Travels & Musings...

Second Generation

2011-12-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

Twenty-five years later and the six "Weiler-Churchill" kids have doubled to twelve!

Adults (L-R): Sarah, James, Jeff, Amy, Jenny & Chris
Kids (L-R): Jax, Magnus, Elizabeth, Brinley, Shay & Mattias

But just in case we forgot which kid was which, we labelled them all!

The Stockings (all 11 of them!) Were Hung By the Chimney With Care

2011-12-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

I won't lie - 4 kids 4 and under makes for a noisy, boisterous, jolly ol' time around here! I don't think we realized how big the family had grown until we got out all the stockings to hang by the fireplace.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

~later, tw

Christmas at St. Judes

2011-12-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Gerry & I volunteered at St. Judes to serve Pancake Breakfast. The brunch served was delicious and the Knights work to make the December breakfast a festive one. In addition to breakfast, I manned the "Cocoa Cart" - complete with all the trimmings (well except for marshmallows. I couldn't find any little colored marshmallows this year!) I was a regular cocoa barrista - and even learned how to make mochas! And though you'd have to look closely at this photo my holiday apron (made by sister Margo) is bedazzled with holiday cheer!

Since Jenny & Travis were visiting for the weekend, they stopped by church for some breakfast before heading back home. Shay enjoyed a visit with St. Nick but Jax has still yet to be convinced that Santa isn't being misspelled. (Santa - Satan. Two guys in red usually offering bribes/treats. Sometimes 2-year-olds can be very perceptive!)

~later, tw

Long Time Gone...

2011-12-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

I know...it's been a long time since my last post (actually it's been a REALLY LONG TIME) and there's absolutely no guarantee that my posting frequency will back to previous levels, but hey as I always say "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

And life has been pretty busy since the last post - I'll try to get everyone caught up over time.

Just now, as we head into the truly chaotic portion of our year, I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

To kick off our holiday season (which somehow has yet to include trimming, over even assembling, our Christmas tree - how did everyone beat me to it this year???) Gerry & I did the "St. Nick" wine tasting, sipping our way thru most of Woodinville's wineries. Good times with good friends. This is the photo from this year's adventures with (L-R back row) Mark Churchill (I should have photo shopped Carol in as she attended Saturday but not Sunday so she missed Santa), Michael Amos, Gerry and Pete Weiler, (L-R front row), me, Santa and Marne.

I hope you're doing something fun this season as well!

~later, tw

Not Just a Spectator Sport!

2010-08-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, July 22nd I took Margo (my sister) to see the Mariners play the Boston Red Sox. Given the current (sorry) state of affairs of the M's we were just there to visit and hand-off a birthday present (Gerry's niece's husband had commissioned a snowman quilt and we were meeting him during the 4th inning to make the delivery).

We had just gotten back to our seats after the hand-off (and finished our "Dippin' Dots" treat!) when Milton Bradley came up to bat in the bottom of the 7th. He popped one up in the air and headed towards our seats. I was sure that someone...anyone...was going to get it. It was pretty much a "marshmallow" kind of hit and I watched it carefully as it seemed to be headed directly to me.

For a nanosecond I actually thought about putting my hand up (more for self-defense than anything else) but still figured that someone...anyone...would snatch it at the last second. Then I remembered...this was Safeco and the game not particularly well-attended. The possibility that someone...anyone...was going to jump up in front of me and get it was pretty slim.

So as it came in on final approach, I leaned ever-so-slightly to the left, towards Margo. The ball, still in really-slo-mo, appeared to go past. A guy from a few seats over began hurriedly, almost frantically looking for the ball. Under the seats, in the row behind, no ball to be found. Then he looked over at me, began reaching for my seat and I began to think "no way"...

...but yes! The ball had landed in my seat - I had in fact caught the foul ball (albeit with my derrierre but any catch will do!)

I think they might have won that game, or more likely lost that game that night. It doesn't really matter since I brought home the game ball!

~later, tw

Mutual of Omaha...

2010-08-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

...got 'nuthin on the Weilers!

So after photo sorting, Dona and I retreated upstairs to my bedroom (or as we refer to it: Sweat Shop Central!) Dona was over by the windows ironing fabric and she says to me, hey, your bear is back.

So I run downstairs to the dining room window (where the bobcat had been just a few days before) to find Gentle Ben wandering in the backyard by the pond. It looked a lot like our visitor from a few years ago but MUCH BIGGER!

He nibbled on the bushes in the backyard and then headed along the side of the house to find the plum tree, which apparently was much more to his liking. I tiptoed out the front door to snap a few photos but I think we startled each other - I ran into the house and he ran down the driveway to escape each other.

The next afternoon he came back to the other side of the house and discovered our yardwaste/compost bin. No doubt so he wouldn't disturb Chris' sleep, he pulled the bin away from the house before tipping it over. He pulled out all the clippings that Gerry had put in the bin just that morning and dug down until he found the empty ice cream containers. Great! Just what we need - a bear with a sweet tooth!!!

~later, tw

Hello Kitty!

2010-08-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

My sister (Dona) came down from Alaska to getting some sewing done, attend a family reunion of sorts and go thru large rubbermaid tubs of photos (our "inheritance" from our parents which I've been storing since 2004).

This project quickly took over my dining room as we opened up the bins, sorted thru photos and other memorabilia and shared stories and laughs. One late afternoon last week, I looked out the window on our backyard. I saw just the bit of stubby white tail as it went behind some bushes and thought maybe Chris had invited over one of his friends who has dogs. I was about to yell at him to make sure the dogs didn't tip over my precious container garden (why I try this each year is a mystery to both me and my hubby who usually winds up with watering duty!).

Just as I was about to yell, I saw the animal come back from behind the bushes. Not a dog... not a critter we see too often here before (although both Gerry & Chris swear they've seen it before), but certainly the largest bobcat I've ever seen that close up.

~later, tw

The Alaska State Bird

2010-07-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

I am compelled to comment on the Alaska state bird. No, not the ptarmigan. The "other" state bird - the mosquito. Legendary in proportion according to both visitors and natives to the state, like the big mountain, we had not come across this beast. Of course I'd heard the stories from my sister, her family, and even Gerry from when he visited here in the '70s. I'd begun to think that perhaps they had gone the way of Denali and the other big mountains (17 of the 20 highest peaks in the US once were here in Alaska) and had relocated to Asia.

...until...

...last night that is. After a wonderful dinner with Dona and Roger and Beth and Matt (where we enjoyed our bottle of Opus One wine - the last such bottle ever on the Diamond Princess) Beth & Matt took us on a brief tour of the Anchorage highlights. We went out to a place near the airport - very near the airport - where we could watch the planes coming in directly overhead like something out of the opening sequence of "Hawaii 5-0." Judging by the number of cars and people here, this is quite the thing to do on a July evening in Anchorage.The sun had cleared the skies (though not the skies where we might see mountains).

After we watched a couple of 737's and then a deafening DC-9 (or maybe -10), we got back in the car to go back up the road to see Earthquake Park - to see where the 1964 earthquake had lowered a shelf of land some distance into the bay.

Well that was what we were supposed to be doing. The path way is lined with vegetation - apparently just the type of vegetation that moose like and it is not unusual to see moose here, I'm told (not unusual perhaps, but certainly a frightening thought!). So I'm on lookout for these moose to come popping out of the woods.

Until...the mosquitoes descend. They are everywhere. Fortunately we've taken up walking so we're trying to keep up a good pace (what? thinking we could outrun them?) but the word is apparently out - dinner is on the way - and every mosquito in Alaska is now upon us. Gerry, walking ahead of me (as usual) thinks he is immune, that mosquitoes don't like him. I'm too busy waving my arms like some demented helicopter to see, but I hear Beth say "ooh look - they like light colored clothing." And sure enough, I now see Gerry's khaki pants are COVERED with mosquitoes!

Now we are both frantically trying to keep from getting bitten. Gerry has taken to what Matt refers to as the "mosquito dance" (I only wish he had gotten a video instead!) We quickly now get to the point where we can look (although the darn things were now getting in my eyes and mouth) and say yeah, nice drop off, LET'S GO!

On the path back to the car, we go once more through the swarm. I'm now the one covered. I know it looks like Gerry has gone all "Mel Gibson" on me (cuffing me upside the head) but he was really just getting a mosquito off of my cheek. I should have gone "biblical" and turned the other cheek as that one actually completed the job of biting me. We race to the car thinking how are we going to jump in without bringing a bunch of them with us. Of course the answer is WE CAN'T - we're swatting them and opening windows to try to let them out as we drive back to the hotel. Flustered, we barely remember to retrieve our suitcases from the back of their car so we can finish repacking for our flight!

Having seen and experienced most all that Alaska has to offer (no damn mountains!) we are headed back this afternoon to the civilation of the lower 48. Can't wait to come back!

~later, tw

Princess Wilderness Lodges

2010-07-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

This is our final stay this trip in a Princess Wilderness Lodge so I thought I give a bit of a review of the places/programs/etc. that we've encountered traveling via Princess thru the interior (or at least a small portion of it) of Alaska.

Princess has really done a great job of acquiring/leasing land and building their lodges. While they are all very similar and you feel immediately at home in each, there are of course some major differences:

Copper River Lodge - the newest and smallest of the Princess Properties, this one is all contained (at least for now) in a single large building with ~130 rooms. The entire building is Wi-Fi with only a couple of computers available for guests (and naturally those were commandeered quickly by children satisfying their gaming fix).
Denali Lodge - boasting over 650 rooms, the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge is the largest hotel in all of Alaska. It is spread out over several buildings, including various shops and the Music of Denali theatre (where they serve an amazingly delicious breakfast buffet in the morning in addition to their fun dinner/theatre at night). Wi-Fi is only available in the Main lodge or in the satellite lodges for the out-lying room. Denali is actually a "city" with a vintage Alaskan strip mall directly across the highway (use the darn cross walk at the only stoplight for hundreds of miles please!) with a single gas station (again, no price posted because you pay whatever they charge!)
McKinleyLodge - clearly the oldest, this lodge is also arranged with several buildings. The Main Lodge contains the more formal dining area, a bar and of course registration and the tour desk. Both Denali and McKinley lodges have small shuttle buses (or in Denali trolleys) that you just flag down in order to get quickly from one place to another. Gerry & I did a great job of continuing the our walking program in Denali logging many more miles between places, but since it is pouring rain here in McKinley we are opting to stay a bit drier and shuttling back and forth.

One of the best parts, for me, of staying in these lodges is chatting up all the seasonal help. Where you find people from all different countries working on the cruise ships, here you find kids from all across the states - either because they enjoy coming to Alaska each summer (many have done this for several summers) or because they've got student loans to pay off. Last night's server (Matt) was originally from Wisconsin but is currently attending ASU in Arizona. This is his second summer here and he really thinks he's got the best of both worlds - he summers in Alaska and winters in Arizona!

I truly appreciate Princess' efforts - they made sure that in each of the lodges we've stayed we would have had an excellent view of any mountains, had there been any mountains to see. I'm leaving Alaska wondering how the heck did anyone ever discover "the High One"? Seriously, they probably woke up one day and said "what the heck?" and then the next day saying "where did it go?"

Next time, we're coming in early May or late September. It might be colder but we might actually get to see a mountain!

~later, tw

Talkeetna, Alaska

2010-07-15T12:06:00.001-07:00

...at the foot of Mt. McKinley (which they still seem to call it on this side of the park).

We arrived here and were assigned buses for the 1 1/2 ride to the McKinley Princess Lodge. We made a stop near the "city" limits of Talkeetna though where the driver told us if we wanted to explore the town and take a later bus to the Lodge, we would avoid the $10/person fee. Gerry was more interested in not riding 1 1/2 hr. to the Lodge, 1 1/2 hr. back to Talkeetna, and yet another 1 1/2 hr. back to the Lodge.

Naturally we opted to get off here at 4:55 pm. The next buses would leave at 5:30 pm, 6:30 pm, 7:30 pm and 9:00 pm. If we hadn't stopped for a local brew, we'd have walked the entire length of town and back and still have had 10 minutes to spare waiting for the 5:30 bus.

As it was we discovered the Denali Brewing Company and felt the need to sample a flight of the four beers they were currently brewing. Let's just say I wouldn't come to Talkeetna just for the beer...

...especially when there are other creepier places to visit. Like the little gift shop/creey wax museum that she wouldn't charge us to visit and then directed us downstairs (which is usually the time in the movie where you get locked in and the creatures come to life. Clearly these weren't coming to life - check out

Diamond Jim's hands!, but the sound effects operated by motion detector were a little discomforting!)

~later, tw

All Aboard!

2010-07-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning began with a quick bus ride back into Denali National Park so we could visit the Visitors' Center there. This center is only open from early May until late September when they move across the road to the Murie Science Center - a much smaller building and therefore easier/cheaper to heat. We saw a video on the "Heartbeat of Denali" so I guess that counts as seeing the mountain that is alledgedly out there somewhere.

We also learned the secrets to making the best blueberry pie!

Then back to the lodge to wait for a short bus trip back to the Visitors' Center...no, actually the train depot which is directly across the road from the Visitors' Center. This passenger train is, I believe, used exclusively for cruise line passengers traveling between the various lodges and/or port at Whittier. Each cruise line puts on exactly how many passenger cars they need for each run. This particular run Princess had the final two cars and the Weilers were allocated table space in the very last car.

All seats are upstairs in the viewing portion of the car and we take turns heading downstairs to the dining portion of the car for our lunch. The scenery is fantastic (though we didn't get to see too many animals), the meal great and our traveling companions (that we've come to know relatively well) provided great conversations. (Things I've learned: if the Denver area of Colorado is considered the more liberal side of the state, there is no crayon in the box sufficiently red enough for the western half of the state! Our retired friend from Colorado, who's wife is still a teacher with Texas Instruments, is Harley riding, gun owner/lover type who believes that Colorado really needs to enact the Arizona immigration law there.)

Near the half-way point of our trip, we passed two small lakes, one of which emptied to the north, the other to the south as we were passing the Continental Divide and the high point of the trip (~2900 ft.) with mountains there (visible) at only 5000 ft. (not much in the way of mountains for those of who travel I-90 via Snoqualmie Pass, ~3500 ft. , or Lookout Pass on the Idaho/Montana border which is considerably higher). We also passed the northbound passenger train where we slowed down so that the employees could pass notes, etc. to their counterparks (often roommates) on the other train. And after a leisurely (3 1/2 hr to go 120 miles - that's pretty darn leisurely!) our train ride ended in Talkeetna, Alaska (but more on that later).

~later, tw

Get Out & Check the Tires?

2010-07-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

That phrase has a whole new meaning for me today - apparently it is bus driver code for "I know we just stopped 15 minutes ago but I didn't have to go then and I do now and please let me stop and find some shrubbery." We traveled (per National Park requirement) in a school bus into the park. But (Jenny, Sarah & Chris) this is NOT your father's school bus (which he took into the park when he was here in '72 or '73 - the memory is slipping!). Oh no, this school bus is completely tricked out with seats that would be comfy if they didn't have the required seatbelts installed in the most uncomfortable places, video monitors and a driver with a hi def video camera with an incredible telephoto lens - much easier to see those far away critters!

On our visit to Denali National Park. I discovered that Alaska weather here will permit only one of the following on any given day:

Cloudy or overcast and slightly cool - you get to see the park's wildlife but no mountain
Hot/sunny - you may get to see the mountain but fat chance of seeing any animals
Rainy - no animals, no mountain, pretty much a waste of time and money!

We lucked out with choice #1 (okay, it would have been nice to see the mountain but maybe we'll get a chance tomorow or the next day when we relocate to the McKinley side of the park). First up, some Dall sheep (a cousin of our Rocky Mountain big horn sheep). They were pretty high up on the hill but fortunately with our newly acquired binoculars we were able to see them.

Next, a beautiful cinnamon-colored grizzly bear about 20 yds or so away from our bus right after we got into the park. I think even the driver was surprised!

Next up a caribou appeared right in front of our bus.

Then we saw a mama grizzly with her two cubs (they are the lighter colored blips in the picture - "blondes" they are called).

These were followed by two of the largest bull moose I'll (hopefully?) ever see.

Another pair of Dall sheep posed for a close up.

There were other animals we saw as well: golden eagle, arctic ground squirrel, shrew and a ptarmigan (aka "chicken") but if you're having trouble spotting the animals in the photos above, you don't stand a chance with the other pics!

Final tally:

four grizzlys
two moose
five caribou
seven Dall sheep
one golden eagle

Good hunting!

~later, tw

The Music of Denali

2010-07-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

If you ever get a chance to visit a place with dinner theatre (like Disney World's "Hoop-de-doo Review" or Denali Princess Lodge's "Music of Denali") you should really give it a try. The jokes are corny, the food, while not fancy, is definitely plentiful and the kids working the place are some of the hardest workers you'll ever hope to come across.

Here there are six "waiters/singers/actors" plus a house manager and piano player - each sang and danced pretty darn well! The "play" was a musical, no doubt something they put together, to give the history and culture of Denali. The gags were to be expected and everyone had a great time (and the all-you-can-eat menu of coleslaw, rolls right out of the oven, BBQ ribs, salmon, corn on the cob, and strawberry cream cake did not disappoint).

~later, tw

On the (Gravel) Road...Yet Again

2010-07-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Lunch behind us it was time to get serious about getting to Denali Lodge. Only about 100 miles more of the gravel road which everyone knows should only take about 1 1/2 hours back home. But here in Alaska everything is bigger and it takes way more time to get from point A to point B. Those 100 miles would take us nearly four hours!

Not that the time spent traveling thru this land is at all unpleasant. While it poured buckets yesterday, today we lucked out with no rain in sight. The morning clouds had finally cleared out and finally, FINALLY we could see there were honest to God mountains in this country! Things were looking up for our venture into Denali State Park tomorrow. In the meantime, we could see some of the mountains of the Alaska range (650 miles in total) peaking out in all their glory.

We eventually arrived at the Denali Princess Lodge (the Main Lodge and the view from our room) around 4 pm and after a quick trip to the room (hey, we hadn't seen "flushing" facilities since lunch!) we trekked back to the main building to visit the tour desk and switch in tomorrow's 4-hour excursion into the Park for the longer 7-hour tundra trek (the park is afterall why we've come to Alaska!) and also to sign up for the "Music of Denali" dinner theatre. (Then back to our room for a bit to complain about how our luggage is taking so long to be delivered to our room only to trip on the darn suitcases on our way out the door - that Princess is so efficient!)

~later, tw

Maclaren River Lodge

2010-07-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

After our pitstop, we were back on the road again which had switched from paved to washed out gravel road (and we were glad to have these nice comfy buses which we were desperately hoping would not break down or suffer a flat tire out here because I'm not sure when/where help would arrive!) There was actuallymore traffic than I had expected. Apparently there is no gas crisis here (although the last price I did see was well over $4/gallon), as HUGE RVs were seen traveling the highway with us (fortunately not too often in front of us as these RV drivers are not acccustomed to the gravel roads and felt that 25-35 mph was a suitable speed).

At some point I noticed there were not very many trees to be seen and our driver explained that the tree line in Alaska is about 2700 ft. - much lower than we were used to seeing. It looked like the entire land was covered with some sort of brush but we were warned (lest we decide to go foraging out there) that the brush was pretty deceptive - about 10 ft. deep in places...places where bears and other critters like to hang out.

It took a couple of hours to reach our lunchtime stop - the Maclaren River Lodge, located on the banks of the Maclaren River which runs thru the Maclaren Valley from the Maclaren Glacier. We learned that there was a large party headed out to strike it rich - the Maclaren family split off at the east fork of the river and were never seen again. They couldn't name all these (or heck any of these) places after somebody a little bit more successful?

In any event, lunch was definitely not haute cuisine but the pie was definitely worth the trip! We sampled the blueberry pie (they got some great blueberries up here....please don't anyone tell me they are importing them from Maine!) and soemthing called "Maclaren" berry pie. Turns out "Maclaren" berries are apples, blueberries, strawberries and rhubarb all thrown together in a pie. Yum!

~later, tw

On the road again..

2010-07-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

Paxson, Alaska - a roadstop on the highway to Denali (the paved portion, that is). This view from the outside is a lot nicer than the one from the inside but when you are literally miles from anywhere else in the world, you take what you can get (and they did have "flushing" facilities, as our driver called them).

She also informed us that we would be stopping in a couple of hours for lunch - they had a soup/salad bar for $13/person and if that didn't appeal to you, you might want to pick up some snacks/drinks at Paxson (snacks is apparently code for candy bar because that's all they had for sale there).

The best part was the gas pump - it didn't have any prices displayed, because frankly if you can make it there, you'll pay anything he asks for it!

~later, tw

A joke from the road

2010-07-12T21:44:00.001-07:00

This one from our bus driver (Ashley):

They say that a dog is man's best friend but do you know how you can tell?

Lock your dog and your wife in the trunk of your car for an hour. Then see which one is happy to see you!

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

2010-07-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

Weighing in at 13.2 million acres, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is the largest park in the US. It's the equivalent of SIX Yellowstone Parks, a couple of states (which ones I can't remember) or the country of Switzerland (but we've got taller mountains than the Swiss!) and I've yet to actually see a single one of them (they do a really good job of hiding them up here!)

After our brief sojourn to Copper Center, AK (pop. 300 and I think that actually includes the larger wildlife), we shuttled out to the main visitor center at Wrangell-St. Elias NP. I've been to a couple of these so I feel qualified to say that this was the best NP Visitor Center I've ever seen (but since this is one of the newest national parks - 1980 - I'm thinking they've had some practice at setting these up by now).

We visited the exhibit building, the main visitor center building (which had a great interactive display) and learned that 9 of the 15 tallest mountains on this continent are in W-St.E (or the neighboring Canadian park) and all of them are taller than Rainier.

I had some pictures of random mountains that we took on the drive out here on Saturday that I was going to insert here but we'll just hope for sunshine tomorrow and then I can insert the real thing here!

~later, tw

(PS - A woman on the bus was explaining to her husband that Princess has other Lodges. Specifically she was telling him about the one in Kenya. Took me a couple of minutes to realize she was actually talking about KENAI! I mean I know that Alaska is big but I didn't know it extended to Nairobi!)

Copper Center, Alaska

2010-07-11T16:40:00.001-07:00

AKA the true middle of nowhere!

One entire day without a single "Diamond International" store and some of the women were starting to go crazy. (Not this woman - wouldn't be caught dead in one of those cruise-line owned shops!) So they hopped on the shuttle bus to the booming metropolis of Copper Center, Alaska.

Apparently they were snoozing on the bus yesterday when our driver told us what (little) to expect in this little burg. And they neglected to read any of the info so thoughtfully provided (in our Princess Patter!) upon arrival.

So they were quite surprised to find this little hamlet has no mall, or store of any kind (well nothing that's open on Sunday because the person who owns the only shop I saw - a quilt shop - closed her shop on Sunday because she also owns the roadhouse and it's a far more profitable venture on any day of the week!)

We were told the sourdough pancakes made with real sourdough at Nummy's Restaurant were not to be missed and they did not disappoint. Now what to do with the other 1/2 hour before the shuttle would return? We considered attending the religious service taking place in the lobby of the roadhouse B&B - the local denizens were already seated in the two lazyboy recliners, a sofa and several chairs but there was still some standing room if we wanted to take part (the "altar" was a console tv showing the final World Cup soccer match between the Netherlands and Spain).

We opted instead to hit the local museum and historical society. Not really 1/2 hour worth of entertainment but it was a dry place to hang out. Gerry liked this circa 1950 snow-machine (I'm not sure they aren't still using it this winter!)

~later, tw

Dogsledding

2010-07-11T16:16:00.000-07:00

Our "behind the scenes" excursion was cancelled (everyone else selected whitewater rafting or fishing and I'm thinking they were sorry they hadn't planned to join us since it was pouring in the morning and ours would have been indoors) so we were really looking forward to dogsledding. Lucky for us the people running the event were prepared for the elements and soone Gerry was suited up appropriately (if looking a bit like the Gorton's fisherman!)

We were off to meet our team and then settle in for our ride. Due to the time of the year (making it difficult to transport male and female dogs together), our team comprised 6 males of varying ages. Pirate, a spirited youngster was learning (hopefully) to be a good lead dog (his lack of focus is holding him back a bit...squirrel) from Red, a really good lead dog with a lot of pride (his only problem is that they can't keep him running all the time. Whenever he has some down time he bites...himself and chews up his back pretty good but he has a new red coat as of today and they are hoping that will solve that problem).

