The Daily for Tuesday 12/28/2021

[tjcox9]

Also, it's so sad to see all the reports of so much illness this holiday season. And the report of the drunk driver hitting the guard house and killing the person on duty is so sad. Thanks to Dad for doing the right thing! Our best to all of you who are ill or have a friend or family member who is ailing.

[St Pete Cruiser]

7 hours ago, Sharon in AZ said:

Good morning everyone and Happy Tuesday from the Rotterdam. 
 

 

We will be at Roseau, Dominica soon and we have a shore excursion today, Panoramic Rain Forest Drive. 
 

Have a great day everyone!

Did you go ashore in Barbados? The weather seems to be ideal. Dominica hasn't been used by Holland America very often in my recollection. Thanks for the reports.

[grapau27]

49 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Thanks to @GeorgeCharliefor those photos of your visit to Brisbane.  What a difference a rainy day can have on a visit to a city!  I'm glad you enjoyed your indoor time with your friends, though.  Maybe you can visit Brisbane again some day and see some of those sights on a sunny day!

 

We also did that circumnavigation cruise of Australia (on Sun Princess), and I would recommend it to anyone who can make their way to the "Land Down Under".  We also docked in the industrial port outside the city and took a shuttle bus to the central business district. 

 

A view of downtown from the shuttle bus. 

 

The Anzac Square Memorial on Ann Street where the bus dropped us off.

 

 

 

My CC friend walked us past the church she was married in.

 

Just around the corner was the Roma Street Parkland which was beautifully groomed.  Amazing it was surrounded by so many skyscrapers.

 

 

 

 

I do love visiting gardens!

 

They had a little train to ride on but we preferred to walk.

 

This is the City Hall, which we went inside to take a look.  They have the Museum of Brisbane on an upper floor there, which we visited briefly because there was so much to see in the city still.

 

 

Then we walked through the Queen Street Mall area on our way towards the river.

 

 

Some art along the way.

 

We walked across the Brisbane River on the Victoria Bridge to the Southbank area.

 

 

 

One of the most amazing places in the Southbank area is Streets Beach, Australia's only inner city man-made beach.  

 

Isn't it awesome?

 

 

From Southbank, we took the free ferry back across the river and walked towards our bus pick up point. 

 

 

We saw plenty of old buildings directly in front of the new buildings.

 

 

We had a wonderful day with my CC friend.  Next time we stopped here we would do entirely different things.  That will come up next post.

 

 

Excellent selection of photos.

Graham.

[StLouisCruisers]

After our circumnavigation cruise we sailed on a Tasmania cruise followed by a Papua New Guinea cruise.  The PNG cruise included Brisbane on its way back to Sydney.  So several weeks later we were picked up at the industrial port, called Fisherman's Island Grain Terminal, by our Seabourn friends.  When they asked ahead of time what I wanted to see, I said kangaroos and koalas!  The first place we drove to was the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which had a lot more animals than that!

 

 

First we saw some lace monitors, water monitors and parentie

 

 

 

A dingo taking a nap

 

freshwater crocodiles

 

A wombat

 

And this cagey cassowary.  I never could get a good shot of him/her because it shifted around so much.  They are considered dangerous!

 

Looking for the kangaroos!

 

Here they are!

 

 

 

Time for some koalas!

 

 

This one was looking at me funny!

 

He doesn't look that comfortable to me.  But whatever, buddy!

 

We also saw a Laughing Kookaburra, a Bush Thick-Knee, and the megabats of Australia.

 

 

These guys are huge!

 

That was it for the koala sanctuary.  Onward to our next stop.

 

Which is Mt. Coot-tha Summit Lookout.  The city of Brisbane in the distance.

 

 

We ate lunch here at Kuta Cafe and really enjoyed the view while dining as well as our friends' company.

 

From there we headed to the Brisbane River where one of our hosts dropped his wife and the two of us off for a ferry ride.  He met us at the other end.  We road for 45 minutes enjoying the great weather, the river and our friend.  After we three got off at I believe Hawthorne they drove us back to the ship to say goodbye. What a wonderful day in Brisbane we had!

 

Getting on the Spirit of Brisbane

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hawthorne stop

 

Saying goodbye at the industrial port after a fantastic visit.  

