Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[Ocean Boy]

10 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I started driving in the 80s and bought my first used Chrysler 400 convertible around 1989.  Had to unzip the back vinyl window before putting top down.  That was annoying as sometimes I fought with zipper but like you said as soon as that roof is down you forget all of that.  I have had a convertible almost every year since then.  😎

 

Back to the topic of being a little weird... I've never had a convertible but will not buy a car without a moon (sun) roof. I also will not buy a car without a premium sound system as I am very into music. I will not open either the moon roof or windows as it interferes with the sound if the music. But the moon roof still has to be there...just in case....

[Tree_skier]

10 hours ago, SwissMiss USA said:

Well..435 pages later I would like to raise my hand and join. I have stalked this page since the beginning, so thank you all for you regular days. I am Leanna. I live in the middle of nowhere Kansas and cannot wait for a cruise. I had 3 cruises cancelled, one of which was a bucket list. Oh well! We have now rebooked for March 2022  and august 2022. 

 

@A&L_Ont we have the puke room for most cruises. Lol. 

my days are generally very boring. I get up. I get my daughter ready for school. I sit at my home office desk and have call after call. I then pick up my daughter and try to make dinner, work out, get her a bath and go to sleep at a reasonable hour. 
 

But! It was windy yesterday. I was going along to pick up my daughter and niece from school when I see a trash can on the side of the road. Wind was about 50mph...wind and fire warning ... I see the lid lift and think .... that trash can is blowing in the road. My dad always taught me to never swerve, so I just go in the left lane (it was empty) and boom. I could have had a deposit on a suite for 4 for my deductible. The funny thing? I paid it off this month. I mean, it depends how you look at it...  No loss of life. It’s plastic.

 

Hope you all are well. 

 

10 hours ago, SwissMiss USA said:

I am very lucky. I am 40, but work in agriculture (HR). Our company managed to work with a local pharmacy to get a shipment of vaccine dedicated to our company. We are the largest employer in the town and we also had a huge outbreak in 2020 at the factory.

 

that said, I get my Pfizer vaccine (1st shot) tomorrow. My sister, who teaches human reproduction (sex Ed) gets hers from

the same pharmacy on Tuesday. She is 43. Mom and dad are already over two weeks past their 2nd dose. We have to convince my BIL to keep nagging the local Pharmacies. He is an essential worker; he delivers fuel.

 

I am considering signing my daughter (9) up for the trials, if and when they come to where we live. I want her vaccinated ASAP. I travel a lot to Europe for my job and she is Swiss American (this my username). Her dad could not come now for over a year to visit and right now, we would still have quarantine if we go to Switzerland. Suck. I am scheduled to travel again in June but she will

have to wait...
 

We have now scheduled a land vacation for end of May. This is all 8 of us: mom, dad, me, PJ, my sister, BIL, and two nieces.  We are driving down to Texas to the JW Mariott in San Antonio. Lots of pools and fun.. plus lots to do in the city! Andwide Open Spaces. We do wear our masks and are thinking we may be able to safely enjoy the outdoor dining! 

Welcome SM USA, San Antonio is a great town.  You'll have loads of fun.

[grapau27]

It's a cold and windy 46°F today by the seafront.

We had a look at P&O Azura docked then we had some chips and a walk by the seafront.

[h20skibum]

First one of these in 2 months, because I have been working hard at getting rid of that quarantine 15.  Before I left for this little vacation, I managed to drop 14.  Hope this doesn’t do too much damage. 

 

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Back to the topic of being a little weird... I've never had a convertible but will not buy a car without a moon (sun) roof. I also will not buy a car without a premium sound system as I am very into music. I will not open either the moon roof or windows as it interferes with the sound if the music. But the moon roof still has to be there...just in case....

I have premium sound system in my convertible.   Sound is pretty good with roof down when driving local but as soon as I get on highway I blast it and sing away.  I cannot sing at all so if Eric is in car with me he will put on his ear buds and listen to music on his phone.  🤩

[Sunshine3601]

21 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

It's a cold and windy 46°F today by the seafront.

