The Daily for Saturday September 18, 2021

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Morning Everyone, thanks for the daily report.  Last night we could see fireworks from our house.  It’s an annual event to celebrate the town.  This afternoon downtown is blocked off to allow businesses to have stands giving away freebies and information on what they do.  There will be food, music and children dancing on stage.  It’s a nice way to spend part of the day.

@kazuthe meal looks good and I know we would enjoy it another day.  Today I’m marinating a roast for dinner.  I suspect we can get a good cheeseburger downtown when we get there.

@1ANGELCAT I saw that there is a hot air balloon festival this weekend in Bird in Hand.  The pictures looked wonderful.

[StLouisCruisers]

19 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

Good morning, thanks for the Daily!  Red pandas are adorable, I like cheeseburgers, and would love to be in Germany for Oktoberfest.

 

I had a 1 day break from the computer yesterday - both DH and I were feeling sorry for ourselves that our latest trans-Atlantic cruise had been cancelled and we hadn't been anywhere in so long, that late Thursday night we decided the next morning we'd head to my home town about 250 miles away.  We hadn't been there for nearly 10 years, and figured it was time to "visit the folks" (the cemetery).  

 

We had a great day, but first we had to scrape a hard frost off the windows of my car.  Yes, I said frost - and it wasn't the light, scrape-with-your-credit-card type of frost, it took 5 minutes with the heater on high to be able to get through it.  Fortunately, we'd covered all the plants the night before, so didn't have to worry about losing them.  The trip there and back was uneventful, very little traffic, bright sunshine, and we were able to enjoy the changing colours on the trees along the way.  After wandering through the cemetery, dropping flowers off at several graves, we spent a couple of hours going down my memory lane -  driving past friends houses, my old house, my school, you get the idea.  LOL  We stopped at one of the 4 restaurants in town for lunch, turned the car around and made our way home.  Exactly 12 hours after leaving the house, I was unlocking the front door - much to Sochi's delight, as she was about 6 hours overdue for her lunch!  

I said that yesterday we had to scrape frost from the car windows - well, today we're expecting a high of 30C (86F); we truly are a land of contrasts when it comes to weather.

 

I'm happy to see that those in hospital are on the mend, and wish them well.  Bon Voyage to everyone sailing today (our day will come, I'm sure!).  We've been to Willemstad a number of times, and love going there - the colours of the buildings are so cheerful, and we always have to cross the swinging bridge at least once or twice per stop.  

 

Because it's going to be so warm today, I've already taken out a package of ground beef that will be made into cheeseburgers on the grill for dinner tonight.  We'll head to the farmer's market later this morning where we'll pick up some freshly picked corn and with a tossed salad, that's what will be on our dinner table tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who needs them and even for those who don't think they do.  Raising the glasses together to celebrate all on the happy list.  Stay safe, wash your hands, be well, wear your masks, and hydrate!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

 

 

What nice photos of the scenery on your "road trip" yesterday.  So sorry for the cancellation of your cruise, but like you said your time will come.  Enjoy your cheeseburgers.  And wine.😉

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning from central Texas where we have sun with a fe fluffy clouds and a north breeze that comes and goes.

 

Glad to see that red pandas have their own day, and they do need our protecton.  The planned today's dinner has been postponed until later.  Instead, we'll have cheeseburgers and fries.  

 

I like the George Carlin quote, and always enjoyed his jokes.

 

We'll pass on the cheeseburger mac and cheese.  I might try the drink sometime and the wine sounds like one I'd enjoy.

 

@mamaofami  Carol, it's really good that the new place is so much better than the first rehab, even if it is a hour away.  Safe travels tomorrow for your anniversary visit to see Sam.

@ger_77  Gerry, the pictures from your getaway are beautiful.

@HAL4NOW  Bon Voyage!  Have a great cruise and enjoy Alaska

 

I did not forget about Oktoberfest.  We have only been to one OKtoberfest, and we still talk about it, since it was in a city you would not expect to find such a celebration -- Yokohama in 2018.

 

The band was imported, but the rest of the festival was Japanese with a twist.

