dmet0225

Sympathies to your family as well @RenoNanaOz

So very sorry to hear about your Dad @TxTeach79.  That envelope he left behind is both helpful and amusing at the same time.  Here's hoping you can have a relaxing cruise.

Just now, MeganGC1983 said:

What?! That’s crazy. What native land is that?

Right?  I asked the attendant if those were really slot machines that paid out money.  He simply smirked and shrugged.  
 

One of the ladies in our bowling league told me about another Shell station in the area close to my house that also has slots.  She should know, because she regularly drives up to Choctaw for a few hours, including after we finish bowling at 9 on Friday nights.

1 minute ago, MeganGC1983 said:

No smoking casino

Oddly, I walked into a Valero gas station here in the DFW area today, and saw 4 slot machines with an ashtray with a snuffed out cigarette in it.  Nope, it wasn’t closed off from the rest of the store - it was right in the middle.  

22 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

This is literally the only bar menu I’ve seen anywhere. 

That’s a rather boring beer list, only to be salvaged by there being Fireball on the menu.

10 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

I have mentioned earlier that I have no cruises booked after Alaska. I’m not planning any at the moment, don’t have a destination or a ship in mind that is screaming at me, no sense of something important left undone.
 

My life is changing, and with a few key exceptions I have never really been a repeater. I always understood there would be more opportunities than I was going to be able to fit into a single lifetime, so I have tried to sample a lot of the best places and travel methods. 
 

It’s a huge testament to the cruise industry that I am on my 15th ship. I have sailed Carnival 6 times since 2017 and now Royal Caribbean three. Both are really excellent at what they do. 
 

Sometimes people say they’ve “had enough of that” about something and they mean, they’re sick of it, annoyed by it, fed up. 
 

It’s possible also to say it and mean, this is a successfully completed mission. One that’s been nearly perfectly executed and greatly enjoyed. If this is my last (not ready to say that with certainty), then I am satisfied to leave it right there.

 

You have quite the way with words.  Deep, contemplative, reflective thoughts put to "paper."  

I'm here on the first page!

Best of luck to your dad, @TxTeach79.  Doctor advice can be confusing, at best sometimes.

3 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Do you ever have work days that crush your soul? That’s been this week. Sorry if that seems harsh but I’m being honest. If you normally follow me.., I could use an iguana today. 
Mr. Megan is still napping in the room. The kids are loving the pool. We have googles and snorkels and competitions to touch the bottom. I need to flip my funk. Maybe my 🥎 girls can do it. I’m tuning in. 

Didn’t you say something about VERY little sleep?  Add the weather delays that you’ve had to deal with on top of little sleep, and, well, parenting.  There’s the perfect storm if you have to deal with the rare travel industry.  You’ll come through this.

2 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

What does Kmom like? Have you figured it out yet?

 

Logic

Trivia

Winning trivia contests 

My teenager and the “foster” adult (18) we welcomed into our family last year.

Pandas / Panda Diplomacy 

Kindness

Gratitude

Baklava

Coffee

You also like when people don’t waste food.

1 hour ago, LatinaInTexas said:

HaHa love it😂🤣Not to offend anyone that lives here but after about an hour of being in Seattle I told my husband I feel a weird vibe here. So I'm thinking as soon as we get on the ship and get out of Dodge things will calm the heck down.

I found Seattle to be pretty cool.  Back when I had a job that required me to travel, I made a “mileage run” in order to ensure I kept my Gold status for the following year in American.  So, my son and I flew to Seattle between Christmas and New Year for one night so that I could keep my status.  Yes, people do it all the time.

1 hour ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Fried alligator bites, jambalaya and key lime pie along with whatever IPA’s they have. 
 

1 hour ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Go BUCS! 🏴‍☠️

walking around with Briley trying to get her to wake up. She woke up on the wrong side of the Uber xl. 
well… what kinda “game” do we have here?! 🤦🏼‍♀️

 

Teachable moment for the kiddos if they ask.

Wow.  What an early start.  Not surprising that the kids couldn’t sleep in the car with all their excitement.  Enjoy the trip!

10 minutes ago, tsahall01 said:

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do while in Antigua?  I'll be there in December on my TA from Barcelona to Miami.  One of the few places in the Caribbean I haven't been to yet!

We’ve been one time, and went to Valley Church Beach.  It had the most gorgeous blue water I’ve ever seen. 
 

16 minutes ago, TNVolnteerCruiser said:

Agreed.  They got on my last nerve and I was happy to see the end of them…and then he proposed and she ACCEPTED.  What???

