Regent Watercooler! Off topic and non-cruise discussion here!

[ccruzer123]

1 hour ago, captjohn said:

Yes. Actually picture was taken a week ago. The fire has now coverer the entire Mountain.They have over 1100 fire fighters working on it. Very hard if not impossible to do anything because of the steep terrain. As of today 45% contained and covering over 100,000 acres.

We live south of Tucson and you can sure smell the smoke down here.  My dad was a catskinner for L.A. fire department and worked some of the major fires there.  These type of fires are hard to get under control,  with dry, hot and windy conditions.  Really feel for the fire fighters, it has to be tough.

[poss]

Fires and everything/everyone involved with them really terrible to think about.    So sad in so many ways.

 

(Wendy:  We're ok.     Missed being on board Explorer for my husband's 90th in May.   Will, I'm sure, miss being on board a cruise for our 50th anniversary in December.    Bummers.     I do read the boards; I just don't especially feel like commenting anymore.     Thanks for asking though.)

[UUNetBill]

19 hours ago, captjohn said:

Yes. Actually picture was taken a week ago. The fire has now coverer the entire Mountain.They have over 1100 fire fighters working on it. Very hard if not impossible to do anything because of the steep terrain. As of today 45% contained and covering over 100,000 acres.

You have my sympathy - we moved from Colorado right after several large wildfires - one of which destroyed a chunk of Colorado Springs (our former town).  They're devastating, unpredictable, and just overall bad news...

[jeb_bud]

On 6/27/2020 at 8:40 PM, Will Work for Tiramisu said:

 

It's not much, but this is the view out our kitchen window when I'm washing the dishes, old school style...

We keep bees, so the floral display in foreground is what was previously known as "the yard".  

A fairly Oregonian vista - you can barely see one of the half dozen vultures riding the updraft in upper right.

What part of Oregon is that?

[tennis]

We were in Oregon for the first time 2 years ago and loved Hood River area, their Rogue River and Willamette.  We just got back from the Smokey Mountain area in North Carolina.  They ran their steam engine train at 50 % capacity so it was OK but a little long for our 8 yr old granddaughter.  We also went white water rafting where they ran the buses at 50% capacity.  There was horseback riding, tubing and hiking.  She loved the gem mining where they spike buckets of dirt with a few gems which she loved to find.  They ran the lodge restaurant at 50 % capacity.  We had a great time but feel sorry for the hospitality workers because they have to be making much less so we were very generous tippers. 

 

Still hoping our cruise in November is not cancelled.

[Will Work for Tiramisu]

South end of Willamette Valley.  West of the Cascades, NE corner of state ("Alps of Oregon") and part way up Columbia River gorge is the green, verdant part of Oregon.  Eastern Oregon is drier, high desert, beginning of the basin and range part of the west.  Oregon is a great place for happy ever aftering - spectacular ocean coast, high mountains, bearded baristas wearing plaid flannel shirts (and that's just the women!), aging hippies, crusty old cranky native Oregonians - lots to like here.  And the U of O, in Eugene ("aka Track Town"), long a track and field powerhouse, keeps moving up the ranks in football, men and women's basketball.  Never hurts to have an elderly, very generous shoe billionaire on your side....

[jeb_bud]

2 hours ago, Will Work for Tiramisu said:

South end of Willamette Valley.  West of the Cascades, NE corner of state ("Alps of Oregon") and part way up Columbia River gorge is the green, verdant part of Oregon.  Eastern Oregon is drier, high desert, beginning of the basin and range part of the west.  Oregon is a great place for happy ever aftering - spectacular ocean coast, high mountains, bearded baristas wearing plaid flannel shirts (and that's just the women!), aging hippies, crusty old cranky native Oregonians - lots to like here.  And the U of O, in Eugene ("aka Track Town"), long a track and field powerhouse, keeps moving up the ranks in football, men and women's basketball.  Never hurts to have an elderly, very generous shoe billionaire on your side....

When I saw your photo I thought Cottage Grove.  Probably actually a little south of your actual location.  Your place clearly gets more rain than we do in Medford.  I'm a native Oregonian and while my wife thinks I can be cranky I don't see it.😉

 

 

Edited June 30, 2020 by jeb_bud
Added the view from my recliner.

