Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[UpstateJan]

20 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Bug spray.  Lots and lots of bug spray.  The further north you go, the larger the swarms become, specially when visiting Jasper.

Gotta love black flies!

[lincslady]

Hi all

 

It has put things a bit into perspective for me reading of others' troubles.  Two years ago I broke right femur, leading to what is called a dynamic hip screw- metal plate on to bone, with screws into existing hip.  Took some time to get mobile and driving.  DH is 92 and frail, so not a lot of help sadly.  Last Mon. I fell again, on the snowy ground outside door putting stuff into bin, and could not get up.  Eventually shuffled into house on behind!  Much pain, worry about femur.  Next day, phone to GP sent me to Lincoln hospital by ambulance with DH who should not be alone.  Long day, but X-ray showed no further bone or plate problem, thank heavens. Now struggling round on frame again, but coping with basics, and muscles are beginning to heal up.  DD came to pick us  up - she lives over 3 hours away, and stayed a couple of nights.   As they rightly say, old age is not for cissies!

 

Anyway, got round to putting a bit of makeup on today for delivery of rise and recline chair (for him, but also me at present), so must be improving.  

 

Sorry about going on, but it does you good to get things off your chest to people!

 

And I am glad I am not on Diamond Princess!

 

Lola

[UpstateJan]

17 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 

Jan, your beautiful hair. As a retired neuro nurse I am so glad you are well and home. Those aneurysms are scary stuff. 

 

With regards to Buchart gardens they are truly beautiful. We splurged and took an early flight over from Vancouver in July 2017. We then went straight to the gardens. I am so glad we did this as we had almost 1.5 hours with the gardens fairly empty before the tour buses arrived. We were there almost four hours but we love plants and there was so much to see. 

 

We then headed back to town for lunch and a wander. We didn't hire a car as we aren't comfortable driving on the opposite side of the road but I have heard there are many amazing places to visit with a hire car on Victoria Island.

 

Banff is lovely to walk around the town and we enjoyed taking the Banff Gondola and doing the mountain top boardwalk. Again we found going when it opened best to avoid crowds. The interpretive centre was interesting and coming from Perth which has many flat land and hills, the mountains were just so beautiful.

 

Heal well Jan.

 

Julie

Thanks Julie, every day is a bit better.  As far as the hair, we're hoping it comes back in black and less curly, but I'll take what I get.  Right now, it's black & white, and standing straight up, much like a skunk.   It's growing so fast, it'll be ponytail-able by the end of summer.   The only down side of having my head shaved was ....I realized on New Years day that I needed to renew my passport before our May trip.  Hey, I'm 55, a crew cut photo is not the worse thing to happen in my life.  Honestly, the photo taken was one of the best pics taken of me, so count my blessings - good photo, and I can go on my trip.  Queen of positivity here.  

 

We have an all day in Victoria, and I believe we have some time in town.  And yes, we're doing the Banff Gondola for sure.  Thank you so much for the tips, putting them on the list.

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, lincslady said:

Hi all

 

It has put things a bit into perspective for me reading of others' troubles.  Two years ago I broke right femur, leading to what is called a dynamic hip screw- metal plate on to bone, with screws into existing hip.  Took some time to get mobile and driving.  DH is 92 and frail, so not a lot of help sadly.  Last Mon. I fell again, on the snowy ground outside door putting stuff into bin, and could not get up.  Eventually shuffled into house on behind!  Much pain, worry about femur.  Next day, phone to GP sent me to Lincoln hospital by ambulance with DH who should not be alone.  Long day, but X-ray showed no further bone or plate problem, thank heavens. Now struggling round on frame again, but coping with basics, and muscles are beginning to heal up.  DD came to pick us  up - she lives over 3 hours away, and stayed a couple of nights.   As they rightly say, old age is not for cissies!

 

Anyway, got round to putting a bit of makeup on today for delivery of rise and recline chair (for him, but also me at present), so must be improving.  