 

Everyone seemed to be having a great time.

 

We have been to Willemstad, Curacao, twice.  Both times were in January, 2020, on our b2b Panama Canal cruise on the Rotterdam.  I'll post those pictures in different posts.

 

Lenda

 

[aliaschief]

Running late as I slept in. I guess it’s the gray skies and rainy weather! Fourteen inches!

Off to the Commissary for the regular Saturday grocery shopping.

 

Tonight will be grilled jumbo scallops rain or shine!

 

Thanks to all.

[St. Louis Sal]

Good morning all!

 

Gorgeous morning here, but yesterday was strange. At one point late afternoon it was mostly blue skies and sun in my backyard, but in the front yard it was raining!  I looked at the radar and sure enough, there was a small cloud edging over us 😳

 

Our St Louis Zoo takes part in a program with endangered species. We have two red pandas at the zoo, Pistol Pete and Izzy.  Love cheeseburgers. I have been to lots of local Oktoberfests, but never the real one.

 

Wish George Carlin was still around to do a monologue today, bet that would singe our ears.

 

Our family are “purists” when it comes to mac and cheese (never, ever out of “that” box). We all follow my grandma’s recipe: cook macaroni (however much you want), don’t rinse, tip into greased casserole dish, add whole milk until it looks right, add in cubes of cheese (whatever you’ve got, however much you’ve got), salt and pepper it, stir gently, bake in moderate oven, stir again before serving. My grandma’s recipes are all fun. Once when I was young we were talking about pies, asked her about the recipe for the crust, she said, “who needs a recipe for pie crust?”

 

The wine sounds wonderful. Is it bad luck to drink a Hurricane during hurricane season?
 

I thought I had been to Curaçao, but I have no pictures, perhaps it was earlier before my digital pictures or else I just think I’ve been there. I never thought I’d reach a point in my life where I’ve visited so many islands, I get some of them confused. How lucky I’ve been to cruise to such beautiful places.

 

Prayers today for all on our cares and concern list 🙏. Thanks for praying for my friend. Two broken wrist bones led to a cast all the way above her elbow. Two weeks from now she will find out whether it’s four more weeks with the cast or surgery instead. Thankfully we can balance all those concerns with happy news 🍷

 

St Louis Sal

 

p.s. Not sure if this is Pete or Izzy. 

 

 

[kb4683]

Good Morning, All!

 

The CC gremlins also hit me yesterday, couldn't post, like, etc.  Tried all the suggestions with no success, finally gave up and waited until today -- everything is AOK.  Go figure.

 

I was lucky enough to be in Munich for Oktoberfest back in 1972 -- no pictures I can post, however.  We have been to Willemstad only one time and the photos already shared are much better than mine.

 

When we did our SE Asia Cruisetour in 2012 (Diamond Princess), we visited the zoo in Chongqing, China, and got to see the Red Pandas (AKA Lesser Panda). 

 

 

 

[dobiemom]

Good morning! Thanks for the Daily. Hope to see more ships move to the “with passengers” side soon. Prayers for those on the care list and “yippees” for the celebrations/shoutout list. And thanks for the daily meal and drink recipes, and wine info. 

 

I guess I couldn’t wait for today and had a cheeseburger yesterday. I’ve made Skillet Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese while camping but it was from a box. I’ll have to try the homemade version at home someday. A Hurricane will be my first drink in NOLA in January. 

 

Busy day today with errands/appointments, volunteering at church this weekend (both days), then meeting a friend for dinner. 

 

I’m still having problems with Cruise Critic on my iPhone. I can read, but that’s about it. Can’t like, post, or even log out. My iPad works fine, thank goodness. 

 

Take care everyone!

[grapau27]

Thank you for today's daily Rich and care reports Roy.

Interesting days and quote.

I will pass on the food and drink.

We called at Curacao on our very first Caribbean cruise on Crown Princess and it was very nice.

It is 16.00pm 60°F and cloudy at home.

We got back home 30 minutes ago after our long 315 miles drive back from Southampton.

P&O new ship Iona was fabulous.

I hope everyone has a nice day.

