Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[ATG]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Now need to find a hotel maybe with a cruise shuttle included in price plus a half decent restaurant on site so once we get to the hotel we can just check in and relax and have dinner at the hotel. Not interested in going anywhere outside of the hotel. I know that area is just a bunch of spaghetti roads.

 

Something near Newark Penn Station, 1426 Market St, Newark, N.J.

There is a Doubletree right across the street from the Newark train station.  Our son took the train up from DC, we flew in and met at the hotel.  Used Uber Eats for a Thai dinner.  Then did Uber to the port the next morning.  He said the train was nice.

[ReneeFLL]

 

On 2/23/2023 at 1:19 PM, DaniDanielle said:

Spent the night in the ER with Charlie.  He has pneumonia and is now on IV antibiotics.  Waiting to hear from hospital.

Debbie, your poor head😳

Hoping Charlie is ok.

 

On 2/23/2023 at 6:07 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

…Thank you All!  😀   Happy to report it does not hurt all.    I thought it would.    The Dr. had warned me I may get puffy eyes that is brought on by gravity - but no puffiness either.   

Since it was on your head how did you discover it? Could you feel it? Hope it heals quick.

Edited - I just saw your answer to Coralc.

 

On 2/23/2023 at 6:44 PM, Ocean Boy said:

The original and several responses to it are gone.

It amazes me how some people think the smallest things can be inappropriate. I missed the comments but I’m guessing they were saying it grossed them out. Guess they never had a cut on their finger.

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by ReneeFLL

[Husky1987]

8 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Don’t worry I can talk to him on the Bella cruise about not going in to tv news. It looks glamorous but I can tell him what it’s really like.

Little piece of life trivia,,,I played softball every year I was in KC with a bunch of friends from law school back in the late 80's.  We were in a league with one of the local stations (WDAF maybe?).  I can't remember all the on-air folks who played on that team, but I do remember Phil Witt.  He was a pretty good player.  I can't remember if Frank Boal played as well.  Glamorous, indeed.

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, ATG said:

There is a Doubletree right across the street from the Newark train station.  Our son took the train up from DC, we flew in and met at the hotel.  Used Uber Eats for a Thai dinner.  Then did Uber to the port the next morning.  He said the train was nice.

That could work quite easily, looks like Newark Penn Station has an inside overhead walkway right to the DoubleTree.  It was save a taxi or Uber Fee going to another hotel further away. Would just need one ride the following morning to the pier(ship).

 

See if your Son remembers the name of the Thai Dinner that is nearby, I know my Wife would like that. 🙂

[ReneeFLL]

On 2/24/2023 at 11:41 AM, A&L_Ont said:

If you do Instagram check out this account. They used to compete, their daily skating posts are fascinating.  They make it look so easy.  

 

Thanks for sending me down a rabbit hole. 😁😁😁 She’s a really good skater.

 

On 2/23/2023 at 8:14 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

That's wierd as I didn't think it was gruesome looking.    

Sorry for whatever responses I missed.

It’s not gruesome looking. I also missed the responses (aka entertainment) that were removed.

 

On 2/23/2023 at 11:46 PM, bobmacliberty said:

More cold today in Napa, low 30s to start and high of about 49F. Rain was off and on but not bad enough to really impact is so all in all, not

too bad.  On the way to our first winery, we passed the famous Welcome to Napa Valley sign and of course had to stop for a picture

 

We started at Castello di Amorosa, which is a castle winery built in the 90s but that looks a lot older. They imported some old timber, stone, and things like battle helmets from Europe, but the rest is much newer.  It was built, and is owned, by Dario Sattui, who also created V. Sattui previously and sold 49% to help pay for the castle. We again were the only guests in our tasting area for almost an hour, which meant 1 to 1 attention. We told our host where we went yesterday, and where we were going later today (which have more expensive cabs), so he broke out their more expensive wines for us to taste. He wanted a fair comparison. Works for me!

 

 

We stopped at Gillwoods Cafe in St Helena for lunch and had huge burgers. I should not have eaten the whole thing as I felt full the rest of the day (even though I kept eating, just like cruising). 

 

Our second winery stop was the Del Dotto Estate. They are known for excellent (and expensive) wines. It’s a very impressive facility with imported Carrara marble columns and tiles, and Murano glass chandeliers which reportedly cost $100K each. Yikes. 

 

 

Mustard flowers blooming at Del Dotto

 

Their cabs were excellent, especially the Villa del Lago. It should taste good at $350 a bottle. Double Yikes. 😳😳😳

 

We had planned to also visit Grgich Hills but decided to cancel. It’s just too much wine. 
 

Dinner tonight was Italian at Bottega. Another excellent meal. I had the Tagliarini Bolognese Al Centro…a great pasta dish with a veal/pork sauce. Very tasty

 

Micheline went with Spaghetti all Sophia Loren. It’s interesting how her name keeps popping up after our discussion comparing her vs Raquel Welch. The chef made this dish for Sophia using wheat from a field that she played in as a child in Italy. The sauce is served on the side so you can taste the pasta with no sauce. 

