Cruising-along

Hi Jacqui, Welcome home! At your convenience please add me (cruising-along) to the Westerdam - 08-Jun-25 - 28 day Alaska Arctic Circle Solstice. Thank you!

Good morning all! It's another gloomy, cloudy, wet day here. I'm looking forward to Wednesday when we'll have a string of sunny days and into the 70's. 🙂 I'll pass on the drink (coconut) and red wine, but fajitas sound really good to me so that's what we'll be having tonight. We've had a lot of chicken lately, so it will be steak fajitas for us. I talked with BFF yesterday, their lives continue to be a roller coaster with not much progress. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping her on the Care List -- all the prayers are so very much appreciated. Amber is out of ICU but was denied intensive PT at Swedish because of her low score on alertness. 😞 So now they're trying to find a skilled nursing facility or rehab. Bon Voyage @Heartgrove and @YourWorldWithBill! Welcome home Jacqui @kazu! I'm sure Ivan is very happy to have you back, but I'm sorry you're having so much trouble with your foot. I hope the nurse helps you. Congratulations Morgan @StLouisCruisers! We were in Exmouth in February on the Grand Australia. Not a very pretty port IMO, so my photos are of the tour we did on a glass bottom boat on the Tantabiddi Reef. It was very, very hot (but blessedly cooler out on the water) and the area looked very dry and parched. We had a nice time on the boat and saw 2 different kinds of sea turtles and 2 different kinds of sharks. Our guides told us we saw more than any of their other tours that day. On the drive we passed lots of termite mounds like this one. Everything looked like this, dry and red. It was around 100 degrees F. And saw an Osprey nest on top of this pole. One of the turtles we saw And sharks Lots of coral, too much to post -- but here's one part All done and heading back to shore

Thanks for coming back and explaining. By the time I got online this morning it was gone. We had a bad experience with roaches in the early '80's at a hotel in FL. And not roaches, but there were tiny little bugs all over our room at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale a few years ago. The room was a disaster too. I couldn't understand why that hotel was so popular with cruisers and have never stayed there again. Lenda it's good news indeed. On a funny note, our SIL's sister lives in North Bend where the zebra escaped. She has a zebra costume and ran down a busy street the other day. Cars were honking and flashing lights as she ran by. 🤣 I did too, couldn't figure out where it was! 😉

Jacqui, thanks for bringing us along! It was fun reading your take on the cruise and the Volendam. Safe travels home!

Good morning all! As Karen @luvteaching said, it's a cloudy, grey morning here. But our area is expected to get some rain (or drizzle, 30-40%) later today. We're in the convergent zone here though. My next-door neighbor's son is a firefighter, and DH did some for the forest service while in college. I have the utmost respect for the profession. I know I would like the drink and would like the last recipe for cod. Will pass on the red wine and haven't been to this port. The big news here is that finally, after 6 days, the zebra who got loose on the way to Montana has been caught. Thank goodness! At least this time of year there would be plenty for her to eat where she got loose. She apparently looks very healthy.

There has been a lot of fun around here ever since the zebra went on the loose! A few that I've seen:

Sending hugs too. Our Ebony had thyroid problems too. Got it too, not going.

Because all the good tech people here work for other companies where they have better opportunities! (like my son and DIL) 😉 😂

Good morning all! Another beautiful day in the PNW. And next week we'll hit the 70's -- I love May here. It's almost always better than June. No lumpy rugs here or 2 different shoes, although it wouldn't surprise me if I'd ever done that. All pets are special. I'll pass on the drink (coconut rum), red wine and the carrot cake (not a fan of cream cheese). Just give me chocolate please. 🙂 Margaret Mitchell certainly did deserve the Pulitzer Prize. I read Gone With the Wind several times and we own the movie I like it so much. We've been to Marseilles and Provence twice. The first time was in 2008, no photos from that visit good enough to share I'm afraid...we rented a car and drove to Aix-en-Provence and Arles. DS and DBIL came with us that cruise, and that day was my sister's birthday -- a great way to spend it! The second visit was in 2019. We took an 8-hour tour to Avignon and Pont du Gard, the Roman aqueduct built in 50 AD. Another great day! Just a couple photos of Marseilles as both times we spent the day outside of the city. Pont du Gard Inscribed stones when the bridge was built Some scenes of Avignon I hope everyone has a good day -- prayers for all on the Care List and cheers for all who are celebrating!

That's wonderful news Gerry!! I would have cried too. Very happy for you.

No kidding!!

You're right, same company, but different people in the hair salon. Maybe I was lucky 🤷‍♀️. I usually avoid that area on cruises for this exact reason, but had no choice. Had to get my hair cut 😉

Yikes. Makes me glad I never go to the spa. I got my hair cut 3 times on the Volendam (had to, 3-month-long cruise). I really had no problem, no hard sell any of the times. But that was the hair salon, not the spa.