[Will Work for Tiramisu]

Jeb "Bud" - Hmmmm.  Big greenhouse, southern Oregon - is that full of Bud??  A farmer needs a cash crop, I understand....

Actually, an old friend of my wife brought us a couple of 4' high reefer plants last week - I just about fell over.  It is a changed world out there.  They are in the tincture business, and it is just another medicinal plant, as far as she is concerned.  My DW plopped them into our poor clay soil, but they look like happy campers - maybe we'll be in the hemp rope business soon.  As they were in Venice - that is why they have those 1000' long buildings in the lagoon north east of town.    (The Arsenal)  

[travlr21]

Happy Canada Day.

[jeb_bud]

13 hours ago, Will Work for Tiramisu said:

Jeb "Bud" - Hmmmm.  Big greenhouse, southern Oregon - is that full of Bud??  A farmer needs a cash crop, I understand....

Actually, an old friend of my wife brought us a couple of 4' high reefer plants last week - I just about fell over.  It is a changed world out there.  They are in the tincture business, and it is just another medicinal plant, as far as she is concerned.  My DW plopped them into our poor clay soil, but they look like happy campers - maybe we'll be in the hemp rope business soon.  As they were in Venice - that is why they have those 1000' long buildings in the lagoon north east of town.    (The Arsenal)  

No cash crop. I just use the greenhouse to start plants for my garden. 
 

Hemp’s status as a cash crop is somewhat in question this year. A lot of people lost their shirts last year. The 80 acre hemp farm next door is fallow this year, as are many more acres in the Rogue Valley.  Many entrepreneurs seemed to think farming is just planting and harvesting and counting the money but as is usually the case it is much more complicated than that. 

[Gpilon]

1 hour ago, travlr21 said:

Happy Canada Day.

As a transplanted Canuck with dual citizenship, I am wearing a Canadian golf shirt today. Happy Canada Day.

 

[Travelcat2]

Happy Canada Day!

 

Having lived on the west coast since I was 6 years of age (went back to the east coast as a young adult and lasted 3 months)., I find people on the west coast to be very mellow and relaxed (and that was before marijuana became legal).  Interestingly (or not), those of us living in CA, OR and WA no longer even pay attention to the cannabis shops in town.  They are strictly regulated and are there for people that want to imbibe.  I would not be surprised if there was more illegal marijuana usage amongst teenagers before it became legal than it is now.  Now that there is a limit in terms of the number of people that can be in these stores, we can now see the lines outside of the shops.  There appears to be almost as many people with gray hair in line as people in their 20's, 30's, etc.   It has been a very positive thing for people suffering from chronic pain as well as people that are having chemotherapy.  

 

Not sure why discussing this topic is more calming than discussing Covid-19 and the mess that the country is in.  

[Camillus112]

I am originally from Puerto Rico but have lived in the East Coast for more than 25 years.   Years and years ago I had the opportunity to do my graduate studies at UC Berkeley.  What a wonderful find, the West Coast was!!  Unfortunately my career and, that of my DH, veered us East, but I remain enamored of the warmth of its people, its laid back attitude, and its stricking thirst for progress.  We can now only speculate how, as flower children, we would have developed.  I know, however, that lessons learned made me a much better professional, mother, and grandmother.  Cheers for the West Coast!!

Edited July 1, 2020 by Camillus112

[Travelcat2]

8 hours ago, Camillus112 said:

I am originally from Puerto Rico but have lived in the East Coast for more than 25 years.   Years and years ago I had the opportunity to do my graduate studies at UC Berkeley.  What a wonderful find, the West Coast was!!  Unfortunately my career and, that of my DH, veered us East, but I remain enamored of the warmth of its people, its laid back attitude, and its stricking thirst for progress.  We can now only speculate how, as flower children, we would have developed.  I know, however, that lessons learned made me a much better professional, mother, and grandmother.  Cheers for the West Coast!!