 

[grapau27]

18 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

After our circumnavigation cruise we sailed on a Tasmania cruise followed by a Papua New Guinea cruise.  The PNG cruise included Brisbane on its way back to Sydney.  So several weeks later we were picked up at the industrial port, called Fisherman's Island Grain Terminal, by our Seabourn friends.  When they asked ahead of time what I wanted to see, I said kangaroos and koalas!  The first place we drove to was the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which had a lot more animals than that!

 

 

First we saw some lace monitors, water monitors and parentie

 

 

 

A dingo taking a nap

 

freshwater crocodiles

 

A wombat

 

And this cagey cassowary.  I never could get a good shot of him/her because it shifted around so much.  They are considered dangerous!

 

Looking for the kangaroos!

 

Here they are!

 

 

 

Time for some koalas!

 

 

This one was looking at me funny!

 

He doesn't look that comfortable to me.  But whatever, buddy!

 

We also saw a Laughing Kookaburra, a Bush Thick-Knee, and the megabats of Australia.

 

 

These guys are huge!

 

That was it for the koala sanctuary.  Onward to our next stop.

 

Which is Mt. Coot-tha Summit Lookout.  The city of Brisbane in the distance.

 

 

We ate lunch here at Kuta Cafe and really enjoyed the view while dining as well as our friends' company.

 

From there we headed to the Brisbane River where one of our hosts dropped his wife and the two of us off for a ferry ride.  He met us at the other end.  We road for 45 minutes enjoying the great weather, the river and our friend.  After we three got off at I believe Hawthorne they drove us back to the ship to say goodbye. What a wonderful day in Brisbane we had!

 

Getting on the Spirit of Brisbane

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hawthorne stop

 

Saying goodbye at the industrial port after a fantastic visit.  

 

Lovely photos especially all of the animals.

Graham.

[kazu]

3 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

And finally, on our drive home yesterday we received several emails from our Homeowner's Association manager regarding an incident at the front entrance to our development.  The guardhouse was rammed into by a drunk driver at 3 am, who ran from the scene to his Father's home in the development.  He must have been visiting for the holidays.  Anyway, the attendant on duty was killed in the crash!  When the Father of the drunk driver found out his son had fled an accident, he took him to the scene and called 911 to turn his son in.

 

That is so sad. 😢 A useless death because someone was an idiot 😡 

Good for the Father for bringing his son back but sadly, that doesn’t restore the attendant’s life 😔 😡. So very sorry to hear of this tragedy.

 

Marley is back home - thankfully before the snow that has been falling fast.  He’s had a complete work up, X-Rays, blood work, etc.  Thankfully no obstruction (wasn’t worried about that) or bloat (very concerned about that as he’s a big boy).  He’s had an injection as he can’t handle a pill until tonight and has one pile of meds (and a healthy bill which, while it hurts, I was expecting and NOT complaining about) for the next while.

 

If he can hold his meal tomorrow and his blood tests are ok, he’s clear.  If he can’t or the blood tests show something (he’s 8 so considered a senior because of his size - just don’t tell him, he doesn’t know he’s a senior) he’ll have to go back.

Hopefully all will be good with the meds and his diet to help him adjust.

Just wish it was as easy to fix Jose as it is Marley 😢 

Snow is falling so I’m very grateful they fit him in and got him treated and back to me to beat the mess on the streets 👍 

 

Thanks everyone for putting up with my moaning and groaning.  I had a bad feeling when I saw him sick and reached out to my vet tech friend and she said I was overthinking and you know what to do.  So I cooked his milky rice with baked chicken all stewed last night and served it this morning.  Just a little bit to see.  Bam up it came and off he was going to the vet.  When a dog can’t hold the blandest food in the world, there’s a problem.  Miko is happy he’s back.
 

[JazzyV]

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Daily @richwmn while you're cruising.

I should call a friend who I've been meaning to talk to. I like the Wallace & Gromit short films, lol. I only play Solitaire and don't know how to play any card games.

Great quote.

I like the meal and drink (with Diet Coke). Never heard of this wine type before.

I've been to Australia, but not Brisbane.

 

More rain here today. So it's laundry time. I have a haircut tomorrow. I was thinking of cancelling, but the salon has chairs spaced well, and everyone masks.

 

@kazu Thinking of you and prayers for Jose. Sorry to hear Marley is sick, like you need anything else to deal with. Hopefully the meds fix him up. So nice of someone to deliver the packages for you. Thanks for the memes.

@rafinmd We appreciate all you do with the lists.

@superoma Great gingerbread houses by all!

@Heartgrove Taking the antibiotics sounds like a good idea.

