The Daily for Monday August 09, 2021

[atexsix]

1 minute ago, cat shepard said:

@atexsix

 

In keeping with your theme….

 

LOLOL.  I saw tons of them when I did a "smartphone addict meme" search.

[bennybear]

We visited two years ago, a stunning bridge but some crumbling infrastructure   Lots of people came to wave goodbye   The next day the North Korean leader arrived at the end of the trans Siberian railway    The Westerdam made it on the BBC news

[durangoscots]

Good morning. Sunny again here but with an overlay of smoke. I feel terrible for the folks in California and Oregon. Love all 3 of the days. Used to polka in my much younger days and I still read. Have way too many books which I am trying to cull. It is slow since I pick one up and will start to "skim" it.... for several hours. And the college where I taught for many years gives free tuition to all Native Americans. Our enrollment is usually about 700+ (25%) Native Americans from many tribes including Alaskan Natives. On my last cruise to Alaska I ran into several former students. The majority of course are Ute and Navajo.

 

I have not been to today's port. When I did the Trans-Siberian Express we were coming up from Ulan-Bator so we joined along the way. That is quite the trip.

 

Keep well everyone. I am carrying masks with me and wearing them indoors and in some outdoor situations. My sister in Maryland is doing the same. I have given up the idea of any travel this year. Next year, I hope.......

 

Susan

[grapau27]

3 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Let me start by saying it was a completely miserable day in Vladivostok on May 5, 2010.  The rain was coming down heavily and the winds were whipping it sideways at times.  Nevertheless we decided we HAD to get off here since it would be a totally different experience from St. Petersburg over on the opposite side of the country.  We would come back drenched but had plenty of days before we had to pack up our wet shoes and disembark the ship.

 

 

We planned on heading towards the railway station and then up that main road to see what the downtown area looked like.  No tours were planned here - we wanted to stick close to the ship.  On this cruise we had several couples we were traveling with so we all stayed together.  

 

This was parked nearby.

 

Inside the train station.

 

Our photos were horrible back then.  IPhones have improved my photo taking ability a lot.

 

A sunny day would have made a big difference in our visit there.

 

Everything was so bleak!

 

 

The ancient looking public transportation.

 

The weather was so wild, you couldn't even use an umbrella.

 

 

We decided we'd all better get indoors to do some shopping.  At least it would be dry.  So we found a mall.

 

A view out the window at the mall, looking back towards our ship.

 

At the entrance to the famou GUM department store we saw lots of souvenirs.  

 

Two of our friends shopping for something to take home with them.

 

Most of this department store consisted of stalls, selling things like dusty electronics on the same shelves as the beauty supplies.  It was rather dismal except for this souvenir section.  It was very surprising.

 

Back to the ship!  This guy pointed the way.

 

That evening we had some local entertainment come on board.  The theater was jammed with people, even lining the walls, standing room only.  A scary thought nowadays!

 

 

 

 

Who knows if we'll ever get back to Vladivostok again?  If we do it had better be sunny or at least not raining cats and dogs!😉

Interesting collection of photos Sandi.

Thank you for posting them.

Graham.

[atexsix]

29 minutes ago, bennybear said:

We visited two years ago, a stunning bridge but some crumbling infrastructure   Lots of people came to wave goodbye   The next day the North Korean leader arrived at the end of the trans Siberian railway    The Westerdam made it on the BBC news

Looks like a fascinating old city in an untouched post USSR kinda way.  

[atexsix]

1 hour ago, garlictown said:

😊I love reading and am in 2 book clubs....switched to the Kindle and also the tablet now.

Katie

🤔Remember the librarians on the HAL ships?????

I'm waiting for the new Ipad Mini to arrive, then I might switch to it.  I had one years ago, one of the very early generations and LOVED it.

[atexsix]

1 hour ago, Overhead Fred said:

I have always loved reading and so does Mitzi.

 

Early on in the pandemic, I got myself a Kindle Fire. Mitzi has had one for several years and enjoys it very much. With the lockdowns, I figured it was time for me to join the club. It will be nice to take it on a cruise soon (let's hope...)!

 

I have mostly been reading classics, partly because many are in the public domain and are free to download, but also a bit of culture isn't going to hurt....

