The Fleet Report and Daily for Thursday December 22nd, 2022

[kazu]

Good morning from the backlogged Koningsdam.  Every one is at a stand still as Customs can’t seem to keep up.  

 

Ann @Vict0riannI’m sorry you are on pins and needles about the weather and your flights.  I sure hope things improve and Vancouver airport gets cleared up for you 🙏🏻 

 

Prayers for all who need them.  

[cunnorl]

Good Friday Morning from the Noordam

       Hope everyone in the path of that storm will be safe. 
       So many are traveling, be safe and enjoy.

       New Zealand is beautiful! The people are the nicest I have ever met. They keep apologizing for the weather but it really isn’t that bad. We are in Wellington today. 
    The ship looks very festive. Beautiful trees, garlands and wreaths everywhere.  
      We continue with mask wearing. Our numbers are “low”.  We have remained healthy. ( pound sand)

    Please stay safe and enjoy today

   Charlene 

 

[JazzyV]

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Fleet Report/Daily.

I'll salute math; I was a math minor in college. I will give BFF some cookies, but not until Christmas Day.  Good quote. I'll pass on the meal and drink; yes to the wine (if someone else pays for it).

I haven't been to Hakodate.

 

I'm soooo sleepy. I had to take a benadryl this AM for itching and a small hive at my injection site. Lots on the news here about the snow, wind, and bone chilling -20F wind chill coming tomorrow, along with icy roads. They're asking people to stay home, as they can't pre-treat the roads as all this is starting with rain. My fear is of power outages, which they say might be widespread. I do have a fireplace with gas logs, but still. I wish we had underground utilities around here. BFF has a whole house generator he got a year ago, so if I had to I could go to his place if the roads are passable.

 

@AV8rix @richwmn @Horizon chaser 1957 Bon Voyage!

@RedneckBob I used a slide rule in high school, long ago.

@rafinmd Thank you for our lists. I'm glad you're feeling ok.

@aliaschief Safe travels and Happy Holidays.

@Crazy For Cats Feel better soon!

@Seasick Sailor Sorry you got a boo-boo, Joy. I hope it's not too painful.

@cat shepard Safe travels.

@ger_77 I'm glad you made it safely; those driving conditions sound awful!

@smitty34877 I hope you feel a bit better each day.

@GeorgeCharlie Good to hear you made it home safely. That's cold!

@AncientWanderer That sounds like a big move to contemplate, but being close to family is important.

@superoma Prayers that DD and family have a smooth drive and fly out before things get bad.

@sailingdutchy Thanks for the great photos from Hakodate, Tony.

@luvteaching Ugh on no water; I hope DS can get things thawed out.

@Vict0riann Fingers crossed that you'll be able to get to the airport and the flight is a go.

@kochleffel Thanks for the Pompeii article. They've been using goats here in the parks to eat the invasive plants.

 

Prayers for the Care List and a Toast to the Celebration List.

Stay safe, all in the paths of storms, and healthy.

[StLouisCruisers]

I had a hair appointment this morning and am back home and fed.  I'm sure there's something I should be doing but aren't.  I'll figure out what it is eventually.  I've only been up and down the stairs once today so better get busy doing the other 19 times.  I'm hoping doing that will keep the back of my right knee happy, because it was such a relief when it didn't bother me on the Volendam.

 

We received an email today with a link to an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution regarding the drunk driver who crashed his car into the guardhouse killing the attendant last Dec. 27.  He pleaded guilty of vehicular homicide and criminal damage to property, and was sentenced to 15 years followed by 5 years of supervised probation.  The article claimed he was driving 100 mph when he crashed into the little building.  Since the entrance is right off an intersection with a stoplight, he must have come flying down the hill on the road that is a straight shot into the entrance.  Luckily it was in the early hours of Dec. 27 and there was no one crossing the intersection.  The area is rural or there would have been traffic there.  I can't believe after the crash he had time to walk to his Dad's house, then have his Dad drive him back to the guardhouse and find the car run through the small building, and not a living soul had driven in and found the accident in that time period.  😥

 

3 hours ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

Good morning, Everyone.  I'll take all the days except mathematics.  All left brains around here.