@*Miss G* I'm glad your DF is feeling better. Prayers that his health allows that cruise.

@ger_77 Safe travels and stay warm!

@StLouisCruisers I'm glad you're safely home. OMG on that drunk driver killing the attendant. Prayers for him and his family. I just don't understand people who drive drunk. We have news stories here of people who are let out of jail after driving drunk and keep repeating the offense, sometimes killing someone.

 

Prayers for the Care List and Cheers for the Celebration List.

Stay safe everyone.

 

[Vict0riann]

@StLouisCruisers, we did encounter one cassowary who was so vain he spent his time gazing at himself and didn't mind having his picture taken.

 

[bennybear]

Good morning and thanks!  A special shout out to Rich who continues the daily while,on a cruise, Roy who continues the care list while undergoing Radiation and Jacqui who delights with her cartoons while dealing with family medical emergencies!  There must be a special place on a BHB for them soon! 
 

We haven’t been to Brisbane but we have friends there we met on  a BHB.   So enjoying the photos! 
 

@ger_77safe travels in this dangerous cold!   
@superomawhat great gingerbread houses, 

@Miss Gsorry to hear your father was not well, hoping he makes a full recovery.

@kazuoh no, when it rains it pours! Praying for you, Jose and Marley.

@StLouisCruisershow tragic!  Prayers for the family.

[superoma]

Well, our family get together got scuttled today. Seems one DGD was exposed to Covid from her boyfriend’s mother three days ago. She is triple vaxed and tested negative but out of an abundance of caution we are not gathering. We will wait about 10 days and if everybody is ok we will try again. Crazy, crazy year. Stay safe everyone.

[Sharon in AZ]

1 hour ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Did you go ashore in Barbados? The weather seems to be ideal. Dominica hasn't been used by Holland America very often in my recollection. Thanks for the reports.

Yes, we went ashore in Barbados but only to walk for a bit toward the downtown area. It was a holiday yesterday since Boxing Day was on a Sunday so most places and shops were closed and we hadn’t planned an excursion.  

[St Pete Cruiser]

2 hours ago, atexsix said:

Good Morning,

 

Snow flurries this morning and still cold, supposed to change by weekend with rain and our usual temps which is good because most people are marooned in their homes this week.  

 

Poor Dad slept in the living room last night because his smoke alarm in the bedroom decided to chirp, why is it always in the middle of the night in a snowstorm around holidays that these things seem destined to malfunction?  Every time!  Anyway, it's one we can't change out ourselves, it's too high up on the ceiling, so need to have maintenance come in.

 

Have a great day everyone!

It wasn't long ago that you had record heat and desperately need an AC unit. A former Holland America PCR from near Seattle sent pics of the snow they got after Christmas day. Pretty in the pics.

[StLouisCruisers]

Yesterday's port was Qingdao, China and since I was not able to post then, I decided to add some photos today.

 

We saw Qingdao on our Diamond Princess 2010 Asian Transpacific cruise (Bangkok to Anchorage).  We spent our time there walking around seeing the city up close.  Like many places in China the skies were smoggy, but not so bad we had to stay on the ship. 

 

It seemed like those containers had covers over them.  I wonder what's hidden under them?

 

Time to get on a bus and get dropped off downtown.

 

Wow, the streets there are very busy!

 

So you could cross the street safely (smart move) they had pedestrian crossing bridges here and there.

 

Taken from the pedestrian bridge.  Some of the smog visible in this photo.

 

Apparently there are no traffic laws in China as it seemed everyone did as they pleased.  I wouldn't want to be that woman in the crosswalk with several cars pointed in my direction!

 

We squeezed our way down this alley/street.

 

It was loaded with food vendors waiting to serve you.

 

 

I'd like to know how he plans to prepare those starfish and be palatable!

 

 

This reminds me of Survivor!  No matter what type of bug that is I don't want it!

 

If I had to pick something it would be the prawn.

 

 

OMG!

 

 

I thought I'd hold off for lunch until back on the ship, just to be safe!  So here we are on the bus almost back, when we see the Diamond Princess with some interesting statuary on the port outskirts.  Yep, Mama and baby zebras.

 

It appears ROC officials were checking passports.

 

I doubt I'll ever get back there, nor do I need to.  One and done!

 

 

 

 

[puppycanducruise]

@StLouisCruisersSuch tragic news.  Prayers for the friends and family of the attendant.

