ottahand7

Hello. We are Nancy and John and we will be boarding the Eurodam on January 3 for 52 days at sea. We have strung a 10-day with 2 21-day Collector voyages traveling the Caribbean and some Central America. We usually do one HA cruise per year and have never documented our trips. This time rather than just walking the ports and shopping we are doing a lot of shore excursions thanks to HIA and some we had previously booked. Therefore we will be able to share more than just food porn. We began our journey on December 30 driving from Michigan in a three day road trip. First stop was Bowling Green, KY, a great stopping point drive time wise but a very congested area. To miss driving I-75 through Atlanta we take I-65 through Alabama and spent the night in the small city Dothan, Alabama. Last night we stayed on the outskirts of Orlando in Lake Nona, just in time to check in and find our way to a bar with the Ravens - Dolphins game. Happily the Ravens won. I, Nancy, lived in Maryland for 23 years. Now we are at the Renaissance Hotel on 17th Street, our usual base in Fort Lauderdale, watching the Michigan game. Go Blue! We dined at our favorite seafood place nearby, Kelly's Landing, for some Ipswich clams, clam chowder and John has a lobster grilled cheese. Just the beginning of a lot of food photos that will come as our journey progresses. Please follow along and I will try to answer anything I can discover and of course photos of our excursions and dining. A first for us and a first on the Eurodam. Happy New Year!

Good afternoon. At our final destination other than a transfer to the Eurodam. We are at the Renaissance on 17th Street. Our whole trip was just what we wanted, uneventful with no rerouting off the highway and no backups. We tried to find a sports bar but my phone's homing took us to my favorite Fort Lauderdale restaurant Kelly's Landing. After spending a lot of time visiting New England fried Ipswich clams are something I always look for. We both had clam chowder and I had the clams, John had lobster grilled cheese. Now we are kicking back watching the Michigan Alabama game, Go Blue! Have a nice evening! Nancy

@Cat in my lap Happy Anniversary! 🍾🎂

Happy New Year everyone! We are up and.at em, getting excited for our last drive South. It was quiet here last night helped by a loud AC unit. The fireworks went on for a long time. I think I will do a kind of live from the Eurodam starting tonight or tomorrow morning. I will be doing it on my phone as I find switching wifi from my phone to laptop is onerous. Have a lovely NYD! Nancy

Happy New Year everyone! I truly appreciate everyone on the Daily. I won't make it to midnight unless the Vikings have a turnaround and it goes to overtime. Or...... we have never stayed in a hotel on NYE unless partying so maybe our "neighbors" will keep us up. We are supposedly so close to Disney we should hear their fireworks. It will be nice to check the daily in the morning after tomorrow. Our final leg to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow. Park the truck 15 miles from the port and Uber to our hotel. We always arrive 2 days ahead in case of contingencies. The fireworks have begun. Cheers! 🍾

Will try to catch up later. Catching a nap before the Vikings game. I need this shirt.

Checking in from Lake Nona Florida. Terps won. Go Ravens!

Good evening from Dothan Alabama. Our drive was uneventful, some heavy traffic but no backups. We just came back from dinner at Buffalo wild wings. Not remarkable and John said he is really looking forward to good food on the Eurodam. Three more sleeps after tonight. I think we should order pizza or pick up subs in Lake Nona. Dining will be crazy on New Year's Eve. Good food after that, The Boathouse and Kelly's Landing near the port. @dfish glad you are feeling better today. @StLouisCruisers thanks for the photos of Antarctica. It was beautiful in sunlight. Nancy

Up and ready to roll. @RMLincoln great news on the closing on your condo!

Debbie I am happy to read your surgery went well today. I hope the meds keep the pain at bay. @JazzyV I am glad you got some sleep but sad you don't have a date for your procedure. @seagarsmoker I hope you feel better soon. An awful lot of flu going around. @cruising sister thanks for the photo of Baby Murphy. Prayers worked. Our room is so cold I am laying in bed with my clothing on. The thermostat keeps going back to 71 too tired to deal with maintenance. To Dothan Alabama tomorrow. I hope it warms up, Kentucky has been as cold as Michigan. At least the rain was minimal. Have a nice day tomorrow. Nancy

We made it to Bowling Green. Heading out for our big meal of the day. Traffic wasn't bad and no back ups.

Rich I am enjoying following along. You will have some good meals with Chef Javier. He was head chef on the GSA and the food was exceptional. Some of the roast meats in the Lido were wonderful.

@cruising sister thanks for the cute photo of your DGS. @aliaschief we would love to follow along on your world cruise on Azamara!

Good morning everyone. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports @kazu. Prayers for the Holy innocents, yesterday a Greek Orthodox Church was hit in Gaza with two fatalities. I will call some friends when we are sitting in Fort Lauderdale a few times next month, too much to do today. I probably will download something today on my phone and delete it after viewing. A great quote today. I like Minestrone, I think we will have leftover Christmas turkey sandwiches. Pass on the bitter cocktail and the wine sounds like a migraine. Thanks in advance for the photos of Dubrovnik in addition to the ones Sandi posted. Thanks for your photos of Antarctica Sandi. We will have to go back and try to see it with some sunlight. @JazzyV I hope that you got some sleep last night and there is a plan coming together for treatment of your leg pain. Prayers for everyone in our care list and those in war zones through no fault of their own, Ukraine, the innocents in Gaza and Israel. Prayers for the safe return of the hostages. @grapau27 I read the bad storm you had will be followed by a bomb cyclone so prayers everyone in GB and Ireland will avoid trouble. We are having our final full day at home and will begin our drive south to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning. Our first stop will be Bowling Green, KY then the next night will be in Dothan, Alabama and our third night will be in Lake Nona, FL before getting to FL on New Year's Day. We follow Sandi's advice and do not drive through Georgia on I-75. It is a slower route but more relaxing. Our only real traffic problem is Nashville and it will be a holiday weekend and early so it should be OK. Last minute organizing of my bags and we will be ready to relax and watch some football today. We will be doing a lot of listening on ESPN on satellite radio to get updates on the games. Have a lovely day! Nancy

@SusieKIslandGirl Happy Anniversary!!