We had a look at P&O Azura docked then we had some chips and a walk by the seafront.

You should have got them to blow their horn!  I miss hearing that sound!!

Looks lovely even though a bit chilly.

[Ocean Boy]

Just now, Sunshine3601 said:

You should have got them to blow their horn!  I miss hearing that sound!!

Looks lovely even though a bit chilly.

I love that sound. One time leaving St. Maarten, Adventure and Ocean Village had an epic horn battle. I was in heaven.

[grapau27]

24 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

You should have got them to blow their horn!  I miss hearing that sound!!

Looks lovely even though a bit chilly.

This was P&O Oceana leaving Newcastle last year shortly before she was sold.

Her horn was blown many times.

[bobmacliberty]

22 hours ago, sara mom said:

For those of you that have made to move to Florida- how did you decide on location?  It seems like a daunting task- Gulf side vs Atlantic side?  My husband and I are about 7 years out and when we visit Disney each year, we pick a city or 2 in Florida to check out for possible places to move to.  

 

I agree with the idea of trying a few different places.  We didn't worry as much about west vs. east coast.  We were more focused on how far south to go...warm/hot weather nearly year round or a little more "seasons".  We have friends who lived in Miami for a while and they said it was too hot.  They spent most of your time indoors where there's AC. 

 

I would think the biggest question is what you like to do in your spare time.  Golfing?  Fishing?  Boating?  Cruising? Do you want access to larger cities for concerts/theater?  How close do you want to be to a large airport for travel?  How close do you want to be to Orlando for the parks?  How close do you want to be for good shopping?  How important is outdoor hiking/biking?  Good restaurants/bars?  Professional sports teams?  College football?  Do you want to be near Daytona for Bike Week? 😁

 

Then there's the "vibe" that you're looking for.  Beach vibe?  Golf course community vibe?  Active Senior vibe?  Lots of action or more isolated?  Small town or large town?  Obviously, budget is a consideration as a fixed amount of money will buy you different things in different places.  Also an important question...how close do you want/need to be to good medical facilities?

 

For us, we wanted northern Florida so that we had a little more seasons, and so that we would be closer to driving distance to Cincinnati (where one of our daughters will likely stay).  We wanted a golf and tennis community with access to good restaurants/bars.  We also wanted to be very close to a beach, or even ocean front (which would have meant a condo, which we considered but rejected in favor of a house).  Travel and cruising are important to us so we wanted an airport within an hour and a cruise port within 3 hours (many places in Florida meet those criteria).  My wife is an Ovarian Cancer survivor and we wanted access to good medical facilities should that come back.

 

Amelia Island was perfect for us.  We loved it from our first visit.  It's somewhat isolated yet has everything that we want.  It's only 30 minutes from the Jacksonville airport and an hour or less away from anything else that Jacksonville offers.  It's a 3 hour drive to Port Canaveral.  There's a good, smaller hospital on the island and a Mayo Clinic about 45 minutes away.  And it feels more like Georgia than Florida with Live Oak trees with Spanish moss and pine trees.  

 

We have friends who live in Ponte Vedra Beach (also close to Jacksonville) because of his work and they love it there.  Many of the same benefits as Amelia Island but a little less isolated and closer to "the action".  We have other friends who have fallen in love with the west coast.  They're still looking but ideally would end up in the Sarasota area.  That's going to have warmer weather year round than NE Florida, but not quite as hot as Miami.  They also enjoy Naples for a beach break from Ohio but probably wouldn't live there.  There are several people on this thread that live in various places along the east coast.  There's something for just about everyone, which is probably why so many people retire here.

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

7 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

This was P&O Oceana leaving Newcastle last year shortly before she was sold.

Her horn was blown many times.

Thank you for sharing.  You just made my day!!!

[grapau27]

Just now, Sunshine3601 said:

Thank you for sharing.  You just made my day!!!

You are welcome.👍

[bobmacliberty]

17 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Here are some photos I took today of our elevation drawings. It’s hard to read. This builder doesn’t give the plans until we close. It aggravates us but it is what it is. 
 