 

[puppycanducruise]

@kazuThanks for the update on Marley.  Hope the meds work.

[GeorgeCharlie]

3 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Thanks to @GeorgeCharliefor those photos of your visit to Brisbane.  What a difference a rainy day can have on a visit to a city!  I'm glad you enjoyed your indoor time with your friends, though.  Maybe you can visit Brisbane again some day and see some of those sights on a sunny day!

 

We still keep in regular contact with them and keep saying we'll have to try and get back down to see them, but you know how it goes - all the best of intentions - but there always seems to be some new place to visit.😎

[Cruising-along]

1 hour ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

It wasn't long ago that you had record heat and desperately need an AC unit. A former Holland America PCR from near Seattle sent pics of the snow they got after Christmas day. Pretty in the pics.

Yes we had a hot summer and now a snowy December!  We're a little north of Seattle -- some areas got a lot more snow than we did.  Not sure how much Bruno got, often they get more where he is and hotter summer temps.

Our back deck

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info

[Himself]

Rich, thank you for posting the fleet locations.

[Overhead Fred]

Christmas lights in Plaza Colon, San Juan on 11/23/21 -

 

 

 

 

[luvteaching]

Hello from the cold and snowy Pacific Northwest! Yesterday morning it was zero on the front porch! Today it was a balmy 12F. 

 

We aren't venturing anywhere. I'm canceling a doctor's appointment tomorrow for DH and did a video visit with our primary care physician today. He told us to stay home and off the roads! It doesn't take much to convince me. Our neighbors lost power Christmas night and aren't slated to get it back until tomorrow late. Our DS with his 4 wheel drive was able to go get them this morning, helped get their pickup out, and brought my walking partner here to have a shower and charge electronics. For us in the country no power means no water. In addition they had two large trees come down on their carport and two of their cars. Here are a couple of pictures. The first is my view looking west. The second is our road looking west. 

 

I got trained to do DH's infusions yesterday and it's not hard. It's a new skill to add to my list. It means he can be at home instead of hospitalized so that's great! 

Happy Tuesday and may you have power, heat, and all you need. 

 

Karen

[KirkNC]

Happy Tuesday!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

6 hours ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

We had a brief and very rainy visit to Brisbane while on a circumnavigation cruise of Australia in 2013.

 

Fortunately, we had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful couple from Brisbane on a Mediterranean cruise the previous summer, and they had graciously offered to show us around Brisbane.

 

Unfortunately, it was pouring rain while we were there, but they did drive us around to see some of the city.

 

Because of the size of the ship, we had to dock at an industrial port, which was a short distance from the city.
 

 

 

What it was like driving into the city.

 

Visited the main downtown shopping area, where most people were trying to stay under the awnings.

 

A sculpture we saw.

 

Downtown skyline from across the river.

 

 

But all was not lost – as the rain gave us a chance to have a nice long chat.😎

 

 

Thank you for the pictures.

 

5 hours ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

Good morning, all! In this cold, Calling a friend and playing cards are very high on the to do list. I like the quote. The meal, drink, and wine all sound good. We didn’t quite make it to Brisbane in 2020. DH and I were supposed to fly home, direct to Vancouver, in March 2020 when the World Cruise ended abruptly. Suddenly Air Canada cancelled the flight, as the planes were ‘needed to repatriate Canadians stranded abroad’. Thus stranding an entire plane load of Canadians abroad with little to no flight options. 🤷🏼‍♀️

@kazu I’m so sorry you can’t go in and be with Jose in person. How frustrating for you, Jose, and his care team as well! Fingers are crossed that Marley is going through something mild, obvious, and easily cured. All this stress takes it’s toll on our pets, as well.

@mamaofamiso glad to hear yesterday’s negative tests results. That’s wonderful!

@superomayour family did amazing work in that gingerbread house competition. No wonder you couldn’t pick a winner.

@ger_77i completely missed your Christmas birthday. Belated Happy Birthday! How wonderful,to spend it with the grandsons - even if one does cheat at cards.😉 And with the temperatures you’re getting there, I can see you rolling your eyes at my fuss over a measly -28 yesterday!

@atexsixits good to hear your Dear Dad is doing better. It sounds like they’re getting a handle on what’s going on. That must take a lot of stress off you!

Its certainly nice to be home again and hunker down until the cold weather let’s up a little and the weather warnings are cancelled. I’m glad we went though - it was wonderful spending Christmas with DS, DBIL, my nephew and his wife. We had FaceTime calls with everyone else on Christmas Day.

