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

[h20skibum]

Yesterday, we drove into Pittsburgh to do a few things with our grandson. 

 

Went to the Carnegie Science Center which has lots of hands on and learning activities. 

 

I liked some of the robot areas

 

 

They even have one that can shoot hoops. 
 

[h20skibum]

I can’t remember how many times I walked past this submarine on the river in Pittsburgh.  Yesterday was the first time I ever went inside. 
 

 

The USS Requin has been part of the Science Center since the 1990’s.  It was built in 1945, at the end of WW II.  

 

 

Inside

 

 

Thru the hatch

 

 

Some of the cramped quarters 

 

 

 

Captains quarters

 

 

Control room

 

 

Bunks

 

 

And the ship plans

 

[h20skibum]

A trip in Pittsburgh isn’t complete without a ride up the incline for views of the city

 

 

The second car passing

 

 

View from the top

 

 

And a day is never complete without a stop for cheesecake.  This one is salted Carmel 

 

 

[Ozark_Kid]

@h20skibum I bet the grandchild will always remember the time spent with you.

[Keksie]

14 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

   And a day is never complete without a stop for cheesecake.  This one is salted Carmel 

 

 

Adopt me please!  You are giving your grandson a wonderful summer he will always remember.

[bobmacliberty]

14 minutes ago, Keksie said:

Adopt me please!

 

I asked first!  I asked first!  You need to get in line.  😁

[bobmacliberty]

14 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

As of right now I feel like I have a bad summer cold. Stuffed up head, headache, and mild fever.  If we were not planning on leaving I probably would not of got tested.  Tomorrow morning I have a hospital appointment to get Covid Therapy to lessen the chance of severity.  As of where it happened I will not speculate.  This new variant is so contagious, it could of came from anywhere.  I don’t want anyone to feel guilty so I am not going to make a "logical guess" . I feel no one knowingly brought it to me.  My wife is still in good health.

 

So sorry to hear this.  The most important thing is that everyone is healthy, but big bummer missing the trip.  I hope your transfusion goes well and that you get that quick relief.

[bobmacliberty]

12 hours ago, singinalot said:

interesting week around here….we were in a car show on Sunday and came back to find the one road in and out of our neighborhood to be completely collapsed…they had to open an emergency vehicle route that we’ve been using and will continue to use for the foreseeable future.

 

 

On Monday we got a call from my stepson…remember when he packed up and moved to California back in March?

 

well, he wants to come back. 

We fly to Florida on Friday for a week and when we get back he will just be driving in. He’s going to rent a room in the basement from us for a while.

 

Anyway, off to the gym and then home to finish packing. We drop Sam off at the pet sitter’s tomorrow night.

 

Have you been told what happened to the street?  Seems strange.

 

We'll leave the front door to Florida unlocked for you.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

@Sunshine3601 took your advice and went to bed early….. well earlier.  Funny thing is I woke up at 5am and could not get back to sleep. 😂 oh well I tried.  At least now I have plenty of time to get ready and I am feeling better.  

Happy to hear you are feeling better this morning.   Good luck today😊

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

@Sunshine3601 took your advice and went to bed early….. well earlier.  Funny thing is I woke up at 5am and could not get back to sleep. 😂 oh well I tried.  At least now I have plenty of time to get ready and I am feeling better.  

You are already feeling improved? 

[bobmacliberty]

12 hours ago, jagsfan said:

There are some nice shops in that area. I haven’t been up there since COVID, but I hope they all survived. 

 

Amelia Island shops and restaurants survived fairly well, as far as I know.  We've noticed that a pizza place (Coastal Pizza) has had its lights off and chairs sitting on top of tables whenever we drive by, but that's only within the last couple of weeks so maybe not Covid related??  There is a popular wine bar/restaurant near here called Bar Zin.  It closed for a while but rumor was that it was also not completely Covid related.  They recently reopened with a smaller food menu (tapas) and more of a focus on wine. 