 

@aliaschief and others hitting the road, wishing you safe travels. @ger_77, you had a challenging one.  Glad you arrived safely!  And were able to go to Ikea.  Last night at dinner I was complaining that due to being ill most of this season, I missed many annual traditions -- like going to Ikea!  A year without looking at their wrapping paper, cookie cutters, and, yes, tea lights, is just somehow "off."

 

@Crazy For Cats, sorry you're not feeling well.  So many things going around this year.  Stay warm!  Everyone out there, stay warm!  Yikes on the weather.  😳

 

@Seasick Sailor, you hand looks painful.  Hopefully you can still use it okay.  Nasty bruise!  Heal quickly.  ❤️

 

@summer slope, sorry to hear about Kitty.  Poor baby missed you!

 

We had a nice Hanukkah dinner last night with DD and DSIL.  Though we are not Jewish, we enjoy sharing this traditions with DSIL.  I mentioned before that they have to move to Los Angeles because of his job.  Right now they live seven minutes away from us.  It's looking likely that we'll move right along with them.  Hard, since we've been in San Diego for 40 years and it's a little early to down-size, but I think we will.

 

Thanks once again to Rich and our other contributors here.  Another bunch of great photos from @StLouisCruisers.  Thank you for those.  Everyone, stay warm and safe and keep spirits up.    For those out there on adventures, wishing you a wonderful time!   🥰

 

 

 

Sorry, I didn't have any photos today of Hakodate--you must be thinking of another day and port.  Two days ago was Sydney so maybe it was then.  

 

Good luck and best wishes to you two as you make plans for a move to Los Angeles to stay close to your DD.  I'm sure everything will work out just fine.  

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, superoma said:

Well, we are ready for whatever Mother Nature sends our way. The snowblower  is working. I have 3 books downloaded from the library and some printed books that are waiting to be read. Our grand dog has been walked today, tomorrow May be a different story! We have food in the house and nowhere we have to be. And i got word at 10:14 that daughter and family are on the road to Toronto airport, about a 3.5 hour ride, their flight leaves after 6 tonight so they should be able to get out before the real mess starts in Toronto. Keep them in your thoughts. The drive through the London ontario area is always fraught in the winter because of lake effect snow which is unpredictable. 
 

Stay warm and safe everyone. Hoping no one loses power.

Fingers crossed and prayers said for all who will be traveling this holiday season, including your DD and family.  🙏

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, sailingdutchy said:

A rerun today of last years pictures  of the wonderful tour we had on Hakodate with Smile Taxi ! ( Thanks @StLouisCruisers for the prompt. Because we are busy today getting ready for the storm ) 

 

We had the pleasure to get to Hakodate while on the Transition Cruise on the Volendam on Oct 11th , 2017  , the weather was a little bit windy and the day started of with some rain but we had a wonderful tour with 8 of us in a “ Smile Jumbo Taxi “ with our driver /guide Hideo .

 

Like I said the day started quite rainy and windy but our driver had umbrellas for each of us on board , notice the white gloves that Hideo wore all day and he had nice clean and ironed white head covers on our seats in the taxi .

 

And with a very nice personal welcome from the company .

 

 

 

We first went up the mountain near Hakodate to the National park to have a great view over the city and walked over to the Gokoku Shrine where some special ceremonies were going on .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there we drove to the very top on the mountain to the Ropeway 

Sorry not as nice a view as on the picture I noticed earlier today ..........

 

 

 

 

 

We watched a very good film at the theatre there about the history of the city , had a snack and most of the ladies because of all the rain had to go and deal with the special WC for which you really needed a drivers licence  and Japanese sign language ……….. but they were impeccably clean 

 

 

 

We than left to have a walk though the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse with all kind of small specialty stores 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even upside down you can see the beautiful swords ........lol 

 

After a nice little lunch , with some nice Ramen Soup in a small port we than drove to the Hakodate Magistrate’ s Office the “ Bugyosho “ in the Goryokaku Park , we toured that building and learned about the  special construction of it 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Bugyosho we went to visit the gardens of the  Catholic

Trappistine  Monasteries a Convent founded by 8 French nuns , most of the buildings were reconstructed in 1927 .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After visiting a couple more small parks and the Old British Consulate it was time to get back to the Volendam 

 

 

Despite it raining for most of the day and very few people able to speak English we all had a fantastic day , and hardly noticed the rain anymore after a while 

 

Greetings from Japan ! 

