StLouisCruisers

Bruno, my thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

Welcome to the Daily @ORTravelGal!🙂 Bon Voyage Maxine @AncientWanderer!🚢🎉

We have been to Aruba four times. Our trips to Oranjestad, Aruba were in 2006 (Crown Princess, 2016 (Westerdam), 2019 (Rotterdam) and 2022 (Volendam). Imagine my surprise on a previous date for port of the day, when I read @VMax1700 was in Aruba on March 18, 2016 on Oosterdam! We were there the same day on Westerdam. Here is a photo of the two ships together. The one on the left is Oosterdam Wish we'd known you then @VMax1700 as our Daily friend! Anyway, we enjoyed watching the parade go by. Actually we were there when they were setting up. The classic car parade was a favorite. We saw two of those light blue Thunderbirds that day and were amazed this small island had duplicate Thunderbirds. Liked the motorcycles too. I took a photo of this car because my first car was a silver 1968 Camaro, though it was a Rally Sport and not an SS. I bought it off the showroom floor about a week after getting my driver's license at age 18. I was working at Proctor and Gamble and needed a car to get to work in downtown St. Louis. Getting ready for some marching and playing. We saw this pelican, and I noticed a big iguana in the upper left of the photo on a rock, trying to blend in. Onward in our exploration. This is City Hall. It formerly was owned by Dr. Eloy Arends, but was sold to the government of Aruba in 1986 because his heir (son Jesus Arends) could no longer afford the maintenance. It was restored in 1997 and converted into City Hall. Pretty striking building IMO. We were first in Oranjestad in 2006 when we took our DD along on a Crown Princess cruise. That trip she did a little souvenir shopping for her kiddos. If you can't find it here, you can't find it anywhere!

Good morning friends! Mornings seem to come fast, don't they? This morning is a chilly 44F but we will have a nice sunny 76F high later on. Today is officially Garage Sale day in our extremely large neighborhood. There are lists of homes participating but I saw only one in our "pod". That couple just moved in a few months ago. I have no intention of having a garage sale or even shopping at one today. We have enough stuff as it is.😉 I'd rather take a nap! Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps. Interesting that making lunch count is a "day to recognize". Scrabble is a fun game but I haven't played it in ages. I looked up Borinqueneers and see it refers to soldiers from Puerto Rico. Kudos to them for their contributions. (Thanks to Graham @grapau27 who added his information on it while I typed). I admire the author of the quote for that achievement. I think I'll just pass on the meal, cocktail and wine again today. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepardfor your reports today. Prayers for DB, great nephew's twin sons, friends Scott, Susan and Sandy, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our troops at sea and on bases in the region. Many prayers for our Daily friends in need of them. Those of you in pain, recovering from surgeries and procedures, suffering loss of loved ones, or with worries and stress. Extra prayers for Vanessa @JazzyV and Tana. Bruno @atexsix my condolences on the loss of your DD. I've been thinking of him lately. Terri @Cruzin Terri I'm sorry to hear you found the obituary of your friend who passed away several weeks ago. My sympathy on her loss too. Sending good thoughts to you Maureen @RMLincoln as you go through final days with your DSIL. Melanie @puppycanducruise that is shocking and sad news about your friend dying of breast cancer at age 46. I know she will be missed by many. So much bad news lately! Prayers for you all. 🙏 Cheers to our cruisers and all celebrating special events. 🎉🎂🚢 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for your fine work keeping the lists up to date. We appreciate all you do even through your pain and exhaustion. 🙏 Port of the day is Oranjestad, Aruba, Dutch Antilles. This has been POTD before on April 6, 2021 and Dec. 4, 2023. Here are your links today. Hoping you all have an enjoyable day! Please stay safe and keep well.

Good evening. I had my appointment this afternoon at the ENT. Unfortunately I had to wait and wait and wait. I was about ready to tell them I was done, and head home. He finally came in and began the procedure. The permission form called it an upper respiratory endoscopy this visit, last time it was called a laryngoscopy but it was exactly the same. They numb your nasal passages and pass a tiny tube with camera through the nostrils into the throat down to the vocal cords. Everything still looks just fine. He said he could refer me to a pulmonologist. I told him I'd think about it and let them know later in the summer. Maybe I'll just live with the persistent cough. It's not like I cough all day long however it is annoying. Welcome to the Daily @LambKnuckles . Hope you hang around! We're pretty harmless. 😁 Sorry about the bad news today Terri @Cruzin Terri. Prayers for those who knew and loved her. 🙏 Will you be able to go to the funeral?

