Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[UpstateJan]

On 7/14/2019 at 7:10 AM, mysty said:

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

I guess this is an endorsement of booking your shore excursions thru the cruise line?

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great weekend all!

[Tothesunset]

Now we are getting close. Bags packed, parents arrive for dog-sitting duties in the next hour then up early tomorrow to battle the M25 to Heathrow. Always the highlight of any trip. ☹️

 

I know I say this each time but we will try and keep up some sort of online diary of events. In fact, maybe it's time to start a new thread. 

 

This always looks good on MySilversea:

 

[jpalbny]

Have a great trip!

[jpalbny]

I finally have enough fingers and toes to start the countdown! Awesome! 

 

[mysty]

JP...you are one cool-looking dude!  Only 20 days to lift off now!  Enjoy!

[TLCOhio]

2 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

Now we are getting close. Bags packed, parents arrive for dog-sitting duties in the next hour then up early tomorrow to battle the M25 to Heathrow. Always the highlight of any trip.  I know I say this each time but we will try and keep up some sort of online diary of events. In fact, maybe it's time to start a new thread.   This always looks good on MySilversea:

 

Good luck to our UK friend with your boarding in two days.  YES, it's wonderful fun to watch that count-down schedule on the My Silversea website.   Plus the best to J.P. who has a little longer to wait and keep counting..  Our My Silversea count-down is now at nine days till we board the Silver Muse in Vancouver on July 25.  

 

Now at Chicago O'Hare on our way to Calgary.  Will be visiting famed Banff and Jasper National Parks before boarding the Rocky Mountaineer sky/domed train to journey through those scenic Rockies over two days.  Below is the upcoming weather from AccuWeather.  Looks super great for Vancouver, especially as we board and do our sail-away. 

 

KAMLOOPS:   

(In the middle of the Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure!!)

SUN 7/21, High 86° /Low 54°, Partly sunny; pleasant

Hist. Avg.,  High 83°/Low 56°

 

MON 7/22, High 90° /Low 58°, Brilliant sunshine

Hist. Avg., High 83°/Low 56°

 

VANCOUVER:   TUE 7/23, High 77° /Low 58°, Plenty of sunshine

Hist. Avg. High 70°/Low 53°

 

WED 7/24, High 75° /Low 58°, Plenty of sunshine

Hist. Avg. High 70°/Low 53°

 

THU 7/25, High 76° /Low 60°, Partly sunny (Silver Muse Boarding Day)

Hist. Avg. High 70°/Low 53°

 

More later.  Maybe even a few pictures before boarding??!!  

 

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 236,449 views.

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

[TLCOhio]

17 minutes ago, mysty said:

JP...you are one cool-looking dude!  Only 20 days to lift off now!  Enjoy!

 

YES, JP is "one cool-looking dude!".  But, don't forget about us "more experienced" travelers, too.  This picture below was a selfie taken while on the American Airlines regional jet from Columbus to Chicago.   Took one with my wife, but she did not like the "early morning look" when doing this 7 am flight.  Had to get up very, very early.   All smooth on our flight, taking off about 3 minutes ahead of time,  arriving significantly ahead of schedule.  Now waiting to 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

[jpalbny]

Thanks M! That was from the last cruise, along the waterfront in Honfleur. We dressed up for the occasion! 

 

[mysty]

Gorgeous couple!  🙂  And you add spiff to the background!

[Stumblefoot]

39 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

We dressed up for the occasion! 

See... I knew you had formal attire!

[spinnaker2]

The silver box arrived today...

but I have a long wait.

I will live vicariously through the posts of TTS, JP and Terry!

[Tothesunset]

My posts, for the next 8 hrs anyway, would just be a succession of zzzzzs. 

 

Tucked up in bed, ceiling fan spinning lazily, dog asleep on my legs, last few pages of my book to read then zonko before setting off on our trip tomorrow. 

 

If that's not a great end to a day, I don't know what is! 

