USN59-79

Looks like three days of damp and rainy weather here in the Pacific NW, then Spring will have sprung with temperatures in the 70s.  My father was in the race horse business most of his life.  During WW2 the tracks shut down and he worked for Boeing, then we moved to a ranch where he started again.  I remember "walking hots" at the race track near Seattle as a teenager as we had to walk the horse to let it cool down after exercising it on the track.  Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack while walking one of his horses at a track near San Francisco while I was in the Navy.

I was surprised it took so long to round up the local missing zebra.  The back story is that there were two competing groups working to corral her.  They were not cooperating, and one was organized by a local home building company that was interesting the positive advertising feedback if they were successful.  Anyway, all is well that ends well.

Ray

2 hours ago, RMLincoln said:

Stunning story of amazing and meaningful events in your life!  Thank you for sharing it with us. m—

What I thought was amazing was how organized the Japanese are.  Could you imagine stepping off a ship in any American city and asking a stranger to tell you where your grandfather's grave is located?  The story we were told was that after WW2 and Kobe expanded, they removed all the graves from the city foreign cemetery and moved them to a park on the mountain.  There were sections for the different nationalities; British, Russian, etc.  I just found a picture of it.  He died 22 June, 1914.  The family immigrated from Siberia to Maui in the early 1900s and then to Honolulu.  His doctor told him that his heart couldn't stand the heat of Hawaii and that they should go back to Siberia.  He agreed, but died of a heart attack on the way back.  After going back to Siberia, the family then returned to Honolulu, where my mother lived until she finished high school.

Ray

Thought I would mention something about Kobe and the helpful people there.  About fifteen years ago our cruise ship stopped at Kobe and there was a shuttle to downtown.  There were some local citizens who had volunteered to show the tourists around.  Sara and I met a lady there who asked "What would you like to see?"  I mentioned that about 100 years ago my grandfather had died on a ship coming from Hawaii and was buried in Kobe.  I wondered if we could find his grave.  I gave her his name and approximate death date in 1912 or 1913.  She made a few calls and said that he was buried in the foreign cemetery in a park on a mountain outside of Kobe.  We hired a cab and she took us there and found his gravestone in the Russian section of the cemetery.  We took some pictures and came back to Kobe and took her to lunch.

Sometimes it is surprising what you can do on a cruise.

Ray

Lenda, that was a very interesting cruise on the Coral Princess.  We stopped in Korea and the Executive Officer of the USS Pueblo, Ed Murphy was aboard to host a tour of the border area between North and South Korea.  That was the first time he had been back to Korea since released from confinement by the North Koreans.  Another great thing was that it was a 60 day  Asia cruise without flying across the Pacific; Los Angeles to Los Angeles.

Ray

2 hours ago, rafinmd said:

I was on Nieuw Statendam Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam and never got close to Rome.  I unknowingly sailed with @USN59-79 on the Amsterdam but don't think I have sailed with any dailyites that I did not know about at the time.

 

Was that Prinsendam's final voyate?  Or perhaps you got on as I got off in Fort Lauderdale after her Grand South America.

 

Roy

I suspect that I have unknowingly sailed with quite a few of the Dailyites on HAL and Princess.  Our last Amsterdam sailing was in 2017, the first 56 days of the WC.  We did the second half in 2014, plus a Grand Asia in 2010 and 2011.  Our last four HAL cruises were on the Westerdam, 2 in 2019, one in 2020 (stranded in Cambodia) and 42 days in 2023.  We typically take longer cruises, the longest was 89 days on the Ocean Princess around Africa in 2015.

Ray

@bennybear Those are really special pictures of Kona.  I wonder why they have such beautiful sunsets compared to other places in the world.  Normally I hate spiders, but that one was really different.

Ray

Greetings from the Pacific NW.  Beautiful day, but the wind is coming up and expecting rain soon.

In 1961, when stationed in Taipei by the Navy, I wanted to learn to speak Chinese.  I met a Chinese girl who was employed at the National Taiwan Art Center who wanted to learn more English.  March 8 was Woman's Day and she had a day off, so her Uncle brought her to my house to meet me.  We exchanged language lessons twice a week.  At the time she was 19 and I was 21.  Two years later we were married.  I learned some Chinese, but not a lot, and never did concentrate on learning to read it.

I had never heard of the term cli fi.  However, every day I hear a lot of fiction about climate change that is presented as fact.  

We went to Red Lobster for lunch today as we had a gift card that needed to be used.  We had crab legs which were OK.  But I wonder how many dungeness crabs I could have bought to eat at home for $71?