I was on the Amazon River cruise December of 2022 and did not post photos due to internet incompatibility with Shutterfly. We were there on Dawn Princess in 2004, Regal Princess in 2015 and Sky Princess in February of 2023. In 2015 we took a tour to see Chichen Itza Mayan ruins. We took Flat Stanley along with us!

Good morning friends! It is 50F now and we should have a sunny but windy day with a high of 68. Yesterday was quite windy with the winds howling. The next several days should be sunny as well so I hope these winds calm down. Thanks to Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps for Rich @richwmn today. How appropriate that we are recognizing Big Wind Day after mentioning how windy it's been here lately. Human space flight is being held on the same day as the first person to orbit the earth back in 1961. Anytime you think of homeless children is a sad day. No comment for that quote, a lentil curry doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy, another questionable cocktail, and I'd say that is a red wine from the description. So I'll pass on all the food and beverages today. Thanks anyway to our dear F&B Department ladies Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard. Prayers said on the treadmill for all here on our Care list, DB, the twin baby boys, friends Scott, Susan and Sandy, the people of Ukraine and Israel, the poor hostages still held, and our troops in the region. Hurray for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, those cruising and all our friends here on the Celebration list. Good luck to @Mr. Boston selling his home and good luck to Dixie @summer slope and George in getting reimbursed for the totaled golf cart. I hope you are both fully recovered soon. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the great lists, and I'm counting down the days with you for that surgery. I'm seeing the ENT this afternoon and hope he has some answers to my cough. I'm not that optimistic but gotta give it another chance. The port today is Cozumel, Mexico. This was the port before on Dec.10, 2022 and June 28, 2023. Here are the links for you. My photos will follow. We've visited Cozumel and the environs 3 times. We will probably get some groceries this morning and then later today that appointment I mentioned. I hope this doctor is an on time physician since the appointment isn't until 3:15. I probably won't get a lot done on the Christmas stocking work, but got quite a lot done yesterday. I am pretty much finished with the first lamb and kitten. Hope everyone has a good day today. Stay safe and keep well!

Thank you Graham. Four cute subjects!

Taking a break because my arms need a rest. Loving the pet pics! I don't have a pet but do have 2 granddogs and 2 great granddogs. Here for your enjoyment are Milo and Sadie L-R, the two "grands". Here is DGD Ashley's German Shepherd Finnegan, shortened to Finn. DGS Tyler doesn't put many photos out of his Golden Retriever Boomer but I did grab a snap of him today on Instagram apparently posted for National Pet Day. Wish we could see his face! Thanks for the info, Roy. I'm glad to hear the Navy still has those open houses. It was nice for relatives to see when visiting us. They always enjoyed Virginia Beach, too. But first and foremost was to see Colonial Williamsburg, and a day at Busch Gardens. Here is a Norfolk waterfront photo taken on the Spirit of Norfolk lunch cruise we took in June 1990 during the grandmothers' trip to see DD graduate from high school. Most of our photos were of each other. We did most of the things mentioned above plus Jamestown and Yorktown visits. The photo is a snapshot of a hard copy photo taken out of one of our photo albums. Old school! Have a good visit in Boston and Cape Cod! Going to the bridal shower and seeing the new babies sound like a great reason to travel, plus the new home tour. I guess I'm going to miss some bridal showers for Ashley while I'm away cruising for 70 days this summer. I'll make it up to her later. Wedding is Sept. 14 so had to make sure we were in the States between Morgan's graduation and Ashley's wedding. 🥳

