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

[grapau27]

19 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

We are a few hundred yards off the pier at St. Kitts. Reflection and Grandeur are pulling in ahead of us. The weather looks great. I didn't know that Grandeur was even sailing. What is it doing here?

 

Grandeur was due to go to Pulmantur which was 49% owned by RCG but that did not happen.

[Ocean Boy]

19 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Grandeur was due to go to Pulmantur which was 49% owned by RCG but that did not happen.

Yes, I forgot all about the sailing from Barbados. Thanks.

[xpcdoojk]

4 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Day 2 Isolation.  It’s a public holiday here today for Australia Day.  This is what the Sydney Opera House looked like at sunrise this morning.  Gorgeous weather today with a nice breeze.  I spent most of the day in the garden.  Daughter has obviously benefited from her recent booster.  Despite back pain, tiredness (not fatigue) and cold symptoms she is quite chirpy (from the door of her room with a mask on and at a distance).

Ooo, I like the lighting.  They never did that on my previous trips.

[aussielozzie18]

12 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

Ooo, I like the lighting.  They never did that on my previous trips.

They do it for special occasions & pre-Covid they did it annually for Vivid, the light festival in Sydney which hopefully will return in June this year

[Arzeena]

10 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

The app has your booster listed? It only has my first two. I don't know if the people who load the info are behind or what.

We have the Docket in NJ. The booster was listed within 5 days (I noticed it around that time). CVS sent the data. We did not have to enter anything, except create the account after shot# 1.

[grapau27]

9 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

They do it for special occasions & pre-Covid they did it annually for Vivid, the light festival in Sydney which hopefully will return in June this year

Happy Australia Day.

Graham.

[Arzeena]

OB I am going to give a second try to Curacao Cosmo to see if I still feel the same. A good thing I can say about it...the color is lovely!🙂

[bobmacliberty]

11 hours ago, h20skibum said:

+1

 

@bobmacliberty I second the helicopter ride.  I did this on my first trip to Kauai 46 years ago. (That just made me feel really old to type that). Anyway, it is an unforgettable way to see the island. The pilot set us down on a remote beach along the Nepali Coast, with a large natural arch.

 

If anyone is an Elvis fan, a trip up to the Fern Grotto is worth the trip. It is where he sang Blue Hawaii in the movie of the same name.  
 

When we were in Kauai a couple years ago, they had just finished one of the ocean going canoes, and it was docked at Nawiliwili harbor.   It was part of a sailing history creation to show how the Polynesians sailed to Hawaii.  Not sure if it is still there.

 

Make sure you go to Duke’s for some Hula pie.  There is a Dukes near Nawiliwili harbor, and also one at Lahaina on Maui.   

 

The Wailea helicopter tour may need to happen.  I wasn't originally planning on it since we'll do a heli tour in Alaska and have done several on Maui.  Go big or go home.

 

11 hours ago, Coralc said:

I always thought the Seattle Underground Tour sounded pretty interesting. Especially if you were a "Night Stalker" fan of the old show. It had just started when we were moving from Seattle to CA, so we never took it. If we get up there to visit, it will be on our list, along with Chihuly Gardens. I remember eating lunch at a restaurant right next to Snoqualmie falls as a child. They were impressive. 

 

Underground tour: http://www.undergroundtour.com/

 

Great suggestion.  We like that kind of stuff.  Now added to the list.

 

10 hours ago, Jimbo said:

@bobmacliberty

 

In Seattle , we didn't do the Space Needle. To crowded. Much better to go to the Columbia Center , it's the Tallest Building West of the Mississippi

 

You can get a great view and picture of both the Seattle Mariners Stadium and where the Seattle Seahawks Stadium, all in the same picture from above. It's awesome looking

 

https://www.seattlesouthside.com/listing/columbia-center-sky-view-observatory/1604/

 

I considered this since it should have a taller/better view.  We will be at the Seattle Center though for the Chihuly Gardens and will probably do the Space Needle at the same time.  It might not be as tall, but it's iconic and has the World's Fair history.

 

10 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

Well you live in Buffalo so crossing the border is something you are way more familiar with than I, but going into Canada right now by car, probably isn’t quite as easy as it used to be.  

 

Haven't lived there in several years but growing up, it was very easy to cross the border.  The border agents just asked a few questions like where are you from, where are you going, how long will you be there.  No passports needed.  I will definitely be watching how this evolves over the next few months.  Not being able to get to Vancouver is one thing that could really screw up this trip.