Front view

 

Side view

 

Rear view

 

If we had found a lot for sale, we almost certainly would have had ICI Homes build our house.  We loved their Egret II design.  We even had an initial meeting with them about putting one of their houses on our lot.  

 

I can't imagine needing to make all of those design choices.  I leave design to my wife and I do the technology.  My wife needs to take her time with design decisions, "living with" options for a while.  I think the shear number of decisions needed would have locked up her brain.

[grapau27]

Pauline is eating an ice cream and I am drinking a coffee.

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

Always ready for summer weather. Love the exterior and interior colours.

 

Thanks. The car is easy to find in a parking lot packed with black and grey SUVs.  I was iffy on the interior color but the salesman convinced me it would be better than a black interior on a sunny day with the top down. Not sure if that's true but it sold me. 

[bobmacliberty]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Back to the topic of being a little weird... I've never had a convertible but will not buy a car without a moon (sun) roof. I also will not buy a car without a premium sound system as I am very into music. I will not open either the moon roof or windows as it interferes with the sound if the music. But the moon roof still has to be there...just in case....

 

I considered a convertible a couple of cars ago.  Borrowed one from a dealer to drive for a day.  I learned that I don't have convertible hair.  I looked like a mad scientist getting out of the car.

[bobmacliberty]

12 hours ago, SwissMiss USA said:

No loss of life. It’s plastic.

 

Sorry that this happened.  It's amazing how expensive plastic can be.

[Lionesss]

My DH just inherited a lot in Florida in an area called Lehigh acres.

His uncle bought the lot around 1960's, for under $1000.

 

Now I googled it and I wonder if this area is off the beaten path.

If it is a development that never took off or what.  There are some homes on different lots, and some areas just empty lots.

 

Since we booked our air for our possible August cruise, and if we do not sail, we are going down and doing the house of mouse for part of the week and then taking a jaunt upto see the lot.

 

If we sail we will not see the property till October on the DH's next vacation.

 

Anyone hear of this community or development or what?

 

Stay healthy

[dani negreanu]

53 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

This was P&O Oceana leaving Newcastle last year shortly before she was sold.

Her horn was blown many times.

 

Love, love the accent in the voice over 😉

 

And, of course, the brief appearance of Pauline with her contagious smile and green-green bag 😁

 

[marci22]

41 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I considered a convertible a couple of cars ago.  Borrowed one from a dealer to drive for a day.  I learned that I don't have convertible hair.  I looked like a mad scientist getting out of the car.

That's why so many bald guys have convertibles.

[DaniDanielle]

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Well thank you for asking. Blue eyes are very common in Italians,  especially from mid to northern Italy.  When I was obtaining my Italian citizenship I had to obtain all sorts of documents which enabled me to be able to trace the genetics back to my great grandparents, on both my mother and father's side, that created my blue eyes.  Now, just remember, I have never claimed to not being a little weird.😊

My mother’s father had blue eyes and blondish hair, she had the hair color but brown eyes.  Northern Italians.  I have two blue eyed, blonde cousins and my grandson has blue eyes.  My son and his wife have brown eyes so there you go!

[George C]

Let’s not forget old blue eyes Frank Sinatra .

[dani negreanu]

@A&L_Ont

 

Day light until 6PM 😁

 

Another two weeks for us until Days Savings Light...

 

[grapau27]

53 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Love, love the accent in the voice over 😉

 

And, of course, the brief appearance of Pauline with her contagious smile and green-green bag 😁

 

Thanks Dani.

Booked 2 RC cruises today one for 2022 and Bella's cruise.

[dani negreanu]

5 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thanks Dani.

Booked 2 RC cruises today one for 2022 and Bella's cruise.

 

That's marvelous, it will be much fun to meet so many "new faces" 😁.

 

Where to the 2022 one?

[grapau27]

57 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

My mother’s father had blue eyes and blondish hair, she had the hair color but brown eyes.  Northern Italians.  I have two blue eyed, blonde cousins and my grandson has blue eyes.  My son and his wife have brown eyes so there you go!

My late dad got his blue eyes from his Italian mam.

I got brown eyes from my mam.