 

There are a few new businesses opening which is a good sign.  Another one of our favorite restaurants called Cafe Karibo is building a bar and duck pin bowling alley in the building next to theirs.  Sounds like fun.  Everything else around here is almost completely back to pre-Covid normal.  Hopefully, it will stay that way.  I'd say that we have the advantage of being a little bit isolated but we're in the middle of tourist season with people from all over the place.

[BonTexasNY]

11 hours ago, Lionesss said:

Story time:

 

Once upon a time when I went to Penn State University, I had the opportunity to take a graduate course that dealt with studying all the world religions.

 

It had to be one of the best courses I ever took.

 

Growing up Catholic, we were taught that we were the only ones that would make it and be guaranteed eternal life.

WOW.

This class because of the instructor   opened my eyes and gave me the insight to see the world as it really is. 

 

How does this related to what I want to share.

 

Well, to put it into writing, this class did more than teach me about religion, it showed me that there are many options in dealing with life and life issues than the one that you think is the only one (because of reaching our own conclusions or basic knowledge or plain and simple not looking outside the box)

.

It is great to have faith, and practice and meet to fulfill your self spiritually.  But utilizes other great masters of their profession to aide in daily life.

Even though I am in the Medical field, I know little about all the specialties.

 

 

Also rely on  others  who are specialist in all aspects of life, from legal to financial to medical.

 

To explain:

 

Recently I shared with you my life with the right of passage of our daughter in her marriage, which I must say, was perfect this past weekend.  Except for the rain and moving it indoors, everything else was perfect.

 

What I did not share was that in May my DH was diagnosed with an irregular heart beat.

Yup the family doctor did an EKG and BAAAMMM  Multifocal PVCs

 

Well, while he was in the office, the call was made to the Cardiologist, and a consult was set up for later that day.

 

He went.

 

I do not know exactly the words that were exchanged, but in essence the DH would not proceed with any testing till after the wedding.

 

So even though we are in the medical field and pulled out our Cardiac manuals and pre diagnosed everything from valvular problems, to clots to aneurysm and onto Electrical conduction defects.

It was on our mind for 73 days, and he would not tell the daughter, did not want to ruin her wedding planning or all her dreams.  ( It was a struggle, I did not want him to um lets just say have something devastating happen and lose him).

 

But his stubbornness continued. As did my prayers.

 

Which leads us to this week.

The diagnostic testing week.

First and fore most the stress test.  He aced it they had to tell him he could stop and set a new endurance record with no EKG changes.

Then the Holter monitor, and 2 D ECHO.

 

Well, for those of you who use MY CHART and have access to your records, be objective when you read them.

 

Like I said, We are both medical professionals.

I should practice what I valued before and look at all avenues of options and not read into the specialty of Cardiology, when mine was Anesthesia.

 

So the interpretation of the 2D ECHO is:

Normal wall motion EF 55%

Patent PFO with Apical aneurysm.

He never had a heart attack So the apical aneurysm was a question.

 

The PFO  Patent Formaen Ovale

(This is one of the way a fetus get blood circulation in utero and closes shortly after birth).

His did not.

 

So out come the medical books.

WRONG.

 

We had each other in a tizzy reading anything from an baby aspirin a day to a cardiac catheterization to place a plug/patch, to open heart surgery.

 

It was a long night of prayers, and comforting one another.

 

My God, I do not want to lose the love of my dreams, I mean he is my sole mate, he accepts me for who I am and puts up with me.

 

So today the phone call came.

 

The cardiologist asked to speak to Rick.

Yup, I am already crying.

 

He goes over all the tests, and then gets to the 2D ECHO and reads the interpretation and pauses.

 

You have a PFO

He goes, one in 4 people have a PFO, welcome to the club.

Your apical Aneurysm is so small it was almost missed.

 

We need to treat this.

I am prescribing one baby ASA a day.

 

Now I am crying yup, happy tears.

 

So lesson learned.

