HBE4

The cabin belongs to the family of college friend #2, the one I saw every couple of years but now more frequently. Very rustic but has electricity, fulling functioning kitchen and running water but not for drinking. That comes from a spring. No TV, Internet or cell phone service. The cabin. Entering the cabin reminded me of a 1950's Mom&Pop Hardware store. The main Kitchen, Dining and Living room area. Sorry, no bedroom pictures. The cabin deck View from cabin deck

Finally caught up after being away for 6 days. Good to hear people are on the mend but sorry that some are experiencing some extreme heat. My time in the Adirondacks in upstate NY, I don't think the temp got above 80 degrees with night time lows into the high 50's. Great sleeping weather with the window wide open and being lulled to sleep to the sounds of the loons. It was me & my step-daughter along with 3 of my friends from college and their respective spouses. One of my friends I keep in frequent contact with, another I used to see once every couple of years or so but have reconnected ever since my wife passed and the third I haven't seen in over 10 years. It was a much needed get together and the years melted away quickly. The days were spent sitting around catching up while eating and drinking, followed by playing on the lake, swimming, floating, kayaking, or just sitting on the dock while eating and drinking. Nights were spent playing games until 3 am while eating and drinking. It seems to be a common theme there, I think. A few have asked for pictures and my picture-taking skills pale in comparison to others but I'll do my best. I'll start with the 5 1/2 hour drive up which takes us thru the High Peaks of the Adirondacks, high on the East Coast being only around 4,500 - 5,000 feet. Still, the scenery is spectacular but we were in and out of rain squalls. And when the rain stopped, the wildfires gave a nice haze so I only have 1 decent picture. The tall peak, slightly left center, I believe is Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, home to the 1932 & 1980 Winter Olympics. And if it's not Whiteface, well it's close by.🙂

Fortunately, Royals ship-based customer service is 1000 times better than their land-based customer service. Hope you have a great cruise and you & the rest of the family have some great dining onboard. Let us know how it went when you get back, if you like.

Yes, it is 100% RC's fault as they led the OP to believe they had an hour to book when that was not the case. Then when the OP followed the instructions to call, instead of being told it was sold out, just told them too bad and shrugged their shoulders. Which is also 100% complete unacceptable. However, I don't blame RC for the lack of reading comprehension by you and others. That's entirely your guys fault.

Me & Little Miss HBE4 are getting away for a very long weekend. Upstate NY, waaayyyyy upstate NY, deep in the Adirondacks mountains. About as far as you can go in NY before being in Canada.St Regis Falls, NY which is about 35 miles from Cornwall, Ontario. Do I need to practice my French-Canadian? 😉 An old college friend of mine has a cabin up there & there are a bunch of us getting together. Like the movie The Big Chill, without the funeral. Should be a fun 5 days. While the cabin is fully functional with electricity & running water, but it does not have technology! No internet, Cell service or TV! It does have a landline phone so we are not totally cut off from civilization. So I'll be off-the-grid for a few days but I just wanted to say good luck to all those facing medical issues - Mrs. Seadog, Mr. DaniDanielle & Jagfan. Sorry if I forgot anybody. Seems like there was a rash of medical issues in a very short time.

Surprised no one has mentioned the Upgrade Fairy. Perhaps it was an Urban Legend this whole time.

Today is National French Fry day. Free French Fries from McDonald, any size. No other purchase is necessary. Wendy's too but you need to order something else. All orders must be placed thru their respective apps.

@jagsfan +1

Deluxe Drink Package for under $45 pp/pd.

🙏 Good nights rest does a soul good.

If I see a sunrise on a cruise, I'd be annoyed with myself since that means I've been up all night.

Thank you. The sun is out and this week is shaping up to be a typical hot, hazy & humid July week. Fortunately, my house is on high ground so no issues. Other than a partially clogged downspout outside my bedroom window. The overflowing gutter sounded like Niagara Falls in the middle of the night.

Me neither, even when the occasional hurricane blows through. I think it caught a lot of people off guard in terms of intensity and duration.

Yesterday, the 4 counties north of NYC - Rockland, Orange, Westchester and Putnam counties - received about 6-8 inches of rain in a 24 hour period with the vast majority of it concentrated in a 12 hour period. Normal amount of rainfall for this time of year is 3-4 inches per month . So basically, we got over 2 months of rain in 1 day. It was like a monsoon without the wind. Just straight downpour. The flooding was unreal, so bad it made CNN headlines. The video below has clips from some of the hardest hit towns such as Highland Falls (Orange), Cold Spring (Putnam) and Stony Point (Rockland). The on-the-scene CNN reporter is on the Palisades Interstate Parkway which runs from NJ, thru Rockland Co. to Orange Co. The parkway behind the reporter is closed, just beyond 40 people had to be rescued when their cars were trapped by fast rising floodwaters. I had just driven thru that area about an hour earlier prior to that event. Timing is everything. Sadly, one young lady was killed when attempting to evacuate her home & was swept away. Full story and video https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/10/weather/northeast-storms-flooding-excessive-rainfall/index.html