 

Sorry about going on, but it does you good to get things off your chest to people!

 

And I am glad I am not on Diamond Princess!

 

Lola

Hi Lola, no need to apologize.….I have had my share of health issues and venting is definitely a good thing!

Yikes about your fall---I hope you are doing ok!!!!!   I haven't worn make up since retiring LOL...well, maybe a little

when I had lunch with my broker the other day.  But as for normally, the make up is not part of my routine right now.

No big deal to me...no need to put any one for morning radiation.

 

I agree with you about the ship and was watching the news about the 2 flights that arrived back in the states

last night. Boy, you gotta feel for those folks!!!!!!!

[UpstateJan]

I took one princess cruise, and it went down as the worst cruise experience I've had.  Needless to say, yes it couldl have been worse, it could have been the floating plague ship that Diamond is turning out to be.  My heart goes out to everyone that was/is on that ship, on what should have been a fantastic vacation.  You just never know .....

[UpstateJan]

2 hours ago, lincslady said:

Hi all

 

It has put things a bit into perspective for me reading of others' troubles.  Two years ago I broke right femur, leading to what is called a dynamic hip screw- metal plate on to bone, with screws into existing hip.  Took some time to get mobile and driving.  DH is 92 and frail, so not a lot of help sadly.  Last Mon. I fell again, on the snowy ground outside door putting stuff into bin, and could not get up.  Eventually shuffled into house on behind!  Much pain, worry about femur.  Next day, phone to GP sent me to Lincoln hospital by ambulance with DH who should not be alone.  Long day, but X-ray showed no further bone or plate problem, thank heavens. Now struggling round on frame again, but coping with basics, and muscles are beginning to heal up.  DD came to pick us  up - she lives over 3 hours away, and stayed a couple of nights.   As they rightly say, old age is not for cissies!

 

Anyway, got round to putting a bit of makeup on today for delivery of rise and recline chair (for him, but also me at present), so must be improving.  

 

Sorry about going on, but it does you good to get things off your chest to people!

 

And I am glad I am not on Diamond Princess!

 

Lola

Sorry about the fall Lola, that has to be frightening with everything else going on.  Glad it wasn't a break, and that you DD was able to help out.  Nope, old age is not for the faint of heart.  I am aiming to get to that stage!

[frantic36]

8 hours ago, UpstateJan said:

Right now, it's black & white, and standing straight up, much like a skunk

 

Jan you do realise that some people pay many $$$'s to achieve that look. 😊

I'm glad you are feeling good enough to joke about it though.

 

8 hours ago, lincslady said:

Anyway, got round to putting a bit of makeup on today for delivery of rise and recline chair (for him, but also me at present), so must be improving

 

Lola I am sorry to hear about your fall but I'm glad your feeling better. My MIL always swears putting on some lipstick means she feels ready to face the world.

 

Mysty another great funny. I love dogs.

 

 

Julie

[lincslady]

Thank you all for good wishes.  It is not a serious illness (I have had one of those!) but just so inconvenient, as I can't drive at present, and DH is not allowed to, and children are both far away.  Plus kind neighbours are in Spain at present.  So, muddling on.  Will come back when I am more myself.   Love the dog!

 

Lola

[mysty]

4 hours ago, lincslady said:

Thank you all for good wishes.  It is not a serious illness (I have had one of those!) but just so inconvenient, as I can't drive at present, and DH is not allowed to, and children are both far away.  Plus kind neighbours are in Spain at present.  So, muddling on.  Will come back when I am more myself.   Love the dog!

 

Lola

Sorry to hear about your current challenges Lola!  Hope your life gets easier soon!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[frantic36]

15 minutes ago, mysty said:

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

 

 

Having seen some photos of Northern American winters as lovely as they are...I'd need a few of those bottles!!!

[spinnaker2]

Hope all feel better and are up to no good very soon.

