Blog 01

 September 19, 2024

 

This sailing started on September 11, and your friendly neighborhood bloggers were excited about free wifi.  Well, as John Arbuckle used to say, “You get what you pay for.”  To say the least, it has been wonky, to say more than that, well, it has been wonky.  Today, anchored off Newport RI is the most consistent Internet connection we’ve had, so we are going to try a blog.

 

Bonnie has kept detailed notes, and her accounts are always more detailed, so I’ll let her start, and if I remember something, I’ll add it later.

 

And now, here’s Bonnie!

 

Well, the flight from Augusta to Boston by way of Charlotte was for the most part uneventful. I did have a wheelchair to go from one gate to the other in Charlotte. It was about a 30 minute trip.  Getting to Boston we found our way to baggage claim and after the luggage finally started coming down ours was one of the first bags. Retrieving the bags we started in search for a cab. I found the yellow taxi cab signs and followed them outside. The taxi we got, the first one in line, was less than spectacular. He spoke no or almost no English and understood even less. We got to the dock and he was going to put us out before even finding out if it was the right place. He was out of the car and trying to unload the luggage while I am trying to ask the luggage guy outside if this was the Natica. Fortunately it was. It was supposed to cost about $25 and he charged us $40.

We got on fairly easy. Found our room after about 3:30 when the rooms were ready. We had some lunch in the Terrace Café on deck 9 while waiting.

The bags were setting outside our room when we got there. The room is very small. Lots of drawers and shelves. So we had enough hangers to hang all his stuff and some of mine and it all fit in the tiny closets. Everything else is rolled up on shelves or put into tiny drawers. This room has by far the tiniest bathroom ever. The shower definitely is the smallest. Fortunately the two doors on the shower swing out or in. So you swing them out to get in and then close them. The only way I can wash my legs and feet is to turn off the water, bend over wash them and then turn the water on and rinse. No 2 people in this bathroom at the same time unless one is in the shower.

There is one stool and no chairs. If I want to sit it is on the bed. There is a vanity area with the stool where he sits to work on his talks. We do have a window but it is has a “partially obstructed” view. There is a life boat hanging outside our window. We eat breakfast in the room on days he has a talk and we lay a large blue towel on the bed so we can set the tray on it.

Alright now writing from my notes. Writings from September 13, 2024:

Clocks were turned ahead one hour last night as we left Newport. So far the cruise has been relatively calm. David has finished his second talk, “Tempest in the Atlantic”. We are back in the room changing clothes(him)  (but I change clothes more on this ship than I ever have before) and then we are going to find some place to play cards.

I guess if I had any complaints it would be there is no place for me to sit in the room but on the bed.

Oceana Natica is a ship almost identical to the Pacific Princess ship which we have sailed many times and now has been sold to another cruise line by Princess. It is so much like it I know where everything is on the ship and can walk from stern to bow is  10 minutes. There are only 4 elevators and it is really easy to get one. I know it is supposed to be upscale but I haven’t seen anything that says upscale to me. My phone signal died after we left Boston and then didn’t even work in Newport. The internet is none existent most of the time. One nice thing is there is a refrigerator in our room and it is kept stocked with all the soft drinks you would lik. Thank you!! Chocolate milk for breakfast is not available for the most part. Every once in a while I will get an good cup of hot chocolate. Hey Mac and Luke “NO PIZZA”! Mostly having a muffin and tomato juice and coffee for our breakfast in the room.

Suppers have been very nice. We have a nice table and waiter. The proportions are not huge and you can finish your meals. Dinner was slow last night for some reason. But it is okay we really have no place to go. We have not been to any shows. There have only been one comedienne show so far. We usually play cards and head to the room so he can study.

Saturday September 14, 2024

Well yesterday was a day at sea. We are still sailing towards Bermuda but because of strong winds, rain and rough seas we are not going to St George. Instead we are going to Hamilton and will stayed docked there till we leave to come home. We are currently scheduled to dock at 2 pm. It is 8:30, we have had our breakfast “in bed”. This morning I had a piece of wheat toast and he had a croissant. Because his talks are at 10 am it is necessary to do room service. Today is “Flight 19 and the Bermuda Triangle”. We have one more talk on our way back to Boston.

Yesterday we had lunch at the salad and sandwich grill which is outside on deck 9. He had a hot dog and I had a Rueben. I took off most of the bread and ate the insides. It was quite tasty as was my salad. We played some cards and napped briefly. It was the Captain’s reception night but we did not go instead we just went to the dinning room at 6 to get in line for supper at 6:30. He had a lobster tail out of the shell on risotto and I had prime rib. Very good. We both had some steamed vegetables. And for dessert a small scoop of ice cream.

The shows, that there are all start at 9:30 which is late for us especially when he has a talk the next day. So we went back to the room and he studied and I crocheted.

We had checked out the shops on deck 5. There are 2. One has clothes, purses shoes, etc and the other is all jewelry. You can see lots of up scale prices here. They had a nice shirt he liked. It was $280 and with his 20% discount would still have been over $200. Yikes! Everything was priced like that.

The internet is almost non-existent. My phone is connected to Natica wifi and it tells me emergency calls only and gives the temperature in Yatch Anchorage? Really!!

Well, we turned in our papers for docking back in Boston on Wed, Sept 18 . We are staying on but will have to go through customs. We are not sure how that will be done. I am currently waiting in the lounge for his talk to start. Last night for the Captains reception they had the band and all their stuff set up and it is still there. He will have to work around it.

 

Crowds are good but every day there is something in right after him so I need to quickly get his stuff down so they can set up. He goes to the back and talks to the guests who want a word. So far there has been only one “old crabby man” who said a picture he used of some one from the 1600’s was wrong! Most people if they disagree with something are nice. But this guy was just nasty.

Today we are going to find the pizzeria for lunch but it turns out it is non existent. We dock at 2 pm and if it is still raining we are going to wait to get off tomorrow. Because we aren’t going to St George we won’t get to go to some of the places we want to go to. Maybe next week we will get there.

 

* * * * * *

 

She will write more later, and I am going to try to transfer some photos off of my phone to the computer so we can get them in the blog.  Stand by.  Ok.  No joy.  I will try again from Bermuda.

May 10,2024

              We finally got the luggage tags and debarkation info this morning. Our luggage number is 12, we meet in dining room on deck 4 and off at 8. Catch a shuttle to the airport for our 12:50 flight to NY.

