The Daily for Saturday Apr 10, 2021

[LAFFNVEGAS]

43 minutes ago, Love the beach said:

She used to take  sailaway photos for us cruise critic folk....she did one for me! I don't remember if the webcams were operational then.  Good to see you back Laffnvegas!

Yes, many years ago I was very active here on CC 😁 I started doing the Saturday and Sunday Web Cam Waves in 2005 using what was for that time a very good Web Cam of the ships in San Diego. We could zoom in and capture the group waving from the Bow of the ship. I did that for at least 5 years,  I believe when they shut down that web cabin in San Diego. Possibly longer. Where's the Fleet started up 6 months to a year after the web cams waves started when a HAL Hotel Manager that I became good friends with would send me the fleet information. I believe I started posting "Where's the Fleet?" in 2006.  I kept doing that till about 2014 if I remember correctly but would fill in every now and then after that. Our web cam waves were before the Ft Lauderdale Web Cam Waves. So many good times for many years and with many thanks to all the HAL Board CCers. 😊

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Yes, many years ago I was very active here on CC 😁 I started doing the Saturday and Sunday Web Cam Waves in 2005 using what was for that time a very good Web Cam of the ships in San Diego. We could zoom in and capture the group waving from the Bow of the ship. I did that for at least 5 years,  I believe when they shut down that web cabin in San Diego. Possibly longer. Where's the Fleet started up 6 months to a year after the web cams waves started when a HAL Hotel Manager that I became good friends with would send me the fleet information. I believe I started posting "Where's the Fleet?" in 2006.  I kept doing that till about 2014 if I remember correctly but would fill in every now and then after that. Our web cam waves were before the Ft Lauderdale Web Cam Waves. So many good times for many years and with many thanks to all the HAL Board CCers. 😊

 

I always looked forward to those posts, Lisa.

 

You got great shots from San Diego and I remember the banner people signed.  It was so nice 🙂 

[cat shepard]

28 minutes ago, sailingdutchy said:

Thank you all for the pictures of Puerto Chiapas . We have been there on our Panama Canal cruise but I do not have digital pictures to share , just the old fashioned ones in one of my albums .  Remember the port pretty good now I see the pictures that have already  been posted .

In 2012 we still did the HAL sticker tours in the large busses , we smartened up fast after we were told about Cruise Critic and how  "easy " it was to organize your own , what a wonderful change that was ! 

 

Today I will just show a few more pictures of the Keukenhof that we took ourselves in 2018 . I treated my Dutch cousins that had never been there yet while for us  Canucks it was our third time .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tony 😀

Spectacular pictures, Tony!

[ger_77]

Welcome back @LAFFNVEGAS, it's great to see you here again!  We're a pretty good group, doing a great job keeping each other's spirits up this past year, and certainly have @richwmn, @rafinmd, @dfish, @summer slope, @cat shepard, et al to thank for it.  We're almost like a cruisers- anonymous group where everyone is welcomed and is among friends.  It's a great place to visit every day.

 

@sailingdutchy - I'm blown away by your photos . . . fabulous!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

Edited April 10, 2021 by ger_77

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

4 hours ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

After a little more research, I have cancelled my AZ vaccine appointment. South Africa has banned AstraZeneca because they found that even after two doses it only had a 10% efficacy against preventing the South African variant. We have three trips to South Africa booked in the next two and a half years, one by land and two by sea. (Good grief, I sound like Paul Revere!🙄) If they require a vaccination for entry to the country, AZ might not even qualify.

 

I also think you made a wise decision, especially with those trips booked.  We were relieved when we found out we’d gotten the Pfizer vaccine.  From what we’ve seen, Moderna and J&J are having good reports.  A-Z vaccine seems to have the most negatives.

 

1 hour ago, smitty34877 said:

Thanks  for  the  opinions  and  thoughts @kazu ,  @Quartzsite Cruiser and @Cruising-along. I am  just  starting  to  venture  out  from  my  cocoon  of  he  last  year. The crowd  in  the  store  yesterday  was  enough  to   return  me  to  my couch. I  did  well  traveling  to  New  Hampshire and staying  with  family. I  think  the  lesson  learned  for  me is  not  to  go  where  I  am  uncomfortable in  spite  of  being  vaccinated  and  wearing  a  mask.           Terry

The best option is to do what you feel comfortable doing.  Even being fully vaccinated, we still wear our masks, sanitize our hands and wash our hands.

 

1 hour ago, Live4cruises said:

I have had a busy couple of days!  My cousin and her DH arrived Thursday afternoon, then she & I made the trip to Ada for our 2nd Pfizer shot on Friday morning.  We are fully vaccinated!  Both our DH’s (older than she & I), are ahead of us and were already complete.  In 2 weeks, she will get to see her 90 yo parents for the first time in more than a year, and DH and I are going to visit my DS and DBIL.  Still masking, still washing and sanitizing, but feeling a little more confident about life and CRUISING!

