Quartzsite Cruiser

Good morning from a mostly cloudy central Texas. It is currently 74F with 96% humidity and a dew point of 73F. Our predicted high is 91F with 14 to 16mph winds today. I hope to be on my way to Waco by 8am if not a bit earlier. That was I can get to the three stores that open early and be ready for the ones that open at 10am. I hope I'm finished with my errands by early afternoon so I can be home by mid afternoon. However, a lot depends on how long I stay at the used book store finding some more treasures to read. Happy Birthday to Clark Kent and his alter ego, Superman. We watched some of Superman episodes a few years ago. Hate speech serves no purpose and should countered or better yet, eliminated. Some one else can have my sushi. The quote is not one I agree with or like. I would change today's recipe for port shoulder, preferably a Boston butt, to one cooked in the smoker for four to six hours, and using a dry rub. We'll pass on the drink, but I wouldn't turn down the wine. We have visited Mindelo twice. A great day in aviation history and for women in 1928 when Emelia Earhart flew across the Atlantic. @marshhawk Annie, it sounds like you have job security for a while. @LambKnuckles Lambie, we also have our pulled pork as just a meat with side dishes. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I'm sorry you missed the Greenland ports. This time of year, ice can be iffy in the far north. I hope you are feeling better and the cough is better. @dfish Debbie, good news the a/c is still working. BTW, they also make "claws" for pulling pork, and they are easier to use than a fork. Lenda

It's 93F and windy, so it wasn't too bad when I went to get the mail. However, it is just hot enough to not sit outside this afternoon. The silver polishing is completed and the upper part of the china cabinet is dusted. Most things in the china cabinet did not need polishing since they do not sit out in the open air. That helped make the work go faster. Just another exciting day in central Texas. Tomorrow will be an early and long day. I will be going to Waco tomorrow to get some much needed things and for a little retail therapy. I hope to get away relatively early so I can hit Target and W-M before most places open at 10 am. I've needed to make this trip for some time, but was waiting until the jeweler called to say my rings were ready. I try to get as much done in one trip, even if it makes for a long day. Congratulations on booking the 2026 GANZ cruise. I would love to do that cruise so I wouldn't have the long flights to get to Australia and New Zealand. Debbie, I'm glad the a/c is fixed and that it was a simple fix. Your plans for the house sound nice, and I hope you win the lottery. Being from Texas, we invested in a smoker when we moved back in 1985. That one was a big charcoal smoker that we left with the house when we moved. We bought an electric smoker that is a lot easier unless the element burns out. With that, I can put dry rub on the babyback ribs and smoke them for four hours. I do wrap them in foil after two hours. We also do the same thing with a pork Boston butt, but it takes about four to six hours depending on the size. For brisket and port shoulder, we have a remote thermometer that keeps us from having to go outside to check the temperature. Carolyn, I hope you feel better soon. Stomach/flu is not fun. Tina, we flew from Athens to JFK in 2016 and had a two hour layover. Both flights were on Delta, so we were in the same terminal. The automated passport control was a big help. As @tupper10 said, a lot depends on whether or not your arrival flight is on time. Also, the gates both planes use makes a difference. The concourses we used were very long, especially the arrival concourse and we were at or near the far end on both. It took 20-30 minutes to get from the gate to Customs. A lot of passengers, even those who didn't need them, ordered wheelchairs to keep from having to walk. Since the shutdown and start up, I can't say for sure if you will have enough time. We have never docked at Oceankaj in Copenhagen, but we did find the local buses easy to use and relatively inexpensive. They also have a metro, which is nice. Vanessa, that is not good news about the temperature, thunderstorm warnings and now power. I hope you get your power back on soon. You could have seen Talkeetna from the train, as it stops there. But the station is a ways from "downtown". Enjoy the DGD's softball game and the summer music concerts. Lenda

Debbie, now is not the time for the a/c and the window unit to quit working. I hope the service people get there this afternoon, and that it is an easy and not too expensive a fix. Sharon, we've smoked a lot of briskets over the years, and this was absolutely the best. It is also the first one I've seen that had marbling throughout the meat which made it much more tender. Except when the smoker element burned out, we don't cook our briskets on the grill. To be really tender, they need to be cooked low and slow and then held at 190 to 200 degrees F for at least an hour if not longer. It took us many years to really start cooking them long enough. I put a dry rub on the brisket the night before since I have to get in the smoker about 6am. We've never marinated any of our beef. The one time DH's uncle cooked steaks for us, he marinated them, and for me, they just didn't taste the same. BTW, he owned a series of butcher shops in the LA area. We've been through Limon many times, and we may even have stopped there one night. Lenda