 

4 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

@bobmacliberty your retirement trip sounds wonderful.  Our Covid cancelled trip was flying to Vancouver, one way cruise  to Alaska, time in Seward then self drive road trip to Denali. At the end of the trip DS planned to fly to Seattle (&DD to LA).  Look forward to seeing some photos from your trip which hopefully you might share here?

 

I'll definitely post photos...probably on a separate thread at that point.  I don't think I want to take on a LIVE review.  I greatly appreciate when others do it, but it seems like a lot of work.  

[Ozark_Kid]

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

We are a few hundred yards off the pier at St. Kitts

Good to see St. Kitts is open.  Harmony was canceled out earlier this month.  Looks beautiful out.  Have a great day!

[Momof3gurlz]

23 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

We had one on our pool in Cincinnati.  We loved it.  We had the same issue where the sun angle would change enough that we used both the tilt and the rotate capability.  We bought ours more than 20 years ago and can't recall the brand name.  I did a quick Google search and none of the results ring a bell, so maybe that company is no longer in business.  I remember that we bought ours at an umbrella/awning store and it was more expensive than the Lowes/Target versions that are available.  It lasted forever. 

 

My advice would be to get one with the ability to add concrete squares to the base to hold it down.  With the umbrella cantilevered, it is susceptible to being blown over if it gets windy.  We had 4 concrete squares at the base AND we put potted plants on top of them.  It made it look nicer and it didn't budge at all in high winds.  Admittedly, I do tend to over engineer everything.

Thanks Bob.  We’ll definitely want to secure it from blowing over.  Andy’s thinking of maybe cementing the base into the ground? Or will this interfere with how it functions?  Obviously I don’t know how they actually work, LOL. 

[Ocean Boy]

Just now, Ozark_Kid said:

Good to see St. Kitts is open.  Harmony was canceled out earlier this month.  Looks beautiful out.  Have a great day!

Thanks. Allure seems to be having much better luck than what I had been reading about Harmony, both with ports and on board entertainment.

[Momof3gurlz]

We’ll our travel plans to FL are sort of up in the air since there’s a possible Nor’easter or bomb cyclone headed our way for Saturday. The plan was to leave Saturday morning, drive to mid-North Carolina & stop for the night. Then on to Savannah for two nights, a day & night in Amelia Island and then to Ft Lauderdale.  We’ve already bumped our departure to Sunday and removed the Amelia stop.  Depending on how this storm plays out, we may have to rethink Savannah also.  At least we have flexibility with driving. 
 

@Ocean Boy head’s up!

[bobmacliberty]

12 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Thanks Bob.  We’ll definitely want to secure it from blowing over.  Andy’s thinking of maybe cementing the base into the ground? Or will this interfere with how it functions?  Obviously I don’t know how they actually work, LOL. 

 

Cementing it to the ground should be fine so long as you don't need to move it.  Ours only rotated about 90 degrees (couldn't spin it a full 360 degrees) so you'd want to be sure that whatever degree of rotation you have covers what you need with shade.  The base of ours was designed to put 2' X 2' concrete squares on it.  You can buy those at Lowes/HD fairly cheaply.  We therefore had the flexibility to move it anywhere, although we never did.  It looked sort of like this:

 

[bobmacliberty]

10 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

We’ll our travel plans to FL are sort of up in the air since there’s a possible Nor’easter or bomb cyclone headed our way for Saturday. The plan was to leave Saturday morning, drive to mid-North Carolina & stop for the night. Then on to Savannah for two nights, a day & night in Amelia Island and then to Ft Lauderdale.  We’ve already bumped our departure to Sunday and removed the Amelia stop.  Depending on how this storm plays out, we may have to rethink Savannah also.  At least we have flexibility with driving. 
 

@Ocean Boy head’s up!

 

Sorry to hear this...both for your trip and for OB's return.

[DaniDanielle]

Made it to St. Thomas

[Ocean Boy]

19 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

We’ll our travel plans to FL are sort of up in the air since there’s a possible Nor’easter or bomb cyclone headed our way for Saturday. The plan was to leave Saturday morning, drive to mid-North Carolina & stop for the night. Then on to Savannah for two nights, a day & night in Amelia Island and then to Ft Lauderdale.  We’ve already bumped our departure to Sunday and removed the Amelia stop.  Depending on how this storm plays out, we may have to rethink Savannah also.  At least we have flexibility with driving. 
 