 

We’re checking out tomorrow and headed to San Francisco. I’ll summarize my Napa thoughts when we get home next week. 

That castle is cool looking. Glad you had a good time. 
 

@dani negreanu The pictures of the costumes are amazing. Glad you and DH had a great time.

[ATG]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

That could work quite easily, looks like Newark Penn Station has an inside overhead walkway right to the DoubleTree.  It was save a taxi or Uber Fee going to another hotel further away. Would just need one ride the following morning to the pier(ship).

 

See if your Son remembers the name of the Thai Dinner that is nearby, I know my Wife would like that. 🙂

We used Uber Eats for dinner, none of us remember the name.  It was good and not that expensive.  Uber to the port was $40 for 4 of us.

[maggieq]

44 minutes ago, ATG said:

We used Uber Eats for dinner, none of us remember the name.  It was good and not that expensive.  Uber to the port was $40 for 4 of us.

Two of the best Portuguese restaurants you could Uber to.  Spanish tavern and Fornos of Spain.   

[CrzLvr2]

On 2/25/2023 at 9:04 PM, Coralc said:

As I recall, it is a very, very small state. 😃

 

That’s for sure!! 

 

I found a website that lets you compare states. It’s quite remarkable just how small my state of Rhode Island is compared to your state of California. Yikes!! 

 

 

 

[George C]

But Texas is 1.7 times bigger than California, with 100 percent more rednecks 😁😁

[CrzLvr2]

46 minutes ago, George C said:

But Texas is 1.7 times bigger than California

 

Here's the comparison photo for Texas and Rhode Island. It's even more amazing!! You can barely see the speck that is RI!

 

(For those of you not familiar with the rankings of the states in the United States...

Rhode Island is the smallest state in area and Texas is the second largest state. It is only smaller than Alaska.)  

Edited February 27, 2023 by CrzLvr2

[brillohead]

17 hours ago, sgmn said:

Ps just reread your post. I'm not sure if he's done it recently. I'll let him know of the beta project, thanks

Yes, it just launched this week.  It made my research SO much simpler, being able to just ignore (for now) all the people that were matched on the maternal side.

[joeyancho]

Since the title of this thread is how are things going where you are, I will relate a recent experience. As everyone knows California had a significant weather event this week.  We own a cabin in Big Bear California which is at an altitude of 7,000 ft. We went up to our cabin on Tuesday. The snow started Tuesday night and did not let up until Saturday. It was awesome. We got over two feet of snow. The wood burning stove cranked out the Heat and my lovely wife cranked out some lovely dinners.  We got a break in the weather on Sunday and we took advantage of it and made a break for home.  We had to hire some local fellows to dig our car out. 

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by joeyancho

[Lionesss]

19 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The only thing that I can put a value on in here is those Canadian $1 bills.  Take them to the bank and get your 70 cents for them.

I actually was thinking I would share with Andrew, or any other Canadians you would know???😉

[Ourusualbeach]

51 minutes ago, Lionesss said:

I actually was thinking I would share with Andrew, or any other Canadians you would know???😉

We can't even use them in our own country.  We switched to coins for our $1 and $2 bills decades ago and as of Jan 1, 2022 the paper money is no longer considered legal tender. 

[A&L_Ont]

5 hours ago, joeyancho said:

Since the title of this thread is how are things going where you are, I will relate a recent experience. As everyone knows California had a significant weather event this week.  We own a cabin in Big Bear California which is at an altitude of 7,000 ft. We went up to our cabin on Tuesday. The snow started Tuesday night and did not let up until Saturday. It was awesome. We got over two feet of snow. The wood burning stove cranked out the Heat and my lovely wife cranked out some lovely dinners.  We got a break in the weather on Sunday and we took advantage of it and made a break for home.  We had to hire some local fellows to dig our car out. 

 

 

We have been watching the YouTube web camera from Big Bear Lake with the nesting eagles. Their nest is towards the end of the lake where the damn is. I've been looking at this area on Google Earth. It looks beautiful there. Love your cabin too.

[Sea Dog]

15 hours ago, Husky1987 said:

Little piece of life trivia,,,I played softball every year I was in KC with a bunch of friends from law school back in the late 80's.  We were in a league with one of the local stations (WDAF maybe?).  I can't remember all the on-air folks who played on that team, but I do remember Phil Witt.  He was a pretty good player.  I can't remember if Frank Boal played as well.  Glamorous, indeed.

Yes that would be WDAF-TV channel 4. I know both Phil and especially Frank Boal really well. I worked a lot of Chiefs road games with Frank and his photographer who was a good friend of mine. Good times.

[mets07]

23 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

I grew up in NJ and DH grew up in MI.  One name stood out, VanBuskirk, and sure enough that is our common ancestor who settled in then New Amsterdam, moved to NJ, and had many sons who during the revolution were divided between the King and the Colonists. 

