slidergirl

My little 2 person tent doesn't have a gazebo ☹️ That's the one negative about solo camping - you can only put up certain things by yourself. I could leave off the rain fly and unzip the windows and there's quite a bit of netting, but sitting inside my little tent for hours just isn't my thing. Melody - nice food porn! Those tomatoes with the fish look mighty tasty. Is that Maine blueberry pie and ice cream?? I'm on a blueberry kick right now - it is my favorite fruit!

I have to wait a little longer to go camping. Nearby mountains 40 minutes away have mosquitos and biting flies galore this year that will carry away small children. Too freakin' hot down south (100+ degrees). Up north, bears are coming out of hibernation and lots of mommas with cubs around (the lady who just got mauled by a bear at Yellowstone...). Went to my dental hygienist yesterday and my hair stylist today. Clean teeth and newly colored hair (we did more copper hi-lights). Did a minor TJ's run yesterday. Saw those chocolate thingies, but noticed they were made with corn chips, which I can' stand. I'd have to pick them out. Plus, they would have melted all over while I drove up the mountain! Nothing out of the ordinary and under $100 again. Just wasn't feeling it, I haven't had much of an appetite lately - probably the med that all the rich women are buying to lose weight. I don't WANT to lose any more weight - I can't afford to keep buying new things to fit!! OOTD: my baggy, but luvable, denim shorts and a Pact organic cotton tank top. And, my pink hi-tops.

From this year's Winter Classic:

The only thing I've added to my "stuff" for any travel/camping in the past 2 years is one of my Luci inflatable lights from Mpowered. I have a few. All are USB-rechargable, so I can just recharge during the day. This time I took my Luci Candle. Could take it outside on the balony for a little evening ambience.

The price totally depends on what the particular hotel is doing. One of the resort hotels I worked at played with Hotel Tonight. If we were low occupancy that day, they would do maybe a 10% discount on HT for a same-day booking. But, I'd give the same discount to someone who called and asked if we would match - I'm not fond of playing games and sometimes reservations through the 3rd parties don't come through the portal.

One person ordering 5 different drinks is an issue to me. THEN using multiple cruise cards to pay individually is an issue to me. More staff wouldn't help - more registers were needed. I swear, one morning there were maybe 10 people ahead of me and it took 30 minutes... After that, I just went down to the Lido and picked up a coffee. Oh my order - a cafe latte,

I did the first Eurodam to Alaska this summer. Very, very little of the OP's comments are what I would say. The only thing was the poor servers for coffee at the Explorations Cafe. They kept running out of supplies and had to send someone. The guests were, IMHO, part of the problem. They would step up to the register and order 5 beverages, all different and all with special orders, just like they thought they were at Starbucks. The line was out the door, out the hallway. The poor girl at the register was trying to do the best she could, but she was bombarded with rude people wanting their special "latte, nonfat, extra shot, 2 pumps vanilla, whip" kind of things. Even when the Bar Manager came over to give her a break he had trouble.

Never heard of such a thing, Hotels love cruisers and that one day rental! The only thing I could think of would be to roll the dice and wait until arrival day, then try the Hotel Tonight app to see if you can find one.

Aw, thanks. I think some of it may be that I have a long torso and short legs. When I'd buy onsies for skiing (back in the day), it was hard to find one that didn't cram up upon my "nether regions." the Woolx dress came out today. it's a sleeveless. Comes in back, navy, and a cool plum. I wish those plum-ish colors looked good on me, but they don't. Melody - nice poncho!

There is an Eileen Fisher "renew' site that sells gently used items. Could be worth checking out.

Melody - have a wonderful NE trip! Have some wonderful NE Oysters on the half shell for me!!

that dang Dressbarn shirt!!!! I'm so jelly... I just don't look good in joggers. I wish I did.

I have to add a little today... Gosh, it's HOT. 90 degrees. Sure, it may not seem hot to some of you, but it feels a good 10 hotter than that always up here. Add in no A/C, and it's terrible. If you drink beer/ale/sours: I just tried O'Dells Sippin' Lemonade Sour. It is sooooo good. Tastes just like a not-too-sweetened lemonade with a big kick, but not like those nasty seltzers. You know it's an ale. I know Melody can get it in Colorado, but I don't know if O'Dell is national. Made the heat a little bearable for about an hour 😉 I've been seeing this ad on TV for "One Key", which is the corporate of Expedia, Hotels.com, and VRBO. It shows all this luggage going through all sorts of "distress" during travel. The last 3 shown are 4-wheelers going up old stairs, across wooden piers and such. And, they are all being dragged 2-wheel style. Gave me a chuckle. No one was casually meandering with the 4-wheeler comfortably moving beside them. On that note, Cotopaxi just dropped a 2-wheel version of the Allpa pack!! It costs a freakin' fortune, though. If they had dropped this a year ago, I may have picked it up...