The middle dogs, both 8 years old and brothers, are the most mellow, laid back dogs you'd ever want to meet, well-suited to being in the middle since they neither do much leading or much pulling.

The "wheel" dogs, the ones responsible for doing the most of the pulling, were already ready to run (even when we stopped to give them a rest). It amazed me when they told us that if the dogs get tangled, they let them untangle themselves when they're running (unless they are hopelessly tangled). That way they don't get used to the musher always stopping and fixing things for them. Just after we started out for the second time, the wheel dogs were tangled up pretty good and sure enough, we watched as they figured it out between the two of them and got it all straightened out.

Dogs begin their training when they are only 4 months old (getting used to the harness) and by the time they are one year old they are full-fledged members of the team. They usually work for about 10 years but Jackson (one of our wheel dogs) is still going strong at 11. In the summer they pull wheeled carriages as opposed to the sleds of winter. Today, because of the rain, they had a pretty good day but they generally like it better when the temperature is around 0 degrees.

~later, tw

Copper River Lodge

2010-07-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

Princess was really thinking ahead when they purchased the land in Alaska to build these lodges. They are the only ones who can extend their cruise into the interior of the state which makes them incredibly far ahead in this travel/tourism game.

The Copper River Wilderness Lodge seems out in the middle of nowhere but it is just south of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (more on that later). A fairly remote location (which we found out makes life sometimes challenging for restaurant staff. This morning our waitress asked if we were through with the ketchup bottle explaining that they had not yet received their shipment of ketchup and so she needed to squeeze the little packets into this bottle to refill it!)

The view from the central lodge area (and indeed our hotel room) looks directly across a valley at (from left to right) the Mts. Drum, Zanetti, Wrangell and Blackburn. Or so they tell us...apparently the sun was out on Friday and naturally we didn't arrive until Saturday night. It has rained all morning here but the skies are starting to lift a bit and my view from the upstairs lobby area is of a mountain range with what looks like fresh snow and topped by the clouds.

Even though it has been a rainy day, people have found something to occupy their time. In the morning Gerry & I went dogsledding (really fun! - but would have been even more fun in snow!) and to visit the park (more on both of these later).

The Lodge has a wonderful great room with (what would be) an excellent view, a large stone fireplace and a crackly fire (with real wood - no gas or "lincoln" logs here!) and it is a cozy place to curl up with a book (like Gerry here - it's good to be on vacation), play a board game, build a puzzle or visit with new friends over a glass of wine or Alaska Amber Ale.

Our view is unspoiled by power lines of any kind - there simply aren't any. If you want power out in this wilderness, you make your own (with I would imagine a REALLY BIG generator that is located somewhere on the large property away from guests). But they do have unlimited free access to the internet.

There are two restaurants - "Two Rivers" a more formal dining room where you can actually make reservations and the "Whistle Stop" bar/restaurant where the worst kept secret is that you can order off either menu without having to get all dressed up for dinner! Last night we enjoyed salmon (Gerry) and halibut (me) and it was delicious! Of course the fact that it was only about 9 hours from being caught to being on our plate might have had something to do with that.

~later, tw

The Pipeline

2010-07-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

In 1968 oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay, the very north of Alaska. Oil companies (as they so like to do) formed an alliance to get their oil from field to market. They purchased the pipe and were all set to commence building. One little problem - who owned the land? It took nearly a decade to sort out all the details but they were finally able to begin construction of the Alaska pipeline - 800 miles of pipeline to get the oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.

The temperature of the oil is about 115 degrees travelling through the pipe and so putting them underground would not always work as some of the territory covered was permafrost (remains below freezing for at least two years). Putting the warm oil through this permafrost would create marshy areas, altering the ecosphere of the area (though I seriously doubt THAT was a major concern of the oil companies). Because of this some 420 miles of the pipeline are above ground - 5 to 10 feet above ground to allow for caribou migration.

When above ground, the pipes are not actually attached to anything. The pipe sits on the support on a frame with teflon pads which allows for the pipe to slide in the event of an earthquake. There was a 7.5 earthquake in the interior not too long ago and the entire above ground portion slithered as it was designed to do!

The project took nearly two years to complete and incurred cost overruns of 1000%! The oil started flowing in June 1977, arriving in Valdez almost a month later. And the oil companies started making a profit only ONE WEEK LATER! Though it flows now at about 70% of what it once did (because the oil is after all running out), the pipeline has exceeded its intended lifespan by over a decade.

~later, tw

Waterfalls and Worthington

2010-07-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

Leaving Valdez it doesn't take too long until we are snaking on a highway between very tall mountains in what I believe is part of the Alaska rainforest. Not unlike our own rainforest of the Pacific Northwest, just really, REALLY tall mountains (like Texas, Alaska should come with a sticker "everything you see is larger than it appears"). We round a bend in the road and we are given to spectacular views of gigantic waterfalls. The photos can't convey the size or movement or sound of millions of gallons of rushing water (a seemingly endless supply).

Not too far from these waterfalls, we travel to Worthington Glacier. This glacier was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1968. It has been noticeably receding for the past 100 years but is probably still the most accessible glacier (if you're wanting to actually walk on one, that is). This doesn't mean that it will eventually disappear completely because the origin of this glacier does not get above freezing and accumulating snowfall will sustain it indefinitely. While our 30 minute stop here didn't allow us to get all the way to/from the glacier we were able to hike quite close.

~later, tw

Welcome to Valdez

2010-07-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

As if it weren't sad enough to be leaving our lovely home (Diamond Princess), it was pouring rain today and if there are mountains around here, you couldn't prove it by me. Nonetheless, our new adventure was about to begin as we woke up in the port of Whittier this morning. Our next form of transportation - a catamaran (the Klondike Express) was clearly visible from our deck.

We pulled out from the dock around 7 am and were off to the next port - Valdez. Our captain said we had a few minutes to spare so he slowed down and pulled nearer some of the rocks so we could have a great view of the sea lions snoozing. Then it was back to business to get us to Valdez on time. The port doesn't have a pier (which adjusts somewhat to the tides) but rather a dock (which does not move - but we could easily have heard those terms backwards!) so we had to climb to the top of the catamaran to make our exit.

Once safely back on shore we were introduced to our bus and driver (Ashley. As we were travelling in two coaches, her husband was the driver/guide for the other bus). She took us on a brief tour of Valdez, which mainly consists of a couple of restaurants, the bar where Capt. Hazelwood (of Exxon Valdez fame) enjoyed his last meal (and drinks) before setting sail that fateful night, a large chainsaw sculpture (apparently this guy does one for each of the 50 states and Valdez is where Alaska's is located) and LOTS of RV parks - the population of Valdez is something like 4,000 unless it's fishing season and then lots and lots of people come to "put a pole in the water!" Then we were off on our own to further explore (and find our lunch and a dry place to hang out until it was time to reboard the bus).

~later, tw

College Fjord

2010-07-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

A “lazy” day at sea - which really means getting up early for our morning constitutional only to find that the staff had also chosen the early morning hours to do deck maintenance (resulting in lots of half laps for us!), the race to the laundry (Gerry’s pretty quick but still nearly missed out on getting quarters and washers) and another win at trivia (we would happily take medals for all our victories but instead we’ve won a large number of blue Princess grocery bags - Dona nearly has enough bags to use for the “Turkey Trot” or “Jingle Jog” winners!)

After inspection of the dessert buffet (as usual lovelier to behold than to eat) and a bit of lunch (seriously - did you expect me to pass up shrimp? I’ve got to get my fill before the existing supply runs out!) and then (sigh!) get a bit of packing done before the wine tasting in the afternoon. The last night of a cruise is such a sad thing - the only small consolation in it this time that we still have another week of vacation before us (and I’m really hoping that the weather is as gorgeous…or even somewhere close as I don’t want to appear too greedy…so that we get some views of Denali, one of the major reasons for this trip!).

Then we enjoyed the "Landfall Dinner" at our favorite table (Pacific Moon restaurant, table 427 with our favorite waitstaff - Henrik from South Africa and Pya from Thailand) and our bottle of champagne (Chateau Last Week) courtesy of Frank (Sinatra that is - we won the Frank music contest last night). The view out the window was stunning as we drifted by the College Fjord Glaciers (each one named for a different Ivy League school).

Then all at once it was time to get a move on. Someone needed to get to the Front Desk to get envelopes to leave a little something for Marlon, who had taken such good care of our cabins all week long; I had to run to the Photo place to pick up a reprint I had purchased so I could get it packed to send back with the Helmers to Anchorage since we wouldn't need it (or have room for it) while on our "road trip". While I was down on Deck 7 I could hear the "oohs" and "aahs" outside on the promenade deck. Fortunately I had the camera with me - the naturalist was trying to get out complete sentences but she was constantly interrupted by the Harvard Glacier calving. Suddenly the events were closer together and larger. What initially sounded like Rice Krispies snapping and popping became thunderous roars as larger and larger chunks of the glacier dropped into the bay. It was incredible to witness (and since I can't really show the movement of the glacier here, this picture really doesn't come anywhere close to the actual experience!)

Tomorrow morning early (6:40 am - and we’ll have to get a walk/showers/breakfast/final packing done before that!) we will arrive in Whittier and proceed directly to Valdez and then on to Copper River. Since I don’t know what internet service might be available to me for the next week, it may be some time before I continue with stories of our adventures!

Must pack!

~later, tw

Glacier Bay National Park

2010-07-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

In the morning (3:30 am to be exact), the skies were already streaked with pink as daybreak approached (though I’m not exactly sure what defines terms like “daybreak”, “sunrise” and “sunset” when clearly I’ve not yet seen a time without the sun in the sky somewhere!) and when we tried to do our morning walk we were met with more than 50 people, including the naturalist, already up on the promenade deck searching for whales. We were not disappointed - “thar she blows!” was heard again and again as we discovered a pod of 7-8 humpback whales.

As it turned out the Helmers were up early as well (though not 5 am early like us!) and we went up and got some breakfast before returning to our cabins. Our port side decks proved to be the perfect viewing spot for the morning cruise through Glacier Bay and we spotted Orca whales (an extremely unusual sight as they don’t generally venture into the Park and never for very long when they do). It was a bit chilly but we all bundled up and spent the entire morning on our deck watching this amazing panorama pass by us. We saw some more wildlife (sea otters and puffins and lots and lots of sea gulls). The large glaciers were all on the port side in the morning and stunning, given the pleasant temperature and brilliant skies. We even watched (and I think more impressively heard) the glacial calving several times over.

This was the crowning glory of the day - the Margarie Glacier. The glacier you see in the foreground is over 250 ft. high (and extends another 100 ft. below the bay). Those mountains in the background are over 15,000 ft. high, each one of them higher than Rainier!

~later, tw

Did You Know....?

2010-07-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

Long before she was the hottest governor in the coldest state, Sarah Palin hailed from tiny Skagway, Alaska? And while she may have "quit" here before she even started school, they haven't "quit on her! We discovered "The Sarah Palin Store" - all things Sarah, all the time!! Though it took some coaxing to get Gerry to even cross the street, I finally convinced him it could be fun (if a bit scary. I think he was concerned I would actually find the Sarah souvenir I coveted - a Sarah Palin ashtra - because it would probably be a temptation for both of us to take up smoking...cigars!). There were license plates (ICRUSSIA and GOROGUE) and "Hockey Mom Lipstick" and red tea bags so you could host your own Sarah Palin tea party! There was even a poster that said "Sarah Palin - Take A Stand" (and then quit, quipped Gerry!)

We wandered early (after dinner) though needlessly to get good seats for the comedian we’d been waiting all cruise to see. Turns out Dona and I were the only ones who actually checked out his act and YouTube video before the cruise. But we were glad we did - we got to see “Skagway Steve” who entertained and performed the entire history of Skagway from gold mining days to present on his guitar and harmonica. He was a (local) hoot!

Afterwards, we headed to our cabins. The skies had completely cleared and we were treated to a beautiful evening of gorgeous mountains. Finally (though it was still completely daylight) Gerry thought we should perhaps call it a night as we would be getting up early for Glacier Bay National Park the next morning.

~later, tw

You've Seen One...

2010-07-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

Alaskan coastal town, you've seen them all or darn close anyway. Yesterday we spent the day in Juneau. Gerry, Dona & I braved the drizzle-ly weather to walk into town (Dona is participating in the Alaska Shop Hop and so she needed to visit the Juneau store to pick up her block there.) And of course a stop in Juneau is just not complete without lunch at the Red Dog Saloon. Other Juneau highlights: chatting with the owner/chief fudgemaker of Alaska Fudge Company so Gerry could get some tips, checking out the Juneau library (where Dona & Gerry scored a couple of books from the Friends of Library sale for only $.25 each!) and a stop at the USS Juneau Memorial (which we learned went down in the Guadacanal on Friday, Nov. 13, 1942 killing all but 10 sailors aboard including all five Sullivan brothers).

After dinner, we retired to our "reading" rooms (aka cabins). We set sail at 8:30 pm despite the fact that we were still waiting for two passengers and as they were still paging them as we were slowing leaving Juneau I suspect we actually left them behind! The scenery is beautiful - land not too far off our port side with beautiful waterfalls.

When we got up at 5:00 am today, I looked out and saw that there was land not too far off our port side and beautiful waterfalls. I'm not 100% convinced we ever moved but since we were up walking by 6 am and could see us coming into port at Skagway I guess the captain knows what he is doing. Lots of ships here today - the Norwegian Star and Pearl were both in port when we arrived and we could see another ship close on our heels coming in behind us. Should be a busy port day!

~later, tw

We Are the Champions

2010-07-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

Yes we have many, many blue Princess grocery bags and a seemingly endless supply of luggage tags and lanyards. But yesterday, the Diamond Princess recognized our true supremacy of all things trivial and awarded us a First Place Gold Medal in Trivia!

Lest you think I am totally unaware, let me assure you that I am cognizant of the fact that I could cure cancer, solve the financial crisis crippling this country and indeed the world AND reconstruct the ozone layer were it not for the sheer volume of flotsam and jetsam of arcane knowledge, tidbits and factoids swirling in my brainpan (like what play begins with the words "if music be the food of love, play on?" Answer: Twelfth Night - a play I've neither seen nor read. Or, name the two other ships in the White Star Line that were the same time/category as the Titanic. Answer: Britannic and Olympic - okay I got that one because I really do love studying about oceanic disasters, particularly all things Titanic. And Gerry's personal favorite: What do the words orange, purple, silver and month all have in common? I'll leave you to puzzle on that one!)

That being said, let me also assure you that in the unlikely event this ship capsizes in the frigid waters off the coast of Alaska in the next few days, while I will get wet and cold like everyone else aboard, I will be clutching my medal to my watery grave! And as there may be no orchestra on deck playing "Nearer My God to Thee" I will, no doubt, be humming Queen:

"We are the champions...of the world!"

(PS...today's walk, over 1 1/2 mile in under 24 minutes. Note to self: After walking an additional 1 1/2 mile into/out of Ketchikan yesterday, must write marathon organizers and see if they can arrange for the entire length of the course to be constructed out of wood similar to that on the Promenade Deck of the ship...much nicer to walk on that cement and gravel!)

~later, tw

Land of the Midnight Sun

2010-07-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

They weren't kidding when they came up with that name. Last night when we retired (after a wonderful Italian dinner at Sabatini's), this was the view from our stateroom balcony at 10:45 pm!

The curtains in our stateroom do a great job of blocking all the light at night and creating an illusion of pitch black in the cabin. But as I'm on sleeping on the side of the bed nearest the balcony, I can see a sliver of daylight at floor level. We weren't going to be in Ketchikan for long and we had arranged to meet "the neighbors" (Dona & Roger) for breakfast at 8 am. I figured that bit of daylight meant I should be getting up so I could get my walk in the for the day (Gerry figures my route is closer to 1 1/2 miles and I can do that in 20 minutes...getting closer to goal of 13.1 all the time!)

I peaked outside the curtains to get a better look and saw how beautiful the morning was going to be. Then Gerry told me is was only 3:40 am and maybe a bit early to go walking!!!

After breakfast, Gerry, Dona & I headed into town(unfortunately missing the free bus rides!) on foot to find a fabric store and visit a couple of the many (MANY) stores owned by the cruise lines. The trick is to find the ones locally owned because you'll get a much better deal on merchandise there. We also found some wild life along the way.

~later, tw

Off We Go!

2010-07-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

Headed to the wilds of Alaska, I did not realize that we were bringing them with us! Roger is enjoying both his balcony deck and his Kindle this evening (if somewhat questionably attired!).

Bus ride to Vancouver not too bad (though it did make plenty of stops before we finally arrived here). We made it thru immigration and boarding in record time and were actually enjoying our lunch on the Horizon Court by noon.

After dinner at the Savoy and drinks/chatting at our favorite bar (Crooners), Helmers headed upstairs to read (and order some room service tea and cookies) and Gerry and I walked our first mile on the ship!

One mile almost mastered (gotta get it in under 18 minutes), 12.1 miles to go!

~later, tw

What I've Been Up To Lately...

2010-06-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

is making pillowcases - LOTS of pillowcases. Fifty of them to be precise! I think Gerry was hoping that the nearly 60 yards of fabric consumed would put a more serious dent in my "stash" than it did!

My niece (Beth) and her hubby (Matt) are participating in the "Rock & Roll Seattle" marathon on June 26th as members of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. As part of their fundraising efforts, they will be working at a booth at the Saturday Market in Anchorage, Alaska, soliciting donations and selling pillowcases (sewn by her mother, my sister Dona and myself) and aprons (sewn by our younger sister, Margo). They weren't kidding about it being a "TEAM" effort!)

I don't know whether to be more proud about Beth & Matt helping to raise funds for this worthwhile effort or their commitment to get up off of the couch and do something positive for themselves as well. They have worked really hard at both and I'm looking forward to cheering them at the finish line this month!!!

Should you be so inclined to donate a little something on behalf of the "Team Knorrs" effort, check out their team website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/rnrseatl10/teamknorr

~later, tw

Adventures at Sea

2010-03-12T06:27:00.000-08:00

Remember those gas turbine engines that delayed our start out of Los Angeles?

Last night was a rather late one - dinner at Sabatini's always takes some time and is fun to do with rookies. We had told them to go easy on the buffets that day and hopefully they had some "smooshy" pants that would accommodate the many courses they would be served. Amy and I agonized over the menu...I'm not usually a big fan of lobster tail (the one time I don't seem to gravitate towards the most expensive thing on the menu) but we were both tempted by the accompanying side - pumpkin risotto. So Gerry was quite shocked to hear me actually opt for anything other than shrimp when I ordered the lobster, as did Amy.

I really wish I had a photo of what must have been the look on our faces when our "secondi piatti" was set before us - there must have been an entire tablespoon of risotto! Fortunately we had tried (many) things before this course and actually a tablespoon was just about all we could have finished...but still...I'd have rather had a crawfish and more risotto.

Afterward we went to Club Fusion to watch the "Marriage Game" - loosely based on the "Newlywed Game" and "Deputy Dave" cruise director who was from England had to be instructed on the correct use of "whoopie" in a question (no, Dave, it isn't where was the strangest place you did a whoopie?") and this was followed by the final heat of Princess Pop Idol (which will no doubt lead to an interesting final since Matt succeeded in getting "Mustache Eric" - who is truly horrible - advanced).

By midnite, it was finally time to call it a night and we collapsed in bed immediately upon returning to our cabin. Sometime later, the phone rang. Now let me explain - the phone on the Sapphire Princess has quite the unusual ring and it was difficult to place from a dead sleep. Then there's the matter that the phone is on Gerry's side of the bed - requiring him to turn on a light, find the phone and answer it. This is never an east task. I only heard his side of the conversation: "No. Not really. Okay. Good-bye." so after I asked "who was it?" I had to have him relay te entire conversation: Your niece. Do you smell the gasoline? Everyone's congregating in the hallway - do you want to join us? Bye-bye."

By this time I'm up and yes, indeedy, it smells that we're pouring gas on the floor. I open our deck slider and can't smell anything out there so I quickly dress (while Gerry falls fast asleep again) and I head outside to meet the neighbors. The people across the hall have their little one up - they don't knowif it's time to flee the room yet. I ask if anyone's called about it and then head back to the phone to call Passenger Services: Yes, ma'am, we're aware of it. We've called the bridge and they say it's just the exhaust that has comeback down the stack and into the ventilation. No problem."

NO PROBLEM? Breathing exhaust? While I'm envisioning headlines something along the lines of Masada (Entire ship suffocates at sea. Total group effort.") and I'm not particularly happy with Passenger Services (this guy's ancestor probably told the passengers on the Titantic it was nothing to worry about - just a little ice), I'm going to be prepared - dressed and armed with my gray "Elite" cruise card which I'm thinking should get me priority seating on the lifeboat. I stand with the doorway and our deck slider opening creating quite a draft which the neighbors across the hallway are especially appreciative since theirs is an indoor cabin (note to self: always, ALWAYS get a balcony cabin as that's the only one with a window that opens!).

I hang out with Beth & Matt next door on their balcony for a bit - they are snuggling down for the night or the next few hours anyway on their deck chairs. I finally give into the idea that there would have been an annoucement of some sort if it was truly hazardous so I head back to our cabin and bed...but leave our deck wide open...just in case. (If you remember previous posts - we've toured the bridge, seen that it's all done by joystick and feel fairly confident at video games so if worst comes to worst....you see where this is going, don't you?)

It couldn't have been completely horrible - Gerry didn't get up until 7 am!!! and just headed to the gym. I'm going to go get ready as we are having "champagne" brunch this morning with the entire gang - celebrating with our prize of a bottle of "Chateau Last Thursday" which we earned at the movie music trivia night.

~later, tw

Mazatlan - Part II

2010-03-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

While on board, we got to see what Beth & Matt had purchased in Mazatlan. They really liked this artist that had a little booth just outside the terminal "shopping mall" at the port. There was a man and a woman who both painted pictures using spray paint as their medium. It was quite fascinating to watch and Gerry & I were both mesmerized as well. We selected a small picture which was only $10. But while we were standing around as Beth & Matt continued to shop it occurred to us that we could have a larger picture for $20 and get our small one for free...so naturally we picked out another larger picture for just $10 more.

While this was taking place, Beth & Matt decided to purchase a large oil painting that they had on display. The guy said no problem, he would take it off the frame and roll it up for the kids to bring back home. He told Gerry he does this all the time...hopefully not with the same results. I watched as he popped out the staples and then he moved from the shop to the area in front of his shop to actually pull the canvase from the frame. I had wander off a bit but the sound coming from behind me was rather distinctive...and even if I could identify that sound, surely the gasps and then silence would have given it away. I turned around and saw first the guy with two pieces of canvas in his hands and then the look on the lady's face of hmmm...terror, disgust, loss of a sale?

She immediatley said no problem, I will paint you another one - what time does your ship sale? We headed over to drink our free beer while she frantically got to work recreating the painting. Gerry & I then decided to head back to the ship - didn't want all of us to be the last aboard.

At 4:00 pm it was time to head off to trivia and I went down to get a table, fulling expecting to hear the announcement "Will Mr. & Mrs. Knorr of Caribe 512 please contact the Passenger Services immediately" indicating that we were preparing to sail and they were not yet on board but was surprised instead to find them already there! We don't know if the paint will be dry by Saturday morning but the painting was completed in record time!

~later, tw

Mazatlan

2010-03-11T09:18:00.000-08:00

Another hot day - apparently only on the port side of the ship (where the Weilers are). Seriously, it must be 20 degrees cooler on the starboard side which is where we are joining our group for a tour of the Pacifico brewery. First a short tram ride from the ship to the terminal ("free and compulsory" as the sign says - and no doubt the more-than-adequately armed soldiers would be happy to translate for you if you have any questions regarding this). They are getting clever these port cities - the terminal is really code for "shopping mall" and so we make our way past the stores just opening up for touristas and onto a small bus (there are only about ten of us on this tour) and head off the two blocks or so to the brewery.

We wait outside for our clearance to enter and to be joined by two brewery tour guides, really just two young women who do not speak a lot of English (and come to think of it weren't wearing the long sleeves, long pants or closed toed shoes that we were told were also "compulsory"). It was a bit like the old cold-war days of having "political officers" accompanying you when in communist countries. Their sole purpose (as near as I could tell) were to bring along the bag of "safety eyewere" (aka plastic glasses) for when we were actually in the bottling area - and boy did we get a close up view there!