Pennie, you probably missed Talkeetna when you did the loop around the Alaska interior. It is on a side road off the Parks Highway between Willow and Trapper Creek. Lenda

Vanessa, some electric utilities have various rate plans, and others don't, but just ask you to reduce electricity usage in peak hours. Lenda

Annie, the racoon who visited us in The Woodlands to eat the cat food, showed after being missing for a while with one of his front feet missing. We guessed he'd been caught in a trap, and maybe chewed his leg off to get free. Lenda

We've been to Talkeetna at least three times when doing the 14 day Alaska cruise out of Seattle. We have also been there when we were in the motorhome. As @rafinmd Roy said, it's a stop on the train from Anchorage to Fairbanks, but the train station is out of town a ways, as is the airport for the flightseeing planes. Talkeetna is a very small town with basically one paved main street. It is the base for flights to see Denali. On a clear day, you can see Denali from the rear deck of the Talkeetna Lodge which sits on a hill outside of town. I posted a few pictures of Talkeetna when it was the destination of the day earlier. I'll repost them and add a few more for those who have not been there or even to Alaska. The view from Talkeetna Lodge on a typical day. Denali from the same place on a very rare day when the mountain and the mountain range is completely visible. I could have stood and looked at the mountain for a long time that day. Random views, but they include most of the main street in Talkeetna. One of the shopping "venues". There is a nice little park in town. Lenda

Good sunny morning from central Texas. It is already 78F and feels like 86F with a predicted high of 92F. Currently the humidity is 97% with a dew point of 77F. The weather app says the wind is 11mph, but our neighbor's flag is saying it's not that high yet. This afternoon, the wind is predicted to reach 17mph from the SSE. The only thing outside to take care of today is putting the smoker back in place after cleaning the drip pan and emptying the wood box before putting the trash out. Otherwise, I have things to do inside such as polishing the silver, especially the pieces not in the china cabinet, which also needs dusting. We were married at a time when we received a lot of silver pieces as wedding gifts. So every year or two, it they get polished, and the cabinet cleaned until the next time. I doubt the DDs want any of the silver, china or crystal, and I really need to find a home for all but a few special pieces like my mother's candelabras. I like root beer and root beer floats, but haven't had any for quite a while. Crocodiles do have their place in the environment, but I don't want to meet one up close, although the jumping crocodiles outside Darwin, AU, were interesting. We do need to combat desertification and drought, although they are basically part of the weather cycles. The Emily Dickinson quote is good. Thank you, Tina, @0106 for posting the poem. We'll pass on the meal, drink and wine today. We have been to Talkeetna a few times, in the motorhome and in rental cars from Anchorage on the 14-day Alaska cruises. It is 113 miles north of Anchorage, and takes a little more than two hours on the Parks Highway to get there. It is the base for Denali flight seeing airplanes. On a clear day, you can see Denali from a lodge outside of Talkeetna. An interesting day in 1579 when Sir Francis Drake arrived off the coast of California. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I'm glad you are feeling a bit better, and that you are not coughing as much. I hope the soccer tournament can happen today. Happy CC Anniversary. @kazu Jacqui, I hope your appointment and the hunt for boxes go well today. @ottahand7 Nancy, I hope the tornado near your winter home did not do any damage. @smitty34877 We used to have a racoon and her babies visit our house in The Woodlands. Once the racoon trapped our cats up a tree. @dfish Debbie, having a father and a husband who worked for electric utilities, I realize the higher rates from either 2 to 7pm or 4 to 8pm are to encourage people to conserve energy during those hours of peak demand in the summer. The discount is another incentive. If everyone used as much power as they wanted during peak times, it could cause a system overload on extremely hot days, and power outages. So what you call a racket is a way to prevent overloads by the companies. The money factor gets peoples attention better than just asking them to reduce usage during peak hours. @marshhawk Annie, I'm glad your DH likes his drone. @ger_77 Gerry, that was nice that your DH's daughter and SIL were at the Father's Day breakfast, too. @Cruzin Terri Terri, I hope you are feeling better soon, and that your DH continues to test negative. Since I started typing this, the heavy clouds have moved in, and we've lost our sunny day. We are not supposed to get any rain until Wednesday, or maybe Tuesday night. Lenda

