Sea Dog

One the first places I’m going.

I know it’s tough. I will probably reread your when I get back and have more time. Your pictures look fantastic. What camera and lens? Thanks for giving some love to the drummer. We drummers appreciate that. Dink a Kraken Colada for me! Cheers!!

In the que for entry. Doors have not opened yet. But at least I got a seat on a bench and talking to a wonderful lady who is on her first ever cruise after her husband passed away in March. He always wanted us to go on a cruise she said. I told her she will love cruising and that her husband would want her to be happy and would be smiling down on her. She agreed. She said she was a little nervous being a solo and I told her people are very friendly on board and she would have no problems making new friends. We had a nice talk. I hope I relieved any of her fears.

Thanks Bob I will do an extensive search on board. Somehow I don’t think the selection will be as good as Symphony but I’m hopeful for some good brands.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

The time lapse was every 30 seconds due to the length of the drive. Most time lapse settings are around 5-10 seconds or if a short time lapse 3 seconds.

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

And as everyone know Sea Dog is a Christmas freak. Hard not to buy anything in here. I love upside down Christmas trees. My kind of Santa. Most people ask what does Santa do after Christmas? I answer he goes on vacation at the beach. No one can stay at the North Pole all year long.

Tried to walk off a little of that wonderful breakfast with a visit to the historic downtown area of Galveston. Be warned if you drive parking is very hard to come by without paying in person in a lot or by app. It took us awhile but we finally found one and downloaded the app, registered and paid $4.50 for two hours. A lot cheaper than the lots. we found lots of fun shops. Sea Dog always a Pirate was at home here. @Ocean Boy This ones for you!!!! I don’t think they would let you on the ship with these gifts.

If anyone asks how I got injured I’ll say it happened in the war? Actually I wouldn’t do that as I respect veterans too much. But I’ll think of something. Totally agree. I always get the Eggs Benedict in the MDR for breakfast. This was so much better. Thicker Canadian bacon and the poached egg had some runny yolk which I love. Hands down one of the best I’d ever eaten.

That was the best Chocolate Croissant I’ve ever eaten. The fact that besides the chocolate on the inside white icing and chocolate was drizzled on top made this so incredible.

Classic Eggs Benedict. This was very good. and we had to get the Chocolate Croissant. WOW!! I highly recommend The Sunflower Cafe and Bakery.

The people eating next to us had a service dog. It was a Cavapoo . Mix of Cavalier King Charles and a small poodle.

Safe travels home. Great review. It makes me really want to go to Hawaii more than ever now. Fantastic pictures Bob!

Sorry I’m late but I’m all caught up now. Wishing you a fantastic cruise and it will be mishap free unlike mine. Cheers and Bon Voyage!!

Thank goodness for straws. 😜