After the tour it was time to sample the ware. The guys were interested to learn that Pacifico is one of 12 versions of beer made in Mexico by the Negro Modelo company (Gerry really prefers that beer but I must admit - Mexico really knows how to serve a great beer - icy cold! Just the way I like it!!!). We enjoyed several bottles of beer...each...before our tour concluded. Just as we were leaving the "company store" - a little place just down the street from the brewery entrance, our guide hit us with the final note...Pacifico, owned by Negro Modelo, was sold a year or two ago to....wait for it....Anheuser-Busch. James looked absolutely crestfallen!

Then it was time for a quick "Mexican taxi" ride around Mazatlan (a pickup truck with two benches and a cover (fortunately - it was hot!) and then our excursion was over. Our guide gave us each two tickets for free beer as we left the "taxi" and Gerry & I headed back to the ship for a little lunch and to see if we could "treat" Beth & Matt to a cold one ashore before we left...

But that leads to another adventure...and subsequent post.

~later, tw

Puerto Vallarta

2010-03-11T09:07:00.000-08:00

Well the "grubby hand"-made tortilllas lived up to their hype though no doubt the experience was "enhanced" by an early breakfast, a long bus ride, a very hot day and six shots of tequilla (which also lived up to its hype!) Actually Gerry & I were thinking that this tequila (the first three as you might recall were "for sharing with everyone", "for sharing with really good friends and family", and "for drinking all by your lonesome), was not quite as enjoyable as the ones we had experienced last year. But we were amused to learn that the actual tasting of the tequilla still resembled something akin to lamaze - proper breathing technique is essential.

After the first three shots (when our tastebuds were no doubt completely numb), we then tried the "flavors" of tequilla. No berries this time - the first was peach and it was (as you might expect) nearly thick enough for pancakes...forget the mimosas, go right for the tequilla! But then our guide (Victor - pronouced Veek-tor if you are Latino or VICK-TER if from the US) said that he really likes this one for marinating chicken to BBQ and so naturally that's the bottle that is returning home with us!

Beth and Matt had been salivating for an entire year about the espresso tequilla (me - not so much) and the amaretto tequilla. To each their own! There was apparently a bit of confusion at the "check out" line as Matt wound up paying for the people behind him as well (dang...why does Gerry have to be so fast?) but they got it all figured out while we were munching our "grubby-hand-made" tacos.

~later, tw

Going Ashore

2010-03-09T05:32:00.000-08:00

Today we are going ashore in Puerto Vallarta - tequila tasting and (hopefully) to enjoy some little "grubby handmade tortillas" (Beth's idea...something they enjoyed on their cruise here last year...though they may have been getting sick at the time which may have affected tastebuds and overall enjoyment. We'll see!)

Beth and Matt are proving to be worth their weight in...trinkets. Our team has added a lovely Sapphire Princess pen to our collection (though why the pen is actually ruby in color has us all stumped). To date only one question has been sports related so it is sometimes difficult to keep the guys' attention (particularly Gerry's but he always brings a book).

Although we celebrated Beth's birthday last night with steak dinners, the high point of the day at sea occurred during our morning constitutional around the deck. It was a sunny day (our first real view of the sun and warmth of the Mexican Riviera) and Gerry was whining that he should have brought his binoculars with him on our walk when all os a sudden he saw a whale off our port side. We watched for several minutes to see the spout of water, like a puff of smoke, and then the whale's tale appear a couple of times and then make its final dive. Naturally I couldn't get pictures fast enough. Maybe we'll have better opportunity in Cabo.

~later, tw

At Sea...

2010-03-07T14:56:00.000-08:00

and hoping for nicer/warmer/more Mexican Riviera-like weather :)

We are here aboard the Sapphire Princess (or as I like to call it...HOME) for our one week cruise to the Mexican Riviera. After a somewhat less than glorious beginning (okay we got on board way faster/earlier than ever before but not without Gerry having some frustrating moments with staff. Fortunately supervisors were not called...nor escorts to take us away). Once on board we checked out the rooms and headed for lunch. Then the clouds/rain came in and it was starting to look a lot like home.

The engineer was having difficulties getting the gasoline powered engine to start up (should have been relying on those damned dilithium crystals instead) and our launch was delayed until well after 6 pm.

After a wonderful sail-away dinner (where we are all trying to enlighten our friend Derek about the ins and outs of cruise ship dining protocol...if you can't decide between two entrees then obviously you should order both), we headed off for trivia where we established ourselves as a unified force to be reckoned with! And we have the Princess lanyards to show for it!

Only down side for me (Gerry's list is somewhat longer but he doesn't have a blog) is that they have blocked my access to skype. No conversing with the grandsons this trip. Bummer! This time I could have shown Mattias what's going on outside our window. Will have to make up for it with a longer chat next Sunday.

~later, tw

It's Vacation TIME!

2010-03-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

Boy howdy - is it vacation time!!!

We are headed off to (hopefully) sunny LA tomorrow and then we will be cruising to Mexico on Saturday morning. It's is gray and overcast here (and a bit chilly too) but it is blizzarding in Anchorage this morning so my niece and her hubby are probably even more in the mood for this vacation than we are. Barring any difficulties with our flights (like 5-year-old air traffic controllers or overbooked Alaska flights - we opted for Southwest because we won't have to pay any luggage fees though I did cave for the extra $10 "automatic" check-in fee...thought that might be worth the money when everyone on board is trying to get checked-in and boarding passes printed that last day on the ship!), we will meet up with Beth & Matt tomorrow afternoon/evening. Our friends (Carol & company) have elected to fly down on Saturday morning...the brave souls! Those of you who have heard of our last cruise to the Mexican Riviera might recall that Mark's luggage didn't make the flight with us (though it certainly should have earned "miles" which en route to Puerto Vallarta to catch up with us!) I'm thinking that he might consider the "layered look" - not even trusting his belongings to the overhead compartment. :)

~later (and warmer!), tw

Not So Typical Kids

2010-01-19T17:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today we've been watching the even younger skaters perform - the Novice division. Not that the divisions are restricted by age but rather defined by the performers actual skill level regardless of age.

Case in point - yesterday's MEN'S Novice finals and the free skate. The 1st place winner was Nathan Chen, a 4-year veteran of this competition who has achieved (among many other accolades) the ripe old age of TEN YEARS! (However, if you would have told me he is only 6 or 7 I would have believed it since he is a rather adorable little guy.) His performance to Peter and the Wolf was mesmerizing! And the "old man" of 11 who came in second (Emmanuel Savory - who kind of reminded me of "Kenny" from the Cosby Show) performed a crowd (and judge) pleasing skate to music from "The Simpsons". (Emmanuel & Nathan are the little guys at the left side autographing programs.)

The Novice Pairs Free Skate and Novice Ladies Short program were also something to see. Though I was expecting to see some nerves (I mean aren't there any kids here for the first time?), these kids were amazingly poised and mature given that some of these competitors are barely in their teens. During breaks between events, Margo and I would wander the concourse chatting up the kids and getting autographs. It was wonderful to see that in addition to being remarkably talented youngters, they are still just basically kids - surprised that anyone wants their autographs and wondering if they will have time to find some nachos before they head to the stands to cheer on their fellow competitors. It was incredible!

The younger kids weren't the only "stars" we've seen. Here I'm getting Evan Lysacek's autograph before he took 2nd in the Men's Senior skate.

~later, tw

Surprises

2010-01-18T04:53:00.000-08:00

Okay so the three men expected to represent the USA in the Vancouver Olympics all made it - no big surprise there. Johnny Weir (the "d" is apparently silent) turned in a pedestrian performance, just enough to secure the #3 spot, not even attempting a quad. His costuming resembled something more likely to be seen on American Idol. Evan Lysacek, probably our best shot at a medal, fell on his opening toe-loop quad but was solid, if lackluster, after that. Jeremy Abbott gave a flawless and exciting performance (nailing the very same quad jump that Evan had not) but questions remain as to the status of his nerves and whether he will be able to skate anything like that on the international stage.

But the day really belonged to Ryan Bradley, who unfortunately did not do well (enough) in the short program to be able to completely overcome that score. His performance was the skate of his life and encompassed all elements of the skate - the music, the costuming, the techniques and choreography. It was an electrifying performance that had the entire arena on our feet before the conclusion. (Small wonder that Johnny Weir took the safe option for his skate - the scores were that close.) This was his 11th national competition (he finished 2nd here in Spokane in 2007), Ryan recognizes this might be his last competition - not that he doesn't appear much younger than his 26 years, but the thought of maintaining this level of training and grueling pace of competition probably means it was his last opportunity to make an Olympic team. I would hope not, but if it is, what a way to go out on such a high note.

There are definitely some others on the horizon (since our current Olympic team are 26-Weir and 24-both Abbott and Lysacek): 23-year-old Jonathan Cassar, who skated first in the Free Skate with an excellent performance, 20-year-old Adam Rippon and nearly 18-year-old Keegan Messing (from Girdwood, AK).

The evening was spent watching the Free Skate of the Junior Men. I think we saw the final skate on this level for several performers and expect them to graduate to the Senior level soon. They definitely have youth on their side: 15-year-old Jason Brown took 1st with a perfect skate to the Nutcracker Suite; recently turned 15-year-old Joshua Farris (from Renton, WA) gave an amazing performance from one so young capturing 2nd place; and 3rd place finisher Max Aaron, the "old man" of the three who will turn 18 next month. These are definitely guys to be watching for the next Olympics.

~later, tw

A Preview of Things to Come

2010-01-17T07:33:00.001-08:00

We're here - in Spokane at the US Figure Skating Finals where the US representatives to next month's Olympics in Vancouver will be determined.

The opening ceremony was a bit lame and Gerry was really wondering why he had been dragged to this. But then the men took the ice for their short program. There was amazing skating but at the end of the night the top three were no big surprise (though maybe the order was: Jeremy Abbott, Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir).

Yesterday morning we saw the Pairs Free Skate (final competition). Though there were certainly some excellent pairs, there was nothing reminiscent of the 1980-90's Russion duos. The throws were good though most pairs received a deduction for at least one fall. (Gerry said he would be most impressed if a girl got to throw a guy for once and having seen all those ladies hit the ice, I concur...maybe if the guy hit the ice once or twice like that he'd have more incentive to give a bit more elevation to the throw so his partner could land it!) Regardless by the third set we'd pretty much seen the same routine a few times and by then Margo (my sister) and I were judging the costumes and trying to decide if the line for those delicious made-right-in-front-of-you donuts was worth it.

Then the final set of skaters to0k to the ice. Amazing, incredible, fantastic...not enough adjectives here folks. First up, Amanda Evora & Mark Ladwig who skated nearly flawlessly. The next pair up proved that "near flawlessly" wasn't going to get the job done. Caydee Denney & Jeremy Barrett performed the skate of their life - an absolutely perfect performance, landing every single jump, spins in perfect unison. The death spiral was hold-your-breath as she fully extended herself with her entire body only inches from the ice! Their coach was in tears and the entire audience on their feet by the end of the performance. I only hope they can repeat this performance in Vancouver!

But we weren't done yet. The next pairs up were 33-year-old Rena Inoue & 36-year-old John Baldwin. We had seen them skate together in 2007 in Spokane and were surprised at their ages then. Now we were simply flabbergasted to see them together again. They too gave an amazing performance - their final skate and they went out in style. Their 3rd place finish was no "sympathy" vote. They would be a tough act to follow and Caitline Yankowskas & John Coughlin scored high with our group on costumes and choice of music (Pearl Harbor) but had difficulties landing jumps (I think she fell twice) and ended the night in 4th place.

So with Denney-Barrett in 1st and Evora-Ladwig in 2nd we will be well represented in Vancouver.

The evening session was spent watching the short program of the Junior Pairs. There are definitely some up-and-comers to be watching (including Caydee Denney's younger sister, Haven). The "women" were all under 20 - including one 13-year-old. There were some solid performances and some harrowing falls (including one who appeared to fall literally on her face and slide across the ice on her chin but miraculously suffered no apparent injury).

We are off now this morning to see the conclusion of the men's skate...and maybe get some of those donuts!

~later (with photos), tw

Wow - that's some braid!

2010-01-12T04:38:00.000-08:00

A woman in Texas is fighting her local school board because her 4-year-old son wants to wear his hair long...really long. Though the pre-kindergartner has been on "in-school suspension" since NOVEMBER (he sits alone with a teacher's aide in the library), the school board is willing to compromise: He can wear his hair long so long as it's kept in a braid and remains above his ears.

The mother says she will take him to school with his hair in a pony-tail (which she acknowledges will keep in him suspension) since braiding his hair will "make his scalp bleed."

School orders 4-year-old to braid long locks

Parents of suspended child reject compromise saying his scalp will bleed

Now we used to braid our daughters' hair when they were small and I'm sure that they would both tell anyone who asked that nobody braided hair tighter than their father. (It was the equivalent of a "face lift.") But there was never any danger of scalp bleeding. I'm not certain that the school board should be holding firm at the length of hair of a child - certainly not to the extent of keeping him in "in-school suspension" at a time when the only serious learning of a pre-kindergartner is socializing. I would think keeping him with a solo teacher's aide for the day totally undermines that learning and keeps the school's limit resources (namely a teacher's aide) tied up with one child (now for months) at a time. The school board should lighten on this issue (Don't they play football down there? Haven't they seen the really, some would say dangerously long, hair of those athletes?)

On the other hand, I think the parents proposing ridiculous rationale for allowing their son to be different is not helpful. For once, I would just like to see the right thing done for the right reason and have sanity prevail.

~later, tw

Seriously?

2010-01-07T08:10:00.000-08:00

I promise to go thru my holiday photos soon and post about that (I do have the cutest grandchildren on the planet!) but I couldn't resist this one.

Woman sues gym over pole-dancing injury

I find it amazing the amount of embarrassment and humiliation a person will subject themself to in order to either a) get $$$; or b) achieve their "15 minutes of fame." This lady, who apparently can rule out "exotic dancer" as a career opportunity, is suing because she quite literally fell off the pole. This is a lot like the 60+ granny who sued McD's because the cup of hot coffee she put between her legs so she could grab her McMuffin spilled and burned...well, I don't even want to think where that burn was.

At some point aren't at least some of these individuals willing to keep their ineptness and stupidity to themselves? Must they brag about it in the news, on reality tv and in our courts? I so want to be a judge!

~later, tw

Now THAT'S holiday spirit - Part II

2009-12-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've probably seen the ad for Liberty Mutual: one person witnesses a gesture of kindness and then does something kind for the next person they meet, which is witnessed by someone else, who in turn does a favor for another stranger, and so on until the circle of "favors" returns to the person who started it. It's an amazing commercial - probably my favorite (that doesn't involve Clydesdales anyway).

At a restaurant in Philadelphia this past Saturday, a couple finished their meal and paid - not only their tab but also that of the table next to them. They asked the waitress not to tell the people until after the couple had departed the restaurant...simply say "Merry Christmas!" This simple gesture started an amazing chain reaction ("Mystery Pair at Diner Spark Cascade of Giving," http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34420892/ns/us_news-giving/)

The giving lasted for five hours - one party paying the bill (plus tip) for the next party and though the amount of the bill varied, not one person quibbled about the amount.

A sense of expectation typically accompanies the spirit of Christmas. We expect that we will get gifts. If we've provided others with a "wish list," we expect that we will receive something from that list. And that's not horrible, or greedy, or evil, or even missing the true point of Christmas even.

But it's the unexpected that brightens a day, that makes you smile, that creates in you an atmosphere of true generosity and kindness. And it's as simple a concept as "pay it forward" and it doesn't have to happen just this time of year either...

...but isn't it wonderful when it does?

~later, tw

Now THAT'S holiday spirit - Part I

2009-12-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

My husband calls my Christmas Wish List "pathetic." On my list I put the little things I would like...most of them utilitarian trinkets having to do with my time spent in the kitchen, which I really enjoy (this year I'm hoping Santa leaves me a 4-cup pyrex measuring cup under the tree - because I'm already wondering how I've lasted this long without one!)

But everything on my wish list is truly insignifiant compared to those hoping for a gift of time - more time to spend with family and friends, more time to celebrate holidays and milestones, more time to just be.

Thirteen such people got their Christmas wish a little early this year in what I consider to be a true miracle of science and generosity - they each received a kidney in what is (currently) the longest "chain" of kidney transplants: "Massive transplant effort pairs 13 kidneys to 13 patients" (http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/12/14/kidney.transplant/index.html?eref=rss_us&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_us+%28RSS%3A+U.S.%29)

In this paired transplant, someone wants to donate a kidney to a recipient (a husband perhaps to his wife) but find they aren't compatible. No problem! A 2nd party recipient is found and someone donates a kidney on his or her behalf to a 3rd party and so on and so on and so on until (in this case) 13 recipients were matched with 13 donors. The end result is that 13 people were given a second chance at life and the 13 donors each wound up saving not one, but two lives: they gave to save their loved one, enabling them to become a member of the circle, and they gave new life to the recipient.

A pretty wonderful Christmas present if you ask me!

~later, tw

Simone Weiler (1926-2009)

2009-12-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we lost Gerry's mom, Simone Weiler. The doctor had rediscovered cancer (after five years of being cancer-free) only two months ago. Gerry and I were able to take Jenny and little Jax to visit her in October and she was doing quite well then but recently her health began to fail her and she passed away quite suddenly (and rather unexpectedly...surprising even her doctor) on Tuesday afternoon.

My thoughts and prayers are with each of her kids and their families...and especially with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Jenny and Sarah were especially close to their grandma and always managed to visit her in Montana. Here are the girls "4 Generation" photos taken just this year.

~later, tw

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T13:24:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note (between bites :0) to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. What a great day dedicated solely to remembering what we have to be thankful for! Life seems to be a continual ride on the waves full of highs and lows. Here's hoping that in your life the highs are more frequent and far more memorable than the lows.

Don't eat too much (gotta save some for leftovers!)

~later, tw

The official start...

2009-11-23T04:44:00.000-08:00

... or kick-off to the holiday season began this weekend. Gerry and I raced over to Spokane to celebrate my brother-in-law's (or is it brother's-in-law...I've nailed the plural but now the possessive is apparently going to give me grief!) birthday. Like so many of our friends and siblings, Lyle has reached the milestone of having survived 50 years on this planet and he did so with the grace and (especially) humor that we've come to expect from him.

The party may have been small but what it lacked in numbers it more than made up for with love and laughter and general best wishes for him on the occasion. Margo (his wife and my sister) had put together a casual event and though their was another family situation that arose during the week, she somehow managed to maintain the "surprise" factor! We arrived in the afternoon, our impending arrival unbeknownst to Lyle, in time for a wonderful luncheon and party.

While I provided Lyle with my traditional gift of pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins (twice the number now!), Gerry filled Lyle's reading shelf with two series of books. His daughter gifted him with a new coffee-maker and a super-size mug she made herself while his brother and sister-in-law gave a basket of assorted coffees (I think there was some collusion on that gift!) My nephew and his buddy (who has really been unofficially adopted by Lyle and Margo and is now a true member of the family) gave Lyle a certificate good for one full day (as to be determined by Lye) of "slave" holiday labor. The boys offered to provide decorating services for the holiday and nobody knows how to decorate like Lyle does! Although this really is an amazing gift, I think Lyle should have held out for put up AND take down service!

But the most fabulous gift was from my sister Margo. She made for him an amazing photo quilt sure to physically provide warmth but also remembrances of past times sure to warm his heart. It was an incredible stroll down memory lane.

It makes me sad when I think of my friends and family who would rather forget that they're having a birthday at all...as I often say, "consider the alternative" to having a birthday. I'm a pretty sentimental gal - I love looking at the photos, remembering and reviewing the past good times, but would I want to be 30 again? While I might want to have the energy I seemed to possess then, at 30 I was chasing a toddler, pre-schooler and starting Sarah off to school. I was volunteering at PTA carnivals and Brownies and while it was "fun while it lasted" I don't want to go back. I'm quite content being 51 years old (at least I'm pretty sure that's how old I am - I'm not that great at calculating it since I was born in a year ending in 8 and those of you who know me know what a challenge it is for me to work with the number "8"!)

We've celebrated many 50th birthdays in the past couple of years and there are certainly more to come. I hope everyone enjoys reaching this milestone as Gerry did, as I did, as Lyle did.

~later, tw

Interesting "Lesson Plan"

2009-11-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

Before my focus completely shifts to "holiday mode," I couldn't resist the chance to comment on this story out of North Carolina:

"N.C. school selling test scores to raise funds" (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33854822/ns/us_news-weird_news/)

It seems that the chocolate sale was a dismal flop, so the Rosewood Middle School of Goldsboro, North Carolina decided to try something really different.

Now having dreaded, participated and basically survived 15 years of elementary and secondary school fundraising, I'm all for innovative ideas that "tap" into the checkbooks and wallets of our parents and communities. I hated the labor-intensive carnivals, the not-so-environmentally-friendly (yet ever so successful) gift wrap sales, tracked literally hundreds of thousands of cookies for the Girl Scouts and popcorn for the Boy Scouts, and attempted to sell rather expensive tickets to a "no dinner" dinner. But this one beats all!

For a mere $20, your child can purchase twenty test points towards his or her grade (in 10 point increments they can use these points to elevate two of their test scores). Wow! There's a lesson that I'm not convinced we need to teach our kids: money really DOES buy everything!

I've heard in the past months about programs where schools might actually PAY children to attend classes, as if getting an education was their JOB. The problem with this scenario is that it tends to reinforce a child's concept of "what's in it for me?" Hard work, an education, and the opportunies that comes with that knowledge is of no value to this generation.

If these kids attempt this exact same approach to their college education, they will be dismissed. I would imagine that would be grounds for some soft of lawsuit against the administrators of Rosewood Middle School. I hope the kids can find someone who actually earned their law degree (rather than buying it).

~later, tw

Reunited...

2009-10-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

And it feels so good.

Okay, probably silly but I've been left out in the cold for the past few days. Last week our landline phone went quiet. I know many have opted to live without a landline, relying solely on their cell phone and I suppose if we got reliable reception at home (that would be anything that DIDN'T require heading outdoors in order to make/receive calls) I would consider it.

As it is, we've got not one, but two, dedicated phone lines in our home. A necessity when the kids were at home and pre-cell phones. The first line (the main line) is used for telephones and telephone messages. Our second phone line (which I could technically do without now that the girls have moved out and Chris is tethered to his cell phone and doesn't object too much or too loudly about having to wander around outdoors on the property for hours) handles everything else - the DSL, the tvs, the fax line.

It's been a great situation...until last week that is. First the phone line went dead but fortunately Verizon has 24 hr. service online and I easily placed a repair request. My appointment was for Friday and they gave me an ever-so-convenient time slot - sometime between 8 am and 7 pm and they guaranteed my phone would be fixed.

The technician arrived, unbeknownst to me, and began exploring the problem outside. When that didn't help, he needed to move indoors and check things out there. Anyone who has seen the inside of my house knows that a) there are not terribly many phone jacks (particularly for a house of this size) and b) those few jacks are well hidden...by lots and lots of furniture. It was no easy task to get everything moved for the technician only to be told that he couldn't figure out what had happened but he could get one (and only one) jack to work and that it would serve for both lines.

Yeah...it all worked great...until about 30 minutes after he left (and coincidentally ten minutes after Gerry arrived home).

Then the second line went silent and it wasn't too long before I realized just how dependent I had become on this technology. Not having a phone turned out to be not so much a problem - no phone calls interrupting us watching tv and our not having to deal with every organization currently soliciting phone donations. It was a bit quiet here and really wonderful.

That same pleasure did not extend to the second line going down. NO EMAIL??? Yeah, that's just (truly) not working for me! Transfer money to my son's account? Not happening! Begin ordering gifts for the holiday? HA!

As the disconnect continued on into yesterday, I finally had to resort to packing up my little travel laptop and heading to the closest Starbucks, at a cost of $6.50 ($2.50 for my tea and $4 for a 2 hour connection fee!). I waded through my email, postponing everything I could and dealing with the rest while hoping my battery would hold out.

