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

[George C]

34 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I’m so sorry Patti.

 

 

 

So does she just look out while riding in the car? She doesn’t freak out? Everyone of our cats hated riding in cars and would cry meowing the whole way.

Same here our car hates going in the car. He is ok once we get to the vet .

[A&L_Ont]

4 minutes ago, derorim said:

 

A long time ago I took our cat to the vet loose in the car like that.  He expressed his displeasure by peeing on the cloth passenger seat.  That smell never goes away, so we traded the car in.  My apologies to whoever bought that car.  Now we always take kitty in a carrier. 

 

During covid when we could not go in she rode there in her crate and rode back on the armrest. She didn't like the carrier, but didn't make any noise. 

 

Yes, I too would feel bad for whoever got the car next. 

Edited June 9, 2023 by A&L_Ont

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Keksie said:

Those eyes!  How can you ever say no to them.  

+1

[Jimbo]

12 hours ago, Luckynana said:

The floors look great, Jimbo!  Are you all done with your home now?  You've done so much work during the past year;  all beautifully done!

Here is the dried look now of the floor in the Master Bedroom, this picture was taken from the doorway of the Master Bathroom.

 

My Wife wanted all the floors to have a matte finish, she says the shiny look floors are now out of date. I like they way ours came out, just enough sheen to make them nice but not like we had before where we almost need sun glasses when the sun shined through the front windows.

 

Once we get everything back together my Wife is putting together before and after pictures.

 

We do have one more thing to complete tomorrow morning, on the hallway leading to the guest bedrooms, don't really like have plain it looks going into that hallway. We are going to do something to it to spruce it up. Surprise to follow 🙂

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by Jimbo

[derorim]

38 minutes ago, Keksie said:

Off the needles in time for my cruise.  The yarn is a silk merino and very soft.

 

 

Your needle skills are so intriguing.  I always like to zoom in on your pictures.  The colored rectangles used for blocking the piece on the mat are clever.  I've never done any of that stuff, but I enjoy seeing  how it's done.  .  

[BonTexasNY]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Vegas almost always comes down to money...how much you have and how much you're willing to spend.  I haven't been in a few years so I'd verify that what I say below still exists.

 

For free, there are several small "shows" along the strip. 

• Fountains of Bellagio
• Volcano eruption in front of the Mirage
• Circus acts at Circus Circus
• Lions at MGM Grand
• Freemont Street Experience downtown (massive multi-block long overhead screen and light show)
• Conservatory inside Bellagio with rotating exhibits
• Animatronics show with fire and water in Caesar's Forum Shops (mall next to Caesar's)
• There was a show called Sirens of TI in front of Treasure Island that closed a few years ago.  There were rumors of a replacement show but I don't know if that ever happened. 

 

For paid shows, I'm a big fan of the Cirque du Soleil shows.  I'd highly recommend O (Bellagio), KA (MGM Grand), and Mystere (TI).  I've seen O and KA twice.   Love (Beatles themed show at Mirage) is also supposed to be good but I've not seen it.  Cirque shows are not cheap though.  Similar to last minute Broadway tickets, you can supposedly get last minute Cirque tickets at a good discount.  I've never done it and don't know the details.  There are other magic, singing, dancing shows if that's their thing.

 

Since they are now 21, there are several fun bars in Vegas

• Dueling piano bar in Harrah's
• Live bands and flair bar at Carnaval Court by Harrah's
• Gilley's Saloon and Dance Hall in TI
• Coyote Ugly in New York New York (like the movie)
• There used to be a flair bar (bartenders juggle bottles and shakers) in TI but I don't know if it's still there.

 

 

There are several high end nightclubs (think hundreds of people on a dance floor with a DJ blasting music and all kinds of special effects happening.  We've been to Tao (Venetian) and the Ghost Bar at the Palms (off strip).  The most popular nightclubs seem to constantly change and it was 2011 when we last visited one.  Too old now (actually, too old then).  These are often very expensive just to get in, let alone to order drinks.

 

Depending on where they stay, the pool complexes can be worth a day.  Mandalay Bay has probably the most famous pool area, complete with wave pool, but all of the bigger resorts have big pool areas.