@durangoscots A VERY HAPPY 87TH BIRTHDAY, Susan. I hope you and the dogs do something special today. Lenda

Roy, I agree with you. This is an unique thread that starts new each day with a unique group of regular posters who have become friends over the last four years. Rich starts us off with certain topics which most generally comment about before adding what is happening in their lives that day.. In other words, we have a polite conversation each day without going into the two no-no areas of religion and politics. It helps that we care about and respect each other. Lenda

Good evening. The brisket was the best we've ever cooked, and really the best we've ever had. I think it is in part due to the marbling of the meat, something you don’t usually see in brisket. The Mexican salad with corn and black beans was even better than expected. I'm not sure when it was the meal of the day, or which recipe I chose, but it's a keeper. My father always said there is a silver lining in any situation. In this case, it was Rich @richwmn turning the Fleet Report into the Daily on 2020, and then adding a daily meal. Otherwise, I would not have heard of the salad and tried it. So, thank you very much Rich. Jane, I hope the good memories of your father made this anniversary easier. I'm glad you are feeling better, and that the pt is helping with the vertigo. I hope you can begin cardiac rehab next week, and that it increases your stamina. We never discuss politics or religion, especially after a lady thought it would be okay given where the six of us at the table were from. The first night it didn't go well, and we stuck to other topics from then on. Sometime it is better to change tables. Once the easiest thing was to switch to open seating. Lenda

That's interesting that you used the ATM at 7/11 stores. We tried one the first time we were in Tokyo, and even though it had the correct network symbol, it wouldn't accept my ATM card. We've never had that happen at a bank that has the correct symbol on the ATM. Debbie, great pictures of your dad. We've had our share of complainers, and other obnoxious dining companions. Once, even though the host was way ahead of me, when I saw the very obnoxious man from the night before, I turned around dragging DH with me, and said some other table. We've been lucky to not have too many of those situations over the years. Lenda

Good afternoon. The potato salad and the Mexican salad with corn and black beans are finished, except I'll add the avocado to the second salad shortly before we eat. A taste test was good. The barbecue sauce is made along with a pan of brownies. Now we can sit back and wait while the brisket continues to cook. Gerry it was nice of your DH's son to take you to breakfast today. Elizabeth, thanks for sharing the drawing of the picture. Great picture of your Dad. Ray, thanks for sharing the pictures of your father. Sandi, I'm sorry the next three ports are iced in. That is the hazard of cruising in the far north this early in the season. I hope you feel better soon. Carolyn, thanks for the great photo of your dad with all the kids. Great picture of your dad, Terry. I also remember those hats the men wore in the 50s and 60s. In Abilene, they wore felt hats in the winter and straw hats in the summer. I remember my father changing the hat bands to match his suit before leaving home for work. Thanks for the pictures, Brenda. Roy, thanks for the pictures of the Kanheri Buddhist Caves. They look very interesting, but I doubt I'll go back to India to see them. Vanessa. that's my favorite photo of my father. I still miss him after 31 years. We had a lot of fun together over the years. Joy, we've always gotten our foreign currency at ATMs, but we make sure they are part of a bank, not a free standing ATM. We get the best and most current exchange rate at ATMs. Karen, enjoy the concert with your DS, DDIL and two friends. It sounds like a fun day. Lenda

Here are the pictures I took of Mumbai from the bus on the way to the ship from the airport. As I said earlier today, we have seen India. Cochin was not too bad, but in Agra and Mumbai, we have never seen such filth. The Taj Mahal was always on my bucket list, but not India. Now it's Been There, Done That!. Lenda

