Rothko1

Oof. That must have been frustrating.

I heard you made contact and are going to meet for drinks! That's wonderful! They are really good friends of ours, and Clara is a hoot! She's a trip! Have a great time! I'm sure that they will spill all the dirt about me! LOL

Taking a cruise out of Florida at this time of year just puts you at risk of the hurricane season. Not much you can do about that. Keep the fingers crossed.

Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Tampa all have ports and airports that are relatively close by. Port Canaveral does not - you have to fly into Orlando which is about an hour away. As mentioned, the Fort Lauderdale port is very very close to the airport. Quite easy to get between them.

Yes, our friend was posting pictures from Cabo on Facebook today. If you see Clara and Pat McCutcheon in Princess Grill, tell them that Ray in Palm Beach says hello, and that I hope Pat is enjoying his retirement! Thanks!

My passport arrived yesterday!

Ha! We had a similar guy (He was one of the Scout Leaders, and we designated him the "Grubmaster"). He'd give cooking demonstrations and lessons to the Scouts (and he was a merit badge counselor for the Cooking Merit Badge - an Eagle required badge). I used to try to stump the Grubmaster with demands for special requests: Beef Wellington, Rack of Lamb, etc. He'd always make them. I told him one time I wanted duck a l'orange and floating islands for dessert - By God, he made it, along with a French onion tart. Yeah, there's no Costco in Key West. Nowhere in the Keys.

This will be controversial, but Costco sells one heck of a Key Lime Pie. When I was a Scoutmaster for a Boy Scout Troop, we'd go camping in the winter in the Keys with about 30 Scouts, and rather than buy Key Lime Pies in the islands, we'd pick up pies at Costco and bring them down with us. They are huge, and they are delicious, and they are inexpensive. I could get 2 or 3 pies and have enough for the entire Troop. PS: Would do the same with Costco pumpkin pies on our October camping trips.

I just checked the status of my expedited request, and it says passport has been approved and they are printing it and getting ready to send it. Hurray!

Definitely the "When kids are in school" season is the best time to pick up a good price.

Glad to hear it went well. PBI is a locals airport. No one is flying there for a connection, and there aren't huge cruise ships or theme parks nearby that people are getting to. In fact, PBI can be a pretty sleepy little airport - if you are stuck there for a while there isn't really anything to keep you entertained. Interestingly, PBI is one of the busiest private jet airports in the country. Lots and lots of private planes flying in from NY and elsewhere, especially when the winter season starts.

Friends of ours are onboard this trip (Princess Grill). They've actually already been on it for a week or two (went up to Alaska and down), and are now taking it through the canal to Fort Lauderdale. They've been having a blast. If anyone onboard wants to stalk them and say hi for me, let me know, and I'll let you know how to find them (You'll wind up talking to the Mrs. for hours - so be warned!) 😁

Actually it's a pretty good analogy. If someone is sitting in front of me, then I have no choice but to look at him. Do you suggest that I close my eyes? If someone talks loud, the dinner still tastes the same. So should I endure a foul mouthed person next to me because it doesn't make my food taste differently??

No, I didn't see anyone testing the limits. But I also wasn't playing Dress Code Warden either. As long as someone doesn't come in and sit down next to me wearing flip flops, bathing suit, and a ball cap, I was not going to notice them unless they really were standing out.

I think we would all agree that if someone at another table was olfactorily offensive (i.e., the guy at the next table over smells), that impacts our experience. If someone at another table was audibly offensive (either talking too loud, or cursing, or being rude), that impacts our experience. Why wouldn't we admit that someone can visually impact our experience as well?

But then how do you make more money? 😆

I was at a restaurant in Palm Beach recently and I noticed a little stack of cards entitled "Our Attire Standards" which were at the front of the restaurant. I took one. I thought it was interesting. "Our attire standards benefit everyone because clothing can elevate or diminish the experience of the room. Hats, tank tops, flip flops, and team athletic attire are not suitable for the dining experience we seek to provide. Our staff takes pride in their appearance and we appreciate your respecting our guidelines." The new dress code is the new dress code. If black tie is no longer required, then it is no longer required. But that doesn't mean that permission has been given to be slovenly. It has merely lowered the bar as to what is acceptable; and the same people who tried to get away with wearing a turtleneck and sport coat on formal night will probably be the ones pushing the limitations of the new dress code as well.

Would Brightline have to build track to the port? Or is there existing track they own that they could update and use?

I drove down the east coast of Florida on I-95 on Sunday, and there are two Bucees. I haven't stopped at either yet, because I figure I won't get out of there in less than 45 minutes.

I heard about that too. A shame for the people who were planning on early September trips, for whatever reasons.

Not even the 2001 Rieussec? I'm sitting on a bunch of that.

It really takes very little effort to dress up significantly better than that.

Not the polo shirt and jacket side. I never saw anyone wear that combo. But more like blazers with or without ties. Long sleeve Oxford shirts, not polo shirts.

Thank you! Now I have permission to wear my wife-beater shirt, ball cap, thong underwear, and flip flops to dinner!! I'm glad to know I won't bother anyone... I was worried.

Yes. But our local Costco has it cheaper. When I meant "retail" price, I think I misspoke. I meant the price you'd pay for a bottle of VC in a restaurant, not at a retail store. $85 to buy at a restaurant or onboard a ship is a pretty good price. It's usually around $100 or more in any local restaurants.