The grandkids should stay until the renovations are 100% done. Just throwing that out there. 😉

New York State only allows handheld or ground-based sparklers. Nothing that can be shot into the air. No Roman candles. Firecrackers are illegal as well and that includes M-80' and anything else that's pretty much of stick of dynamite, etc. The fine is $50 if you get caught in possession. NY also lets each county decide if it even will allow sparklers at all, leaving it a patchwork of confusion across the state. Not that it matters as nobody follows the law. I saw no less than 5 different neighboring houses shoot fireworks into the air while listening to the constant booming of explosives all around. That's what I call a "Feel Good" law, meaning that it's pretty much impossible to enforce but it made the politicians that passed the law feel good about themselves, that they (sarcastic air quotes) "did something" to better the community. 🙄 Whenever I travel into PA, the very first business I see - after the visitor center - is Phantom Fireworks, along I-84, I-80 and I-78. Out of curoisty, I went to their website and you can see their retail locations ring the border of the entire state in all directions along every major highway. https://fireworks.com/locations I'm guessing they have a lot of out-of-state drive up business😄

@mo&fran Joining in offering prayers and support.

Every year, the NY Yankees hold the HOPE WEEK Initiative (Helping Others Persevere & Excel) which is rooted in the fundamental belief that acts of goodwill provide hope and encouragement to more than just the recipient of the gesture. On each of five consecutive days during the celebration of HOPE Week, the Yankees shine a spotlight on a different individual, family or organization worthy of recognition and support. Each day is designed so honorees can share their inspirational stories with Yankees players, fans and the media, while being surprised with the day of their dreams. Yesterday, July 4th, was the 84th anniversary of Lou Gehrig “Luckiest Man in the World” speech. Fittingly, the Yankees decided to honor Sarah Langs, a 30 year old MLB reporter and researcher, who last year revealed that she has ALS. Sarah and 6 other woman from “Her ALS Story” – a support group of woman under 35 with ALS that seeks to raise awareness – were honored last night at the Stadium and also to raise money for research via “Project ALS”. All my pictures from last night came out extremely blurry so instead I’ll post a link to the video tribute that was played on the big screen. In it, Sarah along with the other woman and Yankee players, recite Gehrig famous speech. More on her story. https://www.yesnetwork.com/video/players-of-the-game-sarah-langs?t=top-videos And finally: https://www.mlb.com/news/yanks-honor-sarah-langs-on-anniversary-of-lou-gehrig-s-speech Edit: My blurry pictures

I actually used to love going to professional firework displays put on by the town. Since they are often staggered over a 1 week period, DW & I would try to hit at least 3 or 4 each year. And I like looking at the displays, I was never a fan of the stuff that just makes a loud boom like a canon with nothing to see. I am fortunate that Leonard isn't bothered the least bit but in the past I've had dogs that would quake in fear every 4th. Hopefully to them, it was just another thunderstorm.

It seems like every other house in my neighborhood has enough fireworks to put the professional town displays to shame. Saturday night sounded like a war zone. Last nights on-and-off rain kept things kinda quiet. We'll see what the next two nights. Things sure have changed since I was a kid with simple sparklers, bottle rockets that made a pop sound or a 12 pack of firecrackers. The high powered stuff back then like M80's or Roman Candles are considered kid stuff today.

The NY Yankees have a theme song too. They even spell the name of the team correctly 😉

@DaniDanielle I was hesitant to mention this so I'm glad you guys brought it up. For me, talk therapy was and still is a big help. While I am blessed with very large and diverse support system of family, friends, neighbors, former co-workers, etc, sometimes talking with someone that is a bit more distant or less emotionally involved allowed me to discuss certain subjects & feelings that I might be tentative to say to my people for fear of upsetting them or put them in a position where they felt the need to "fix" me or comfort me when all I wanted to do is share. Does that make sense? It did take me a while even though I knew in my head it was the right thing to do. So your daughter shouldn't rush into it or feel pressured. She has to be ready on her own terms. For me, going to a support group first helped eased the transition to one-on-one sessions. The usual caveats apply: Everyone is different and grieving is a very personal process. I'm certainly not a trained expert in anything nor do I know your family but I just want to relay my personal experience.

Spoken like a man that has been happily married a long time. Expensive jewelry? Nah! Trip of a lifetime? Meh! Good bottle of $$$ wine? 👍 Cheers! Happy anniversary!

And don't forget to take care of yourself as well. While you are there to listen to them, to comfort & put on a strong front for your daughter and your grandchildren, you are also grieving the man who was to take care of your daughter & children for the rest of their lives. As a mom and grandmother, you may putting aside your own grief to focus on others. It's only natural & probably wouldn't want it any other way. We are here for you. How are you doing? 💜

One company I worked for a while back, employees were entitled to a substantial discount with Hertz. I was able to book two one-way rentals for something like $90 total vs the $250-$300 it would have cost at the airport for a 10 day trip. And they were decent, roomy cars as well, not entry-level compacts. Dropping off/picking up the car at the airport was always a breeze since it came with Gold Membership status.