Good morning all! It's a gorgeous sunny day in the PNW, heading for the low 60's. I have a lunch date with a friend and hope to garden after that this afternoon. I'll pass on the drink (pumpkin) and meal, but would love to try the Spanish white wine. We haven't been to Montevideo, but I'm pretty sure it's on the '26 World Cruise itinerary. Thank you to all who posted the wonderful photos! Annie @marshhawk My heart breaks for you and your DH. Praying that the right doctor and treatment will help him. @1ANGELCAT Thank you for posting Houdini's photo -- what a sweet face. I hope the vet can help tomorrow. Debbie @dfish Fingers and toes crossed for you that the test injections show that nerve ablation would work. Hugs!

Thank you, I did wonder...I'm getting this info 3rd hand, and now wonder if the doctors actually said "damage to the white matter" or just mentioned the white matter. Time will tell, I guess.

Good late afternoon everyone, I had a very nice time with my BFF in Bellingham -- some tears and lots of hugs. Sadly there is a new worry re Amber. For the last day or two she has been sleeping a lot, too much. Also for the first time she's showing anger issues (not like her at all). So, we of course are worrying about brain damage. The doctors also mentioned "white matter" in the brain... I can see the toll this is taking on my friend, and can only imagine the toll on her son. We're hoping they will schedule another MRI to give some answers. She asked me to thank you again for your prayers. She said this must be an amazing group of people. 🙂 On another note, a big thank you to Rich @richwmn for helping me with the cruise video problem! As I told you, there's no hurry -- we just appreciate your help. 🙂

Good idea to hang onto that fan. At the beginning of the Grand Australia we had the same problem with our cabin (Vista Suite deck 7). It took them at least 3 times before it finally was a comfortable temperature (and that was only when we had the setting at the coolest possible setting). We hung onto that fan until the end of the cruise LOL.

Good morning all! Another good selection of days. I'll pass on the drink and red wine, but would like the first recipe and will make it tomorrow. Thank you Tina @0106! We love basil pesto and I have all the ingredients. We've been to Juneau several times and will be there again next year on the 28-day Alaska Solstice cruise. Not sure what we'll be doing this time, probably rent a car and drive to Mendenhall Glacier again... Today I'm driving up to Bellingham to see my BFF Barbara. We usually meet in Mt. Vernon (half-way) but because of her busy life lately and having the grandchildren staying with her while Amber is hospitalized, I said I'd come up there this time to make it easier for her. It's always nice to go to my hometown anyway. 🙂 I hope to learn more about Amber's situation and how this all happened. The last I heard, the doctors were baffled too. On our first Alaska cruise in 2004 we went kayaking in Juneau and Ketchikan. This was from Juneau. One time we rented a car and drove to Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and walked to the glacier and Nugget Falls. A short stop on our drive Our last Alaska cruise was last year and we had a drizzly day in Juneau. We would have taken the Mt. Roberts tram but the visibility would obviously be bad at the top. And we wanted to get a drink at the Red Onion Saloon, but it was packed wall to wall with people and a very long wait. So we passed. Some wild flowers in Alaska

Oh no! I hope the missing zebra is found soon. Definitely there are cougars and bears in that area.

Yes I saw it this morning. Now you have to go to "Daily Program" under Experiences, then you'll see across the top "Day 1, 2, etc.". Click on the day you want and then click on My itinerary. Your bookings will show up. A change for the worse, IMO.

Bruno @atexsix sending hugs.

Good morning all! I'm all for animal advocacy, I like Bugs Bunny, and will pass on Beltane. I see that @kochleffelcaught the April 31 date too. 😉 Will pass on the drink and wine, but might like the 3rd recipe -- although I'm sure it's too high in sodium for me, it sounds tasty. We still have a Mr. Potato Head here for the grandsons to play with. Have been to Maui but not Kaului. Yesterday's weather was a surprise, we actually had sunshine all afternoon! I did get some more annuals and got them all planted. The yard is looking very colorful now. 🙂 The rain came back last night, but the forecast for today shows a low chance of the wet stuff. Happy 31st Anniversary @lobsternight! Maureen @RMLincoln I'm glad your DH's eye pressure is somewhat lower this morning and hope the trend continues. Sandi @StLouisCruisers Love the graduation tree! Vanessa @JazzyV How wonderful -- almost 9 hours!! This is what we've all been praying for. Susan @durangoscots I was sorry to hear you were ill, but glad you're feeling somewhat better. I know it takes awhile to get our stamina back!

Annie @marshhawk I'm so sorry to hear your news. Praying for Chuck and for you. I got the latest update about Amber a few minutes ago -- a big step forward -- she was moved from ICU to the PT floor yesterday! She's continuing to show slight movement on her left side too. The swelling continues, giving her headaches and in turn raising her blood pressure again. So they're working on that. But all in all, steps forward. 🙂

Yes, "loser" seems to be the dummy's word of choice. 😂 He also flirted a lot with the man's girlfriend. 😉

Yes, he's so talented -- and funny. We saw him a few times during the Grand Australia. Did the dummy pick on and insult someone in the audience? On our cruise it was a gentleman who throughout the cruise yelled out from the audience at our Cruise and Travel Director Daniel. It was obvious this gentleman was chosen to be harassed by the dummy, as he was sitting down front instead of his usual seat in the balcony. We all laughed SO hard!