@Ocean Boy head’s up!

Thanks.... I think.😐  Is this thing bringing rain or snow? And it better be some place like Canada by Sunday.

[Ocean Boy]

Grandeur just departed two hours after its arrival. I wonder what is up with that?🤔

[Momof3gurlz]

14 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Sorry to hear this...both for your trip and for OB's return.

Oh make no mistake, we’re still going!  It may just be without the Savannah stop, depending on how much snow we get & when we can leave.  I was just reading a thread about someone from Boston who’s supposed to fly out Saturday to get on Allure Sunday 😬.  
OB’s return may be tricky. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Momof3gurlz

[Ocean Boy]

Oh @Sea Dog I have something for you....

 

[jagsfan]

1 hour ago, aussielozzie18 said:

They do it for special occasions & pre-Covid they did it annually for Vivid, the light festival in Sydney which hopefully will return in June this year

I’m gobsmacked!!

[Momof3gurlz]

8 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Thanks.... I think.😐  Is this thing bringing rain or snow? And it better be some place like Canada by Sunday.

Oh you know - “still too early to tell where the storm will track”.  Your 3 options are rain/snow mix, 3-5 inches, or up to a foot.  

[Sunshine3601]

12 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

We went to HD this evening buying cinder block to finish a raised bed.  Last spring, when the cost of wood tripled, I tried the cinder block which was about the same cost but will last a long time.  Last year I grew 12 variety of "regular" and 3 variety cherry tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes are easy to grow and produce like crazy. I grew Large Red Cherry, Black Cherry and Yellow Pear.  First two taste great.  Yellow was good.  It was hard for me to tell when the Black Cherry was ripe.

I am narrowing down the "regular" tomatoes this year.  I will grow 10 each of my favorite slicer tomatoes, Cherokee Purple and Delicious. 8 Amish Paste.  And 4 each of Black Krim, Mortgage Lifter and Azoychka.

Have you started from seed before?  Do you grow in grow bags, raised beds or what.  What zone are you in.  We are in 7b.  How many plants do you expect to grow?

We have several raised beds and I usually rotate what I plant in each bed each year.

Last year we also did 3 kinds of cherry tomatoes too.  We did Black Cherry which yielded a lot on a regular basis but I do agree hard to tell when fully ripe.  We did Sun Sugar (yellow) and sweet grape, which i eat like candy.

Usually do bunch of Roma or san Marzano for sauces, burpee Big Boys for sliced tomatoes and another one for salsa and bruschetta.

Then I do cucumbers, 2 types of eggplant, either green or yellow squash.  Last year I did spaghetti squash, they were really good but the vines took up a lot of space, may go back to green beans this year.   Early spring usually do radishes and scallions.  

Years ago we used to start most our plants from seed ourselves then we got lazy and just bought the plants at garden centers.  Last year garden centers were so picked over with fewer options so I decided we would do seeds again this year and want to get them started early February.  We have warming blankets, grow lights, etc that I will bring out of storage this weekend and make sure all still work.  

I want to try Amish paste and there was one other that I remember you posting on here that seemed to be non stop for you, which one was that?

[reallyitsmema]

15 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Oh make no mistake, we’re still going!  It may just be without the Savannah stop, depending on how much snow we get & when we can leave.  I was just reading a thread about someone from Boston who’s supposed to fly out Saturday to get on Allure Sunday 😬.  
OB’s return may be tricky. 

 

Very doubtful that guy gets out of BOS on Saturday.  We are just north of Boston and are expected to get at least a foot of snow.  Boston proper will get less as of now they are in the snow/mix area but they are talking really high winds all day Saturday, into Sunday.  Hopefully, you are able to leave close to schedule and OB is able to get back.  This storm doesn't look like one that is going to fizzle out like some of the others. 

[Sunshine3601]

11 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

You didn't like it I take it. I thought it was good but I've only had one and not tried another. I'm having an espresso martini as I write this and really liking it.

You may want to turn your sailing into a b2b to avoid reality of coming home this weekend🌴

So happy to hear you are having a wonderful cruise.  😍

[Lionesss]

18 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Coconut only belongs on a Mounds Bar and Ranger Cookies 🙂

 

Well ok for you but for me it wont make it out of the store.  YUCK.  

I could never go on "SURVIVOR'  cannot stomach the stuff and the 'end' results not pretty.

 

Just saying