Today Verizon promised to send a technician out to fix our second line and get my connection to the real world re-established. In anticipation, I empty out our "black hole" closet - the one that holds our coats, our ski clothing and ALL our coats. It is not a small task. But it is the only way to gain access to the crawl space which I was sure was going to be required this time since everything else was moved and checked out the last time.

Suddenly, without warning or any visible aid from a human, the line was once again working. Apparently just moving the crap (I mean priceless belongings) from the closet was sufficient to scare it into operation.

When I get caught up on my email, I'll be in the foyer playing Tetris with our belongings, trying to get it all magically back into the closet. (Chime loudly if you're emailing me!)

~later, tw

Please Don't Go...

2009-10-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

Last night we took our newest grandson (Jax) to see his first ever Mariner game (along with his mother (our daughter, Jenny) and an assortment of friends and family). Though the temperature was a bit chilly, it was definitely a lovely evening in early October. Between oohing and aahing over little Jax, we all enjoyed sitting in the outfield, occasionally watching the game and relishing what well might be Jr.'s last home run. Franklin Guitterez made the night even more special by tossing a ball into the stands for our nephews and the Mariners capped off the evening with a 2-1 victory over Texas.

Today (Sunday), Jenny, Jax, Gerry & I took in the final home game of the season. The skies had cleared overnight and were cloudless and beautifully blue for this final game. The 32,000+ fans on hand were not disappointed. As he came to bat for the first time, Jr. acknowledged the crowd's cheers and then it was back to business.

Finally, in the bottom of the 8th with the Mariners holding onto a slim 4-3 lead, Jr. came to bat, possibly for the final time as a Mariner, possibly for the final time ever. The crowd immediately rose to give him a standing ovation, but in typical gamesmanship, the Texas manager called for a pitching change and Griffey never left the on-deck circle. We remained standing, patiently waiting for the new pitcher to warm up and then the announcer once again called out "Now batting, Ken Griffey, Jr.!"

We cheered but he was focused. The pitch - 91 mph and he connected immediately - a "seeing eye single" to centerfield. Gerry said that he thinks it's the first time he's ever witnessed a curtain call standing ovation for a single! The game was close and Griffey's not particularly fast, so it was no surprise when the Mariner manager pulled him for a pinch runner. But it gave us one more chance to cheer the kid we'd all watched grow into the man he's become.

When in the top of the 9th, David Aardsma threw that final pitch and Rob Johnson caught it for the final strike, the crowd erupted one more time. This team which had played so abysmally last year, setting a record for most losses ever, had turned things around so dramatically in just one short year. There are lots of things one could point to that helped create that metamorphosis - the new general manager, the new team manager, some player acquisitions. But in my opinion (and I doubt that I'm alone in this one), the biggest single difference between this year and last year is summed up by the single word: JUNIOR.

Kenny - please don't go. Please bring back the magic again next year. Please make baseball fun once again for the players and the fans!

Mariner management - You've taken a chance in the past on Eric Bedard, Heathcliff Slocum and Carlos Silva, all players that cost you a lot financially and failed to generate wins or a fan base. Take a chance on re-signing Kenny. You absolutely won't regret it!

~later, tw

Conquering a Fear of Flying

2009-09-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

Amongst my friends and family, I can count a number of engineers, students of physics and science and just generally really smart people who could readily explain the aerodynamics of flight. And yet...something in me (possibly the laws of gravity, laws of physics, laws of nature) refuses to believe in this technology (I basically consider that flight falls into the realm of magic). But I don't have the luxury of time and money that a John Madden or a Whoopie Goldberg have and so I must resort to air travel upon occasion.

This doesn't make it any easier. Ask Gerry. He will definitely tell you that the term "white knuckle flyer" doesn't begin to describe me. I'm always amazed and relieved when we reach our crusing altitude, disturbed by any in-flight turbulance, and my "beads" get quite the work out during landing. And like a moth to the flame, my "crash-dar" is in full operation when scanning headlines, web updates or even movie descriptions for all things pertaining to air disasters.

So it was with more than a little reluctance (and a great deal of trepidation) that I agreed to make our return trip via float plane (a plane that actually, INTENTIONALLY?, lands on water? What are you, nuts?) I was determined to not let my very, VERY real (though others might describe it as somewhat irrational) fear detract from an otherwise amazing adventure.

We checked in with our pilot from Kenmore Air at the Coal Harbour Marina. It truly had turned out to be a gorgeous September day and Chuck (a pilot specifically requested by Carol) assured us that the flight would be calm and beautiful. Sounded good to me! After checking our passports and a few final (just in case) photos, we were ready to board the aircraft.

THAT LITTLE THING IS OUR PLANE? Okay, take a deep breath - you can do this. Our "luggage" was loaded and in my capacity as tour director you can be assured that I did everything possible (just short of actually weighing the pieces) to make sure that everyone strictly adhered to the 24 lb. luggage limit! Once on board, we were given the usual pre-takeoff instructions (fasten your seatbelt, if need be the floatation devices are clear in the back of the plane - obviously they don't get used a lot...good thing I can swim. What's the water temperature this time of year? Once we reach our cruising altitude...not very darn high...our flight attendant will be by to serve drinks...whiskey, vodka, brandy. I wonder where those came from???)

And then we were cleared for takeoff. Carol was flying co-pilot (though Marne had volunteered, the group thought it best if she stayed back in the cabin with the rest of us). Takeoff was amazingly smooth - if not for the noise of the plane (yeah, it's pretty loud) it would hardly have been noticeable. I wondered if we were going to fly over or under the Lionsgate Bridge?

And then we were up...above (but not so far above that we didn't have a magnificent view of) the coast, the water and the islands below us. Though we didn't see any whales, we did see a number of large ferries and even a couple of cruise ships.

The view was incredible as we flew over the San Juan islands and places I remember booking reservations for when I worked for Kenmore Air (Friday Harbor, Eastsound, Rosario's). Following the map we could see as we flew past Everett and Edmonds, the I-5 freeway and finally to Lake Washington.

Our pilot circled around and landed the plane in the lake, smooth as silk and headed for the Kenmore Harbor. Kudos to Chuck! It was perhaps the smoothest landing I've ever experienced - land or water. And though I just knew that this was an exceptional flight, that the stars would always align so that I could be guaranteed of this particular pilot and this amazing weather, by the time we reached the pier I was already thinking that this group should be planning our next adventure to Victoria via floatplane!

~later, tw

Oh Canada!

2009-09-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

The day was just beginning to break as we made our way under the Lionsgate Bridge and into the pier at Canada Place. Carol and Mark (the ones who retired early the night before) were up and exploring, checking out the sites of Vancouver as we approached. A Holland America ship was chasing us into port.

Packing to leave is typically a bittersweet affair indeed but staying in the Penthouse Suite made it a bit easier (as most of us left with many, many souvenir "gifts" and reminders of our one night of luxury - soaps, sewing kits, stationery, a Princess canvas bag and even slippers - basically anything that wasn't permanently nailed down!) Good thing we weren't flying back commercially to the states as we might have had to pay for extra luggage!!!

Though we were scheduled to disembark fairly early (before 8 am - what's up with that?), there was still plenty of time to enjoy breakfast in the dining room. Of particular interest this trip was the "raisin doughnut". Clearly it was accurately named for there was only a single raisin to be found in each doughnut.

After breakfast we headed for the Elite Lounge (for those with holding Elite or Platinum cards OR for the "PPs"). We arrived with only about 5 minutes until final call for disembarkation but we were determined to enjoy all the amenities of our one shot at being "PPs".

Then it was off to customs, immigration and locating our limo. A nice ride but I now think all paparazzi's should be banned from photographing limousine ingress & egress - there is absolutely no real dainty way for this to be accomplished. And we tried a number of them - crawling, duck walking, rolling around the seats (made a bit more difficult by the amount of laughing taking place as well!) The coveted seats seemed to be found on the back bench (which required no gymnastics!):

First up, we stopped in Stanley Park to see the Totems and across the waterfront back at our ship. It was shaping up to be a gorgeous day in Vancouver and there were already many people out and about. We would check to see what everyone was looking at whenever we arrived - and finally figured out that they thought we were the celebrities! I imagine they were quite disappointed when we all popped out of the vehicle.

I saw this sign at the washroom in Stanley Park - there was a women's restroom, but apparently the men's restroom was pulling double duty as both a Men's Restroom and the Fire Sprinkler System (I wonder how many volunteers it requires to put out a fire? I would imagine that it would depend on the size of the hoses?):

Back on board the limo and we were headed thru more of the park and to see the Lionsgate Bridge up close. As we drove thru the park, the police were trying to close the road for a race that would be taking place. All traffic, other than our limo, was stopped (it's good to be the king - or at least travel like one!)

We made a brief stop at Granville Island to check out the marketplace there and then it was time to head for lunch (already?) at Floata Seafood Restaurant for traditional "dim sum". Clearly some of us enjoyed this particular type of dining more than others but I think all of us had a good time.

After lunch it was time to head off to Gastown to see the gasworks clock (in operation for over 100 years) and do a little bit of shopping. Then we were driven around to see the site of the opening ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 games, the countdown clock and then we went in search of Murchie's Tea Shop (highly recommended by our breakfast companion on the Pacific sailing last Friday). Our original destination was closed but Andy found another one at the Mall in West Vancouver. It's a wonderful tea shop and several bags of tea found their way into the limo.

We made a final stop at a pub nearly Stanley Park (I will have to try to find the name of it). It was very near the waterfront and those amongst us who found "dim sum" not entirely to their liking found the sliders and sweet potato fries a wonderful substitute (along with a round...or two...of Guinness, beers and pear cider).

All too soon our day in Vancouver was coming to an end and it was time now to make way for Coal Harbour Marina for the final leg of our adventure. We left the luxury of our limousine behind us as we headed to the seaport and the float plane that awaited us.

Next up: Terri's Fears Ungrounded

~later, tw

Celebrity Cruising

2009-09-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

After dinner, we went in search of entertainment on-board. I wasn't too sure what to expect since this was, after all, just a one night cruise. We opted to head for the Vista Lounge and see the "Visionary Comedian" Paul Wildbaum (part comedian, part mime, part maestro). Mark was determined not to become a "victim" - an audience member hauled up on stage to become part of the act. I'm not entirely sure that Mr. Wildbaum didn't overhear him - either that, or he correctly identified Mark as someone with handbell experience.

That doesn't exactly explain how Michael was selected as well (unless the comedian was just looking for a couple of "ding dongs") but I don't think their performances embarrassed either themselves of the rest of the gang (here's a video of the performance):

Afterwards, Mark & Carol headed back to their cabin to enjoy the luxuries of the penthouse and the rest of us went off exploring. The Golden Princess has "Movies Under the Stars" - a large screen outdoors by the pool and Gerry & I went to check it out. The staff was just arranging the chaises lounges (and thoughtfully putting out additional blankets as it was quite chilly!). The movie that night was "Star Trek" at 10 pm and the scent of theatre popcorn already filled the air.

Since we had already planned to join the rest of the gang for "Cinemastic" (the large production show in the Princess Theatre) we couldn't stay for the movie. But it is definitely on my "bucket list" of things to try on my next cruise!

The show was amazing - songs from all the movies, the singers were great, the dancers were wonderful and it even included a bit reminiscent of Cirque d'Soleil trapezee work. Though it was late when it got over, the gals wanted to check out the Skywalker Lounge on the opposite end of the ship. It is accessed via an escalator that goes thru a futuristic tube to reach the bar - which is the highest point on this ship and the guys assured us that the view is amazing (when not completely overfilled by the twenty-something dance scene...another time, I guess!

Here's a photo of the Golden Princess (I think...it might have been one of the sister ships) that shows the escalator tube at the back of the ship that takes you up to Skywalker Lounge (Gerry shot this photo as we flew over the ship on our way back home...but more on that later!):

Finally it was off to bed for all of us. Trying to squeeze in as much as I could in the limited time in our penthouse, I decided to conclude the evening with a dip in the jacuzzi. Note to self: probably not the best idea to put bubble bath in a jacuzzi (the result is something along the lines of bathing in whipped cream - not exactly unpleasant, but the challenge is trying to get rid of all the bubbles when you're done!)

Next up: Our limo awaits!

~later, tw

THE PENTHOUSE!!!

2009-09-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

Our new green boarding passes indicated we were now 'preferred' and we were whisked out of the line for the "common folk" and into our own private line for embarkation. In just a matter of minutes (too quickly for photos - if they would have even allowed it), we were boarding the Golden Princess for our fabulous one-night cruise to Vancouver, B.C. I haven't a clue as to why Princess decided to upgrade our four couples to Penthouse Suites. One night of pure luxury that we will most likely never experience again and we were determined to make the most of it!

The first of our suites (Pete & Marne's) was just off the elevator and we anxiously awaited their opening of the door. It was incredible! Gerry & I have cruised a number of times (I think this was my 9th time) and we've always been impressed with the attentiveness to detail, the economy of space even though the room is usually under 300 sq. ft. (roughly the size of my master bath and walk-in closet at home). I've never felt cramped at all (provided there are only the recommended two people per cabin).

But this was spacious and plush. There was a sitting room, a wet bar, a tv, a desk, and a door opening onto our balcony...and that was just in the first half of the cabin! The second room housed the bed, another desk, another tv, two nightstands, a walk-in closet, and another door to the other half of our balcony! The third extremely large room was actually divided into two rooms - the shower and jacuzzi were in one half of the room, the powder room in the other. In all it was nearly 600 sq. ft.

Once we got past the enormity of the rooms themselves, it was time to discover all the little perks that go along with being "Penthouse People" (or PPs as we were beginning to refer to ourselves!): the pre-printed stationery, the complimentary mini-bar, the invitation to a cocktail party with the captain, the spectacular bowl of fresh fruit to welcome us. Soon our cabin steward was inquiring whether we'd enjoy a glass of champagne? Along with the canapes that room service had provided for each of our cabins. We elected to have a "sail away" party of our own on one of the balconies (after we had of course requested that the balcony doors between each of our suites we opened).

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring our ship (and waving goodbye to the Amsterdam which was sharing the pier with us that afternoon).

The guys got their work out playing ping pong and then it was time to head for our "muster" station in the Explorer Lounge. As you can tell, Gerry found this to be quite exciting stuff but everyone joined in on donning their lifejackets.

Then it was off to change for dinner. The menu was "Sailaway Dinner" - one of my favorites on Princess ships as it includes their Mushroom Soup as well as their "Rum Infused Pina Colada Soup" (which is, as you might expect, served in a glass with a straw. You can order this in the bar at any time!) Some us learned important lessons in on-board dinner ordering: if it is plural, it definitely means MORE THAN ONE. For instance, if you order the filet medallionS, you can expect at least two to show up. Plus they won't be so much "medallions" as they will be the Princess 6 oz. filet steaks.

Next up: On-Board Entertainment

~later, tw

And We're Off...

2009-09-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say the day began bright and sunny (as it always has on every other cruise I've ever gone on!) but no such luck on Saturday. It had poured buckets in the early morning hours (giving our new roof a true test!) and was gray and drizzling. After a brief moment of confusion (why would Metro change their bus routes/times on the very day I needed to use it?) the seven of us met as scheduled at Kenmore to begin our bus journey.

Sandie guards a mish mash of backpacks, duffles and large bags while the rest of us venture out to document our trip:

First, Marne, Carol & I wait at the sign, then the guys (Pete, Gerry & Michael) check out the route:

As the weather begins to drizzle (again), we all head for the shelter of the bus stop:

Finally, the bus arrives and we board (with correct change in hand!) and get our transfers. We are officially on our way...

Somehow (amazingly...it's a bit like herding cats) we get off at (or near as we can tell) the correct stop in downtown Seattle and head across the street to make our transfer to the next bus. We tell the driver (I think each of us...) that we are going to Pier 91 (like he couldn't tell we were headed for a fabulous cruise!) We catch very brief glimpses of the ship as we drive by the Seattle waterfront and over the Magnolia Bridge.

The driver stops and tells us this is the Pier. Gerry & Pete take point and are (rapidly...do they know any other speed?) headed towards the off-ramp for the bridge and the sign that says "Cruise Ships" but some guy pops out of a truck I didn't even know was there and says if we're looking for the cruise ships, we should head down this stairway I hadn't even seen was there. Yeah...riiiiight. Okay, we headed down the stairs and yelling for the guys (to come and watch our backs). The stairs head down but not all the way to the street level - next thing we know we're walking on the catwalk underneath the bridge. Not somewhere I'd like to be in the dark...heck, I'm not liking it in the daylight!

Carol is trying to get our picture as we head down another set of stairs. But she's met at the bottom by an older guy in a uniform standing guard in a little tiny shack. He tells her to put away her camera and for the group to get out our passports - we've entered a secure facility. Yeah....riiiight. While I'm trying to figure out which part of this is actually "secure", Marne is trying to get the guy to stamp her passport. He tells her that's above his paygrade, but if we just follow the well-marked pathway (white paint - seems to serpentine from the bridge to the actual pier) we will find our ship waiting for us.

This is much more easily accomplished by the women than the men and pretty soon a little bus starting honking at Michael (who is clearly off the "beaten" path). The driver wants to know if we'd like a ride to the ship and we all jump aboard.

Next up: The Clampetts Become "Penthouse People"

~later, tw

It's All in the Details

2009-09-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

The plan came together - we were going to cruise from Pier 91 in Seattle on Saturday, Sept. 19th and arrive early morning at Canada Pier in Vancouver on Sunday, Sept. 20th. A limousine would pick us up at the pier and squire us around in style. We were going to enjoy a dim sum lunch in Chinatown, a bit more of the sites and finally make our way to Coal Harbour Marina for our return flight home.

The only logistics left to plan then were exactly how were we going to get the 8 of us to the Seattle pier and then how would we get home from Kenmore?

We kicked it around for a week or two - this was proving to be the biggest challenge of the weekend. We could have one of our kids take some of us and maybe a different kid could take the others? What about leaving a car at the pier? And another two at Kenmore? Does shuttle express go anywhere besides Seatac? How much would a limo ride to the pier cost?'

This was getting complicated. Finally, and I really don't know who to credit with this idea, we hit upon Metro - the city bus line. Envisioning something out of a Jeff Foxworthy routine (with our backpacks and duffle bags we'd look like an upscale version of 'the Clampetts go to Maui' - all we would be missing would be the plastic 'Piggly Wiggly' bags!), I researched the bus schedule. We figured we could leave vehicles at Kenmore for the return drive home. I worked up a couple of options - jockeying cars to Kenmore and ferrying occupants back to catch a bus in downtown Redmond, maybe one party would like to go from Issaquah? At some point it finally occurred to me that there was probably a fairly direct bus route from Kenmore to Seattle and our plans were finally, finally complete! Seven of us would meet up in two vehicles at Kenmore (Mark was going to the Sounders soccer game at noon first and would hopefully meet up with us on the boat) and then we would walk a few blocks to the bus stop...

The adventure truly begins....

~later, tw

The Plan Takes Shape

2009-09-21T09:22:00.001-07:00

Getting the cabins arranged on the Princess ship was only the beginning. Now it was time to take care of logistics. I was set to make reservations for us to return via Quick Shuttle directly from the Canada Place terminal in Vancouver when the first email arrived and tentatively asked:

Do we have to come back right away?
Maybe we could make a day of it in Vancouver?
Is there a later bus?... or maybe the TRAIN!

Okay, I could earn my keep as group vacation planner. I started exploring options. Yes, Amtrak has a train in the evening from Vancouver to downtown Seattle. Being the product of not one, but two, railroaders, I've always loved travelling by train. This was starting to sound like a special weekend!

The train was affordable - not much more than what we had planned on spending on the bus - so it was definitely an option. It seemed like there was plenty of space but I couldn't get us a reservation until I had all the passport information for each of our travellers. By the time I had that info, there weren't enough seats available and within a few hours the entire train was sold out.

Hmm...back to the bus I guess. But after a conversation with Carol it seemed another option might be a possibility. Perhaps, we could return via Kenmore Air float plane from the Coal Harbour Marina right next door to the Canada Place terminal. Since Carol works for Kenmore she would check that out.

The only real problem would be my incredible (yes, irrational...to some...not to me!) fear of flying, particularly in float planes designed to land IN THE WATER. I've tried to explain this phobia of mine: I'm a fairly law-abiding individual, obeying as best as possible all the laws of the land with specific attention paid to those laws of GRAVITY and NATURE. Just like the bumblebee, the design of which should make it absolutely, positively unable to fly, I view aircraft of all types. There is no way they should be able to get off the ground (or in this case the water) and once up there, the end result (I think the technical term is "landing") should involve disaster. Of course, this doesn't happen (much) but take offs and landings always leaving me looking for my rosary beads.

My stomach was in knots, but I agreed. Everyone was so excited and looking forward to this great adventure. I would suck it up and I would do exactly what I had previously vowed I would never do. If Carol could arrange an affordable flight home for us, I would join in as well.

The adventure continues...

~later, tw

A plan is formed...

2009-09-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

Not so very long ago, a group of friends sat at Las Margaritas having a "send off" dinner to say farewell to Sarah, Fredrik and little Mattias as they were returning to Sweden after a vacation in Redmond. The conversation turned to vacation plans of our own and I explained that we had put our original plans to visit our other daughter and her family in Disney World on hold.

Instead, I announced that I was going to do one (or maybe two) one-day cruises from Seattle to Vancouver, returning via the bus. These trips were really only designed to allow me to "bump up" a level on the "perk" schedule with Princess. My friend Carol quickly said she was up for tagging along. Really? Okay!

Then Sandie & Marne thought it sounded like a great 2 days - were there any cruises on the weekend? I said I would check. Did they really want to go? YES!

By now we were having a great time, discussing all the possibilites and probable costs. It's a pretty affordable 2-day trip - one can easily do it for around $100/person. Not bad for a bit of pampering. But our excitement was finally noticed by the guys in the group - you're not going without me, are you? I'd go!

Pretty soon, it was 8 of us - 4 couples sans kids. When we got home from the restaurant, I sat at my computer to begin scoping things out. Yes, there was a one-day cruise, from Seattle to Vancouver leaving Saturday and returning Sunday. Yes, space was still available in all accommodating categories from Interior cabin to Mini-Suites. The price was extremely affordable but I didn't know what the others might think and I was totally willing to leave it to the others to set the mark. I sent out an email right away - and within an hour I had the first two responses: YES! We're in!!!

The emails flew back and forth - Really? Do we want to have an interior, windowless cabin? Maybe a balcony? Heck, let's get suites! Within 24 hrs. everyone had chimed in - Suites it would be and I called my travel agent to help arrange for 4 mini-suites aboard the Golden Princess sailing from Seattle on Saturday, Sept. 19th.

The adventure of a lifetime was about to begin....

~later, tw

Small Ship Cruising

2009-09-19T05:52:00.000-07:00

In order to add another "notch" to my Princess cruise "belt", I took a one-day cruise on the Pacific Princess from Seattle to Vancouver, BC this week with my friend Carol. Okay, perhaps that wasn't the only reason: I also wanted to experience was Princess calls "Small Ship Cruising" and basically, the boat was here, as was I, and it seemed like an adventure in the making (also a great opportunity to "test drive" the concept of one-day cruising which we were already scheduled to do on Saturday!)

We checked in around 1 pm on Thursday at the new (this year) Pier 91 terminal in the Magnolia area of Seattle. I almost felt as if we were going to be the only two on this ship as the number of employees waiting to assist us with luggage (we really didn't have any), checking, pointing us to the gangway (as if we could miss the ship!) clearly out-numbered the two of us. We were told that although this ship can accommodate 670 passengers (yeah, you read right - 670 passengers!) we would be sailing with only 450 fellow passengers this trip.

Once across the gangway, we noticed the difference from past sailings immediately. There was no glittery lobby/atrium to greet us. There was only a small set (and I do mean small - I thought they were for the crew use!) to our left and a "bank" of two elevators to our right. We elected to use the elevator since we had our "luggage" with us to get us to our room most efficiently.

As soon as we entered our balcony cabin, I was immediately appreciative of the fact that we hadn't opted to try out the much, much cheaper interior accommodations! The room was spacious (if the beds were not) with the outside wall being entirely glass with a larger slider door (that took a couple of tries and actual instruction from our cabin steward in order to master!). The decor was from another era (ala Titanic - there was a lot here on this ship that was reminiscent of the movie). The balcony itself was a bit crowded with four chairs and a table but the view was lovely (since the weather was amazing!) and overlooked the marina and the Palisades restaurant.

