Quartzsite Cruiser

In 2019, the Veendam took us to Napflion in the Peloponnese. When we couldn't rent a car, we walked around town and then took the Ho-Ho which took us up to the fort overlooking the town. From our walk around town The fort from town and on the hillside. We opted to skip going into the fort. Plus the view of town from the hilltop. Town as seen from the Ho-Ho A smaller fort on the harbor Napflion is an interesting town. There are also several places to visit outside of town including Corinth. Lenda

I hope all the Dailyites celebrating Easter have a wonderful day. It is a sunny and non-windy morning in Quartzsite after an afternoon and night of rain. I don't know how much rain we received since the rain gauges are already stored for the summer. It was 50F when I got up, and is now 53F with a predicted high of 66F. Unfortunately, the clouds will move back in this afternoon, and we'll get more rain overnight. The rain is supposed to end about 4am in the morning. Depending on when the rain ends and the wind conditions tomorrow, we may have to postpone leaving until Tuesday. However, I'm going to continue getting ready to leave tomorrow. I have not laid eyes on a Bunsen Burner since my last college chemistry lab class. Cesar Chavez did a lot for farm workers. I don't know any Medievalists to hug. A medievalist is a specialist in medieval culture and history. I think Stephen King is write with his quote. We'll skip today's meal and drink. The wine sounds like a winner and doesn't break the bank. We anchored in Nafplio Bay in 2019 on Veendam for our visit to Napflion. I'll retrieve my pictures shortly. The 240 BC passage of Haley's Comet must have been something intriguing to those who saw it. @RedneckBob Welcome home, RNB. @summer slope Dixie, I hope you and George are feeling better today. @kazu Jacqui, I hope your interview goes well today, but I'm glad you have several backup options even if they are not ideal. @dfish Debbie, please wish DB Jeff a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY for us. Good luck with the Beef Wellington. @doobieb I'm sorry your DH has been diagnosed with diabetes. That is good news you have your dog sitter for your trip. @aliaschief Safe travels to Bangkok today, Bruce. I loved the pictures of Angkor Wat and how nature is reclaiming the area. @marshhawk Annie, that documentary sounds interesting, and I hope the changes work well for you. @Nickelpenny Pennie, I'm glad you are feeling better. @RMLincoln Safe travels today, Maureen. I hope your DSIL rallies. @cunnorl Charlene, please wish your DS HAPPY BIRTHDAY for us. @smitty34877 Terry, I'm happy you are having a wonderful time with your New Hampshire family. @kochleffel Paul, I'm glad your injury is improving. From experience, I know it will take time to stop being sore. @ger_77 Gerry, I hope that what the doctors have to tell Ollie isn't bad news. I'm glad you will be with her. Lenda

@sailingdutchy Tony and Martha, have a wonderful time on your cruise. Lenda

Annie, I'm very sorry about your traveling friends. Alzheimer's is so sad for everyone in the family. We've had family members and friends with Alzheimer's and yes, it is harder on the caretakers and family than the patient. I hope your friend gets the help for his wife that they both need. Lenda

The to-do list is considerably shorter now. However, not everything that I wanted to put in the motorhome today has made it there. Our rain came early, but during a brief time between rain spells, I got a few more things in the motorhome and put away. A few other things are in there, but not put away since it started raining again, and the high wind blew it into the door I had left open. Still tomorrow shouldn't be too bad, especially since we got the hardest chores accomplished. Paul, I'm sorry you fell. I hope you are less sore tomorrow. Bruce, all I can say is Wow, just wow. What a outstanding sunrise. Lenda

