The Fleet Report and Daily for Sunday August 11th, 2024

[marshhawk]

@RMLincoln Bon Voyage!  Have a wonderful time!  And Happy Birthday!

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

@RMLincoln  Maureen, I hope you and your DH have a marvelous cruise.

 

 

Lenda

 

[Sir PMP]

Katakolon, Greece near Pyrgos:

 

 

 

[grapau27]

@RMLincoln.

Bon voyage Maureen and Richard on Emerald Princess.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning from central Texas where it is 77F, feels like 77F, with a predicted high of 97F and clear skies.  The weather app says we have a 5mph wind from the south, but the neighbors flag and the trees are saying no wind.  The humidity is 84% with a dew point of 72F, so it's not as bad as it has been this summer.  There's not much on today's agenda besides staying cool.

 

I'll honor Ingersoll Day.  Most of my teeth are aligned thanks to braces.  I'll pass on Hip Hop Day.

 

A funny quote from a funny man, Jay Leno.

 

BBQ chicken sounds good, but it won't be made today.  We'll pass on the drink, but we've had today's wine and enjoyed it.

 

We have visited Katakolon twice on BHBs, and enjoyed our days there.

 

The formal peace between France and Vietnam did not last long, unfortunately.  When younger DD was working on her masters at the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota, we visited the Mall of America.  Like the West Edmonton Mall, it is huge.

 

@grapau27  Graham, thank you for the information on Ingersoll Day.

@dfish  Debbie, I'm glad the picnic went well yesterday in spite of the chilly weather.  I hope you and your friends can make it to Dow Gardens.

@Heartgrove  Jack, Sam outlived the vet's prediction because of the love and good care you gave him.

 

The neighbor's flag now says the wind has arrive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lenda

 

[grapau27]

@Haljo1935.

I hope you have an amazing cruise starting tomorrow on MSC Magnifica.

Edited August 11 by grapau27

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

We have been to  Katakolon twice.  In 2016 on the Prinsendam, we just stayed in town.  In 2019, on the Veendam, we took a local bus to Olympia and saw both the town and the site of the first Olympics.

 

A few pictures from Olympia.  It's hard to get pictures with out a lot of people in them.

 

The big event field.  DH had not seen pictures of this and was a little disappointed.

 

Pictures of the town Olympia.  Like Katakolon, the main street is full of shops.

 

We enjoyed Katakolon, the museum (which takes donations and has demonstrations if there are enough people) and sitting in one of the many cafes visiting with friends.

 

The main street in Katakolon

 

The waterfront and cafes.  

 

An Olympic torch from the 2004 summer games in Athens.  The owner of one of the jewelry stores carried the torch during the relay before the Olympics.

 

We met the owner when we purchased a Greek key necklace at his store.  We'd looked in very Greek port for the necklace, and DH found one like I wanted when he went back into town in 2016.  The owner let DH take the necklace back to the Prinsendam for me to see without DH having to pay for it.  We went back to the store and settled on a price.  His mother escorted me to the one ATM in town to get the money to pay for the necklace.  You don't find many people that are that trusting, but then he knew where to find us.

 

Finally, the waterfront as the Veendam sailed for her next port.

 

Lenda

[grapau27]

Today at the beach.

[marshhawk]

Good Sunday Morning Dailyites! It's 8:30 and 73 degrees.  Sunny, need rain, again, and I just heard something fall over....just checked, not Chuck, something cat involved, sure I will trip over it later.  I was so tired last night, I packed up my pillows and slept in the bed, well mostly on, since I get way too hot without 3 fans going,  I woke up at 6 something to find Tazi on my pillow, and one of the babies- Quiff by my feet.  During the night there was lots of hissing, and then DH started lots of howling... So I got up, and am trying to face today. That and the fact that my left foot and ankle just kept cramping.

 

Sometime in the night,one of the larger critters pulled out the bird seed and pried the top off, and got into the seed, so that's  something else that needs cleaning up. 

 

Saw on the news this morning that Atlanta is #1 in being the buggiest city in the country.  Yippee! @Nickelpenny if you ever decide to move to the southeast, we have your bugs.🕷️

 

Hurricane Debby did lots of damage to Cedar Key, and with Ernesto developing Dh and I are trying to come up with a plan B for our group vacation.  We've come up with, do a last minute cruise, drive around Georgia seeing all the things we have said we wanted to do,   visit the Botanical Gardens in Georgia,Alabama, and maybe NC or Tennessee,  go to Jekyll Island, ?  Any other ideas will be most appreciated.

