April 29, 2025

 

A good day at sea. I did my first talk at noon today, “Tempest in the Atlantic,” about a hurricane that saved one new world colony, started a second, and helped create a great work of art.  Tomorrow, “You Create: Photography.”  It was formerly called “The Camera on You Phone.”  And the next day is land-ho – we will be in Bermuda.

Well I asked Bonnie to make a couple of notes for me so I would remember to tell you in tonight’s blog.  She did.  Gave me the note and I’ve lost it and I only remember one of the two things on it.  She can tell you the one I remember and maybe she’ll remember the one I forgot.  Good grief!

Barring that, tonight at dinner – and a great dinner it was (escargot, seafood linguini, and apple crumble with vanilla ice cream) – a gentleman came to our table, he of the couple sitting in the window that the JAMM Kids saw in an early picture and after excusing himself for interrupting us said that he and his wife have reservations tomorrow night in one of the specialty restaurants and would we like to sit in the window tomorrow.  Yes, we said.  How very nice.

Tonight’s show was excellent – The Long Run Rocks, an Eagles tribute band.  We knew most of their songs, including, of course, the show closer “Hotel California.”  There was one fan who stood and danced during many of the song.  I should not be critical of the woman’s shape, because my  shirts come with a lump in them, but – she wore a tight, slinky red dress that was definitely not made for a body with a ponch.  She didn’t seem to care as she moved around to the music.  But back to the band.  The best part (and they are very good singers) was the outstanding guitar work.  Wow!

Since I can’t remember what I forgot, I’ll turn the  keyboard over to Bonnie and you can enjoy her reminiscing.  And hopefully she’ll remember what I don’t.

Well, here I am. We have turned our clocks up for our first one hour loss and of course he has the first talk tomorrow at 10 when most people will think it is nine!! We will see how many people come. The three speakers are back to back to back tomorrow.

Well, they had advertised a 2h learn to knit class. I said “oh boy” I will go to that. So at 10 am I was in deck 5 dining hall all ready to learn. In there was a lady as old or older than me with a duffle bag stuffed with a bunch of odd colored balls of yarn all different kinds of yarn. Also in the bag were knitting needles of all sizes and kinds. She began by having you sign in and give your email address. I was the second person to sign in. Then, she handed some yarn to the first lady and needles, asked if she knew how to knit, then gave here a paper with two short lines on it and said here are the directions for a potholder and here is what you do. Then she proceeded to explain to her how to do what it said on the paper. Then as she was turning around a third lady came in as old as we were. She signed in and said she had made one of the things on her display table and wanted to make another. She knew how to knit. So ignoring me she found some yarn and needles and proceeded to start her off showing here how to start. By this time there were now about 20 or so people in there signing in and wanting to learn. She is still working with the 3 rd lady. She told people to sign in and find a seat and at this point I left. It was total disorganization. There is no way you can go around 20 or thirty people one at time and give individual instructions and materials. I was frustrated.

So I went out to find a seat and wait for David to come up and do his talk. I was going to go into the theater but the Crown and Anchor folk were having their private affair with the Captain to hear who had the most points etc. So I sat in the promenade. They started a warm up stretch class right in the middle of the promenade from one end to the other. There were probably 50 to 75 people lined up in the middle footpath. Fortunately I was off on the edge in a chair. The crew leader up in the cross over up in the air started his music and off they went for the next 30 minutes. People trying to go from one end of the ship to the other were blocked. They were weaving in and out on the outside through chairs and tables where people were sitting. Crazy!!

David finally found me and we headed to the theater for his talk. Maybe 150 people and the talked seemed to be well received. We will see who shows up tomorrow for his photography talk.

We went to the buffet for lunch and then to the room for a nap. The room steward only straightens rooms once in the mornings. After nap we dressed and went to dinner. I had a salad, chicken cordon bleu, and ice cream. Enjoyable. Then, off to the show. We found great seats and the show was very good. The band was dressed in blue jeans and a variety of shirts and shoes. No fancy duds.

