The Daily for Sunday Jun 13, 2021

[rafinmd]

I've sailed the Gulf of St. Lawrence several times but never on a BHB. although I was booked for the Zuiderdam last fall.  I will share a photo you likely won't see elsewhere and a memory.

 

My first time was on the old Regent Sun in 1994.  The next was on the freighter Canmar Courage in March 2003 from Montreal to Antwerp Belgium and at one point this was my view looking backwards:

 

 

The memory (I'll say life changing) is from my Crystal Serenity Northwest Passage cruise.  Those who are familiar with my blogs will know I like to close each with a "parting shot" a comment that can be about just about anything.  I was struggling with a parting shot the day we entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the North, September 11, 2016.  This is what I finally came up with:

 

"I agonized about a parting shot for today. It clearly had to be 9-11 related and I did not want to say the same things everyone else was saying about the tragedy and the heroes. My solution only occurred to me at dinner. It is appropriate that on this 15th anniversary that we were sailing down the coast of Newfoundland, where many planes made emergency landings and passengers were stranded as all air traffic was shut down. The people of Newfoundland generously opened their homes and extended their hospitality in every way possible to an unexpected influx of people. On this day I extend my thanks to the people of Newfoundland, the rest of Maritime Canada and I’m sure the rest of Canada for their generous hospitality in a time of unprecedented crisis."

 

A reader alerted me to the fact that the new musical "Come From Away" was then playing at Ford's Theater, just a stone's throw from my house.  I had a ticked booked by the time I disembarked and you can say the rest is history.  I've now seen every major production of the show, ending with Melbourne Australia, just before the world shut down, my 10th time to see it.

 

You could say a random comment originating in the Gulf of St. Lawrence became an obsession.

 

Roy

Edited June 13, 2021 by rafinmd

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

14 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

Thanks, Lenda. I may still try it. Sometimes “dry” ends up being too tart and acidic. 
 

Maybe I will get a bottle of each and subject my friends to a taste test. 

 

Ann, your comment about being too tart and acidic may be why I didn't like Kung Fu Girl.  While I don't really consider Chateau Ste Michelle to be sweet, it is sweeter than Kung Fu Girl.  Besides, I tend to like sweet better than sour or acidic.

 

Lenda

[kochleffel]

Riesling is the most-planted grape variety in the Finger Lakes, so I would more likely have a local one. They range all the way from bone-dry to Spätlese, but most are close to the dry end, slightly less sweet than dry Riesling from the Northwest. Most but not all have more floral character than mineral, and some of my friends who are put off by the mineral character of most local white wines will drink the local Riesling.

[cat shepard]

12 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

Riesling is the most-planted grape variety in the Finger Lakes, so I would more likely have a local one. They range all the way from bone-dry to Spätlese, but most are close to the dry end, slightly less sweet than dry Riesling from the Northwest. Most but not all have more floral character than mineral, and some of my friends who are put off by the mineral character of most local white wines will drink the local Riesling.

I would welcome any names of wines  you would like to share.
 

I had plans to visit the Finger Lakes region last June in hopes of exploring some of the wineries.  Though the world had other plans, it is still on my “To Visit” list. 

[ger_77]

@kazu, I'm sure Marley  likely feels pretty bad about having hurt you.  I think having a dog's elbow coming down onto your foot would feel like you're been impaled!  Keep icing it off and on for any swelling, and make sure you have enough wine in your glass to take care of the pain.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

[57redbird]

1 hour ago, Cruising-along said:

I feel the same way.  I can't remember what it was I didn't like about Kung Fu, but my go-to Riesling (when I have it) is Chateau Ste. Michelle. 

Have either of you tried Silver Lake Roza Riesling?  It's my go-to.....

[Copper10-8]

7 hours ago, richwmn said:

at Sea Gulf of California
Koningsdam Destination San Pedro eta 6/18
 

Los Angeles
Nieuw Amsterdam
 

 

If those plans hold, and I don't see why not, there will be two big HAL ships in San Pedro, on Thursday, 18 Jun (Nieuw A is scheduled to depart the following day after her 10-day stay at berth 93) so K-dam should get #92 Can't remember the last time there were two HAL ships together in San Pedro/Port of L.A. - Will see if I can get some pics

Edited June 13, 2021 by Copper10-8

[cat shepard]

3 minutes ago, 57redbird said:

Have either of you tried Silver Lake Roza Riesling?  It's my go-to.....

Thank you! Off to see what I can find out.  

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

1 minute ago, 57redbird said:

Have either of you tried Silver Lake Roza Riesling?  It's my go-to.....

