 billion years ago? Wow! Thanks so much Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for the food and beverage reports. Other days we can recognize on this date are Lung Health Day (Amen), National Slap Your Coworker Day, Medical Assistant Day, National Boston Cream Pie Day, National Croc Day, National iPod Day, and National Paralegal Day. Prayers today for my DB and myself, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, the troops helping out overseas, and the people affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 🙏 Let’s not forget our Daily Care list group including Tana and Terry, Annie and Chuck, Roy, Jacqui, Nancy’s DB Nick, Melisa and her DH, Elizabeth, Vanessa, Terri and Jim and Carol and Sam. 🙏 Good luck to Ren who is having an MRI to check out his meniscus in a sore knee today. My PET scan is at 5:00 p.m. today so hopefully the results will be back by Friday. Cheers to all who are celebrating a special event in their lives on this date, those cruising and preparing to cruise. Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyVfor another stellar day of list keeping. Hope you are feeling immensely better today! The destination for today is IJmuiden, Netherlands ( for Amsterdam). IJmuiden has been our port once before on February 20, 2023. Amsterdam was our port of the day twice now on April 23, 2022 and Sept. 10, 2023. I’ve been to IJmuiden 4 times at this point because the Zuiderdam stopped there 3 times while we were on our 70 day cruise. Before that we stopped once in 2016 on Prinsendam. At least it’s fast getting into the North Sea to begin your journey! Literally minutes. And these are the Amsterdam links. Hoping for good luck and good health for all of us today! Fingers crossed and prayers said! 🤞🙏

Today is National Mole Day, Swallows Depart from San Juan Capistrano Day, and TV Talk Show Host Day Life is like dancing. If we have a big floor, many people will dance. Some will get angry when the rhythm changes. But life is changing all the time. - Don Miguel Ruiz Meal Suggestion for today - Vegetable and Tofu Soup Drink of the Day - Frangelico Old-Fashioned Wine of the Day - Sipwell 2021 Tiny Victories Sparkling Albariño (Lodi) Destination of the Day - IJmuiden (Amsterdam), NL Today in History: 1977 Paleontologist Elso Barghoorn announces discovery of a 3.4-billion year old one-celled fossil, one of the earliest life forms on Earth Ship Locations Eurodam --- 16 days, one-way from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale Oranjestad, Aruba 0800-1700 Koningsdam --- 4 days, one-way from Vancouver to San Diego At Sea Destination Catalina Island, California eta 10-25 Nieuw Amsterdam --- 7 days, round-trip Eastern Caribbean St Thomas, US Virgin Islands 1300-2200 Nieuw Statendam --- 14 days, round-trip Turkey Greek Isles Istanbul, Turkey -ovn--1600 Oosterdam --- 11 days, one-way from Piraeus-Athens to Barcelona At Sea Destination La Valletta, Malta eta 10-24 Rotterdam --- 15 days, one-way from Rotterdam to Fort Lauderdale Kings Wharf, Bermuda 0800-1700 Volendam --- 14 days, one-way from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Florida eta 11-09 Westerdam --- 53 days, round-trip Majestic Japan At Sea Destination Seattle, Washington eta 10-24 Zuiderdam --- 21 days, round-trip Perfect Caribbean Escape At Sea Destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas eta 10-24 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam --- 28 days, one-way from Yokohama to Hong Kong Kochi, Japan 0800-1800 Zaandam --- 51 days, round-trip Tales Of The South Pacific Lautoka, Fiji 0800-1800

I have a message from Annie @marshhawk today. Here's what she said: "Good morning, say hello to everyone on the daily for me. I guess I will have a lot of reading to do. We got to Huntsville, chuck wanted to go to the museum, but he is in so much pain, we are scratching that and heading home. At least we got to the gift shop yesterday...lol. Hugs.. Annie" Last night I got slightly less than 4 hours sleep. I laid awake from 2:05 a.m. onward. So after breakfast today I went back to bed and "rested" for over 2 hours until the phone rang and the PET scan department called to verify my appointment and go over the instructions with me. Now I'm catching up here on the Daily, watching a Hallmark Christmas movie, and will move on to the photo book shortly. Yesterday I did about 3 1/2 pages. I have another week of the Baltic segment of our cruise to do. Then I have to make a decision - stop there and begin another book for the book for the 42 day Ultimate Viking Explorer and Passage OR try to put everything in this one book. I don't think there will be enough room with a limit of 111 pages. However, on that cruise we missed many ports of call due to ice and in some of the ports we didn't even get off the ship due to extremely inclement weather. I hope it won't be too boring. Doesn't matter. It is what it is! Elizabeth @Haljo1935 I'm sorry to hear of the way you were let go yesterday from your job. I echo Graham's @grapau27's comments. The boss should be let go too and you deserve much better. Best of luck with your recovery, PT, and job hunting in the future. Hugs to you! For some reason some clouds slipped in while I was "resting". Not sure where they came from but looks like they are trying to slip back out again. Sunshine always makes me feel happier so I hope it sticks around. My new laptop is supposed to come late today. DH says give him a few days to set it all up for me and then I'll be back in business without a broken-hinged laptop. It's hanging on just barely now. What would I do without my DH? I don't want to find out.🤗

Pickle juice?? OMG😮