Once we dropped luggage, found our location on the map (and reviewed the health hand out regarding Swine Flu and Norovirus with our cabin steward), we were off in search of lunch. We walked up the one floor to the Panorama Buffet and were immediately impressed by how cozy it is. Having only sailed before on some of the largest ships (the Disney ships, the Diamond, Sapphire and Island Princesses each with somewhere between 1900 and 2600 passengers!) it was unbelievable to see such small seating areas and yet never once was it ever full to capacity! Each table here, and in fact in each of the dining venues on board, enjoyed a window view. We filled our plates and elected to enjoy the weather at the small outside dining area situated at the back of the ship.

After lunch, we participated in a "scavenger hunt" that claimed a $1000 prize. Not terribly good at math, I calculated our odds of winning were probably along the lines of 1 in 200 - not too bad! So off we were to explore the Lotus Spa, the Club Restaurant, the Casino (which would remain closed this trip since we would never really get out to international waters as required by law). The closing of the casino did not seem to be as big a loss as one might imagine - there were only 5 small tables, one roulette wheel and if there were more than a dozen slot machines I would really be surprised.

Then it was time to grab our "fashion statement" orange life vests and head to the Club Restaurant (our muster station). The signs on a small ship are not as easily navigated and it took a couple of tries for us to find which way we were supposed to head - good thing we would be sailing within sight of shore the entire time so any emergency could be easily handled without "survivor craft" if it came to that...I'm not sure we would have made it to muster!

Now it was time to head up top for the "sail away" party. Great views of the Seattle skyline, Qwest Field, Safeco (where the M's were already playing) and Mt. Rainier. We were going fairly slowly but I assured Carol that was because there was a "no wake zone" in the Sound and we would probably pick up speed once we were safely past that point. Turns out the "no wake zone" extends all the way from Pier 91 in Seattle to Canada Place Pier in Vancouver! We traveled at a speed of 9 knots and I don't know much about sailing or converting that but let me tell you we were passed by people in a canoe!

Dinner was supposed to be in the Club Restaurant and it was Italian night. We surveyed the menu and thought it wasn't all that Italian (no pasta?) and just didn't really tickle our fancy so we wandered up to the Sterling Steakhouse on the 10th Deck. Though they were fully booked for 7 pm on, they could easily accommodate the two of us at 6 pm and we could have just about any table in the house. After a couple of tries, we found one that was "just right" and had a most fabulous steak dinner there while watching (slowly) the coast go by...

I didn't know what to expect on a one-day cruise entertainment-wise, but we were not disappointed! The cruise director staff knowing that many of us were just one-day cruisers, had scheduled a trio of entertainers in a variety type show. First up was Duncan Tuck, a comedian/guitarist. His repertoire was pretty varied - first he played "Malaguena" (no mean feat on the guitar!) and then segued into a rousing rendition (complete with all the words) of the theme song from "Bonanza!"

He was followed by the musical stylings of Tony Cherry (Joan Rivers opening act for 17 years). Not too bad - he opened with a set of Neil Diamond songs and ended with a set of Paul Anka songs.

The closing act was really hysterical - the comedy magic of Michael Finney. He wound up pulling two assistants from the audience and as (his) luck would have it, they really made the show! (Not unlike Lyle's appearance on the Disney Magic - but that's another story!)

We finished up the night with a visit upstairs to the Pacific Lounge for a game of Trivia. We really missed the rest of our gang (but I'm not sure they would have been able to come up with some of these answers - they were really tough questions) and finally tumbled into (our rather tiny) bed around 11 pm, leaving a wake up call for 5 am as they were determined to kick us off the ship by 8:15 am!!

The phone? rang promptly at 5 am as instructed and then again at 5:02 am just for good measure (they really were determined to get us off that ship!). I'm not sure but I think Princess might want to reconsider that ring tone - I think it really was 7 short bursts followed by one long blast (for non-cruisers...that's the emergency signal to prepare to abandon ship!) We were ready by 6 am but the full-service dining room wasn't so we went to the Panorama Buffet for a pre-nosh and Carol's coffee. She got a latte but since our account was already closed out they had no way to charge her (okay cash would have worked but we never actually carry cash with us while on the ship) so it was on the house!

After breakfast we watched the float planes take off and land (in rapid succession) from Coal Harbour Marina and she pointed out the one that we would be taking on Sunday - YIKES (but that will be another blog entry!) An all-call announcement was made over the PA telling us to basically get off their ship NOW please and we headed out to line up for the (not-so) QuickShuttle return to Seattle.

If this had been their first attempt at getting 300+ passengers loaded onto shuttles for the trip to Seattle, I might have been a tad more understanding. But on September 18, they are at the end of the season...there will not be many more cruises coming into this port with passengers needing to be taken directly to Seattle or SeaTac airport. By now you would think they would be prepared. It was total and absolute CHAOS! We were scheduled for a 9:15 am bus and arrived in plenty of time for that and not really too far back in the queue. That didn't seem to matter at all and the few employees there (along with the one Princess employee and the one Port Authority personnel that I could identify) were each telling us a different thing to do, place to stand, action to take. We didn't get to a bus until nearly 10:15 and even then it was taking approximately 30 minutes to load a bus. It was ridiculous and we were ever so glad that our hubbies weren't with us as they would have not been pleasant about the situation at all (and that's about as nice as I could ever put that!)!

In any event, the ship was fabulous and the adventure well worth it. I'm definitely looking forward to our cruise on Saturday, a small ship cruise and just future cruising in general!

~later, tw

Is This Going to Require A Presidential Pardon?

2009-09-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

First let me say that I don't watch MTV, nor the MTV Awards Ceremony so I didn't actually see Kanye West when he took the microphone from Taylor Swift WHILE she was making her acceptance speech and declared that it should have been Beyonce getting the award instead of Ms. Swift (a rather shocked and no doubt embarrassed Beyonce saved the night when she won her award and she had Taylor join her on stage so that Ms. Swift could give the speech she would have if not for Kanye's antics.)

I've seen a few blurbs cross my Inbox about the incident, about the apology last night on Leno, and about how Mr. West has now surpassed Hitler in numbers of people who currently hate him.

But apparently President Obama has not learned (yet) that he might want not want to jump quite so feet first into these "charged" incidents ala "Henry Gates" (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32859148/ns/politics-white_house/). To be fair, it was clearly an off-the-record remark that was released by ABC's Nightline Co-Anchor Terry Moran (another person who really doesn't understand technology - he "tweeted" the President's off-the-record comment that Kanye was a "jackass" for his outburst at the awards and then "quickly deleted the comment but it was still accessible online").

From the little I know about the actual incident, I do concur with the President's conclusion. I just think this is not something he really needs to weigh in on.

~later, tw

Lake of the Ozarks - Part II (Saturday)

2009-09-07T05:24:00.000-07:00

After a rather leisure breakfast, it was time to get down to business and give Jax his first official "big boy" bath. He did seem to enjoy it - or at least not mind it at all! The remainder of our morning was spent repacking...luggage, cooler, car (which naturally we put off until the monsoons returned!)

We decided since it was already noon that we should stop for lunch somewhere (since our original plans of having a picnic were literally a "wash out"). By the time we got all our ducks in a row, Gerry just made an executive decision to pull into the next little restaurant he saw. As luck would have it, he found a perfect place - CJ's in Camdenton. If you are ever in this neck of the woods (and I highly recommend it!) you should find this place. It's nothing fancy but real homey - the food is inexpensive, plentiful and delicious (I had the pork tenderloin sandwich and savored every bite!)

While we ate, we revised our plans (once again). Tramping around in the rain at Ha Ha Tonka State Park didn't have quite the allure it might have, so we opted instead to find Bridal Cave and Thunder Mountain resort (?) which was only a few miles away. Privately owned, it's everything you'd probably expect from a family-owned-and-operated tourist site (trap?) but we decided to go ahead and check out the cave there. It is a "living" (though with what all they allow there - touching, food wrappers, garbage, etc. I'd be surprised if any additional formations are still occurring) cave and the path leads about 1/4 mile back into the cave. As near as I can tell most of Missouri is on top of caves (so I'd be pretty careful about putting in any underground utilities here!) Jax seemed to enjoy his first spelunking experience (okay so he slept through it entirely!)

After the cave, it was Jax's turn for attention so while Jenny fed and changed him, the guys tried their hand at sluice mining. For only $8.99 they bought a bag of "paydirt" and mined it in the sluice mill there. The result bag of "gems" will be used as a downpayment on Jax's college education (though I'm not sure how far he can go on this bag of quartz and pyrite - unless he's going to be a geologist!)

Because the weather had finally cleared up for the afternoon, we then headed to Ha Ha Tonka State Park to check out the castle ruins there. Although I checked out the various signs and literature, I never could figure out 1) why anyone would build a big, ol' stone castle here (a mansion, sure - the views were spectacular, but a stone castle?) and 2) how the heck stone burns? (the entire place - castle, carriage house, water tower...all stone structures...completely burned down in Oct. 1942).

Finally it was time to head off to "Caveman BBQ" - a place I read about while at the WorldMark resort. I'm always up for unique and adventurous meals and this sounded perfect: a BBQ restaurant INSIDE a cave! How cool does that sound? There weren't really any good directions to the place (one reviewer said you just had to call them when you got in the vicinity and have them "talk" you in) but Capt. T programmed it into TomTom and away we went. (Now I should tell you that our TomTom averages better than 75% at finding places we already know where they are but I haven't been particularly successful at getting anywhere else I want to be.) Travis however has the magic touch and it wasn't too long before we arrived at our destination.

Timing is afterall everything and we arrived to be pretty much at the head of the line for the shuttle up to the cave entrance. The vans had their side mirrors pushed in - with good reason. The route to the entrance was extremely narrow, bordered on one side by mountain and the other side by cliff or the occasional tree. At the top, the shuttle stopped and we got into an elevator for the ride to the restaurant. I sort of thought the elevator would go down into the cave, however, we went up a couple of stories and it opened into the "waiting area" for the restaurant. We were seated in the back of a very large cave (the restaurant was a bit confusing - diner tables and chairs and the occasional booth with red carpet, a guy playing the piano and, Jax's favorite part, a waterfall). The waterfall was totally mesmerizing for Jax and he couldn't be bothered with eating, etc. while watching and listening to it.

Although originally this was the Caveman BBQ, it had changed ownership six months ago and is now "The Cave Restaurant" featuring a seafood/Italian menu, which was a little disappointing but still delicious (especially the blackberry cobbler dessert!). Then it was time to head back down to the shuttle and back to our car.

Now if you find this place on a map, it really doesn't look like it's too terribly far from I-44, the highway back to Jenny & Travis' place and we were all set to do a little backtracking to make that happen. But Capt. T plugged in the info to TomTom and figured out that we were only 20 minutes away from home if we didn't back track. Skeptically, we agreed to follow his directions and started off in the dark down a little dirt road that kept getting smaller and smaller (I've seen larger hunting trails!). Just about the time we were absolutely convinced we were lost, there appeared the first of several smaller highways ultimately leading us to where we wanted to go...and if we hadn't wanted to check in first at our hotel, we would have arrived exactly as TomTom predicted at 8:45 pm! Score: Travis & TomTom 2, us 0!

later, tw

Lake of the Ozarks-Part I (Friday)

2009-09-07T04:14:00.000-07:00

After breakfast on Friday morning we decided to hit the links for a small round of golf...or rather a round of "small" golf at Pirate Cove. The day was already overcast so naturally we had the place to ourselves (good thing we are from the northwest and not afraid of getting a little wet!) Travis started out showing us how it was done and that he could do it equally well right or left-handed! It wasn't long before he got the first (of two!) hole in one!

Jenny did much better than she thought she would - especially when she didn't bother to aim at all and she also scored a hole in one! Gerry and I were basically just along for the walk...or swim since by the time we'd hit the 8th or 9th hole it had pretty much started to POUR. We debated about giving it up for the day but then discovered that a couple of the holes actually were underneath the back side of the waterfall and so we took our time on those holes waiting for at least some of the rain to let up.

By the time the rain started up again we were already on the 14th and figured we'd just tough it out - but brother were we soaked! We all agreed that the little guy did great for his attempt at being caddy but it was time to head back to our "little" condo, have some lunch and hopefully get dried off.

The remainder of the day was spent playing games and doing a little laundry (well - most of it was wet anyway so it just seemed the logical thing to do). Dinner was at J.B. Hook's (please don't ever confuse it with Hooker's on the opposite end of town!) Unfortunately we made a wrong turn on the way that resulted in about a one-hour delay and Jax had pretty much had it by the time we arrived but eventually he forgave us and calmed down for the meal. Our view would have been of a spectacular sunset if only the clouds hadn't gotten in the way but the food definitely made up for it.

later, tw

Baby Jax

2009-09-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Missouri was only a little eventful - apparently they don't always "top off" the tank before leaving Seattle (Gerry thought maybe they didn't want to fill up at the neighborhood station and were hoping to fill up at the cheaper "Costco-like" station in Denver). As we approached the Denver airport our pilot explained that while Denver had been foggy with limited visibility it had already cleared and they were trying to get all the stacked planes down so we might have to circle a couple of times before we could land but it shouldn't take too long. Then we arrived somewhere above the airport, circled maybe once and then the pilot came on saying that well folks we'd give it another 5 minutes and then we would have to head off to another airport to take on some fuel. FIVE MINUTES??? That's all the spare fuel we had??? Fortunately the ploy worked on the tower folk as well (well Gerry's pretty sure that's the tactic the pilot used) and we were down on the ground in less than 5 minutes!

But of course the highlight of visit has been seeing (Jenny, Travis and) JAX! He is such a mellow not-so-little guy (12 lbs. as of yesterday) and just mastering "the smile." We seem to spend a lot of our time (and all of his awake time) trying to coax a smile. When we are successful it is really worth the effort!

Today and tomorrow we are staying at World Mark's Lake of the Ozarks resort. Since this is the Labor Day Weekend holiday we were only able to get a room for two nights (Thursday and Friday) and we had to "settle" for the 4-bedroom penthouse suite. OH MAN!! We have a beautiful lakeview 2-story suite. There are 2 large bedrooms (each with a king-size bed), a dining room, living room, 1 smaller bedroom with 2 twin beds, and kitchen...upstairs. Then downstairs there is an enormous living room with a large screen tv that Gerry thinks is actually bigger than ours at home, another bedroom with a king-size bed and a large "game" table. Both levels have a deck - the upstairs one has our own private jacuzzi! Definitely pretty deluxe accomodations...and each of the adults can have their own bedroom! :)

Today we are going to hit the links for a little putt-putt golf and then if it warms up (or maybe not - those guys will most likely not care if the water is a bit chilly) Gerry & Travis will head to the lake to go jetskiing and Jenny & I will take the little guy to the outlet stores and try to get our holiday shopping started.

later, tw

Somebody Call the SPCA!

2009-08-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

No, I guess that's not gonna work...

"An executive for an anti-animal cruelty group says her 16-year-old blind and deaf dog died after she accidentally left him in her hot car for four hours." (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32569213/ns/us_news-life/)

Good thing she didn't work for CPS!

later, tw

Congratulations!

2009-08-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

To my niece (Tessa) and her boyfriend (Sean) who got engaged over the weekend!!!! We couldn't be happier for them! Rumor has it that they are considering a "spring" wedding next year - anything after April 14th works for me (and usually means a better chance of no snow in Spokane!)

I'm Back!

2009-08-18T07:15:00.001-07:00

Where did the summer go?

I had every good intention of continuing my posts and finishing up my tales of our recent (well I guess not-so-recent any more!) adventures on the Panama Cruise but as I often tell my kids..."life is what happens when you're busy making other plans!"

Not that I was just slacking off this summer. I spent six fabulous weeks with my sister (Dona) who came down from Alaska to spend some time with me. We had visions of completing many "UFOs" (UnFinished Objects) of the quilting persuasion and I will admit had the new long-arm quilting machine not malfunctioned we would have made serious in-roads on that commitment. As it was, we got many, MANY projects all bundled up with ONLY the actual quilting remaining. Now that the long-arm is back in action, I hope to do more than merely start that process today (in the ultimate hope of regaining some of the "real estate" it now claims in my upstairs!)

And we've had other visitors as well (my other sister (Margo) joined the sewing frenzy for the 4th of July weekend) and we've enjoyed the most amazing summer weather. The Seattle area is not known for it's long dry hot spells (I'm surprised my ice tea maker continues to function after all the use/abuse it's had in the past 3 months!)

One of the highlights of our summer has been spending time with our grandson (Mattias or "Tias" as he sometimes calls himself) who came from Sweden for a 3 week visit with his parents. Though he's only almost two (9/5), he is quite the "chatty" little man - conversing equally well (well as far as I can tell?) in both English and Swedish (and now he's apparently trying to teach himself Spanish too!) He's back in Stockholm now and I'm already looking forward to Christmastime when they will come for another visit!

The other main event this summer was the arrival of our newest grandson (Jackson or "Jax" as he is called). Weighing in (at birth) at 8 lb. 9 oz., I guess we never really could call him the "little" man but he's awfully adorable and Gerry & I are headed down to Missouri to check him out in just a few weeks.

Though I've taken a bit of a break from my studies to become a travel agent (if nothing else I will have accumulated a lot more "trivia" information!) but I'm gradually reconnecting with that as well (maybe it's the "back-to-school" sales that remind me of classes I should be tending to?)

All in all, it's been a whirlwind of fun and activities around here. I am determined to complete my postings about Panama and our summer vacation and visitors and grandsons and more. But for now, I leave you with this:

The Michigan Humane Society released this poster for "Catfax," which allows would-be owners to get the history of their new cat before they adopt. The cats even come with "a free "multipoint inspection" including spay/neuter surgery, vaccinations, behavioral evaluation and grooming.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32450862/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/

(hopefully not too much) later, tw

Congratulations!

2009-06-06T06:25:00.000-07:00

As the school year comes to a close across the country, it's time to honor those who have reached milestones and achieved goals and so I congratulate:

Those students who achieved perfect attendance from kindergarten through 12th grade. No sick days, no vacation days, no missing in action due to a band trip. Nope. They were there each and every day: Cory Shank of South Hagerstown High, Travis China of West Orange High, and Stefanie Zaner of Northwest High. No doubt there were others - a few others - and congratulations to each of them and their families.
The families of the seniors at Centerburg High in Columbus, Ohio (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31131902/). Your children were caught cheating on tests in a scheme so elaborate and pervasive that it was impossible for the school district to determine which students actually cheated or which just knew about the cheating and didn't report it. But it does appear that all 60 seniors at least knew about it and so district officials cancelled graduation ceremonies for the entire group. Rather than putting together your own ceremony to "honor" and recognize the "achievements" of these kids, you should let them slink off this fall to another venue where they can attempt more of the same. Be glad the district is still mailing your son or daughter their diploma. It is more than I would have done.
Finally, and best of all, congratulations to my niece (Marah) who will graduate on Tuesday! It hardly seems possible that she could be old enough to be headed off to college this fall (that time certainly went quickly!). Best of luck to her and all the other graduates!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-06-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

Today is mom's 84th birthday. Rather unremarkable I suppose except, that is, this will be the 5th time I mark this day on my calendar without sending a card, picking up the phone to call or making plans to treat mom to dinner on her special day.

I have a card. I'm always on the look out for a perfect birthday card which I carefully tuck in my "card drawer." I bought this one months before her 79th birthday. Unfortunately I didn't get to share that one with her and now it remains in my drawer since I can't quite part with it either.

Mom's passing meant that I and my sisters were officially "orphans." Now being orphaned at 46 doesn't seem like anything out of the course of nature and certainly I'm a very lucky gal. I have two amazing sisters who are not only my sisters but some of my best friends. I am blessed (most of the time) with an extended family, aunts especially, who occasionally check in on "us girls".

Mom was Irish. Being Irish is living life loudly - we've laughed till we cried, verbally sparred ourselves hoarse, told and retold many a family tale. I wouldn't have it any other way and I miss being able to share it with mom.

For the second anniversary of mom's passing, my sisters and oldest niece and I celebrated her life by combining most all the things she loved to do best (traveling, quilting, being with family, sharing stories and laughs) into one grand adventure by going on a quilting cruise to Alaska. I truly felt her presence. I know she would have loved it!

As a promotion for the event, one of the sponsors was having an essay contest to write about the creative woman who inspired us to become a quilter. The prize was a free cruise for two on this quilting cruise and since we're always looking for a deal, it wasn't surprising that both my sister and I entered the contest by writing about mom. I shared my entry with Dona then (had to make sure we were keeping our stories straight!) and in honor of her birthday, I share with you today this excerpt from mine:

“Mom used the sewing bench to teach me most of life’s lessons: keep busy; learn new things; whatever you do in life, take your time to do it really well; fix mistakes right away so they don’t become huge or irreparable; take care of each other.”

Mom continued to be my greatest cheerleader and occasional seam-ripper until she passed away in September 2003. During that time she imparted life lessons all the while trying to get me to sew an accurate 1/4" seam. I hope she knew I "got it" - both the sewing skills and the life lessons. I've tried to share her words of wisdom ala Forrest Gump with each of my children ("it takes three times as long to do it the wrong way as to do it the right way in the first place, so try to get it right the first time!").

Thanks mom - for the lessons, for the laughs, for passing on your fabric obsession to me and my sisters (okay that last one was really from each of our husbands and I'm not entirely certain that line wasn't delivered with a healthy dollop of sarcasm!)

Happy Birthday, Mom.

Love, Terri

Mother of the Year?

2009-06-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

I don't generally like to engage in enumerating the parenting "flaws" that I might perceive in others. I feel it just opens myself up to similar pointing of fingers, etc.

But clearly there are some (of late in the press) who perhaps should have had maybe a bit more "chlorine in their gene pool". I'm not talking about the "mothers of multiples" and their lives and the lives of their (rather large) broods who seem to be monopolizing the media right now. They are mere "runners-up" in the current Mother of the Year balloting.

No, today's winner goes to Cynthia Roberson of Phoenix, Arizona. This enterprising mother saw a rather creative way to create an income stream to replace the one her family enjoyed while she was employed. She organized her two sons (ages 12 & 14) plus their friends (ages 14-16) and 3 other young men (18-20) into a gang of armed robbers. (She herself drove the getaway car.) [Mom Guilts Kids Into Armed Robbery http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31057070/]

Now the youngest is in protective custody and all of the others, including mom, are facing criminal charges. Desperate people taking desperate measures.

tw

And Then There Were None...

2009-05-31T14:23:00.001-07:00

She was only two months old at the time and so has absolutely no memory of the event, but Millvina Dean was the last of her kind. Passing away on Sunday, May 31st, she was the last remaining survivor of the Titanic. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31030935/

Say It Ain't So...

2009-05-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

After 65 years and nearly 600 issues, Archie is finally all grown up. He not only graduated from Riverdale High School, he's now a college graduate! And employed! And finally ready to propose...

...to Veronica Lodge!!! (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30983247/)

Having spent some years watching the trials and tribulations of this gang of friends, I always understood that Archie pined away for the self-absorbed Veronica, knowing (as no doubt did Betty and everyone else in the comic) that ultimately he would wind up with the more thoughtful and genuine Betty (who had in her favor that she adored Archie - faults and all).

Poor long-suffering (really, ridiculously long-suffering) Betty. I suppose things might work out for her - she might actually wind up with Reggie now (but more likely she'll be Archie & Ronnie's maid).

But Can It Fly?

2009-05-28T05:12:00.000-07:00

In China, a cat has grown wings! (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30967440/)

It's awfully cute (unless it leaves fur AND feathers everywhere!)

It May Not Be Hazardous to Your Health...

2009-05-26T09:23:00.001-07:00

but it apparently does cause stupidity!

This just in from Lincoln, Nebraska: Police are looking for the "Bud Light Bandit". A man, disguised as a Bud Light box, made off with 9 packs of smokes from a Kwik Shop convenience store (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30940916/).

I can't wait to find out how he weaves those 9 empty cigarette packages into a mask so he can go back and steal the beer!

tw

Because I know you want to plan your Fall!

2009-05-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

The networks are starting to announce their 2009/10 lineups.