Well, it is Friday! I was up about 6. He had a bath and we got dressed. I will bathe after we return from off ship and have had lunch, a nap and packed. Before we left the room our room steward brought a huge thank you basket from the entertainment director. It was stuffed with all types of Royal Caribbean things. Very nice. Some more souvenirs. That was a very nice surprise. They have been really nice all way around.

At breakfast I had my usual breakfast and he had oatmeal. I did take a chocolate donut from the buffet to take to the room so I will have a bite of something before we get off the ship. We will have no time for breakfast. We walked up on deck 12 to see what the weather was like and see were we parked. Not close enough to walk so we will take the 5 euro shuttle. We could see a large old fort up on top of the large hill just in side the town we later realized we had toured it. There is an elevator from the street to the top of the mountain for touring the fort. But we found out later it is closed today.

              We returned to the room and gathered up our stuff for departing. We headed to deck 4 because we could not hear the captain when he said what deck we were to go to get off. It was actually one so we walked down 3 flights. Elevator manners by the guests were missing this morning. One elevator stopped and they closed the doors so we couldn’t get on. RUDE!

              We made it through security and outside and it was chaos. People everywhere and nobody seemed to know what they were doing. The kiosk for the shuttle tickets was a little tiny thing hidden and hard to get to. Finally managed to buy our tickets and headed to the shuttle. The first one filled quickly and we headed to the second one. I got a very narrow seat and another lady got up to give Dad her seat. A very old lady came over and squeezed into my seat that was a little wider and pushed me almost out of it. I rode that way to the end.  She kept saying “You can slide back” I am not sure where I was supposed to slide back to. Some people were standing but I refused to stand. I would have fallen if I had stood up.

              When we got out to the city, we finally remembered that we had been here. It is not as nice as Malaga but we enjoyed our stroll and did a little shopping. We had some gelato that was more expensive and not as good as yesterday. We thought about getting some pizza but decided to get some on board. I had walked too much and was not moving real fast. We stayed about 2 hours out. We caught the shuttle back and were back on board at a little after 12.

              He took our purchases and went up to the room to get my coke cup while I waited for him in the pizza cafe. We both had 2 pieces of pepperoni pizza. Then up to the room for a nap. We napped about an hour. We got up and busied ourselves with trying to fit everything into the suitcases plus planning on what we will need in the morning and how we will get that stuff into the bags at the airport. I always bring a small fold up suitcase to carry off the morning things. Our bags weigh about 45 pounds each. They are stuffed. WE both decided that we are paring down what we bring next time. I brought 3 sweaters and never wore any of them on the ship. I brought a jacket that I never wore either. I could have done with 3 evening shirts instead of 6. We will do better next time.

              After packing I took my shower, washed my hair and put on the clothes I will wear off tomorrow and all day on the plane trips. He changed into his clothes for tomorrow too. Then we headed off to supper. I had a shrimp cocktail, steak (medium rare, it was very tender and good) and a peach trifle that had peaches in it but tasted nothing like peaches. There was supposed to be a layer of cake in it at the bottom but that was nonexistent. We had an enjoyable evening with our tablemates and wished them well on their travels. One couple is staying Barcelona for a few days and then taking a cruise to Iceland. The other couple is staying 3 or 4 days then flying back to their home in Florida.

              After walking outside to feel the nice cool air and watch some ships off the side going in the other direction, I went to get a coke and we headed to the room. We are now resting in the room. We need to set our suitcases outside the door and then go to bed. We will have an early alarm since we need to get to the dining room on deck 4 probably around 7:30 unless the Captain Frank gets us to land early and we will get off earlier. Who knows!

              It will be along day tomorrow. Be back in Augusta about 11:30 if everything is on time.

Love you all, Mom, Granny and Bonnie (and pictures to follow)

              First of all, hearty congratulations to our granddaughter, Rachel Marie Ashmen, who graduated from AU today with a bachelor’s degree in (I hope I’m remembering this correct) kinesiology (sorry if Pappy’s memory completely failed).  But I got this part right: she graduated magna cum laude!!  Now it’s on for a Masters Degree in Nursing and then a Doctorate in Nursing.  Again, congratulations!

              Speaking of graduations, our granddaughter, Maggie Rose Eastman, will graduate on May 24 from Lakeside High School.  Slow down kids.  Pappy can hardly keep up.  But great job, Maggie!

              For this trip, we did not buy any Euros because we had a good quantity leftover from November, so when we were ashore it was like free, found money.  To that end – and I weighed them as we were packing – we bought 10 pounds of souvenirs.  You read that right.  Every time we cruise we say that Bonnie and I have enough stuff, and you who live in the Augusta area have enough stuff, and we are cutting back, and we don’t.  Fun times.

              For the last two days staff all over the ship have been reminding us to be sure to do our after cruise surveys, giving all of the staff 10s.  Well, since I am hired by the ship, we don’t get a survey, but frequently I write letters of recommendation to the supervisors of kids who have been especially outstanding.  Today it was 2 waiters and 2 assistant waiters.  You remember we told you that after the 2^nd night we had to change tables, hence the 4 wait-staff members.  Great people.  Hard working.  And it was a pleasure to give 3 of them an atta-boy and one an atta-girl.  I addressed an envelope to the dining room supervisor and went down to guest services, asking the name of the staff person in charge to give him or her that note.  After a struggle, I got a name, and then I was told, unceremoniously, to drop it in the box at the end of the counter.  I hope they pay more attention than a box with a slot in the top suggests.

              Well, as John Denver sang, kind of, “All our bags are packed, we’re ready to go.”  You folks in Augusta will get the traditional “home again, home again, jiggety jig” when we are back at 233, and Jennifer and Amy please park the Silver Bullet where we can easily find it.  To you other blog readers, I’ll send you an email Sunday.

              Keep us in your prayers as we head your way.

              Love, Dad/Pappy/David

              TTFN 

Views from Alicante

The castle Bonnie mentioned

Crazy Plaza. It is perfectly flat, but an optical illusion sure fools you.

The flowers blushed with my beauty standing beside them.