[Lois R]

Terry, have a great cruise 

 

JP, you are one cool looking dude

 

I am going to retire early next year (I turn 62 in March)….things are not going well and I feel like the stress is going

to make me crazy..after all those years of being in such a good office, this transfer is NOT doing it for me.

[jpalbny]

Lois, that sounds like a good decision, as long as you have your ducks in a row. I know you've been planning this for a while so I"m hopeful that it works well for you. We probably could retire now, and we'd do OK. Can't believe I'm even saying that word - I still think I"m just a few years out of school! But we are both north of 50 now so time to start planning for that eventuality.

 

But we want to build up enough pension and retirement funds so that we can continue to travel in retirement, as long as we are able. Work keeps getting more annoying so some days it's a chore to keep at it, but in the scheme of things we have it good...just have to keep reminding myself of that, seemingly on a daily basis. The VA suffers from too much politics.

 

On the bright side, we are in the "serious discussion" phase with an A&K rep about a private customized trip to China for #25 in June. That is exciting! But that means we definitely have to keep working, because that kind of excitement doesn't come cheap!

 

Picked up a pair of really thick juicy pork chops a few weeks ago on the reduced meat pile; they were less than $3 for two huge chops, over a pound each, so into the freezer they went until the right time came. I thawed them today and grilled them. Chris found a great recipe that she'd cut out of Food & Wine for a salsa verde - parsley, thyme, and fried sage leaves, mixed with capers, vinegar, shallots, and olive oil. We had all the ingredients in the herb garden so it was an easy delicious meal. We split the larger chop for dinner, and the second smaller chop is saved for lunch in a day or two. Nothing like freshly-killed herbs to make for a great meal!

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2019 by jpalbny

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[Lois R]

Good morning, Mysty, cute picture

 

JP, you and Chris do ALOT more important work than I do...….that is the honest truth.   As for being north of 50? LOL.....I remember doing a 10 night cruise to the Caribbean for that birthday...…...I thought (at the time) it would be the most exciting cruise I will have ever been able to do...…..at least I have been able to broaden my horizons since then.....my trips to Europe way out do the Caribbean.  

 

I guess every job has the red tape/bs  but I was so much happier in my old office...….this boss is just so "intense"...….and she makes things really difficult. …..enough of my complaining...….March is only 7 months away.

 

Have a great day.

[TLCOhio]

17 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

The silver box arrived today...but I have a long wait.  I will live vicariously through the posts of TTS, JP and Terry!

 

Great news for Spins/Candy with that Silver Box arriving!!  Looking forward to the posts from TTS, JP, etc. And like the kind comments from Lois.  Best with your challenging work transition.  Loved that picture today from mysty.   That yellow lab shown in today's funny looks like our 13-year-old Rudy who is back in Columbus.  Cute dogs and picture.   

 

Am super enjoying mysty's Canada this morning.  Arrived ahead of time yesterday in Calgary by air from Chicago and were greeting by wonderful Carol and Mark at the airport.  Received a Royal tour of Calgary.  Had an incredible dinner last night at their home feature Alberta beef and New Zealand rack of lamb.  This is our first visit to this town that hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics and that has boomed in recent years due to oil/gas success.  That economy has, however, slowed in the recent year or so.   Calgary has an amazing downtown with so many unique and great buildings.  This city just completed this weekend hosting their famed Calgary Stampede.  Tim McGraw was their music headliner on July 14.  The Bow River runs around their central downtown and sights are very fun and interesting here.  Saw all of the area where this Stampede is staged and learned from Mark the history and background for this world-class event. 

 

Weather is super sunny right now as I look out the window from our current Mariott location.  That red Canada Maple Leaf flag is flying that things look wonderful.  But, temps will be in the 60'sF today as we head over towards Banff National Park and dinner this at the castle-like Banff Springs Hotel.  Below is the weather for Columbus for the next few days.  Glad to be escaping the hot, HOT heat of Central Ohio later this week.  Just eight days till we board the Silver Muse in Vancouver.  Looking forward to sampling that ship soon.  Let me know any questions to research while traveling on the Muse.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights.  On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings.  Now at 223,143 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

 

From AccuWeather, here is the huge heat we will miss in Central Ohio compared to the cooler weather we will enjoy in western Canada.:

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

[jpalbny]

Keep on having a great time, Terry! We did not spend any time in Calgary, other than to fly in, grab a rental car, and immediately drive to Lake Louise.