NBC (as in NoBody Cares) – There really isn’t much here and certainly NOTHING that will move this network from their currently 4th place standing (in fact, I’m thinking that HBO, Showtime and even The Food Network all stand a good chance of taking over that ranking!). No “Chuck” until March and “L&O” which is in the 8 pm Friday night time slot and now tying “Gunsmoke” for longest running prime time drama (and these are I think the only two shows I might watch on this network).
http://www.nbc.com/news/2009/05/19/nbc-announces-2009-2010-primetime-schedule-bolstered-by-more-original-programming-than-ever-before/

Fox – with “Lie to Me” (though only on until January) and “Bones” both returning this might actually turn out to be our 2nd place network (1st place if you don’t count any of the forensic shows on CBS and you add in the shows like "Fringe" that we probably should be watching!)
http://www.fox.com/programming/
http://www.fox.com/programming/fox10.php

CBS – pretty much stayed with the tried & true format (all “CSI” all the time) and picked up “Medium” from NBC (I think that’s going to turn out to be another mistake like “Scrubs” – not that I watched either of those shows but I think NBC is just giving up on network programming) and I don’t see “The Unit” so I’m thinking that one had totally run its course (and with the story lines we had seen of late I concur). There is a new medical drama on Sunday nights ("Three Rivers" – a transplant scenario that sounds suspiciously like “Heartbeat” with Treat Williams) that looks like it is starring the Aussie from last season’s “Moonlight” – definitely one to watch!
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/fall_preview_2009/schedule.php

ABC – has probably the most new shows coming on board this fall (which I think will most likely earn them the title of “most new mid-season replacement shows") – "Cougar Town" (older woman looking for younger man)? "Shark Tank" (a reality show - well if the Sharks really ate the contestants it might be worth watching)? "Eastwick"? Most of these sound less promising than “Joey”. Oh well, at least they’re bringing back “Castle”! http://a.abc.com/media/fallpreview09/pdf/fallschedule.pdf

Hmm...I think I see a lot more reading/sewing happening in my life!

tw

Home Again...

2009-05-13T06:27:00.000-07:00

We arrived home safe and sound on Monday afternoon. The house was in pretty good shape (despite Chris "bach-ing' it for nearly 3 weeks). Of course either the yard will need to be baled or we will need to get a horse (probably a cow and some other animals as well to graze).

So the "Travel" part is over (for a while - yesterday my fortune cookie said I should be preparing for vacation and who am I to argue?) but the "Musings" part will go on (as soon as I figure out how to find my desk under all the bills, junk mail, magazines, packages). We have quite a few more stories to share...

tw

Star Date: 0509.2009

2009-05-09T23:11:00.000-07:00

And we gone where no Weiler has gone before (well not that we know of anyway...) - but more on that later!

First of all, a big shout out to our little buddy James. I suppose someone somewhere knew this day would really come but since we consider you "one of our collective 6" it's nice to know that the baby has actually factually graduated from Gonzaga (we still want to see the actual degree in writing - not that we don't trust you but you know...we don't).

Second - a big shout out to all the mums since by the time you read this it will be Mother's Day (if anyone reading this will be contacting Gerry's mother today please let her know we are thinking of her and will call as soon as we get home!) An especially Happy Mother's Day to Sarah and to "mum-to-be" Jenny! (As we've been chumming around with an awful lot of Brits and those "colonists" - Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders - it's likely that we will require a bit of deprogramming upon our return from holiday!)

There will be much, much more later (I'm desperately trying to savor every last moment aboard the ship before we hit reality on Monday) but today was an incredible day! I think I mentioned that our tour of the bridge had been cancelled last week due to "fog" (actually we've since learned that it was because the ship was at Red Level - just like Homeland Security's color coding - because of the norovirus outbreak). We asked if we could be put on the list for this short cruise's tour (because surely others would be touring the bridge as well).

Imagine our surprise when we got a PRIVATE TOUR OF THE BRIDGE! Just us, the watch commander, the guy actually driving the boat, the two sailors ("watchers" they are called) and (for our benefit only...he's not usually on the bridge but only when there are "strangers" on the deck) the armed security guy. We had as long as we wanted to chat and look around and ask questions. It was incredible!!! They even put captain hats on us and took our picture - that's Gerry steering the boat (not really though because the darn thing runs almost always on auto-pilot and is operated by a two inch joystick!)

More later....

tw

Day 15: The City of Angeles (or Back Home in the USA)

2009-05-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

We arrived in San Pedro (the port of Los Angeles) very early this morning (before 5 am I think) and preparations were begun immediately for EVERYONE to disembark the ship to clear customs and immigration. I thought this a particular silly process - everyone parading off the ship thru the terminal building and then back onto the ship and figured it would be best for us to “clear out of Dodge” for as much of that process as possible by going on an LA Highlights excursion. Turns out I probably didn’t need to…

We were separated into two groups and all US citizens not disembarking permanently in LA were told to report to the lounge in the back of the ship by 7 am. Our new non-US friends were given basically the same instruction though they were to report to the theatre in the front of the ship. The lounge in the middle of the ship was reserved for those permanently disembarking under the relatively new (what I call) “Carry Your Own Crap” program (if you don’t want to wait for your luggage to appear in the terminal (which can take an hour or two) you can drag all your belongings with you and go ashore at your scheduled time and then head out to your next destination. Sounds like a reasonable plan - doesn’t always work that way.

In any event, right at 7 am our group was instructed to head to the gangway near us and we were guided across the bridge and directly to customs & immigration. It was speedy, it was efficient and everyone of the people directing us (including the custom official!) smiled and said “Welcome Home!” Seriously, even Gerry said it was the fastest and most cordial custom process we’ve ever encountered and we were all loaded on our bus and leaving the port by 7:30 am for our day in Los Angeles. (The Canadians were on their own bus - I think Princess was providing a Canadian interpreter for this tour!)

Once we got out of the port (and into early morning rush hour traffic) we headed for downtown LA. Our first stop was the Los Angeles Coliseum - home (at one time or another) to the Angels, the Dodgers, the Raiders, the Rams, the 1932 & 1984 Summer Olympics (the only venue to host two different Olympics). Adjacent to the Coliseum is the LA Memorial Arena where the USC basketball team, the Clippers and the Lakers have at one time played as well as the site of the 1960 Democratic Convention. It houses a large statue to John Kennedy there but the building is scheduled now for eventual demolition since USC has built another beautiful facility just a block or two away and the professional teams have moved a bit further down the street to the Staples Center (along with a hockey team - you can see a hockey game in the afternoon and a basketball game at night on some days). It is right next door to the LA Convention Center which hosted the 2000 Democratic Convention.

These new buildings are part of the LA Live district. As the downtown city of LA reinvents itself and becomes the new upscale, trendy part of town in which to live, work and play many new (fabulous) venues have been created - the new Disney Concert Hall is an amazing work of art in and of itself and I would like to come back to hear something presented there since the acoustics of this facility are touted to be the absolute best in the world. It is directly across the street from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (home to the LA Opera under the leadership of some guy named Placido Domingo) once home to the Oscars.

Hooray for Hollywood! We head from downtown to LA to the famous intersection at Hollywood & Vine and view some of the walk of fame. Though many store fronts appear to be closed our guide tells us these really aren’t stores but rather clubs and the entire scene will come alive at night. We stop at the Kodak Theatre (the home to the Oscars for the next 25 years - they’ve adorned the columns in the large entryway to this building with spots to list the Academy’s “Best Picture” winner and have optimistically reserved spaces through 2072!)

Walking along the street Gerry & I recognize the names of celebrities we grew up with: Morey Amsterdam, Danny Kaye, Spencer Tracy. Names that people of our kids’ generation don’t have a clue about (except for our kids. We’ve done what I feel is a great job introducing them to the classics - Bing Crosby, June Allyson, Jimmy Stewart and they are the only ones among their peers who know all the words to the complete works of Barry Manilow and the Carpenters. As you might well imagine they have not been able to express their appreciation for the depth of arcane knowledge we have imbued them with but they will no doubt appreciate our efforts when they play trivia on cruise ships!) We found Winnie the Pooh’s star (and Donald Duck’s - apparently the stars are not just for human celebrities) and Gerry spotted Paris Hilton’s star as well (this star and celebrity left intentionally blank!).

After everyone’s snapped a few photos of Batman and Marilyn Monroe (the faux celebrities wandering about Graumann’s Chinese Theatre it’s off to find lunch and treasures at the Farmer’s Market. It’s an amazing place with a lot of history (something like 75 years here) and was originally just a bunch of local farmers who set up shop from the back of their trucks selling produce they just finished picking a few hours before. Now anchored by Nordstroms and World Market it’s definitely a bit trendier but the original section of the market (with those first bit of buildings) remains pretty much in tact. Lunch for us was similar to Panda Express back home but far more authentic (and amazingly cheaper). We wander the various stalls and vendors and discover a “hot sauce” store - Gerry says he has never before seen so many different varieties of hot sauce all in one place. They don’t sell too many of the 1-4 types (wuzz) but 10+ (basically hell in a bottle) are abundant. You’re going to want to ask what type of sauce Gerry has used BEFORE trying anything at his next few BBQs!

Our process for returning to the ship has again been streamlined and we are dropped at the terminal door by the bus and proceed directly to the ship where staff on board are quick to recognize the returning travelers all while welcoming the new arrivals. After two weeks of practice we are easily able to opt for 7 flights of stairs leaving the elevators to newbies (since it appears that all of the new passengers are of the family type and we have many, MANY children on board for this leg of the cruise).

Dinner became quite the process - the rookies don’t understand the concept of sharing a table and so the line snakes around most of the atrium as they wait for their own table. Of course we didn’t realize this until we had a couple of rounds of drinks in the bar waiting for the line to shorten (he-who-must-not-be-named will not wait in line). We finally get to go in and our table of 8 has two couples that have just joined the ship in LA - one is a very young couple from Vancouver and this is her first time cruising. She told the waiter she couldn’t decide on dinner and he brought her two entrees - I told her it’s a short cruise but she might want to pace herself!

We set sail for Canada and ultimately home. As we make the turn northward once past the islands off shore, the waves turn choppy. Fun ride!

tw

Day 14: Oh My Aching Neck!

2009-05-07T15:05:00.001-07:00

“Weiler” must be German for “Clampett” or we are clearly NOT those kind of people who are accustomed to royal treatment…but we try.

Yesterday was our last day with all our newfound friends (who are so good at trivia) and so we played in the morning and in the afternoon - both times “bridesmaids” never the “bride.” But it was fun and we’ve already met some people who are continuing on to Canada so we’ll see…
In the afternoon though Gerry & I thought we would give the Spa yet another try. In our “anniversary package” was included a ½ hr. couples massage. We made arrangements to have a neck, shoulders and back massage (something Gerry has done, but I have never tried…now I know why!)

After some initial confusion (they thought I had schedule Gerry’s couple massage on Tuesday and mine on Wednesday?), we were led off to the “treatment room” (and right there it doesn’t sound good) by two tiny women from the Philippines (I was thinking maybe they were going to walk on our backs?). They had us disrobe (I’m not really understanding why you have to completely disrobe for a neck and shoulders massage but I comply) and lie down on our side-by-side tables, putting our faces in the small slit that apparently is so you can breathe and is (no joke) carefully wrapped in toilet paper (oh that norovirus fun!). This has the added benefit (for them) that you can see absolutely nothing!

My technician starts by applying hot (and I mean really hot - they should use these microwaves up at the Grill to keep the hotdogs warm instead) oil and then the fun REALLY begins! I didn’t really think ANYBODY had hands and/or fingers stronger than Gerry but here she is starting the torture process (I think the fact that their names were Helga and Brunehilda should have been a tip off!) I was about to tell her that the knot she was trying to work out was in fact my shoulder blade but I thought maybe she really does know what she is doing.

After 25 minutes of this, she mercifully stopped, but something rather chilly on over the oil (I can’t believe I didn’t slip right off the table) and said we should rest for 10 minutes before attempting to re-dress. At that point the two technicians returned and the “sale” process began - wouldn’t we like to purchase some of this lavender-scented oil and “finishing crème” for use at home? (Curiously when you are using it at home yourself, you are to use only 3 DROPS of the oil…rather than the entire bottle!) Gerry said he didn’t think so but he was brave enough to ask how much does it cost (of course, the entire relaxation benefit of the massage was lost when he found out it is $50 each for the stuff!)

I do like being spoiled (it’s going to take a couple of times to realize that nobody is going to put my napkin in my lap for me and I will miss the chocolates on my pillow after turn down each night) but I think we’re not going to have as difficult a time returning to reality as some of our fellow passengers. (In the meantime my neck is still trying to recover!!)

tw

Happy Birthday (Times 50!)

2009-05-07T05:54:00.000-07:00

A really big shout out (and welcome to the 50+ club!) to Gerry's brother, Pete!!!!!

We will definitely celebrate (if you're still awake!) when we get back!

tw

Day 13: (Yet) Another Day at Sea

2009-05-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

The day had promise. As part of our “anniversary package” (yeah, I know…we celebrate our anniversary every time we cruise!), we were invited by Captain Bilson to tour the bridge and our appointment was for 10 am. We took our walk (okay, more like a stroll) on the bridge (I’m up to almost 2 miles now!) first and then came back to “prepare” (Gerry wanted to make sure he was wearing his best Princess Cruise polo for the event). Only minutes before we were to head to Deck 12, we received a phone call (our phone never rings unless it’s for an unnecessary wake up call) that due to current weather conditions the Captain was needed to actually, you know, steer the boat and unfortunately would have to cancel today’s tour. They were so sorry but hopefully they would be able to reschedule and they would let us know if that became a possibility.
Well I’m all for having the ship steered correctly - especially since it was very foggy, without much, if any visibility. But I’m thinking this was more like an excuse to keep possible ebola germs from invading the bridge. Hmpf!

So instead we went back to meet up with our friends for trivia - not much luck to be had there (they wouldn’t give me credit when I said that Zhivago’s first name was Doctor). Instead of lunch, we opted for “high tea” (Gerry had never been and thought it was wonderful…I’m going to try to talk him into it again!) While everyone else was having the Captain’s Gala Farewell Dinner (about half are disembarking in LA and not coming back aboard…we ALL have to disembark for customs - what a country!), we opted instead for dinner at Sabatini’s. It was pretty funny - Gerry kept trying to pronounce the Italian names for things he ordered but our waiter kept correcting him with the English version (Gerry’s Italian ain’t that good but our waiter only spoke Spanish so it didn’t seem to matter anyway!)

After we were thoroughly sated, we tried to hook up with our “evening trivia friends” only to find that they had replaced us with another couple. No worries - the game last night was they would play about 6 notes of a 50’s song and you had to guess the song AND the artist. The first one turned out to be Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” which neither one of us would have gotten so we knew this wasn’t our game. We went looking for something else to do - a comic or Willie Tyler - but nothing much seemed to be happening there. We went to our favorite bar (Crooner’s Martini Bar) where the piano guy was just starting up with TV & Movie Trivia. SCORE! Since we didn’t know if we were really going to stay we decided to just be a team of 2 (me guessing and Gerry saying “yeah, that looks right!”) The guy forgot to tell us the rules BEFORE we switched answer sheets otherwise I would have had 14 of 15 correct but since I didn’t know you could name either the show/movie title, the song title OR the composer, I missed the one with “Flight of the Bumblebee” (recognized the song but didn’t know it was the theme for The Green Hornet). As it turned out it didn’t matter, because I got the “face off” with the other two teams that had the most (recognized Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head from Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid with only two notes!) By the time I got all the way to the back of the room with my prize (another bottle of champagne), we had been joined by 3 guys (members of the “Friends of Dorothy” group who had been meeting here on the ship). Apparently one of the guys had recognized us from our stroll around the Deck because he remembered he thought it was so cute (or was it adorable/) since we were holding hands on our walk.

Now I had seen the daily meeting listed for the “Friends of Bill W” in our Princess Patter and knew what that was. This time, however, I also saw a “Friends of Dorothy” meeting listed and had been wondering for nearly two weeks what was that one was for. It wasn’t until I got back to the room last night that I put it all together! I’m still laughing at how long it took me to figure that out!!!

tw

Day 12: The Ebola Boat Revisited

2009-05-05T07:49:00.000-07:00

First off, let me say “Happy Cinco de Mayo!” (we will have a belated celebration when we return next week).

During lunch today Captain “Speaking” announced to the entire ship that he was sorry to interrupt but that the ship’s doctor was reporting an increased number of “gastro-” something or other (or as he called then called it “a tummy bug”) - nothing alarming at this point but there would be heightened precautions taken.

Basically he was taking the ship to “Barf-con 3.” This involves greater alcohol consumption (at the entrance to each restaurant not only are there wall mounted hand-sanitizers but now there are numerous crew members armed with dispensing bottles of “goo.”) Everyone entering one of the restaurants look like they have just scrubbed for surgery. (“Barf-con 2 would result in face masks being issued!) At the buffet, people are no longer able to serve ANYTHING themselves (including beverages) - and as a caterer who’s watched many, many children & adults go thru a buffet line, frankly I don’t have a problem with this at all (unless I’m assured that I am the first thru the line!)

Having experienced this before, I’ve taken it another step (about “Barf-con 2.5”) - of course we are avoiding handrails everywhere and I tried punching the elevator buttons with my elbow (Gerry rolls his eyes and I think I’ve bruised both my elbows now so I may have to reconsider that step). We also are restricting ourselves to just using our cabin’s bathroom facilities (which have the added benefit of increasing the amount of walking we’re doing since our cabin is never in the vicinity of anything we want to do so we’re getting some additional exercise with this).
At dinner last night changes were also evident in the main dining rooms - no more basket of rolls on the table, nor butter, salt or pepper either. (Okay…another “benefit” here since the fresh baked bread and rolls on the ship are some of the best food I’m now limited to only what they will serve me on the first round - no more sneaking an additional roll while waiting for my soup!) And any bar service no longer includes garnish (not too bad for me - I like the thought but don’t really know what to do with it in my drink - but those ordering vodka or gin martinis were very disappointed that there were no longer olives or onions in their drinks).

Those who suffered with me on the first Ebola/Disney boat will remember (fondly, no doubt) these steps and realize with me that we are no where near “Barf-con 1” - additional steps that could be taken and I figure we’re good until I see all the crew members donning gloves (either plastic or dress white depending on their position) or quarantining us completely to our cabins (good thing I brought plenty of books). It will be interesting when we arrive in LA (remember how quickly we made it through customs/immigration when we returned to Florida - gloved/masked individuals practically standing in a separate room pointing us to a box where we could just drop off our forms, no questions asked (personally I think they incinerated the batch without ever looking at them!!!)

Terri’s Travel Tip: Okay people, let’s review here…ICE is made from WHAT? When going ashore in a country where you’ve been advised NOT to drink the water, it would be in your best interests to avoid drinks (even alcoholic ones) containing ICE, which I can pretty much guarantee you is made from local WATER. Apparently some people on this ship were unable to draw a line from A to B to make that connection (or they figured the alcohol in the drink would take care of the situation…it won’t). (In the interest of fair disclosure, I must admit that I learned this lesson the hard way myself…at least I’m not into repeating it though!)

tw

Happy Birthday!

2009-05-04T17:35:00.001-07:00

A happy birthday shout out to Dionne - a cosmopolitan will be consumed in your honor this evening at the Crooner's Bar!

tw

Day 11: Out to Sea

2009-05-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

After three days of long excursions ashore, it was nice to enjoy a relaxing day at sea. Though we remain just off the coast of Mexico (cruising towards LA) there is apparently no truth to the rumor that those on the starboard side of this ship are required to wear facemasks (yet!).

Our morning started off to a great start (lots of Disney questions this time) and so our little group enjoyed our first victory at morning trivia and the balance of the day was spent in slow motion so instead let me share a “cruising” story we heard at lunch.

Apparently when Princess Cruise Line was in its infancy (mid-sixties, a few years before The Love Boat made them famous), they didn’t have Laundromats on board or really any facilities for passengers to get their laundry done. This was a particular hardship for those on cruises of more than 7 days and so the ship arranged that when they were in port, passengers could bag up their laundry in the bag provided in their stateroom (with their name and cabin number on it). The stewards would gather up the bags and they would be taken to a laundry ashore and returned to the passengers later that day.

It seems that not ALL of this was communicated to the laundry facility and though many, many bags arrived ashore, only one large bag was returned to the ship. The crew was a bit dismayed but figured what else could they do now? So they spread out all the laundry on the dining room tables and had passengers come and claim their belongings.

I’m thinking I’m pretty typical cruiser here - there are some things in my laundry bag that I would call “serviceable” but there’s no way in hell I’m going to the dining room to sift through undergarments - trying to reclaim those! I can only imagine the announcement (“This is Captain Speaking…could all passengers please come and claim their clothing as we need to set the dining room for 1st seating tonight?”)

I’m so glad others have gone before me and worked out the kinks in that system!

tw

Day 10: Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

2009-05-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

We arrive in port on another beautiful day. Not as humid here so the weather is definitely changing as we head north. Our bus ride takes about 1 ½ hours to reach the colonial city of Antigua. It is 4000-5000 ft. above sea level (depending on which tour guide you get apparently…unless somehow it is a floating city?) and the guide promises that it will be much, much cooler at that elevation. (Okay he was freezing when we got there but it was only at most 10 degrees less than what we’d been experiencing every day since leaving Florida so only a small relief to us!)

Guatemala appears at first glance to be quite a bit more prosperous than other countries of Central America we’ve visited. There is a paved 4-lane highway leading from the pier, an on-ramp and a flyover bridge - the first that we’ve really seen evidence of here. Our guide explains that this is a private highway but it will take us all the way from the port to Antigua. We pass a small cemetery. Once again, as in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, we see that they do not bury their dead in the ground (the water table is usually too high to allow this) but rather in crypts above the ground (they will stack them 3-4 high). Often during the process they will actually place the body in a coffin and allow decomposition to take place. Once only the bones remain they are placed in smaller (more easily stacked) boxes.

Our first stop after we pass many coffee bean plants (and shade trees? Is this is what is meant by “shade grown” coffee?) along the road is naturally the Coffee Museum and the Museum of Mayan Culture. We learn the process by which coffee could be made but frankly, our guide tells us, the local people drink an instant coffee (made from the beans that float to the surface during the first rinsing process - basically the beans that are too bitter for coffee). In order to export the beans, they must be whole, unprocessed beans. Though they are originally collected in large bags (Gerry estimated 100 lb. bags of coffee beans) that contain some sort of poly-fibers to protect the beans from spoilage, insects, etc., the coffee can only be shipped in cotton bags and so they will be repackaged before shipping.

At the conclusion of the tour, we are offered samples of coffee but the effort and fascination is totally lost on both Gerry and me so we wander around in the beautiful courtyard instead while others finish their sample and look for anything that they could buy in the meantime.

Then it is across the courtyard we go to learn about Mayan culture and music. Our guide (Alfredo) shows us the pre-Colombian artwork and the music of the various regions of Guatemala. He explains that only the the “spinners” (those who climb up and dangle from a rope as they spin back to the ground) are the only ones allowed to wear sneakers with their native costume, however we saw photos of other groups doing it as well.

Back on the bus (it was a rather aerobic excursion today), we head off for lunch. I can’t imagine where it is going to be - I really don’t see anything that will accommodate our group until we enter a doorway from the street. Now inside we can see that it is a really lovely paradise in here - the Hotel Antigua. It is all built around this gorgeous courtyard. There is a swimming pool in the center and off to the left is a covered, yet open-air restaurant for the people staying at the hotel. Beyond that is a huge buffet area with shaded table areas. Once again the food is wonderful - guacamole, steak, chicken cooked in a pumpkin sauce (much better tasting than I’m sure I’m making it sound here!)

We wade thru the vendors now stationed at the hotel entrance and determined to make a sale (where are the tourist police when you need them?) and head back to the bus. We visit a church (partially destroyed by earthquake in the 70’s) and hear about Hermano Pedro, Central America’s first saint - a Spanish missionary on his way to Cuba who wound up in Guatemala instead (I think he took Christopher Columbus’ directions) and was eventually canonized by Pope John Paul II on his last trip to Central America (2002).

While in the courtyard of the church, Gerry was approached by an elderly woman trying to sell trinkets (really these seem to be made of plastic so I’m not thinking they are truly Guatemalan) - others had dismissed her completely when the necklaces were $1/each so she was now offering them at 6 for $1 (US always!) Gerry saw her and using his wonderful bargaining skills finally negotiated the price to $5 for the 6 necklaces. The woman tried to give him more necklaces but he stuck by his original deal. I really do love it when he does that!

