StLouisCruisers

Great photo, Tina! Have a wonderful cruise!

I've learned something today so won't be surprised if the luggage arrives before I do next domestic flight. Speaking of flights, my DDIL went to Ann Arbor for a few days to have a girls weekend up in snowy northern Michigan. They celebrated all the girlfriends' January birthdays and it looked like a great time. But when she tried flying back to Dallas Sunday night her flight kept getting delayed, bit by bit. It eventually left at 12:30 am Monday instead of 5:30 pm Sunday, but she gave up halfway through the delays and rebooked for 5 am. Monday. Went home to sleep and turned up for her flight at 5 am next morning. But the thing that made my mouth drop is she said it took 3 tries to land in Dallas due to other planes on the runway. She said the air traffic controllers were having a tough time, which to me is an understatement! Yikes! So I went to flightaware.com to search for Monday's early morning flight from Detroit to Dallas, AA #1108. That was pretty scary. You can see where they turned around twice and went back to try again. But look at the altitude down to ground level and then the sharp rise in speed as they shot back up to 5000 feet! I'd need a stiff drink after that! So glad everyone made it to Dallas safely. 😥 Ray, next time we have Airlie Beach as port of the day you be sure and post your photos here for us! We'd like to see it too!

That was quite a bonfire wasn't it? Thanks to @1ANGELCAT for clueing us in.🔥

I went to BBC on my laptop and linked to this live shot from there. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-scotland-68085215?src_origin=BBCS_BBC hope that works!

Great news, Paul. Hope it heals quickly. Thanks Bruce @aliaschief and your fellow passenger for the photos! Looks great! Debbie @dfish after all this talk of chocolate croissants, I'm suddenly craving one. Time for lunch!

Terri @Cruzin Terri it sounds like you have a sensitive GI tract and traveling can upset that condition easily. I recommend you get some fluids with electrolytes in you and hopefully you carry Immodium when you travel. Some people use Gatorade but check out some Pedialyte at the pharmacy. Ask the pharmacist if you should try that or an adult version. As for food, watch what you eat today. The recommendation is the BRAT diet, bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Rice is good too I think. Baked or boiled potatoes, plain pasta, low-fat yogurt, soft cooked eggs, and clear broths. Hope you can find something like that to eat. You need to gain your strength back. Once I was up all night like you and the next morning fainted in the bathroom while alone. I could have hurt myself badly but only had a small bruise by my eye where my glasses hit the floor. Good luck!!

Got it!

Wow! I thought the rules were that your luggage had to be on the plane with you? Unless of course the baggage handlers mess up and it follows you on a later flight. I've never heard of sending the luggage on ahead!!

Debbie, thanks for your advice and the exercise to try. I just did it. Hardest part is raising the left arm halfway up. That hurts but I'll try it slowly and maybe not halfway at first. So many people have shoulder problems. Friends Scott and Susan both have different shoulder problems. And my twin is currently undergoing PT so that they will do a MRI for her. Yes, PT before the MRI. She told me this morning she was on her way there and that her insurance won't pay for the MRI until she has 6 weeks of PT. Seems like they should find out what the problem is before they try the exercises but what do we know? 🤷‍♀️

Joy, another great friend in our midst! That was so nice of you to drop everything and run to help your girlfriend in her time of need. Wishes for quick healing for her! Prayers for your friend Ron, too. I know when DMIL was out of it they kept her bed so low, and put the cushioning pads on the floor to protect her. She was very squirmy. I'm trying to get up and stretch a lot. And I already twist my head from side to side while exercising in the mornings. AARP defensive driving courses recommend that because too many of us as we get older can't turn our heads enough to check for traffic while changing lanes. We have to keep the ol' body parts moving!! Oh boy! Their ride has arrived!🚢🥂

Oh, poor Tana! I hope she can be made more comfortable, and that she doesn't catch anything else right now. I agree that posture could contribute to the shoulder issue and am going to concentrate on maintaining a straighter posture. Nag all you want because what you say is very beneficial. I'll look into getting some pain patches too. Probably have them available as part of our health benefits where we can order OTC products every quarter and I haven't done that yet this quarter. I will!🙂 Thanks Gerry! I'm going to concentrate on my posture and take frequent breaks. What you're doing for your neighbors is truly a kind offering. People don't like to ask for help when they need it, and you are one who just gets busy and does something about it. I'd love to have a neighbor like you!