 

 

 

Tony 

 

Sorry about the length of my post but I wanted to show that after long searching there are a few scarce nice independant tours available even with the lag of English speakers and this was a wonderful tour , we saw an awful lot that day ! 

 

Tony, thank you for the wonderful photos of your time spent in Hakodate!

[aliaschief]

We made it to daughters in Saint John, Fla. safely and the early traffic was decent but really picked up as we got father East. Now it’s time for family. 

[XBGuy]

Apologies to the rest of the continent, but it is fairly warm and toasty in SoCal, today.

 

In 1971 I was awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics by the California State College at Fullerton.  I did not know there was a "Mathematics Day" until about 30 minutes ago.  I'll be darned.

 

Yes, Isaac Newton "invented" calculus,  However, it is possible that Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz independently also did so--or, maybe. Leibniz stole Newton's work.

 

I saw a thing on "Nova" a few years ago that late in his life, Greek mathematician Archimedes was contemplating the infinitesimal.  It is not hard to imagine that if had lived, he would have "invented" calculus two millennia before the Newton/Leibniz spat.

 

For a combination of reasons, we are having "Christmas Dinner" today.  To me, pairing wine with turkey is difficult.  The Internet Wine Geek wisdom is that you go with a Pinot Noir.  Pinot Noir is, probably, my least favorite red wine.  However, I do keep my hand in it.  So, I am going with this one

 

 

 

It gets better, though.  Mrs. XBGuy also bought some pears and some blue-veined cheese for our dessert.  I am pretty sure that Roquefort cheese was invented in France to pair with Sauternes wine.  So, who am I to argue?

 

 

 

[RedneckBob]

24 minutes ago, JazzyV said:

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Fleet Report/Daily.

I'll salute math; I was a math minor in college. I will give BFF some cookies, but not until Christmas Day.  Good quote. I'll pass on the meal and drink; yes to the wine (if someone else pays for it).

I haven't been to Hakodate.

 

I'm soooo sleepy. I had to take a benadryl this AM for itching and a small hive at my injection site. Lots on the news here about the snow, wind, and bone chilling -20F wind chill coming tomorrow, along with icy roads. They're asking people to stay home, as they can't pre-treat the roads as all this is starting with rain. My fear is of power outages, which they say might be widespread. I do have a fireplace with gas logs, but still. I wish we had underground utilities around here. BFF has a whole house generator he got a year ago, so if I had to I could go to his place if the roads are passable.

 

@AV8rix @richwmn @Horizon chaser 1957 Bon Voyage!

@RedneckBob I used a slide rule in high school, long ago.

@rafinmd Thank you for our lists. I'm glad you're feeling ok.

@aliaschief Safe travels and Happy Holidays.

@Crazy For Cats Feel better soon!

@Seasick Sailor Sorry you got a boo-boo, Joy. I hope it's not too painful.

@cat shepard Safe travels.

@ger_77 I'm glad you made it safely; those driving conditions sound awful!

@smitty34877 I hope you feel a bit better each day.

@GeorgeCharlie Good to hear you made it home safely. That's cold!

@AncientWanderer That sounds like a big move to contemplate, but being close to family is important.

@superoma Prayers that DD and family have a smooth drive and fly out before things get bad.

@sailingdutchy Thanks for the great photos from Hakodate, Tony.

@luvteaching Ugh on no water; I hope DS can get things thawed out.

@Vict0riann Fingers crossed that you'll be able to get to the airport and the flight is a go.

@kochleffel Thanks for the Pompeii article. They've been using goats here in the parks to eat the invasive plants.

 

Prayers for the Care List and a Toast to the Celebration List.

Stay safe, all in the paths of storms, and healthy.

I guess a lot of us used that slide rule. Sometimes it was very frustrating getting things lined up. I guess you can describe it like a Paul Simon song, “Slip Sliding Away.”  (Sorry) 🧐

[superoma]

Update: DD and family made it to Toronto airport with no issue. Their plane coming in from Amsterdam was delayed leaving there but is still expected to arrive at 3:30. Their flight out is at 6:30 so all should be good. Thanks everyone for your good thoughts!

[USN59-79]

I am with @XBGuy in that I had never heard of this day as Mathematics Day.  Looked it up and it seems to be Mathematics Day in India, not the whole world.  For the world, March 14 is Pi Day (3/14 as Pi is 3.14...) and also called Math Day.  Like @XBGuy I also received a BA in math at a California college; mine was from LaVerne College (now University of Laverne) on January 30, 1976.  

