The Daily for Friday Apr 23, 2021

[Seasick Sailor]

Good morning Rich and thanks for the Daily.  Love and hugs to my sisters, top priority prayers for Roy.

 

Woke up to a foggy, misty morning. My chores are already complete. 

 

We were supposed to take the Oosterdam to Hawaii and on to FP after our 2 week Mexican Riviera cruise but got kicked off after week one due to "you know what"

 

Every day is Lover's Day here. No on English muffins. I eat eggs Benedict sans the bread.. I prefer strawberry bread to zucchini and not a ham person. 

 

Have a wonderful weekend. Prayers, Cheers and Blessings. 

 

[Overhead Fred]

Cloudy and drizzly today, I might try my hand at a chicken pot pie for supper since we have leftover Costco rotisserie chicken. 

 

I just booked flights to FLL for our November 2021 cruise (Nieuw Amsterdam) through our PCC and Flight Ease. I could have gotten flights for a few $$ cheaper on my own, but given the uncertainty of cruising at the moment I wanted the security of having everything booked through HAL. We will be cruising with our DS and his SO! 

 

I think I will also take advantage of the HAL gift card deal to pay for this cruise and the one we have scheduled for March/April 2022. 

[garlictown]

☕ Happy Friday and Thank You for the Daily.✏️

We've been to French Polynesia three times😎--1st time on the Star Princess from Vancouver and just a port stop to Mo'orea, Bora Bora, etc on our way to OZ. The last two times we flew over to Pape'ete, Tahiti and took the ferry to Mo'orea where we stayed  and enjoyed an overwater bungalow.😁 Whoo Hoo! 

In March 2019, we boarded the Marina (Oceania to Peru) and in March 2020 and was told the Maasdam.would not stop for us! 😲 The beginning of the pandemic.😥

Albert of Albert's Transport picked us up from the ferry terminal....such a nice man.👍

🙏Prayers to all in need and cheers to all who are celebrating!😃

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, Copper10-8 said:

Good morning from L.A. y'all; no time for cartoons this morning, so sorry 😉 Heading south to San Diego for the day. Moorea is one of my fav places in the world. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Le sigh!     Absolutely spectacular!  Is that the Hilton?     We were booked October 2020, but alas...

[bennybear]

4 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Good Friday morning all!  Lover's Day sounds interesting, I'm not a fan of English Muffins, but I do like a piece of zucchini bread here and there.  I like ham a lot but will eat it prepared the old fashioned way.

 

We've been to Moorea twice, once on Golden Princess in 2014 and again on Maasdam in 2017.  Roy, I don't think anyone here minds if you've only been to Moorea on Crystal - show us your photos!

 

In 2014 we went on a private tour with a CC group.  It involved a Polynesian BBQ, ray and shark feeding, sightseeing at a barrier reef, snorkeling, etc.  The day after this we were scheduled on a tour with Patrick in Bora Bora so they were essentially the same description tours, but Patrick's was much better!  Still, I can show you a few photos from Moorea.  

 

Arrival at the pier.

 

Welcoming committee.

 

Scenes along the way.

 

 

Stingray feeding

 

I was a little nervous watching this from the boat.

 

I did go out when they spread out a little bit and that was fun, but when the sharks came I got back in the boat to watch.

 

Arriving at the motu for the BarBQ.

 

 

Not quite the same as Patrick's pig roast in a pit!

 

 

 

The food and drink was good though, and after we ate you could take a little dip in the water to cool down.

 

In 2017 on the Maasdam, we sailed from Papeete to Moorea in the early morning because they are only about 18 nautical miles apart.  A beautiful sunshine-y day!

 

 

When we reached shore on our tenders we were met with dancers and musicians, local foods and lots of jewelry.  We stayed in town this day since we hadn't done that last visit.

 

 

 

We bought a pair of black pearl earrings for me that day.

 

We walked around the village and then peeped into the Ebenezer Church.  It was Easter Sunday.

 

 

 

 

And a look at a unique treat at dinner that night for Easter Sunday. 

 

 

Wow!    We were also booked with Patrick,  perhaps one day!  And I am drooling over the black pearls.  I had to console myself after the cancellation with a nice set of Green ones! 

[bennybear]

Happy birthday
@cunnorl

[Sharon in AZ]

Good morning everyone and Happy Friday!!  DH took the day off work to do some chores around the house before our Las Vegas trip. We leave very early Sunday morning. He keeps asking me if I want to postpone the trip because of my ear infections but I keep saying NO. Goodness, it’s been 22 months since we’ve gone on vacation and I’m not going to delay it any longer. 
 

Thank you for the Daily Rich and thank you for your lists Roy. 
 