 

OUr Rome to Home trip did include  Katakalon, we had planned to walk off, have lunch, eat real greek food, find the museum, and spend some money at the store that sells carved  olive wood.  Instead, by then I could barely breathe, looked at the long walk down the pier to town, and instead we stayed on the ship.  I was still holding off going to the medical center, because I didnt want them to leave me in Greece, but maybe I should have.  So no pics. Just the memory of looking longingly at that long pier.

 

Today we are planning on going to Penny's to swim.  My only concern is getting DH up the big hill to get to the house.  I may text her, and see if she can back her car down the hill, pick him up and take him in the house from the garage.  He says he wont get in the pool, but I so desperately need to do something besides sit, I may just leave him home if he gets wonky by 1:30.

 

@Tbay

 

 

 

 

[superoma]

@dfishthanks for asking. I’ve been reading every day between chores, just haven’t taken time to post. Our niece from Germany is here for her summer vacation and I spent the week before she came completing chores to get ready. She spent a week in Austin Texas first, in all that heat!. We have cooled off for a few days so she is much more comfortable. (Working on my assignment a day or two at a time, too. Almost ready)
 

I am also binge watching call the midwife. Just started season 12 and have season 13 ordered from the library. I am really enjoying this series. 
 

we have so many tomatoes right now. I might have to make sauce to freeze so they don’t spoil. Our DD julie also has more than they can use but our DD Sylvia is two weeks behind so our bounty will continue for a few more weeks. Our salad bounty continues as well. Endive is the star right now, romaine is done because of the heat. 
 

This afternoon’s event will be the Olympic closing ceremonies. I hope they don’t float the athletes down the seine again! 
 

have a good day everyone. 

[RMLincoln]

Slept great, for a hotel. Had breakfast, packed, now killing time to leave for the port. Getting a bit anxious. All your good wishes help!  thank you Vanessa, Sandi, Ann, Roy, Denise, Jacqui, Graham, Terri, Annie, Nancy…. Oiy my brain isn’t working well even with regular coffee…. all of you! Sorry I’m forgetting, should have made a list!  And for all the encouragement and support through all our needs. I’m emotional tiday, it feels like it’s been a lot to get here. Last eye pressure reading were good!  👍. I have a walking stick and a folding 3-legged stool to help me.
 

Not sure if we’ll drop luggage or roll aboard. Rolling gives us a place to rest shoulder totes and DH’s camera bag. Never been to Boston port, don’t know what to expect. Onward! 
 

Karen(s), glad you’re relaxing aboard! 
 

Elizabeth, hope it all smooths out, Bon Voyage!  
 

Annie, I hope you have a good day today!  One day at a time is  everything!  
 

I’ll update later I hope 🤞

Maureen 

[StLouisCruisers]

10 minutes ago, marshhawk said:

Good Sunday Morning Dailyites! It's 8:30 and 73 degrees.  Sunny, need rain, again, and I just heard something fall over....just checked, not Chuck, something cat involved, sure I will trip over it later.  I was so tired last night, I packed up my pillows and slept in the bed, well mostly on, since I get way too hot without 3 fans going,  I woke up at 6 something to find Tazi on my pillow, and one of the babies- Quiff by my feet.  During the night there was lots of hissing, and then DH started lots of howling... So I got up, and am trying to face today. That and the fact that my left foot and ankle just kept cramping.

 

Sometime in the night,one of the larger critters pulled out the bird seed and pried the top off, and got into the seed, so that's  something else that needs cleaning up. 

 

Saw on the news this morning that Atlanta is #1 in being the buggiest city in the country.  Yippee! @Nickelpenny if you ever decide to move to the southeast, we have your bugs.🕷️

 

Hurricane Debby did lots of damage to Cedar Key, and with Ernesto developing Dh and I are trying to come up with a plan B for our group vacation.  We've come up with, do a last minute cruise, drive around Georgia seeing all the things we have said we wanted to do,   visit the Botanical Gardens in Georgia,Alabama, and maybe NC or Tennessee,  go to Jekyll Island, ?  Any other ideas will be most appreciated.

 

OUr Rome to Home trip did include  Katakalon, we had planned to walk off, have lunch, eat real greek food, find the museum, and spend some money at the store that sells carved  olive wood.  Instead, by then I could barely breathe, looked at the long walk down the pier to town, and instead we stayed on the ship.  I was still holding off going to the medical center, because I didnt want them to leave me in Greece, but maybe I should have.  So no pics. Just the memory of looking longingly at that long pier.