May 9, 2024

  

              Well, your favorite cruisers are one port away from setting a record.   Three ports, three trips off.  One more to go tomorrow in Alicante.  We took the 5 euro shuttle bus from the port to the main street of Malaga and wandered around for 4 leisurely hours, in and out of stores, looking at the different wares.  We saw an ugly pair of sunglasses for 65 euros, shoes for 95 euros that a clown might wear, and then some nice shirts and ladies tops – none of which we bought.  We did select a t-shirt or two, some cards, some pins, no magnets, a grocery bag with a Spanish lady dancing, a bag of Ricola (sing it), and the stuff I have forgotten, my children’s mother will tell you about.  She is becoming quite a good blogger.  Next cruise I may assign the duty to her.

              It was a beautiful day, the temperature suited both of us – a miracle indeed.  It was just like Goldilock’s porridge, not too hot, not too cold.  Malaga is a city we have visited before and enjoy.  There  is a Moorish fort called Alcazaba that we’ve explored before, but opted not to head that way today, instead going to the Cathedral (some pictures will be shared below).  It is an incredibly beautiful house of worship.  There was a sign up that stated the time for Holy Communion, but said Tourists were not welcome.  Hmmmm.  I wonder, most every time we are in one of these old churches, how many of the locals still gather there for worship.

              We did something we’ve never done before in a Spanish city.  We found a Tapas restaurant and had lunch there.  They are considered snacks, or appetizers, but you can make a full meal out of them.  Bonnie had a Spanish potato salad which had as much tuna in as potatoes, maybe more tuna (Michael and Matthew, it reminded me a little of the Olivier salad we used to have in Russia, but the O is better).  I had a spicy shrimp dish that was served in a spicy liquid and still bubbling hot.  We had cokes and the introductory item was the most incredible olives I’ve ever had.  Mom tried it, but pronounced one yuck.  If I could have brought them back on board and legally gotten them to Augusta I’d’ve bought a gallon.  And there was a small loaf of bread that was, as Pappy Carter used to say, “Dee-licious!”   A most enjoyable meal.  Then some more shopping and looking and for dessert – are you ready for it – gelato.  Black cherry for her and Frappuccino for me.  The best this side of Venice.

              In the cathedral we lit candles, as we always do, and prayed for several folks back home, especially Jack’s mother, Jenny, who is slowly making her journey to her heavenly home.  And in the answered prayers thanksgiving, Tate had a bone density scan, was a good boy, and got Chick fil A on his way to school.

              Well, we are 15 minutes away from supper time and I will turn the keyboard over to my Beloved after supper to tell you what really happened.

              Love to all,

              Dad/Pappy/David

              I hate electronic everything!!!! Listen to channel 7 , listen to channel 2 to know when to get off where to get off!!!! YUCK!!!

               Well, today is Thursday. Slept okay. Got up at 1 and 5 but managed to go back to sleep. We finally got up at 7:30. Got ready and headed to the Windjammer for breakfast. Same as every other day: 2 pieces of bacon, an English muffin, and 2 small slices of cantaloupe. We were arriving at the port as we were getting breakfast. There 2 other ships already there: a Norwegian, the dawn and a Cunard, the Queen Victoria. The Dawn is the first ship we ever did talks on many years ago. Well, Captain Frank turned and backed and other stuff till we were docked in front of the other two ships. We were in port again early so we go off an hour earlier than planned. We walked outside to see where we were parked and how far from town. It was a 30 to 40 minute walk. We opted to buy the 5 euro, both ways, shuttle ticket. We gathered our stuff and headed to deck 4 for the gangway. We get ready to out onto the deck and he has forgotten his sunglasses. I waited in the alcove out side the 4^th floor dinning room while he went back up to the room to retrieve them. Having gotten the glasses we proceeded through the port building and out to the shuttle. It was funny but not so funny when the bus driver got to the place where he had to scan his card to raise the bar, his card did not work. He must have tried it 15 times. Finally, some guy who worked at the port came over and scanned his or it would have been a short trip. It happened again at the second gate but fortunately another bus was coming in as ours was going out and our driver borrowed his card to get us out. Off we went to the city where all the shuttles parked. About a 20 minute ride. It is the same place we have parked every time we have been here.

              We could see the large church we usually visit just a short walk off. It is so beautiful and magnificent inside and out. We set off walking toward the church first passing the horse drawn carriages for buggy rides. You have to cross over several very busy streets to get to the street where the church is located. You had better follow the walk lights or you will get run over. They drive fast and there are multiple lanes at each intersection. There are lots of kiosks and small souvenir stores on the way. There are some very high-end stores also. We shopped several of the smaller places and got a variety of things.

              We finally found the entrance of the church, you have to all the way around it to find the entrance. After paying our 9 euros each we spent about 30 minutes looking, taking pictures and lighting candles. It is 20 cents to light a candle. They have electronic candles and you don’t use real candles and matches. We took time to go outside and look at the outside architecture. It is a massive building. There are several pulpits set up around the main stage area equipped with microphones. We wondered if they actually had services there. There is a huge pipe organ at the main stage area. There were many pews with kneelers to set on and just enjoy the sights and sounds of inside. There were several caskets with former priests buried in them. It is so massive inside and the gold things are many. Unfortunately, they no longer enforce the rules of no knees and bare shoulders showing. There were many people wearing shorts, and some were very short, and wearing very bare tops. Most people observed the silence or spoke very softly.

              After the church we walked back to the main thoroughfare we had walked up. It is a very narrow street with businesses on either side and a one lane running through it where there was a steady stream of taxis, garbage trucks, police vehicles and other traffic running some times at a quick speed. We saw one lady who was standing and signing into her phone because she was deaf and could not and did not hear the vehicle that approached her. Some passerby pulled her out of the way.

              We found a small café that was just opening that advertised tapas. Your Dad has always wanted to try some. They had a variety of them listed on the sign. Most I did not know what they were. One said garlic shrimp and he got that. I though Potato Spanish salad sounded safe, oops! We ordered those two things and 2 cokes. The cokes were the old fashioned coke bottles served with a glass and an ice cube and a slice of orange in it. They brought out a small container of green olives, which he loved and I did not, a small loaf of bread and it was delicious. Then they brought out the tapas. His was a boiling bowl with shrimp in it. Mine was a small round mound, about a cup size, which turned out to be tuna salad with some cubes of potatoes, small pieces of carrost, corn, green peppers and onions. It was tasty and I ate about half of it. After paying our waitress, she did not speak English but was very nice, for our lunch we headed back down the street. It was interesting during our lunch that our waitress stood out in front of the tables that were sitting on the sidewalk and was talking to passer -byes to get them to stop and eat. By the time we left all the tables outside and some tables inside were full.