As I mentioned earlier, our experience with the Chickasaws was just wonderful.  This trip, we printed up a stack of 4 x 6 sparkly cards with a few sentences of thanks, which we handed to every person we encountered.  I think we gave out 13 of them.  Everyone was appreciative, and some were really touched.  It was a memorable day again.

Thanks to everyone who posts, and a particular shout-out to those of you who take the time to add photos and funnies.

 

Congratulations on the second shot for you and your cousin.  What a nice thing to do in giving out the cards.
 

34 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Yes, many years ago I was very active here on CC 😁 I started doing the Saturday and Sunday Web Cam Waves in 2005 using what was for that time a very good Web Cam of the ships in San Diego. We could zoom in and capture the group waving from the Bow of the ship. I did that for at least 5 years,  I believe when they shut down that web cabin in San Diego. Possibly longer. Where's the Fleet started up 6 months to a year after the web cams waves started when a HAL Hotel Manager that I became good friends with would send me the fleet information. I believe I started posting "Where's the Fleet?" in 2006.  I kept doing that till about 2014 if I remember correctly but would fill in every now and then after that. Our web cam waves were before the Ft Lauderdale Web Cam Waves. So many good times for many years and with many thanks to all the HAL Board CCers. 😊

 

Great to see you on CC again.  I remember your fleet reports.

 

Lenda

Edited April 10, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

We took the afternoon off and drove over to see the Bluebonnet Trail in Ennis outside of Dallas.  What we saw instead was backed up traffic in Ennis that was barely moving.  Saturday afternoon is not the time to go there.  The afternoon wasn’t a total loss as we saw a lot of bluebonnets and other wild flowers along the highways.  We just did not find a safe place to stop, but we’ll have other chances.  After the BIG freeze this year, the wildflowers are a little late.

 

BTW, the Texas Bluebonnet is a species of bluebonnets and is the sate flower.

 

Speaking of flowers, @sailingdutchy your pictures of the tulips ate outstanding.  Someday, seeing them in person is on the bucket list.  I bet your family enjoyed the day.   It’s typical that people tend to visit places away from home, and miss the ones in their backyard.

 

Lenda

Edited April 10, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[Vict0riann]

Thanks for the photos of the Keukenhof, Tony, @sailingdutchy!  That’s a beautiful place to visit at tulip time.

 

Happy to see @LAFFNVEGASback again and posting on the Daily!

[sailingdutchy]

7 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

Thanks for the photos of the Keukenhof, Tony, @sailingdutchy!  That’s a beautiful place to visit at tulip time.

 

Happy to see @LAFFNVEGASback again and posting on the Daily!

 

Thank you very much Ann  @Vict0riann, @cat shepard , @ger_77 and @Quartzsite Cruiser for your comments . I usually try to stay within the " subjects of the day " as far as posting pictures are concerned specially if there are more than a dozen of them but thought that because it is springtime and we all need a little boost of our spirits I will post a few nice ones .  

 

Tony 😀

[Happily@Sea]

@sailingdutchy I have been to Keukenhof twice - 2006 and 2016. I have a picture of a bed of variegated tulips - principal colors of red, yellow and orange as the background picture on my phone. What a great backdrop.

[cruzn single]

Somehow I haven't made it here the past few days to post.  Belated best wishes for all birthdays and anniversaries that I missed!  Don't know where the time has gone, except I had two doctor's appointments (just routine), and then have had several Zoom/Teams meetings for Red Cross!

 

@sailingdutchy, I loved your beautiful pictures of Kuekenhof!!!!  I was supposed to be there last April when my Nieuw Statendam TA got to Amsterdam.  It was a place I have wanted to visit for many years.  My late DH always talked about visiting there when he was stationed in Germany in the USAF, and he was able to take his children there.  (Way before we were married).

 

Wish I had a dog to hug , but sadly there hasn't been one around here in many years.  So, everyone is asked to give their beloved dogs an extra hug for me.

 

Beautiful, but windy,  day here in Western Colorado.  I cleaned my grill today, so it is a steak on there this evening as a reward for getting that job checked off!

 

Today's port is one that will be on my Panama Canal cruise in January, IF it goes.  Glad to know it is a nothing port.  Might want to visit a chocolate plantation if it works out.  I have visited a banana plantation and coffee plantation in Costa Rica.  The family loved the coffee I brought back, but I wouldn't know since I don't drink coffee.

 

Have a great evening, everyone!

Edited April 11, 2021 by cruzn single

[StLouisCruisers]

@sailingdutchyyour tulip photos are outstanding.  I would love to see the Keukenhof Gardens sometime.  Do you know when the peak time to go is?  