Good afternoon. The house is clean, the first load of towels dried quickly with our high winds and are ready to be folded. The second load of towels is on the line, and some were already dry by the time I got the last ones hung up. They should be dry by the time I finish here and get the first load folded. Once that is done, we'll start getting outside things done in case the rain lasts into tomorrow. @lazey1 Welcome home, Jane. I hope you are rested and relaxed after a wonderful cruise. Thank you. Graham. Vanessa, you have every right to whine after all the pain you've endured for so many months. Thank you for the nice comments about my pictures. Nancy, the big white building is Palacio Quitandinha which is a hotel that was built in 1941. Part of it are apartments that are individually owned. We did not stop at the hotel. Sharon, I know you'll enjoy your visit with your DM, and I hope tomorrow is one of the days with really good food. Pennie, I hope your surgery is successful in relieving your pain. DH had a laminectomy at L4-L3 with fusion. He has not had any leg or hip pain since. Lenda

The second day we were in Rio, we took a tour to see the Christ the Redeemer. The tour also included riding the tram up and back down, and a stop at Copacabana Beach. Not only were there crowds looking at the statue, but there were crowds waiting to board the trams. While we waited, we had a chance to tour their workshop and displays. A vintage tram car Scenes on the way up the mountain. Christ the Redeemer with most of the crowd on the stairs omitted. We also had a cloudy day. Rio looking down from the mountain. Looking up as we descended the mountain The area outside the tram station as we waited for our bus. Copacabana Beach on a windy day. That afternoon, we took the H. Stern shuttle into town, and walked around the area a little. We stopped in a grocery store to pick up something, and wound up talking to a nice lady in line. She even guided us to the senior line so we'd get the senior discount. In the entrance to H. Stern we saw this display of Carnival costumes. We also saw some of the floats from various parades parked along the streets near the dock, but we were unable to get pictures from the bus. Lenda

We were in Rio on February 17 and 18, 2015, on Ruby Princess. I'll divide my pictures into two posts by days. On February 17, we took a tour to Petropolis, named after Pedro II, the last Emperor of Brazil, and where Pedro II built his summer palace. The town is about 42 miles northeast of Rio in the mountains. A few scenes from Petropolis. The large white building may have been a grand palace or house, but is now a hotel. Our first stop was lunch at a restaurant that served many varies of meat that was sliced at the table. There was also a salad bar, so we had more food than we could possibly eat, but it was all good. I normally don't like to show pictures of people I don't know, but the one of the server slicing the meat is the only one I have like that, and it can't be cropped and still show the server and the meat. The next stop was the former summer palace. We got to tour inside, but couldn't take pictures. To protect the floors, we had to wear some type of shoe covering that would not stay on and was very slick on the floors. We wound up sliding our feet around the palace. At least, we could take the covering off to climb the stairs and to come back down. The entrance to the palace grounds and the outside of the palace. One of the residents of the palace's extensive gardens and grounds. Our last stop was the Catedral Sao Pedro de Alcantara. Pedro II and is family are entombed in the cathedral. Rio at night from the ship. Lenda

Good morning from a sunny and not windy now Quarzsite. It was 49F when I got up and is now 53F with a predicted high of 75F. We are under a wind advisory with 22mph winds this afternoon. It looks like we'll get some rain overnight, and lower temperatures tomorrow. After I finish cleaning house, we'll do more work to get ready to leave Monday. The main thing will be getting DH's storage building straightened up and what needs to go into it put away. Also, I'm going to try to get most except the last minute items loaded in the motorhome today. It will be another busy day, but I'm hoping tomorrow will be an easier day. I'll definitely celebrate all but two of the doctors we've seen in the past two years. I folded laundry yesterday, but will be folding clean towels later today. I think the quote applies to men than women. I think women can be a mystery to most men. We'll pass on the meal, drink and wine today. We have been to Rio de Janeiro twice, but only once in the digital age. The US really got a bargain when they purchased Alaska, even though most called it Seward's Folly. It was not a good day for Paris in 845. We've enjoyed our two visits to Salvador da Bahia. @aliaschief Bruce, thank you for the pictures of Angkor Wat. We passed on an opportunity to take a side trip there in 2002. I doubt if we'll make it there now. @grapau27 Graham, thank you for the explanation of the days. @Denise T I'm sorry that Chase's tumor was malignant. I hope they got it all and there is not reoccurrence, Denise. @ger_77 Gerry, I hope they are able to reduce the sedation for Gord and that he will recover from this setback. @summer slope Dixie, I'm glad there are no new aches and pains. Quick healing for you and George. @Nickelpenny Pennie, I hope you get over your cold quickly. @RMLincoln Maureen, I'm sorry your DSIL was transferred back to the hospital. The last I saw yesterday afternoon, the earliest the Starlink satellite launch would be 7:30 tonight. That will depend on the weather though. Lenda