Happy Tuesday.  I bet it’s much warmer right now aboard a BHB - ANY BHB!

 

Glad you made it home safely.

 

5 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Thanks to @GeorgeCharliefor those photos of your visit to Brisbane.  What a difference a rainy day can have on a visit to a city!  I'm glad you enjoyed your indoor time with your friends, though.  Maybe you can visit Brisbane again some day and see some of those sights on a sunny day!

 

We also did that circumnavigation cruise of Australia (on Sun Princess), and I would recommend it to anyone who can make their way to the "Land Down Under".  We also docked in the industrial port outside the city and took a shuttle bus to the central business district. 

 

A view of downtown from the shuttle bus. 

 

The Anzac Square Memorial on Ann Street where the bus dropped us off.

 

 

 

My CC friend walked us past the church she was married in.

 

Just around the corner was the Roma Street Parkland which was beautifully groomed.  Amazing it was surrounded by so many skyscrapers.

 

 

 

 

I do love visiting gardens!

 

They had a little train to ride on but we preferred to walk.

 

This is the City Hall, which we went inside to take a look.  They have the Museum of Brisbane on an upper floor there, which we visited briefly because there was so much to see in the city still.

 

 

Then we walked through the Queen Street Mall area on our way towards the river.

 

 

Some art along the way.

 

We walked across the Brisbane River on the Victoria Bridge to the Southbank area.

 

 

 

One of the most amazing places in the Southbank area is Streets Beach, Australia's only inner city man-made beach.  

 

Isn't it awesome?

 

 

From Southbank, we took the free ferry back across the river and walked towards our bus pick up point. 

 

 

We saw plenty of old buildings directly in front of the new buildings.

 

 

We had a wonderful day with my CC friend.  Next time we stopped here we would do entirely different things.  That will come up next post.

 

 

 

Thanks for the pictures from both days in Brisbane.  Loved the pictures of the animals.

 

4 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

Good morning all!  I'm thinking of all you do, while I just sit around waiting for things to change...  Pat was a bit late in hanging out the hummingbird feeders this morning, and one landed on it before he could get it on the post.   Now there is a feeding (and mating) frenzy going on.   They keep us entertained all day.   I think I have all the spices for that Moroccan dish, but I have no idea where the shrimp is, buried deep in the freezer.  We will have to work our way through it.  Cheers to those celebrating, and lots of prayers for those on the Care List.

 

When we lived in Nairobi and only had 3 hours a day of TV, half of that in Swahili, we played a lot of Canasta and Samba - happy times.  We haven't played cards in years now.  I do like solitaire, and I used to take a deck of cards on cruises.  

 

In 2010, we flew to Sydney, took the train to Perth to visit DSIL and her family, then flew to Port Douglas to see the Reef, then train to Brisbane where friends from our Washington DC days took us to their home for a few days.  After that we rented a car and drove back to Sydney, visiting other friends on the way.  I was a great trip, but the flights to and from Australia are killers!  Brisbane is a beautiful city  with a much loved river flowing through it - we didn't see all that much, we were busy visiting.  We had a lunch at our friends' golf club, visited the botanic gardens and drove around the university.  So I have enjoyed seeing @GeorgeCharlie's and @StLouisCruisers' pictures.

 

Brisbane from our friends' home -

 

 

 

At the Botanic Gardens

 

 

 

Ann, enjoyed the pictures of your stay in Brisbane.

 

4 hours ago, tjcox9 said:

We also docked at the industrial port on the Volendam in 2010. This was the first circumnavigation that HAL did, so many of the ports were new to them as well as us.

 

We had planned on taking the shuttle into town, however, a day or so before the port, another shore excursion was added - to the Australia Zoo also known as the Steve Irwin Zoo, about an hour outside Brisbane. As we enjoy a good zoo, we opted to visit it.

 

It's very well done with lots of natural spaces for the animals. Here are a few pix from the zoo - a beautiful tiger, a Komodo dragon, giant tortoises, a dangerous Cassowary, free range kangaroos and a Koala bear. I understand that the knot on the Cassowary's head can be used as quite a weapon.

 

We also visited Komodo on this trip where we got to see the Komodo dragons.

 

The Steve Irwin Zoo looks like a place I'd enjoy visitng.  

