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

[Lionesss]

We bought a whole house generator in 2016. Generax. (sp) 
bought extended warranty and maintenance package. 
it is tapped into our gas line. 
 

used a few times. Once for 8 hours. 
best investment. 

even though we are land locked. People run into power line poles. And they sometimes just blow up. And (((((((BANG)))))))

 

my brother has a portable one. And he plugs in his appliances and lights. Furnace in winter. 
 

take care. 

[harryfat1]

Day 5 of the trip report – Felt good to sleep in a bit today as I didn’t have to wake up early trying to fight for a spot on the virtual queue.

 

Coffee area

 

 

You guys tired of seeing my same old breakfast?

 

 

Fair enough, here’s my wife’s breakfast (healthier than mine)

 

 

OK, so for the morning, we went to the University he will be attending next month. We have been there briefly couple years ago when we toured the various CA colleges but now that he got accepted to the school, it was time to do more serious all around. The morning tour won’t be of interest to anyone here so I will fast forward to our lunch and afternoon activities instead.

 

After walking around the campus, we went to a Korean lunch place.  Similar setup as Chipotle/Subway where they customize what you like from a wide range of choices.  Only difference is the selection is Korean instead of Mexican/Sandwich.

 

 

 

You can select of 2 proteins (chicken/pork/beef/tofu).  The meat comes spicy or non spicy – Korean food is known to be spicy. You then pick 7 small sides along with choice of rice types.

 

So I got spicy pork and spicy chicken and 7 side dishes (note the red spicy pepper colors). Yeah, my mouth had some heat from it but it was good. Not to mention it's good to take a break from the Cheapo ham sandwich...

 

[harryfat1]

As the day was to be over 90 degrees in Disneyland area, it was time to head toward the waters to cool off as the beach typically run 15 degrees cooler than inside due to the ocean breeze.

 

So off we go to the beach after lunch. There were some clouds at the beach area so it wasn’t the blazing killer sun as in Anaheim. When we were there in the afternoon, it was around 75.  The cool off was much appreciated after couple days of walking around in the Disneyland area heat.

 

Even for an overcast Wednesday afternoon , the parking lot was about 90% full and $3/hour to park or risk getting a parking ticket.

 

 

 

By now many are wondering – where is this place?  This is the Balboa Pier and the city is Newport Beach.

 

Since technically this is supposed to be a CC forum, let me try to tie this picture (or this entire Disney trip report for that matter) to a RCI cruise related topic. 

 

With the camera looking north if you drive up 35 miles from the pier, you will get to San Pedro (Port of Los Angeles).  That is where RCI’s ship Navigator of the Seas will depart for her Mexico cruises in 2022. That was where we sailed from on the Mariner of the Seas Mexico cruise years ago before captain Johnny became famous and moved onto the mega ships in Florida.

 

So on the outside chance of 0.000001% of people reading this post is interested in doing an pre/post excursion to Disneyland/Newport Beach with their Navigator of the Seas cruise, maybe this will help you decide to come here…

 

Looking North

 

 

Looking South – about 100 miles south is the US/Mexico Border at San Ysidro

 

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Wow!  That's a lot of corn.   Did you grow it when you lived in NJ?   I love NJ sweet corn and always buy a bunch and freeze it.

My Dad planted for years when I lived at home there,,,,,,,,,,Last year was the first time I have ever planted it at my house in NJ..  This is the first time I grew it at our new house in Virginia.

 

This year planted twice as much as I did in NJ. I guess the corn stalks are to about the same  height in both states but I think the Virginia stalks have like 3 ears on each stalk while in NJ they only had an average of 2 ears on each stalk.

[ReneeFLL]

8 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Was that on the Anthem out of Southhampton?  That was going to be our first TA....

It was on the Brilliance out of Tampa on May 2. The TA was for 15 days going to Amsterdam and then a 12 day Baltic (b2b). It had some really nice ports and we were going to stay in Amsterdam for 5 days after. Both legs in the same aft cabin. It would have been great. 😔

It was also going to be our first TA. I haven’t been able to find anything like it so I booked another TP, Australia and NZ cruise for next year.

Edited August 23, 2021 by ReneeFLL

[ReneeFLL]

8 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

You will love Bermuda when you do get there.  It was our first cruise years ago with my parents.  It was also their favorite island.