Good morning from central Texas. It is 75F with 96% humidity and a dew point of 74F. There is a 8mph wind according to the weather app, but according to my neighbor's flag there is a slight breeze. It is really not that bad outside right now. Our predicted high is 91F. I'm up early since the brisket needed to go into the smoker about 6 am, and I got it in about 6:10, so not too bad. Brisket needs to be smoked long and slowly in order to tenderize the meat. Fingers crossed 🤞 this turns out to be a good brisket. This time I'm using pecan wood chips, and there was a lot of smoke just a little while ago. The only other thing on the agenda is a quick trip to the store to get ingredients for the Mexican corn and black bean salad that I didn't realize I needed when I was there Thursday. Then I'll make that salad, the potato salad, and the barbecue sauce. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads. My father died 31 years ago just three weeks before his 80th birthday. This is my favorite picture of him. It was taken in 1974 or 1975 when he visited us in Newark, DE. We had gone to Annapolis on a day trip and enjoyed a picnic lunch at the small boat harbor. Sorry about the quality of the picture, but it's a scanned version of an old print. I will celebrate the first two days, but someone can celebrate Chenin Blanc day with my share of the wine. I think the day of family remittances can also include the hard working crews on BHBs who send money home to their families. I'm not sure I agree with today's quote. We'll pass on the meal and the wine. The drink sounds like a good one to enjoy on a BHB. We were in Mumbai but only saw the part of the town from the domestic air port to the ship since we had flown in from an overland tour to Agra. That was enough of Mumbai and India for me. A good day in history for the Soviet space program. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I'm also worried about your cough. Please don't let it go on much longer before getting it checked out. I'm glad you are not going out and about too much as spreading whatever you have around. @MISTER 67 Arnold Palmer was also one of my favorite golfers when we used to watch the tournaments. He was a real gentleman. @grapau27 Graham, thanks for the information today. Lenda

Oh no, Terri. I'm so sorry you tested positive, but I'm glad Jim is negative. I hope you can get over this quickly. Lenda

Good afternoon from a very warm central Texas. It is 93F with a 10mph wind and lower humidity at 47% with the dew point at 68F. The mowing took a bit longer than expected between needed to work on the string in the trimmer, and the mower clogging with the thick weeds. After, I finished, the wind picked up, and I sat outside in the shade and breeze to cool off before heading to the shower. Tonight we are going to share a ribeye, and have baked potatoes and salad with our wine. The wine du jour is a nice cardbordeaux cabernet sauvignon which is the house brand at Costco. Tomorrow, I plan to smoke a half brisket to have with potato salad and the Mexican salad with corn and black beans that was a recipe of the day a while back. I'm doing it the easy way with caned beans and canned corn. Tina, please wish your parents a VERY HAPPY 65TH ANNIVERSARY for us. Gerry, please wish your DS A VERY HAPPY 43ND BIRTHDAY for us. Maureen, I hope you have a wonderful time tomorrow seeing the play, and that you can have dinner at the Pompton Queen Diner. Enjoy your visit with your DH's DS and DDIL. I'm glad they made it to the gate in time. Brenda, that is definitely not good news about the places in the pipe that need replacing, but it is good they found them before they broke. I'm glad things about your flights appear to be working out. I hope that continues, and you have a safe flight home. Roy, thank you for letting us know about yesterday. I hope you have a better night's sleep tonight. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, sending best wishes for a successful tournament for Ren and the team this week. I hope you are feeling better. I have enjoyed seeing everyone's pictures of Ketchikan today. I know if I try to name you, I'll forget someone. Lenda

The final set of pictures. We have rented cars a few times in Ketchikan and driven both directions from town. Heading southeast from town. Now, going northwest from town. Totem Bight State Historical Park. In 2018 on Zaandam, we were also fortunate to see their 4th of July Parade. It was a warm, sunny day in the mid 80s, and the locals were complaining about the heat. It was the only time we've left the ship in shorts and without a raincoat. We watched the parade from the ship, which gave us a great viewpoint. The flyover by the seaplanes. These were just two of many. The final entrant. This is not how we normally dress when we're in Ketchikan. We were just glad we had shorts with us. Lenda

I'll try to add a few more of my pictures from Ketchikan. I always enjoy the sail away, and the trip down the channel. First, this is an interesting totem that we saw in 2018. Heading down the channel. One of the Alaska Marine Highway ferries, Columbia. The drydock The airport, which is reached by ferry. Does anyone remember the bridge to nowhere controversy. The bridge was supposed to connect Ketchikan with the airport. Lenda

