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

[Luckynana]

8 hours ago, MJSailors said:

My DH and I recently spent four days in Vermont visiting friends who moved there from LI.

They live in Dorset,six miles from Manchester. It is a lovely area-quite peaceful.

We stayed at the Dorset inn, very charming. We visited the Vermont Country store for some retail therapy.

It was a pilgrimage of sorts for me as I have bought items from their catalogue-very interesting store with all kinds of goods and gadgets.

Our travel days were about seven hours and that is taking into account a ferry from LI to Connecticut, with a few stops at Mickey D’s.

It was worth the trip to spend time with our dear friends though.

Wishing all here on Dani’s thread a pleasant Thursday!

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Love your pictures.  Beautiful area!  Did you buy the Vermont Seasoning while there?  My Mom always bought spices, jams, etc. from the many places she visited.  Years ago, Mom brought back a Vermont Seasoning spice for each of my sisters and sisters-in-law.  What a great seasoning!  It goes in all of my salads and soups, etc.  All of my daughters and nieces all use it in their recipes, also.  I just ordered another six for myself, my 3 daughters, another one for my Condo, and one for my girlfriend.  It's called Vermont All Purpose Country Seasoning. It's by Seventh Generation of Descendants of Early Vermont Settlers

[ATG]

2 hours ago, helen haywood said:

I remember the first time I had a Caprese salad.  I was in Sorrento.  I realized I’d never really had a tomato!  Grocery store tomatoes were all I’d ever had.  Mozzarella cheese in Atlanta in the 1970’s wasn’t the real deal either.  It was exquisitely simple but absolutely delicious.  I could in fact be a vegetarian if I had access to really fresh vegetables!

 

Until then, bread and cheese sound good to me!!

Growing up in Indiana my grandfather had a garden - about an acre. We had fresh tomatoes all summer. For the corn, granny would start the water boiling and then we would go out and pick the corn and shuck it. By the time it was shucked the water was boiling and the corn went in. It was fabulous.  I spent many hours shucking corn, snapping green beans and shelling peas.

[akcruz]

2 hours ago, helen haywood said:

I remember the first time I had a Caprese salad.  I was in Sorrento.  I realized I’d never really had a tomato!  Grocery store tomatoes were all I’d ever had.  Mozzarella cheese in Atlanta in the 1970’s wasn’t the real deal either.  It was exquisitely simple but absolutely delicious.  I could in fact be a vegetarian if I had access to really fresh vegetables!

 

Until then, bread and cheese sound good to me!!

 

My dad was a wonderful gardener, we had a garden that was probably close to an acre growing up.  We had fresh vegetables all summer and in the winter the ones my mom canned from the extras.  Can still taste the fresh tomatoes, nothing like a fresh jersey beefsteak.  So miss that.

[DaniDanielle]

There is nothing like a fresh Jersey beefsteak tomato!

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, helen haywood said:

And pineapples in Hawaii vs canned…and, oh my, fresh asparagus vs canned!!!

Good fresh corn on the cob too. In ohio we coukd buy it from road side stands picked that day. Every day after picking ispts not as good.

 

Fresh uuumbers even. In most grocery stores they dont taste like a cucumber. We grew them and tomatoes at home.

[MJSailors]

@Luckynana I did not know about Vermont Seasoning. Where can I purchase it?

The coffee served at the Dorset Inn was so delicious!

The brand is The Vermont Coffee Company and I did see it offered on Amazon. A bit pricey, but worth it for an occasional treat.

 

On the topic of fresh tomatoes-our local farms provide delicious tomatoes at the end of July into August and into the Fall.

There is nothing better than a fresh tomato and mayo sandwich.

We look forward to enjoying that treat every Summer.

I can’t bring myself to buy supermarket tomatoes after enjoying the fresh ones.

If I need tomatoes for a salad in the colder months, I buy cherry tomatoes.

If possible, support your local farmers by buying their produce from markets and farm stands. They work very hard to bring delicious fruits and vegetables to people to enjoy.

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Edited Friday at 02:15 AM by MJSailors

[firefly333]

8 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Love your pictures.  Beautiful area!  Did you buy the Vermont Seasoning while there?  My Mom always bought spices, jams, etc. from the many places she visited.  Years ago, Mom brought back a Vermont Seasoning spice for each of my sisters and sisters-in-law.  What a great seasoning!  It goes in all of my salads and soups, etc.  All of my daughters and nieces all use it in their recipes, also.  I just ordered another six for myself, my 3 daughters, another one for my Condo, and one for my girlfriend.  It's called Vermont All Purpose Country Seasoning. It's by Seventh Generation of Descendants of Early Vermont Settlers

Is this some seasoning to eat or to make the room smell good?