 

Your comments are so nice!☺  One thing on the west coast is that we have less rules such as not wearing white after Labor Day.  We wear white whenever we feel like it.  There is still a little flower child in me.  We had some fun love-ins.

 

Berkeley must have been wondrous when you went to UC Berkeley.  As they said on "All in the Family", those were the days!

 

 

[Dolebludger]

Not many know that Colorado was the first state to legalize medical MJ, and the first to legalize recrecational MJ.  We moved to Colorado in 2011, and my wife had been suffering from MS for years. Before we moved here, she had been prescribed Copaxone, which require her to inject herself with it. Well, she developed a condition like shingles. She went to our doctor, who told her that it was not shingles, but an adverse drug reaction. After we moved to Colorado, her neurolgist prescribed medica MJ (edible) and I really believe it saved her life. She is doing welll now. Me? I don't like the way edible MJ makes me feel. so I don't use it. I'd rather have some beers!

[Camillus112]

4 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Your comments are so nice!☺  One thing on the west coast is that we have less rules such as not wearing white after Labor Day.  We wear white whenever we feel like it.  There is still a little flower child in me.  We had some fun love-ins.

 

Berkeley must have been wondrous when you went to UC Berkeley.  As they said on "All in the Family", those were the days!

 

 

 

Those were the days, indeed!  I remember sitting in the stairs of Sproul Hall, together with dozens (not hundreds) of people, listening to Joan Baez strumming her guitar and singing.  Also, Billie Jean King's locker was close to mine and we said hello.  Well, these are my claim to fame!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

9 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

Not many know that Colorado was the first state to legalize medical MJ, and the first to legalize recrecational MJ.  We moved to Colorado in 2011, and my wife had been suffering from MS for years. Before we moved here, she had been prescribed Copaxone, which require her to inject herself with it. Well, she developed a condition like shingles. She went to our doctor, who told her that it was not shingles, but an adverse drug reaction. After we moved to Colorado, her neurolgist prescribed medica MJ (edible) and I really believe it saved her life. She is doing welll now. Me? I don't like the way edible MJ makes me feel. so I don't use it. I'd rather have some beers!

 

Rich, how has she coped with travelling with her medical MJ?  I know we wouldn't consider crossing into the States from Canada with any such thing.  And of course Americans coming back from abroad can get caught as well with federal regulations in place.  Is there a dispensation for American prescription holders?

[SallyRobert]

On 5/26/2020 at 7:09 PM, Travelcat2 said:

For those of you not cruising this year, what type of vacation will you be taking?  For us, if we do not cruise in November, we may find a cave somewhere and hibernate until this is over with.

We were booked to go to Zanzibar in November. We have just managed to change to La Palma. Hopefully it will go ahead, but if not, we will turn up the heating and look at the photos and videos of our Panama Canal trip last year.

[SallyRobert]

On 6/5/2020 at 11:22 PM, cerise638 said:

Very early days but CIO of AstraZeneca has announced they will commence manufacturing of the Vaccine they are developing with Oxford University BEFORE knowing effectivity. With input from a couple of charities including one backed by Bill Gates they are hoping for a billion doses before the end of 2020.  

 

He and others are quite open about the fact that the vaccine may not end up being effective and it is a big risk.  They will not know until August. 

 

There is agreement to supply the US with 300 million doses (TC2 no need to fly across the pond 😊) and the UK 100 million doses as early as September and also a commitment to supply the poorest nations

 

We can only hope that it does turn out to be effective and that other vaccines under development are too 

 

 

I applied to take part in the Oxford University trials but unfortunately at 55 I was deemed too old!

[Travelcat2]

8 hours ago, SallyRobert said:

I applied to take part in the Oxford University trials but unfortunately at 55 I was deemed too old!

 

I find your comment most interesting.  Hopefully, seniors will be able to have the vaccine from Oxford University and it will be safe.  My DH and I are really looking forward to this particular vaccine as we have the utmost respect for what they do at Oxford.

 

cerise - apparently, even if we wanted to go to the U.K. to get the vaccine, we would no longer be permitted to do so.  Well,  maybe my DH could since he is a dual citizen (U.K. and U.S.) but thankfully, he would not go without me

 

In your previous post, you mentioned that you switched your cruise from Zanzibar to La Palma.  Is that also in November?  