Our first visit to Ketchikan was in June 1993, in the pre-digital age on the old Sky Princess. We have been back there many times, mostly on BHB's and in all kinds of weather. I have too many pictures for one post. It may even take three posts. In 2012 and 2014 we visited Ketchikan five times on Amsterdam. We generally do multiple b2bs in Alaska figuring we'll get at least one decent day in the ports. In 2012, we booked two tours using 2 for 1 coupons from the Great Alaskan Tour Saver. The first one was a float plane flight to Misty Fjords. Most of my pictures are the same as those posted earlier. This tour was interesting, but it is one and done, since we came within seconds of flying into one of the mountains. Fortunately, the fog cleared just in time for the pilot to pull up and turn very sharply. We landed on calm bay and had the opportunity to step out on the pontoon. After the near miss, neither of us nor the other couple wanted to do that. The next time the Amsterdam took us to Ketchikan, we took the Duck Tour. It was disappointing as we did not spend very long on the water, and most of the time was touring downtown. In 2012, we did b2b2bs on Amsterdam. We arranged to take the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour on the Aleutian Ballad. The ship had been a crab fishing boat and was featured in season 2 of Deadliest Catch when it was caught by a wave and rolled 360 degrees. They showed that scene from the show on the boat. It is illegal to feed Bald Eagles in Alaska. However, the tour took us to an island owned by one of the native corporations where they also owned the surrounding water, and the law did not apply. The crew cut up bait fish and threw them toward the eagles. It was amazing to watch the eagles catch the fish. Another part of the tour was demonstrating the various crab traps and other traps. They would haul the traps up and show us the catch, which was then released. We also learned that an octopus is really very, very floppy. On one of the subsequent visits to Ketchikan, we took an off road tour featuring Tom-Toms, an Israeli built ATV. DH did not like how it drove. It was wet, misty and cold up in the mountains, but it turned out it was dry and sunny in town. We were the height of fashion that day. We stopped at one point to see a waterfall and to learn about the different plants and trees. Lenda

Good morning from a sunny day in central Texas. It is 73F with 90% humidity and a dew point of 70F. The weather app says there is a 1mph wind. Our high this afternoon will be 93F, so I better get moving and get the mowing and trimming done before it gets too hot. Yesterday driving back from Dallas it was very clear once we were away from the city. We could see for miles and miles, and enjoyed the still green country. Three interesting days to celebrate. Wind power is good and there are a lot of wind turbines along I-20 between Abilene and Big Spring. LGBTQIA plus equal pay are important. The Magna Carta was an important document in early England. We saw the document in the British Library when we spent a week in London. I like the quote from Friedrich Nietzsche. We'll pass on the meal, drink and wine today. We have been to Ketchikan many times beginning with our first Alaska cruise in 1993. The 1215 signing of the Magna Carta by King John was a momentous day. I've seen the moving picture of the horse running on tv shows. @Mtn2Sea Welcome home, Robert. @Crazy For Cats Enjoy your day in NH with the special lunch to celebrate your friend's upcoming birthday. @cat shepard Ann, thanks for the "picture" of the no-see-ums. They are nasty little pests, and I'm glad we left them behind when we moved away from the Gulf coast area. @ottahand7 Nancy, thanks for the update on your DB's recovery. I hope this time, the knee replacement will not become infected again. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I hope you can shake the cold soon. @Heartgrove Jack, thanks for the information about the Sentinel class of Coast Guard cutters. It's nice the enlisted personnel are honored too. @Cruzin Terri Welcome home, Terry. I hope you are over your cold soon, and that your ears are back to normal soon. @mamaofami Carol, congratulations to your grandsons on their high school graduations, awards and scholarships. Also congratulations to another grandson on his college graduation. @marshhawk Annie, I'm glad the job situation is settled. Thanks for the pictures of the boat tour in Misty Fjords. We took a float plane over the area, but I would like to take the boat tour also. Lenda

@Himself I hope you have a great cruise, Father. Lenda

Granted what is cold for thin bloodied Texans is not cold for those from more northern regions, but our highs can be in the 50s and 60s, damp and windy. On a cruise in Iceland, Alaska, or Norway okay, but day to day in Arizona, not fun. We go to Arizona in the winter because it can be better than Texas. Operative word is can. Lenda

Historically, December is our coldest month in Quartzsite, but January and February can be cold too. However, compared to Michigan,it is probably balmy. That is why we cruise in winter from Q. Lenda

Sharon, I'm glad you and Craig are there for your DGD. Susan, I bet your glad to get your place to yourself and the dogs after the last few days. Lenda