slidergirl

Going to be offline today unless I can get my MacBook working again. This happened before but I can’t remember what I had to do. Lois - safe travels!

I like the Coastal cruises. They are a quick refresh after my hard Winter seasons. Usually they are nice and relaxing for me. I did have one on HAL Eurodam that left me with a less-than-good feeling. The Coastal part started in San Diego to reposition the ship up North for the Alaska season. There were many guest who stayed onboard from the cruise through the Panama Canal. I guess they had formed all their groups and friendships with the staff during that cruise. I felt like an interloper a few times when I tried to get into things at a bar or a place to sit for dinner. I felt "sorry that I didn't have enough money to do the whole cruise and I had to work anyway". I moved to other lines for my Coastals.

I'm going on a cruise to Alaska next week. I'd rather do that after a long, hard Winter than go to Florida to take a cruise to someplace nice and warm.

Purple - love the monkey shot! Sorry DH wasn't a happy camper with his hip. I hope it was a good cruise outside of that for the both of you. He will be much happier when he gets that taken care of this year! Lois - Happy that you have been enjoying the cruise. Have a safe trip back home! Cynthia - I didn't realize you were gone for a month! Wish the weather had been more cooperative, but you made the most of it. Your photos have been very nice. Snowed/freezing rain overnight and this morning. Good thing I went down to the valley yesterday - the interstate down the mountain was black ice at the summit and there were cars and trucks strewn everywhere. Shut it down for awhile. Dentist visit was good. I do have to get an inlay done on my end upper tooth as it has a good crack in it. It's a 2-visit thing so I'll get it done in June when I have nothing planned. Did my REI run in search of the rain shell. I ended up with the Patagonia Torrentshell. It fits well with room to have my Patagonia down sweater (it's really a jacket) underneath and have good movement. I got the Coral color so it complements the bright red of the sweater. I couldn't get generic black. Ugh. I wanted to get a pair of rain pants, too, as the ones I have are now 3 sizes too big and I can't get the waist tight enough to not fall down. They really didn't have anything so I'll go to my 2 stores up here to check before I order online. Picked up 2 more pair of socks to replace 2 that I wore through this Winter and a couple of Bobo's Bars as snacks for the cruise. Then, I did a mini-TJ's run. First time that I spent under $100 there. Picked up some salad goodies for the week, a couple bags of sunflower seeds for Squirrel, some Spindrift waters, some almonds and a trail mix for the cruise, and a bag of Cacio e Pepe corn & rice puffs. They just sounded good, and yes, they taste good. If you like cheese puffs, give them a try. A very subtle taste with a little pepper lingering on the tongue. The rice gives it a little more of a good crunch. Staying off the streets & roads today, so OOTD is sweats and a Tshirt. I have to do some laundry!!!

Exactly! I have 3 owner that I adore and they all said that I had better come back. I'll probably do it but I'm trying to decide if I am going to do full time Winter or maybe 3 days/week. I have a couple of months to decide. Today the weather is cooperating so I'm going down the mountain to 1) visit my dental hygenist, 2) go to REI for the rain shell, 3) go to Sephora and pick up my shampoo and conditioner, 4) go to Trader Joe's for sunflower seeds for Squirrel and snacks for me. First time in awhile that I've been able to do down to the Valley. OOTD: Monday redo: Free People hiking pants, henley, Moabs. This will definitely be one of my Alaska outfits!

well, at least it was rocks on the beach, not sargassum...

Yesterday was the last day of the season for me. Just me, the maintenance guy and my favorite owners! It was totally quiet. I had my speaker cranked up more than usual and did a lot of walking to fend off the boredom. The owners had some lovely parting gifts for me as they cleaned out their refrigerator: 2 bottles of Veuve, a bottle each of Grey Goose and Absolute Vanilla, and 3 shopping bags full of various frozen foods, condiments and goodies. I won't have to grocery shop until I get back from Alaska! These owners live in Nashville, TN. They have a penthouse downtown there. They have another home somewhere in the vicinity. They have a condo in Knoxville, TN so they can go to the sporting events. They have a vaca place down on Siesta Key, FL. And, the villa in Tuscany. those are the ones I know about. They are very down-to-earth people - you'd never know they have all this money. Self-made, too. Yesterday's OOTD: totally casual - my Free People hiking pants, oversize henley, and my Moab Mid boots. I figured I'd be comfy if I was going to be doing nothing. Today's OOTD: sweats and a Tshirt. It's raining/snowing outside today so I'm going nowhere and doing nothing.

Yes, I did. Last year, it was all through Hertz the 2 times I rented between Italy and France. I spent a lot of time checking rates and such and Hertz was competitive. Driving solo, I opt for the next-to-the-lowest car. I had a manual tranny car up until 5 years ago so I didn't have to worry about paying extra to have an automatic.

I drove myself. It's really easy. I drive myself everywhere in Europe.

It turned me off of cruising for awhile, before any time dining became a thing across the cruiselines. I started back on NCL and then moved to a few others (HAL this time). But, I'm not a "formal dining room" kind of person, anyway and prefer getting a nice entree-size salad with my choice of protein in the buffet most of the time now.

I'm wearing my Moab 3 Mid GTX boots at work today!