 

[TLCOhio]

On 2/17/2020 at 9:27 AM, frantic36 said:

Terry sounds like you are having a great time in New Zealand.  Julie

 

Appreciate Julie checking to make sure we are having a "great time" in NZ.  We plead "GUILTY!!!"  Since we had visited Bay of Island six years ago during our Sydney to Auckland sailing and did a private sailing adventure, etc., at that time, we planned to play it in a fairly low-key fashion for this day.  

 

Fortunately our tender took us directly to Paihia and then we caught a ferry over to historic Russell that had been New Zealand's first capital.  Then we got "more daring" with a motorcycle ride around the area to see the top highlights and sights. This included from high vantage points, including for one location where Queen Elizabeth had visited during her first NZ visit.  It's called "Queen's Point".  Sounds good!!   See a few, quick visual evidence items below.  Yes, the motorcyle was "air conditioned".   Excellent fun!!  Perfect weather, temperatures and super sunny to start our cruise!!  

 

Earlier, I was asked to post a link to that live/blog after it was started.  Here it is: 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2735732-live-terryohio-“new”-regatta-south-pacificnz-pix’s/

 

Don't be shy with any questions, suggestions, comments, etc. on this live/blog on the Oceania CC Board.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

From our first port day on the Oceania Regatta in going to Fiji, Samoa, Bora, etc.  As we are on the way Papeete, we had our first stop in Bay of Islands, New Zealand.  Below are a few sample visuals of our adventure ride on a super hog motorcycle.  Great sights and super fun!!  Plus, seeing their dramatically scenic Long Beach near the historic town of Russell that overlooks Oneroa Bay.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

 

 

[frantic36]

4 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

adventure ride on a super hog motorcycle.  Great sights and super fun!!

 

Terry you and your good wife look like you were enjoying yourselves. That looks like a good idea if we ever get back to Bay of Islands.

Julie

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[TLCOhio]

9 hours ago, frantic36 said:

Terry you and your good wife look like you were enjoying yourselves. That looks like a good idea if we ever get back to Bay of Islands.  Julie

 

Appreciate Julie's cute comment for how we looked on the back of the special "HOG" motorcycle.  YES, it was a BLAST riding around on the super cool machine.  Great fun.  High recommend it at Bay of Islands.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Wonderful scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 238,754

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[TLCOhio]

This morning was surprised to see the Silver Muse docking next to us in the harbor at Noumea, New Caledonia.  It is parked near our Oceania ship.  Originally, we were supposed to be the only ship in this port today.  BUT, schedules in Asia and the South Pacific are being adjusted due to the uncertain conditions in China.  Loved seeing the Muse!!  From our experiences last summer going from Vancouver to Alaska, the Silver Muse became my wife's top favorite!!

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Recently completed Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc.  Lots of visuals and details from our first visits to these scenic areas!!  That live/blog is at: 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/

 

Here is the Silver Muse in New Caledonia today next to our Oceania Regatta ship.  Nice to see the Muse again!!:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see this visual larger/better!)

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!  Quick question if I may.  Is there typically a shuttle bus from Skarfabakki in Reykjavik?  I know there is a HOHO stop close by.  Just wondering if a shuttle is an option.  Thank You!

[jpalbny]

M, I've not seen SS offer that option, BUT on SS, we have only disembarked there (rather than made a mid-voyage stop there).

 

During stops on other lines, we have walked into town from there. It's a hike, and we were at least 10 years younger back then...

[mysty]

37 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

M, I've not seen SS offer that option, BUT on SS, we have only disembarked there (rather than made a mid-voyage stop there).

 

During stops on other lines, we have walked into town from there. It's a hike, and we were at least 10 years younger back then...

Thanks JP!  I suspected that would be the case!

[Stumblefoot]

Looks like you are having great weather Terry!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny comes courtesy of Turtle (thank you).....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[mw8811]

Yes SS put on a shuttle to the Harpa Concert Hall about a 10 minute ride.       There are also taxis waiting on the dockside - all very well organized.      We will be embarking on the Whisper on 18th June in Reykjavik!