The Bistro- Off topic and fun posts!

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2019 Prinsendam Grand South America and Antarctica cruise.  January 13 was a sea day from Manta to Salavery:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2018 Crystal 2-ship world cruise.  Sometimes the sun really plays hide and seek and I found the light conditions on the promenade deck more interesting than the sunset.  On January 14 the Crystal Serenity was waved off a call to Puerto Caldera:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my Cunard transatlantic prelude to my 2016 Crystal Symphony Antarctica cruise.  July 15 on Queen Victoria was a sea day between Porto Delgada and Port Canaveral:

 

 

Roy

[oakridger]

I just love the middle of the ocean pictures Roy!  Thanks for the reminder!

 

~Nancy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise (actually sunset) is from land and my very first from 2020.  It was taken from Amtrak's Southwest Chief on the way from Chicago to Los Angeles and original Queen Mary, Crystal Serenity, and an all too brief stay on Queen Mary 2:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from yet another trip, this one from Baltimore.  I was on the Grandeur of the Seas January 14-23 of 2017.  On January 17 we were in Port Canaveral,

 

 

Roy

[BWIVince]

In the spirit of sunrises and staying local for a while, a member of a local emergency scanner notification group on Facebook posted a really beautiful 360-degree panorama of our historic downtown at sunrise, from part of our central park a few days after it snowed.  I thought it was pretty cool and reminded me of this thread a lot.

 

https://www.facebook.com/FredScanner/photos/10159273486954345

 

Be sure to scroll around and see the full circle. 

 

(Apologies to anyone that doesn't use Facebook and may not have full access to the panorama -- this isn't my content so I can't post it any other way.)

 

Vince

Edited January 17, 2021 by BWIVince

[rafinmd]

2 hours ago, BWIVince said:

In the spirit of sunrises and staying local for a while, a member of a local emergency scanner notification group on Facebook posted a really beautiful 360-degree panorama of our historic downtown at sunrise, from part of our central park a few days after it snowed.  I thought it was pretty cool and reminded me of this thread a lot.

 

https://www.facebook.com/FredScanner/photos/10159273486954345

 

Be sure to scroll around and see the full circle. 

 

(Apologies to anyone that doesn't use Facebook and may not have full access to the panorama -- this isn't my content so I can't post it any other way.)

 

Vince

It wouldn't scan for me but I was able to right click on the image and rotate it by sliding my mouse.

 

Roy

[BWIVince]

13 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

It wouldn't scan for me but I was able to right click on the image and rotate it by sliding my mouse.

 

Roy

 

My results were really similar, but the plug-in seemed to work differently on different devices of mine.  It didn't scan on any of them though, I had to click or drag it to scroll around as a common denominator.  

 

Vince

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2018 2-ship world cruise.  On January 18 the Crystal Serenity was at sea from Acapulco to Puerto Vallarta.

 

 

Roy

 

[cruisr]

18 hours ago, BWIVince said:

In the spirit of sunrises and staying local for a while, a member of a local emergency scanner notification group on Facebook posted a really beautiful 360-degree panorama of our historic downtown at sunrise, from part of our central park a few days after it snowed.  I thought it was pretty cool and reminded me of this thread a lot.

 

https://www.facebook.com/FredScanner/photos/10159273486954345

 

Be sure to scroll around and see the full circle. 

 

(Apologies to anyone that doesn't use Facebook and may not have full access to the panorama -- this isn't my content so I can't post it any other way.)

 

Vince

I absolutely love your town.  Great restaurants, boutiques and so much history nearby.

Maryland is a great state.

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2017 "Close to home" Grandeur of the Seas cruise.  On January 19 we were in Nassau.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

A few days ago I posted a sunrise from Grandeur of the Seas arriving in Port Canaveral.  Today's is from the same location, a year earlier, and from Queen Victoria approachng her final port of call on my segment.  From Port Canaveral it was onto Port Everglades and onward to Antarctica.