[dani negreanu]

10 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I loved oranges but until I had picked a perfectly ripe orange from a tree in California and ate it right there on the side of the road I didn't know how good they could be.

 

Same here. In Romania there were no oranges, few "Jaffa" import arrived and I had the chance to eat one or two.

 

When we emigrated to Israel, I was sent to an agricultural school, which had facilities to teach Hebrew to the newly arrived and also we had to work a few hours a day. I was assigned to an orange grove [and then "promoted" to milking cows....] and discovered the taste of an orange "right of the shelf" 😉

 

Very difficult now to find fresh oranges, which didn't spent some time in a refrigeration facility...

[Arzeena]

11 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

There is nothing like a fresh Jersey beefsteak tomato!

+ 100!
Agree!

[helen haywood]

13 hours ago, derorim said:

 

She says, "These are my PRIVATE thoughts!  Touch them and you will die!"

Any cat photographed as often as Minnie has realized privacy is just an illusion.  

[SteelCityCruiser10]

20 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

As in...the same stuff you make mint tea from? I had it in a flower bed years ago but it runs like crazy. Roots go out basically horizontally! It crowded everything else out, so then I tried putting it in a huge plastic pot and burying the pot in the ground. It didn't grow well in there, so after that I pretty much gave up on it, but now you're inspiring me to try again! Maybe in a container again. What might  have happened is that I dug a huge chunk of it from the bed and put it all in the same pot. Maybe too many roots all in one place all crammed together. I should start from scratch with small plants and see what happens. Love drinking the tea.

Yep 😃  We use mostly for making homemade dog treats and of course an occasional Mojito.  The deck box keeps it contained and it grows like a weed.

[grapau27]

Good afternoon.

It is sunny and 68°F here now at 14.11pm.

We called at the beach this morning with snacks and coffee.

I hope everyone is safe and well and y'all have a lovely day.

[Ocean Boy]

Apparently yesterday's crustacean cooking tutorial was not appreciated.

[firefly333]

I just got a call from wellborn or some medical name saying they worked with my insurance company. She had important information to give me and was on a recorded line. She just needed to conform my date of birth to give me this important information. I said I dont know who you are or why you are calling, I'm not giving you my personal details. I refused. Finally she gave me their phone number in case I wanted to call back. I said call back and say what, that someone called and refused to say why they were calling?

 

Would you give your date of birth just because someone said they were calling from a unknown medical named phone? .. with important information for me. 

[George C]

6 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I just got a call from wellborn or some medical name saying they worked with my insurance company. She had important information to give me and was on a recorded line. She just needed to conform my date of birth to give me this important information. I said I dont know who you are or why you are calling, I'm not giving you my personal details. I refused. Finally she gave me their phone number in case I wanted to call back. I said call back and say what, that someone called and refused to say why they were calling?

 

Would you give your date of birth just because someone said they were calling from an unknown medical named phone? .. with important information for me. 

Never answer phone if I don’t recognize the caller , of course I would not give information out.I

[Ocean Boy]

8 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I just got a call from wellborn or some medical name saying they worked with my insurance company. She had important information to give me and was on a recorded line. She just needed to conform my date of birth to give me this important information. I said I dont know who you are or why you are calling, I'm not giving you my personal details. I refused. Finally she gave me their phone number in case I wanted to call back. I said call back and say what, that someone called and refused to say why they were calling?

 

Would you give your date of birth just because someone said they were calling from a unknown medical named phone? .. with important information for me. 

You handled it very appropriately.

[BonTexasNY]

19 hours ago, h20skibum said:

SOF1 would have been 2021. 2 was in 22, 3 was in 23, and this year was 4. 
 

We didn’t have our CA grandson here during lockdown.  We did spend a lot of time on our boat with the other two grandkids that summer

I love reading about your grandkids summer shenanigans.  I can imagine if one day they all would get together with @Ozark_Kid John's grandkids.  Oh, what fun that would be.  I haven't seen John posting recently.  I hope he posts soon.

14 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

There is nothing like a fresh Jersey beefsteak tomato!

Amen to that!!

[George C]

What is everyone reading? Just finished my second John Sandford novel “Dark of the Moon” thank everyone for recommendations. Just started Ken Follett book “Never” . 

