Overhead Fred

This thread from the beginning of the year might be worth visiting. There were reports of cancelling a cruise before final payment and getting the CO fee refunded.

Ahh, the State drink of Wisconsin! One of my better half's (Mitzi) favorites despite her being a native Minnesotan...

Visited Kona once in 2017 -

We are back in Saint Paul after closing up the Deer Bay "cottage". No more trips planned until our April 2024 cruise. Here is a picture of packing the car at the motel in Sault Ste Marie at about 8:30 am Monday morning. There was over an inch of snow on the car and it was really coming down. We were not looking forward to driving to MN in such conditions, but luckily it cleared up after we drove a few miles south on I-75. It will be a cold and snowy Halloween in Saint Paul. I don't expect too many trick-or-treaters. They will be missing out because we got our Halloween candy in Canada this year(all things you don't see in the States)!

There is a place in Thorp, Wisconsin that make really goud gouda (see what I did there?). It is a very large enterprise and we always stop there on our drives back and forth to Canada (they had good bathrooms in addition to good cheese). You can order stuff online; here is the website https://www.mariekegouda.com/

Thanks to everyone for the birthday greetings yesterday! Here is a view of Castries from last year -

Sounds like the "Tanqueray 0010", another winner!

A dose of "Penicillin" is good for what ails you! "Blue Florida", "Hemingway Daiquiri", and "Tuscan Lemon Drop" are also quite nice.

Beautiful sunrise over Deer Bay this morning!

Deer Bay, aka Lower Buckhorn, in the Kawartha Lakes area. Peterborough is the closest city. We are maybe 5 miles from the town of Buckhorn.

We are back in Ontario for a couple of weeks to close up the cottage and enjoy some fall colors -

Another request to say Hi to Khay from Fred & Mitzi! We went to several of her wine tastings and she hosted a lovely Cellar Master's dinner (we sat with Tony, Martha, Ann, and Pat @sailingdutchy and @Vict0riann) on the April 150th Anniversary crossing.

Hi Colin! I should have asked this sooner, but if you happen to see Khay please tell her Fred & Mitzi say hi. She was the Cellar Master on our last cruise but I heard a rumor that she was promoted to Beverage Manager. She was a lot of fun at the wine tastings. Say, I don't think we have seen a bread pudding picture recently....

We were in Invergordon this past April. We went on a very nice tour arranged by @sailingdutchy (Tony and Martha). Beauly Priory Loch Ness Inverness Balnuaran of Clava Culloden Battlefield Sailing Away

Yesterday's sunset on Deer Bay (Lower Buckhorn Lake) Ontario -

I wonder if it is an issue with the "ban" on single use plastics and such?

We stopped in Livorno in 2018, the port was not particularly scenic. We did an excursion to Lucca which was very nice. There were some amazing wisteria and we had a lovely pastry and coffee at a sidewalk café.

Rotterdam Gala Night April 15, 2023 - I had to get a Tux for my nephew's wedding so why not?

Mazatlán in 2005 -

Back in MN safe and sound. The drive from Peterborough was mostly uneventful. Except for a smallish bear running into the side of our car on M-28 somewhere between Raco and Strongs Corners in the Upper Peninsula.... Left a bit of a dent (no mechanical damage) in the driver's door and some fur. It wandered off after being stunned for a few minutes.

We have been enjoying "International" beers at the cottage for the last few weeks! Heading back to MN tomorrow.

The Barclay's website is not the clearest with regard to how some point redemptions work. I interpreted the HAL Visa statement redemption values to be tied to the number of points redeemed. To get the 2.5% rate one needs to redeem enough points to "equal" $4001, or 160,000 points. If one redeems 5,000 points on a $4001 purchase, I believe you would get a 1% redemption rate ($50) rather than a 2.5% rate ($125). I have not put this to the test yet and would be happy to be proven wrong! In the meantime, I am keeping my powder dry until I accumulate 160,000 points...

Heading back to Canada today!