              There was a gelato store just across the street and we stopped. It was fantastic. He finally got some coffee flavored. We each got just one scoop in a cup and stood along the street and enjoyed it. It was about twice the cost of the gelato we had in Puerto de Cruz but very yummy.

              Then we walked back to the shuttles and boarded it to head back to the ship. An uneventful ride. But we did see about 10 or so LARGE luxury yachts parked in the port as we rode back. Off the bus, into the port building and through Malaga security. Then we shopped a little in the cruise building store. He got some Ricola lozenges because he was out.  Then, on to the ship. I went to the room and got my coke cup and back down to get a coke. Then, back to the room for a nap. Napped then got up and went to supper. I had French onion soup, it was okay, cottage pie (hamburger meat a few peas and carrots under a topping of mashed potatoes) and a strawberry dessert. I only ate about half the cottage pie it wasn’t very warn and way too much hamburger and not enough vegetables.

              We went ahead and gave the waiters their tips because on the last night it is so hard to see them because they have so very much to do. Then, I had brought my cup so I went and got a refill. Now we are back in the room and I am finishing the blog.

              Love you all, and miss you! See you soon! Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie  

Views of the Malaga cathedral

May 8, 2024

 

              Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea.

              Stand by for blog.

              That first from Walter Winchell, and the second paraphrased from Paul Harvey.  Good day.

              A reader of these ramblings asked me earlier today where we had docked since we hadn’t told you.  Ooops.  Sorry.  In the Canary Islands, first La Palma and second Tenerife.  At Tenerife we took an excursion to Puerto de la Cruz.  It was a 40 minute bus ride each way with a lot of “Oh, look at that!, ”  And “Wow!  Did you see that?”  Beautiful scenery and a leisurely couple of hours in a city on the sea.  We have a few pictures, and I’ll select a some and post them at the end of this edition.  I laughingly told Bonnie, we had spent $25 each to ride almost an hour and a half to buy more souvenirs when there were souvenir stores right off of the ship.  But not the great scenery.  And it was a fun 4 hours.

              My last talk, “Purple and Picasso,” was this morning, and now I have the next 2 days off.  No more rehearsals, no more set ups and take downs.  Sadness.  But the Lord willing, we’ll go again another day.

              We just came back from Studio B and the ice rink where we watched “Spirits of the Seasons.”  It is a colorful, high energy show which we’ve seen several times, but never better than this time.  The kids were fantastic.  Energetic.  Great moves.  Smiling.  Interacting with the audience.  Just a great 45 minutes.  I have some pictures of that too, but as fast as they were moving, I’ll have to see what’s good to share with you.

              Tonight’s costume for dinner is “dress to impress,” and I need to finish, so I’ll turn the keyboard over to Bonnie and then look for some good pictures.

              Love, Dad/David/Pappy

              TTFN

              Well, it is Wednesday but first I shall tell you about Tuesday. We got into the port of Tenerife about 7. We had gotten up at 6 so we could get showered and dressed and have breakfast before going to Studio B to meet at 8:30 for our 4 hour tour. We of course got there early and were rebuked by the young man, Jonathan, at the door. He was extremely rude and we were told to move back from the door till he called the 8:30 people. He only wanted the 8 and 8:15 groups. It was 8:05. He did not talk nice. Well, he finally let in the 8:30 groups. If you were traveling in a group of people, you were told to have all of your group together before you went in so you would all be on the same bus. Some did not listen. There were 3 people who wound up on bus 9 who were traveling with a larger group that were on bus 8 with us. They went around trying to find 3 people to switch. No one did. The 2 buses actually travelled right behind each other so it really wasn’t a problem except they couldn’t sit together.

           There was a delay that we told later was because a lady had collapsed in the waiting area outside and they had to attend her. No problem we were off at 9:15 instead of 9. The ride was very comfortable and the scenery was beautiful. We were driving to a port city, Puerta de Cruz, and the ride was great. No narration just a ride. After 40 minutes we were there and dropped off in front of a fancy hotel.  They told us we had to meet at 12:15 for our trip back. The bus went somewhere else to park. The hotel was on a very narrow street , one lane, and very congested.

 We started our walking about. We went down to the beach, again a black sand beach, and looked around. It was very nice. Then we went back up to souvenir row. We shopped in about 6 or 7 shops. Some classy shops and some typical what I call “junk” stores. I got a new shirt and we got a lot of other stuff too.  I think there were four or five bags.  It was a great day. We stopped at a café and had a “ham “and cheese toasted sandwich. The ham was not what I would call ham.  I ate half of it without the ham, not very good! I did have a small coke and he had a cappuccino. The coke was a very small can. They served it with a tall thin glass with 2 large ice cubes the size of the bottom of the glass on the bottom and 2 slices of lime on top. You poured the coke into the glass. It was a very tasty coke. Then, we returned to the hotel and got back on the bus at 12:15. Then, we rode back and returned to the ship about 1. We stopped in the pizza shop and had 2 pieces each of delicious pepperoni pizza. Then to the room for a nap.

Off to supper at 5:30 and we both had fish and chips, too much breading on the fish. I peeled it off and ate the fish and 3 or 4 of the fries. There was some sort of vegetable tart for appetizer and a chocolate mousse for dessert. Then, off to the room so he could study for his last talk that was Wednesday morning. Clocks went back another hour, so we are 6 hours different.

Wednesday morning: I got up about 6 and played scrabble till the alarm went off at 6:30. We needed to get up, shower and dress and go to breakfast. It was sparsely crowded since we lost another hour. I tried a ham and cheese omelet. There were 2 very small cubes of ham and small bit of cheese. I ate about half. Then, he was off to the cabin for his last morning of studying, while I headed to deck 4 for my walk. It was quite breezy this morning so I had a sweater. I completed my 3 rounds and headed back to the room to collect my crocheting and head to the Star Lounge and of course there was art set up for a 2:30 auction. His last talk “Purple and Picasso” was well received. Though one of his sound pieces would not play. Several times this cruise the sound pieces have not played. We then headed off to the room for him to change and then we were going for pizza.

On the way to the room, I passed their 2 for $30 dollar t- shirt sale, so I perused and got 2. I had bought a new hat at Nassau last year and was wearing it for this cruise. This morning when I took my shower, I discovered that it does not come down over the back of my neck. OUCH! I had a very red sunburn neck. I did not realize the sun was that hot yesterday. But it was. Fortunately, we had some burn gel in the pink medicine bag. It felt very cooling on my neck when he put it on me. So though very sore to the touch I was okay. Since we are going out 2 more days, I needed a new hat, so after purchasing the shirts we found a big wide brimmed white hat for the next two days. It was only $10.