[SusieQft]

9 hours ago, SallyRobert said:

I applied to take part in the Oxford University trials but unfortunately at 55 I was deemed too old!

That is a little strange, because phase I went up to age 55.  Maybe you were too close to 56, but you should have been eligible for the much larger group included in phase II:

 

The phase II part of the study involves expanding the age range of people the vaccine is assessed in, to include a small number of older adults and children:

• Aged 56-69
• Aged over 70
• Aged between 5-12 years

 

Source:  http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-05-22-oxford-covid-19-vaccine-begin-phase-iiiii-human-trials

[Travelcat2]

On 7/1/2020 at 11:37 PM, Dolebludger said:

Not many know that Colorado was the first state to legalize medical MJ, and the first to legalize recrecational MJ.  We moved to Colorado in 2011, and my wife had been suffering from MS for years. Before we moved here, she had been prescribed Copaxone, which require her to inject herself with it. Well, she developed a condition like shingles. She went to our doctor, who told her that it was not shingles, but an adverse drug reaction. After we moved to Colorado, her neurolgist prescribed medica MJ (edible) and I really believe it saved her life. She is doing welll now. Me? I don't like the way edible MJ makes me feel. so I don't use it. I'd rather have some beers!

 

Just noticed this post.  Yes - I did know that Colorado was the first state to legalize cannabis.  It is so good to learn that it is helping your wife.  My mom had MS (passed away when I was 16) so I have a special interest in people that have it.  When I had knee surgery, the doctor gave me a prescription for OxyContin.  Instead, I got a prescription for medical marijuana and it helped with the pain (which was more intense than anything I ever felt).  After being a smoker for 20 years, I no longer can tolerate smoking anything so the edibles were the only thing that I could take.  

 

In the midst of the craziness in the world, I was genuinely happy to see that Texas is now requiring all people to wear a mask.  That is a step in the right direction.  Hope that Florida will follow suit.  On a less positive note, Seattle is still crazy and we are practically back on lock-down.  

 

 

[cerise638]

11 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

I find your comment most interesting.  Hopefully, seniors will be able to have the vaccine from Oxford University and it will be safe.  My DH and I are really looking forward to this particular vaccine as we have the utmost respect for what they do at Oxford.

 

cerise - apparently, even if we wanted to go to the U.K. to get the vaccine, we would no longer be permitted to do so.  Well,  maybe my DH could since he is a dual citizen (U.K. and U.S.) but thankfully, he would not go without me

 

In your previous post, you mentioned that you switched your cruise from Zanzibar to La Palma.  Is that also in November?  

Hi TC2. You can still travel here I believe but you would need to quarantine for 14 days after arrival

[SallyRobert]

14 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

In your previous post, you mentioned that you switched your cruise from Zanzibar to La Palma.  Is that also in November?  

Hi TC, Sorry, I think I mislead you. We were due to stay in the Riu hotel in Zanzibar in November and we have moved it to a hotel on La Palma. If, God forbid, either of us did get ill, it would be a much shorter transit time to get home.
Last year was our first ever cruise. I wasn’t really sure it would be for us, as DH has always said he’s not old enough to cruise yet. It was an outstanding success and we can’t wait to book another. Must be with regent though.

[Dolebludger]

On 7/2/2020 at 10:24 AM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Rich, how has she coped with travelling with her medical MJ?  I know we wouldn't consider crossing into the States from Canada with any such thing.  And of course Americans coming back from abroad can get caught as well with federal regulations in place.  Is there a dispensation for American prescription holders?

 

Wendy, Traveling with edible medical MJ hasn't been a problem for us, and hope that continues. She just puts it in her purse or carry on with labels removed so it looks like candy and we try to ensure that no other contents will trip the switch.Leaving from the Durango airport is no problem. The people there don't care. We generally don't have to go through security again flying to a cruise. On the flight back, she ensures that she doesn't have any remaining. As far as I know, the Colorado medical MJ license doesn't carry any weight outside of the state.