I thought we had been to Hakodate.  @sailingdutchypictures of the red warehouse shops reminded me we had visited there.  Will be there again on 22 April on the Westerdam.

I used to be proficient in the slide rule and to mark me as a nerd, I carried a pocket one in my shirt pocket.  We were once at a car dealership planning to buy a Pontiac Firebird in 1968.  They didn't have the stickers on the window like now that shows the price and all options.  They only mentioned the price per monthly payment.  I broke out my slide rule and mentioned that the price was almost double what they advertised.  The salesman condescendingly said "If you need to save money on a car, maybe you should buy a Volkswagen".  I said, "Maybe you are right" and we went directly to the VW dealer and bought a VW fastback.

Ray

[57redbird]

3 hours ago, luvteaching said:

Good morning, 

It is 0F (yes zero) on the front porch thermometer and I got up to no water. We're on a well and the pipes or pump is down. Our son's water is out as well - he discovered it as he was getting ready to shower! He's going to go get some super heater and be here to help thaw me out. Then he'll thaw his place out. 

More later. 

Karen

We're in Bremerton & our furnace died sometime during the night---  17 outside & 55 inside.  It's happened before so hubby knows what to do --- the condensate pump tubing freezes & needs thawing....so far he's done it 4 times.

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is the last from my 2013 Amazon cruise. It was taken from Port Everglades before disembarking.

 

 

Roy

[HAL Sailer]

8 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

I was careless going from our balcony into the cabin. Caught my hand and thumb in the door.

 

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Hope it is only bruised and heals quickly.

-M.

[rafinmd]

3 minutes ago, HAL Sailer said:

 

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Hope it is only bruised and heals quickly.

-M.

+1

Roy

[StLouisCruisers]

30 minutes ago, 57redbird said:

We're in Bremerton & our furnace died sometime during the night---  17 outside & 55 inside.  It's happened before so hubby knows what to do --- the condensate pump tubing freezes & needs thawing....so far he's done it 4 times.

 

Isn't that a real pain in the neck?  In our area they put the first floor furnace in the attic (reached by pulldown stairs in the garage).  About 8 or so years ago someone's condensate tube froze with the extremely low temps one week.  Same problem you have.  Someone in the neighborhood found a fix for us all and we paid a professional to come in and do the job.  Each homeowner paid the professional and he got dozens of jobs just on our two streets. 

 

He wrapped some type of electric wire tape around the condensate pipe that supposedly will turn on when the attic reaches 36F and goes off when it reaches 40F.  But DH says he doesn't think that works as well as they say, so we leave it unplugged all year and only plug it in when we have weather coming up like this weekend's.  So he will plug it in tomorrow and we will probably get to unplug it next week when we get back home.  I'm just hoping we don't have power failures lasting any length of time.  We turn the water off at the meter (underground near the street) when we go away and drain pipes inside by running faucets till the water stops coming out.  We will leave cabinet doors open at sinks too.  It's really unfortunate the deep freeze has to arrive over Christmas!🥶

Edited December 22, 2022 by StLouisCruisers
Doing two things at once

[bennybear]

Hakkodate is beautiful 

[57redbird]

40 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

Isn't that a real pain in the neck?  In our area they put the first floor furnace in the attic (reached by pulldown stairs in the garage).  About 8 or so years ago someone's condensate tube froze with the extremely low temps one week.  Same problem you have.  Someone in the neighborhood found a fix for us all and we paid a professional to come in and do the job.  Each homeowner paid the professional and he got dozens of jobs just on our two streets. 

 

He wrapped some type of electric wire tape around the condensate pipe that supposedly will turn on when the attic reaches 36F and goes off when it reaches 40F.  But DH says he doesn't think that works as well as they say, so we leave it unplugged all year and only plug it in when we have weather coming up like this weekend's.  So he will plug it in tomorrow and we will probably get to unplug it next week when we get back home.  I'm just hoping we don't have power failures lasting any length of time.  We turn the water off at the meter (underground near the street) when we go away and drain pipes inside by running faucets till the water stops coming out.  We will leave cabinet doors open at sinks too.  It's really unfortunate the deep freeze has to arrive over Christmas!🥶

Our furnace room is at ground level & on an outside wall, in the same area as our hot water heater....you'd think there'd be enough warmth from that to keep the line from freezing - but nope....