Your poor DW! I'm glad it wasn't any worse and that you got it taken care of quickly. Thanks so much Graham! Good advice Graham. I decided to look for medications that are affected by grapefruit and found this list. AVOID GRAPEFRUIT IF YOU’RE TAKING ANY OF THESE 53 MEDICATIONS Budesonide corticosteroids Cancer drugs Crizotinib Dasatinib Erlotinib Everolimus Lapatinib Nilotinib Pazopanib Sunitinib Vandetanib Vemurafenib Infection drugs Erythromycin Halofantrine Maraviroc Primaquine Quinine Rilpivirine Statins Atorvastatin Lovastatin Simvastatin Heart/blood vessel drugs Amiodarone Apixaban Clopidogrel Dronedarone Eplerenone Felodipine Nifedipine Quinidine Rivaroxaban Ticagrelor Drugs for anxiety or the nervous system Oral alfentanil Buspirone Dextromethorphan Oral fentanyl Oral ketamine Lurasidone Oxycodone Pimozide Quetiapine Triazolam Ziprasidone Nausea drugs Domperidone Immunosuppressants Cyclosporine Everolimus Sirolimus Tacrolimus Urinary tract medications Darifenacin Fesoterodine Solifenain Silodosin Tamsulosin ***** Fexofenadine (an anti-histamine) Good luck today Paul and I hope they get a clean margin first try!👍

Thank you for the mention Vanessa @JazzyV. I'm trying to be good and not exacerbate the problem. 😇

Thanks to all of you for your comments and suggestions! I'm getting by with rest, pain relievers and analgesic gel. Hoping for a better day today! Ann @cat shepard the cross stitching does cause an ache in the shoulders so have to stop and rest sometimes. Lying on my side is a normal way to sleep so have to watch out for that too.

Good morning friends! It's only 31F this morning but we will see a sunny day and a high of 58. DH has an appointment for some routine maintenance on my SUV this morning in Macon, then I think he will stop at the grocery for a couple items. I will probably stay home since there's nothing exciting planned. I might do some cross stitching, since I didn't even pick it up yesterday. My left shoulder pain is more like a 5 today and I hope to keep it lowered. My shoulders and arms do get tired if I cross stitch all day but this pain was crazy. I don't have any patches but use an analgesic gel and pain relievers as well as rest. I really should get an appointment to get it checked out since my official check-up is still 6 weeks off. Thanks to Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the FR and Daily as well as the fleet maps. For the days we recognize on Jan. 30 I think croissants are nice but don't have any. I could probably draw a dinosaur! When my youngest DGS was 3 he told everyone he wanted to be a paleontologist. He actually used that word, not dinosaur expert! So cute! He's still an amazingly smart kid! I wouldn't mind escaping from it all once in a while. The Sparks quote is true. The meal today is exactly how we prepare a roast, only we choose shoulder roasts instead of chuck roast. They are more tender IMO. Think I'll skip the drink of the day and whatever the wine is. A big thanks to Thomas Jefferson for donating his books for the Library of Congress to replace those destroyed. Thank you F&B department people Eva @superoma, Paul @kochleffel and Ann @cat shepard for your reports. Prayers said already for my family and friends who are deserving of them, plus the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages held still, and our military being fired upon. My condolences to the families of those slain in Jordan who were all from Georgia. In addition, prayers for all of you here, both on the Care list or not. I had to include myself in my prayers this morning and hope I continue to feel less pain. Hoping all of you do the same! Three cheers to the Celebration list folks. Safe travels and I hope the cruisers are enjoying themselves. Happy birthday and anniversary to those with celebrations today. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping each day, and prayers for better days ahead for you! The port this morning is Airlie Beach in Queensland Australia. That is such a beautiful area. The only previous posting of it was on June 16, 2023. I do not have any photos from there and it appears that Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser does not either. Funny how Graham @grapau27 mentioned yesterday the program Below Deck was about Airlie Beach. What a coincidence! Here is the link to June 16, 2023. Bon Voyage to Debbie @dfish and Sue, Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser and Steve, Sharon @Sharon in AZ and Craig, and last but not least Dixie @summer slope and George! Hoping everyone here has a great day. Be productive, stay safe, and keep well!

