OnTheJourney

Oops...sorry! Probably did but was mostly focused on what Lena wrote. My bad. Glad you enjoyed!!! I have absolutely nothing against the Bucs, but admittedly glad Brady is finally done. Not a fan of the guy as much as I respect his accomplishments - how can one not? Should have quit while on top after the last super bowl win.

LOL! Seriously....I totally get it, and agree. Not sure there is even a way to do that. Buccaneer girl? Sounds like maybe you would have enjoyed the charter!!

No thanks....my favorite musical time period was the (I think anyway) amazingly creative and quality folk / rock / progressive and jazz rock and, towards the end of the 70s, new age music - which has greatly influenced my own musical playing style. We've never seen another period like it since. I guess each generation probably thinks that, out of sentimentality, the music of their generation is/was the best! For my Dad, hands down it would have been the big band era, since he was born in the 20s.

I love watching NFL but have zero interest in being on a charter cruise with a bunch of loud fans that tend to drink too much....

LOL...I can see where it wouldn't make for real good concentration.

Seems to depend on the website and/or location. Here is for PA: https://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/dvspubsforms/BMV/BMV Fact Sheets/fs-ant.pdf Some sites say 20 years for classic. Often thought about getting plates for my Riviera but I don't like the limitations on when they're supposed to be driven.

LOL...my brother, who's way more into cars than I could ever be...had one of those, sold it, than bought another one just last year! Burnt orange...same color as the one he sold! Why not have just hung on to the first one?!?

That's exactly what happened though. They couldn't believe it.

Well, then again, maybe Viking would NOT be your favorite cruise. There are no 'high energy' type activities although certain things are moving more mainstream. Never expected to hear "Sweet Caroline" (a ubiquitous cruise favorite the way it seems...can't stand that song anymore) on a Viking ship, and people enjoying the "so good, so good, so good" part, waving their hands and singing along. Felt more like X or RCCL. Plus the entertainment is going more mainstream. They're probably trying to attract a younger demographic. I also love the 'noone under 18 allowed on the cruises' part. Works for me to not have kids running around. Definitely. Should be a cruise just for them...BUT...they want to fill the ships, especially since covid and all the lost revenue.

referring to...the tampa bay bucs? LOL Should have told them that actually you're so glad that Brady finally retired and see what reaction that would have gotten! From all you say, have to agree. Quick story...my sister-in-law had a cruise booked on X that somehow wound up turning into a full charter and so they got booted right off. Got either their money back and/or a choice of alternative cruises - neither of which interested them, but it so turned them off that they never sailed wth X again after that. Yikes...sounds like I would have felt the same way you did about much of what went on! Not my cup of tea at all. Sometime consider trying Viking. If you like more quiet and laid back environment (still plenty of opportunity to enjoy alcoholic beverages though!), very interesting and well-traveled folks to talk to, although surely a considerably older demographic (like 20+ years beyond your age), really good food, and also I love how they offer pre and post extensions (and so makes it more like a combination cruise and land tour), I think you'd enjoy it. 930 passengers only (for the ocean ships). Glad you're home safe and good that you gave them some honest feedback about how the charter impacted the cruise for those who were not part of it.

Now that you mention this, I don't believe that car had a cassette player? One thing I miss about the newer cars is no cassette or CD, so will have to learn how to play from iTunes on our phones.

True enough! The market seems to have leaned towards SUV compared to sedan sales. Hybrids are still not showing up at my local dealers except for those that are already pre-sold. Weird. They list a whole bunch of cars on their websites, except that they're phantoms...not really there, or else in transit with some unknown (and nowhere near guaranteed) ETA. I was told that the additional listings are done to "bulk up" the alleged inventory. I waited too long (for readily available hybrid shopping). Once the pandemic came along, of course, the semiconductor issue began and inventory went down the drain.

it's still a baby. My '95 Riviera has 176k. I've yet to own a car that was manufactured in the 21st century. I think it's time. DW and I have only bought 4 cars in our 42 years of marriage. All of them right off the lot, and so this craziness about ordering (especially hybrids) and having to wait for up to 6 months, depending on the model, is so foreign to me. Never leased a car either - I know absolutely nothing about that.

Read that it was discontinued about two years ago.

Traded in my '73 Ford Maverick to get the Eurosport. We were thrilled with it - truly felt, for us at the time anyway, like a luxury car.

Huh...maybe it only came in a limited number of color combinations. It was a nice combination. Cool stories (well, except, of course for the accident!) All those cars met the true definition of "full sized"! I always get a kick out of, when traveling in Europe, most people have these little, short cars. I'd NEVER find a place to park or be able to navigate those narrow, winding streets over there with my 207" long Buick! That's pretty long by today's standards, at least for most cars I suspect. I'll be interested to see this Sony / Honda Afeela (EV) when it comes out. Very futuristic looking.