[Cruising-along]

Good afternoon all!  I'm really late today, just being lazy I guess.  

Yesterday was not a good day for DH, he was nauseated all day.  Today he's just feeling tired.  Thank you again Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiserfor the suggestion he ask for anti-nausea meds.  He has put in a call to his doctor.  I'm not sure he would/could put up with this for 6 weeks for something that is more preventative than anything.  The treatment is to try to stop the tumors from coming back as often, not to get rid of any already there (which are easily removed).  

 

So, again we had to cancel the overnight with the grandsons.  I'm disappointed, but we'll be with them all day on Christmas.  Meanwhile I'm slowly decorating the tree myself and preparing for Christmas.  I'll be roasting a turkey and baking a couple pies. Thank goodness the "kids" are having us to their homes this year. 

 

Rich @richwmnBon Voyage!

Joy @Seasick Sailorouch on the hand mishap!  I hope it heals quickly.  Those doors are heavy.

Dixie @summer slopeI'm sorry your kitty is unwell.  I know our 17-year-old cat always hated it too when we left for cruises. 

 

 

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good afternoon from a still windy, cloudy and cold central Texas.  It seems our temperature is holding at 22F for now, but it will drop to about 13F overnight.  We have a heater going in the motorhome to keep it just warm enough to keep the pipes from freezing.  Since it's our spare bedroom, we did not winterize it.  Tonight, I'll probably turn the electric space heater off and the furnace on overnight.

 

A slight bummer today, as the person from home health was the visiting nurse for the regular weekly check, and not the nurse to discharge DH.  He has been discharged from PT, and the nurse said he should be discharged from nursing visits.  She thought it hadn't been done because of the blood thinner he's on after the embolism.  Since he is being carefully monitored by our PCP, she felt the discharge will happen soon, and today will be her last visit.

 

4 hours ago, sailingdutchy said:

A rerun today of last years pictures  of the wonderful tour we had on Hakodate with Smile Taxi ! ( Thanks @StLouisCruisers for the prompt. Because we are busy today getting ready for the storm ) 

 

We had the pleasure to get to Hakodate while on the Transition Cruise on the Volendam on Oct 11th , 2017  , the weather was a little bit windy and the day started of with some rain but we had a wonderful tour with 8 of us in a “ Smile Jumbo Taxi “ with our driver /guide Hideo .

 

Like I said the day started quite rainy and windy but our driver had umbrellas for each of us on board , notice the white gloves that Hideo wore all day and he had nice clean and ironed white head covers on our seats in the taxi .

 

And with a very nice personal welcome from the company .

 

 

 

We first went up the mountain near Hakodate to the National park to have a great view over the city and walked over to the Gokoku Shrine where some special ceremonies were going on .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there we drove to the very top on the mountain to the Ropeway 

Sorry not as nice a view as on the picture I noticed earlier today ..........

 

 

 

 

 

We watched a very good film at the theatre there about the history of the city , had a snack and most of the ladies because of all the rain had to go and deal with the special WC for which you really needed a drivers licence  and Japanese sign language ……….. but they were impeccably clean 

 

 

 

We than left to have a walk though the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse with all kind of small specialty stores 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even upside down you can see the beautiful swords ........lol 

 

After a nice little lunch , with some nice Ramen Soup in a small port we than drove to the Hakodate Magistrate’ s Office the “ Bugyosho “ in the Goryokaku Park , we toured that building and learned about the  special construction of it 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Bugyosho we went to visit the gardens of the  Catholic

Trappistine  Monasteries a Convent founded by 8 French nuns , most of the buildings were reconstructed in 1927 .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After visiting a couple more small parks and the Old British Consulate it was time to get back to the Volendam 

 

 

Despite it raining for most of the day and very few people able to speak English we all had a fantastic day , and hardly noticed the rain anymore after a while 

 

Greetings from Japan ! 

 

 

 

Tony 

 

Sorry about the length of my post but I wanted to show that after long searching there are a few scarce nice independant tours available even with the lag of English speakers and this was a wonderful tour , we saw an awful lot that day ! 