 

Look at everything objectively and wait for the specialist to inform you of your status no matter what you need in life.

 

Live each day to the fullest.

Love the one you love more.

 

If you have a disagreement, kiss and make up.

 

Have faith.

 

Okay, that is all for now.

 

Once again thanks for listening.

 

And I will close with my philosophy of living

 

". . . Remember in life there is always something olde to be sought and enjoyed, always something new to be found, treasured, and shared.  Thank You for letting me share my life with you. . . "

 

 

 

♥️

 

 

 Very inspiring story.  I've gotten to expect nothing less from your posts. A pleasure to read.

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Wow, been away for a few days and so much to catch up on.  Our summer of fun continues, and it has been exhausting at times.  Managed to squeeze in some more boating and tubing with the grandkids, as well as other activities (movies, soccer, art projects, lego wars competitions). 

 

Grandson wanted a bird feeder, so I gathered some pieces of wood and plexiglass I had laying around and told him we could make one. 

 

We worked out a pattern and I cut the pieces we would need. 
 

 

He wanted it blue, so I put him to work painting all the pieces.  

 

 

Predrilled all the pieces so he would have an easy time with assembly. 

 

 

Of course, we had to take time for a meal between paint coats.  

 

 

And the finished product. 

 

 

You are one major exceptional grandpa.  Cheesecake yet!!

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Wow, been away for a few days and so much to catch up on.  Our summer of fun continues, and it has been exhausting at times.  Managed to squeeze in some more boating and tubing with the grandkids, as well as other activities (movies, soccer, art projects, lego wars competitions). 

 

Grandson wanted a bird feeder, so I gathered some pieces of wood and plexiglass I had laying around and told him we could make one. 

 

We worked out a pattern and I cut the pieces we would need. 
 

 

He wanted it blue, so I put him to work painting all the pieces.  

 

 

Predrilled all the pieces so he would have an easy time with assembly. 

 

 

Of course, we had to take time for a meal between paint coats.  

 

 

And the finished product. 

 

 

Beautiful bird feeder.  He will enjoy for many years!

If your Grandson eats all those veggies on that plate, that's great!   My boys when his age would have totally snubbed everything but the wings.

[Ozark_Kid]

19 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

You are already feeling improved? 

Yes, I am.  I had a cough I could not get over.  Dr prescribed cough syrup to help and I haven’t used it yet.  Just got in for the infusion.  5 of us are here.  Sadly a couple of them look like they are having a hard time.

[Sunshine3601]

11 hours ago, Lionesss said:

Story time:

 

Once upon a time when I went to Penn State University, I had the opportunity to take a graduate course that dealt with studying all the world religions.

 

It had to be one of the best courses I ever took.

 

Growing up Catholic, we were taught that we were the only ones that would make it and be guaranteed eternal life.

WOW.

This class because of the instructor   opened my eyes and gave me the insight to see the world as it really is. 

 

How does this related to what I want to share.

 

Well, to put it into writing, this class did more than teach me about religion, it showed me that there are many options in dealing with life and life issues than the one that you think is the only one (because of reaching our own conclusions or basic knowledge or plain and simple not looking outside the box)

.

It is great to have faith, and practice and meet to fulfill your self spiritually.  But utilizes other great masters of their profession to aide in daily life.

Even though I am in the Medical field, I know little about all the specialties.

 

 

Also rely on  others  who are specialist in all aspects of life, from legal to financial to medical.

 

To explain:

 

Recently I shared with you my life with the right of passage of our daughter in her marriage, which I must say, was perfect this past weekend.  Except for the rain and moving it indoors, everything else was perfect.

 

What I did not share was that in May my DH was diagnosed with an irregular heart beat.

Yup the family doctor did an EKG and BAAAMMM  Multifocal PVCs

 

Well, while he was in the office, the call was made to the Cardiologist, and a consult was set up for later that day.

 

He went.

