Norseh2o

Thanks to all for the birthday wishes! We had a nice long weekend in Arizona, three days in Tucson with great Mexican food, backyard bbq, shopping at a mall (first time at a mall since < the pandemic!), gathered in Glendale cemetery with family and friends for a brief prayer and joyful Happy Birthday singing for DM’s first heavenly birthday, 4/7. Celebrated my day, 4/8 (first birthday without DM, 🥲) not watching the eclipse but enjoying the drive home to California. Birthday dinner tonight with DS and DDIL and 2 grands, 🥰. Happy birthday to all celebrating, beautiful wedding picture, Gerry! May you have many more years together!

Space X, 7:30pm Mountain Time, Tucson, AZ 4/6/24.

Sunrise, 4/5/24, looking north and east at the Catalina Mountains and Redington Pass, from west Tucson. 75 degrees & a bit of wind later today.

Thanks to all who add their stories and updates to The Daily. My cruise history includes only a few HAL trips, yet The Daily is the only cc topic that I am devoted to reading! Thank you all for the interesting reading, kindness and thoughtfulness. We had a busy week, a granddaughter’s 11 birthday last Thursday & Easter Brunch on Sunday, both hosted by DS and DDIL. We travel to AZ for a long weekend (after I renew my driver’s license at CA DMV tomorrow!) to celebrate my DM first heavenly birthday, April 7. Nieces have put together a small to-do, hopeful that the headstone is in place at the cemetery & that the weather is perfect. Looking forward to a good family lunch (salads & sandwiches), a meal or two of Mexican food and great conversations all weekend! Prayers and good thoughts for those in need.

Lamb & White Rabbits…

On the Marina, February-April, 2023, we asked (actually begged and pleaded!) the general manager if the SDSU - UConn game could be available on board. The evening of the game, April 3, 2023, the large (map) screen carried the game. With a bar set up (with free popcorn!) to the side and rows of chairs facing the large screen, we had a game! San Diego State 59, UConn 76.

A A beautiful St.Patrick’s Day in Southern California! A nice start with Church, clean clothes drying on the clothes line, chicken marinating for bbq tonight. Dinner tonight is chicken, baked yams, salad and a favorite William Hill California Chardonnay (DH was responsible for the environmental documents for Mr. Hill’s winery in Northern California last century 😊). Prayers and kindness to all in need, hope for Ukraine, the war torn Middle East and Haiti.

I was able to find and buy Girl Scout cookies this week in Hawaii. Always a good thing to find when traveling. 🍪 Packing today as we finish a rainy week in Hawaii. We stay with oldest daughter and family at the start of our visits and stay a few days in a hotel for the hotel amenities (endless coffee, pool, restaurant, live music most evenings, steps to the ocean…) This morning we waved at the NCL Pride of America and a rainbow (!) coming in to view. A great way to start the morning.

Thanks to all who keep the Daily available. I like my middle name, named for my DM, Ruth (4/7/1920-1/4/2024). Ruth is a popular family name, I am Katherine Ruth, my brother named a daughter Katherine Ruth, her daughter is Sophia Ruth, one of my granddaughters is Vivienne Ruth (nicknamed Viviruth but pronounced Viviroo in preschool as her class had 2 other Viviennes!) and in September, 2023, a great-nephew named his daughter Ruth, in honor of his great grandmother (my mother), Ruth. 🙂 We are enjoying a few days in Hawaii, hope for a little sunshine as our last stay in December and the first three days of this stay have been filled with rain. We do enjoy our visiting our grandchildren, especially sitting on the lanai reading, working puzzles, playing cards and board games.

Kailua-Kona is a favorite! DD and family moved to the Big Island years ago, first to the Kailua side, now closer to Hilo. We miss the west side of the island (Kailua-Kona), especially the Packer Bar. We visit Hawaii as often as possible. Thanks to all of the Daily stories and updates, prayers for those in need.

Home from the January 25-February 8, 2024 round trip Sydney cruise. Wisely, we arrived in Sydney 2 days early and stayed for 5 days after debarking. Our ship, the Regatta took us around New Zealand, nice ship, great cruise. We hope to repeat the trip in 2026 (and add a cruise before or after, around Australia). Next time we would not book tours in the small towns/villages as each was worthy of self discovery. Oceania provided shuttle service for these stops and the smaller port stops offered easy walks, history, “aged” buildings, very nice ‘made in New Zealand’ goods and friendly people, especially Napier, NZ. We would book tours in Auckland and Wellington, as both cities are big cities and a tour might be the best way to learn about them.

We are enjoying a few post cruise days in Sydney, Australia. Our hotel is near Darling Harbour, walking distance to museums, restaurants, statues, shopping & the water. Great food, charming people, and a Year of the Dragon welcome from our hotel.

Attached is a view from Regatta deck 10 of the welcoming ceremony to Whangarei, New Zealand. Top picture shows entertainment group, bottom picture features Captain and Whangarei official. Oceania provided shuttle bus ride into the town center, lovely museums and shops. Great port, hope to book a return once the Oceania 2026 schedule is available.

Roy- We boarded on 1/25/24. Round trip Sydney-Sydney, debark February 8, 2024. We will stay in Sydney after the cruise, truly a great trip. I could live in this part of the world!

Enjoyed a delicious croissant with a cup of tea in Horizons on Oceania’s Regatta. this morning, 31 January in Wellington, New Zealand. We watched the NCL Spirit come alongside before leaving the ship for a bus ride into Lambton Quay. Cool and cloudy 64f today, expecting a high of 73. A good day for a walk. Thanks to the daily posters for updates, news, recipes and pictures.