 

I don't know how much this would appeal to 21 year olds, but it's worth just wandering through several of the hotels.  Bellagio, Wynn, Venetian, MGM Grand, New York New York, even Rio off strip, are all interesting to see.  

 

There are several "amusement park" like rides scattered throughout the Vegas area.  The roller coaster at New York New York was fun.  The rides at the top of The Strat can range from mildly scary (Big Shot...done it) to downright terrifying (X-Scream..nope, nope, nope).  There's a zip line in the Freemont Street Experience in downtown Vegas.  The High Roller Observation Wheel was the largest of its type when opened but was surpassed by the new wheel in Dubai.  It's a cool way to get a great view of Vegas.  All of these rides have a separate fee.

 

There are several museum type places...the Mob Musuem, Madame Tussaud's, Neon Museum, Titanic Exhibition at Luxor.  We've only done Madame Tussaud's but we were surprised by how much we enjoyed it.  

 

There are zillions of restaurants in Vegas ranging from fast food to super high end.  One interesting one that we did was the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas.  It's right across the street from the Fountains of Bellagio and about 10 stories up, so you get a great view of the show.  I agree that Trip Advisor is a good way to evaluate restaurants of different costs and food types.  I usually line up with the ratings given by travelers on Trip Advisor.  

 

If they want to gamble on something other than slot machines cheaply, the best ways are to gamble during the day/off hours or go to a more local casino off the strip.  A Google search will turn up several local places.  Harrah's used to have a blackjack section where the dealer was a celebrity impersonator...Marliyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, etc.  Table games at the bigger name casinos on the strip will start with a $25 minimum bet during busy times, and those may be hard to find. 

 

And of course, there's shopping everywhere.  Again, I don't know how much time 21 year olds will want to spend shopping.  

 

I'd also warn them of a couple of things.  There will probably be people trying to hand you little cards as you walk down the sidewalk.  These are usually cards advertising escort services or other similar business ventures.  Just ignore them and walk by.  There are several street entertainers and people dressed up in costumes.  If you get your picture taken with them, they expect a tip.

 

Happy to answer any questions they may have although like I said earlier, it's been a few years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow great and very useful info!  We saw "O" at The Bellagio approx. 20 years ago at the rate of $99.  Best show ever. 

[Sea Dog]

55 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

No issues at all. She just looks out the window.  She jumped into the back seat for a few minutes and then returned to her perch armrest.  She tried to look out my window but there was no way she was allowed to encroach the driver. 

 

That’s what I love about Lucy. She’s eccentric, independent and seems at ease in every environment. She’s a cool cat.

[bobmacliberty]

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

On another note, while walking to the movies with our grandson yesterday, I came to a fork in the road, but didn’t take it. 

 

 

 

 

Were you anywhere near the Slauson Cutoff?

Edited June 9, 2023 by bobmacliberty

[Keksie]

51 minutes ago, derorim said:

 

Your needle skills are so intriguing.  I always like to zoom in on your pictures.  The colored rectangles used for blocking the piece on the mat are clever.  I've never done any of that stuff, but I enjoy seeing  how it's done.  .  

I love my blocking squares.  They give a much better edge then pins.  I use pins to pull out picots or points when needed.  To keep me from biting my nails when I was little mom taught me all kinds of fiber arts so my hands were busy.  Currently knitting is what I am focusing on with a little bit of embroidery and spinning thrown in.

[HBE4]

@brillohead

 

@bobmacliberty covered all the highlights pretty well and I'm glad I read his post before writing mine as I would have listed everything he did. Saved me a lot of typeing. 👍🙂

 

I can't really add to much more other than maybe try to hit one of the Ice Bars. It's expensive and gimmicky but I always thought it was kinds cool (pun-intended) to sit in a bar where everything is made of ice while outside is 100 degree desert heat. It's the kinda thing you only do once and celebrating 21st birthday seems like a good time do it. There are 3 of them in Vegas

https://www.minus5experience.com/

 

I'd recommend the one in The Venetian only because that will give them a chance to take the Gondola ride thru the replica of Venice "Gran Canal".

https://www.venetianlasvegas.com/resort/attractions/gondola-rides.html

 

If you do go to the High Roller Observation Wheel - which I recommend - some of the observation cars come with a bar. It costs extra of course but hey, you only turn 21 once. The ride is about 30 minutes

 

If this is your cousins first time to Vegas, they'll probably spend most of their time on The Strip but if time allows, they should try to head downtown to  Fremont Street in the evening. Plenty of free entertainment, concerts, street performers, etc  and at night, the overhead canopy has a light show projected, synchronized to music.  While there, pop into the Golden Gate (not Golden Nugget) hotel and casino. It is the oldest, continually operating hotel casino in Las Vegas. There is nothing special about it other than it's old & tiny.   But they do keep  updating the interior.