 

I also see you use Pic Collage.  My DIL's youngest sister is a co-founder of Pic Collage.  I haven't tried it myself but see a lot of collages online.  

[erewhon]

Thanks for all the daily reports , photos and humour.

Roy, Yes, we agree that Prince Philip should remain on the care list.

Heard on the news that his funeral is to be held at 3pm on the 17th, will be televised, only 30 people permitted to attend, this is a Covid-19 rule in Britain.  His casket will be transported to St Georges chapel on a landrover that he had especially converted. The Royal Family will walk behind the landrover.

Today at 12noon in Wellington there was a 41 gun Salute in honour of Prince Philip.

Have been to todays port of call,  during Panama Canal cruise on the Statendam.

Keep well stay safe everyone.

 

[Happily@Sea]

1 hour ago, StLouisCruisers said:

@sailingdutchyyour tulip photos are outstanding.  I would love to see the Keukenhof Gardens sometime.  Do you know when the peak time to go is?  

 

I also see you use Pic Collage.  My DIL's youngest sister is a co-founder of Pic Collage.  I haven't tried it myself but see a lot of collages online.  

 

It is usually only open for about 6 weeks every spring - IIRC - when the flowers are in bloom. Maybe @sailingdutchycan give you the normal timespan and opening date.

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by Happily@Sea

[VintageGeo]

Good evening, and as always, thanks for the Daily.

The camaraderie and humor shared so freely here always leaves us with the warm and fuzzies and we are grateful. Batdog was hilarious!

So happy to see so many finalizing their vaccinations. Lori had her second two weeks ago, I will get mine Tuesday. It might not be the final answer, but it is an answer, and like so many we are hopeful it means hugs from the grandkids soon.

We visited Puerto Chiapas last year, and as we sailed in that morning, we stumbled across a fella who might identify as the Pelican Whisperer..

 

As others have said, we walked thru the visitor's area and watched the dancers before returning to the ship.

 

While ashore we did manage to catch sight of our steward, Ronald, hard at work.

 

It wasn't unusual for him to be hard at work, it was unusual that he was still long enough to get a decent picture of him. We last corresponded with him a month ago, and he is missing cruising as much as we...if not more. The virus cost him not only his HAL job, but also his garment business at home. He relayed that he now spends his days making a type of cake and selling them at the local market. We look forward to seeing him as well as all the wonderful crew members again.

 

Our prayers to those with a need and cheers to those with a cause.

Stay safe and healthy, and have a wonderful tomorrow.

 

Lori & George

 

[sailingdutchy]

2 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

@sailingdutchyyour tulip photos are outstanding.  I would love to see the Keukenhof Gardens sometime.  Do you know when the peak time to go is?  

 

I also see you use Pic Collage.  My DIL's youngest sister is a co-founder of Pic Collage.  I haven't tried it myself but see a lot of collages online.  

 

This year the Keukenhof was suppose to be open from Mar 20 until May 9th , it has been closed for quite a few days due to the Covid- 19 but they  have now decided to open up for a few weekends with limited amount of visitors . ( there is of coarse little international traffic at the moment  )

Certain bulbs flower early and others are late bloomers which is all taken into account of how and where they are planted . The site is 32 acres and has 15 km of footpaths and they plant approx 7 million flower bulbs .

In 2018 there were 2.3 million of visitors ! 

The pictures that I took were taken on May 2nd and some of the flowers had already been headed .

Best time to go  is probably between April 10 and 25 .

[garlictown]

@sailingdutchy My husband and I ❤️ traveling around the Netherlands! We rented a car for over 2 weeks visiting various cities and we able to visit Keukenhof in 2017. The gift shop there had the different varieties of tulips to mail home to California... so we ordered the one celebrating Canada's special relationship.🙂  I am still trying to learn how to pronounce Scheveningen.🤓 My favorite painting is the Dutch Mona Lisa-- Girl with the Pearl Earring.😉 We are still hoping to return this coming August and sail from Rotterdam in September.🛳️

[sailingdutchy]

2 minutes ago, garlictown said:

@sailingdutchy My husband and I ❤️ traveling around the Netherlands! We rented a car for over 2 weeks visiting various cities and we able to visit Keukenhof in 2017. The gift shop there had the different varieties of tulips to mail home to California... so we ordered the one celebrating Canada's special relationship.🙂  I am still trying to learn how to pronounce Scheveningen.🤓 My favorite painting is the Dutch Mona Lisa-- Girl with the Pearl Earring.😉 We are still hoping to return this coming August and sail from Rotterdam in September.🛳️

 

You are not the only one that has trouble pronouncing Scheveningen  @garlictown , a place I know very well because it is part of The Hague where I was born .  During WWII it was a " password"  ,you could say , to find out if you were dealing with a Dutch person or not ! 