Ray

We did 42 days on the Westerdam Yokohama to Seattle last Spring and noticed some cutbacks, particularly the service in the Pinnacle Grill.  We decided to try something different, and recently completed 33 days on Seabourn Sojourn, part of the Carnival group, from Sydney to Taipei.  If you are willing to go upscale, there is a definite, positive difference.  Within three days crew members knew our name and the type of wine we enjoyed.  I asked our excellent room stewardess how many rooms she was responsible for and she said 17.  Drinks were free, and when I asked the room person for a bottle of American whiskey, she promptly delivered a liter of Jack Daniels.  When we left the ship there were only two charges; both for visas.  Although there are no mandatory gratuities, the crew seemed happier and less stressed than on a HAL ship.

Ray

Well, the plumber showed up on time and after four hours we now have a new water heater that I can access with my phone and turn it off for the days we are away from home.  The plumber was very professional and I might contact him when we think about remodeling our bath room.

Time for a glass of red wine and to light the barbecue for steaks tonight.

Ray

We have been home for a week and finally got time to read through the Daily.  Almost missed out flight out of Taipei.  Flight was to leave at 7:40 AM and DBIL left for the airport at 5:00, so we should have had plenty of time.  Start checking for our flight to Korea and couldn't find it.  Eventually found that we were at the wrong airport; Sungshan, the original airport, rather than Touyuan, the international airport.  Grabbed a taxi, stuffed in our four suitcases and told the driver to hurry.  He drove about 20 mph over the speed limit and we made it.  He received a large tip.  Never had a Mustang, but was into Thunderbirds.  At one time I had 6 1963 t-birds.  DW said "One or two is a hobby, but six is a sickness".  Finally got down to one convertible I worked on restoring for about two years.  Working under it one day and got rust particles in my eye and decided enough is enough.  Sold it and bought a new Mazda Miata.

Found our water heater wasn't working right when we got home.  One of the heating elements had failed, so it worked, but not well.  Since it is 38 years old, decided to replace it.  Bought a new one yesterday and a plumber is scheduled to arrive at 11 today to switch them out.

Sorry to hear about Jacqui's foot pain.  Sara had hip pain all during our cruise, probably from sciatica.  Hurt so much in the morning that we had our breakfast delivered to our room every morning.  By noon she could walk with a cane and by dinner without one.  We are both scheduled to see our doctor next week for annual physicals.

Ray

Thought I would share a happening here on Taiwan.  Before we left for the cruise Sara found an invitation to our wedding reception in 1963.  Written in English and Chinese, and held at the First Hotel.  Since we are celebrating our 61st while here, I decided to try to have a dinner party at the hotel for our friends and relatives on that date.  My DBIL helped arrange it and sent out the invitations and we had 22 guests.  Great food and they set up a karaoke for a sing along.  Even a huge wedding cake with candles for 61.  As we blew out the candles, I couldn’t help thinking “Not a good idea with covid still around “.  Masks are not required here, but more than half of the people wear them on the streets and 90% in buildings.

Anyway, the party was a great success.

Earthquake thoughts.  Could still feel a couple of slight aftershocks last night.  Taiwan has strict building codes; thus the small loss of life compared to many other countries.

Ray

15 hours ago, rafinmd said:

I just heard Taiwan had a major earthquake.  Prayers for @USN59-79 and family.

 

Roy

It was exciting.  Struck at 8 AM just while I was sipping a cup of coffee.  We are on the fourth floor of the family home and the shaking lasted for about ten or fifteen seconds followed by a severe aftershock shortly afterwards.  A few things fell to the floor, but no real damage.  It was centered near Hualien, on the east coast at 7.4 with a 6.7 aftershock while Taipei felt about 5.0.

We had a very enjoyable cruise on the Seaborne Sojourn for 33 days from Sydney to 
Keelung.  I was very impressed by the service provided by the crew.  Within 3 or 4 days it seemed that everyone knew your name and the wine you preferred.  Only downside was the hot and humid weather from Australia to Indonesia and the Philippines.

Ray

4 hours ago, REOVA said:

So Carnival wins with you booking a higher price cruise 😉 

That is one way to look at it.  My intention was to warn those who are entitled to a discount on a wine package that if they buy it before boarding they will be charged full price.  They will then have to stand in line at the front desk to have the charge corrected and even then it might not be corrected.  On Seabourn, you don't need a wine package as drinks are included.

Ray

If you are able to get a discount as a 4 or 5 star Mariner, I suggest you wait until you are onboard before ordering it.  On our last cruise on the Westerdam, we ordered the 8-bottle package and were supposed to get a 50% discount.  We ordered before we boarded the ship.  Noticed on my credit card statement that we were charged full price.  Brought it up to the front desk, even showed them our credit card statement and they said they would take care of it.  Didn't happen, so they still owe us about $300.  We decided rather than fight with them, we would just choose another cruise line for our next cruise.  Leaving this weekend for a 33 day cruise on Seabourn.