 

 

Roy

 

[KenzSailing]

Weather report:

 

Here in Chevy Chase the day started cloudy and gloomy.  Then around midday, the sun came out and the birds started singing.  It is a glorious afternoon this 20th of January, 2021.

[BWIVince]

1 hour ago, KenzSailing said:

Weather report:

 

Here in Chevy Chase the day started cloudy and gloomy.  Then around midday, the sun came out and the birds started singing.  It is a glorious afternoon this 20th of January, 2021.

 

We actually had a heavy snow squall this morning before everything cleared up after 9:00am.  The clear, sunny, afternoon is the most inspirational afternoon I've felt in months.  The whole house is bright, and warm, and hopeful with sun streaming in all the windows.

 

Vince

[rafinmd]

My next couple of sunrises will be the last from their respective cruises.  I disembarked Queen Victoria in Fort Lauderdale but did not catch a sunrise then but did see it QV's second morning in Port Canaveral.

 

 

We did not have significant snow in Columbia yesterday but I did see a few white specs in a mulch bed in front of my house.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

As indicated yesterday, this will be another final sunrise photo from one of my cruises.  January 22, 2017 was my last sea day on the Grandeur of the Seas before disembarking in Baltimore the next day:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is the first shipboard one of 2020.  The Crystal Serenity was headed west toward Australia on what turned out to be a somewhat stormy morning.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is the first from yet another cruise.  On January 23, 2015 I boarded MS Maasdam in Port Everglades and the next morning arrived in Key West.

 

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

Vince,

 

For a while now I've had a matter of vague curiosity rolling around in my head, and I've realized you're uniquely positioned to shed some light on the matter.

 

Way back in the before time, we had booked a week long vacation for September 2020 in Las Vegas.  For obvious reasons we cancelled it, IIRC, in the May timeframe.

 

In prep for the trip, I purchased a book on LV dining ratings written by a local.  He prefaced the book with some general rules about LV, one of which jumped out at me:

 

"Las Vegas is not a gambling town, Las Vegas is a convention town."

 

Now I think there's a bit of hyperbole in that first clause, but the second is undoubtedly true.  So I've been wondering, as a convention town, when will LV be truly "back"?  My SWAG: four to six years.  Another guess, cruising will be substantially back before convention magnets like LV are.

 

Thoughts?

[BEAV]

Ken, before Vince comments in depth on the convention aspect, I have seen several reports lately that say weekends in LV are trickling back nicely. Which I assume to be SoCal residents making short getaways.  But that midweek remains pretty much a ghost town, which I attribute to the lack of convention business. Just my novice view while we wait for Vince’s always informative analysis! 

 

 

[rafinmd]

It's been a while since I posted a photo from my 2019 Prinsendam Grand South America cruise.  On January 25 we were at sea from Robinson Crusoe Island to Castro, Chile:

 

 

Roy

 

[rafinmd]

It's over a week since I posted a sunrise from my 2018 Crystal 2-ship World Cruise.  On January 26 the Crystal Serenity was at sea from Los Angeles to Maui.

 

 

We had a bit of ice overnight but there was a thin layer of snow underneath that made cleaning the car off a lot easier.

 

Roy

 

[Jim9310]

Memories of a HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

[Sydney harbour ferry boat race on Jan 26, 2015]

[KenzSailing]

18 hours ago, BEAV said:

Ken, before Vince comments in depth on the convention aspect, I have seen several reports lately that say weekends in LV are trickling back nicely. Which I assume to be SoCal residents making short getaways.  But that midweek remains pretty much a ghost town, which I attribute to the lack of convention business. Just my novice view while we wait for Vince’s always informative analysis! 

 

 

 

Beav,

 

Yes, that's completely consistent with everything I have read about the current state of LV.  The thing is, if you're trying to keep an eight room BnB afloat, weekends might do the trick.  But those resorts are enormous, multi-part engines of commerce and, much like a cruise ship, I don't think they're built for cruising at 20% of capacity(or in this case, three nights out of seven.)

 

But yes, we must wait for the shaman of event planning to check-in.