The Daily for Monday Apr 05, 2021

[bennybear]

Good morning and thanks all!   Enjoying some lovely sunshine! 
That wine sounds amazing, but oh that price!   Not sure about the pesto on the pork but any pizza is great!  dandelions will appear soon I’m sure!  
love Neapolitan pizza, the best of both worlds!  

[summer slope]

@ger_77 I think it was for 3....but I could drink it all.  LOL

[VMax1700]

24 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Volendam is currently just about 8 nm from Gibraltar

Actually it was Zaandam that was 8nm from Gibraltar and now just over 4nm.

Volendam is still at Corfu Gr.

[arzz]

We were in Pago Pago on the Amsterdam in 2015. DH does the photos ... I do photos in words. Below is my blog entry for Pago Pago:

 

Day 19 - Pago Pago, Tutuila, American Samoa

Pago Pago is actually pronounced "Pango Pango" with an almost imperceptible "g".  The name alone congers up mystic tales like the Somerset Maugham morality tale of  Miss Sadie Thompson and the Reverend -  which was adapted into a play in the 1920's, and later several movie versions.  My favorite has always been the film with Joan Crawford as Miss Sadie that was made in the 1930's.  In that movie a group of passengers on a tramp steamer are grounded for several days in Pago Pago while the ship undergoes repairs - the passengers begin to get very jumpy with the prolonged delay and Joan Crawford's character repeatedly complains about the constant rain on the island "doesn't it ever stop raining" ...

This October there has been 18 days of rain on Tutuila but somehow today wasn't one of them!  Our weather was spectacular in the upper seventies with trade winds of about 25 miles per hour.  These were conditions that highlighted the incredible natural beauty of this place.  The island of Tutuila is about 32 miles in length and 5 miles across at its widest part.  It's volcanic mountains rise out of the sea and are covered with a thick carpet of green tropical vegetation.  Along the coast of the island is beach after beach after beach with white sands and large black volcanic rocks that rise out of the turquoise waters - and there are the constant rolling waves coming ashore ... a visual island paradise. 

Our tour today was organized by a member of our cruise critic group.  We were picked up at the pier and taken to a bus - typical Samoan style bus made of wood, covered but no glass in the windows (open air) and narrow seats.  As Tisa, our guide, told us about the island the driver took us through town and then up to Tisa's Barefoot Bar for a pit stop.  Later we would end up here for a Samoan feast - and as we filed in to use the bar's facilities we walked past the fire pit slowly smoking and covered with large leaves - hiding from us, for the time being, the feast that lay roasting below.

Tisa's husband then took us out on the bus to the end of the island regaling us with even more island stories, information and history.  As we drove the green rainforest jungles were on one side of the road and the endless beaches on the other.  We traveled through many small towns - property on the island can only be owned by Samoans and is passed on through families.  The small towns are locally governed by "chiefs" as such crime is not a big issue.

The major source of income for the island is the tuna fishing and processing industry.  Across the bay from the Amsterdam was the large "Starkist Samoa" tuna processing plant that employs about 2000 people and is the largest employer on the island.  In front of the plant is a statue of "Charlie the Tuna" - and in the bay is a large fleet of fishing boats that supply the plant.  As we passed the plant there were tuna workers out on break wearing their hair and beard nets and they smiled and waved at us with a friendly welcome - one that we encountered by locals all over the island.  There are also large Japanese interests in the tuna industry there.

The island has underground electrical power and purified water.  In 2009, however, the island experienced a large tsunami that destroyed many of the homes and buildings.  The tsunami followed an earthquake that rumbled for a full minute and a half that was centered about 100 miles away.  It has taken time but much of the damage has now been repaired.  

We made a stop at a school that was built right on the ocean front between the beach and the highway.  It consists of several two story buildings.  We could see students walking around in their blue uniforms and hear the students singing in the classrooms.  A beautiful setting.  Apparently right after the earthquake in 2009 most residents knew to expect a tsunami.  The protocol at the school at the time was to take the students up to the second floor classrooms.  A neighbor of the school, an elderly gentleman was was retired from the Navy and knew that the conditions were right for a large tsunami, ran to the school and urged the principal to load the students onto their school buses and take them to higher ground.  At first the principal was reluctant to do so without permissions but was quickly convinced that it was the right move.  When the tsunami struck all the windows in the school were knocked out - if they had stayed probably most if not all of the children would have been lost. 