@ocean sounds Have a great time on your cruise. Lenda

@USN59-79 I hope your 61st anniversary is wonderful. Lenda

@Suslor A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUSAN! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, SUSAN AND LORENZO! Lenda

@cruzn single Have wonderful birthday, Mary Kay. Lenda

Finally, everything that we wanted to get done today is finished. The wind is still blowing, but in gusts and then settles down for a bit. I think I'll try to sit outside with my book for a bit, and hope I don't blow away. The SpaceX launch has now been rescheduled for not earlier than 7:30 pm PDT tomorrow night. It is really raining now at the launch site. Welcome to the Fleet Report/Daily. I hope you will join us often. Jacqui, it sounds like Debbie would give Ivan lots of attention if it comes to needing to take him there. Good luck with the interviews. Vanessa, I admire you for sticking with your PT even when you don't want to go. I'm glad BFF was able to help today, and also provided dinner. Lenda

Dixie, I hope the aches and pains ease sooner. Wow, that's a bummer Edi. At least you have one working toilet. Lenda

Taking a quick break before getting back to work. We got most of the sunscreens on the windows. There are four left for later, since they are for windows under the patio covers and don't get direct sunlight, so they will wait until late Sunday afternoon. Otherwise, it would make those rooms too dark. It's about time to bring the laundry in off the line and to get the sheets out of the dryer. I also need to unload the dishwasher. After that, I'll tackle more of the to-do list. Dixie, I hope your aches, pain and bruises are history soon. Otherwise take it easy. Hugs. Sandi, I'm glad your DD made it home safely. She made good time in spite of the delay. Annie, I really hope the exercises work and you won't need further tests or surgery. With your hectic schedule, you might need to set aside a certain time every day to do the excercises. Terry, I'm glad you made it to New Hampshire and did not encounter much traffic. Enjoy Easter with your kids, grandkids and the adorable granddog. Lenda

We visited Nuuk on August 24, 2003, as part of a 33 day roundtrip cruise from NYC that included two stops above the Artic Circle in Greenland and all the way to St. Petersburg with many stops in between before returning to NYC. It was the precursor of the VOV, and it was also a very unusual cruise, at least for the part between NYC and Iceland. We were scheduled to sail the day after the big blackout, but wound up sailing very early the next morning. We were lucky to make the ship thanks to the ticket agent at DFW. She routed us and another couple to what was then Washington National and then on the shuttle to the Coast Guard Terminal at La Guardia which had it's own power supply. We were joined by a cruising friend for the shuttle flight. We were lucky we made the ship that day, and with our luggage. Many were so lucky and many did not get their luggage until days later and some in Iceland. The day we were in Nuuk, it was raining the the town was very muddy so we did not walk around too much. A small museum was open that day. Out side the museum What little we saw of town. Our adventure continued after leaving Nuuk. There was a bad storm with huge waves, and the Captain had to head the ship back toward Canada for two days. One of the nights was a formal night, and while I was getting ready for dinner at second seating, DH was in the Crow's Nest until a wave came over the top of the ship. We had a window table on the lower level of the dining room and the waves were above the bottom of the window. We managed to eat our dinner without much incident except the other man's shrimp cocktail landed in his lap, fortunately on this napkin. At that time, they still showed the desserts on a large tray, and when we hit a very big wave which caused the ship to shutter violently and almost stop, the tray, which was behind me landed upside down on the floor. Others had everything on their table land on the floor, and several people upstairs were thrown out of the chairs with one lady having some ribs broken.. We learned later that water had breeched a door above the showroom and water poured down the stairs in the showroom and onto the stage during the first show. The water shorted out the electrical system in around the stage, and they could not have bingo the next morning because of lack of power for the bingo machine. It was fixed for the afternoon bingo session. That wave also bent the thick metal at the top edge of the bow. Lenda