Graham.

[garlictown]

👍Thank you for The Daily, Rich @richwmn and to Roy @rafinmd for both the Care and Celebration Lists.

I have several friends planning on Oberammergau and including Oktoberfest in 2022.🍺

🤪Since I can't find my 🛳 Princess cruise photos, here's 2 maps.

🙏Prayers to all in need and Happy Weekend.😊

Katie

[VMax1700]

Good afternoon everyone.

Currently it is 14°C/56°F and just starting to rain. We have been very busy this morning as the service guy arrived to service our heating oil burner.  When he finished the sun was shining so I decided to try to cut the grass  before it gets really wet.  Never know when we will get the last cut done.

After that we have spent some time trying to sort out alternate travel plans as the flight home after our Med cruise in October has been cancelled (the FLIGHT, not the cruise!!!) and it now looks like we will need to stay in Venice overnight before taking the rescheduled flight.

 

Never liked cheeseburgers!  Love hamburgers, but no cheese, please.  Looking forward to a 'Gainer' for lunch on Eurodam next month.

Just looked at our travel log and we have been to Curacao five times! 

 

Positive thoughts for all on the Care List.

take care everyone!

 

 

Edited September 18, 2021 by VMax1700

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Our first visit to Caracao on Janaury 20, 2020, we rented a car and drove around the island.  First we headed north to Westpoint on the northwest corner of the island.  Later, we drove out to the resort area on the s
outh end of the island.

 

I'll begin with a couple of pictures taken from the Rotterdam early that morning.

 

From our drive to the north end of the island

 

The church in Westpoint, and the parking lot overlooks a nice beach.

 

A sample of the beaches that dot the north end of the island

 

A few pictures from the south end.  The first is a resort from across the water.

 

Fort Beekenburg

 

A couple of ships docked near the fort.  The first is part of the British Royal Fleet Auxillary and is used in amphibious operations.  The other is an older ship and may even be a Russian ship from the looks of the name on the stern.

 

Town with the Rotterdam in the background and a residential street.

 

Lenda

 

Oops!  I forgot to double check that I had all the pictures loaded before posting and CC was nice enough to post this for me.

 

The buildings are refurbhished former slave quarters and the monument is commorating the freeing of the slaves.  I like the simplicity of the monument which still manages to say a lot.

Edited September 18, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[rafinmd]

While my room at Choice Suites is nice I'm not that impressed with the breakfast, which was all packaged items, including oatmeal this morning:

 

 

My daily walk today was around my high school.  It's a Junior High today but doesn't look a lot different from my days and I think looks pretty nice at age 66.  Here's the entry and auditorium:

The gym was around at the back:

 

There was a separate wing at the back for the shop classes which included a classroom (my homeroom my first year there) and an auto shop with a garage door entry.  I have my doubts that it's still an auto shop in it's use as a junior high school:

 

 

Continuing on the other side I got to the stadium which was named for a veteran coach who was nearing retirement when I was in school.

 

My last stop was the main classroom wing.  In my day the windows opened but it's fully air conditioned now.

My walk was a round trip.  Afterwards, I stopped at Tim Hortons for coffee and a couple of Timbits.  I leave for the reunion main event in about an hour.

 

 

 

Roy

Edited September 18, 2021 by rafinmd

[smitty34877]

Good morning  to all. I am so appreciating all of the beautiful  pictures today,thank you everyone.

@grapau27,as usual the pictures are great and it is so nice to see your smiling faces.Glad you had a good time!

 

Today has been a hard  day for many reasons and it was a pleasure to "escape" to the Daily.

 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, mamaofami said:

tomorrow I get to go visit and celebrate our 62nd anniversary.

 

A very happy anniversary to you both, tomorrow   62 years - wow!

 

 

[kplady]

Good morning everyone!

 

Love the days, would like a cheeseburger (if someone else cooked it for me!). 

