Thank You Grand Circle

As you know we travel a lot. One of the companies we use for river cruising is Grand Circle Travel. Today, they had an event in Sacramento which we attended. They talked about their new cruises and new deals, held a raffle, things like that. We thought a few people would attend, so we were surprised when about 500 folks were in the Ballroom of the Hilton! They gave us some statistics, and fully 25% of their customers are from California.

They recognized past travelers, and folks who had taken more than 10 trips were given a bouquet.

There were a lot of us who received a bouquet. There were several couples in the audience who had taken between 20 and 30 trips, but the "Grand Prize" was given to a woman who had taken 60 trips with Grand Circle. I doubt we will be able to match that!

Small Hat

A friend asked me to make a hat with a brim for her year old grand daughter...so I did. 

It's blue and white with 3 pompons on the side. The crown has an 8 inch diameter. It took about 90 minutes to make. I sure hope it fits a one year old.

I'm finding out that baby clothes are fun to make.  

Sunset

There was another spectacular sunset tonight. The sky was lit with bright yellow light....and off to the side, there were little clouds within the clouds (as it were)

What a beautiful thing to see!

Another Set of Sandals

These crocheted sandals are turning out to be popular. It's good they are easy to make and I like making them. If you would like a pair for a baby (or for you just because they are tiny and cute) ask, and I'll make a pair for you.

Pillows

After I finished blanket #9, I decided that it needed a pillow. So I made a round pillow to go with 

the blanket. It's about 9 inches across and I hope a young person will enjoy having his or her own private pillow.

I discovered that making a pillow was fun, so I made another one...this one goes with the 10th blanket I made this year. It's a heart, and only 4 1/2 inches big. It's something that a baby can hold, chew 

on, drool on and playn with. All the fibers in the blanket and pillow are baby-safe and very washable. I might have to branch out and make matching pillows for my Project Linus blankets. 

OLLI Photo Class

My Osher Lifelong Learning Institute class for Spring Semester has ended. The forty or so folks in the class took some fantastic photos. Click here to see some fantastic photos following several basic principles of photo composition.

If all goes to plan, I’ll teach the class next fall.

PS: One of my favorite pictures in the blog is titled "Lily Dancer” by Joyce. This wonderful photo was taken with a Point N Shoot camera...pretty amazing! Tell me what your favorite picture is.

Happy Birthday

My mother would be 97 today! I miss her! 

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Zip Linin'

Last week on the Oasis of the Seas, I went zip lining not once but twice! It was a hoot!

The Zip-line on the Lady O is 82 feet long and the ride lasts about 15 seconds (or less). The line is about 9 or 10 stories above the Boardwalk area of the ship...so there’s a bit of a fall if things don’t go right.

Before you get on the Zip-line you have to sign a waiver saying you are crazy enough to do the task and if anything happens the fault is yours and not the ship. Next you have to put on a pair of socks and their special zip lining shoes. No socks, no zip line! Then they fit you in a heavy-duty set of straps that do not have a glamour look at all. You have a “guide” that stays with you from the beginning. My guide was a lovely young woman from Portugal. We had a nice conversation all during the “suiting up” process and that eased my mind. She walked me over to the launch station and another young fellow double checked the straps and hooked up the hanging hook. He told me where to put my hands, and how to sit in the strapping. He also said as I approached the landing pad, I needed to make “walking movements” to help ease the landing. As you can see in the picture, I’m getting ready to land.

Landing was not that simple. I was moving at a pretty good speed, when all of a sudden the landing pad shows up. I started walking hoping I’d walk my way onto the landing pad, instead I walked my way into a heavy duty cushion. The fellow at this end, caught me, detached the hook, and it was done. 

The feeling was great! It was sort of like down hill skiing without the snow. Very exhilarating. So much so that I did it again the next day!

Blanket 10

The tenth blanket of the year is part of a baby gift. One of my friends is going to have a grand daughter soon, and this is for the shower. The set includes one of my teddy bear blankets, a cap, a pair of booties and a pair of sandals. It's all packaged in a cute pink bin. It's a good start on all the stuff that a baby needs!

Two Islands in Two Days

Yesterday we were in the US Virgin Islands--today we are in St. Maarten. Both are interesting places.

We shared the island of St. Thomas with 5 other cruise ships--which I'm guessing added another 12,000 people to the island. The island is small and the traffic is bad. To add to the confusion is the fact that folks drive on the "wrong" side of the road. It's the only place in the greater US where traffic follows the usual British fashion. The other problem is the cars are all left-hand-drive. It takes awhile to get used to seeing the driver on the other side of the car while the cars drive along on the other side of the road. 

St. Maarten is divided 60/40 between France and The Netherlands. On Sintmaartin (the Dutch side) American currency is used without a problem. On St. Martine (the French side) you need to use Euros.The liceense plate on the Dutch side is a typical "island" plate, while the French side has a European Union license plate. 

Both islands are set in the blue-green Caribbean Sea and that sea has been absolutely beautiful the last few days. As the day progresses from morning to dusk, the sea changes color from light aqua to turquoise to navy blue. The water is clear and the snorkeling is wonderful. St. Thomas looked a bit more lush than St. Maarten but both are pretty little places. 