Checking in tonight to say I've read every post today and appreciate all the comments and photos. I've had a tough time with my left shoulder for some reason since I woke up today. It's been a bit of a problem for a year or more but only about a 3 on a 1-10 scale in pain. Today was a good 8.5. No idea what I did to cause it to flare like this. As Jacqui @kazu and Vanessa @JazzyV know, pain really can put a damper on the day and prevent you from getting anything done. I hope not using the left arm can help it to ease up and let me be my usual self. Have a good night everyone.

Just found this photo from Paul Munson Photography who takes photos of many of the MLS Next teams like FC Dallas. This is 4 shots of Ren trying to make his goal yesterday, which he did succeed at. Take a look at the defender trying to rip his arm off, especially photo 3! You have to wonder if they called a foul there.

We first went to Buenos Aires in 2012 on Star Princess and took a bus tour of the city. Next in 2015 on Ruby Princess and my Shutterfly photo book says we walked around starting in the Retiro neighborhood. I believe there was a shuttle that dropped us off so that helped a lot. Some of these docks are far from the exciting sights! Our third time was disembarkation from the Seabourn Quest after our Antarctica and South Georgia Island cruise. We took a tour to use up time so we wouldn't have to sit at the Buenos Aires airport, which is not a fun place to spend the day. I'll show some photos from that visit. We also went there in January 2020 on Coral Princess where we also disembarked after our Antarctica cruise but that day was rainy so not as much fun to tour. Here we go! Arriving in Buenos Aires and sad to disembark the Quest. On to the bus we went to our first stop Recoleta Cemetery. Scenes along the way. Along the way I noticed dog walkers everywhere. I can't count how many this guy had. 5, 6 or maybe 7?? Here we are walking to see Eva Peron's tomb. Many Argentinian Presidents, poets, soldiers and actors are buried there. I see 4 kitties here. Eva's gravesite. Here is the Teatro Colon, the opera house. El Obelisco monument Then we went to the La Boca neighborhood. Here is the La Bombenera stadium home of the Boca Juniors. stopping for some shopping this colorful neighborhood. Stopping for a snack at the Cafe Tortoni, a French style cafe popular with the cultural elite (who me?) Enough for today. Hope you enjoyed Buenos Aires!

Good morning friends! Today it's only 40F outside but will rise to 53 with afternoon sunshine. We could use a little drying out. I hope the weather is good where you are! Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the maps. We appreciate you! Interesting and varied days to recognize - curmudgeons, freethinkers and bubble wrap. Curmudgeons aren't very positive, but freethinkers can think outside the box. Bubble wrap came in very handy when we moved here in 2011 and I used a lot to protect paintings before I boxed them up. It took a lot of time to pack for that move so I hope I don't have to do that again! I think the quote should be finished to understand it. Oscar Wilde said "always forgive your enemies--nothing else will annoy them so much". The drumstick dish is very nice I'm sure but they aren't my favorite part of the chicken. No thanks to the Elderberry Martini and I will also pass on the wine. A very good day to think about the play "Romeo and Juliet" but not so great for the characters. Also an important day in the automobile world and for Coca-Cola! Thank you in advance to Eva @superoma, Paul @kochleffel and Ann @cat shepard for the meal, cocktail and wine reports today. So nice of you to step up and do this for the Daily! Prayers for the many here on the Daily in need of prayers due to pain, loss, and serious medical conditions. Also for my DB, other family and friends in need of them. Also for Israel and Ukraine, the hostages held, but most of all for the 3 American soldiers killed in Jordan this weekend and the many who have been injured over there. It was only a matter of time, but I'll continue to pray that something is done about this to protect them all. 🙏 😪 Congrats to all our cruisers and for those celebrating happy events. Happy birthday Melisa @HAL Sailer! 🎂 Bon Voyage Tina @0106! 🚢 Safe travels to all including Terri @Cruzin Terri and Jim and Sharon @Sharon in AZ and Craig. 🥂 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the posting of the Care and Celebration lists! Hope you had a better night! The port today is Buenos Aires, Argentina, an excellent port to visit. It was our port before on Aug. 10, 2022 and Jan. 28, 2023. The links are below for your convenience. I'll include my photos later because we've been lucky enough to see it four times. In sports today, congrats to the Kansas City Chiefs for their win yesterday. It's the only football team left in my home state! Sorry Ravens fans! I wanted the Lions to win last night and they didn't but it was close. Even though we cheered on the 49ers back in the 1980's we are no longer fans of that team so I don't plan on watching the Super Bowl. We kind of gave up on the NFL in the last decade. But in the best sports news today, I heard Ren scored a good goal yesterday in College Station and his team won 4-1. Ren played half the game at wing position. Congrats FC Dallas U17 team!⚽ Have a great day everyone! Stay safe and keep well!