 

I do not know exactly the words that were exchanged, but in essence the DH would not proceed with any testing till after the wedding.

 

So even though we are in the medical field and pulled out our Cardiac manuals and pre diagnosed everything from valvular problems, to clots to aneurysm and onto Electrical conduction defects.

It was on our mind for 73 days, and he would not tell the daughter, did not want to ruin her wedding planning or all her dreams.  ( It was a struggle, I did not want him to um lets just say have something devastating happen and lose him).

 

But his stubbornness continued. As did my prayers.

 

Which leads us to this week.

The diagnostic testing week.

First and fore most the stress test.  He aced it they had to tell him he could stop and set a new endurance record with no EKG changes.

Then the Holter monitor, and 2 D ECHO.

 

Well, for those of you who use MY CHART and have access to your records, be objective when you read them.

 

Like I said, We are both medical professionals.

I should practice what I valued before and look at all avenues of options and not read into the specialty of Cardiology, when mine was Anesthesia.

 

So the interpretation of the 2D ECHO is:

Normal wall motion EF 55%

Patent PFO with Apical aneurysm.

He never had a heart attack So the apical aneurysm was a question.

 

The PFO  Patent Formaen Ovale

(This is one of the way a fetus get blood circulation in utero and closes shortly after birth).

His did not.

 

So out come the medical books.

WRONG.

 

We had each other in a tizzy reading anything from an baby aspirin a day to a cardiac catheterization to place a plug/patch, to open heart surgery.

 

It was a long night of prayers, and comforting one another.

 

My God, I do not want to lose the love of my dreams, I mean he is my sole mate, he accepts me for who I am and puts up with me.

 

So today the phone call came.

 

The cardiologist asked to speak to Rick.

Yup, I am already crying.

 

He goes over all the tests, and then gets to the 2D ECHO and reads the interpretation and pauses.

 

You have a PFO

He goes, one in 4 people have a PFO, welcome to the club.

Your apical Aneurysm is so small it was almost missed.

 

We need to treat this.

I am prescribing one baby ASA a day.

 

Now I am crying yup, happy tears.

 

So lesson learned.

 

Look at everything objectively and wait for the specialist to inform you of your status no matter what you need in life.

 

Live each day to the fullest.

Love the one you love more.

 

If you have a disagreement, kiss and make up.

 

Have faith.

 

Okay, that is all for now.

 

Once again thanks for listening.

 

And I will close with my philosophy of living

 

". . . Remember in life there is always something olde to be sought and enjoyed, always something new to be found, treasured, and shared.  Thank You for letting me share my life with you. . . "

 

 

 

♥️

 

 

Thanking for Sharing.   Happy to hear that everything will be ok and just need a daily baby aspirin😍

[Sunshine3601]

9 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Yes, I am.  I had a cough I could not get over.  Dr prescribed cough syrup to help and I haven’t used it yet.  Just got in for the infusion.  5 of us are here.  Sadly a couple of them look like they are having a hard time.

They should all feel better after the infusion.   Back in early Feb when Eric had covid hospitals were limited to the amount of infusions they could do per week, but I hear it used a lot more these days due to the success rate.

[island lady]

19 hours ago, jagsfan said:

We never pass up steamed clams. Or fried whole belly clams. I don’t think you’ve mentioned them yet!

There used to be a little stand by the Bar Harbor airport that sold fried clams in quart size paper cups. So good!

 

Yum...love fried clams!  We get a lot of those at home....the Lagoon we live near at home has a lot of them, plus Blue crabs.  

 

No we haven't done the steamers here yet, but do love the local Jonah Crabs, and just made a couple of delicious crab rolls yesterday.  

[island lady]

15 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Bucky has a good head of hair too Pat.

 

Yeah, grows like a weed too!  😉  So does mine.  