From there it was back on the bus for our final stop. The skies were darkening dramatically, the rain wouldn’t be far off. The small cobblestone streets were becoming more crowded and we often had trouble making turns or just negotiating our way thru them. Finally we arrived at the Jade Museum.

We were greeted by the owner who gave us her spiel about her fabulous place. It seems she and her husband had come to Guatemala 35 years ago as archeologists. She approached the Guatemalan government and told them that she had rediscovered their Mayan jade mine. They said thanks, but no thanks - there is no jade in Guatemala. And she set about to prove them wrong. For the past 35 years they have been busy with their “Jade Factory”. This establishment mines (why does “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” come to mind?) jade - white jade, blue jade, green jade, even the elusive black jade - in abundance. Then they set up shop where the locals will polish the jade (they have a set up right there in the center of the factory) - women working with a face mask (that for all I know was just provided to offer protection from the swine flu). They have no eye protection from the fine dust created during polishing and no ear protection (and the sound is roughly the same you would experienced if you had your head stuck in a bowling ball return machine…for about 8-10 hours a day!) They probably pay them well (by Guatemala standards) but definitely nothing compared to US standards and certainly the markup on the merchandise she sells in the “museum” (do museums typically have all the exhibits tagged with sale stickers?) allows her quite a profit. The final part of the museum “tour” is to view her “retirement rock” - a 35 lb. piece of jade that is probably worth tens and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is nothing more than stealing from this incredibly impoverished country. Needless to say I will not be wearing jade any time soon. (And I don’t know when I will come across a better example of the term “ugly American”.)

Terri’s Travel Tip: Always play the games! After dinner last night I convinced Gerry to come play “Country-Western Trivia” (I told him it was a geography quiz). Our group (now named “The Saddle Sore-losers”) figured it would be cause for celebration if we got two questions right (we figured Johnny Cash and either Dolly Parton or Patsy Cline might show up as answers). Imagine our surprise when we actually won - showing that we knew only slightly less “nothing” than the others! Now we’re hoping tonight’s theme is “Quantum Physics” (because we know even LESS about that!) Our prize was a bottle of champagne. Whoo Hoo!!!!

tw

Day 9: San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

2009-05-02T04:43:00.001-07:00

This morning we dropped anchor off the port of San Juan del Sur. It is overcast and promises not to be quite so hot a day (I’m noticing a welcome trend as we move north along the coast). Before we can disembark to awaiting tender ships (actually our lifeboats - nice to practice in case the real thing ever becomes necessary!), a team of immigration officers from Nicaragua board our vessel. Ten random people are pulled out of line from the Horizon Court buffet and are asked to submit to some questioning (Have you had a fever recently? Have you been coughing? Etc.) All are deemed to have passed the test and we are now allowed to go ashore in San Juan del Sur.

Last night we received this information with regard to the tendering procedure: “For today’s call in San Juan del Sur, our tenders berth at a very narrow floating pontoon with some steep steps. Due to the size of the pontoon, no assistance is available to our passengers and therefore all passengers going ashore today need to be able to walk unaided (there is no room for wheelchairs and not wide enough for walking frames) along a narrow, moving pontoon and negotiate approximately 8 very steep steps.” Nice of them to mention this AFTER they’ve sold us our tickets for excursions and the deadline has passed for opting out!

Despite the dire warning, this is nothing like tendering from the Amsterdam in Sitka (those who were there with me may recall how much fun that was in the whipping (COLD) wind!) and soon we are aboard our lovely, air-conditioned bus and begin our travels in Nicaragua. The port city offers little to see so we are heading out to Masaya, known as the birthplace of this country’s artisans The Market is a large place that resembles a fort from the outside but once inside has numerous booths and stalls where they offer everything from leather goods to wood carvings to ceramics to toilet paper for sale (yeah, you’ll probably want some of that later on!) - priced between US$1-3 (depending on whether or not the supervisor is there). In addition, they offer various bottles of Nicaraguan rum (well of course we’re bringing some back!).

Our guide, Enrique, tells us that this is an absolutely safe place to shop but…we will be approached by young children - some will just be asking for a handout but others will have things to sell. He tells us not to give into the temptation of giving money to these children (unless we want to buy something from them like a pack of gum or a bag of roasted cashews) because if the parents feel that they are more successful at earning money this way they will hold them out of school completely. Nicaragua has no compulsory education system - those that want to go to school go either from 7-11 am or from 1-5 pm. Everyone goes home at lunch time.

After our shopping stop we head off to see the Masaya Volcano National Park (the first national park in Nicaragua - their “rangers” wear shirts similar to ours but instead of guiding you or providing information, they sell t-shirts from a table set up near the crater’s rim) and see the Santiago Volcano - one of 27 volcanoes in Nicaragua. This one has been active for the past 46 years but they take no chances here and all vehicles are instructed to park facing the exit (in case a hasty retreat becomes necessary). There is a large cross positioned above the crater. Apparently this volcano was thought to be possessed and so it also boasts that it is the ONLY volcano to have been exorcised by the church.

Then it is off to visit “The Filette” (a traditional Nicaraguan steakhouse) for a typical Nicaraguan meal (rice & beans, a very small salad, and we sample three of their native dishes: fish, chicken and beef, and of course fresh fruit). Our beverage choice was either bottle of water or a can of pop (7-Up or Pepsi? There are signs everywhere for Coca Cola, however, I've yet to see anyone drinking that. And the Pepsi here in Central America is from a different recipe than what we have at home - it is most definitely not as sweet here). The food was simple, yet delicious (in fact much better than what we would have enjoyed at the Horizon Court buffet had we remained on the ship). It was curious though to be greeted by the wait staff all wearing face masks as if we were going to infect them.

After lunch we head to our final stop of this excursion: the colonial town of Granada, the oldest European-founded city in Central America (1542). Though only one building remains from that time (a monastery that now serves as a historical museum), many of the other structures are nearly as old and beautifully maintained.

I'm not sure that after a week on the ship a "virtual" breakfast would do it for me!

The Swine Flu outbreak has been actually good news for Nicaragua. 45% of their population is unemployed and even the more successfully employed people (like police officers, teachers, etc.) make only about $200/month here. With ships no longer able to make port in Mexico, they are now coming farther south. We were to be one of the last ships for this season, however, they will have another cruise ship tomorrow and Sunday as well. Nicaragua is too poor to even have buses for our excursions and so the ones we rode in today, we probably rode in yesterday in Costa Rica as they were driven up here during the night.

As we head for "home" we can see Lake Nicaragua. This lake has two volcanoes in the center. There are 40,000 inhabitants of the volcanic island and they are surrounded by a lake full of freshwater sharks. It's pretty safe to say that in the event one of these volcanoes goes off they will not be swimming ashore. There is a lake inside the crater of one of the volcanoes and it is thought to be particularly lucky for someone to be able to say they swam in the lake, in the crater of the volcano, in the largest lake of Nicaragua!

We have a long bus ride back to the port so that we can get there in time. The Captain promised that he would “weigh” anchor (where does that term come from?) promptly after the last tender at 3 pm has returned to the ship and been repositioned aboard. Naturally there are still shoppers ashore well past this time and we don’t get to leave Nicaragua until well after 4 pm. We will be speeding thru the night to reach Guatemala in time tomorrow morning.

Terri’s Travel Tip: If you are thinking you might like to do something in the future (like a cruise!), don’t put off those plans indefinitely. We met a "young" woman (late 30’s - early 40’s…doesn’t that perspective change as you age!) who tragically lost her husband 2 ½ years ago. It’s taken her some time to get used to that idea (certainly she thought they would have much more time together) but she is forging ahead and doing things and just plain seeing where life will take her. I guess the moral here is you never know how much time you’re going to have together but I can pretty much guarantee you that however much it is, it will never be enough!

tw

Day 8: Puntarenas

2009-04-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning in the Costa Rican Rainforest, enjoying the scenery from a gondola on the Pacific Aerial Tram. I’m beginning to think there are different degrees of 100% humidity - it can’t always be the same and yet feel so completely different! After a wonderfully comfortable ride in a fantastically chilled bus we arrive at the Transitional Rain Forest and prepare to board our gondola for the 50 minute round trip thru the secondary forest and then into the canopy. On the return we actually travel above the canopy.

Though there are far more species present here than we will find later in the jungle’s ecosystem, clearly they have more important things to do than perform for us humans. We do find many termite nests - these provide food for the many birds that will be here later in the day when it is cooler (no fools they!).

After our ride, we walk through trails with our guide. She points out all sorts of plants that can, could or are being used medicinally (I’m not certain I understood her Spanish accent) and then take a walk thru the “Serpentarium” (not really my kind of place!) It was evidently feeding time and I think this little fellow has been invited for lunch!

There is an open air restaurant at the Visitor’s Center here and we are fed a typical Costa Rican lunch (rice, beans, watermelon, pineapple, papaya, chicken and sautéed plantains (okay these were much better than anything the kids did as an extra credit project for their Spanish classes!) and then it was back on the bus for a ride to the Guacalillo Estuary and our Jungle Cruise. While on the way we saw some macaws above us in a tree and the bus driver immediately pulled over so we could get a better look.

We drove thru a sleepy little village (at 1 pm it was most likely siesta time…do they still do that?) and finally arrived at what appeared to be a (seriously) small hacienda by the side of the road. This was the starting point for our “cruise” - we proceeded down a rickety path towards the water (and I’m already scanning for predators). The “manager” of the pier is trying to find a stick that he can wedge into the walkway so we’ll be able to use it without falling in (apparently that’s bad for business). Our guide tries it and pronounces it “bueno” - we should now feel free to cross, no more than two at a time though, take our time, but hurry (just the sort of thing you’re hoping to hear as you’re about to jump into a boat over the crocs!).

We board a boat that is awfully reminiscent of Disney’s Jungle Cruise and I expect Gerry to start his shtick any moment but it is apparently too hot for humor just now. And then we were off. It’s absolutely incredible - the variety and amount of wildlife we saw! There were many different herons, egrets, osprey, vultures, kingfishers, eagle, hawks, iguanas (both green and black varieties) and of course crocodiles.

Finally it was time to head back to our ship (which today is the tallest building in Costa Rica!) Heat tends to totally sap the strength right out of you (that plus the fact that we had dinner with three of the most “cruise jaded” couples we’ve ever come across) and so I can’t even manage to stay awake for “Movie Poster Trivia Night” (I think I could have done pretty well here).

Tomorrow: We tender off the boat at 6:20 AM! for San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua (who booked that?)

tw

PS - For those of you hoping we (wouldn't) be bringing you home a little something special from Mexico this year, the Captain has advised us that we will be skipping that port this trip. (Ah...another exciting day at sea for the Weilers!)

Day 7: The Mud Risual

2009-04-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

The seas are incredibly calm now - either because the Pacific Ocean is so much deeper or because we are barely moving (14 kts) as we head to Costa Rica.

As we are out to sea, Gerry & I decided to try something wilder and crazier than trivia (since we weren’t doing too well there anyway) and opted for “The Mud Risual” (no that’s not a misspelling) in the Lotus Spa.

Now I know that I’ve explained the “Thermal Suite” but I failed to mention that in order to be able to purchase this package you must first take a little tour of the entire Lotus Spa and see all that they have to offer. It is the typical assortment of massage (pronounced “MA sawge”), facials, beauty salon, etc. But they have two items that were particularly unique.

First this lovely young girl explained her specialty: Ionic-therapy. She starts off by listing all the things that this can be used for (anything from muscle toning to weight loss to improving international relationships) and that you can lose anywhere from 3-8 INCHES with just one procedure (but of course she recommends many, many more) and I’m already thinking I want to sign Gerry up and see if he can really lose 8” at his waist but then I spy her “equipment” station. There are dozens of wires and electrodes and I start looking around to see if there is a tall Indian in the corner passing out sticks of Juicyfruit. Okay, we’ll have to think some more about this one…

Then our hostess/guide asks me rather conspiratorily if I’ve ever heard of a “Seaweed Wrap” and I shake my head as I’m already beginning to conjure a visual image of this process. I’m wondering where would one get nouri that large? She takes us into a room and hands us a bowl of what appears to be The Barefoot Contessa’s Green Goddess Dressing (I swear I saw this list on the evening’s dinner menu). This is apparently the “seaweed” goop that they smear on you and then (and here my imagination went into hyper drive!) they wrap you in a MYLAR sheet! I’m thinking how big is this sheet? Because twin size isn’t going to do it…I’d want at least queen size and then I’m thinking…a strong wind and I become next year’s entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! No thanks!

But the one that intrigued us and so we opted to try today was the “Mud Risual” - it’s this room for couples where you can apply various creams, muds, etc. designed to exfoliate your skin and remove toxins. Okay whatever. They told us to arrive a bit early so they could explain the procedure and what order we should apply things because then we are basically locked in this room for an hour. We arrive and are given perhaps a 15 SECOND indoctrination - that’s it and she leaves, locking not one but two doors so that everyone will know we are here.

Naturally, we promptly forgot everything she told us and just started applying random things and then we were to go into the steam room for 10 minutes (it was on a timer she said…she failed to mention that the timer was set for 20 MINUTES). I won’t go into all the details but the entire thing reminded me a lot of the scene in “Future World” with the Russian general and his wife in the Roman Baths.

Okay - fast forward and our hour is up. We are (we think…I mean we’re not really good at this) properly exfoliated, showered and dressed and ready to vacate the premises. And that’s when it got really fun. Every other doorknob on every other door on this ship is exactly the same and we’re pretty good by now at getting thru doors. This one has a strange handle and a lock knob and we’re frantically trying to get out. Gerry’s got really strong hands and now I’m starting to panic that he’s going to wind up with the handle in hand and us stuck in there until somebody else wants in (which probably won’t even happen this cruise)! Banging on the door won’t really help since there are two doors and nobody’s going to hear anything thru the outer door. Why they not think of putting a phone in here? Or an intercom? Just as Gerry is seriously considering breaking the door on purpose we start looking around the place. Up above the door there is a button “door release” (15 seconds to explain all the creams and goops and she didn’t think to maybe let us know how the heck to get out of here?). Free at last, free at last!

We decided that was probably enough excitement for the day (exfoliation and exhilaration in one swoop) and opted for some reading in our cabin. Walking across the deck we were surprised to see nobody out and about and realized that we were traveling thru a bit of a rain squall - the first of our trip.

Formal night again and we chose to eat in the Bayou restaurant, followed by “romantic movie trivia” (I am determined to get a luggage tag!) and then Billy Vader (a really funny guy!)

Tomorrow: the jungles of Costa Rica!

Terri’s Travel Tip: Don’t dismiss an Alaska cruise because it doesn’t enjoy the warm weather of a Caribbean cruise! It has advantages that can’t be overstated - on an Alaskan cruise one sight you will never see (or have to endure) is that of a 65-year-old “walking carpet” who has beached himself on a lounge chair near the pool wearing what I can only guess is his 4-year-old grandson’s Speedo suit, hitching it up at the thigh so he can get a bit more sun. YUK!

tw

Day 6: We Transit the Panama Canal

2009-04-29T06:15:00.000-07:00

…which certainly lives up to its hype!

The Captain had told us the day before that we would be picking up our pilot at 5 am. Picking up the pilot typically takes place an hour or so before anything actually begins so I set our alarm for 5:30. As usual, I was up well before then and as it turns out I was one of the slackers! The ship was already abuzz by then as it seems a fair amount of our fellow passengers got up at that time to score front row seats in the Horizon Court buffet for the day, allowing them an unobstructed view of the front of the ship. Above them on Deck 15, others (mostly the really tall people from what I heard about the ship) had staked a claim on the standing room at the front of the ship to see the day’s proceedings.

From our balcony I could see lights directly off our port indicating another ship not too far away. Then in the distance ahead were many more lights and I thought perhaps that was Panama. Turns out it was really a flotilla of ships, either waiting their turn to proceed to the locks or just exiting the locks from the west. Again, there is a pecking order here: anybody who doesn’t want to pay what I’m sure is a rather exorbitant fee to bump them up in line goes whenever they get around to taking you, cargo ships that will pay the “upgrade” fee, cruise ships have reservations and priority (but I’m pretty sure they don’t get it for free) and of course, the US Navy probably trumps anybody.

Around 7 am we were apparently “green-lighted” to queue up to begin the process. Ships move under their own power into position and thru the locks but they are guided by tugboats and extremely powerful electric locomotives during the holding process to ensure that they maintain their exact position…there is no margin for error here. Coming from the east, we approach the first lock and we will transverse Panama from the Caribbean Sea on the northwest to the Pacific Ocean on the southeast. The canal comprises 6 locks in total: there are 3 chambers at the Gatun Locks, the Pedro Miguel Lock, and 2 chambers at the Miraflores Locks near the Pacific. Each lock chamber can only accommodate ships no larger than 965 ft. in length and 106 ft. in width, coincidentally the exact size of the Island Princess.

Once gated in position, each lock of the Gatun Locks will raise the boat approximately 10 meters before allowing passage to the next chamber or finally the Gatun “Lake”. This amazingly takes mere minutes - the chamber fills in something like 15 minutes - and that’s a lot of water! It is all done by gravity and has experienced very little change in the technology since it first opened in 1914. They did add lights for traveling thru the Gatun Lake or the rather narrow Galliard Cut in 1963, allowing the Canal to be used 24/7.

Knowing Gerry as you do, I’m sure you can imagine how he didn’t want anything to do with the mobs and crowds forming there so we decided instead to take the opportunity to have room service deliver our champagne breakfast. When it arrived (but not of course until after we had dismissed our server) we realized that it was only half there, so Gerry trekked up to the HC and was surprised to find nobody in line (they didn’t want to give up there seat…even for food!) and then we began to enjoy the process from the viewpoint of our balcony. Other than the Canal itself, there does not appear to be much activity at the Caribbean side of the locks but the workers wave and shout “Adios” as we pass by.

After breakfast we ventured out to see what the others were seeing, heading instead to the rear of the ship to watch the next ship follow us in. There are two lanes currently in operation thru the Canal and our understanding is that the US has plans to begin construction on a third lane (however, this is not a particularly new rumor - there is leftover building materials that evidence previous attempts by the US to begin a third lane thru the Canal).

Now that we’ve completed all three of the Gatun Locks, we proceed into the Gatun Lake. This lake was created by damning the small river here and those small “islands” that seem awfully close to our ship are in fact the remaining mountaintops. The entire Canal length is only 80 kilometers and it was take us 9 hours to transit completely. We arrive in the narrow channel of the Galliard Cut where we will cross the Continental Divide and approach the Pedro Miguel Lock and begin the process of being lowered back to sea level. Soon after we are at the Miraflores Locks and off our port-side we can see the large Panama Canal Visitors Center Building. There are many visitors waving to us and we exit the canal - shouting out to those who made signs (probably in a Princess Crafts@Sea class) “Adios Alabama!” or “Goodbye Alaska!”

Once we are back at sea level, it is not long until we can see Balboa to our left and behind it Panama City with all its skyscrapers. We pass under the “Bridge of the Americas” which connects North and South America and we believe is a connection of Hwy 93 which we have traveled often in Montana. As soon as we clear the “no wake zone” of the bay it is time to get the ship back up to speed and hit the open water.

From Terri's "What the Heck is Going On?" File: a) Jeff and An have a new address; b) Jenny & Travis will soon have a new address; c) the Mariners are still winning; d) Swine flu may force us to cancel our port call in Mexico; and e) ARLEN SPECTER IS A DEMOCRAT?!?!?

Tomorrow a relaxing day at sea and the Weilers try the mud-room.

Day 5: Cartagena

2009-04-28T03:29:00.000-07:00

Or “We Are Victorious At Last” (more later!)

Cartagena is a beautiful city on the Caribbean side of Colombia (the only South American country to have coasts on both the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean). It’s history dates back to Christopher Columbus’s first voyage in 1492 and was claimed by Spain as a region rich in gold and emeralds (my kind of town!) Once again Chris didn’t understand just how far east he had come (or rather hadn’t come) and so technically the name of this city is Cartagena de India.

The public education system here is really excellent and it is free (or in the case of the university nearly free, $75/6 months) as long as you have good grades (now there‘s an incentive we might want to try in the states!). If you can’t make the grade there are always private schools, many taught only in English by young teachers from America. Spanish is the native language, however, English is compulsory from kindergarten through college. If at the end of your college studies you cannot pass the English exam, then you simply do not receive a degree. (Of course if you can’t pass the exam after 17 years of study, I’m not sure you deserve a degree!)

Cartagena is divided into several sections which we visited: the Monastery, the old city, the new city and the fortress. While there is a certain affluence apparent in the mansions of the most wealthy (very small by comparison to those found in the Seattle area certainly), there is also abject poverty evident. On the winding road to the monastery, we found tiny “houses” constructed of corrugated sheet metal or bricks. Some had doors and windows still present and the lucky ones had doors that shut. Women sat in the doorway or in front of the house holding babies, trying to keep the small children from running in front of the frequent buses. Not very many people own or drive their own cars because Colombia exports nearly all its oil elsewhere and then buys it back for its own use (what kind of deal is that?). Our guide told us that gas is expensive - $3.00 US for a Canadian gallon (I don’t’ even know what a Canadian gallon is - do they actually use that? Given the number of Canadians traveling with us, I thought it best not to show my ignorance by asking!) Though employment seems to be available to those who want the work, the primary source of income in the areas we visited was achieved by the residents dressing in costume and shaking down the tourists for a buck or two for a photo op.

Our tour of Cartagena began at the pier in one of dozens of 25-30 passenger buses. Each passenger received a small receiver and the guide used a transmitter to keep track of his group. There was only one cruise ship in town that day and I can’t even imagine what it would have been like with a couple of more! Our first stop was the La Popa Monastery at the top of the hill overlooking Cartagena. It just celebrated its 400th anniversary last year. We became accustomed to being accosted at each stop by peddlers and their wares - some didn’t even wait for the bus to come to a complete stop (tapping on the windows and holding up the merchandise as we slowed down!)

From there we headed to the fortress. Here the commander would live in the “bonnet” while the soldiers would live across the bridge in what is now the old town (also fortified with a 14 ft. wall). If there was need, bells would sound summoning the soldiers to protect the fortress. There was a secret passage way throughout the fortress. Should the rather tall English find it, they would be forced to bend down to pass through. The soldiers would be lying in wait in the dark (though now accustomed to the darkness) and, so as not to alarm the English with the noise of gunfire, they would attack and kill them with knives. No wonder Cartagena did not fall to the British.

Then it was onto the old town of Cartagena and the handicraft stores. On the perimeter of this area is the old bull fighting ring. There are two “seasons” for bullfighting: December/January and June/July but it turns out that not even the Cartagenans care too much for it so they closed down the old ring and the new ring shares it facility with the soccer and baseball teams!

Our final stop was in the new city at their “shopping mall” - a one block affair with a number of stores (upstairs and down) mostly focused on getting you to make an emerald purchase. As with most cruise ports of call, the majority of these fabulous “jewelry” stores are wholly owned by the cruise lines and while I don’t think they are going to rip you off completely with some sort of “bait and switch” deal, if they are discounting the merchandise while you are standing there in the same sort of fashion as those hawking t-shirts and leather goods on the streets in front of the store, I can’t imagine that you are really going to “score” a gem of great worth here. It was interesting though, for me, to see all those beautiful green emeralds!

By far the best part of our tour was…the traffic! I was totally mesmerized by watching our bus driver navigate his way around Cartagena. The larger roads in Cartagena will accommodate two buses across. On some of the newer paved roads you will find the dashed white lines which appear to be a suggestion of how one might divide the road into two lanes. As near as I can tell, all, REPEAT ALL, roads in Cartagena are one-way, if you are brave enough! Someone not going fast enough in front of you? No problem - just pull over to the left and pass them. Our driver didn’t even check or hesitate - EVEN IF THERE WAS A CAR COMING AGAINST US! Clearly there was a well-defined “pecking order” in place: the larger your vehicle, the more likely you were to have your own way. There were lots and lots of buses similar in size to ours - both public and private/tour buses. Then there were the small yellow cars (taxis) swarming like bees everywhere and they tried to steer clear of the buses. Once the buses and cars had claimed their space, all remaining roadway was filled in with the motorcycles. I’m not talking about those little scooters like we found in Italy. No, these are actually small motorcycles that were often found “white lining” it between the larger vehicles and filling in every other available space.