This family name is indeed very familiar in Northern NJ, with a small park near us and other historic sites and houses with the name Van Buskirk. 

[xpcdoojk]

Jimbo, we are staying at the Double Tree at Penn station so we can take the train into Manhattan for the 3 nights we are staying there before our TA departing May 1 on the Anthem.  I have heard that the walkway might be closed at night.  We have crown tickets for the Statue of Liberty Sunday out of NY.  

 

JC

[xpcdoojk]

Speaking of the Key and our cruise.  

 

The Key on our sailing is now 22.99, the internet is 18.99

[George C]

22 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

Jimbo, we are staying at the Double Tree at Penn station so we can take the train into Manhattan for the 3 nights we are staying there before our TA departing May 1 on the Anthem.  I have heard that the walkway might be closed at night.  We have crown tickets for the Statue of Liberty Sunday out of NY.  

 

JC

Might want to get tickets to World Trade Center museum which is walking distance to Statue of Liberty ferry , you can pass Trinity church where Alexander Hamilton is buried.

[xpcdoojk]

Thanks George, we have done that previously.  We are looking forward to the outdoor pizza place we stumbled upon near where the ferry is located too for lunch again.  Last time we visited we couldn’t get crown tickets.  Speaking of Hamilton, we went to our local theatre for the traveling version of Hamilton Friday night.  I have never seen so much security at the theatre.  They even scanned us for weapons entering.  Never have I seen that at our theatre and we have being going to this venue for the entire 25 years it has been open.  

 

 

[George C]

40 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

Thanks George, we have done that previously.  We are looking forward to the outdoor pizza place we stumbled upon near where the ferry is located too for lunch again.  Last time we visited we couldn’t get crown tickets.  Speaking of Hamilton, we went to our local theatre for the traveling version of Hamilton Friday night.  I have never seen so much security at the theatre.  They even scanned us for weapons entering.  Never have I seen that at our theatre and we have being going to this venue for the entire 25 years it has been open.  

 

 

I used to work a couple of blocks from the ferry in 60’s to late 70’s , they added loads of pubs a few blocks away really close to Frances tavern, with tables in the middle of the street . How was the play ?

[bobmacliberty]

I’ve fallen behind on my food porn. Two nights ago (our last night in San Fran), we ate at Hog Island Oysters in the Ferry Building. Started with a half dozen mixed oysters. 

 

I had the Rustic Seafood stew and washed it down with a local IPA. Micheline had a shrimp po’ boy sandwich but I missed getting a picture. 

 

We’re now in Monterey. Had lunch yesterday at the Stillwater Bar and Grill overlooking the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. For a golfer, playing PB is a bucket list item. I didn’t have the time to play but could at least see the course and watch a few golfers finish their round. It was an overcast day but…it’s Pebble!

 

 

Last night’s dinner was at the Treehouse Cafe in Carmel. Another great meal. I had a huge piece of grilled sea bass and Micheline went with the yellow curry (which was spicier than advertised but tasty). 

 

 

This was primarily a wine tasting trip but has turned into a great food tasting trip!

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

Jimbo, we are staying at the Double Tree at Penn station so we can take the train into Manhattan for the 3 nights we are staying there before our TA departing May 1 on the Anthem.  I have heard that the walkway might be closed at night.  We have crown tickets for the Statue of Liberty Sunday out of NY.  

 

JC

There is a exit on the ground floor of Penn Station right under that walkway to get over to Double Tree, that looks like we could go that way also.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7348326,-74.1645193,3a,75y,13.44h,106.54t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1spxr_b_XX-2b_3u0oBnjybw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

Our train gets in at 3pm, so should still be light out.

 

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Jimbo

[Luckynana]

3 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

I’ve fallen behind on my food porn. Two nights ago (our last night in San Fran), we ate at Hog Island Oysters in the Ferry Building. Started with a half dozen mixed oysters. 

 

I had the Rustic Seafood stew and washed it down with a local IPA. Micheline had a shrimp po’ boy sandwich but I missed getting a picture. 

 

We’re now in Monterey. Had lunch yesterday at the Stillwater Bar and Grill overlooking the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. For a golfer, playing PB is a bucket list item. I didn’t have the time to play but could at least see the course and watch a few golfers finish their round. It was an overcast day but…it’s Pebble!

 

 

Last night’s dinner was at the Treehouse Cafe in Carmel. Another great meal. I had a huge piece of grilled sea bass and Micheline went with the yellow curry (which was spicier than advertised but tasty). 

 

 

This was primarily a wine tasting trip but has turned into a great food tasting trip!

Your many food pictures are making me hungry!  Your Rustic Seafood stew looks so yummy;  however, I'd be pretty happy with any of your dishes.  I've enjoyed following along on your trip, many of your destinations bring back wonderful memories of our time in California.  Thanks for sharing!