Sea Dog is Live with Life on Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness in the MDR. 10-16.

[Btank]

On 10/14/2022 at 7:10 PM, Sea Dog said:

A virgin no more! I’ve heard about it for years but never made it. My first Buc-ee’s experience .

OUT-standing!  Everyone needs to experience this at least once in their lives.  Their bathroom stalls are nicer than my first apartment. 🤣

 

       --bruce T.

 

[Btank]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Anybody know if you can drive to terminal 2 in Galveston drop off your luggage then go park your car?

You betcha.     --bruce T.

[Sea Dog]

Dinner at Willie G’s
 

 

Located on Pier 21, Willie G’s is Galveston’s most popular seafood destination with waterfront dining.
 

 

Offering fresh seafood and steaks in an elegant setting. Guests admire scenic views of the ships coming into the harbor and request a seat on the patio year-round. We had a wonderful window table.

 

 

Love these lights!

 

 

 

 

Old Fashioned to start with Knob Creek bourbon.

 

 

Best Lobster Bisque I’ve ever had. Lots of chunks of lobster in this soup. Notice the proper color and not the brown sauce that Chops uses. This is a classic Lobster Bisque. Perfect.

 

 

Shrimp Fettuccine. Light sauce more like Alfredo’s in Rome and not heavy cream. Perfect for me tonight.

 

 

Linda had the Filet and really enjoyed it.

 

 

And we had to do it. Chocolate Explosion with White chocolate mousse, Chocolate mousse, cake with chocolate frosting on top. Wow a chocoholics dream.

 

 

Beautiful sunset at Pier 21.

 

 

A beautiful night. Unfortunately my shoulder is hurting pretty good. Since I only got 4 hours of sleep last night after my nice visit to the ER, time to go to bed. Big day tomorrow as we board Liberty. I hope we will be able to drop of luggage then park. I have limited mobility at the moment. Good night and thank you for following along.

 

 

 

[Sea Dog]

58 minutes ago, Septemberbride07 said:

Yes. We always drop one of us off with and park. But aren't you staying at the Beachfront Palms? They have free cruise parking. 

 

We were going to do that but decided not to mess with getting a Lyft ride. I purchased parking in the garage by terminal 1.

 

 

14 minutes ago, Btank said:

Just starting to follow this, so wondering if you'll have a visit to Buc-ee's as part of the trip. 😁

 

     --bruce T.

 

 

Buc-ee’s was great and we will stop there again on the drive back home.

[Btank]

9 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Buc-ee’s was great and we will stop there again on the drive back home.

Other winners at Buc-ee's: coffee (really good!) and scones.  I'll bet you didn't have "travel stop scone" on your Road Trip Bingo card!

 

NOTE TO THE UNINDOCTRINATED: It's a "travel stop" because there are no trucks allowed... hence it's not a "truck stop".

 

      --bruce T.

 

[Btank]

18 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Big day tomorrow as we board Liberty. I hope we will be able to drop of luggage then park. I have limited mobility at the moment.

Dog, I don't know if this would help - but there is a Walmart a few miles away from you (Central City & Seawall).  If it would help, you can pick up a cheap foldable luggage cart there for your carry on(s).

 

       --bruce T.

 

[MissMap]

Sea Dog,

 

So sorry to hear about your mishap resulting in a damaged “wing” and a big scare for your DW.  But happy you are able to continue on with your cruise.

 

Glad you got to stop at Buc-ee’s.  I loved that Christmas t-shirt in your photo and just might have to stop in to get one on my trip next weekend. 😁 

 

Enjoying your review and wishing you both safe travels the rest of the way!

 

- MissMap

[perfect match]

@Sea Dog, I’m so sorry to hear about your fall and broken collarbone. I hope your recovery goes quickly and without much pain.

My DH broke his collarbone exactly two weeks before our first cruise on Oasis. He literally snapped the bone in half with one end about to break through his skin and the other end threatening to puncture his lung, the doctor told me. He had surgery to put a plate and screws in to hold it together. With his doctor’s ok, we were able to cruise on Oasis as planned, albeit with a greatly reduced schedule of activities for him. We happened to have been booked in a Boardwalk Balcony on this cruise. His favorite thing to do was to sit on our balcony and watch all of the activity on the Boardwalk. It was exactly the right activity level for him with his injury.
 