I like zucchini bread if it is offered, I have never made it myself. I love English Muffins!  But I usually save them for trips or Eggs Benedict. I’ll pass on the meal suggestion, we are having something quick tonight. And I think I’m going to have a Honey Baked Ham for Mother’s Day anyway. 
 

Happy Birthday @cunnorl!!  Enjoy your special day!!  🎂🥂🎉

 

Thank you for the passport update @POA1 .  Question, where did you get your passport photo done?  We need to renew ours next spring and Costco and a lot of the drug store chains are no longer doing them. 
 

Have a great day everyone!!
 

 

[Happily@Sea]

I finally got my tax refund [I mailed it in Mar 3] and these old eyes must have read something wrong - they sent me an additional 16 cents. Maybe that is what held it up - but on the website they were predicting a possibility of 6 weeks. Now the doctor's office needs to call for my shot appointment and I'll be set-up there too.

 

Looks like a nice weekend. 😄

[Sharon in AZ]

48 minutes ago, Overhead Fred said:

 

I just booked flights to FLL for our November 2021 cruise (Nieuw Amsterdam) through our PCC and Flight Ease. I could have gotten flights for a few $$ cheaper on my own, but given the uncertainty of cruising at the moment I wanted the security of having everything booked through HAL. We will be cruising with our DS and his SO! 

I did the exact same thing for the exact same reason for our Zaandam December  2021 Holiday Cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. I stressed out last year after our first cruise was canceled, calling and canceling and praying that we would get all our money back for flights and hotels. 

[richwmn]

16 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I did the exact same thing for the exact same reason for our Zaandam December  2021 Holiday Cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. I stressed out last year after our first cruise was canceled, calling and canceling and praying that we would get all our money back for flights and hotels. 

Last year I made my own flight arrangements for Christmas so I have a credit with Delta that I have to use this year. Otherwise I would use flight Ease

[Sharon in AZ]

53 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

 

I like zucchini bread if it is offered, I have never made it myself. I love English Muffins!  But I usually save them for trips or Eggs Benedict.

Too late to edit my post. Wanted to add that I have made my own English Muffins!  They are more like crumpets but still delicious 🤤 and really not that hard to make. I actually think that they are easier than making bread from scratch. 
 

Also, you know it’s Spring in the Desert when the Javelina have  babies and start to camp out behind your back fence:

 

 

They look really cute but trust me, they are aggressive and cranky and smelly and grouchy, even with each other. Thank goodness we have a fence between us and them. 

 

[Sharon in AZ]

11 minutes ago, richwmn said:

Last year I made my own flight arrangements for Christmas so I have a credit with Delta that I have to use this year. Otherwise I would use flight Ease

We had a credit with Southwest and had to use it by September 2021. Thankfully I was able to use it for our Las Vegas trip, otherwise we would have probably lost most of it. But we did loose $80, if I remember correctly, for a non refundable portion. 
 

That is so good you can use your Delta credit on your next cruise!

Edited April 23, 2021 by Sharon in AZ

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Afternoon All, thanks for the daily report.  Made it to Lancaster and fresh country air was very notable.  Already picked up some peanut butter whoopie pies.  We plan on meeting family for dinner in Bird in Hand tonight.  Looking for some good local food.

 

[1ANGELCAT]

25 minutes ago, Crazy For Cats said:

Good Afternoon All, thanks for the daily report.  Made it to Lancaster and fresh country air was very notable.  Already picked up some peanut butter whoopie pies.  We plan on meeting family for dinner in Bird in Hand tonight.  Looking for some good local food.

 

Welcome back to PA.   Is chicken pot pie on the menu tonight? If you’re looking for something to do tomorrow, Witmer fc- just up the road from Bird-in-Hand ( Mt Sydney road) has a drive thru Ox roast starting at 11am. 
In any case enjoy your stay.

Edited April 23, 2021 by 1ANGELCAT

[POA1]

 

 

1 hour ago, Sharon in AZ said:

Thank you for the passport update @POA1 .  Question, where did you get your passport photo done?  We need to renew ours next spring and Costco and a lot of the drug store chains are no longer doing them. 

 

Most of the UPS and FedEx stores by us in Fort Lauderdale offer the service. Our Walgreens and CVS still offer them.

 

I originally went to Walgreens but the photo came out too dark. I wound up having my wife take the photo with one of our digital cameras. I sized it using a photo editor. We have a good photo printer, so I used that. I have a precision paper trimmer which I used to get the photo to specification.

 

The State Department website said that you should not digitally alter your photo, but I tweaked the brightness after I did a test print.

 

If you decide to go the do-it-yourself route, make sure you use good quality glossy photo paper. If you don't have a paper cutter, use a straight edge and lightly mark the cut lines on the back of your picture in pencil.

 

[POA1]

An update - While I used my dedicated graphics software to edit and resize my photo, you can use the built-in Windows or Mac photo software. Just make sure that you have your head sized correctly. (Feel free to insert your own joke.)