The final class of road traveler was the pedestrian. Unlike in the states where we are taught that “the pedestrian always has the right-of-way,” here in Cartagena the pedestrian has no “right-of-way.” I think there only purpose is extra points because our bus driver didn’t even flinch, let alone slow down, whenever someone stepped out in front of us. If the pedestrian was lucky, the driver might sound the horn a few times, but since horns were sounded all the time, I doubt that anyone walking would recognize this as a sign of impending danger. Bicycles seem to be just considered a fast form of walking and given the same respect (or lack thereof) as pedestrians.
And yet all this being said, there appeared to be few accidents and the cars and buses did not show the wear and tear and overall denting I would have imagined!

Back on board at 1:30 we were able to actually leave port a little ahead of schedule because for the first time I can recall, all passengers came back early (I think the heat played a major role in that factor! I don’t think I really could acclimate to this climate - nearly 90 with 100% humidity which meant that we could skip most of the steam rooms that afternoon!) We met up with our trivia teammates to once again suffer defeat although we did claim a bit of satisfaction in that we got the privilege of grading the winning team’s answers (next time I check to make sure there isn’t a MENSA convention on board!)

I convinced Gerry to come down and try our hands at “The Princess Pyramid” - works similar to the TV game show and it was too late to back out by the time he realized that each time was required to take their turn up on stage. We had new partners here (Phil & Linda from Port Orchard) and it wasn’t surprising to me that we would kick some trivia butt here! There is a definite upgrade in the prizes here and we now have two new tote bags to help us get our stuff home! Whoo hoo! We met up again with Phil & Linda and their friend for “The Jeopardized Trivia” game at night (Princess can’t use the exact copyrighted names of the games) and we came ever so close to winning another tote bag there.

Terri’s Travel Tip: Always agree to share your table at mealtimes. That way you’ll get to meet lots of people (veteran or rookie cruisers, those from abroad, etc.) This is the best way to learn about the “population” of your ship. If, as in our case this time, you have traveling with an high percentage of Canadians, I can guarantee you that any answer involving geography that you don’t absolutely know to be otherwise, the answer will be CANADA (learned that one the hard way!)

Tomorrow we transit the Panama Canal. We have a 5 am slot assigned to our ship so it will be an early morning!

tw

Day 4: Aruba

2009-04-27T03:25:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do on a cruise is be up and watching from our balcony as we pull into a port. Usually this takes place very early in the morning but I’m no stranger to those hours. Around five am today I could feel the change as the captain began the process of slowing the ship in order to pick up our pilot for the final two miles entry in the Port of Aruba. It was pitch black as I began my vigil with only the twinkling lights of Aruba off in the distance. Then the first glimmer of the daybreak yet to come. I really wish that my camera could capture (and there is no way with current airline luggage requirements that I’m going to let Gerry haul his paraphernalia!) the magical image that I enjoyed this morning - nearly 19 miles of sparkling lights, the entire length of the island, above the gentle purple night giving way to the first oranges and yellows of morning, above in the light blue sky dotted with wisps of white clouds, the bright morning star.

Not only could I see the entire width of the island but virtually the entire island since Aruba is only 6 miles across and nearly flat (think pitcher’s mound. Well okay, there are three “mountains” the tallest of which is over 500 ft. - just high enough to remind you that it really was of volcanic origin.) It is always windy here (always) but despite the constant wind it is not usually clear enough to see the coast of Venezuela, only 17 miles away. There are four official languages which all schoolchildren are required to learn and depending on how well they do, the children are sorted at 12 years of age to either proceed to junior (followed by senior) high school or off they go to technical school to learn a trade. Aruba belongs to the Netherlands and Queen Beatrix makes an appearance every few years to check out the latest and greatest hotel here on the island (although if I were the Queen and I had Aruba had my disposal, I would probably find an excuse to visit it at least yearly. But then I’ve never been to the Netherlands - I’m sure the beaches there are just as lovely!)

I had just enough time to update the blog, snap a few photos, get dressed and head to breakfast for we had an early call ashore (7:20 am!) Not a lot of choice for breakfast on a morning like that so it was catch as catch can at the Horizon Court buffet and then down to the Plaza Deck for disembarkation.

And then back up to the room to fetch our photo IDs that were supposedly going to be required to re-board the ship (they weren’t) and then back down to the Plaza Deck for disembarkation.
And then back up to the room for a card I had already purchase Aruba stamps in order to mail (and naturally had already affixed same to the envelope) and of course we would return too late to make the mail if we waited until after our morning in Aruba. Oy! Finally back down to Plaza Deck, mail the card, and like good sheep, wait in line to disembark (golfers were chanting “Golfers First” in order to make their tee times!)

We had selected the “Best of Aruba” excursion and our ticket said to wear our swimsuit (Really? Would I have booked something like that? Where was the cooking demo or pub crawl?), bring a towel, plenty of sunscreen (one man’s definition of “plenty” of sunscreen clearly differs from say, MINE) and water (well the ship certainly helped out here as there were many, many opportunities for you to purchase bottled water as you left the ship) and be in the terminal at 7:20 am. What with running up and down several times we were a) nearly overheated already; and b) nearly late. Turns out not late enough. Had we been just a tad later we would have been in the front of the last bus instead of having to trek to the very last seats (after each stop) and “he-who-won‘t-be-named-here-but-you-know-who-he-is” was, as you might suspect, not particularly excited about this. That is until he discovered that the seats at the very, very back of the bus have the most leg room and the best air-conditioning! Whoo hoo!

We blitzed through Main Street - it was Sunday and everything was closed (and most would probably remain closed the entire day given that this island is approximately 90% Catholic and they don’t work on Sunday here). That was one of the highlights of Aruba for me! We had spent 2 ½ days at sea and at least 2 channels on our stateroom TVs were dedicated to reviewing, describing, enticing, outlining ad nausea complete strategies of how to make the most of your shopping time while in Aruba. There were at least two enormously popular seminars held onboard during the days at sea and never - not once - did they ever mention that we would be hitting Aruba on Sunday and that most the stores aren’t open on Sunday (except of course for those wholly owned by the cruise lines and therefore absolutely obligated to ONLY be open whenever the ship is in port!) I loved it!!!!!

After whipping thru town (the main street is only about two or three blocks long and there was no traffic, this being Sunday and all) we passed the Orangestadt International Airport (3 buildings, one long runway) and the world’s second largest desalination plant and then headed for Casabari (a rock formation with steps…ooh/ahh) As it turns out it is one of the taller places on the island.

From there we were off to “The Natural Bridge” - well okay we couldn’t really see that since it collapsed in 2002 but we could see where it had been and look at instead (but not walk on since it was somewhat cracked during the other bridge’s collapse) “The Baby Bridge” (ooh/ahh). Then we toured the Aloe Balm Factory which probably was a lot more fascinating on any other weekday (including Saturday) because just like everything else in town, it’s closed on Sunday (but they still allowed us to experience a tour nonetheless: ‘Here is the room where we’d be cutting the leaves if it were any other day, here’s the room where we would be mixing the extract with other ingredients if it were any other day…you get the picture.)

The houses in Aruba are small single floored homes without basements (you don’t have to dig too far to find water below). Cactus is plentiful (wood is not) so the homes are built from cement blocks and the fences are made from “organ pipe” cactus. It definitely keeps nosy neighbors from leaning up on your fence! There are some homes still made the old-fashioned way (with walls 18” thick to maintain a cooler temperature). Though they refine gas on the island, the price of a gallon of gas is well over $4 still (it was almost $8 last year) so driving is done with small cars and not as frequently. Jobs are actually plentiful on Aruba and our guide told us if someone wasn’t working it was because they were just a lazy bum!

Our final stop before returning to the ship turned out to be the most beautiful beach in the world: Palm Beach, Aruba. Beautiful white sand and water that was easily 80+ degrees! While most of our fellow travelers opted to be taken back to town for a brief shopping trip (obviously not listening when the guide told them the town closes up on Sundays), we decided to spend our entire hour swimming in the Caribbean (with pictures to prove it!) It was worth every quart of sunscreen I had to put on just to be able to play for that hour at the beach!

As I was drying off in order to get back to the bus on time, I asked Gerry to snap a few photos of the local scenery. This is what he came up with - I'm pretty sure he knew this isn't what I meant!

Back on this ship in time to listen to the brief litany of those who hadn’t yet returned to the ship (please call 5000 from any phone NOW), have some lunch, a dip in the wave pool (not nearly as much fun without those four foot waves of the day before!) and then another round of trivia with our friends. We seem to be regressing - only 10 right this time (I mean seriously…who knew ‘Tia Maria’ came from Jamaica? Or that “Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon” was the highest grossing foreign-language film of all time? Because if you did, I’m putting you on my “Trivia Dream Team” now!)

Terri’s Travel Tip: If you are on a cruise of more than 7 days, no matter who you are, assume you are one of the younger passengers aboard. Take extreme care to not, REPEAT NOT, position yourself between 5:00 and 5:30 pm between the dining room and the nearest bar. They might look timid and weak (because a lot of them are using walkers, wheelchairs and/or oxygen) but they will, at any cost, be first in line (all of them!) for dinner when the doors open at 5:30 pm. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Tomorrow: Cartagena (better lock and load before I head to bed!)

Day 3: Somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean

2009-04-26T02:15:00.000-07:00

Another ordinary day at sea? Hardly!

The sea churned, the white caps evident everywhere. Hundreds had positioned themselves on lounge chairs on Deck 14 to watch and see what would happen. By mid-morning, the sound of the waves crashing signaled the constant pummeling of the water along the sides. The crescendo was deafening and each wave pounded louder and higher. People were weaving back and forth as they attempted to navigate the deck in search of someplace dry, spray flying everywhere. Finally, it crested nearly four feet over the sides on Deck 14, inundating the bar and ice cream shop areas - and that was just in the Lido Pool!

While those passengers still in attendance scurried to protect…their books (seriously I don’t think I’ve ever traveled with a more literate group. Dona you should really apply to be a librarian aboard one of these cruise ships - or maybe we could open a bookstore here) others enjoyed the spectacle of the one lone swimmer in the pool vainly trying to complete a solitary lap without being carried on the next wave over the edge of the pool onto some unsuspecting…reader (no, really, of the 1900 passengers on board I think I counted over 1200 with a book in hand just on my way to lunch!) Certainly someone with my, shall we say, natural LACK of buoyancy would remain contained within the boundaries of the pool, however I’m sure that one good wave would have caused Jenny to sail over the sides of the pool where she would no doubt manage a perfect 10.0 landing on a nearby lounge chair and have her order taken by an ever vigilant crewmember!

Other than the wave action of the pool, the sea is relatively steady (4 - 7.5 ft. waves) so we are enjoying the ride. The temperature today is in the high seventies/low eighties with 100% humidity. That plus the salt water and wind is doing nice things to my hair (for a visual image…because nobody is actually capturing this look on film or electronics!…envision Isaac, the bartender, from the Love Boat and make him Irish…and extremely pale and you have some idea of the impression I’m making these days!)

Lunch was a fun affair - it was “English Pub Lunch” day. Gerry actually had “bangers & mash” and I enjoyed a “Ploughman’s Lunch” (ham, cheese, a crusty roll and pate - I didn’t know the Brits did pate but since I really do like liverwurst this was a treat for me!)

Then it was time for a dip in the pool and off to the Maitre d’ Wine Club (again this is backwards from other cruises - typically they whet your whistle with the ordinary wines and then “graduate” you to the Wine Club where you sample not only much, MUCH better wines but also pair them with food (oddly enough NOT the cruise’s best food choices) and they can charge you a bit more. This was a bit of a disappointment - I think the guys giving the presentation were still learning their “shtick” and it went on and on… Usually this is the event where they suggest which wine works well with a particular food type and give us a sampler of delicacies - something to try with each wine served. This time they just put the plates on the table and told us to eat whatever we wanted with whatever wine was being served at the time. No matter to me - I wasn't having any of it! (Seriously - there is NO wine that goes well with caviar. At least none that I would actually pay for...including Two Buck Chuck!)

We nearly missed out on Trivia with our “group” (Judy & Marv from Bend, Oregon and Mike and Kathy from Ottawa and occasionally Katie & John from Stockton). We did really well - a score of 19 - and still got beat by some veteran cruisers who no doubt have memorized every Trivial Pursuit card. On my “dream team” I would certainly enjoy having my sister (Dona), my niece (Beth) and friend (Tom W). I could open my own luggage tag shoppe!

Dinner was enjoyed with 4 other couples - all rabid golfers (we were the proverbial fish out of water here)! But curiously cheap. There is a beautiful golf course in Aruba tomorrow and instead they are opting to spend only $30 to play on the ship’s simulator. Once again I tell myself I will never understand golfers!

All in all though a leisurely day at sea!

Terri’s Travel Tip: The surest way to become ill at sea is by touching things. Avoid all handrails and as much as possible doorknobs. If the weather is choppy, use the elevator (I’ve never actually seen one get stuck - I’ll let you know more about that today since that’s usually how the jinx works!). Avoid stairs during rough weather because you’ll recover much quicker from a horizontal fall than you will from a vertical one!

Day 2: At Sea (Off the Coast of Cuba)

2009-04-25T04:15:00.000-07:00

The ride has been a bit bumpy today - could be because we are channeling between Cuba and the Bahamas (but I’m thinking that “agitated” is how those Castro brothers like to keep things here!) Here you can just barely see Cuba off in the distance (we had to head to the other side of the ship to get this - nothing but water on the Weiler side of the boat!)

Gerry took the morning off to hopefully chase his cold completely away. That meant I had to represent the team at morning trivia. We came close - only lost by one (and I had serious plan for that keychain!) but I couldn’t come up with the number of white keys on the piano, the fact that figs are mentioned apparently way more than olives in the bible or that fireflies locate their mates by sight rather than noise. And those were the EASY questions!

In the afternoon we visited the “Aroma Thermal Suite” with many others (it would appear that they don’t “limit” the number of passes they sell quite as much as they’d like you to believe). Gerry has decided to rename the rooms so as you enter the first steam room on your right (formerly “baby bear”) is now dubbed “Phoenix” - a dry heat steam room (if there is such a thing) where you will definitely want to bring a towel. Just like in Phoenix if you sit on the bleachers (okay tile benches) you blister your bum! Continuing around the room clockwise the next steam room you come to (formerly the “mama bear” room) is now being called “The First Circle of Hell” - again you’ll need a towel to sit upon and you won’t last long. Right after this room you come to the room (still known as) “Hell - Table for One”. If you forget your towel you’re really done for - you can’t sit and the air at standing level is super-heated (easily 15 degrees hotter than ground level but you’ll be there soon enough to tell) and, as near as I can tell (since I keep forgetting my damn towel) completely devoid of oxygen (technically I think oxygen is heavier than the toxins you’re apparently sweating out and so I must be just recycling the bad stuff). This room doesn’t utilize aromatherapy but if it did, I’d recommend they use "essence of brimstone."

The final room on our circle is the Aromatherapy Room. It is scented with some “new age” scent (eucalyptus, lemongrass, cucumber) and leaves you wondering when Yanni is going to show up. It is quite and peaceful and really pleasant (particularly after even a few seconds in “Hell”).

In the afternoon we rejoined our newfound friends for another go at Trivia. The questions were a bit easier which doesn’t explain then why we got fewer correct. Oh well, we’re saving our “good stuff” for later in the cruise!

Formal night - which means photo ops (plenty!) and this time (which is totally confusing to me) the Captain’s WELCOMING Champagne Waterfall. Typically this is something they reserve for the last night of the cruise but we are apparently traveling backwards thru the canal (I wonder how well this thing backs up?) They seem to have a lot of fun doing it but it's pretty serious work. It’s an amazing feat of engineering watching them construct the tower. There is no other support to the structure than that provided by the glasses, the grape and the champagne. Each glass is inspected by 5 or 6 worker bees and anything that even looks slightly flawed or not exactly even is dismissed. The glasses start out with a grape (anchor?) and some champagne so that the weight change is not as dramatic when they start allowing passengers to pour the champagne from the top (another photo op).

We capped the evening with a visit to the Universe Lounge to see Randy Cabral and his act of “Comedy, Juggling and Other Useless Skills”. He said that he was on the Tonight Show a couple of weeks ago so maybe someone saw him? He was pretty funny and is apparently leaving the ship in Aruba (nice) and so we’re going to try to catch his final show tonight. If I can figure out how to attach a movie I'll let you see a bit of his act.

Day 1: Thursday, April 24th

2009-04-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

While I’m loving the Island Princess (what’s not to love - all those people dedicated to making sure I’m having a great time!), I’m having a bit of trouble navigating her. I suppose I’ll get the hang of it just about the time they boot me off the boat but for now I’m constantly relying on maps and notices posted around the ship. At 965 ft. long it’s the longest ship in the Princess fleet but seems quite a bit smaller (as Gerry says “width is everything” and he darn well better not have been talking about me!)

The ship sets quite a bit lower in the water though. Typically we’ve had staterooms on Emerald (Deck 8) Promenade (Deck 7) is the deck with the outer walkway that circumnavigates the ship. On this ship, 2.8 times around makes a mile and I fully intended to walk at least one mile every day. But because on this ship Deck 7 is so close to the water line on days like today when we are out to sea and therefore moving quite fast, the deck gets a lot of “wave action” - ones splashing up over the side - and so the deck is quite wet. The Exercise Gods smile upon me once again - I didn’t bring rain gear so I guess I will have to do my walking elsewhere (which I suppose is why the Navigation Gods have arranged for me not to be able to locate my cabin - that’s apparently how I’ll be getting my walking instead!)

Upon arrival in our stateroom yesterday we were greeted with the first part of our anniversary package: champagne, roses and beautifully decorated chocolate-covered strawberries. A festive send off which we enjoyed as we were pulling out of Ft. Lauderdale. I suppose the best part of living here (if you’re a sun worshiper!) is having a home (aka “mansion”) with waterfront beach area. At least until the cruise ships leave port (our ship’s whistle as we are leaving port isn’t nearly as charming as that of Disney’s ships but what it lacks in charm it more than makes up for in volume!)

We then enjoyed our first visit to the “Aroma Thermal Suite” (which will become a daily ritual while onboard). Gerry was hoping that they could somehow put one of those hot stone beds in our stateroom - it’s hard to remember to limit your stay to only 10 minutes. No doubt the description (a stone bed?) sounds extremely uncomfortable but actually it is very cozy. Then we tried all the various steam rooms - the Aromatherapy steam (wonderful if you are a bit stuffed up and Gerry is hoping it will completely cure him of his cold but it’s obviously going to take several sessions for that to occur!); what I will call the “Baby Bear” steam room (not a lot of steam but you can really burn sensitive areas of your body by sitting on the benches unprepared - OY! That’s hot!!!); the “Mama Bear” room - quite a bit more steam (they recommend 10 minutes here - I’d be lucky to make it 5!); and finally, the “Papa Bear” (or “Hell - Table for One”) room - again a recommended time is 10 minutes but I’m sure you’d be dead (but fully exfoliated). We pretty much walk in, try taking on breath without choking and walk back out. But the best part of the room (particularly after being blanched by the Papa Bear steam room) is the Rainforest Shower. It really is like showering in a cloud and perfectly caps off your visit to this suite.

Dinner was enjoyed as a group with 3 other couples (as we didn’t really want to wait another 45 minutes or so for a table by ourselves): Glen and Edith from Calgary, Alberta; Gary and Carolyn from Queensland, Australia; John and Katie from Stockton, California. Gary is quite the car collector (he’s got many from the US which he then has to reconfigure to drive on the right side of the road for use in Australia) and we all shared stories about cars, cops, unmarked cars and (this one surprised me) the fact that in Calgary they now have “green light” cameras - if you speed up during a green light just to get thru the intersection you get sent a ticket. They also have “yellow light” cameras - if you enter a yellow light and speed up to make it thru the intersection, you get TWO tickets! Gerry’s convinced that within 5 years the GPS device in our cars will just send us a ticket for every infraction (making cops trying to get their quotas a total thing of the past!)

Terri’s Travel Tip: When cruising thru the Panama Canal east to west, select a cabin on the starboard side of the ship (and conversely if traveling from the west to the east, select a portside cabin). Did we? No. That’s not a sad thing - just means we’ll have to do it again!

Well it’s off to trivia we go!

Our New Home!

2009-04-23T11:15:00.001-07:00

We're here - aboard the wonderful Island Princess. This is the view currently from our stateroom. We've only been here a couple of hours and we're prowled most of the ship - signed up for the wine tasting, the Lotus Spa and of course the internet (Wi-Fi from every stateroom!) We'll have a "muster" at 4:15 this afternoon and we set sail at 4:30 (I think that's so that people ashore get a "floor show" as we wander around with our life jackets that have not changed substantially since those used on the Titanic). I was getting pretty good at beating out the "walkers" to the lifeboat station, had trouble with those on those darn scooters but who knew that all those in wheelchairs have their own staff assigned? In the event of an emergency at sea I'll probably have to do like they apparently do on Carnival & Norwegian (jump overboard) - good thing the water is pretty warm down here!

Day 0: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

2009-04-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

Flying with a head cold is not a lot of fun so I look for the entertainment factor anywhere I can. It was somewhat amusing seeing the occasional fellow traveler surreptitiously looking out the window whenever Gerry would blow his nose (checking to see if any of those "geese" were anywhere near the engines). Some would give a reassuring touch to their seat cushion making certain the inflatable vest was actually there and wishing they had paid closer attention to the flight attendant's demonstration. Then these same people would glance out the window and realize we were currently over Helena, Montana and there ain't a lot of water in the Rockies for an emergency landing!

While we were completely full leaving Seattle, things did open up once we got to Chicago. Southwest must figure that the people of the Northwest just plain don't get enough warm weather and so to accommodate their passengers they keep the cabin temp at 78 degrees. It's been awhile since I was a microbiology major (for about a month) but I think that's the exact temperature you want to keep a petri dish when trying to cultivate germs. Things improved immensely when we weren't packed quite so tightly - until I "baptized" Gerry with a glass of ice water. Didn't really mean to (and boy was I glad that no one else was sitting in our row!) At first it was a bit shocking, then it actually felt kind of refreshing and finally it felt just plain wet. No worries - with the cabin temp that high, drying out completely did not take long.

And then we were here - Ft. Lauderdale, FL. It actually seems quite beautiful but I'm left wondering how they get those stunningly beautiful exterior shots for CSI: Miami - it's quite hazy. Since our hotel has neither bar nor pool and is almost 3 miles from the beach, we didn't find any students on spring break. We finally ventured out for dinner around 7 pm (local time - which meant we weren't actually all the hungry) hopefully to find some local color. 'Shipwrecked' seemed good - within walking distance of the hotel, 23 beers on tap, $1 beer all day long and lots of fun (sounding anyway) food. Yeah - closed. Then there was a small Cafe (authentic tex-mex they claimed). Yeah - closed. There are lots and lots of pizzerias and the usual fast food places (if Chris were here he'd have made a run for the border right out the door of the hotel). We finally came across an Outback Steakhouse.

Now Gerry & I are quite used to lowering the average age (dramatically) whenever we cruise (particularly anything over 7 days in length), but seriously folks. I was surprised when we got in there that a) the place was overrun by the "silver set" and b) they apparently eat so close to what I'm sure must be their bedtime! I have no doubt that many of them will probably be headed for our ship tomorrow and given that our ears are so plugged from the flight no doubt we will be indistinguishable from the rest of them (huh? what did you say?)

No matter. Those of you who know me know that the anticipation of the trip is nearly as much fun as the actual trip itself. I'm very excited to know that soon I will be embarking on yet another adventure with my most favorite travelling companion seeing new and exotic places. (Of course knowing that there are approximately 1300 crewmembers aboard most of whose job it is to see to my every whim doesn't hurt!)

Terri's Travel Tip: Before embarking on your cruise, take a moment to repack your carry-on bag. Your luggage will be taken from you at check-in and will be delivered directly to your stateroom but that might take 4+ hours. Anything you had with you for the flight (like those comfy neck pillows) you won't be needing so tuck them into your luggage. But there's only so long you can hang out at the buffet aboard ship before you'll want to be exploring, particularly if you have kids travelling with you. Make sure you put your swimsuit, sunglasses, etc. into your carry-on and you'll be set!

Till tomorrow then!

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