Ray

I enjoy most of the memes on the Daily, but I particularly enjoyed @Nickelpenny's one on the elevator.  Today was a good day.  Most of the snow is gone, so no problem driving.  A year ago I had a large toenail removed as it was ingrown.  Unfortunately, it didn't grow back very good and if I wear a regular shoe, it presses on it with some pain.  Went to the Bremerton Naval Hospital today and a really nice podiatrist trimmed it properly, prescribed some cream to soften it and when she heard that I was flying to Sydney this weekend, gave me some pressure socks so I don't get a blood clot from my legs on the long flight.  I am really happy that since I retired from the Navy I am able to get healthcare from them.

Tomorrow I will go to SeaTac airport and pick up a rental car.  Will drive it home so we can leave really early to get to SeaTac and catch our 9:00 AM flight to SFO.  Then fly to Auckland, and then to Sydney. 

Then we board the Seabourn Sojourn for 33 days of their World Cruise, debarking in Taiwan.  Plan to stay there 17 days and celebrate our 61st wedding anniversary on 30 March.  Sara found a copy of our wedding invitations from 1963 and noticed that we had our reception at the First Hotel there.  Thinking about hosting a dinner there on that date for our friends and relatives in Taipei.  In 1963 it was one of the better hotels in Taipei.  Need to check it out as it might be kind of shabby by now.

I am 84, but life is still good.

Ray 

With all of you having delivery problems, primarily USPS and FEDEX, thought I might mention being pleased with Amazon.  Last night about 8:00 PM, Sara asked me to see if I could buy some pain relief cream (capsaicin) online.  Found that Amazon had it and it took me less than a minute to place an order.  This morning we woke up to about 3" of new snow.  Amazon said it would be delivered by 10:00 tonight.  An hour ago, a friendly Amazon driver delivered it to our front door.  That is 18 hours.

Ray

Today was a clear, but kind of cold and windy day here in the Pacific NW.  Feel blessed when I see what those on the NE Coast are experiencing.

Had a dental appointment this morning.  Have had an infected tooth for a few months.  They scraped it x-rayed it, and made casts of it to prepare for removing it in the future.  Got a prescription for an antibiotic to handle it.  Since I was going to Costco to get a chicken, told them to send it to their pharmacy, as the Navy one usually takes an hour.  Found that Costco's also takes an hour.  The good news is that wandering around the store for an hour I didn't end up spending a hundred dollars like I usually do.

Ray

Thanks, it sounds like this is something I will have to download once I am on board.  

Ray

5 hours ago, kochleffel said:

Free Paxlovid

 

For a considerable time, the U.S. government provided Paxlovid at no charge for anyone who had a prescription for it. That's no longer the case, and you may find that even with insurance there's a large co-pay.

 

Pfizer has a program called Paxcess that makes it free for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees and for people with no insurance. It can also reduce the cost for those who have commercial insurance that doesn't cover it in full.

 

It takes only a few minutes to sign up, and you can't sign up until you have a prescription. If the prescription went straight to the pharmacy, the pharmacist should pause filling it and call you, but you can't count on that. Once you've sign up, you get a voucher that you can take or send to the pharmacy.

 

Description of the program: https://wapo.st/3uwSZix

 

Link to sign up: https://paxlovid.iassist.com/

 

Thanks for the information and the links.  I am wondering how this will work if you contract covid while on a cruise ship a few thousand miles from home.  I have medicare, and the ship's doctor could provide a prescription and I assume the ship's pharmacy would have the drug so maybe I shouldn't worry about it.

I heard on the news today that the CDC just said that there is no longer a requirement for a five day quarantine if you test positive.  They just require quarantine until 24 hours have passed without a fever.

Ray

We board the Sojourn in a week and just received an email from Seabourn suggesting I download an ap called PressReader to get access to newspapers.  I looked at it and it has 7 or 8 thousand newspapers and magazines available for a $30. a month subscription.  There are other plans, some free for a few days and some to pay for and access a paper for one day.  I have never heard of PressReader and have a couple of questions:

1.  Is there access to a daily newspaper on the ship, either in print or online?

2.  Do you typically use PressReader when onboard?

3.  If so, what plan do you use?

Thanks for your advice.

Ray

7 hours ago, tupper10 said:

Hello All. Sorry to hear about the continued medical/health issues for so many but glad to see so many packing for new travels.

 

We had a wonderful time on our 9 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Rotterdam.  Unfortunately when I came back w/in a day I had Covid.  I had most of the cold type symptoms but the paxlovid caused the GI issues as well. With all of these plus the complete exhaustion that comes with this new variant I have not been out of the house since last week.  I still have the exhaustion but I finished the paxlovid so the awful taste in my mouth is dissipating.  I am trying to get up the energy to go to the grocery store.  I did manage to work most days last week- with many breaks in between.  It was about all I could manage to do. The benefits of working remotely.  