Good morning from a sunny and windy Quartzsite. It is 57F with a predicted high of 78F, and winds this afternoon up to 18mph. Besides doing the laundry today, I think it is time to bring the flags in for the summer since tomorrow afternoon the winds are predicted to be 22 mph. Rain is predicted overnight tomorrow night, but it looks like any rain Monday will be several hours after we are on the road back to Texas. I hope we can keep ahead of any rain, or at best, have it rain after we stop for the day. Virtual Vacations can be nice, but I prefer the real thing. Mermaids are an interesting concept and Gerry @ger_77 thanks for the laugh about mermaids. I'd never considered that question. I will honor manatees who are thought to be the inspiration for mermaids. Mom and Pop stores need our support. The Truman Capote quote is true. I think I'd like the meal but without the broccoli. A hard pass on the drink, but would like to try the wine. However, at that price, I'll stick with my cardbordeaux. We were in Nuuk in 2003 on Rotterdam VI, and I'll post my pictures in a few minutes. We would like to be able to see the Terracotta Soldiers in person. DFIL and DH's stepmother took our place on a People to People tour to China in 1986, and as part of the tour, visited the Terracotta Soldiers. @Hogladyrider Thank you for the good wishes for our travels back to Texas. We've enjoyed seeing that part of Utah. Enjoy your summer. @JazzyV Vanessa, thank you for keeping up our lists. I didn't realize until later yesterday that it is Hogladyrider not Ladyhogrider who is on her way to Utah. I hope you can manage with the leg pain until your surgery, which I very much hope solves your problems. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I hope your DD does not have any problems on the road today and arrives home safely. @Crazy For Cats Jake, we switched to Delta in 2017 for most of our flights, and have been pleased with the switch. We have used JB mainly for flights between DFW and Boston. @dfish Debbie, I'm sorry your brackets were decimated. Sadly, Texas lost in the first round, but the Texas women are going strong. @kazu Jacqui, I hope your power is back on soon, and there is no serious damage or injuries from the flooding. I hope you can find a wonderful and reliable person to take care of Ivan, and soon. @Haljo1935 Elizabeth good luck at the eye doctor. I hope the procedure is approved. @1ANGELCAT Safe travels to and from Hershey, and I hope there are no side effects to the injection. @ger_77 Gerry, sending very positive thoughts for Gord and his wife Ollie. Enjoy your busy weekend with the DGSs and family. @Seasick Sailor Joy, I hope Oliver is all right now, and that your friends are more careful with the plackers. If it was me, I'd wait until I got home to use one. I was sorry to read about your friends and what they are facing. @Scrapnana Welcome home. I hope you had a wonderful cruise. @Nickelpenny Pennie, congratulations on the shout out. I hope you feel better soon. Lenda

@POA1 @Huskerchick and @Smmessineo I hope all of you have a wonderful cruise. Lenda

DH checked the SpaceX site, and the launch was scrubbed. Not sure if it's the reason but they mentioned clouds. They will try again tomorrow night at 7:23 pm. @erewhon Welcome home. Hope it was a good cruise. Lenda