 

Tony, thank you for the pictures of Hakodate.  If it was the port for Sapporo, we did not see any of those sights.  All we saw were huge stacks of lumber that had been shipped from the PNW.  I have a feeling we were in the port of Otaro.

 

4 hours ago, durangoscots said:

Good morning. And a bright and sunny morning it is.... and surprisingly warm. The storm is holding east and north of us here.... and the temperature when I walked the dogs was a balmy 27F. Much warmer than the past weeks. It is supposed to stay that way through Christmas and then next week the pattern will change. Living in a high desert on the edge of mountains does have its perks at times. Anyway, looks like our weather will be nice throughout the holiday weekend.... but if you are planning to leave town there may be some problems on some of the passes.

 

Little else from here. Bon Voyage to all those lucky enough to be sailing. Your pictures and descriptions are what is keeping me going at this time. I have started counting down the days until I am off of the BoD at the shelter and can plan my time at sea.

 

Susan

 

Susan, I'm glad you are looking forward to good weather for Christmas.  I hate to think what those passes will be like, especially Red Mountain and Wolf Creek.

 

4 hours ago, luvteaching said:

Good morning, 

It is 0F (yes zero) on the front porch thermometer and I got up to no water. We're on a well and the pipes or pump is down. Our son's water is out as well - he discovered it as he was getting ready to shower! He's going to go get some super heater and be here to help thaw me out. Then he'll thaw his place out. 

More later. 

Karen

 

Karen, I hope you DS got the water running again.  When we lived in the country n Pennsylvania, we had a well.  One of the pipes froze on a day when DH was out of town.  Our neighbor, who was also the builder, came over and found the frozen pipe was in a corner of the basement where it was not protected.  He used my hair dryer to get it thawed.  Later, DH insulated that section of pipe, and we had no more problems with frozen pipes.

 

3 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

Good morning, all!  Thanks for the Daily news and weather reports!  Hope all those ailing, including the furry ones, get better quickly.  Terry, i hope you are not too uncomfortable as you heal.  

 

Well, here I am more or less in the situation Jacqui was a week ago - will we go or won't we?  It is freezing cold, -7 celsius this morning, the hummingbird feeders keep freezing, Pat was changing them every half hour or so yesterday.  Later in the day, DD struggled through the snowdrifts down to Canadian Tire and bought a package of hand warmers which we are hoping will help keep the feeders from freezing today.  We did get to the mall, although the roads are really bad and I got my haircut, but DD's doctor appointment was cancelled, also my stamp club meeting, and the church has been closed all week.  But it's going to get worse!  We are due for a little warming and more snow tonight, then more warming and freezing rain and more snow.  Pat has to keep checking the slow leak on the tire, so who knows if we will get to the airport on Tuesday - then if we do, we fly through Vancouver, where everything is a mess with many canceled flights and people trying to re-book....

 

DD called Whole Foods to see if we could change the timing of her pick-up of our (vegan) Christmas dinner but it was too late, so we will have to try to get there on Friday, failing that they'll just have to hold onto it until Saturday.  I am very stressed by all this.  I imagine I will definitely leave something behind when I pack!

 

That's my rant for the day.    Now we are going to try to deliver gifts today, rather than wait until the last minute.

 

 

Ann, sending positive thoughts that you and Pat will be able to fly to San Diego on Tuesday and that the Vancouver airport has the mess under control by then.

 

3 hours ago, kochleffel said:

I'm sure that many Dailyites have visited Pompeii during Mediterranean cruises.

 

In recent years, the vast archaeological park of Pompeii, a city buried alive by the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, has turned to high-tech options to maintain its excavated ruins. A surveillance drone makes a monthly flight over the site’s roughly 10,000 exhumed rooms. Artificial intelligence programs analyze aerial images for new cracks, fallen stones and other signs of erosion. But to prevent the third of the park that remains hidden under pumice and meters of earth from becoming overgrown with thorn bushes, wild hedges and trees, Pompeii has found a more appropriately ancient, and inexpensive, solution in hungry sheep.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/world/europe/pompeii-sheep-mount-vesuvius.html

 

Thank you for the link and the information.

 

3 hours ago, cunnorl said:

Good Friday Morning from the Noordam

       Hope everyone in the path of that storm will be safe. 
       So many are traveling, be safe and enjoy.