I have decided that I don't care one whit what the other people think. I paid my money and if I want to dine solo (don't say alone as it has some negative feelings) it is my choice. I find that the staff treats me well. You and the staff will develop a rhythm that makes your dining time pleasant. Bring a book, a Kindle or smartphone with you if you want to occupy your between courses time. I stopped getting a table with folks - I got sick and tired of the "oh, you're so brave", "why not bring a friend, "I could never do this" kind of comments. Cruises are a good way to start your vacations solo. But, then, try to branch out to easy land travels. I did a month solo through France and Italy last summer and I totally enjoyed myself!

True. The Alexis has been moved to the Sonesta hotel group, along with some other IHG hotels.

In the 20 years that our neighborhood has been around, there has been no accidents between people, pets and the local wildlife. We've learned to peacefully coexist! Back to the bear spray - Quite a few of us use "Bear Bells" when we hike. it's just a bell that attaches to your pole, pack, or belt. It makes a consistent noise when you walk. I have a few friends who actually carry a gun - not for me! I wonder if my She Birdie personal alarm would work - it puts out one nasty hi pitch noise and has a bright flasher... I do NOT want to find out, though.

The sweater sadly didn't have enough on the seams to even think of getting it altered. I still have a hard time thinking my topside isn't an 18 or 16 anymore. Well, depends it can be a 16, but I'm able to do more 14s. I can almost walk in and say size 10 or M for my bottom, though. It got better today. She brought down a shopping cart filled with her pantry staples!! All unused, all still good. Ended up with a big bag of goodies. And she brought me the rest of her K-cups since I took one of her Keurig's. They leave tomorrow, so the "gifting" will be over.

Thanks. I was one of the early "catchers" of the 'vid, before they had even knew what it was in late January 2020. I still have some lingering things from it and the occasional bout with vertigo is one of them. I'm going on the April 29 cruise. Have to make an appointment with a physical therapist to do another Epley Maneuver on me to see if that helps. Otherwise, I'll be pounding the Bonine and Zyrtec...

I forgot: I stayed at the Alexis when it was still a Kimpton. Loved it. I was upgraded from the cheapest King room to a King Suite Sound View! May have been because it was part of a Birthday Trip for me (also taking the train from Seattle to Los Angeles). AND they had a bottle of sparkling wine and munchies for me!! Me - I like Kimptons. Stayed in multiple ones around the country.

Do a Google Maps search of Pike Place Market. Then, click on the "Hotels" button up top. You'll get a list of them and location relative to the Market. I've only stayed at the W and the Vintage. Both very good hotels, but probably not as close as you want - a couple minutes walking.

Hank - I'm going to piggyback onto this thread for a second. Starting a new thread seems a waste. So, Perrier (ugh) comes with the HIA beverage package. How much more was the Pellegrino? And, is there a monetary upgrade available with the package to get the Elite? Wondering minds want to know.

Good ole' Ernest & Julio. I remember their commerials. I'd rather pay for Pelligrino than get free Frog Water 😜 Is the Provisioning Officer still employed?????

I always ask the server to change gloves. Never know how long they had been using them and what they'd been touching. I do that with the TSA folks, too. Never let them touch my stuff with "used" gloves. The only time I came down with Noro was at the St. Regis Deer Valley. Working at the Front Desk and such, goodness only knows where I came into contact. I go home, go to work, repeat, so it had to be at work. All I got was a day off without pay (no specific sick days, just PTO and I was saving).

Oh, I meant to let you know... I finally got all the intelligence on the villa my owners owns in Tuscany. It's managed by Timbers Resorts for her and her DH. I did a web research on the area - Holly Cow!!! The area is Casole d'Elsa and the name of the properties they manage is Casali di Casole. Since they don't rent out their condo here, I'm betting they don't do it there and Timbers just manages it. I'd take a week there as my gratuity for the year 😜 I'd match it up with my hair stylist's week on the Residensea she had as a gratuity from a client a few years ago!!!

I was looking at a Photo Safari for Ketchikan. I was kind of hoping I could go off on a boat whale watching or fishing. But, thanks to Long COVID, I'm having another but with dizziness/vertigo so that is off the table. Just hoping that the ship doesn't cause too many problems, too. Anyway, I'm not a group excursion kind of person so looking for something different. This caught my eye. I've done photo hikes before in Arizona and Colorado so this sounded good for me.

Cynthia - Isn't it a good feeling when you get to finally see something you've read and thought about for years? That was my thing with Abu Simbel. Matcha pudding with adzuki beans on the bottom. Yum! Or was it natto at the bottom? Ugh. Lois - Good to know you're having fun on your journeys. Did the cool & windy go away? I think it came here! Sunny but windy and makes the 40s feel like 30s! I'm learning a women's L isn't always a L. I still can't just pick up a L and have it fit. Frustrating as sin. Some of the things I got yesterday just didn't fit my shoulders & bust. The one cashmere zipper sweater was a major disappointment. But, the other 2 sweaters and duster are perfect. I could have had 3 pair of jeans but I didn't want to try them on and not have them fit... I wish I could go over to her villa in Tuscany and try some of her things there (she's leaving in a week to go back over for another month, poor thing). OOTD: my blue & white long sleeve Tshirt, blue jeans, my Merrell Moabs.

Well, if I updated my 2016 MacBook Pro, probably pretty good. One issue with a poorly designed program (they obviously failed to test all hardware platforms) won't stop me. The Microsoft software isn't working all that great at work, either.