After our drive through paradise we returned to Tisa's Bar.  The bar is open air with a roof over most of it and it is built on a veranda that stretches out to the ocean.  There we had time to swim and snorkel - but the tide was coming in and there were those large black rocks ... so we just walked along the shore.  The water temperature today was 79 - summer is just starting down here so the ocean water will be warming.  Last January the water around American Samoa reached temperatures of 97 degrees.  They expect the same this summer and as a result they expect at least one hurricane.

After our swims it was time for the feast.  We were taken over to watch the opening of the oven pit and the removal of the layers of food - first came the bananas, breadfruit, papayas baked with cinnamon, and coconut shells filled with vegetable and pork casseroles.  Beneath in the pit lay the roasted turkey, pork and ham.  The food was quickly set out and served up in traditional island style on "plates" that were, in fact, large plant leaves.  We were told that this feast is typical of what the Samoan families prepare and eat on Sundays.

Eventually we returned to town and port.  What a wonderful day this was.

 

 

[Sharon in AZ]

Good morning everyone!  Thank you for the Daily Rich and thank you for your lists Roy. 
 

Not sure if I would like Deep Dish Pizza, I haven’t had one yet. I’m not a Go For Broke kind of person, unless it’s just my last $20 playing roulette. Dandelions!  I miss them, we don’t have them here. When I was a child in Colorado I loved blowing the fluffy part and making a wish. 
 

The meal suggestion sounds good but not sure what we will have. I ended up not making the lamb rack yesterday, we had Croque Madames with asparagus instead. 
 

Yesterday was 96%, hot 🥵 and we broke a record.  So I decided to take Blue’s t-shirt off so his skin can start to even out in the sunshine (not too much though, don’t want a sunburn).  Poor thing looked pitiful and I put his shirt back on later.  He was as pink as the blanket:
 

 

It is starting to be lizard season (our version of your squirrel season @kazu). He runs outside like a bat out of you know where to chase them. 
 

Have a great day everyone!

 

Forgot to mention that we have not been to today’s port. All the pictures are lovely!

Edited April 5, 2021 by Sharon in AZ

[dfish]

@KirkNCI am so sorry to read of your friend's death.   My condolences to you and to his family.

@StLouisCruisersWhat wonderful news about your DMIL.   Feistiness pays off!

 

 

[cunnorl]

4 hours ago, ger_77 said:

 

@cunnorl was watching "House Hunters" last night and a couple was looking for a property at Cocoa Beach.  What a lovely place!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

 

Thank You ! Actually they have filmed here a couple of times. It is a small beach town on the barrier islands.  Most of the time it is pretty quiet. 

[VMax1700]

Zaandam arriving in Gibraltar

 

[VMax1700]

Zaandam can be seen from this webcam https://www.earthtv.com/en/webcam/gibraltar-bay-cable-car

(there is a 30second advert before the webcam opens)

Allow the webcam to rotate to the right to see her.

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by VMax1700

[bdrcole]

4 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Happy Monday after Easter everybody!   The lunch at the golf club was good yesterday with a nice variety of dishes.  The dessert table was filled with calorie laden goodies.   My piece of carrot cake was enormous so I'll pay for that later!

 

My DMIL is doing really well considering her stroke a week ago.  They think only one of her eyes was affected and may get better with time.  Her blood pressure is normal and heart rate too.  Her verbal skills are back, and the only other problem is she reverts into dementia-like conversations but that is not due to the stroke.  So I think she can be taken off the care list now @rafinmd.  We hope no new catastrophes take place in the near future so DH's Sister can actually go visit her Mother in person after 13 or 14 months.  😳

 

DH and I took a 2014 South Pacific cruise on Golden Princess which visited both the capital of Samoa (Apia) and Pago Pago, American Samoa.  One thing I will never forget is the man on the ship who was arrested in Pago Pago for stealing a laptop on the ship.  I always wondered what happened to him.  That's a long way from home to be in legal trouble!  

 

We did not take a tour out into the countryside so I was glad to see what that looked like thanks to @daisybertie.  We walked around the town and then had a couple of U.S. National Park Service team members come aboard the ship to give a presentation on the local animals, birds and plant life.  I am sure no other Park Service members wear the garment called a lavalava.  Just don't call it a skirt!  Also one thing we were told is Pago Pago is pronounced Pango Pango, and I would like to know if anyone here has ever been told that before?  Please verify if you know that for sure.  I wouldn't want to offend our American Samoan people.