Then, we continued on our journey to the room and then down for pizza. The pizza on this ship is very good. We each enjoyed 2 pieces and a small dessert and headed to the room. We had planned after a short nap to go to the 3 o’clock ice skating show. But they changed the time to 3:30. We were going to play some cards before going to the room but all the tables were taken. So we just went to the room and I got a longer nap. We decided to head to the show at about 2:45 anticipating a long line to wait in. But unbelievably they said we could go on in and sit down. We did. We got a nice front row seat on the right side, of course as usual the very front of the front section is always reserved and was already filled. But we had great seats.

The show was great. The skaters were very good. Afterwards we went to the room to dress for the “dress to impress” night. Really!  We dressed and had some time and we started the blog. Supper was Greek salad, minus the cucumbers for me, prime rib for me and ossobuco for him. I had panna cotte for dessert and he had, wait for it, strawberry ice cream.

Well, we are now back in our room and in our pjs. The Captain told us at lunch time that we would be passing by Gibraltar about 4 in the morning but wouldn’t be able to see it. Besides the winds are to be at 70 mph, no kidding, and cold. I will pass. We are expected to get to Malaga an hour early  (this  captain really has the hammer down). There is to be a shuttle at this port and the next to take you town. It is a 35 to 40 minute walk otherwise. It only cost 5 euros for a round trip ride. No turning back the clocks we are done with that, so we are just sailing to our ports. No more talks, just relax and enjoy.

Well, it will some be time for bed. The shows have not been much this cruise. But we have enjoyed our table mates and had a great time. He is probably going to write some more now. I will say goodnight.

Love you all, Mom, Granny and Bonnie

And she will be back tomorrow folks.  I am really enjoying her contributions to this.  Remembering everything from her recounting revives the fun we had.

              And now some pictures.

              First from Puerto de la Cruz (yesterday).

My favorite shot. A beautiful place. A great excursion.

A tunnel at the side of the mountain. Interesting ride.

               And now from the ice show:

This little girl was selected from the audience to ride a sleigh for the winter number. She was enjoying herself! The young man on the other sleigh, not so much.

May 6, 2024

              Last night our headwaiter, Bryan told us we were docking close in and it would be a 10 minute walk into town.  Maybe on his legs.  We figured 20 minutes into town and after wandering around for an hour or so, it was 30 minutes back to the ship.  But we had a good time, bought some souvenirs, had some just okay gelato, and came back to the ship.  Then a nap and dinner for 2 at our table for 6.  Our table mates were on excursions.  We will excurse tomorrow.  I did my Lady in Gold talk today to a good reception.  Off tomorrow and then Purple and Picasso Wednesday, and I am finished for this cruise.  It will be stops in Malaga and Alicante, then Barcelona and home.  Relatives, friends, and blog readers all – I am beat.  Maybe I will be more lively tomorrow (we come along side at 08:30 and sail away at 15:30, or 3:30 p.m., whichever comes first).  Pictures tomorrow. Lots of love! Dad/David/Pappy

              Well, the cards weren’t with me tonight. He could have not played the last two hands and he would still have won, so we stopped before I got farther behind. Oh, well tomorrow is another day.

              We got up at 6 and got showered and dressed and headed to the Windjammer. I had gotten up at 5 and played scrabble on my phone because I didn’t sleep very well. I decided to try the oatmeal this morning. Big mistake! It was awful(!!), so I got a piece of toast and some bacon and cantaloupe. Then, he headed back to the room to study and get ready. I went to deck four to walk. It was cold and very windy. I couldn’t hear my story because of the wind so I just walked 3 times around the deck. The Captain has been flying low the last 8 days so we were already passing land and were due to dock by 11:30 instead of 1:30. So I got to watch the island go by while I walked. I took a couple of pictures. After the walk, I went to the room and picked up the crocheting and headed to the lounge for his talk. He did the “Lady in Gold”. Had a good crowd considering we were docking and would be able to get off soon. After the talk I collected his stuff and we went to the room.

                Then, even though it was a little early for lunch we went upstairs. The captain came on at 11:30 and said the ship was all clear and you could get off. We went all the way up to deck 13 and forward so we could see if we could walk into town. It appeared we could walk, so we went into the Windjammer and had some lunch. They had fried chicken and I got a small piece and some steamed vegetables. It was very good. They had some balsamic vinegar out and I put some on the vegetables. I got a no sugar added dessert, chocolate of course. It was good. The desserts are very small but it was plenty. We got some ranger cookies but they were really sugary and hard. Now dipped into coffee they would have been okay.

               Now it was back to the room to put on our roaming clothes and get some euros, hats, sunglasses, canes and water bottle. The one head waiter guy said last night it was a short 10 minute walk to town. WRONG! !  It took us more then 30 minutes to follow the blue line to town. From the top deck on the ship we could see a black sand beach to the right of where we were parked and we wanted to try and go there. So off we went. We walked through the security building and there were some small gift areas. We looked and agreed we would stop back when we returned. Didn’t want to have to carry it. There was a large ferry sitting out in the harbor and you could buy tickets to go somewhere(?) and you could even drive cars on to it.

After following the blue line, we finally got to one of the main street and started walking down the street. One of the first places we came upon was the gelato store. It was very small and only had 5 flavors. But it had amareno cherry, my favorite, and he had strawberry, a flavor which he liked. Mine was very good but his not as good. He was really hoping for a coffee or chocolate kind. There were tables on the sidewalk outside so we sat and ate. There are beautiful small patches of flowers and trees all along the street. We stopped to take pictures of them.

               After gelato we continued walking down the street and found several souvenir shops.  Found a few things to buy. We saw two of our table mates and they said you could get to the black sand beach, which was on the other side of the street we were on, by crossing over and walking down a small boardwalk onto the beach. We walked a little farther then, crossed over. It was a beautiful beach with all types of sports stuff set up and a large rock barrier against the sea coming in to far. I did not want to walk in the sand and it was really black. I don’t like sand in my shoes and he walkway only went so far out.

               After the beach we started to walk all the way back. It was a long and tiring walk. We both were pretty worn out. We followed the blue line back. When we came to where the ferry was, there were now cars lined up waiting to get onto it. Pretty cool. We got a couple of really cool postcards in the port shops. By the time we got back on board we had been out about 3 hours, so to the room and a nap.