Good morning friends! Well, we had rain starting around 8 last night and it continued steadily half the night. The temp is 64 with clouds and a chance of a shower at any time today. Windy this afternoon and a high of 73. Good luck to the Masters tournament with the inclement weather passing through. Thanks to Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps for Rich @richwmn. Let's recognize our pets, the song "Louie, Louie" and cleaning up our pantries. Nothing negative there. I enjoy the quote every time I hear it. That's quite a meal suggestion. As usual I skip the cocktail and don't know what the wine is yet. A big day in civil rights history in this country. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for the F&B reports today. Prayers for all here on the Care list and extra prayers for Vanessa's @JazzyV's BFF with his MOHS surgery, and for Terri's @Cruzin Terri's DH Jim at his appointment today. Hoping your trip to Italy goes on as planned. Prayers for all others and your family members and friends in need of them. More prayers for DB, great nephew Alex's baby boys, friends Scott, Susan and Sandy. Special prayers for the safety of the people of Ukraine and Israel, the hostages still not home, and our troops at sea and on bases in the region. Prayers for Vanessa's @JazzyV's pain and sleep problems and that the upcoming surgery goes well. Three cheers to those cruising and celebrating special events in their lives. Happy birthday wishes to Elizabeth's @Haljo1935's DH! Also for all the great sibling photos yesterday. I also enjoyed everyone's Petra photos. Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for the wonderful lists you keep each day for us! Today's port is a new one, Norfolk, Virginia. Some of the ships do make a stop there on Colonial America coastal cruises. And I haven't heard of this yet, but some could use it while the port of Baltimore is out of service. We lived near Norfolk (Williamsburg) during the early 1990's and enjoyed visiting the city a few times. We took a Spirit of Norfolk luncheon cruise with our mothers when DD graduated from high school. No digital photos. Plus I believe the Navy offers tours of a ship on Saturdays for the public, or at least they used to. Always interesting. So no links today, and no photos from me. Today will be a good day to continue cross stitching. I'll take breaks to do other chores that need doing including computer work. Hope you all have a great day! Stay safe and keep well!

Thanks Graham. I'm sure his parents are going to be very vigilant from here on out. Austin has no problem with peanuts and loves anything with peanut butter. Airlines now have almonds as a snack in addition to the usual peanuts, and he will be avoiding almonds. Austin's dad snacks on mixed nuts at home but Austin never did. They'll probably be taking mixed nuts off their pantry shelf now.

The restaurant we ate lunch at was called Alcantarah. They had a huge buffet inside but on the porch they were preparing a delicious chicken and vegetable stir fry dish. I think we cleaned them out of desserts! On the drive back to Aqaba we stopped at this shop and were able to have a restroom break. We had very nice clean restrooms which were much appreciated by this very tired group. See anything you like? I recommend the restaurant and the rest stop here highly.

We enjoyed a visit to Aqaba and Petra in October 2016 on the Emerald Princess. We took a private tour with a roll call group and it was excellent. Draining though with the heat so drink twice as much water as you think you should. I nearly fainted at the end and had to plop down on the ground to prevent injury as we got back to the visitor center. But I'd do it again in a heartbeat. On Oct. 10, 2016 our private tour group drove 2 hours from Aqaba past the Wadi Rum desert wilderness area and arrived at Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world. We arrived by 9 am which is a good thing since this is a very hot, dry area and it only gets hotter as the day goes on. The entrance to the visitor center. When you first start out there is an area on your left where they keep the horses. You can either ride a horse, take a cart, or walk. We walked. The long walkway here is called Bab Al Siq. Next you'll see the Obelisk Tomb. It's named after the four Indian obelisks that decorate the top of the tomb. This tomb has two stories to it. The Siq is a spectacular gorge that leads into the ancient city. The original channel cut in the walls to bring water into Petra can be seen, and in some places the original terracotta pipes are still in place. This is one of my favorite photos of DH walking through the curvy walled tunnel. One particular rock formation looked like a fish from the side but an elephant from the front. The elephant view The colors of the rock can vary widely. Most interesting are the many niches carved into the sandstone walls. Suddenly ahead we saw, through the gap in the rock, the magnificent Treasury! It rises to almost 128 feet and is intricately decorated with Corinthian capitals, decorative bands, figures and more. It is crowned by an urn, which according to local legend conceals a pharaoh's treasure. To the left of the Treasury is this area to rest and shop. You could rent a camel for a ride here in case you were tiring from the walk. From the Treasury we proceeded on to the Street of Facades, the name given to the row of monumental tombs carved into the southern cliff face. The Theatre Our guide Zayed and some of the Royal Tombs. We walked as far as we could. All the way to the Nymphaeum, a semi-circular public fountain shaded by a 450 year old wild pistachio tree. No water here! Further down was the Colonnaded Street which would have been a shopping street in ancient Petra, but by now we were ready to turn back. We had miles to walk, uphill to return to our bus. When we walked back past the Treasury there were lots more people there. Glad we got there early! You had to watch out for carts and horses all the time or risk getting run over. On to lunch at a Petra restaurant in the next post.