 

https://vegasexperience.com/viva-vision-light-show/

 

 

[h20skibum]

24 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Were you anywhere near the Slauson Cutoff?

I try to avoid that, because last time, Art Fern told me to cut off my slauson. 
 

 

🤣

 

 

Edit to add that this may be lost on those who are too young to remember Johnny Carson. 

Edited June 9, 2023 by h20skibum

[helen haywood]

Minnie is not a fan of the cat carrier.  Vet said these bumps generally were benign in dogs but more 50/50 in cats.  She was amazed I found the bump as it’s so small.  Too small to do a needle aspiration.  She said we could wait and see if it got larger…no, I’d rather go ahead and have it removed and analyzed.  So surgery on the 21st.

 

Every other cat I’ve had, once the vet visit is over leaped into the carrier…anxious to be home.  Not Minnie.  Still not a fan.  Lucky for me she’s such a sweetheart that all she does is become a fur lump…no hissing, growling or scratching…

[HBE4]

Can you find the Leonard?

 

 

 

Let me zoom 30 ft up to the top of the tree. Yeah, that happened.

 

 

So Leonard is an indoor cat that occasionally comes outside when me or my step daughter (its’ her cat) are out. He usually stays within eye sight and always comes when called or if we go after him if he strays too far. Well, we got a little complacent yesterday as we busied ourselves with our various outdoor chores.  In what will now be his last outdoor adventure, he wandered off property. After spending 20 minutes looking for him, the neighbor’s dog found him. Fortunately, the dog was behind a fence but still scared Leonard up the tree.  Problem is, he didn’t know or was too scared to come down.

 

Now, this tree is located in the middle of a very small but very dense patch of woods. On a steep slope surrounded by piles of leaves, soft ground and brush piles with plenty of sharp, dead branches that are like daggers.  Not exactly the ideal location to setup my 24 foot extension ladder which, because of the angle necessary to avoid the aforementioned obstacles, was still 6-8 feet away from him. For the next 3 ½ hours, we took turns going up the ladder, shaking a bag of treats and opening cans of smelly cat food in an attempt to coax him down. Nothing. We left him along for a bit. Still wouldn’t budge.

 

As night was falling and a growing number of neighbors joined the rescue party, various ideas were tossed around like shaking the tree, throw rocks to startle him, spray him with a hose, leave him to spend the night up there alone. Uhhh, that’s a hard NO to all of those well-meaning but less-than-excellent ideas. Pleas for help were sent out on various social media, calls to animal hospitals were made when one of my neighbors suggested the fire department. Of course, I scoffed at that cliché idea that you only see in old 1950’s TV show but she called anyway, saying what do you have to lose? Ten minutes later, a fire truck and 2 fire dept. SUV’s show up along with 8 firemen (and firewoman) and their 35-foot ladder.  That attracted the attention of everyone up and down the street.  Took another 45 minutes to get the ladder setup properly and one of the firemen to pry Leonard from the tree. He was holding on for dear life.

 

Did I mentioned this happened right before dinner time after I spent 5 or 6 hours mowing, mulching, weeding, trimming, etc. All is well that ends well but I guess now I’ll be known as the guy that had to call the fire department to rescue a cat from a tree. I asked one of the more senior fireman there how many times have they done this and he replied this was the first time.

 

It’s possible I might move out of town in the middle of the night in shame. 😨

Edited June 9, 2023 by HBE4

[Tree_skier]

11 hours ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

We will be in Vancouver for 1 day (day of debark) then 6am flight the next morning.  

No firm plans- neighbor recommend a walking trail and pub near Hyatt Regency.