 

Today we are planning on going to Penny's to swim.  My only concern is getting DH up the big hill to get to the house.  I may text her, and see if she can back her car down the hill, pick him up and take him in the house from the garage.  He says he wont get in the pool, but I so desperately need to do something besides sit, I may just leave him home if he gets wonky by 1:30.

 

@Tbay

 

 

 

 

 

I don't live right there in Atlanta but close enough to say I'm happy we don't have many bugs here.  Of course we have a contract with an exterminator for pests/termites/fire ants so no wonder we don't have a problem.  From my experience the Clearwater Beach area (Pinellas Park) has a huge bug problem!!🪳

 

I hope both you and Chuck make it to Penny's pool today for some fun, cool water, relaxation.  Do what you have to do to get yourselves there!😉

[summer slope]

I have a question for you all.  There used to be a site where my friend could "stalk" my cruises.  It showed views of each port and where the ship was.  We tried Cruisemapper and Cruise Timetable.  Neither of those show what we were looking for.  Help!!

[Mr. Boston]

Good morning folks.  It will be a sunny day here in Minneapolis with that hint of summer doesn’t last forever.  Three interesting days to recognize today although I’ve already had my teeth straightened thank you.

 

Jay Leno’s quote is humorous, probably a part of one of his monologues.

 

The meal and drink sound tasty, I haven’t had barbecued chicken in a long time.

 

 I haven’t been to today’s port.

 

Prayers for those on our prayer list, hoping things get better for them.  Cheers to those of you who are celebrating happy events!

[ger_77]

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily!  I had no idea what Ingersoll day was - thought about Ingersoll cheese.  While I don't have the straightest teeth, they were never bad enough to have to wear braces.  I've never been a fan of hip hop, but millions are, so let them enjoy it.  I've always enjoyed the humour of Jay Leno; he has so much to deal with right now with his lovely wife being taken over by dementia.

 

We had a great day yesterday visiting our neighbours at their lake.   We were treated like gold - took a hike around their subsection, were given a driving tour of all the wonderful cabins (some were absolute mansions), then getting into their pontoon boat and being escorted around the lake side of all of them.  To top it off we had a delicious beer-can chicken barbecue prepared by their DDIL while we enjoyed the antics of their almost 2 year old daughter.  We didn't get home until 9PM and by that time we were tuckered out!

 

@RMLincolnBon Voyage; I hope you have a fabulous cruise!

@marshhawk You need to keep up your electrolytes to help with cramping; drink Gatorade or get extra magnesium into your system with bananas.

 

As soon as DH gets up (he was up and down with leg cramps last night . . . didn't drink his gatorade), I'll be making up a big pan of brownies.  We're hosting a meeting at our place of those still interested in maintaining the little cemetery out by the family farm - a meeting that should have taken place on Father's Day but was postponed due to torrential rains out there.  Rather than heading out of town (all of us live in the city), we decided to have the meeting at our house.  There will only be 10 or 12 at most, so it isn't an inconvenience to have everyone over.

 

I'm not sure about the drink of the day, would like to try the wine, and today's menu suggestion is a good one, especially the second recipe.  I think after the group leaves from this afternoon's meeting, I'll have DH fire up the barbecue and will try out recipe #2 that we can have with garlic roasted baby potatoes and coleslaw on the deck tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who is in need, in pain, in grief, in turmoil, in the throes of wars, and in the paths of destructive storms and fires.  Cheers to all with celebrations today.

 

Smooth Sailing!  ☺️☺️☺️

Gerry

 

 

[TiogaCruiser]

39 minutes ago, summer slope said:

I have a question for you all.  There used to be a site where my friend could "stalk" my cruises.  It showed views of each port and where the ship was.  We tried Cruisemapper and Cruise Timetable.  Neither of those show what we were looking for.  Help!!

How about whatsinport?

 

https://www.whatsinport.com

 

 

[Heartgrove]

@RMLincoln Bon Voyage, Maureen and Richard!

[Nickelpenny]

Thanks for the daily and fleet report.  I don't know when and where but I have heard of Ingersoll before, never had braces so my teeth (those that are left) are ok, and I don't do any type of dancing!  Funny quote!!  The meal sounds delicious and I will save the recipes and I think I would try the drink and like the quote.  Never been to Katakolon or the Mall of America.  Too bad the peace treaty didn't last.

 

 

Same 'ole weather for us today.  Though I got weather alerts yesterday, no rain for me.  I even washed my car to see if the rain gods would listen.  Presently it is 78F with 60% humidity on the way up to high 90s with monsoon action.  