St. Maarten is famous for the yachts that frequent it. Today I saw a huge yacht that was guarded by a private security felldow. He was dressed in black (and in this island heat, black is not a good color to wear). I asked him if I could take a picture of the yacht as it looked like it was moving 300 miles an hour standing still. He said I could take one, but I was not allowed to go in. I said I did not need to see the inside of the boat. Then we talked about fancy yachts and he was very nonchalant...I see them every day, he said, they are not a big deal. I'm happy they come here that way I have work. A short stroll to the yacht basin proved his point as several "big" boats were moored there, and there was an even bigger one getting "bunkered" next to the Celebrity ship in the cruise ship basin. If you want to see big fancy yachts, go to St. Maarten!

We have two sea days then we reach Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday. These little cruises go very fast. 

Day 3

The cruise is flying  by...it's halfway over, yet it seems like it just got started. We had our first full sea day today with 6200 of our closest friends. The ship is filled! Included in that number are over 2000 children. We cruise a lot, but we rarely cruise with a  ship full of children. As this cruise is short, and it  coinicdes with Easter, a lot of folks have the time off. It's a natural time to take a vacation, so that's what is happening. We've discovered, the longer the cruise, the older the cruiser. A 30 day cruise will have few children and lots of retired folks. A 7 day cruise will have lots of children and fewer retired folks. That's something to keep in mind when you figure out how long of a cruise you want to take. 

So after a day of hot-tubbing, talking, laughing, napping, enjoying the sunshine, and did I mention eating, we trundled over to our nighttime entertainment in The Opal Theater (aka The Big Room). Tonight we saw Jeff Tracta, a singer/impersonator. I had never heard of him before (he was on the Bold and the Beautiful, fyi) so we sat in the back row in case we needed to make an early exit (remember last night was not all that wonderful). Well, he did a wonderful job. He has a good set of pipes, and can do a large variety of celebrity voices very well. Unlike last night, the audience did not sneak away. They really enjoyed the performance giving him a standing ovation. I've had a few of those in my life, and they are special! 

Tomorrow we make landfall about 10 AM in the American Virgin Islands of St. Thomas. Another day in paradise...but someone has to it.

Nassau

Today we docked in Nassau, in the Bahamas. As some song said, Another Day in Paradise. What a beautiful day. The water is a pallette of color from turquoise to navy, light aqua to deep green.

Small boats are skimming along the surface making foamy patterns in the sea. In the distance there are hang gliders and parachute surfers playing on the almost non-existent wind.

There are 3 normal sized ships here, as well as our giant, and a smaller Regent 7 Seas ship. Probably 10,000 people disembarked today to experience the little island. The Lady O (as the Oasis of the Seas has been nicknamed) dominates the row of cruise ships. 

I just discovered that I forgot to bring an essential piece of equipment--my Apple SD Card reader. I hope there's one for sale on the ship.

Cats

The Lady O has a full fledged Broadway production of Cats onboard. It was the first time that I have seen Cats all the way through, as many years ago, PBS showed a production of Cats on TV. I did not like it and I walked away. Today I was determined to see the production, no matter what. 

The show has 2 acts, with a 15 minute intermission between. During that intermission about 1/2 of the audience left the theater.  I don't know why foks left, but generally speaking when an audience walks out, there's a problem. I stayed for the second act out of pure stubborness. I have to say that act 2 was better than act 1, but neither were worth a repeat performance. Given the fact that Cats is among one of the longest running Broadway shows out there, it's clear that I am not marching to the same drummer as the rest of the world. The show does not "work" for me. I find the cat costumes grotesque, the majority of music non-melodic, the set is dark and dingy, and the lack of a story line confusing. while there is a lot athletism in the dance, that does not tip the show in the positive direction. If you have a chance to see Cats, be warned, it might not be what you are expecting. It wasn't for me.

PS...the other DrC likes the show a lot!

PSS. I talked to a group of Cruise Critic people this morning. None of them liked Cats...and none of them stayed for the second act. They reported they liked the dance and the costumes, but could not find a story line. Since Cats does not have a story line, that makes sense. One person told me she did some of her best sleeping during the show! 

The Lady O

We are on the 2nd largest cruise ship in the world. The Allure of the Seas is 6 inches larger (and we were on her in November). The two ships are just about identical. There are a few minor differences. The Lady O has an old Auburn on the Promenade while the Allure has an old Mercedes. Both cars are fancy and exotic and real attention getters.

Both have a pool deck that is filled with color and sound and people. The kids are having a grand

time. Of course, I'm looking for the unusual...so the reflections are catching my eye. Instead of looking at the pool deck, I was "caught" by the reflection of it--it gives a very good idea how big and complex

the Lady O really is. 

As I sit on our interior balcony, I can see Central Park below, with a few strollers enjoying the birdsong. I'm guessing the birds just stay--why go away when they have everything they need right on the ship!

Sandals

Remember the cute sandals I made? 

Here's the baby who received them. 

And they fit her well!

I just love those little shoes! The shoes are almost as cute as she is!

Number 9

I just finished my 9th blanket for the year. It's my favorite pattern--a ripple. The colors are BRIGHT, with hot pink, cinnamon, orange and gold. It's a happy blanket.

I have a bit of extra yarn, so I think I'll  make a matching pillow--that's the next project.