Blackduck59

It's definitely been pretty toasty around here. Besides you were packing shorts anyway right 😁.

I've been to Ketchikan too. I don't think we were off the ship for 2 hours, we did enjoy some king crab but I've seen the prices they are asking up there now definitely not worth it. You can get a whole dungeness crab pulled out of a live tank and cooked up for about half that price.

That is exactly right Julie. It is a requirement of the US law. That being said they have an opportunity to show their guests a fabulous little port with so many things to see, not just Butchart Gardens. I doubt they are even here long enough to get out to the gardens before they close, and if they do a person would have to run through the garden to see even half of them. It's a big fail. Scratch Ketchikan and spend the day here. Rant over. It was a beautiful day today and I would guess anyone visiting from out of town on a cruise or by land found plenty to do.

@possum52 I'm glad to hear that you have both recovered. That is a striking photo. Our local beach faces the wrong way for sunsets but I have taken some outstanding sunrises. We have been fortunate the last couple days with winds coming from the west and Victoria is in a bit of a pocket of mostly clear air. It is the "Victoria Day" weekend in Canada, needless to say there are many things going on here in Victoria. We have the Highland games and Celtic festival, and there is a very large parade on Monday. We are also expecting 12 cruise ship visits over the 3 days, of course some of them are ridiculous, showing up at 1900 or 2000 hrs and leaving at 2359 hrs. Those stops are an insult to our town. I think many of the passengers won't even get off the ship. It has been very warm for this time of year. I would prefer something hovering in the low 20s, this 28-34 degree routine is not on.

Unless you grind the meat "in house" there is a very good chance of nasty things being in that under cooked ground beef. If you want your burger rare then you're taking your chances. Or maybe buy a chunk of chuck at home and grind it yourself.

My friend's trailer is a tow behind, not a fifth wheel. He tows it with a full sized pickup truck so by the time he's all hitched up it a 50 foot obstruction driving down the road.

The milkshake was yummy. I used about a litre of ice cream most of a can of peaches a healthy pour of peach schnaps and enough milk so it would blend.

I guess it would be a caravan, as it requires a tow vehicle.

My coworker "camps" in a 30' trailer, so for me it just seems like a lot of load in, hitch up, set up and load out to go to a place literally down the road.

One of my coworkers is going "Camping" this long weekend. He is taking his 30' trailer to a campground less than 20km from his home; yes he has been there before. I don't really "get" camping but I think I would shoot for someplace that's more than a 15 minutes away from my house.🤔

Hi Leigh, I'm glad to hear that you have recovered from this bout of covid. I have to admit I haven't heard about this relapse after antiviral treatment. I hope you are fortunate and skip the relapse route. We are currently having a bit of a heatwave here and of course we have prevailing winds bringing the smoke from the wildfires in the North East of BC as well as the fires in Alberta. We had a very red sunrise this morning just a hazy sky and a bright red disc. So in an attempt to mitigate the heat I decide to make a peach milkshake, of course there was a liberal pour of peach schnaps to enhance the flavour. Lynn and I both enjoyed this cooling elixir.

So 6 fewer days and only slightly more than HAL. Interesting economics. I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

I'm happy to hear from a satisfied customer. We are not long time cruisers with megahuman status on 4 different lines. We are just some average folks who will be sailing on HAL for the first time in August. We actually board Zaandam in Boston when @lissie gets off. I won't know how it "used to be" so we're going on with an open mind. Thanks for letting us know that you had a great time Zaandam.

Mother's day is today Sunday the 14th this year. Lynn's mom is in hospital so we brought "tea" for her. Just some nice pastries and we brought her favorite tea and hot water to make a fresh cuppa for her.

That would be my wife's first choice, Pimm's cup Is very nice. My first choice is always a Caesar. I like the "Pusser's punch" name, I may have to give it a try.

Hi @lissie, my brother in law lives on Cape Breton Island. Louisburg was hit hard by the storm and hasn't really recovered. Just a heads-up that Louisburg may be a little raggedy.

It was pie time for us. I made a stop at our butcher shop, chicken pot pie for Lynn. And butter chicken for me.

I think when my friend did an Alaska cruise out of Seattle they went to the west side of Vancouver Island for the outbound leg. On the return leg they went via the "Inside Passage" on the east side of Vancouver Island with a stop in Victoria before returning to Seattle. That is the logical route to get the mandatory Canadian stop and it would be a much smoother ride.

I'm not sure Leigh but I think a Vancouver Island based company called Coulson Aviation lost an aircraft while fighting fire in Western Australia earlier this year. I'm not sure if the crew was Canadian or Australian. But I would think that we would be getting our firefighters going through pre-season training about now. I would think with our history of helping each other out that during the off season in Oz experienced Australian wildfire fighters who want to work here would be very welcome.

Unfortunately we have had several years of wildfires in the summer. These seem very early in the season. So far we haven't had a huge amount of fires in BC but it has been quite a dry winter. I know that in past years Canadians have been grateful for the help of our Ozzie friends who have come to help fight the fires. I also know there are Canadians who go down under to help during your fire season.

The Newfoundland port is Cornerbrook. I have a few friends and many acquaitances from Newfoundland.

I'm interested in reading your thoughts. We are on Zaandam in late August, doing the 11 day Boston to Montreal that includes a stop in Newfoundland.

Do pack a Merino wool sweater, you won't need it often but they are wonderful to keep you warm even if they get wet. A light weight rain shell to put over your other layers will cut the wind and shed the rain. Take some hotshot type hand warmers, they come in handy when you're on deck at the glaciers. I hope you have a decent stop in Victoria, there is much to say. Although Butchart Gardens is spectacular it is at least 45 minutes from the port. The gardens at Government house are very nice, open to the public and free of charge. Government house is also much closer to the port.

I'm sorry the weather didn't cooperate for your stop in Victoria. It is the start of beer week today, and there are many beer themed things going on. I've enjoyed reading your thread, thanks for your reports. Too bad you have such a short visit.

No they're here in Victoria, it's unusual to have 3 ships from the same line on the same day.