 

No, I haven't tried it, but will keep it in mind.  I don't remember seeing it yesterday in the liquor store.  Thanks for the recommendation.

 

Lenda

[cat shepard]

8 minutes ago, 57redbird said:

Have either of you tried Silver Lake Roza Riesling?  It's my go-to.....

Thank you for this recommendation. The Rosa Riesling might be too sweet for me, but their Dry Riesling sounds like something I would really like. On my list it goes.  

[kazu]

25 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

@kazu, I'm sure Marley  likely feels pretty bad about having hurt you.  I think having a dog's elbow coming down onto your foot would feel like you're been impaled!  Keep icing it off and on for any swelling, and make sure you have enough wine in your glass to take care of the pain.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

 

Thanks Gerry.  

Oh yes, it was painful and Marley is a big boy - 115+ pounds.

He certainly jumped back when I yelped.  

Thanks for the advice on the wine.  I always take wine advice 😉 😇

[rafinmd]

6 hours ago, kazu said:

We haven’t cruised the St Lawrence on a cruise ship, but I have cruised (on a smaller vessel to navigate) the 1,000 islands.  It’s a unique spot in the St. Lawrence near Kingston, Ontario at Gananoque.

 

The BHB’s don’t usually go that far, but if you are in the area or even get off in Montreal, it’s not far of a drive.  It’s  a beautiful spot, full of castles, mansions and just houses.

Sadly, it isn't just a matter of "The BHB’s don’t usually go that far" it's actually not a possibility.  The Seaway locks were designed to the same specifications as the Welland Canal, opened in 1932, and are quite limited, with a maximum beam of 80 feet.  Very few cruise ships can meet that:

 

Zaandam - 106 feet

Prinsendam - 95 feet

Seabourn Odyssey - 84 feet

Regent Sun (my first Gulf of St. Lawrence ship) - 81.5 feet

The only ships that come come to mind that could do it are the old Seabourn Triplets, now operated by Windstar.

 

That's a pity, it is a lovely area, and even PVSA compliant cruises would be quite workable with ports like Montreal, Toronto, Bufflao, Cleveland, Detroit/Windsor  and Chicago.  It would be wonderful if it were possible.

 

Roy

[Overhead Fred]

Kung Fu Girl Riesling is (or at least was) part of Cellar #1 in HAL's Sommelier Suite which may give you an idea where it fits in the "quality" hierarchy. I know we had at least one bottle onboard. It was OK but nothing particularly distinctive. I think our local Costco now carries it. I might have to get a bottle to refresh my memory. 

 

 Here is another peony - this is at our son's house, I think I will try to transplant a couple of eyes to our place this fall.

[baltic17]

Thanks all for the Daily.

I'm aching from all the weeding I did yesterday after returning from our 6 week jaunt.  My high school graduation present was a Kenmore 10 sewing machine which I still use for fixing just about anything and some clothing and quilting.  Not a softball player.

The quote is great.

We spent most of our time in the St Lawrence avoiding Hurricane Dorian several years ago.  Had a lovely day in Cornerbrook, then the hurricane hit and we hid behind Anacosti Island for a couple of days.  Look forward to going again in better weather.

@Cruising-along An old West Virgina approach to moles is putting mason jars at the beginning of the tunnels.  They don't like the noise and echo they make.

Prayers for all on the care list and those who need them.  Best wishes to all.

[cat shepard]

8 minutes ago, Overhead Fred said:

Kung Fu Girl Riesling is (or at least was) part of Cellar #1 in HAL's Sommelier Suite which may give you an idea where it fits in the "quality" hierarchy. I know we had at least one bottle onboard. It was OK but nothing particularly distinctive. I think our local Costco now carries it. I might have to get a bottle to refresh my memory. 

 

The sacrifices one makes for scientific research. 

[Vict0riann]

20 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

 

The sacrifices one makes for scientific research. 

 

We must all do our bit!

[LawDog61]

1 hour ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

If those plans hold, and I don't see why not, there will be two big HAL ships in San Pedro, on Thursday, 18 Jun (Nieuw A is scheduled to depart the following day after her 10-day stay at berth 93) so K-dam should get #92 Can't remember the last time there were two HAL ships together in San Pedro/Port of L.A. - Will see if I can get some pics

It would be nice if they did some sailings out of San Pedro.

[Copper10-8]

6 minutes ago, LawDog61 said:

It would be nice if they did some sailings out of San Pedro.