 

View of the little harbor as our ship backed into it's place at the pier in Pago Pago.

 

The townspeople were all set up on the dock with their tents and local items for sale.  A lot of shopping went on.  Flower arrangements did very well that day.

 

 

At the edge of the dock area was the main street where folks could meet their tours or head off in either direction for an exploration.

 

A bus filling up for their tour.

 

An artist made this dead tree trunk into a work of art.

 

Instructions on where to go in case of a tsunami warning.

 

Marketplace

 

 

Things may be laid back here but I don't advise any animal take a rest in the middle of the street.

 

Made it easy to mail a postcard back to the mainland from this U.S. Territory.  

 

I enjoy anyplace that has lush vegetation like this.  

 

Back on the ship we head the presentation described above from the National Park Service and got to speak to team members.

 

 

Sorry for the quality of the next photo.  

 

 

The sail away was beautiful that afternoon.  I especially enjoyed the mist over the reefs here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You always give such great information along with your pictures.  It is very much appreciated.

[StLouisCruisers]

3 minutes ago, bdrcole said:

You always give such great information along with your pictures.  It is very much appreciated.

 

Well, thank you for the compliment!  I try to keep it concise because I make photo books of our cruises and don't get a lot of room for text on the pages so that is what I'm used to.  If I hadn't made each book right after each cruise I could never go back a long time afterwards and figure out what happened, where I was, or any other details.  Those books really help me to remember each place we visited.

 

I, for one, think @arzz's blog entry was wonderful as it had so much information and you felt like you were there with them.  I did something like that on our first Antarctica cruise on Seabourn.  I typed up journal entries to the "kids" on our laptop and then copied and pasted into an email to them.  Made it quick and easy to get information out to them using very little internet minutes.  Then when I made the photo book I included the dated journal entries as pages at the end of the book.  No photos on those pages, just full page text boxes.  I've never done that before or since, but it was a very special cruise.🙂

[arzz]

StLouisCruisers - Thank you for the compliment - can you see me blush?  
 

I have been blogging since 2007 and thus relive every cruise that we have taken every time I reread them. Photos are nice but they do not always evoke all the tidbits and memories.  While traveling it becomes a bit of a burden to keep up with it all, at times - but afterwords I so appreciate having taken the time to write it all down.   

[smitty34877]

Good  afternoon Dailyites!   We  just  returned  from  our  trek  to  see  family  in  New  Hampshire. It  was  chilly  up  there  with  very  few  spring  signs  so  it  was  nice  to  see them  as  we  headed  south  to  NY. I  was  amazed to  see  very  little  road  traffic  and  thinly  populated  rest  areas. Everyone  wore  masks  and  kept  a  good  distance  away. I  was  so  worried  about  it but  it  went  quite  smoothly. I  managed  not  to  shed  tears  while  there    but  had  a  good  boo  hoo thinking  about  seeing  everyone  up  close  and  personal  for  a  few  days. It  usually  hits  me  when  I  get  on  the  Mass  Pike  for  some  reason!

 

I  love  pizza in  any  of  its'  many  styles. I  think  I  have  gone  for  broke  a  few  times  in  my  life.

The  pictures  of  Pago Pago  are  great  to  see. And  the  recipe  also  looks  good.Thank  you  everyone.    Terry

[StLouisCruisers]

5 minutes ago, arzz said:

StLouisCruisers - Thank you for the compliment - can you see me blush?  
 

I have been blogging since 2007 and thus relive every cruise that we have taken every time I reread them. Photos are nice but they do not always evoke all the tidbits and memories.  While traveling it becomes a bit of a burden to keep up with it all, at times - but afterwords I so appreciate having taken the time to write it all down.   

 

Then it's nice that one of you takes the photos and the other writes out the details and memories.  I wish I could get DH to help me with that!  LOL!  I do the photos and the books.  He then gets to enjoy reading/seeing the books first when they arrive in the mail.  I like to see his reaction.  