               Got up at 5 went to supper. We were the only ones at the table. Nice quiet supper. Then, off to the disastrous card game. I gave up after one game and we came back to blog. We have to get up at 6 tomorrow because we have a tour that meets at 8:30. So he is tired and now we are going to bed.

               Love you all and miss everybody. We will have supper next Monday. We will be celebrating Tate’s birthday. Tacos and ice cream sandwich cake. Who is coming, haha!

               Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie 

 

May 5, 2024 

              Before Bonnie Blogs, I’m going to try to post a couple of pictures tonight.  I know, “Do or do not.  There is no try.”  Rachel Bryn, we really cannot go a day without a movie quote or a song.

            Oh yeah.  I started to post the blog  and everything but our writing was in Spanish.  No comprendo.  Well, a couple of clicks and I outwitted it.  A country boy can survive.

It is Sunday! And it is Cinco di Mayo. It is 3:20pm here on the Explorer of the Sea. We had laid down for a nap planning on getting up now and going to the ice skating show at 4 pm, however they just came on the intercom and announced they were changing the time to 4:30 and supper starts at 5, so we will have to go on Day 11. Best laid plans of mice and men.

Well, what have we been up to since we last blogged. Well, basically we have turned the clocks back one hour 5 times! In a day we sleep till about 6:30 am. We get up, shower and dress, and go to the Windjammer for breakfast at 7:30. It has been sparsely populated because of all the clocks changes. We enjoy a breakfast. Then he heads back to the cabin to study because he has had a talk at 10 am every morning. One of the best things about the cabin is that there is a real chair with a back for him to sit in and practice. Every other ship has a makeup chair with a half back, a very uncomfortable chair in which to sit.

I head to Deck 4 and outside to walk 2 or 3 times around. Sometimes I don’t get the whole way because they have it closed for cleaning but I can turn around and walk a shorter route. One of the scenic spots along the walk is the dog station (a box with straw in it and a box disposable plastic gloves) for those guests who have their “comfort” dogs with them. I have seen at least 3 older ladies with the tiny little pooches in the windjammer or the dining room. The walk is nice and sometimes it is breezy but it was only cold one morning. I enjoy the air and the walk. It is usually not too crowded at that time in the morning. I walk about 45 minutes to an hour. On one side of the ship is the smoking side. But so far there have not been too many smokers.

After finishing my walk, back to the cabin to drop off the kindle and earphones, earbuds won’t work without the internet. I pick up my crochet bag and supplies for the day. Since I last blogged I have finished 4 projects and am working on my 5^th and final project. I leave him in the room finishing up his studying and dressing for the talk and I go to the lounge on deck 5 forward to wait for the talk. There is a nice chair in the back by the door where I can sit and crochet and listen to his talk. He arrives about 9:45 and sets up his computer with the help of the tech. One nice thing about this cruise is they provide him with a bottle of water, sweet. Never done that before. But so far the art people have set up the art in the lounge blocking off anywhere from 1/3 to ½ of the chairs so people have no where to sit. It really cuts down on how many people can get into seats, but today should have been the last time he has that to deal with. He does his talk which takes about 45 minutes. When he finishes, he moves to the back by the door to be able to talk to people and I move to the front to disconnect and pack up the computer and stuff. Then, I move it back to my chair. There is a talk that follows immediately after so his stuff needs to be out of the way. He talks for about 10 or 15 minutes to people who like to ask questions and make comments. Always very nice things.

Then, we walk back aft, across deck 5, to the elevators for him to return to the room to work on the next days talk and me to sit in the lounge by the elevators and crochet some more. It is a great place to watch the people going to and fro or to the guest services, etc. He will usually work about 45 minutes to an hour and then come down to get me and we will go to lunch. We have gone to the dining room on deck 3 three times for lunch, a nice leisure lunch. The other times we have gone to the Windjammer. Sometimes after lunch we go to the library on deck 7 and play some cards. Then about 1 or 2 to the cabin for a short nap after which he will study his program again. He usually studies 3 or 4 times. Then, about 5 we get dressed for supper. Twice we have had formal night. One night was causal night and we wore our Mickey Mouse t-shirts that say “I don’t do matching shirts”. Everybody gets a kick out of that. We each have on the exact same shirt. Our waiter asked if he could take our picture.

After supper we have been walking out on deck and looking at the sea. The shows usually start at 7 and it is after 7 before we get out of supper. I don’t know why they don’t start at 7:30. But there really hasn’t been anything we wanted to see. We will go back to the cabin. I crochet, do puzzles and play games while he studies. Then, if we don’t have to do the clocks we play some cards.

The evening menus have been basically good. I had chicken parmesan with spaghetti last night. I have had short ribs, grilled chicken and a turkey pot pie. I have had mostly no sugar added desserts. The appetizers have been okay. Today in the Windjammer they had set up a bar where you could get taco chips with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, chopped onions, jalapenos, salsa, a very thin cheese sauce and a chile beef sauce. There was also chicken and soft taco shells, too. It was good and I made a plate of nachos and toppings. He got a hot dog, and their hot dogs are really good, and some sautéed vegetables.

Tonight, I am going to give the French onion soup another chance, the first time I tried it had no onions and tasted like water. They are having a Mojo-marinated pork chop with steamed broccoli, roasted parsnips, sweet potatoes (which means you get one broccoli spear, one parsnip and one sweet potato) and a cumin-orange -lime reduction. No kidding about the vegetables. There is never more than one broccoli spear. There must be a run on them. There is a mediterranean spinach pie that sounds good. It has spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese and bechamel sauce under a flaky pie crust. Maybe I will be daring and try it. They do have the warm chocolate cake with molten center for dessert.

We will come back to the room after supper. He has made changes to his Woman in Gold talk and will need to work on it for tomorrow. It is a port day tomorrow and he usually doesn’t do a talk but the docking was scheduled for gangway down at 1:30 pm with all aboard at 9:30. The captain came on and said in his noon talk that we were going to dock early at 11:30, so we don’t know if his talk will be changed or not. There is only one more sea day and that is before we get to Malaga. He will be doing his “Purple and Picasso” talk on that day. We shall see what tomorrow holds. We don’t know where we are docking tomorrow, so we don’t know whether we will be able to get off and wander around. It depends on how far out he is docked.