       New Zealand is beautiful! The people are the nicest I have ever met. They keep apologizing for the weather but it really isn’t that bad. We are in Wellington today. 
    The ship looks very festive. Beautiful trees, garlands and wreaths everywhere.  
      We continue with mask wearing. Our numbers are “low”.  We have remained healthy. ( pound sand)

    Please stay safe and enjoy today

   Charlene 

 

 

Charlene, I'm glad the NZ weather isn't too bad and that you are enjoying your cruise.

 

1 hour ago, aliaschief said:

We made it to daughters in Saint John, Fla. safely and the early traffic was decent but really picked up as we got father East. Now it’s time for family. 

 

Bruce, I'm glad you made it to Saint John safely.

 

1 hour ago, superoma said:

Update: DD and family made it to Toronto airport with no issue. Their plane coming in from Amsterdam was delayed leaving there but is still expected to arrive at 3:30. Their flight out is at 6:30 so all should be good. Thanks everyone for your good thoughts!

 

Eva, thanks for the update on your DD and family's travels.  Hope they have a safe and on time flight, with not problems with luggage.

 

1 hour ago, 57redbird said:

We're in Bremerton & our furnace died sometime during the night---  17 outside & 55 inside.  It's happened before so hubby knows what to do --- the condensate pump tubing freezes & needs thawing....so far he's done it 4 times.

 

Good that your DH knows what to do about the furnace.

 

16 minutes ago, bennybear said:

Hakkodate is beautiful 

3037965D-7B65-4FF1-A99C-FB1BCB2F3C07.MOV

 

Brenda, thank you for your pictures of Hakodate.  It is another Japanese port that we'd like to visit.

 

7 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Good afternoon all!  I'm really late today, just being lazy I guess.  

Yesterday was not a good day for DH, he was nauseated all day.  Today he's just feeling tired.  Thank you again Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiserfor the suggestion he ask for anti-nausea meds.  He has put in a call to his doctor.  I'm not sure he would/could put up with this for 6 weeks for something that is more preventative than anything.  The treatment is to try to stop the tumors from coming back as often, not to get rid of any already there (which are easily removed).  

 

So, again we had to cancel the overnight with the grandsons.  I'm disappointed, but we'll be with them all day on Christmas.  Meanwhile I'm slowly decorating the tree myself and preparing for Christmas.  I'll be roasting a turkey and baking a couple pies. Thank goodness the "kids" are having us to their homes this year. 

 

Rich @richwmnBon Voyage!

Joy @Seasick Sailorouch on the hand mishap!  I hope it heals quickly.  Those doors are heavy.

Dixie @summer slopeI'm sorry your kitty is unwell.  I know our 17-year-old cat always hated it too when we left for cruises. 

 

 

 

 

Carolyn, I'm sorry your DH was nauseated all day.  I hope the doctor will prescribe the anti-nausea medicine.  Otherwise, it could be a miserable six weeks.  I'm sorry you had to cancel the overnight with the DGSs.  Maybe they can help decorate the tree next year, and by then, they'll be taller and can decorate it even higher.

 

Lenda

[AncientWanderer]

5 hours ago, Sharon in AZ said:

 

Maxine @AncientWanderer, I remember you mentioning that your DD and DSIL were probably moving. I can totally understand why you would move also and I’m sure you will miss San Diego. How soon would this happen?
 

 

 

Not sure how things will unfold here, Sharon.   Not rushing things, though.  It's so disruptive for everyone.  DGD loves her school.  So far the discussion is that maybe DSIL will get an apartment to spend three days away and then take time to find a more permanent situation.  DH and I will wait to see where they throw down their packs. It took everyone by surprise.   

 

3 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

 

Sorry, I didn't have any photos today of Hakodate--you must be thinking of another day and port.  Two days ago was Sydney so maybe it was then.  

 

Good luck and best wishes to you two as you make plans for a move to Los Angeles to stay close to your DD.  I'm sure everything will work out just fine.  

 

 

 

Whoops!  I was bouncing in and out of different threads and got confused.  Post-Covid brain cloud.   Sorry about that, Sandi. 

[XBGuy]

3 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

I am with @XBGuy in that I had never heard of this day as Mathematics Day.  Looked it up and it seems to be Mathematics Day in India, not the whole world.  For the world, March 14 is Pi Day (3/14 as Pi is 3.14...) and also called Math Day.  Like @XBGuy I also received a BA in math at a California college; mine was from LaVerne College (now University of Laverne) on January 30, 1976.  