 

I am just about 95% of the way through the complete works of F. Scott Fitzgerald. As a Saint Paulite, it seemed like an appropriate endeavor. He wrote some amazing stuff and is someone I will want to meet when I perfect my time machine. 

So am I.  Recently went through the Bronte sisters: Charlotte's Jane Eyre, Emily's Wuthering Heights, and Anne's Agnes Grey; all of which are considered literary masterpieces. 

[msmayor]

Good heavens, it's afternoon already!  

 

Checking in from my desk during lunch after a VERY busy morning - that today is National Book Lovers Day makes my conversation while onboarding a new employee quite timely.

 

My Company offers a Book Benefit to all employees.  Everyone gets up to $100 per year to spend on non-fiction books of any kind as a way to encourage reading and learning on any topics.  It's a perk that many remark is so unusual, but in many ways really benefits us as a Company.  You never know when your knowledge of origami or yoga or gardening or anything else may spark a wonderful conversation with a potential customer.  

 

Will catch up and post more tonight when I get home.  Thank you all for sharing such wonderful things!

 

 

[AncientWanderer]

2 hours ago, garlictown said:

 

 

 

Book Lover's Day!  Ha!  This joke says it all.

 Did I really need the leather-bound and gilded edition of "The Harry Potter Character Compendium"?  I think not!!   🤷‍♀️

 

[USN59-79]

It is a pleasant day here in the Pacific NW.  I have an appointment this afternoon to have my new hearing aids fitted after five years with the present ones.  Hope they are an improvement as one of my ears is now much less efficient at hearing than the other.  

We have been to Vladivostok a few times as many of the ships that cruise around Japan make a stop there.  @bennybears picture of the local people waving goodbye to us at the terminal is almost exactly like one I have.  One thing about Vladivostok is that since it is so far from Moscow that the rules are not the same.  For example, you can just get off the ship and wander around on your own; no visa or local shore excursion required as in St Petersburg.   I noticed that although they drive on the same side of the road as we do, 90% of the cars there are Japanese with right hand drive.  One of the Russians told me that Moscow doesn't allow that, but they just ignore that directive.  Apparently Japan has stringent rules on inspecting and registering used cars, so fairly new Japanese cars that didn't pass inspection can be bought and shipped to Vladivostok fairly cheaply.

[AncientWanderer]

I hope everyone is having a good day today.  We were not really a dancing family, so no polka here.  The photos of Vladivostok are really interesting.  We were supposed to visit there as part of Japan cruise that didn't work out.  Hopefully some day...

 

@StLouisCruisers, I'm sorry to hear your neighbor is not doing well.  I look forward to the day when there are no more COVID stories to share.  Until then, probably good that we do...to encourage those jabs!

 

Today is just a keep cool day here.  I was set to go to the Wild Animal Park, but DD got off to a late start so I passed.  It gets really hot in that part of San Diego County in the afternoon.

 

Thank you @richwmnonce again for our Daily, and many thanks to the Food & Beverage team, and to @rafinmd for keeping up the lists.    And thank you to all here for the wonderful jokes and photos.  Lots of good ones today!

Best wishes Everyone!  😊

 

[cruzn single]

That picture of the bridge brought back memories.  That was being built when we were there in 2011.  Vladivostok was to be the site of an APAC conference the next year, so the bridge was being built in advance of that conference.

 

At that time, several "rusting" military ships were in the harbor.  It was just an interesting visit!

[kazu]

2 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

 

  But she said she took dahlias over to Ruth, next door, and we have our own display.  She is an expert there.

 

 

 

Lovely ♥️ 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

All our pictures of Vladivostok are either pre-digital or videos.  I scanned a few into the computer, while DH checked his videos and added a few screen shots.

 

We both remember video DH took inside the Trans-Siberian train, but so far they are elusive.  After walking through a car or two, which the cleaning lady let him look at, he wanted to take the train to Moscow.  Our younger DD had just graduated from UT and had taken Russian.  She told her professor, who likes Russia, and his response was that even he would not take the train across Russia.

 

When we were in Vladivostok in 2000, the city had just been opened to the general population for 8 years.  Before that, as the headquarters for the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, it was a closed city   Even the Trans-Siberian train stopped 10 miles outside the city.  In 2000, there was not a modern mall, but a series of department stores.  The big bridge is new too.