For Tuesday we bought a 4 hour tour that will take us on a 40 minute bus ride to Puerto de la Cruz. We get to roam around and shop, lunch, etc on our own. It wasn’t expensive and it was the only tour in the four ports that was not sold out, except for the two Spanish speakers only tours. There were 3 spots left and we got 2 of them. It should be a lot of fun. We aren’t sure whether if it will be possible to walk off the ship in the other 2 ports and look around. It all depends on where he parks the ship. 

And now here is sleepy head who is finally up from his loooong nap!

So, here is sleepy head who was napping until SOMEONE said, very loudly, “Do you want to get up?”  No!  I want to nap!  Well, guess who got up.

This is Day 8 of our cruise, and I very honestly say, this has been one of our best cruises ever.  Lots of fun doing the talks.  Great table mates.  Fun card games (I actually won one out of two).  Good food (but then I eat most anything – are there snails tonight?).  Good audiences.  Positive interaction with many of the crew (David’s Cruising Rule – or really any other activity rule – get the server’s/helper’s name, talk to them, ask questions about their day, their home, their family and be genuinely interested in them.  It is the right thing to do and they will go out of their way to be friendly and helpful.  So many cruisers are slugs who treat them like they are dark colored and picking cotton while the overseer stands with a whip ready to beat them half to death).

Well, my Cruise Buddy has brought you up to date on most everything that has happened, but I do have a couple of amusing anecdotes to share.

              Yesterday as I was walking into the Star Lounge a couple stopped me and asked me when Bonnie and I were married.  The lady recalled that I had said August, 1968.  She asked what day.  I told her 24.  And she tapped her husband’s hand and beamed, “That’s the same day we were married.”  She told me that they have met one other couple who were married on that day.  I told her, Suzanne, and her husband, Charles, that I knew another couple who were married on August 24, but not that long ago.

              After the talk, about John Harrison, the man who “created” longitude (actually created the chronometer that allows us to learn our proper longitude), a man asked me if I could explain to him how they judges of the longitude contest – the winner of which would receive the equivalent of $2.1 million dollars in today’s money – could determine that his winning clock had lost just 5 seconds in 81 days with all of the other clocks being so bad.  I told him, “No, and I’ve been asked that before and so far have been unable to find the answer, but I’ll look again.”  This time Sergei Bryn and the boys at Google did better for me and a I learned the 2 ways they made the determination.  One was, when the ship Harrison was on docked at Port Royal Jamaica they had previously stopped at Kingston and the exact longitude had been determined there years ago with the use of a complicated mathematic formula.  That’s how they knew the 5 seconds.  The other way was using “mean solar time.”  I relayed the question this morning and my answers, explaining I had no idea what mean solar time was, reading them, in a hurried, comedic style a paragraph from the Wikipedia entry on “solar time.”  We all had a big laugh.  Those of you who are nodding off, do you want to wake up now?

              After he left a man from England stepped up with some comments, and we ended up talking about Michael Portello, Rumpole of the Baily, Midsomer Murders, and other great British TV programs that Bonnie and I enjoy.

              Speaking of Rumpole, She Who Must Be Obeyed just told me I have 5 minutes, just enough time to tell you about the plate of strawberries covered in chocolate (the strawberries, not the plate) that was delivered mysteriously to our room yesterday.  It starts several days ago when the six of us at Table 515 were moved there, against our will from Table 503.  Two nights ago I got a bowl of strawberry ice cream for dessert and it was awful.  Previous servings had been very good.  I asked Bonnie to tasted it and she agreed it was lousy.  The waiter noticed I wasn’t eating it and I described the taste.  He said they must have given me sugar free ice cream instead and went and got real ice cream.  The strawberries and chocolate must have been an “I’m sorry” offering.  We took them to supper and shared them with our  tablemates.  And after we had all been seated, the head waiter came with a bottle of champagne for the table.  We had told the head at 503 we didn’t want to move, but they explained the reason and we moved.  I think the champagne was another “sorry” offering. 

              And now it’s supper.

               And now a rummy report.  The score is tied at 2-2.  I came storming back for the win.

One more for Star Wars Day

When trying to find our stateroom, I look for the statue of the naked lady.  If she's not here we are on the wrong side of the ship.

And finally, wisdom from the door.

              TTFN

May 1

 

It is all Park West Galleries’ fault!  Under oath, I would repeat that statement: it’s all their fault!  So what am I yelling about you ask?  I’m glad you asked.

Well, we had consumed our breakfast (assorted vegetables for her, salami and a hard roll for me – that’s from Star Trek – bonus points for knowing the episode, and let’s not always see the same hands), I had returned to Stateroom 8469 for the last rehearsal of “Red: the Color of Desire,” and Bonnie had gone for her morning stroll around the deck.  I finished my wrap up, changed from breakfast clothes to show clothes – astronaut cat t-shirt off, Augusta Nation shirt (purchased at a 2^nd hand store) on; computer loaded, and I headed for Deck 5 and the Star Lounge.

I walked in and HALF OF THE THEATER was taken by easels and crappy, constantly duplicated art work, to be sold at a fake auction by the above-mentioned slugs: Park West Galleries.  It happens every cruise.  The slugs come in and completely take over a venue, turning half of my audience away (and any other speaker scheduled for that spot) because they cannot find a seat.  The young man helping me set up gave me a weary sigh and said, “There is nothing we can do about it.  They take over the whole place to sell their junk.”

Anyway, I smiled good-naturedly (I’m only growling to you) and the show went on.  Red was well received and I closed with a picture of a fire engine red 1959 Chevrolet.  It was a 4-door Parkwood, I couldn’t find a 2-door Brookwood (and that’s been the story of my life since Dad junked mine for $35 – and don’t raise your hand if you’ve heard that story).

So here is what I’m complaining about.  I know, it took me a long time to get here, but this my half of the blog.

Coming back to our stateroom, I got off the elevator, turned the wrong way, and got lost.  As the sign on the door said, “Not all of us are wandering.  Some of us are just trying to find our staterooms.”  I’m now on a 5 mile hike with a 15 pound pack, and as I’m huffing and puffing down the hall, a cabin steward asks, “Can I help you?”  I pant, “8---4---6---9.”  He points in the same direction I’m walking, so I smile and go on.  But the numbers keep going up, not going down.  8-4-?-? is no where in sight.   All around me is 8-5-?-? 

“Curse you PWG!” I shout to the air.