[Copper10-8]

Greets from Old Town San Diego! Taking Maria's mum out to lunch

[Vict0riann]

TGIF, my friends!  When we woke up this morning at 7, the electricity was off, so we went out to Butchart's for breakfast (muffin and a latte) and then had a walk around.  It's looking beautiful, but we decided not quite as colourful as previous years, but we know they have reduced staff working, and I imagine they have cut back a bit.  We saw one "foreigner" - a car from Ontario, but other than that, I think everyone was a BCer, and maybe they were all without power and had come for breakfast!  We got home just in time for the electricity to come on again, at 11:20.

 

We visited Moorea, too, in 2016, on Westerdam.  We took a ships tour to the Belvedere and around the island.  It's very lush and tropical.  I was fascinated by the chickens wandering around in all those islands, the roosters were extremely handsome and the hens, very dowdy.  

 

Sticker people!

 

Views from the Belvedere

 

My faves

 

And some people

 

 

 

[bobpatj]

It really is fun to hunt for my photo/scrapbook albums to relive our days in the “Port of the Day.”  We have enjoyed Moorea three times.  Our first was January, 2008, on Ryndam and I haven’t found where that album is hiding!  Our second visit was aboard Rotterdam, in January,  2012, and third on Maasdam, in February, 2017.  All those ships are no longer with HAL, sigh.

[kazu]

3 hours ago, bennybear said:

Wow!    We were also booked with Patrick,  perhaps one day!  And I am drooling over the black pearls.  I had to console myself after the cancellation with a nice set of Green ones! 

 

Definitely if you go, book with Patrick and do it early as he sells out fast.  His prices have gone up but it’s still well worthwhile IMO.

I did the tour when I said had a healing wing.  I was going to stay on and not get in the water and then I decided I would try to one wing it down the ladder and in the water (and heck, water was good for the healing wing) I wasn’t even a few laps in the water and Patrick was over in a nano second to help me get over the sharks.  We were feeding them under his direction.

He really does a super job.  And the food and the time at his motu was wonderful.  

 

Wonderful day, I’d do it over and over and over.  Just don’t be the fire lighter for his fire dance 😉   It doesn’t look good in pictures 😉 😂 

 

[Vict0riann]

2 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Definitely if you go, book with Patrick and do it early as he sells out fast.  His prices have gone up but it’s still well worthwhile IMO.

I did the tour when I said had a healing wing.  I was going to stay on and not get in the water and then I decided I would try to one wing it down the ladder and in the water (and heck, water was good for the healing wing) I wasn’t even a few laps in the water and Patrick was over in a nano second to help me get over the sharks.  We were feeding them under his direction.

He really does a super job.  And the food and the time at his motu was wonderful.  

 

Wonderful day, I’d do it over and over and over.  Just don’t be the fire lighter for his fire dance 😉   It doesn’t look good in pictures 😉 😂 

 

I was going to post the picture, but I figured I would need permission first...

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

I was going to post the picture, but I figured I would need permission first...

 

It was posted many years ago on the LIVE thread.   No worries 😉 

[Tbay]

The snow is gone, again, and it is a sunny, but windy day.  Great day for a first shot!  DH got his last week.  Second shots scheduled for August.  His was 5 minutes from home, mine was an hour. But it was a nice day for a drive, and we did a drive by drop off of a pecan pie, for DGS. Ontario is in crisis with Covid, so it is a relief to have at least one shot.

 

@cunnorlHappy Birthday

 

@Crazy For CatsLoved going to Lancaster when we lived in Wilmington

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

2 hours ago, Crazy For Cats said:

Good Afternoon All, thanks for the daily report.  Made it to Lancaster and fresh country air was very notable.  Already picked up some peanut butter whoopie pies.  We plan on meeting family for dinner in Bird in Hand tonight.  Looking for some good local food.

 

Love the area around Lancaster, Bird-in-Hand, and Strasburg and the whole area.  We lived in Kemblesville, about 45 minutes away, for five years in the early 1980s.  We would drive up to the Amish area several times a year, and it was one place we always took visitors.  Our DDs loved riding the Strasburg RR and going to the train museum.

 

Enjoy your visit with family.

 

Lenda

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

1 minute ago, Tbay said:

The snow is gone, again, and it is a sunny, but windy day.  Great day for a first shot!  DH got his last week.  Second shots scheduled for August.  His was 5 minutes from home, mine was an hour. But it was a nice day for a drive, and we did a drive by drop off of a pecan pie, for DGS. Ontario is in crisis with Covid, so it is a relief to have at least one shot.

 

@cunnorlHappy Birthday

 

@Crazy For CatsLoved going to Lancaster when we lived in Wilmington

Congratulations to both of your on your first jab.