  We have done a couple vacations there over the years too.  We like going end of May and September.  Not as hot, not as crowded and cheaper for hotels or home rentals.  Always have fun exploring everything the island has to offer.

Maybe we will just do a land vacation there. Mike has been there several times with the Navy, but he would also like to go back.

 

7 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Well, Henri has come and gone. No power at my house. Very typical of anytime the wind blows. National Grid needs to do some updating. They know the area is a weak spot. So I'm hanging out at my parent's house. Lost part of a tree in my yard but no house damage. I already chain sawed the tree to pieces and will take the rest of it down soon. No problems at my parent's house or the office. Both are further from the ocean than my house.

 

Back to work tomorrow.

Glad no major damage.

[BonTexasNY]

@Luckynana Maryann, so glad you'll be joining us on Bella's cruise.  So many nice people to meet!

 

@grapau27 Graham and Pauline,  Happy Anniversary to one of the most elegant couples on CC. I wish you both a lifetime of continued love and happiness.

 

I had a few power outages in NY and was able to farm out my frozen stuff to my sister who lived 10 minutes away.  Seems like it always happened just when I stocked my freezer. 👎

 

Heavy, torrential rains here in NJ but that didn't stop us from going out for dinner. I had a jacket and it was so wet you could almost ring out the water.  AND that is with an umbrella and my SIL parking the car right next for the door both at home and the restaurant.  Sounds like Henri was not as harsh as expected.  Hope @lenquixote66Lenny is ok.

[StanleyandGus]

5 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

What happens to all the food???

In addition to filling any open areas with ice (freeze it in bottles), cover the freezer with blankets, making sure that the vents are exposed, and don’t open it. 

 

From the land of prolonged power outages! 😁 

[ReneeFLL]

Congratulations Graham and Pauline. May you have another 40 wonderful years to come. 🥂 🍾

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

My Dad planted for years when I lived at home there,,,,,,,,,,Last year was the first time I have ever planted it at my house in NJ..  This is the first time I grew it at our new house in Virginia.

 

This year planted twice as much as I did in NJ. I guess the corn stalks are to about the same  height in both states but I think the Virginia stalks have like 3 ears on each stalk while in NJ they only had an average of 2 ears on each stalk.

 

There is a recipe in this weekend's Wall Street Journal that made me think of you with all your corn crop.  The link is below.  If you cannot view the recipe as WSJ doesn't allow you to read it without subscribing, let me know and I will send the full text to the recipe.

 

•  RECIPES

Seared Scallops With Sweet Corn, Cream and Bacon

Few summer meals are as simple and elegant as a plate of seared scallops

https://www-proquest-com.rpa.sccl.org/wallstreetjournal/docview/2563102265/A5CDA0871E6E4C9BPQ/102?accountid=6247

 

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

Sorry about all the white space above in the last post.  Didn't know how eliminate it.

[taznremmy]

2 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

It was on the Brilliance out of Tampa on May 2. The TA was for 15 days going to Amsterdam and then a 12 day Baltic (b2b). It had some really nice ports and we were going to stay in Amsterdam for 5 days after. Both legs in the same aft cabin. It would have been great. 😔

It was also going to be our first TA. I haven’t been able to find anything like it so I booked another TP, Australia and NZ cruise for next year.

I'm doing something similar in April.  I booked the Jewel to Amsterdam, but her schedule is blank for two weeks after we arrive.  So I move to the Apex the next day.  I hope to spend some time in Amsterdam after the cruise.  Aust/NZ TP was one of my favorites.

[Lionesss]

So many post on thread. Trying to catch up. Noticed one great milestone. Graham and Pauline. Congratulations on your anniversary. 
 

it is now 3:54 am. Leaving hotel. Heading home. Praying we miss Cincinnati traffic jams over road destruction  areas. 
 

later

 

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

@Luckynana Maryann, so glad you'll be joining us on Bella's cruise.  So many nice people to meet!

 

@grapau27 Graham and Pauline,  Happy Anniversary to one of the most elegant couples on CC. I wish you both a lifetime of continued love and happiness.

 

I had a few power outages in NY and was able to farm out my frozen stuff to my sister who lived 10 minutes away.  Seems like it always happened just when I stocked my freezer. 👎

 

Heavy, torrential rains here in NJ but that didn't stop us from going out for dinner. I had a jacket and it was so wet you could almost ring out the water.  AND that is with an umbrella and my SIL parking the car right next for the door both at home and the restaurant.  Sounds like Henri was not as harsh as expected.  Hope @lenquixote66Lenny is ok.