[StLouisCruisers]

7 hours ago, sailingdutchy said:

 

This year the Keukenhof was suppose to be open from Mar 20 until May 9th , it has been closed for quite a few days due to the Covid- 19 but they  have now decided to open up for a few weekends with limited amount of visitors . ( there is of coarse little international traffic at the moment  )

Certain bulbs flower early and others are late bloomers which is all taken into account of how and where they are planted . The site is 32 acres and has 15 km of footpaths and they plant approx 7 million flower bulbs .

In 2018 there were 2.3 million of visitors ! 

The pictures that I took were taken on May 2nd and some of the flowers had already been headed .

Best time to go  is probably between April 10 and 25 .

 

Thank you!  That sounds like a plan!  I hope to be able to visit there in the next few years.  This is like a botanical garden "on steroids" and I always visit a botanical garden if at all possible in my travels.

[Live4cruises]

@VintageGeo, Thank you for the Pelican Whisperer!  I love seeing pelicans!

Also, thank you for the post about Ronald.  All of us here miss cruising - definitely a first world problem.  The impact on so many of the people we depend on at sea has been catastrophic.  I hope HAL is working hard to get its crews lined up for cruises to start in July.  It will be so exciting when they begin sending ships to Indonesia (and other places) to fetch them!

[VintageGeo]

10 minutes ago, Live4cruises said:

@VintageGeo, Thank you for the Pelican Whisperer!  I love seeing pelicans!

Also, thank you for the post about Ronald.  All of us here miss cruising - definitely a first world problem.  The impact on so many of the people we depend on at sea has been catastrophic.  I hope HAL is working hard to get its crews lined up for cruises to start in July.  It will be so exciting when they begin sending ships to Indonesia (and other places) to fetch them!

Thanks. We are sometimes reminded that the inconveniences that we have experienced pale in comparison to what so many have endured. We are so blessed. We also hope that all of the crew members that have taken such good care of us in the past have made it safely through all of this and will soon be able to return to the lives they lived before. Or as close as possible.

 

I take more pictures of pelicans than is probably allowed in civilized society. 😃 They have become one of my favorite animals.

 

 

Have a great day!

 

George

 

[DeeniEncinitas]

 

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Aloha everyone!

Last nights Sunset! Here is a view from the outside patio.
 

From the back is a walkway and we go right down to the beach.

Here’s our home.

This is our water lily pond on the side of our home. Some pictures from the beach! Will be home after Mother’s Day! I will chime in on occasion. Take care all and to 

🌺My sisters 👯‍♀️ always in spirit I think of you guys. 🌺🌺Jacqui, Debbie, Summer always appreciate your contributions. 🌺Dear Roy and Rich big shout out for keeping us all In great spirits and encouragement for our dear CCers who need prayers and help.

🌺Mahalo

Denise😊

 

[StLouisCruisers]

@DeeniEncinitasthat looks wonderful!  Have a fabulous vacation in Maui.🌴

[57redbird]

20 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

 

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Aloha everyone!

Last nights Sunset! Here is a view from the outside patio.
 

From the back is a walkway and we go right down to the beach.

Here’s our home.

This is our water lily pond on the side of our home. Some pictures from the beach! Will be home after Mother’s Day! I will chime in on occasion. Take care all and to 

🌺My sisters 👯‍♀️ always in spirit I think of you guys. 🌺🌺Jacqui, Debbie, Summer always appreciate your contributions. 🌺Dear Roy and Rich big shout out for keeping us all In great spirits and encouragement for our dear CCers who need prayers and help.

🌺Mahalo

Denise😊

 

We just left Maui on April 3.....hard to be home (in the Seattle area) after all that gorgeous weather.

[bennybear]

16 hours ago, sailingdutchy said:

 

You are not the only one that has trouble pronouncing Scheveningen  @garlictown , a place I know very well because it is part of The Hague where I was born .  During WWII it was a " password"  ,you could say , to find out if you were dealing with a Dutch person or not ! 

I loved Madurodam!  But can’t pronounce it either @garlictown

[cat shepard]

2 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

 

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Aloha everyone!

Last nights Sunset! Here is a view from the outside patio.
 

From the back is a walkway and we go right down to the beach.

Here’s our home.

This is our water lily pond on the side of our home. Some pictures from the beach! Will be home after Mother’s Day! I will chime in on occasion. Take care all and to 

🌺My sisters 👯‍♀️ always in spirit I think of you guys. 🌺🌺Jacqui, Debbie, Summer always appreciate your contributions. 🌺Dear Roy and Rich big shout out for keeping us all In great spirits and encouragement for our dear CCers who need prayers and help.

🌺Mahalo

Denise😊

 

 

Hope you & David enjoy your lovely island paradise. ❤️