Now that's how you spin around and get outta town! The ship looked great!

Was Odyssey of the Seas the slowest departure you've ever seen? I swear the pokey pilot was trying to set a record for how long it took to get that ship out of there.

And Jan. 28, 2023 was the first day I posted the Daily for you because you were ill. You posted about a fall the night before and when you didn't post as usual, I went forward with it. You had warned us of some health issues during the days leading up to Jan. 28. Coincidentally tomorrow's port is the same one we had Jan. 28, 2023 and I'll be posting the link to it in the morning.

DH just came in from emptying the rain gauge. In the last 3 days we've received 3 1/4 inches and a week before we got 5 inches in that one day deluge. I checked the Georgia drought map for January and there is a swath that runs through Atlanta including Stone Mountain that is abnormally dry. Most of the state is not currently in a drought condition including our section. At the beginning of January we were pretty dry but we've caught up. Sharon @Sharon in AZ please tell Amaya happy 17th birthday! What a great age! Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser DH looked up the location of the game in College Station and it's not on the campus of Texas A&M but instead at a place called Veteran's Park and Athletic Complex. They have a nice group of soccer fields over there. I believe FC Dallas has another game in February there against a different Houston area team. Roy @rafinmd I think this was our second renewal but we didn't have to go in for an interview this time or last. Of course that was required for the first application and we went to a CBP facility near the Atlanta airport. Joy @Seasick Sailor I'm surprised you still have that finger! You do, don't you?? 😆 Debbie @dfish glad to hear the journey to San Diego is almost over. Hope you have a good evening once you get settled at the hotel.

Graham @grapau27 and Pauline @Paw13 welcome home! Did you use your sun screen? That is a very nice sunny warm cruise. 😎

Nice photos and memories of your time spent at the Pantheon! Yes, it's sad there are so many stray (homeless) cats in your area. I don't see them around here. And very few dogs running lose. There are strict rules here about leashing dogs, but one couple who moved to our street 5 or 6 years ago never use a leash, they simply walk their dog across the street and let it use the potty on their neighbor's property. Then they walk it back home again. I hope they pick up the evidence and take it with them. The HOA sends emails reminding people of the leash rule several times a month, but still no recognition by them that they aren't following the rules. They don't even take their dog on actual walks, they just consider the walk across the street as exercise I guess. I'm a rule follower so this burns me up! End of rant! I don't know where the original game was to be held. But they figured out a new location pretty quick. I hope the flooding is minimal down that way. Thanks for the info. Thanks for the detailed explanation of today's drink, and the history lesson as well, My decision to pass on it still stands however.😉 Good luck with your arrival at Pitcairn Island and I hope everyone who wants to can get to shore today. Very funny memes! And my choice for the juke box would be a Beatles song, however I haven't decided which one yet. They were all good!