 

 

Yes it would partner; sailings out of L.A. and/or S.F. up north to AK would be cool, but don't hold your breath on that one

[LawDog61]

13 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

 

Yes it would partner; sailings out of L.A. and/or S.F. up north to AK would be cool, but don't hold your breath on that one

We did the RT to Alaska from LA in 2019 on Princess. It was a great cruise, but has not shown up on Princess schedule again.  I will keep an eye on HAL,  maybe they will do it. I see a Carnival ship doing the RT from LA, but I will take a pass on that.

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

Good morning all!

Weed day is every day for me, unless it's raining like today.  Lately I've been spending a lot of my gardening time trying to get rid of a pesky, determined mole.  If he/they would just stay in the established perennial areas he wouldn't do as much harm, but he prefers to kick out bulbs, rampage through the lawn, and drive me nuts. It's the biggest reason I've started planting in large pots, they can't get in there.  I've tried just about everything but have had the most luck with "worms" you put down into the tunnels. But it can take awhile and by then the garden is trashed. 😡

 

In the past I sewed quite a bit, but not now.  I've loaned my sewing machine to DD and DSIL, who want it to sew patches on the boys' scout uniforms.

 

The meal sounds really good, but we just had Chinese food (yum) so it will be something else tonight.  A grocery shopping is on the agenda today, hope to get inspired about dinner. 😉  

 

We've sailed the St. Lawrence River several times, but won't post photos as they would be too much like what has already been posted.  

 

@kazuI hope your foot feels better soon, ouch!

@rafinmdthinking of you as you remember your brother's life and birthday.

@smitty34877how frustrating about the fevers that keep returning.  Prayers for a full recovery for Tana.

 

Years ago, when I did a lot of sewing, one of my sisters got the idea of making 3 dolls for our parents, each looking like us.  It was kind of a joke, really, but a lot of fun and my parents got a huge kick out of it.  Each doll's dress and accessories would incorporate what each of us loved doing.  One sister was a music teacher, her dress was patterned in musical notes.  The other was a librarian, (books), and mine, I love gardening and cats.   I wore a sunhat and sunglasses, the dress patterned in a garden theme.  I did all the sewing of the dresses, and my other sister got the wigs, hats, etc. for each doll. 

Here's mine.

 

A couple of years ago we had a determined mole and I tried the usual moth balls,small windmills in the ground etc etc.

In the garden centre I saw a mole trap which was a plastic tube with aluminium flaps on each end and a sliding viewer on the top to check if a mole was trapped.

I dug down to his mole run and placed the tube into the run.

A couple of days later I checked and the mole was in the tube.

It was dead otherwise I would have took it to some waste land and let it go.

The tube was similar to this.

Graham.

Edited June 13, 2021 by grapau27

[Cruising-along]

3 hours ago, 57redbird said:

Have either of you tried Silver Lake Roza Riesling?  It's my go-to.....

No I don't think I have, thank you for the suggestion.  When I get the Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling I make sure to get it in the mid range between dry and sweet (love the little diagram on the front of the bottle).  I actually usually drink Sauvignon Blanc (NZ preferably) but do like a semi-sweet Riesling once in awhile. 

2 hours ago, baltic17 said:

 

@Cruising-along An old West Virgina approach to moles is putting mason jars at the beginning of the tunnels.  They don't like the noise and echo they make.

Prayers for all on the care list and those who need them.  Best wishes to all.

Oh I have a TON of mason jars.  This is worth a try.  

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

A couple of years ago we had a determined mole and I tried the usual moth balls,small windmills in the ground etc etc.

In the garden centre I saw a mole trap which was a plastic tube with aluminium flaps on each end and a sliding viewer on the top to check if a mole was trapped.

I dug down to his mole run and placed the tube into the run.

A couple of days later I checked and the mole was in the tube.

It was dead otherwise I would have took it to some waste land and let it go.

The tube was similar to this.

Graham.

Interesting!  I did try traps one year and actually caught one -- but the experience was so traumatizing I never used it again!  😲

[Cruising-along]

A few photos of Corner Brook from our VOV in 2018.  I really liked that town.  We braved a thunderstorm and walked 5 miles on the Corner Brook Stream Trail.  It was lovely!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lovely Rotterdam in Corner Brook

[StLouisCruisers]

9 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

A few photos of Corner Brook from our VOV in 2018.  I really liked that town.  We braved a thunderstorm and walked 5 miles on the Corner Brook Stream Trail.  It was lovely!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lovely Rotterdam in Corner Brook

 

Looks like you made the most of it, and had a lovely, scenic day!

[Ofmyheart]

@baltic17Hope you are home safe & sound. Great meeting you guys.

[Cruising-along]

6 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

Looks like you made the most of it, and had a lovely, scenic day!

Yes we did!  I'll always remember that day and Corner Brook!