[dani negreanu]

10 minutes ago, George C said:

What is everyone reading? Just finished my second John Sandford novel “Dark of the Moon” thank everyone for recommendations. Just started Ken Follett book “Never” . 

 

All the Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers series.

 

Highly recommend Nora Roberts [aka J.D. Robb] "in death" series.

Edited Friday at 03:48 PM by dani negreanu
oops again... wrote Virgin instead of Virgil...

[HBE4]

On 6/25/2024 at 3:29 PM, bobmacliberty said:

We really enjoyed Blue Bay Beach.  It's a calm bay with some OK snorkeling.  If I remember correctly, you can rent snorkel gear there.  Decent food and drinks.  It wasn't an excursion...we just took a taxi each direction and paid at the entrance. We got there early and snagged loungers under a palapa.  Might not be the right thing for you since you already have other beach days planned.

 

 

 

After watching that video, it does make a beach break tempting. Royal does have two snorkel excursions from the Blue Bay Beach area, one of which is combination snorkel & beach break at the Blue Bay Beach Resort, so that is an option.

 

The other snorkel excursion from BBB is....

 

On 6/25/2024 at 7:36 PM, h20skibum said:

We did the Beach hop and turtle excursion a couple times, because we saw so many sea turtles on the snorkeling excursion.   The last couple times we were there, Royal wasn’t offering it.

 

...snorkel with the turtles. It is also advertised as leaving from the Blue Bay Beach area but at only 3 hours long & no mention of beach time at the resort, it's a catamaran only snorkel excursion. Still, hard to pass up spending time with wildlife & it's turtles!

 

Also like to thank @Ocean Boy, @Tree_skier, @Arzeena, @cruiselvr04  & anybody else I may have forgotten for their suggestions as well. Depending on the times of the snorkel excursions, I may try to see if I can sneak in a cave trip as well, either thru Royal or on my own.

 

Edited Friday at 04:20 PM by HBE4

[HBE4]

On 6/26/2024 at 2:35 PM, Keksie said:

I present Tailfeather Swift

 

 

 

 

That would make for a nice addition for @Ocean Boy waiting room. 😉

 

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Apparently yesterday's crustacean cooking tutorial was not appreciated.

 

Too bad, it would have made a nice way to spice up a conversation next time there is a thread on the main board complaining how you can no longer get an unlimited amount of lobster on Lobster Night. 😆😉

 

FWIW, I don't eat lobster. Not a fan plus it's way too much work for a small amount of meat.  I'd probably expend more calories than I'd consume trying to eat it.

[Arzeena]

38 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

FWIW, I don't eat lobster. Not a fan plus it's way too much work for a small amount of meat.  I'd probably expend more calories than I'd consume trying to eat it.

The MDR staff will do that hard work for you taking it out of the shell......you just have to work on chewing it.

Yes it does look like a prawn.😁

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

snorkel with the turtles. It is also advertised as leaving from the Blue Bay Beach area but at only 3 hours long & no mention of beach time at the resort, it's a catamaran only snorkel excursion.

This is the one we did, and it was all from the shore. No catamaran. 
 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/shore-excursions/cur/willemstad-curacao/beach-hop-turtle-snorkel-experience/cue8

 

If I recall, @Lionesss Sue did a snorkel with turtles in Curaçao, and didn’t have much luck seeing them.  
 

Early in the day was best for us. 

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I just got a call from wellborn or some medical name saying they worked with my insurance company. She had important information to give me and was on a recorded line. She just needed to conform my date of birth to give me this important information. I said I dont know who you are or why you are calling, I'm not giving you my personal details. I refused. Finally she gave me their phone number in case I wanted to call back. I said call back and say what, that someone called and refused to say why they were calling?

 

Would you give your date of birth just because someone said they were calling from a unknown medical named phone? .. with important information for me. 

 

That's a neat trick that the scammer gave you a call back number so you could "verify" that it's not a scam. All it would do is connect you to another scammer that is sitting next to original scammer.

 

I just got  text message from NYC saying I have an unpaid parking ticket balance of $2.50 & a link to pay it before a $25 late fee surcharge kicks in. First of all, $2.50??? Unless it's from 1970, I'm pretty sure any ticket from the great City of New York starts at $50 & increases in increments of $50.  Second, every speeding & red light camera (I sometime forget No Right on Red in the city) ticket has been sent in the mail to me. Thirdly, the text came from a Montreal, Canada area code. But most importantly, when I went to the NYC official website, the link to pay for tickets wasn't even close to the name of the link sent to me via text.  Nice try, scammers. Not!