 

 

I know LaVerne.  It's no more than 10 miles from the XBGuys' adobe.  We also know some people who earned their Ph.D.s from LaVerne and one friend who was an anthropology (I think) professor there.

[ottahand7]

Well we made it to Dothan Alabama this evening.  We had very bad traffic in Louisville, Nashville and outside of Birmingham.   Everyone is expecting cold weather in the south but better than what we have happening in Michigan tonight.    Only 2 almost misadventures was pulling out of a Japanese Restaurant in Bowling Green on a GREEN light we were about 10' from being T-Boned by someone who almost ran a red light.     We drove by the same spot today and there were 15' of burnt rubber at the intersection.  Then we were pulling out of a massive gas station/ store facility and we were blocked and someone almost backed into us broadside.  Other than that we had dry weather and saw some beautiful country.  Tomorrow our extra day will be spent in the Villages near Orlando and getting together with a friend in the afternoon.  Then down below Orlando for Christmas Eve then down to FL for Christmas and the 26th.  So ready to board the Volendam.    

DB is home.  They wanted to keep him 2 more days but I agree with him getting out early with a blizzard bearing down on them right now.  We called him and he sounded great.   

No masks being worn anywhere on the way down here.  In Michigan we see masks a lot but sadly not in the south.   I hope we make it down here without getting any bug going around.  Have a nice evening and a great day tomorrow.   Nancy 

[USN59-79]

30 minutes ago, XBGuy said:

 

I know LaVerne.  It's no more than 10 miles from the XBGuys' adobe.  We also know some people who earned their Ph.D.s from LaVerne and one friend who was an anthropology (I think) professor there.

Although I got my degree from Laverne College, I have never seen Laverne College.  Make sense?  When I was station at Cubi Pt, Philippines from 1973-1976 the Navy had a program where they would provide the classrooms and students and the college would send its instructors to teach Friday afternoon, all day Saturday and half a day Sunday.  You could get a degree in 2-3 years.  My last tour of duty was at Wahiawa, Hawaii from 1973-1979 and I did the same thing with another California school, Pepperdine University.  I earned a Masters Degree in Education at the time.  I retired as a Master Chief with a Masters Degree.  Never set foot on the Pepperdine campus either.

Ray

[kochleffel]

It snowed most of the afternoon, although the accumulation was only an inch. By the time I was leaving work, it had changed to rain, and when I went to the synagogue for the lighting of the BGM at 6:00, it was still raining. We're planning to hold multi-access services (in-person and Zoom) as usual unless something changes.

 

I'm still unhappy with the news media, which seem to be positively eager for the weather to be a disaster, and it may well be in much of the country. We're not expecting much except that it will be cold tomorrow night and Saturday morning. I remembered as I was driving home that the remote control for the garage door needed a new battery. I had bought one but wasn't sure where it was; found it in my coat pocket.

 

I got the cookies baked, but I don't think they came out quite right.

 

Our rabbi keeps mentioning that it's also Shabbat Festivus, and I keep reminding him that there is to be no airing of grievances. There will be feats of strength, not because of Festivus, but because there are readings from three Torah scrolls this week and after each one, the scroll is raised overhead, partly open so that everyone can see the part that was read. I hope not to be called for that, because while I can lift the scrolls readily enough, arthritis in my hands makes it hard to keep hold.

 

[kochleffel]

9 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

As far as HIA, we only got a choice of Tamarind and Pinnacle. Your pkg may be different. If your 4 or 5 star, Canelletto would only be about $12

 

Thanks. It appears that my booking will allow Canaletto, but it includes only two specialty dinners in 14 nights. In contrast, my booking on aNother Cruise Line to Bermuda will have four specialty dinners in five nights: two as part of a promotion, and two for platinum status. (I have no status on HAL.)

[ClippyJoe]

Jazzyv

I have underground utilities and I still lose power because of the nearby substation and /or transformers outside my neighborhood blowing out .Its usually a squirrel that gets the transformers but this morning we had very high winds here  (Oklahoma )and the lights etc were flickering off and on for quite some time.

Every time our power representative comes on TV and pushes underground utilities, I just yell at the TV. Its doesn't solve the problem but I do feel much better.