I would like to think that they saw themselves like the rest of us saw them and realized that it wasn’t a good look.  I doubt it, though, because his arrogance won’t allow it.

Glad that 2 OT game between the Stars and Avs was on a weekend night.  No chance I would have stayed up until 1am on a week night to watch that game.  BS no-goal call in the 1st OT.  Now onto the conference finals for the Stars.

1 hour ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Uno mas. My sister is gonna download the app and we are auditioning for Amazing race. This season was great because I had literally been to every destination. I would LOVE to get a heavy Asia & Australia season because I haven’t been there at all. Orrrr Nordic. 

Seriously applying?  That would be so cool if you made it.  
 

If there was anyone on any of TAR seasons as condescending towards their “partner” as Vinny was towards Amber, I’d be surprised.  Can’t believe she puts up with his air of superiority.

8 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Good morning Tribe Family! It's a big day today as Patti is having the surgery to fix her left foot. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Her surgery is at noon, and I will check back in after it's over. ♥️ 

Best of luck to Patti for a great outcome.

7 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

@dmet0225 The port area at Costa Maya is great. Lots of bars, a pool, and shops. Also, Krazy Lobster isn’t too far away. They give you  free welcome drink and let you use their beach area. Picture below. 
@Jamman54 sending Patti our love as always. 

Thanks.  Looking forward to it.  I’ll be calling my travel advisor to make final payment a few days before the due date.
 

6 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

It's FRIDAY, yahoo!!! Anyone have any fun weekend plans? My uncle who works on DG stores comes into town today (he's only home about 8 days a month!) so we will be hanging out with him for sure. I think the plan is to hit up Sierra Nevada, his favorite brewery, tomorrow afternoon. They do have a dang good soft pretzel with beer cheese. Then it just hit me....my Vista cruise is in 22 days, and I am not packed! I gotta get started on that! So those are my exciting plans. 

It’s my son’s 30th birthday.  He played golf with us today and we’re taking him to dinner tomorrow.  We’re also spending part of his inheritance by completely replacing 95% of all landscaping in our front yard.  It was 27 years old.  I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see it.

4 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

6/8 😉

Yep.  That is my travel day to Galveston for my cruise on the Dream.  I need to make my final payment before that date.  Carnival website doesn’t tell me that date.

Got all of our port day plans finalized for our upcoming Dream cruise.  We’ve never been to Costa Maya, but we will end up just walking around the port area.  We don’t arrive until 1pm, and we’ll be the 3rd ship to arrive, so I’m sure it’ll be crowded.  Roatan we’ve got chairs and umbrellas reserved on West Bay Beach.  Cozumel is booked at Nachi Cocom.  We’d normally book Paradise Beach, but we will once again be 3rd ship to arrive, so we didn’t want to be stuck in back underneath all the trees.

It’s getting real, as check in is next Thursday at 11pm.  Already have my reminder set up. 
 

On top of the Dream cruise, I have an August cruise booked on the Breeze.  Final payment is due on our travel day for the Dream, so I need to pay early.  Interestingly, my Carnival cruise manager doesn’t tell me when final payment is due for the Breeze.  I only know the due date from my confirmation booking email.  I’m sure I’ll just contact my travel assistant for that final payment.

Exciting times upcoming.

Happy Birthday @SenatorsFan

1 hour ago, mamiamjo said:

I haven't used WhatsApp in a few months but your chat shouldn't show up in your text messages, at least they don't on my iphone 

1 hour ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Usually it all stays put in the WhatsApp.  Thats odd. Maybe he has streamline thing though. 🤷🏼‍♀️

It helps if I was given the person's correct phone number and QR code to begin with.  Still don't know why it showed up on my iPhone texts, as I already had that feature turned off.  😕

Maybe I'm just too old fashioned for WhatsApp.  A high-ranking official in the city where I live owns a condo on West Bay Beach in Roatan.  He gave me the number of a local friend of his who will be my chauffer for the day while we're there on the Dream in a few weeks.  The guy has connections with zip lines, sloths, resorts, restaurants, etc.  However, the only way to communicate with him is through WhatsApp.  How difficult can that be, I wondered. Download the app, enter my cell number, enter the other guy's Honduran number and send the "call."  It said he's not even a WhatsApp user (I clearly saw his chats on my friend's phone).  The "chat" I sent to him shows up in my regular iPhone texts.  Is that normal, or am I clueless about how to use it?

Here we go.

1 hour ago, TxTeach79 said:

8:30 weeknight playoff games are rough, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Four days of work left.

It’s brutal, but I’m fighting through it.  Let’s hope the Stars learned their lesson from games 1 and 2.