 

3 hours ago, kazu said:

 

That is so sad. 😢 A useless death because someone was an idiot 😡 

Good for the Father for bringing his son back but sadly, that doesn’t restore the attendant’s life 😔 😡. So very sorry to hear of this tragedy.

 

Marley is back home - thankfully before the snow that has been falling fast.  He’s had a complete work up, X-Rays, blood work, etc.  Thankfully no obstruction (wasn’t worried about that) or bloat (very concerned about that as he’s a big boy).  He’s had an injection as he can’t handle a pill until tonight and has one pile of meds (and a healthy bill which, while it hurts, I was expecting and NOT complaining about) for the next while.

 

If he can hold his meal tomorrow and his blood tests are ok, he’s clear.  If he can’t or the blood tests show something (he’s 8 so considered a senior because of his size - just don’t tell him, he doesn’t know he’s a senior) he’ll have to go back.

Hopefully all will be good with the meds and his diet to help him adjust.

Just wish it was as easy to fix Jose as it is Marley 😢 

Snow is falling so I’m very grateful they fit him in and got him treated and back to me to beat the mess on the streets 👍 

 

Thanks everyone for putting up with my moaning and groaning.  I had a bad feeling when I saw him sick and reached out to my vet tech friend and she said I was overthinking and you know what to do.  So I cooked his milky rice with baked chicken all stewed last night and served it this morning.  Just a little bit to see.  Bam up it came and off he was going to the vet.  When a dog can’t hold the blandest food in the world, there’s a problem.  Miko is happy he’s back.
 

 

Glad Marley is back home, and hope the meds work and the blood tests are normal.

 

3 hours ago, superoma said:

Well, our family get together got scuttled today. Seems one DGD was exposed to Covid from her boyfriend’s mother three days ago. She is triple vaxed and tested negative but out of an abundance of caution we are not gathering. We will wait about 10 days and if everybody is ok we will try again. Crazy, crazy year. Stay safe everyone.

 

Sorry your family get together had to be canceled, but it is better to be safe.

 

2 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Yesterday's port was Qingdao, China and since I was not able to post then, I decided to add some photos today.

 

We saw Qingdao on our Diamond Princess 2010 Asian Transpacific cruise (Bangkok to Anchorage).  We spent our time there walking around seeing the city up close.  Like many places in China the skies were smoggy, but not so bad we had to stay on the ship. 

 

It seemed like those containers had covers over them.  I wonder what's hidden under them?

 

Time to get on a bus and get dropped off downtown.

 

Wow, the streets there are very busy!

 

So you could cross the street safely (smart move) they had pedestrian crossing bridges here and there.

 

Taken from the pedestrian bridge.  Some of the smog visible in this photo.

 

Apparently there are no traffic laws in China as it seemed everyone did as they pleased.  I wouldn't want to be that woman in the crosswalk with several cars pointed in my direction!

 

We squeezed our way down this alley/street.

 

It was loaded with food vendors waiting to serve you.

 

 

I'd like to know how he plans to prepare those starfish and be palatable!

 

 

This reminds me of Survivor!  No matter what type of bug that is I don't want it!

 

If I had to pick something it would be the prawn.

 

 

OMG!

 

 

I thought I'd hold off for lunch until back on the ship, just to be safe!  So here we are on the bus almost back, when we see the Diamond Princess with some interesting statuary on the port outskirts.  Yep, Mama and baby zebras.

 

It appears ROC officials were checking passports.

 

I doubt I'll ever get back there, nor do I need to.  One and done!

 

 

 

 

 

Sandi, thank you for the pictures from yesterday's port.  It looks like an interesting city.

 

53 minutes ago, Overhead Fred said:

Christmas lights in Plaza Colon, San Juan on 11/23/21 -

 

 

 

 

 

Fred, the Christmas lights look very pretty.

 

46 minutes ago, luvteaching said:

Hello from the cold and snowy Pacific Northwest! Yesterday morning it was zero on the front porch! Today it was a balmy 12F. 

 

We aren't venturing anywhere. I'm canceling a doctor's appointment tomorrow for DH and did a video visit with our primary care physician today. He told us to stay home and off the roads! It doesn't take much to convince me. Our neighbors lost power Christmas night and aren't slated to get it back until tomorrow late. Our DS with his 4 wheel drive was able to go get them this morning, helped get their pickup out, and brought my walking partner here to have a shower and charge electronics. For us in the country no power means no water. In addition they had two large trees come down on their carport and two of their cars. Here are a couple of pictures. The first is my view looking west. The second is our road looking west. 