DH was certainly not feeling his best, but we still had a very enjoyable cruise. I hope you and Linda do, too. Thanks for sharing your story with us. It could have happened to anyone.

[perfect match]

11 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

 

and we had to get the Chocolate Croissant.

WOW!!

 

 

I highly recommend The Sunflower Cafe and Bakery.

 

I want one of these! It looks delicious! 😋

 

[Sea Dog]

6 hours ago, perfect match said:

@Sea Dog, I’m so sorry to hear about your fall and broken collarbone. I hope your recovery goes quickly and without much pain.

My DH broke his collarbone exactly two weeks before our first cruise on Oasis. He literally snapped the bone in half with one end about to break through his skin and the other end threatening to puncture his lung, the doctor told me. He had surgery to put a plate and screws in to hold it together. With his doctor’s ok, we were able to cruise on Oasis as planned, albeit with a greatly reduced schedule of activities for him. We happened to have been booked in a Boardwalk Balcony on this cruise. His favorite thing to do was to sit on our balcony and watch all of the activity on the Boardwalk. It was exactly the right activity level for him with his injury.
 

DH was certainly not feeling his best, but we still had a very enjoyable cruise. I hope you and Linda do, too. Thanks for sharing your story with us. It could have happened to anyone.

Wow, thank you for sharing your story. It’s important to let everyone know that things can happen. I was reluctant to share my story because I felt stupid for not being smarter. Lesson learned. Take your meds and drink plenty of water before doing a 13 hour drive. I’m so lucky in that’s it’s only a hairline fracture. It could have been a lot worse. I don’t think I’ll have to scale back any excursions but I will need to take it easy. Thank you for your support. It means everything to me.

[Sea Dog]

8 hours ago, MissMap said:

Sea Dog,

 

So sorry to hear about your mishap resulting in a damaged “wing” and a big scare for your DW.  But happy you are able to continue on with your cruise.

 

Glad you got to stop at Buc-ee’s.  I loved that Christmas t-shirt in your photo and just might have to stop in to get one on my trip next weekend. 😁 

 

Enjoying your review and wishing you both safe travels the rest of the way!

 

- MissMap

I was tempted to buy it. Thanks for your kind words. As long as I’m on a ship broken wing and all I’ll be happy.

[Ozark_Kid]

Hey Greg.  How are you doing.   Hope you are doing better. 

[Ocean Boy]

57 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 I don’t think I’ll have to scale back any excursions but I will need to take it easy. 

Do yourself a favor and stay off of the Flowrider.😉

[Sea Dog]

36 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Hey Greg.  How are you doing.   Hope you are doing better. 

Shoulder is still pretty painful but I’m dealing with it. Linda is on me about wearing the sling because I don’t want to. Leaving hotel now.

 

5 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Do yourself a favor and stay off of the Flowrider.😉

 
No need to worry I would be horrible at it even with a good shoulder.

[A&L_Ont]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

As long as I’m on a ship broken wing and all I’ll be happy.

 

 

As Jimmy Buffett once sang in "A Pirate Looks at Forty"...

 

Yes, I am a Pirate.
Two hundred years too late.
The cannons don't thunder, there's nothing to plunder, I'm an over-forty victim of fate.
Arriving too late.

Arriving too late.

 

In days of yore the pirate usually has a peg leg and a compass rose.  Greg, you are today's modern day pirate with a sling and an iPhone. You are not arriving too late, you are right on time.

 

Cheers to a safe and enjoyable embarkation day. 

 

 

Edit: please, do not come home with an eye patch.

Edited October 16, 2022 by A&L_Ont

[Ozark_Kid]

19 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Do yourself a favor and stay off of the Flowrider.😉

That is good advice! 

[Sea Dog]

29 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

 

As Jimmy Buffett once sang in "A Pirate Looks at Forty"...

 

Yes, I am a Pirate.
Two hundred years too late.
The cannons don't thunder, there's nothing to plunder, I'm an over-forty victim of fate.
Arriving too late.