Anita - welcome back! It sure sounds like you had a fantastic time in London. I love that your dress worked out so well for several functions. Oh - Woolx is coming out with 2 new dresses soon. And, I guess I'd be right there "in style" with my hi-top sneakers. I wear them with everything, even my Woolx black dress. People are finally realizing (I think) that your feet need to be happy, not "fashionable." I do have 3 of those TJs bags still hanging around!!

Sherri - so sorry you had that reaction to the shingles shot. But, let me tell you, it's still better than getting shingles!!! I had a "mild" (my MD told me) case on my lower back in 1993. THEN, the powers that be tell me that I still had to get those shots because shingles can come back!!! UGH. Well, the wheel on doing a fall cruise came to a screeching halt last night after looking up airfares. Just waaay too much for this year. Quebec City is not a airfare-friendly city for us here in SLC. I could get a cruise for under $1000, but the airfare would be $3500. I might as well fly to Europe for that!!! It was a fanciful idea, anyway. We have an excessive heat warning up here today and tomorrow. Not conducive to making me get out and doing anything. I do have to go into town to the pharmacy and grab some refills. I'll hit up the grocery and liquor stores, too. I'm out of Aperol and Prosecco... Pick up some salad and sandwich fixings - it's too hot to even look at the stove!! OOTD: Athleta Farallon cammo shorts and a Tshirt.

I remember listening to Tony Bennett with my parents. Loved his voice. He was versatile. He could do big band, small combo, just piano. I also heard the song with Lady Gaga. I do remember when he announced he would no longer perform due to his Alzheimers. May his memory and music be a blessing to all 😿 My hamster wheel came to a weird idea last night - those cheap end-of-summer cruises. I have to start work (if I do work this year) on Nov, 25 so that takes out that late HAL T/A, But there are a couple of Canada/NE cruises that are reasonably priced IF I suck it up and do an inside (☹️). OR, in another twist, I could do the Pacific Coastal on Eurodam in the same balcony I had for Alaska. All this was on HAL. What can I say - I'm hankering for a Fall trip somewhere!

If you like the small/quaint/Parisian hotel, this one is OK. I got the single room, which was SMALL, but all that I needed. It has a cute courtyard where you can sit and relax. It was really the first time I stayed in a place like that - I'm still used to getting 4* places and cheap employee rates when I was working for *wood and Hilton. Yep, the location was perfect!!

To add to Cruisemom: just about everyone wants to be the first off the ship to catch a train to a flight or something. 2-4000 people won't be able to get off within a couple of minutes of the "all clear". I'd take that later flight, then not fight the scrum of all the people trying to get to the airport.

Last summer, I stayed in St Germain des Pres. Totallly loved the area. Easy walking to everything, at least I thought so. Another CC'er had booked this hotel for her cruise and I trust her judgement. It was the Hotel Des Marrionners. It was a cute small Parisian/European style hotel.

I would love to do that T/A, but my Winter work season begins that week...

the shorts aren't too short to be seen, but just the nasty color combination goes beyond even what I'd wear in public!!! HOT today through the weekend up here. I sure won't be going anywhere unless it's to sit in some A/C. I may start thinking about what kind of trip to take next year in the off season. Now that I have my new MacBook, surfin' the 'Net for ideas may be a good indoor activity. Once again, my hamster wheel in my brain is already spinning with ideas - beach and cities in Spain, beach in Puglia or Calabria, renting a van and drive around Iceland, rent a van and drive around Atlantic Canada... Be prepared to deal with my obsession 😸 OOTD: neutral Athleta shorts, an old pink and tan tie dye tank top.

They actually come in a trail runner, too. I actually have a pair of all 3 - Moab Speed (the runner), Moab 3 low, and Moab 3 mid. I haven't had a pair of Keens in a couple of years. My friend wasn't sure what she would really need on the Camino so she chose to take them. After doing it last year, she knows she won't need them,

I enjoyed the Crispy Duck in Tamarind. Otherwise, I enjoyed putting together my own salad using the salad bar, fish or chicken from the grill, and some of the little side salads. That is what makes the Lido my go-to for meals.

Zevo is one of those "natural" sprays that kills bugs but doesn't hurt animals. I'll have to try Borax in a couple of days - we may have rain in a few.

Welcome! We really did start out as a way to keep sane during the Pandmic and shutdown. Now that traveling is back, we've gone to chatting about al things traveling, food, clothes, etc. Feel free to come back and chat! Lois - the mammogram place may want to establish a baseline. My imaging place had me come back in 6 months to take a look again. Now, it's once a year. I saw it's HOT down in your area - it has to be HOT for someone in Florida to say it's HOT!!! We're hot up here, too. The Valley has been at 100+ for days and days. We're in the mid-80s-90 here. It always feels 10 degrees hotter. "I remember" back when there was maybe 1 week in August when we'd get this hot. No A/C, only ceiling fans, and it was enough. Not anymore up here. Not doing anything today except keep up my fight against my patio ants. Trying to avoid Raid since Squirrel hangs out, but the Zevo isn't working for more than a day. Any good ideas??? OOTD: Brown Free People hiking shorts & green Hobie Surfboards Tshirt. Looks hideous, but only me, Squirrel and the birds will see it!