 

What restaurant are you dining in, at the Fairmont in Banff Springs? They definitely have some nice dining venues. My one hint for you would be to walk downhill from the hotel, and have a look at the Bow Falls viewpoint. It is really quite nice in the evening light. And it's a chance to walk off some of that dinner!

 

If you were really motivated, you could walk all the way back to your hotel from there. It would probably be about two kilometers.

 

While in Banff, you could also check out Tunnel Mountain Drive. It leads to a Viewpoint called surprise corner. Worth a stop. Enjoy!

[TLCOhio]

19 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Keep on having a great time, Terry! We did not spend any time in Calgary, other than to fly in, grab a rental car, and immediately drive to Lake Louise.  What restaurant are you dining in, at the Fairmont in Banff Springs? They definitely have some nice dining venues. My one hint for you would be to walk downhill from the hotel, and have a look at the Bow Falls viewpoint. It is really quite nice in the evening light. And it's a chance to walk off some of that dinner!  If you were really motivated, you could walk all the way back to your hotel from there. It would probably be about two kilometers.   While in Banff, you could also check out Tunnel Mountain Drive. It leads to a Viewpoint called surprise corner. Worth a stop. Enjoy!

 

Appreciate these super wonderful tips and follow-up from J.P.  Excellent ideas and suggestions.  We will be dining tonight at the Vermillion Room of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.  Their speciality is supposed to be French/Canadian dining.  Sounds great!!  Will try to do that walk down to Bow Falls.  It will be daylight out here till about 10 pm tonight.  Our dinner reservation is for 7 pm.  Lots of time to explore this historic hotel BOTH before and after dinner.  Keep up the great sharing with any and all insights for this super scenic part of western Canada.  Don't be shy!!

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.!  Live/blog from early 2018, first adventure through SE Asia, stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before exploring all over Vietnam and Cambodia, seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Now at 48,216 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

 

From Calgary, here is an overall view of their downtown with the Saddledome arena in the foreground.  Plus a small portion of the area for their famed Calgary Stampede.  Second is my wife with wonderful Mark and Carol who hosted us and provided an excellent introduction to Calgary, etc.  Plus, a super dinner at their home.  Finally, here is the view from our Marriott hotel room this morning with the red Canada Maple Leaf flag flying proudly and some of their interesting architecture in the background!!:

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

 

 

[jpalbny]

The Vermillion Room! Thanks, I couldn't remember the name. We had a great Anniversary dinner there. Nice view from our table.

 

 

We shared a huge rib steak. It was yummy!

 

 

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[TLCOhio]

Just now, jpalbny said:

The Vermillion Room! Thanks, I couldn't remember the name. We had a great Anniversary dinner there. Nice view from our table.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

 

WOW!!!  Great pictures and details from J.P.  Looks wonderful.  We asked for a window table and hopefully our luck will be as good as yours.  In making our reservation, the staff seemed excellent.  Will report back as to our luck and hopefully great success with our dinner there.  The excitement is building.  Very helpful, as always, follow-up from J.P.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 46,321 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

[spinnaker2]

Wonderful posts Terry, glad to hear that you made it safely! Scrumptious food pics JP.

I have been to Calgary several times for depositions when I was still working.

Lovely town, but for a Floridian, twas cold!

 

 

[besberry]

15 hours ago, Lois R said:

Terry, have a great cruise 

 

JP, you are one cool looking dude

 

I am going to retire early next year (I turn 62 in March)….things are not going well and I feel like the stress is going

to make me crazy..after all those years of being in such a good office, this transfer is NOT doing it for me.

Lois, retirement was the best career move I made!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!