Some of the hardest chores are done instead of waiting until the last day before we leave. The worst things to haul and put in the shed were the very heavy duty 100 ft. hoses. It made the 50 ft. one seem like nothing. We also got the handle installed on the very difficult to open cabinet door and the towel bar installed. I still have three days to get more done, and I hope that most will be finished by Saturday afternoon. That way, maybe Sunday won't be such a busy, hectic day that has happened in the past. Now, it's time to head into town and get a much needed haircut. Roy, I'm glad the weather is cooperated for the opening game and that the O's won. Thanks for the pictures of the blooming desert. It is blooming more than it did almost three weeks ago when we were coming back from Yuma. It's greener around here than we've see it in years. DH and I may be some of the few Dailyites who have been through Helper more than once. Coming from Texas, the road through Helper is a lot closer to SLC and staying on I-70 to I-15. It's a neat little town with interesting railroad history. Safe travels. Lenda

Just wanted to remind the Dailyites in Arizona and southern California, there will be a launch at 7:30 pm today from Vandenberg. It will be a Starlink launch carrying 22 satellites. According to Space.com there is a four hour window for the launch beginning at 7:30 p.m., but Spaceflight now says the launch is at 7:30. Lenda

Before getting started on today's to-do list, we decided to have one last drive-thru breakfast. We also dropped off the donation at Carol's Closet, check the PO Box and got what was needed at the dollar store. Brenda, thanks for the picture of the bald eagles. The only time we saw that many or more was in June 1992 when we drove along the Chilkat River going into Haines from Haines Junction. The trees were full of bald eagles for miles. Karen, hugs to you as you face the "firsts". Very glad you DS and DDIL will join you on Easter Sunday. Ann, I'm glad you are feeling better today. It's nice you can arrange the top freezer shelf to hold meals for your DD while you are on your cruise. Now, it's time to start on the to-do list. Lenda

Good morning from a mostly cloudy Quarzsite, but I can see a bit of sunshine too. It is currently 54F with a predicted high of 81F with sun most of the day. It looks like our winds will be picking up this afternoon, and it will be pretty windy tomorrow and Saturday. Today will be more of the same getting the motorhome ready to leave Monday. I also need to drop some more items off at Carol's closet, stop at the post office and get a haircut. The three days today are all good. I remember our Maundy Thursday night church service when I was in high school. DH likes hot tubs, but I can take them or leave them. Opening day for MLB is welcome. After living near Houston for 14 year, I'm still a big Astros fan even though I don't follow them like I used to. I also root for the Diamondbacks unless they are playing the Astros. Sorry Elizabeth @Haljo1935 I never was a big Rangers fan, maybe because they "stole" Nolan Ryan away from the Astros. 😉 I really like the Audrey Hepburn quote. I'll pass on the meal since I'm not a fan of radishes, and on the drink too. The wine sounds like one to try, but it is bit pricey. We have been to Croatia many times, but never to Zadar. The first seaplane to take off from water in 1910 occurred earlier than I thought. @summer slope Dixie, I'm sorry you are so sore today. Take it easy, and I hope you feel better soon. @Ladyhogrider Safe travels as you head to Utah. The blue bubble didn't work, so I made my own. @kazu Jacqui, I hope the financial problem is resolved without having to get nasty again. I'm sorry about Ivan's vacation home not working out. I hope you find something soon and without a hassle. @aliaschief Bruce, the ramp to the sampan does look dicey, but not as bad as the single board used to exit the boat on the Perfume River in Hue. Safe travels tomorrow and enjoy Angkor Wat. Thanks for the pictures. @Lady Hudson Katherine, I hope your DH's health concerns have been taken care of, and he is doing better. @Mr. Boston Enjoy your relaxing train ride and your visit with your mother. @ger_77 Gerry, sending very positive thoughts that your DH is approved for the valve replacement surgery. Safe travels for your family today. @RMLincoln Maureen, I hope your DB and his daughter can find a suitable place for you DSIL very quickly. Is there an Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital near them? That might be a good fit for her. I'm sorry your DH's doctor's visit was postponed. @dobiemom Congratulations on booking the cruise for April 2026. Lenda

That's good news about her insurance, Dixie. Lenda