 

That is good location downtown.  I'm not sure what walking trail you'll find gut you are a right in the middle of the entertainment district and a short walk from Gastown.  With just one day I don't imagine you'll stray to far.  You'll have everything you need right there by the hotel.

[Tree_skier]

17 hours ago, NHProud said:

We’re going to be in Vancouver in September for 3 days . Do you have any restaurant recommendations? Our hotel is on Burrard St near the art museum.  How is Cin Cin ? 
 

Thank you . 

CinCin is very good and is a good location downtown.  Robson street is still a pretty good area for tourists..  There's a steakhouse downtown that I love.  It's called Black and Blue.

[helen haywood]

@HBE4 I’m sorry you, your step-daughter and Leonard all that to go through that frightening experience.  But I’m happy to hear it will be Leonard’s last outdoor foray.  How wonderful to have so many people helping you!

[NHProud]

26 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

CinCin is very good and is a good location downtown.  Robson street is still a pretty good area for tourists..  There's a steakhouse downtown that I love.  It's called Black and Blue.

Thank you ! We will try at least one .  

[NHProud]

16 hours ago, brillohead said:

Okay, after all the Las Vegas posts here, my "new" cousin just posted this on FB:

 

Ok my frequent Vegas peeps…I need recommendations on places to eat and things to not miss. Got a couple 21 year olds headed there for their birthdays in a couple weeks. TIA
 

 

So, what are your suggestions, those of you who are LV regulars?  She's taking her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend to Vegas later this month, since they both recently turned 21yo.  Any recommendations?



 

I’d recommend the giant wheel and the rides at the Stratosphere because of their ages . This is not for everyone , I found The Bodies exhibit fascinating. Restaurants I would suggest buffets and I like the one at Caesar’s. It is huge . The last time I was there they had a time limit you could occupy your table.  There are a lot of food courts . 
 

If they want to go fancy Michael Mina at the Bellagio.  

Edited June 9, 2023 by NHProud

[ownedbypets]

15 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Sadly this is so and continues to get worse and worse.  SF was always my go to place for a day trip.  I loved the vibrancy of the city.  There were so many great restaurant.  There was a Burmese place called The Burma Superstar that was absolutely fabulous.  I'd make the 2 1/2 hour drive just to eat there. 

 

The last time I was there was back in November for a matinee presentation of Frozen with my GD.  I was quickly reminded why I hadn't been in a few years.

 

I linked The Burma Superstar above.  If any of you do find yourselves there I highly recommend it.  The owners are fabulous people.

Thanks. I told my daughter about the restaurant. She just finished her contract at Stanford and signed another one at UCSF so she will be living in North Beach area so maybe it's close enough for her to try.

[lenquixote66]

18 hours ago, h20skibum said:

So yesterday, as we were traveling via bus, through San Francisco, to get to our son’s house in the North Bay, the bus had to detour due to traffic backups. 

 

The route he took went past several homeless encampments, and it was just another reminder of why we never visit the city anymore, when we visit.  What a horrible social experiment they have going on, and it only gets worse.  It is a shame, because San Francisco was a nice place, not that long ago.  

We were in SF for the first time in 1970 and it was beautiful .I have two friends living in Berkeley and one who moved from there recently to Oregon.

[Ozark_Kid]

I just ate my last cloves of garlic from last year's harvest! 🫣😳 I love garlic. 

No need to worry.   I have already harvested 8 small to medium heads of garlic.

[Ozark_Kid]

Our favorite traveling nurse posted some great helpful info in another thread.  Scooters fit in balcony doors.  I didn't know that.  Our TA has been finding us Accessible rooms but when we booked Icon there were none available. It was a real challenge getting in and out of the room last month.  So with that info Sharon googled Scooter rentals and found this one.  What do you think? 

[Bailey & Sophie]

5 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

 

 

 

So pretty.

[dani negreanu]

 

A thunderstorm and rain early this morning. I slept right through it, but DH cannot shake off his habit of getting up early since his working days.

 

Very unusual this time of the year.

 

 

 

[lenquixote66]

TSOTD is from Martinique.The first time we were there was in 1994 and it was the most beautiful island we ever saw.