HBE4

April! My favorite month. So is September. The warmth without the humidity & bugs. So would that be a Fixin' for BBQ or a Hankerin' for BBQ? 😉

Nothing wrong with having 2 favorites!

Is 57.5 the inside temp? You may want to get that bay window replaced sooner rather than later.

I forgot to mention one thing. I kinda agree with you. While I do love a good winter, maybe not as much as I used to. Fortunately, in my corner of NY, a "real winter" is only 2 months on average (Jan & Feb), give or take a few weeks on either end. Even the big March snowstorms tend to melt fairly quick with the stronger and longer sunlight. In fact, March tends to be my least favorite month. Not warm enough to be spring, but the winter fun is almost over. Everything is kinda mucky, muddy and messy, and with perpetual spring break vacations everywhere, travel is expensive and crowded.

I've seen pictures of your snow removal equipment. Slightly bigger than what I use😄 I will say, I hate driving in the snow when their are other vehicles around. Much more enjoyable and stress-free when I'm the only vehicle on the road.

He did all the posing on his own, no encouragement from us.

Mostly as a joke. It's an old superstition that if there are accidents when a ship is under construction, than it must be cursed. I was trying to beat the typical CC posters that over-react to the slightest whiff of bad news to the punch.

I might be in the minority here but cold weather with snow is fun. It means skiing, building a snow man or snow fort with snow ball fights (you never too old!!), firing up the snow blower and throwing it 30 feet or more across the yard. Cold weather without snow is just.......stupid.

Funny you should say that. When I saw the look in Lucy's eyes, I thought she could be a mean S.O.B. (no offense). I bet she would devour my little Leonard who apparently is auditioning for his career as America's Next Cat Model.

Having the pleasure of visiting the Aruba hospital twice for minor stuff - ear infection & lower back strain - I can attest they are very modern with most of the staff having be trained in The Netherlands. The only weird thing was I had to a pay upfront before being seen by anyone. Sort of like a cover charge at a club.

If I recall correctly. they were offering sunset dinners at the top of the lighthouse. While it sounds nice, I'm not sure how enjoyable it would be. Between the high winds, tight space & the long walk from the restaurant to the top of the lighthouse, how hot could the food stay?

The ship is cursed! 😉

Can't think of a better way to spend a cold winter evening.

Went totally over my head, which is not unusual. 😆

I used to take my father-in-law to a local casino for a day trip. Always took my car but he would grab the handicapped tag from his car & insist that I use it after I dropped him off at the front door & went to park the car. I never did but I would tell him i couldn't use it since all the handicapped spots were taken. Which was true about 50% of the time.

The kind that eats in between patients?😉

I have the same issue anytime I get near an ocean. I become a bottomless pit. I'm convinced I have a tapeworm that wakes up when he smells salt air.😃

Finally, snow. I guess the snow gods heard me yesterday. Just a dusting but it's the first measurable snow so far this year. Nothing stuck to pavement so no chance to use the snowblower.

Sounds like a nice, moon-lit kayak tour, aka The Smugglers Special. 😆

@bobmacliberty I saw your question regarding San Francisco & Napa valley. Having been to SF a whopping 2 times and Napa only once, I am far from being an expert on anything. The only thing I might add to the San Fran part of the trip is a walk thru the Redwood forests of Muir Woods. If memory serves me correctly, it's about 30 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge. https://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm As for Napa Valley, I attended one of my nieces destination wedding there about 10 years ago. At the time, I was primarily a beer drinker and drank wine maybe twice a year - Thanksgiving and Easter dinners. Even then, it was whatever the cheapest wine I could find for under $5. Well, after spending 5 days in Napa, I discovered I really like wine. I also really, really like expensive wine. Of course, every winery I went to was better than the one before it so take my advice with a grain of salt. But there is one place, a small family owned place off the beaten path that really sticks out i my mind. Laird Winery. Great wine, very knowledgeable and friendly, down to earth staff. The kind of people you want to hang out with all day long. I love everything I tasted there & then even offered me a complimentary glass of wine afterwards. I've recommended it to a few other people and nobody has been disappointed. At least, not that I know of. lol https://lairdfamilyestate.com/

👍

But are you done drinking? 😁

Not having a full wrap around promenade deck on Q-class ships is a major disappointment for me. I love walking around the ship as close to the water as possible, stem to stern. Especially the stern. Love looking at the wake on a moon-lit night. As for your first question, I wonder what the lifeboats are blocking on the V/F/O class. Maybe they are on the Royal Promenade deck and therefor obstruct nothing? It is curious though.

Are you going to climb to the top of the California Lighthouse? Give your feet and ankles some rest. It's steeper than it looks and the steps become more narrow the higher you go. There is another lighthouse at the extreme southern end of the island. Not nearly as impressive though. 😉 That's Venezuela in the background.

Sunny & 52 degrees in New York today. 🙂 Enjoy your cruise. When you get on board, it'll be single digit, possible sub-zero temperatures here in NY. No frozen precipitation though. I think this is the longest into winter where I didn't have to shovel or snow blow at least a few times.