 

I 1/2 watched the Super Bowl - I don't really follow professional football though as a Penn State alumna I used to follow college football quite closely. Now the only sport I love to watch is ice skating and some tennis, and gymnastics at the Olympics. I am looking forward to that this summer.  

 

Other than work not much on my agenda - as I said trying to get up the energy for the grocery store later today but if I don't make it, I do have enough to eat in the house.

 

Healing thoughts to all.  And so sorry to hear about the passing of friends and family of the daily family.  

 

 

Sorry to hear about the covid issue.  Do you have any idea on where you might have caught it?  I believe that I am most likely to contract it on a flight to the cruise port.  We have a 13 hour flight coming up this weekend and plan to wear N95 masks on the plane.  On the 33 day cruise, unless most are wearing them we will probably not.  We have had all of the available shots for it, including RSV and Flu, so if we are unlucky enough to get infected it shouldn't be too bad.  In our area, I notice that maybe 10% or less of people shopping are wearing a mask.  Looking at videos of Asia, maybe 30 or 40% of people on the street in Taiwan are still wearing a mask.  (Sara checks out the daily news in Taiwan every day on YouTube). 

Ray 

Surprised how easy it was to cancel DTV.  Made a phone call and had it done in about five minutes.  Since my gear is so old, they didn't want me to send it back.  So that saves me about a thousand a year.

Ray

I enjoyed the Super Bowl yesterday.  It was much closer than I expected.  We have Direct TV and normally would have watched it on the CBS station.  However, DTV has not shown CBS for some time due to contract problems.  They suggested that I try using an antenna.  Big mistake on their part, as I found that I have more channels and a clearer picture with the antenna.  So I plan to cancel DTV today and save a few bucks each month.

I wonder if, as we become older, we naturally become less tolerant of some of the current "fashions".  I couldn't believe the first singer they had before the game started.  I am sure he started as an attractive young man.  But after having most of his body tattooed including writings and symbols all over his face and replacing all of his teeth with stainless steel ones, I am wondering if anyone thinks he improved his appearance or that helps him get a job as an entertainer.

Ray

5 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

 

Ray, I actually was a Coastie. 

- Jack

I knew that,  but forgot.  Your rating badge is the same as the Navy has for the Engineman rating so it is an easy mistake.  I have a lot of respect for members of the Coast Guard.

Ray

6 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Hope you've all had a nice day today.  We went out together to trim that crape myrtle and spent several hours doing it.  DH used the lopper to cut back to an appropriate spot and I gathered all the limbs and stacked them together while cutting smaller pieces into small pieces and putting in a bag for taking away.  When he was finished we both worked on cutting up the branches.  Needless to say my back is protesting.  I've been using the heating pad on my lower back all afternoon. Check that job off the list.

 

Just heard FC Dallas beat this particular Houston team 6-0 but DS says they brought a bum squad so not as exciting. 

 

 

 

Ray, it's always interesting when we find out we've shared part of a cruise before with other Dailyites.  We had an excellent time on that cruise.  Your new Subaru is quite nice!  My DDIL used to drive Subarus and I drove them while visiting and driving kids around.  They were quite easy to drive and had good visibility.  The latest Outback is what Ren is driving now.  DDIL moved on to a BMW SUV. Enjoy that new car!

 

 

 

 

My next door neighbors have been on the Riviera since Dec. 29 on an Asia cruise, 45 days.  They are arriving in Laem Chabang shortly for an overnight stay and disembark the 12th, home on the 13th.  They seem to like Oceania a lot.

 

 

 

It was my pleasure to help you out last year while you were hospitalized and unable to handle anything extra afterwards.  And it was so kind of Vanessa @JazzyV to take over for both of us.  We certainly appreciate all the time you've spent doing the lists for the Fleet Report and Daily!

 

 

 

You're welcome Jane.  Muroran must not be that popular on the itineraries but we enjoyed it in spite of the rain.  

 

My DM needed open heart surgery for repair of 2 valves (received pig valves!) and lived quite a long time afterward.  I'm not sure of the exact year of the surgery but she lived 10-15 years with the new valves doing the job for her.  I wish you all the best as you go through the procedures and hopefully will be back to good health very soon.🙏

Actually, you are confusing me with Jack @Heartgrove, probably because we both are ex-Navy people.  I drive a Prius Prime, a plug-in hybrid Toyota.  I suspect my next car will be be fully electric.  Need to see what improvements and deals are out there this Summer.

Ray