That's so unfair....shouldn't happen. Safe flight home.....

I did too!! Same car- '85 Celebrity Eurosport. Grey exterior with dark maroon upholstered interior. Very nice car. Gave great service. Not sure, in retrospect, why I traded it in after only 10 years, especially since the car I have now I've been driving for close to 28 years..which has given more than its share of problems during that time.

Oh gosh I HATE that stuff. Once we were doing overnight to Paris, and they came around with that nonsense of offering vouchers due to overbooking. Would you believe it got up to over $1,000? Started at like $100 for someone to give up their seat. NObody wanted to jump at it cause of next day connections and such. It's not like a short puddle jump from one state to another after all! I guess they got some takers cause eventually off we went. But, as expected, we missed our connection next morning. It got testy. At some point some airline official came over and said, "I REALLY need someone to get off this flight!" I know they overbook banking on a certain % of pax to cancel, but it doesn't always work out in their favor. Wonder if the cruise lines do that too? "Sorry, Lester...but the ship is full up so y'all will have to be towed by this rubber dinghy. We'll help you git in her and also here's a bottle of water and a sandwich to tide you over for the time being...."

Well, it IS Lent....so a good time to work on that 😁 I don't sense as much reticence and introversion as you accuse yourself of. So...another day on the ship..or heading home?

OK....I got it 😉 I can't recall ever going to a bar on a ship, other than to maybe take along a free drink through vouchers, etc. DW and I have pretty much decided we're done with those "Captain's Club" events. TOO many people for one thing. You wait in line to get in and then ultimately a whole bunch of already have-crocked people come storming out the elevator and butt in line anyway. Burns me up. One time some poor older guy was there waiting in line with his wife. Poor man must have had significant alzheimer's cause he kept asking, "why are we here"? I can relate since my Dad died from complications associated with dementia. Then, one of the last times they said there'd be ample food - they never came around with a single thing. I'd rather spend the time walking the decks. It's nice and all to see the captain and crew introduction but after you've done it a good number of times it starts to get old.

but wait...didn't you say you were bar hopping on the ship?? 🤔

Mine was a 70s Dodge Dart - not sure of the year. It was totaled in a near head-on collision (thankfully I'm still here) and then I replaced it with a '73 Ford Maverick...green with yellow pin stripes...Oh yeah...thought it was da bomb 😆 except it had no a/c. My dad, who was a mechanic and ran a shop, installed a homemade system with the blower right below the glove compartment, so when my wife and I started dating, she always brought along a blanket to cover her knees and legs since the thing blew right on her. Amazing she actually stayed with me. However, the bracket he made to hold the air compressor used to break occasionally - of course always on the hottest days while driving 2 hours to grad school. I could tell right away from the sounds coming from under the hood that the thing broke, only to be re-welded, and then would break again...and so forth. Speaking of a/c, my parents had a '65 Pontiac Grand Prix...man, that thing had some power. It was one of earliest models - at least of that car - to have factory air. Two vents were mounted on the back below the rear window, so when it really got cranked up it used to shoot ice chips at you...you'd be sitting in the back (or even front) and all of a sudden...ZING...right in the back of the neck!! Funny...guess they didn't have it perfected yet as to temperature regulation. Neat car though.

Quirks you say? How about the use of plastic intake manifolds on the 3.8 engines that had the EGR tube piped in right next to the throttle body, which eventually burned a hole through the plastic and wound up causing hydrolock once the coolant leaks into the engine? Happened on my '95 Riviera...while driving. You lose power real quick. Entire engine was ruined. Amazingly (more like thankfully) it happened only a few miles from home. We had just finished a 3,000+ mile road trip and then the engine blew only a few days later. SOMEtimes you get lucky. Though in the case of this car, a replacement engine that was put in also self-distructed after only 8 years - threw a crankshaft rod right through the block. BANG!!!! Most dramatic....once again, you stop REAL quick. 3rd engine is still going but really time for something new. I have a buyer for the '95 - a local guy that had the exact same car and model and so has often asked me about if I'd want to sell it.

We've only been on the Summit and Infinity...nothing else with X. Nope...not really into that on the ship, although we had some enjoyable round-the-table conversation during lunches that were included in our post-cruise extension in Athens. I typically don't initiate conversation but then fall into it easily if asked something depending on the course of the discussion. River cruising is much that way - larger groups around the tables. We generally prefer 2-tops - another reason we liked Blu!