Then, we headed back to the room. They were having the Captain’s welcoming thing on the promenade, champagne, dropping balloons, etc. So we decided to go down to 2 and walk to the other end of the ship where our room is. Oops! You can’t walk from one end of the ship to the other on deck 2 or 3. So back upstairs to 4 and across through the casino, which is HUGE, and to the back and then down to 2 and left, left, left turn to our room. We were thrilled because the cabin steward had brought us ice and a paper copy of compass so I don’t have to try and use my phone app.

Well, we have turned the clocks forward the first of six times in total for the cruise and when I finish this we will head to bed. His talk is early so we will start early tomorrow.Having great weather so far. Not too cold or hot.Love you all. Mom, Granny and Bonnie

PS: I walked probably 15 flights of stairs!!! (And – this is David – she walked 78,296 steps, working on her 1,000,000 steps).

PSS: Hey TATE did Mom show you the teddy bears, haha!!s

 

 

 

May 28, 2025

 

Well, I think I’m ready to  begin the first blog.

All went well until we began to approach security.  There is a new requirement for going into Merry Olde England – you have to have a visa called ETA – which I paid for for both of us back in January.  One email, two ETAs, attached electronically to our passports.  But no!  When we were approaching security they wanted proof that we had bought it.  Unfortunately the email only had my name on, so we had to buy another one for my bride.  A bit of a stressful hassle, but it is done.

After finding our room we went for a light lunch because we had a big breakfast.  Back at the room our luggage was here and we unpacked for a while, then went to supper.  As usual we were assigned “my time” dining, which is always late (not our time at all) and I asked the young lady at the dining room service desk to switch us, and we have a table for 2 that looks out the window, so we can see the waves roll by.

I’m only doing 6 talks on this cruise, although there 8 days at sea.  That’s what RCI wanted, so that’s what I’m doing.  Four are at 12, one at 10 and one at 11.  Remember we are going to start springing forward soon, so keep that in mind as we sail.  And right now text isn’t working – maybe won’t for the whole cruise, but Whatsapp is.  So use that to text, because that’s on WiFi

A good supper: tilapia for me and fried chicken for Bon.  Excellent wait staff: Astria and Fushawn.

We didn’t go to the welcome aboard show, we are kind of tired and raggidy, and I need to study for tomorrow, and Mom wants to regale you with her version of today.

So TTFN, and hereeeee’s Bonnie

Well, “here we are back in the car” Name the movie!  Yes we are on board and sailing. We were slightly delayed in getting on but that is a story for another day☹. Needless to say I was extremely upset and the one young woman “attempting” to help was quite rude and mean!! I could say more but I won’t.

Our room is in the interior of Deck 2. Go left, go left and left again! Not close to anything except maybe supper. It is the lowest level of guest cabins. Maybe 20 feet long and 8 feet wide overall. There is a couch and thank heavens not a gazillion pillows on it. And believe or not he actually has a chair and not a stool. Good for his back. The bathroom has a round shower and it has a diameter of maybe 4 feet. Typical. I have 3 very small drawers and 2 wire shelves in the closet for my clothes.  We have a drug drawer, a suitcase acting as a laundry hamper in the closet. I have 3 things on hangers. There is a smaller cooling fridge like under the desk. They provided me a drop cord so I could plug in the c-pap machine, you can not bring a drop cord on board, it's forbidden. Typical bed, 2 twin beds pushed together. We actually have one of the end cabins on our very interior corridor. And our keys worked the first time. We found the suitcases out sitting in the hall at the end of our corridor earlier so we brought them to the room. Really haven’t seen anything of our cabin steward. Name is Rob I think. So no ice in the cabin tonight. We went up to the buffet after supper for him to get ice and water in his bottle for tonight and I refreshed my drink.

We thought about going to the show but I am tired. I will do puzzles for a while, brush my teeth, and wash my face. Then I will take my drugs and go to bed. His talk tomorrow is at 12.

We really do have a very nice table for supper. Almost a window table.

I brought three crocheting projects along and I will get the first one started tomorrow. I hope to finish all 3. Good to have a goal, haha!

Well, I need to go. He needs to study. Love to you all.

P.S.:

AMY, Jack, Mac, Luke and TATE, thank you for the card and goodies. Tate I loved your picture.

P.S.:

Jennifer have a good time.

P.S.:

Karen: take it EASY! .

Really do love and miss you all.

Mom, Granny and Bonnie

 

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