 

We are already due for another hair cut.  I have appointment tomorrow at hair salon here I have never used before.  Wanted to get it done before transfer to rental #4 on Saturday.   I think Bucky is going wild man until we get back to Florida.  😮 

[Sunshine3601]

13 minutes ago, singinalot said:

 

They're not really saying...from what we heard, dirt clogged up in the concrete tunnel and then it collapsed...BUT obviously there are foundational issues that we're not learning about.....glad we're only renting.

https://krdo.com/news/2021/07/21/residents-say-newly-built-luxury-neighborhood-in-briargate-is-sinking/?fbclid=IwAR008hxuyTWAZ8_WuwBaVenUfiDBv7W3OITWXtE4y0IFP_tgZQ71pvG_Y3M

After reading that article, definitely good you are only renting.   This wont be good for future sales.

[grapau27]

It has been a lot cooler 65°F at the beach today.

We had a nice picnic on the sand 

[island lady]

20 hours ago, StanleyandGus said:

So- a total change of topics. 
 

I am mulling over a solo cruise. It would be Vision of the Seas, leaving Barcelona for an 8 days at the end of October next year. Chris and I are already booked on the TA going back to Fort Lauderdale, so I have to fly to Barcelona anyhow. He wouldn’t want to be away from the office for that much time, but I could!
 

We would have 76 Crown and Anchor point before the TA, so I am thinking that it would be nice to be Diamond for the TA. Or is that silly? I would ask on the regular boards, but I am slightly afraid of the rabid wolves out there. I don’t know if it’s even practical think about it, since changes in status, aren’t, as far as I know, immediate. 

 

Anyway, I thought I would ask my more experienced cruising friends! 

 

Have a great cruise!  We are on Harmony for B2B2B in October 2022 out of Barcelona.  Two loops around the Med, followed by the TA...which now ends up in Galveston versus the original Miami. 

 

Unfortunately, your Diamond status won't happen until after the points are processed after the completion of your TA cruise.  Usually about 6-10 days later. 

 

But....that just makes the next cruise that much sweeter!!  🙂  Congrats on turning Diamond!  

[island lady]

20 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Not silly at all. Diamond is a nice perk, especially for those who drink alcohol.

 

It takes about 5-7 days [after the cruise] for the points to show on your account, so, on the face of it you could start your TA as emerald.

 

The "remedy" is to go immediately upon embarkation to the Loyalty Ambassador and show the "points" you've accumulated in the previous [Vision] cruise.

 

He/she will be able to apply your new status for the TA.

 

It's a nice thought, and I don't want to, and am not trying to be the wet blanket here...but actually all of us turn the next level during the middle of a cruise.  I can't imagine the hassle that would be for the LA on board to make exceptions for everyone...IMHO.  😮  

 

I was simply patient and told myself that my next cruise...at the next level...was going to be something to really look forward to!  Made the anticipation that much better!  🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by island lady

[island lady]

16 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Just got sad news.  We were going to leave for  Lakeside Ohio Friday to vacation with my 3 daughters families and my brother and sister were coming.  I just tested positive and a grandchild tested positive.  Looks like they will all cancel now.  We were all looking forward to Skyline Chili and one of the daughters was planning to visit Cedar Point.  It’s a big bummer but thankful it’s not worse.

 

Oh no...so sorry to hear that.  I hope you are both OK and recover quickly!  😮 

[island lady]

14 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I don’t mind answering here because this place is feeling more like extended family. My wife and I both have been vaccinated back in April. 2 shots of Moderna.

 

Yikes!  Bucky and I both had the Moderna shots with the 2nd one in February. 😮  

 

Once again so sorry to hear you picked it up, but hopefully won't be too bad since you got the shots.  Hoping for a speedy recovery!  

[island lady]

13 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

My dad lived in Venice Florida.  There was a small canal behind his house.  I tried fishing it and a baby gator snapped at my buzz bait.  He had a picture of a big one in the back yard.  He pointed out that everyone with a pool had it screened in to keep out the gators.

 

Venice!!  Great place for finding ancient shark's teeth along the beach, which is beautiful there BTW!  🙂