Good morning friends! It's 57 here this morning. We will have a mostly cloudy day with a high of 76F and rain moving in tonight. Thanks Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps. Hurray for farm animals, siblings and the founding of the Salvation Army. Love the quote, hate stuffed cabbage, the drink sounds terrible and I'm not a red wine drinker. It's a very interesting day in history. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for the reports on food and beverage every day. Prayers were said before hopping onto the treadmill at 5. The list never seems to get shorter unfortunately. Still praying for DB, great nephew Alex's twin babies, friends Scott, Susan and Sandy, the people in Israel and Ukraine, the 133 hostages still held and thought to be alive, the military members we have in the region, and most especially for my Daily friends on the Care list. Hoping Tana is recovered from the pneumonia, and that Vanessa was able to sleep some. Also wishing for less pain and good healing for all. Cheers to those celebrating special events and enjoying cruises! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for continuing to work so hard on the lists each day! The port today is Aqaba, Jordan (for Petra). This was the port before on July 27, 2021, Aug. 26, 2022, and May 26, 2023. We went there once and really enjoyed it. Here are the links to help with your photos. I know you'll enjoy seeing them. Hope you all have a great, productive day! Stay safe and keep well!

It was the first time he'd eaten a walnut and that is his allergy trigger. They advised him not to eat any tree nut though. I assume if he'd eaten a walnut 5 years ago he would have had the same reaction. Even though they only use a tiny ***** of the walnut material on his arm he had an instant reaction and started having chest tightening and other signs. Exactly right Annie. His paternal grandfather kept pushing him to try the fudge and he had this terrible reaction. They phoned DD back in Ohio and she said do not let him go to sleep, take him to the ER right now. Even Austin didn't complain about having to go, he wanted to go get help. It must have been frightening. I enjoyed your stories of life in France, and traveling back and forth on the Cunard ships as a child. Yes, he has to have two epi-pens with him at all times. The school nurse thought they should keep one and Austin the second one, but the allergist disagreed with that and most of the other advice the school nurse gave. The school can keep one on hand for him, but she wants Austin to keep two for himself, in case one dose doesn't help and he has a second reaction 20 minutes later. At the doctor's office they had to put an albuterol tablet under his tongue when his throat and chest began tightening with the tiny test amount reaction.

A report back on DGS Austin's allergy emergency last week. He went to the allergist today and they tested him for tree nut allergies. He had an immediate severe reaction to walnuts, but they have advised him to not take a chance on other tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, filberts/hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, and shea nuts). They called it a very severe reaction. He actually had every side effect possible last Thursday. He will have to be very careful from here on out. Excellent news, Graham! I'm glad all the appointments seem to be coming along quickly and without much hassle. Thank you for the excellent photos today, both the eclipse photos and the Denali photos. I hate to hear of your pain levels though after yesterday's problems getting home. I hope you get more rest tonight and less pain tomorrow.

Karen, your cake truly does look decadent! Your DS did a great job making it from scratch. I hope you enjoy it. I'm sorry to hear about your DSIL passing away. She must have gone through quite a lot battling brain and breast cancer. The quilts are a lovely legacy to leave behind. Enjoy your lunch at Olive Garden!

Thank you for all your zen aft balcony wake videos. Very relaxing! Thanks for the great photo! Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser thank you for your very nice photo of Mt. Denali, too. Gerry @ger_77 I loved the wedding photo today. What great memories it must bring back.

Wonderful photos of your anniversary celebration and our good looking group of Dailyites! Thanks for posting it! Thank you Bruce for the birthday wishes. It was a fun day. Your photos of Sabang are colorful and show the true life conditions of the citizens. I'm appreciating my air conditioned grocery store more after seeing the market photos from there. Enjoy some sea days before arrival in Sri Lanka. Should be another interesting port for you.