Then I come to a cross-corridor and take it.  I look at the numbers.  They are now odd instead of even.  I look at 3 cabins.  They’re going up that way, and down that way.  Victory!

Well, dear hearts, we is in the realm of the celestials (Brother Dave Gardner) and it ain’t over yet.  I get to the room and set down to study for “The World’s Most Stolen Artwork.”  It is part 1 of a 2 part talk, and so I open the notes on my tablet for part 1 and it’s part 2.  To shorten this story, I knew had made a goof back at 233, and thought I had corrected it.  Nope.  It took me about 15 minutes – tech  support was no where in sight, and no longer a phone call away – but, you’d be proud Michael.  I got it.  Change that patch cord.  Don’t use one with two C-usb ends.  Use one with a standard USB and a C.  Delete.  “Are you sure you want to do this?”  Yes!  Just do it!  Copy.  Paste.  “This file already exists” (no it doesn’t!  I erased it!) “Do you want to copy over it with the same file?”  Yes, you ninny.  And all was well.

Study time wasted for tomorrow’s Part 1, so I went down to Deck 5.  Found Bonnie.  Went to lunch.  Then we went to the Library and played 3 hands of auction rummy and I am proud to say, for the first time in 2 cruses, I am ahead.  We came back up for nap.  And now I have shared my adventures with you and I will turn to The Ghent Altarpiece, Part 1.  Bonnie will blog later.

And now, hereeeeeees Bonnie

Well, let me start with yesterday at breakfast and give some highlights of Monday and Tuesday before I do Wednesday. On Monday I brought my air pods and my phone to breakfast planning to listen to my book on the phone. It worked perfectly well at home. However, when I put my air pods in my ears and went to the phone, it said you will have to have the internet to listen. YUCK! So I went off on my walk with nothing. On Tuesday morning I brought my air pods and the kindle and had no luck getting them to connect either. YUCK!!  So off I went walking.  On Tuesday after I got out on deck the wind was blowing so hard it was cold, so I went back to the cabin and got a sweater and then proceeded back out to walk. I am using Deck 4. Nice walk. On Monday night they had told us we would have to move to a different table, 515, for supper. So were went to supper Tuesday night heading to the new round table for 6 and not the rectangular one. It was fine but the waiters were not as attentive as the old ones. Supper was coconut shrimp for an appetizer and grilled tiger shrimp for supper. They were the same size though tiger shrimp as supposed to be larger. All very good to eat.

After supper on Tuesday there was a show of a tenor singer. I am pretty sure he said he was from Atlanta. He was a little larger than all of the photos of him in his videos on the tv screens. Neither of us could understand a word he sang. It was English but not understandable. He was more interested in telling us about all the famous people he either knew, or sang with, or wrote music for than actually singing. He showed the same pictures over and over again of all the famous people. Not a very good show.

We had turned the clocks up again on Tuesday night and are turning them up again tonight. So tomorrow we will be 3 hours ahead of you.

Now for the adventures of today, Wednesday. Well, we were up by 7, showered and dressed and headed for breakfast. Today I splurged I had two thin slices cut from a large baked ham, an English muffin and 2 small slices of cantaloupe. All was consumed and enjoyed. David yesterday had suggested we buy some headphones to try and get my kindle to work. I said no I wasn’t spending the money. But before I went to bed Tuesday night I remembered I had a pair of headphones we had gotten from somewhere on one of our trips and they were in my backpack down in among other left over junk from other trips. So I had found them last night and brought them with the kindle to breakfast. We shall try again. Well, I put them in, clicked on my book and the book wouldn’t turn on, YUCK!!!. I played with it but nothing doing. He had to get back to the room so I told him to go and I would mess with it. Well, after he left the table I looked at the book I was trying to listen to and realized it was a book to read and not a book that had audio, DUMB! So I picked a different book that had audio and amazingly the headphones worked. Off to deck 4 and my walk. It was still breezy but the walk was very nice. I was little late finishing up the walk so when I got back to the room it was time for him to go his talk. So we went together.

WE went down to 5 and walked across to the Star Lounge for his talk. SURPRISE it is Park West Galleries show today and it is at 1:30 pm (it lasts 2 and half hours) and it is only 10 am but they have set all their art in the lounge and blocked off at least half of the seats. His tech was changed, also, and he did not bring David his water. So I needed to go all the way back up to the room and get his water. There were a lot of people who came and left because they couldn’t find a seat. Sadness. Talk went well.

After the talk he headed to the room and had his adventure and I found a seat near the elevators across from guest services and did some crocheting. (Up date on crocheting: I have now finished 3 of the 5 projects I brought. Almost rang out of yarn for the one I worked on yesterday. I had about 12 inches left.) He came down about 12 and we went up to lunch. There were a lot more people there than yesterday because a lot of people got up late and didn’t make it to breakfast. So they were having a brunch.  I had a salad and a hotdog, no bun.  He got 4 of the little desserts and we sampled some of them. Then, we went to deck 7 to the library and game room and played  cards. Then, off for a nap.

Short naps and he worked on his talk and I crocheted on project 3. About 5 we dressed for supper and headed to our table. Tonight I had shrimp cocktail, a turkey pot pie and an apple cobbler. The pot pie would have been better if there had been more vegetables. 90% of it was huge chunks of turkey. I ate about half of it.

On the way back from supper we stopped at the t shirt sale and each got a nice shirt and got a couple of souvenirs for those back home. There was a show with a magician, which I don’t care for, so we didn’t go to the show. Then, because getting off the ship to come home, comes all too soon, we stopped at guest services, where the line was very short. We inquired about and bought our shuttle tickets from the ship to the airport in Barcelona at the cost of $30 each. I like to do this early because one time when we had waited they said they had sold them all and it was oh “so sorry”. It is funny because when we got back to the room there was a circular on our bed  telling you to get your shuttle tickets now.

Well, it has been a fun 3 days and tomorrow the talk is the “Ghent Altarpiece” which is one of his favorites. The art should be gone but it will be back at least 2 more time. Haven’t read my Compass yet to see what tomorrow has to hold. I get a paper one, by requesting it from the steward, because it is on the app and half the time mine does not work.

Hey everybody say a short prayer for Jack’s Mom.

Well, he has work to do and I have crocheting to do. Please everybody be safe. Miss you all. Love you all. Mom, Granny and Bonnie.

PS:  Karen and Frank I hope you are safely home and had a great time. Looking for ward to seeing you soon!