[cat shepard]

30 minutes ago, smitty34877 said:

Good  afternoon Dailyites!   We  just  returned  from  our  trek  to  see  family  in  New  Hampshire. It  was  chilly  up  there  with  very  few  spring  signs  so  it  was  nice  to  see them  as  we  headed  south  to  NY. I  was  amazed to  see  very  little  road  traffic  and  thinly  populated  rest  areas. Everyone  wore  masks  and  kept  a  good  distance  away. I  was  so  worried  about  it but  it  went  quite  smoothly. I  managed  not  to  shed  tears  while  there    but  had  a  good  boo  hoo thinking  about  seeing  everyone  up  close  and  personal  for  a  few  days. It  usually  hits  me  when  I  get  on  the  Mass  Pike  for  some  reason!

    Terry

Terry

 

Lots of people cry on the Mass Pike. Perhaps for reasons different from yours. 
 

So happy you had a chance to see everyone!

[StLouisCruisers]

2 hours ago, sailingdutchy said:

Again this was quite a special day for me because it happened to be the second birthday in two days ! 

 After we visited Apia , Samoa  on April 21st we crossed the dateline and the next day when we landed in Pago Pago it was April 21st  again so I had 2 BD cakes in 2 days ! How often does that happen in your lifetime ? 

 

 

Tony, that has happened to both of us!  On April 8, 2017 we were on the Maasdam and celebrated my birthday in the Pinnacle Grill. 

 

The following day was also my birthday due to the going back and forth across the International Date Line, so they brought me out another cake at our late seating table in the main dining room.  This time the dining room staff sang Panjang Umurnya.

 

Good thing dessert is my favorite course!

 

DH said I aged two years on that cruise.  My twin sister is glad she's now a year younger than me.

[NextOne]

Another late entry -- trying to get some yard work done on this beautiful day!

Not a fan of deep-dish pizza. I recently tried the cauliflower crust pizza and found that to be pretty tasty!

I like today's dinner suggestion, but we'll be getting takeout tonight. It's my birthday and I'm NOT cooking!

For a number of years I had the opportunity to volunteer at the White House Easter Egg Roll on Easter Monday. The last several years i was allowed to wear the Bunny costumes -- Momma, Poppa, and Junior. In 2015 I hit the trifecta and played all three in the same afternoon. Here's a picture of Poppa...

[Sharon in AZ]

2 minutes ago, NextOne said:

It's my birthday and I'm NOT cooking!

Happy birthday!!!!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

24 minutes ago, NextOne said:

Another late entry -- trying to get some yard work done on this beautiful day!

Not a fan of deep-dish pizza. I recently tried the cauliflower crust pizza and found that to be pretty tasty!

I like today's dinner suggestion, but we'll be getting takeout tonight. It's my birthday and I'm NOT cooking!

For a number of years I had the opportunity to volunteer at the White House Easter Egg Roll on Easter Monday. The last several years i was allowed to wear the Bunny costumes -- Momma, Poppa, and Junior. In 2015 I hit the trifecta and played all three in the same afternoon. Here's a picture of Poppa...

🥂  🎂  HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🎂 🥂

 

Volunteering a the White House Easter Egg Roll must have been a lot of fun.  And what an honor to be one of the bunnies, much less all three in on day.  

 

Lenda

 

PS  I don't blame your for not cooking today.  

Edited April 5, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[dfish]

20 minutes ago, NextOne said:

I like today's dinner suggestion, but we'll be getting takeout tonight. It's my birthday and I'm NOT cooking!

Happy Birthday!   

[cat shepard]

26 minutes ago, NextOne said:

Another late entry -- trying to get some yard work done on this beautiful day!

Not a fan of deep-dish pizza. I recently tried the cauliflower crust pizza and found that to be pretty tasty!

I like today's dinner suggestion, but we'll be getting takeout tonight. It's my birthday and I'm NOT cooking!

For a number of years I had the opportunity to volunteer at the White House Easter Egg Roll on Easter Monday. The last several years i was allowed to wear the Bunny costumes -- Momma, Poppa, and Junior. In 2015 I hit the trifecta and played all three in the same afternoon. Here's a picture of Poppa...

 

Happy Birthday! may your new year be filled with love, laughter & great health!

[Vict0riann]

Happy birthday, @NextOne!

[kazu]

1 hour ago, NextOne said:

I like today's dinner suggestion, but we'll be getting takeout tonight. It's my birthday and I'm NOT cooking!

 

A very happy birthday to you 🎂 

 

[StLouisCruisers]

Happy Birthday wishes to you @NextOne !!

[rafinmd]

Happy Birthday @NextOne

 

Roy