Good morning friends! Here in north central Georgia it's 58F and raining lightly. The drizzle will end by 9 am and the remainder of the day will be cloudy and a high of about 70. We could use a little rain to water the new sod over the lawn disruption after laying the new fiber optic cables. Thank you Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps for Rich @richwmn. I read about Jenkins Ear Day and hoped Graham @grapau27 would report back here on that matter. Oh my! We also recognize Jumbo Day named after an elephant and National Cherish an Antique Day. The quote seems true to me in many ways, and I'm going to pass on the meal, drink and wine. Good for John Hancock standing up for himself and the colonies. Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for the F&B reports. Prayers said for everyone here with extra prayers for those most in need. Also my DB, the precious babies of great nephew Alex, friends Scott, Susan and Sandy, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held, and our military in the area. 🙏 My niece sent me an Easter photo of herself with son Alex, wife Jordan and baby Elliott Rose and it was just gorgeous. Jordan looked fabulous in her delicate condition. She is going to the doctor tomorrow and is approximately 22 weeks along. 🙏 Cheers for all celebrating special events today and for those cruising! 🎉🚢 Happy birthday Karen @luvteaching and happy anniversary Gerry and Maurice @ger_77!! Hope you all have a wonderful day! 🥂 Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for continued excellent work on the Care and Celebration lists! Many prayers for you each day! The destination today is Denali National Park, Alaska. We have several dates with Denali and Anchorage/Denali. Nov. 24, 2021, Feb. 7, 2022 and Sept. 29, 2023. I have not personally visited Denali National Park so will present no photos today but would really enjoy seeing yours. Here are the links for your convenience. Yesterday I heard from all 6 of my precious grandkids, my kids and their spouses, my niece and most of my friends. In addition the good wishes from all my friends here. Priceless! Hope you all have a great day, and please stay safe and keep well!

Thank you Sharon @Sharon in AZ and @erewhon! It was quite the day for both of us. 🙂

Thank you Jake! I love Oreos so appreciate this set up immensely.😉

Thank you so much Maxine! Wine time starts in 30 minutes or so! I appreciate all the hoopla everyone had for us.🤣

A big disappointment for twin Linda. They tried to get south to see the eclipse from the old cemetery 8 family members are buried in. They couldn't get there due to traffic jams on the highways! They turned around and went home. She said it was the only thing she wanted for her birthday and cried! Very sad for her. Here it barely got gloomy out (80%). DH was outside watering the sod over the recently dug up yard and it was plenty light out. The house looked dim inside though. I watched coverage on TV. It looked exciting in some cities. Ren texted birthday wishes and just flew into Dallas this afternoon with his soccer team and said he caught it from the plane. Something we will all remember for a while. DS said he remembered the last one in 2017 and I said I didn't. So checked it out and we were in Dubrovnik last time on Aug. 21, 2017. It was about 95% coverage here that time apparently. Roy @rafinmd, good luck getting your appointment with the valve clinic and hope everything goes well in that regard. Thank you to Terri @Cruzin Terri, Karen @luvteaching, Pennie @Nickelpenny, Eva @superoma, Carolyn @Cruising-along, Brenda @bennybear, and Debbie @tupper10 for your birthday wishes!

Keeping busy today with lots of texts, emails, and calls so I keep getting interrupted here! I wanted to make absolutely sure my spreadsheet listing was correct with Kathy @Norseh2o's birthday being today too and found her post on April 9, 2022 when she mentioned it. She said it was the day after her DM's birthday, who has unfortunately passed away recently. I asked DD if D.A.R.E. was still active in their school and she said yes. I'm happy to hear that. Anything we can do to keep kids safe and try to turn them away from harmful behaviors. I'd like to thank all of you who have sent your warm wishes since my last post. Elizabeth @Haljo1935 yes, Linda almost had a different birthday from me. I have a hunch the doctor or nurses discussed the time and just gave her April 8 as the date so we would share a birthday. Nowadays I think they'd go by the actual time but times were different then. Thanks also to Terry @smitty34877, Denise @Denise T, Dixie @summer slope, Nancy @ottahand7, Graham @grapau27, Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser, Annie @marshhawk, @seagarsmoker, Mauren @RMLincoln, Gerry @ger_77, Karen @quilty964, Joy @Seasick Sailor, @RedneckBob, and Jacqui @kazu. So nice to enjoy all my friends here wishing Linda and I happy birthday today. I can't wait to hear about her picnic and total eclipse watching when we chat later.