Good Wednesday morning everyone. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports Jacqui! My sister gave John some fruitcake and he hated it so he gave it to my other DS. We have been to a zoo lately in Belem. Haven't made cut out snow flakes in probably 60 years. A very good quote by Gaiman. We have been to Grenada I think on the Zuiderdam in December 2019 when we came home with the horrible three month illness. I wish we had done a tour - we walked in the shopping area and went to a very small casino which was strange. Thanks for the Daily Cares and Celebrations reports Vanessa. I hope you had a better night. @RMLincoln I hope that your husband can get some relief for his eyes. @dfish prayers that your surgery goes well, I am wishing it early as we will be on the road on Friday. Prayers for everyone on our care list and those in war zones through no fault of their own, Ukraine, the innocents in Gaza and Israel. Prayers for the safe return of the hostages. We both got everything torn down and hauled to the basement. My next project is to put stuff in the storage tubs and put them back under the stairs. Have a lovely Wednesday! Nancy

Good morning everyone! Happy Kwanzaa. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports Jacqui! Boxing is happening very quickly here but not @grapau27s definition. Our Christmas decor has been up since early November but it is almost gone now. My little purple Ravens tree is still up, that will be the last to be stored. My 9' red and gold tree is next as soon as I finish here. I am cleaning oven #1 and when that one is done the second one with turkey basting all over the bottom is next, then mopping up all the mess created by the chef, not me. Owning a home is a blessing and a curse when high priced repairs come along but the blessings outweigh the issues IMO. Gaiman's quote is OK and I am noot going to spend a lot of time decidong what it means. Thanks everyone for the photos of Cartagena. we were supposed to go on our Panama Canal crossing but ended up in Aruba instead, quite a difference. Thanks for the cares and celebrations reports @JazzyV. I hope you had a decent night's sleep and a great day with your BFF. @rafinmd Roy I hope that the treatment today gets to the cancer. @57redbird thanks for the update and happy to hear you are doing better. @cruising sister/ thanks for the update on Baby Murphy. Prayers for those in war zones through no fault of their own, Ukraine, Israel and the innocents in Gaza. Prayers for the safe return of the hostages. I was thrilled with the result of the Ravens game last night that went almost until midnight. We were 5 point underdogs and many analysts were choosing San Fran. Two more tough games, a home game with Miami and a home game against Pittsburgh. I hope we can keep the injuries to a minimum. I have to play my favorite meme for the second time this season. Back to tree tear down. Nancy

Good afternoon. @Cruzin Terri and @JazzyV I hope you are feeling better. Vanessa I am happy to read you got some better sleep. Before company arrives I will share some photos of St. Kitts Nevis. We were there in February 2022 on the New Statendam. We took a 45 minute boat ride across rough water to visit Nevis. We took a tour of the sights in Nevis and then had lunch and some beach time at Pinney's Beach.

@ger_77 Happy Birthday!!

Merry Christmas! 🌲

I find their chicken and tuna salad for sandwiches are excellent. I don't eat the bread either so I would ask for it on a plate and would enjoy it on my salad .

@DeeniEncinitas you are a very talented painter. What a lovely painting of Paisley. ❤️

@Cruzin Terri I am so sorry you are sick. What a bummer at Christmas. My sister's step daughter has RSV and her Facebook comments are that it is worse than when she has COVID. @smitty34877 thanks for the photos of your cookie baking. And you got a smile out of each teen! @Seasick Sailor such a nice note from your Canalletto waiter. We had a couple of gems on the Volendam and one I am Facebook friends with. Her name is Janice.

Happy Birthday to your DN Sara @grapau27.

Good morning and a wonderful day to celebrate, Christmas Eve! Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports @kazu. No eggnog here, though I had some for the first time in years at the wine dinner we went to. I know why I don't care for it, nutmeg. Libya is probably celebrating today, than goodness we hear little about that country now. A very strange quote. Thanks in advance for photos of today's port. I am sure many of our group will have visited there before. I will pass on the instant pot chicken, we don't even have an air fryer. Pass on the sweet cocktail but today's wine in a more recent year should be very good. Thanks for the Cares and Celebrations reports each day @JazzyV. I hope you have been able to get some better sleep. Prayers for all in war zones at this holy time of year, especially Ukraine, we are going on two years. Prayers for the safe return of the hostages and relief for the innocents in Gaza. We had a nice dinner with our lake neighbors but the food was horrid at the restaurant I chose. I thought it would be close for both couples and not too crowded. There is a reason it was full of drinkers not eaters. We will eat better today. I am picking up my older sister whose car is in the shop. @Cruisercl like you we will be enjoying the Vikings game through our afternoon dinner. Shrimp cocktail, mini crab cakes, white asparagus and filet mignon. Have a lovely Christmas Eve for all who celebrate! Nancy