 

 

I didn't accomplish all of my pre-cruise planning yesterday BUT the hotel situation just didn't make sense to me (unavailable on the site I originally booked the 3 nights).  After researching, I found there was rooms available on another website, called them to verify the vacancies (very nice man) and booked it!  So now I don't have to change hotels and I can "plan" my little jaunts around there.  75 days until I fly out and the excitement is building.  Spain is one of the few European countries I have not been to so another country ✔️'d off!

 

 

I had to giggle @marshhawk when you mentioned the bugs in the SE.  The humidity there would out weigh the fun of the bugs!!  🤣

 

 

Today I think watching the closing ceremonies will be on the agenda; maybe not totally watching but it will be on the tv as I do other jobs that need to get accomplished today.

 

@RMLincoln Bon Voyage!!!  Have a great time.

Thoughts for all on the care list.  🍾 for those celebrating.  Have a fantastic day everyone!!

Edited August 11 by Nickelpenny
oops!

[summer slope]

5 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

How about whatsinport?

 

https://www.whatsinport.com

 

 

That’s not it. It showed the ships route and then a port picture. 

[Overhead Fred]

@RMLincoln 

 

[tupper10]

@marshhawk One place we have wanted to visit but haven't gotten to yet is Great Smoky Mtns. National park. It doesn't look too far from you by car.   There are loads of cabin rentals there on the two web sites that I can't name here.    Just a thought.  

 

We are so happy to be back home from our long cruise and then the visit with our grandkids traveling down the NE coast.    We did enjoy it but there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed.  

 

We booked a very short cruise, for November,  on Royal Caribbean with our grandkids to the Bahamas - by the time we unpack it will be over. Then we have a nice cruise to the Caribbean on the Eurodam this winter - and for us, that just means a short drive to the port.  We also planned a Xmas trip to St Petersburg. I want to visit the Dali museum and a week at a gulf beach with less waves sounded wonderful.  Usually our kids visit for Xmas but this year no one is coming.  It is interesting that in Fl after Xmas the rates go way up for the entire gulf coast - we think it is because the snowbirds all come down after the holidays for the 3 months of winter.   

 

I enjoy reading the daily every day but I don't post much.  I was sad to read about all the issues with so many people here and of course the loss of Sam - so hard to lose a pet.  

 

Thank you to all who post here.  

[grapau27]

[marshhawk]

When I was 5 and still had those first front teeth, I ran into the back of a large finned car while riding my bike. Broke the nose and the cartilage under the nose. And of course took the front teeth out.  When the adult teeth came in, one was straight, and one went back like / in my mouth.  

 

A few years after we got back from France , so it must have been around "65, mom took me to a dentist to see about braces.  The doc looked at my teeth, and then said to my mom, I didn't need braces, I needed a popsicle stick.  For about 3 years, I got the popsicle stick behind the tooth from the top and wiggled  back and forth for about 3 minutes a day.  Slowly but surely the tooth straightened itself out.  My mom thanked him profusely and asked what we owed him, and he said nothing.  I did all the work.  She purchased a silver try and gave it to him.

Edited August 11 by marshhawk

[Sharon in AZ]

Good morning and Happy Sunday.  I had very unaligned teeth and wore braces for 4 years and had many teeth removed so I’ll celebrate that today. I’ve actually been to the Mall of America. In 2000 on my first journey to Europe, Minneapolis was the first stop with a long layover so we spent the afternoon there. I mostly remember the center court where the Ferris wheel was. 
 

I have also been to Katakolon, on the Rotterdam in 2001, and we went to Olympia. Very fitting that this is is today’s port with the Paris Olympics closing ceremonies. 
 

The third recipe with the peach preserves sounds really good today Debbie @dfish. I might just try that today. Yesterday we had grilled steak with baked potatoes. So yummy. I had been craving steak and it really hit the spot. We shared one and have a small one leftover that I’m making a salad with for tomorrow. 

Maureen @RMLincoln and DH— Bon Voyage!!

 

Annie @marshhawk, I hope Chuck makes it inside Penny’s house so you can enjoy your pool time. Enjoy planning your Plan B vacation. I’ll vote for a cruise!  But I’ll always vote for a cruise over a land trip. 
 

I think I’ll watch the closing ceremonies and am also recording it just in case I miss something. I haven’t been in the pool lately so might do that too. 
 

Have a great day everyone!

[grapau27]

DFDS daily ferry Newcastle to Amsterdam just leaving.