Thank you so much for your lovely words Bonnie.

Graham & Pauline x 

[grapau27]

11 hours ago, Missusdubbya said:

Hope everyone in Henri’s path is safe and sound.

 

Congratulations on baby Felix @John&LaLa, he is lovely ❤️ 

 

Happy Anniversary @grapau27!

Thank you Missusdubbya.

Graham.

[grapau27]

11 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Wow!  Everything looks delicious.  And Pauline looks Very Lovely and Very Happy this evening.

The "royal" blue dress suits her well🥰

Thank you Debbie.

Graham.

 

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Congratulations Graham and Pauline. May you have another 40 wonderful years to come. 🥂 🍾

Thank you Renee.

It is a happy thought if we could.

Graham.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Lionesss said:

So many post on thread. Trying to catch up. Noticed one great milestone. Graham and Pauline. Congratulations on your anniversary. 
 

it is now 3:54 am. Leaving hotel. Heading home. Praying we miss Cincinnati traffic jams over road destruction  areas. 
 

later

 

Thank you Sue.

Take care on your drive home 

Graham 

 

[Ocean Boy]

15 hours ago, grapau27 said:

 

 

 

Now that I am a little less preoccupied, I hope my favorite British couple had a great day!

 

[Ocean Boy]

I called my house this morning and the answering machine picked up so the power came back over night.

 

Here are some pictures I took if the Atlantic around 7PM last night when I went home to get my toothbrush and some clothes.

 

All and all the storm was a PITA but I've seen much worse.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Now that I am a little less preoccupied, I hope my favorite British couple had a great day!

 

Thank you for your kind words Ocean Boy.

I appreciate your sentiments.

We had a fantastic day.

I'm sorry you were affected by the storm but thankfully your house wasn't damaged although sad you had to cut a tree down.

Take care and stay safe my good friend.

Graham.

Edited August 23, 2021 by grapau27

[bobmacliberty]

We have a whole house generator that kicks in automatically when needed.  Came with the house.  It also turns on automatically every couple of weeks and runs for about 5 minutes to check that it's working properly.  I had no idea what the noise was the first time that it happened.  I'm surprised that it hasn't been needed yet given some of the thunderstorms that we've seen.

[bobmacliberty]

13 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

My WFH set up

 

 

Nice set up Harry!  

[bobmacliberty]

11 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

By now many are wondering – where is this place?  This is the Balboa Pier and the city is Newport Beach.

 

Newport Beach is a very nice area.  Lots of money there.  I used to have an occasional business trip to Irvine and we'd stay on the ocean in Laguna Beach.  I liked driving on the PCH through Newport Beach to get to Laguna Beach.  Gorgeous views.

[Luckynana]

13 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Beautiful seeing her all lit up and going under the Verrazano bridge.    They are off to CocoCay.

Dang!!  Sorry I missed that.  I gave up, after watching for at least a half hour.  I thought it was just circling around.  Glad they made it out last night.

11 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

@Luckynana Maryann, so glad you'll be joining us on Bella's cruise.  So many nice people to meet!

 

Heavy, torrential rains here in NJ but that didn't stop us from going out for dinner. I had a jacket and it was so wet you could almost ring out the water.  AND that is with an umbrella and my SIL parking the car right next for the door both at home and the restaurant.  Sounds like Henri was not as harsh as expected.  Hope @lenquixote66Lenny is ok.

Bonnie, thank you again for the invite!  Yes, you all are so welcoming on this thread, that I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone!  I can't believe I've now booked 4 cruises!  3 for 2022, and now the Bella Cruise.  I've never done more than 2 cruises in a year before!

 

It's pouring here this morning...yesterday was kind of a bust (in the best possible way)  It was sunny, then cloudy....

6 hours ago, Lionesss said:

So many post on thread. Trying to catch up. Noticed one great milestone. Graham and Pauline. Congratulations on your anniversary. 
 

it is now 3:54 am. Leaving hotel. Heading home. Praying we miss Cincinnati traffic jams over road destruction  areas. 
 

later

 

You're not kidding, Sue!  I'm almost always trying to catch up!

 

Safe travels today, both weather-wise, as well as traffic wise!