Arriving too late.

 

In days of yore the pirate usually has a peg leg and a compass rose.  Greg, you are today's modern day pirate with a sling and an iPhone. You are not arriving too late, you are right on time.

 

Cheers to a safe and enjoyable embarkation day. 

 

 

Edit: please, do not come home with an eye patch.

Andrew you made me cry, such words at the right time. I promise not to come home with an eyepatch. 

[h20skibum]

33 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Edit: please, do not come home with an eye patch

What, you mean everyone doesn’t have one of these?  

 

Don’t ask. 

[Sea Dog]

 

Not the greatest pic from a moving car. But we made it to he terminal at 8:30am to drop off luggage.

 

It really helped to scout the location and where to drive to the day before. If you did not know where you were going it would be confusing.

 

I saw an unattended porter, we stopped and asked “can we drop off with you?” He said “absolutely.” He saw me in a sling and said “let me get everything out for you.” He was very nice and helpful reminding us to have passports and boarding passes with us. I gave him a good tip for his effort of which he was very appreciative.
 

We parked in prepaid garage across the street from terminal 1 and killing some time before we walk into the terminal. Royal sent me a text asking us to stick to our arrival times. We are 10:30 but I’ll try and fudge that a little bit. More later.

[Sea Dog]

6 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

What, you mean everyone doesn’t have one of these?  

 

Don’t ask. 

Save that story for when we cruise together. Best told over a cocktail. Cheers Mark!

[Sea Dog]

More on the Beachfront Palms. I’m sure others have had better experiences but I will never book there again.

 

I mentioned early the problems in the room with a toilet that did not work, stains on the bed spread, dirty carpet and a smoke detector hanging down from the ceiling.

 

We heard other stories from guests that  asked for extra towels and never received them. The hallways were dirty and bags of trash were left everywhere. Linda tried to get a couple of diet cokes from the vending machine.and it was empty. Even at checkout when Linda voiced her displeasure and mentioned that her husband broke his collarbone on their premises they were indifferent. The only good thing was the showers in the tub had good water pressure and were hot. Hate to sound like a complainer but I just wanted to let people know before they decide to book there.

 

We are headed toward the terminal.

[NHProud]

Listen to Linda and wear your sling !  Was your new iPhone delivered before you left ? Great review as always .

 

 

[bobmacliberty]

13 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Old Fashioned to start with Knob Creek bourbon.

 

A perfect start Greg!  First of many.  I'm sure I don't need to ask, but I'm interested in the bourbon supply onboard.  Hopefully you are close to boarding.  Have a great cruise.

[NHProud]

5 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

More on the Beachfront Palms. I’m sure others have had better experiences but I will never book there again.

 

I mentioned early the problems in the room with a toilet that did not work, stains on the bed spread, dirty carpet and a smoke detector hanging down from the ceiling.

 

We heard other stories from guests that  asked for extra towels and never received them. The hallways were dirty and bags of trash were left everywhere. Linda tried to get a couple of diet cokes from the vending machine.and it was empty. Even at checkout when Linda voiced her displeasure and mentioned that her husband broke his collarbone on their premises they were indifferent. The only good thing was the showers in the tub had good water pressure and were hot. Hate to sound like a complainer but I just wanted to let people know before they decide to book there.

 

We are headed toward the terminal.

When someone recommends a hotel consider their travel style .  Their standards may not be yours .  I looked up the hotel in Travel Weekly which was the reference manual ( now online ) when I took the TA classes.  Your hotel has a 3 rating while the Doubletree has a 7 rating .  It is a good idea to check reviews, also.   

 

I took the TA classes just to be an informed traveler . Never used it otherwise.

 

 

[Sea Dog]

13 minutes ago, NHProud said:

Listen to Linda and wear your sling !  Was your new iPhone delivered before you left ? Great review as always .

 

 

She’s the boss and no not to argue with a former prosecuting attorney.

 

Yes the pictures you see are from my new IPhone 14Max Pro. Though I’m shooting at 12mp and not 48mp so I can post on CC via cellular. I will try and shoot some 48mp Raw photos and post later. Thanks for following along.