 

In one store, there was a female security guard that could have come from central casting, complete with the wool uniform, wool hose, heavy tie shoes and a very stern scowl.  I decided to err on the side of caution and not take her picture.

 

We also went into the bank to change a ruble or two into coins, which was a procedure intself.  While I was waiting for DH to complete the transaction, I noticed a older lady looking at her receipt and trying to figure it out, then looking for someone to help her.  Well, she chose me, and was very surprised when I said in English, I didn't speak Russian.

 

Some of these pictures are from our morning tour and others are from our walk around town.  In the morning, we stopped at an overlook ourside the city.

 

Anoither view of the WWII submarine, which we got to walk through.  It is even tighter than the US subs we've toured.

 

Two statues that were not Lenin.

 

Street scenes from our tour and our walk.

 

Where many locals shopped, and some of the younger ones were very fashionable.

 

Russian Navy

 

One of their trams

 

A local train

 

The Trans-Siberian 

 

The Navy band seranaded us as we reboarded the ship and as we salied.

 

Everytime we left the ship, we had to have our passport, then return it when we reboarded.  The passports were also checked by Russians as we came and went.  One of the Russians was a very beautiful, young lady who DH did has best to get to smile, but she never did.

 

Lenda

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[kazu]

5 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

However, we got a little news last night when our neighbor Paul called to ask how we were feeling.  This is the household that had three Covid cases and accidentally exposed DH to it because Copeland (91 years old) forgot to mention it to him.  Copeland was doing alright but his daughter was feeling worse than he was.  But apparently Saturday they noticed his oxygen levels were dropping so they called an ambulance to take him to the ER.  They didn't want him sitting in the ER waiting room too long with other sick people, so instead of driving him there they tried the ambulance route.  Copeland is in the hospital and will come home in a few days Paul said.  We did not even see the ambulance next door on Saturday.  What a surprise to hear this sad news.  Let's all hope Copeland is back to his normal good health, sitting in the shady garage waving to all and watching what's going on in our little neighborhood very soon!

 

Sorry to hear this.  Hopefully he recovers quickly 🙏🏻 

 

[AncientWanderer]

For Book Lover's Day and those headed to Alaska...

I downloaded e-book of "Three Years in the Klondike" by Jeremiah Lynch -- very well-written memoirs of gold rush time in Alaska.  It was a hard life!

I'm about halfway through the book and have enjoyed it very much.  🤓

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

This is a little off topic, but on August 9, 1945, at 11:02 a.m., the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

 

In rememberance of that event and all that it signifies, I am reposting a few pictures from the April 8, Daily when Nagasaki was the port of the day.

 

The pictures are of the main memorials and the part of one building that was left standing.

 

Lenda

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

It is a pleasant day here in the Pacific NW.  I have an appointment this afternoon to have my new hearing aids fitted after five years with the present ones.  Hope they are an improvement as one of my ears is now much less efficient at hearing than the other.  

We have been to Vladivostok a few times as many of the ships that cruise around Japan make a stop there.  @bennybears picture of the local people waving goodbye to us at the terminal is almost exactly like one I have.  One thing about Vladivostok is that since it is so far from Moscow that the rules are not the same.  For example, you can just get off the ship and wander around on your own; no visa or local shore excursion required as in St Petersburg.   I noticed that although they drive on the same side of the road as we do, 90% of the cars there are Japanese with right hand drive.  One of the Russians told me that Moscow doesn't allow that, but they just ignore that directive.  Apparently Japan has stringent rules on inspecting and registering used cars, so fairly new Japanese cars that didn't pass inspection can be bought and shipped to Vladivostok fairly cheaply.

 

It seems the visa requirements for Vladivostok are ever changing.  In 2000, we did not need a visa and could just come and go as we pleased.  A few years ago, when I looked into Russian visas, the information said one was needed for Vladivostok.  I looked a little while ago, and there is now a free e-Vladivostok visa you can get on-line.  There are also e-visas for St. Petersburg and one other place I did not recognise.  It's says it's free, but then there is mention of paypal and a debit/credit card.  From reading the information, I'm not sure how it will work for a cruise ship, but I guess that would substitute for the airline and hotel reservations.  By the time we can cruise and can get back there, the requirements will probably have changed again several times.