 

I got trained to do DH's infusions yesterday and it's not hard. It's a new skill to add to my list. It means he can be at home instead of hospitalized so that's great! 

Happy Tuesday and may you have power, heat, and all you need. 

 

Karen

 

Karen, with snow like that I'd stay home too.  How nice if your DS to rescue your neighbors and for you to take them in.  Glad your can do the infusions and that your DH can stay home.

 

We had a nice drive up the west side of the Colorado River, across Parker Dam, and back to Parker.  We made the mistake of stopping at the big box store for a few things.   It was crowded and had long lines at the check out.  For once, I managed to pick the line that was moving the best.  

 

As a break from Christmas leftovers, last night we grilled steaks and had mashed potatoes, tomato-mozarella salad and more 2 hour buns with our steaks.  Tonight we're making two pizzas, and it's time to start the dough so it can rise.

 

Lenda

 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[*Miss G*]

6 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

And finally, on our drive home yesterday we received several emails from our Homeowner's Association manager regarding an incident at the front entrance to our development.  The guardhouse was rammed into by a drunk driver at 3 am, who ran from the scene to his Father's home in the development.  He must have been visiting for the holidays.  Anyway, the attendant on duty was killed in the crash!  When the Father of the drunk driver found out his son had fled an accident, he took him to the scene and called 911 to turn his son in.  The 41 year old driver had been incarcerated in California but they let him out, and I have no idea what his crimes were in the past.  What a terrible thing to happen to the innocent victim and his family, and right after Christmas!  Prayers for him and his family would no doubt be appreciated.🙏  As was said before, you never know which day will be your last one.

 

Oh My God.  I literally said that out loud when I read this.  I am so so sorry this happened.  I only hope the attendant passed immediately and wouldn’t have lived if that coward hadn’t run home to Daddy instead of thinking of the well-being of others.

 

 

6 hours ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

 

 

 

What it was like driving into the city.

 

 

 

 

This is what my drive looked like, yesterday, only it was freezing rain for six hours straight.  Ugh.

 

5 hours ago, atexsix said:

 

Poor Dad slept in the living room last night because his smoke alarm in the bedroom decided to chirp, why is it always in the middle of the night in a snowstorm around holidays that these things seem destined to malfunction?  Every time!  Anyway, it's one we can't change out ourselves, it's too high up on the ceiling, so need to have maintenance come in.

 

 

This is so true!!  I can’t say I have ever had a smoke detector start chirping during the day.  The one at my parents’ house yells at you.  In English and French.  Try waking up to *that* in the middle of the night.  😂

 

I hate Komodo Dragons.  I made the mistake of watching a nature show on them, not knowing how they killed their prey until one struck a Water Buffalo and then waited for the venom to paralyze it before eating it.  I cried.  Then I turned the channel.

 

Speaking of Water Buffalo… my Cousin took a job in Sydney so they decided to take two weeks to drive down from their home in Darwin.  On Boxing Day their vehicle had an encounter with a Water Buffalo.  Lots of damage but no one hurt.  Not sure about the Water Buffalo.  I imagine it said ouch.

 

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and best wishes, and to Roy for placing my Dad on the rotation.  I feel better just knowing those well wishes are going out into the universe and will be heard.

 

As you can tell, I made it home safely.  Weather is great and I remembered to turn the alarm off  just before opening the door.  Made that mistake once.  😂  Husband is in NC with his parents so I get a couple of days of relaxation before he gets home.

 

Does anyone remember when they used to give out playing cards on your flight and you got to keep them?  Vegas also used to give out the old cards from the tables too.  I had completely forgotten about that until this thread.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by *Miss G*

[lazey1]

Nice assortment of days. I haven't played cards since my DH passed. We used to play pitch, canasta and pinochle. Of course everyone who played pinochle had different rules. (probably made up their own rules).The meal looks good, I like the drink of the day and the wine sounds very good.

Thanks to everyone who posted photos today. I have never been to Australia and doubt that I will be able to go in the future.

I had lunch with Kakalena today and she was totally exhausted. She told me today that she will not be able to go on the planned Hawaii cruise. Her condo in Scottsdale has sold and she has rented a house in La. that will be near her son. Once she is settled hopefully she will feel a little better.

@rafinmdPlease remove my BIL from your list. Both BIL and SIL have recovered from the Covid.

Jane