 

We've been to Willemstad on our Oosterdam cruise in 2017.  We enjoyed riding on the Queen Emma swinging bridge as it opened - but didn't realize how long it would take to close, and it got pretty HOT out there!  We visited with friends from home who have a time share there, connected to the Sea Aquarium.  We could watch the trainers work with the dolphins in the open ocean from their balcony, then bring them back inside the aquarium complex (they knew where their next meal was!).  We went to the Sea Aquarium while there, and I loved petting the rays.  We didn't see much of the island, but had a wonderful day with good friends.

[grapau27]

16 minutes ago, smitty34877 said:

Good morning  to all. I am so appreciating all of the beautiful  pictures today,thank you everyone.

@grapau27,as usual the pictures are great and it is so nice to see your smiling faces.Glad you had a good time!

 

Today has been a hard  day for many reasons and it was a pleasure to "escape" to the Daily.

 

Thank you Smitty.

I'm sorry to hear today has been a hard day for you and hope everything is okay.

Take care.

Graham.

[StLouisCruisers]

@grapau27thank you for posting all the wonderful photos of you two on your latest getaway.  The new ship looks great!  Are only UK residents allowed to sail?  And do you have to prove vaccination or take a Covid test beforehand?  

 

Tell Pauline she looks like quite grand!  Well, you look quite nice too.  Lovely dresses, shoes and hairstyle.  No wonder you like to show her off.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.🤗  

[seagarsmoker]

Thanks for the Daily Report!

[StLouisCruisers]

@Quartzsite Cruiserthanks for your photos showing your drive around Curacao.  We have never gone touring in a car we rented.  We have accompanied others who rented a car though, for instance, in Hobart Australia, North Cape Norway,  Benoa Bali, and Keelung Taiwan.   You and your DH have done that quite a bit.  Any tips for those of us who might be interested in trying it?

[grapau27]

3 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

@grapau27thank you for posting all the wonderful photos of you two on your latest getaway.  The new ship looks great!  Are only UK residents allowed to sail?  And do you have to prove vaccination or take a Covid test beforehand?  

 

Tell Pauline she looks like quite grand!  Well, you look quite nice too.  Lovely dresses, shoes and hairstyle.  No wonder you like to show her off.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.🤗  

Thank you for your nice words Sandi.

There were 2400 British only passengers onboard.

Everyone had to have proof of 2 covid vaccines and everyone had to take a lateral flow test in the terminal.

We were texted our negative results in 20 minutes and had to show the texts before we were allowed to check in.

The ship can hold 5200 passengers and From September 25th covid19 restrictions will be lifted as the ship will do a 14 night cruise on that day with a full ship.

Graham.

[dfish]

We walked off the ship at 7:30 and arrived at Sea-Tac at 8:07.  Hector in the Neptune Lounge worked us magic and got us Port Valet even though our flight was 7 minutes too early.  That was due to a schedule change by the airline.  Now sitting at the gate waiting to board.

[summer slope]

@grapau27your Pauline is a very Elegant Lady.  Love your pictures.

[StLouisCruisers]

7 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you for your nice words Sandi.

There were 2400 British only passengers onboard.

Everyone had to have proof of 2 covid vaccines and everyone had to take a lateral flow test in the terminal.

We were texted our negative results in 20 minutes and had to show the texts before we were allowed to check in.

The ship can hold 5200 passengers and From September 25th covid19 restrictions will be lifted as the ship will do a 14 night cruise on that day with a full ship.

Graham.

 

Thank you.  I just saw the other thread (yesterday's Daily) where you answered my questions.  That is one large ship with 5200 passengers!  I'm sure you will be ready for another cruise (14 days perhaps) in no time at all.🚢 

[kazu]

1 minute ago, dfish said:

We walked off the ship at 7:30 and arrived at Sea-Tac at 8:07.  Hector in the Neptune Lounge worked us magic and got us Port Valet even though our flight was 7 minutes too early.  That was due to a schedule change by the airline.  Now sitting at the gate waiting to board.

 

Excellent service by Hector for sure 🙂 

 

Hope you have a smooth flight and safe travels home !

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, summer slope said:

@grapau27your Pauline is a very Elegant Lady.  Love your pictures.

Thank you for your lovely compliments of Pauline and the pictures.

Graham.