 

3 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

Good morning, all, and thanks for all the info and pictures.  I have to add to the celebrations the fact that NCL got permission (?) from Florida to require vaccinations, and that the wandering Chinese elephants are headed home.

 

DD seems to be having a good crop of dahlias this year, but she's anxiously awaiting setting up her "Deer Cop" so she can take off the chicken wire cages she built for them.  It is getting complicated, Pat has had to install a GFI socket and DD ordered a special extension cord.  Then Pat will have to make a hole in a vent in the basement to take the cord outside, all properly waterproofed, and then of course, the motion sensor has to be organized.  

 

 

The flowers are lovely.  I'll be interested in seeaing pictures of the "deer cop".  Hope it works as planned.

 

Lenda

[StLouisCruisers]

I was gone for hours because DH decided today we should drive to Macon to get a cargo net installed in my new SUV.  Every time we loaded groceries in the bag I would say I missed the cargo net we had in my other SUV (now residing next door to us).  Helped to keep the bags of groceries from flying around the back cargo area while driving home.  

 

So we set out and they finally finished the job.  We ate lunch nearby and headed back to home.  When we got here DH saw Paul next door and asked about Copeland.  He said he had a rough night last night and the hospital had to restrain him because he was fussing with his oxygen.  Poor Copeland!  I do hope he is going to be alright!  We definitely could use some prayers for him.  Before he was stricken with Covid he sat outside all dressed up and wearing a fedora.  Everybody wore hats back in the day and he still does.

 

Nice to see all the added Vladivostok photos.  Do you mean to tell me there is blue sky above the city of Vladivostok??  I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see those photos!  

[JazzyV]

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Daily.

Good days. I love books and hope to be able to read more when I get new glasses; I do have a Kindle and can enlarge the print on that. I downloaded "The Path Between the Seas" after my Panama Canal cruise, but have yet to read it - it's next.

Polka is big here as there are lots of Polish people; always played at weddings. Respect for indigenous people.

Cute quote. The meal and drinks sound good, although the wine is out of my price range.

I've done a river cruise in Russia, but was not in Vladivostok. I had my eye socket fractured on that cruise!

 

I'm late today as I had a doctor's appointment this morning. One tomorrow too, then a reprieve until I go back to the eye doctor. It's way hot here today and high humidity.

 

@dfish I'd put the nacho toppings on a salad, just like a taco salad.

@mamaofami Glad to hear of Sam's continued progress.

@StLouisCruisers Praying that Copeland improves; it's tough at that age to shake these things.

@msmayor That is an unusual but great benefit for employees.

 

Prayers for the care list and cheers for the celebration list.

Wear your 😷 and stay safe!

 

[richwmn]

In honor (?) of National Book Day Seth Wayne just announced that Rotterdam VII has a library!

[AncientWanderer]

Just now, richwmn said:

In honor (?) of National Book Day Seth Wayne just announced that Rotterdam VII has a library!

 

Woo hoo!!!! 👍

[cat shepard]

50 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

I was gone for hours because DH decided today we should drive to Macon to get a cargo net installed in my new SUV.  Every time we loaded groceries in the bag I would say I missed the cargo net we had in my other SUV (now residing next door to us).  Helped to keep the bags of groceries from flying around the back cargo area while driving home.  

 

So we set out and they finally finished the job.  We ate lunch nearby and headed back to home.  When we got here DH saw Paul next door and asked about Copeland.  He said he had a rough night last night and the hospital had to restrain him because he was fussing with his oxygen.  Poor Copeland!  I do hope he is going to be alright!  We definitely could use some prayers for him.  Before he was stricken with Covid he sat outside all dressed up and wearing a fedora.  Everybody wore hats back in the day and he still does.

 

Nice to see all the added Vladivostok photos.  Do you mean to tell me there is blue sky above the city of Vladivostok??  I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see those photos!  

 

Prayers for Copeland winging their way.

[dfish]

25 minutes ago, JazzyV said:

I'd put the nacho toppings on a salad, just like a taco salad.

Excellent idea!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

21 minutes ago, richwmn said:

In honor (?) of National Book Day Seth Wayne just announced that Rotterdam VII has a library!

This is when I wish there was a WOO-HOO button!