StLouisCruisers

Good morning friends! It is 65F this morning with a high expected of 86 and partly cloudy skies. Watching the news/weather while exercising I saw that St. Louis is under a tornado warning this morning so I hope that nothing comes of it and my family there is safe. 😬 Thanks Jacqui @kazu and Roy @rafinmd for posting the Fleet Report and Daily as well as the fleet location maps for Rich @richwmn. We appreciate it! Let's recognize cosmopolitans 🍹, Cystinosis Awareness Day, and Sauvignon Blanc. It seems that cystinosis is a rare genetic condition and we could use some awareness of its severity. It is also National Teacher's Day so let's support them! Love the quote from Lennon's song "Imagine". Yes to the meal, and no to the drink and wine. Surprising how early integrated circuits were in our sphere. DS's research involved low-power integrated circuits so new things are always being discovered. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. Prayers for DB and great nephew Alex's twin boys, the people of Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held and hopefully still alive, and our military men and women in the region. Also for those here with health concerns and any of our family members or friends with them. Prayers for Vanessa's @JazzyV BFF as he begins the task of healing from that nasty bone break. Prayers also for Richard, Tana and Terry @smitty34877, Amber, Jane @lazey1, Jacqui @kazu and Debbie @dfish.🙏 We send our thoughts and prayers to you all. Three cheers for those cruising and everyone celebrating happy events today. 🥂🎉🚢 This includes anyone with improved health situations. Thanks go to you Vanessa @JazzyV for your fine work keeping the lists up to date! The port of the day is Kushiro, Japan which has been the destination twice before - Nov. 18, 2022 and Jan. 30, 2023. I have not been before so no photos today. Please check the links if you've posted before and add them here for us to review again. My memory is not perfect so I may have forgotten. Thanks in advance! Well, that's an interesting photo/meme/gif showing up on the January 2023 link! It's nice for a change of pace. Well, time to get busy gathering our clothes and checking our lists as we pack today. Tomorrow morning I have a hair appointment so that will take a couple hours, and of course I see we may have thunderstorms then so that's always fun to drive in. NOT! Hope you all have a great day. Stay safe and keep well!

No. We stopped at a rest area early on, then stopped somewhere for that cup of McCafe coffee for DH. We eventually stopped at the Buc-ee's south of Macon, Georgia for a fill up and to pick up some of DH's favorite trail mix. We bought some to share with the bar staff we get to know on our upcoming cruises. They like snacks! We ate a light lunch once we got home. On the way up we ate a Belvita soft baked good in the car that we brought along.

We went to Bar Harbor on the Rotterdam in Oct. 2018. From a T-shirt seen at a store there. Now that we know how to pronounce the name of the town properly, let us continue. This is the exterior of a restaurant. Good thing they hung that sign at the doorway or you'd never find your way inside. Some of the interesting rock formations. Lot of variations in the color in this rock. Here we are at the Village Burying Ground. This plaque tells you more. St. Saviour’s Church circa 1877 Low tide It was quite a pretty little spot to visit. I wouldn't mind seeing this sight this every day, as long as it was on a BHB!

We reached home today by 12:20 because we left Clearwater before 5 am today. We were going to leave later to avoid rush hour traffic but when Jacqui told me she was ready to take over again this morning we decided why not leave before the worst of rush hour. Worked fine. I am doing laundry right now. Time to bring the cruise luggage out today and get going on packing tomorrow. We depart again on Friday morning for Ft. Lauderdale. You are welcome!! It was my pleasure to fill in for Jacqui. We can trust you to decipher the craziest of wine names, Ann! And DH and I both loved the pepper meme! So funny! Thank you for the safe travel wishes, Annie. Morgan will complete some training this month for dive instructor, that she is taking compliments of the Florida Aquarium. After that she will consider her options and make a decision if Tampa is the location for her or not. There are lots of opportunities in Florida for someone with her degree and training. Thanks for asking! Hope you and Chuck are doing okay. Any news on his condition? Thanks to you Debbie for your safe travel wishes. Somehow you can make kale sound delicious.😉 Good luck Jacqui. I'm so glad the foot nurse is so good at her job. Having infection under the skin on your foot would be very painful. Anytime we have something wrong with a foot it makes walking so difficult, even a blister! We want you back to 100% good health. Thanks Joy! Of course that was for photography purposes only - the cup would sit in the cup holder for safety's sake any other time! Thanks for the safe travel wishes, Lenda. Lucky for us there's no Atlanta traffic when we drive home from Florida since we live south of there. From our area north is where the traffic begins piling up. 🙄 I knew my photos had disappeared from Bar Harbor so planned on reposting them today. I may just have enough time as I run in and out of the laundry room! Sorry, no seaside for a background...just north Florida interstate 75 scenery! The driver picks what they want to listen to and it's a good thing I like country music, too. Thanks Graham! It was uneventful, thankfully. Oh no Vanessa! He just left your place yesterday didn't he, after helping you out for two weeks? I'm so glad you're able to drive now, and I hope the doctors find it isn't broken. Life sure isn't fair! Let us know. I hope the doctor visit goes well today. You are a blessing to Richard, and taking such wonderful care of him. You both deserve some good news. No rain down this way Annie. (but who knows later). My radar app on my phone shows a few pop ups north and west of you. And yes, no driving in the dreaded Atlanta traffic!

Good morning! We just stopped to stretch our legs and get DH some coffee. Here’s our version for Graham @grapau27 and @RedneckBob

Have a great cruise Elizabeth!

Thanks everyone for your kind comments about Morgan and her special day. We had an excellent time watching her walk across that stage. Now time to prepare for our drive home tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate your support!

Terry, thank you for your congrats for Morgan. Last night there was a second even louder group of people celebrating a young lady's graduation, and inside the restaurant just on the other side of the window behind me an engagement party. So many people having a good time! Sending you and the family a hug as you all work together to keep things together there. Just know you are doing a great job! Prayers for Tana and the family who cares for her.🙏

Thank you! Cute meme! Joy, thank you so much! Your community party yesterday looked well planned and lots of fun.

Whoops! Thank you Terri! I hope you and Jim are well.

Jacqui, glad you are home safe though exhausted and hurting some too. Hope you don't get a bad cold out of this. Yes, stay home and cuddle with Ivan today. You deserve it. Hugs to you! Thank you Ann! I'll give her your message and am sure she will appreciate it. Thanks Melanie! She has done a great job of managing Marine Biology along with working at the Aquarium. Always in the water, that one! Debbie, great job of coming up with a menu today! I wondered what you would do with that. I agree we wouldn't care for Eleanor at all. I hope the docs decide it's time for that nerve ablation and can get you over all this discomfort. Thanks for the comments about Morgan! Thanks Elizabeth for the support for Morgan! I hope the Stars do well for you. I was wondering too!! Thank you so much Graham! Three days of celebration so far is a lot for us homebodies but she deserves it! Dinner on the patio of the restaurant last night which was overflowing with people, was interesting. Also noisy! The hotel worked out well and we don't have to go out for breakfast and can just eat downstairs. I am anxious to see Morgan walk across that stage and receive her diploma. Everyone has been by Morgan's apartment and love what she's done with the place. They all say, she "did good"!

Good morning friends! It is 75F in Clearwater, Florida and will be 87 later today. It will be sunny but afternoon clouds could lead to a shower or thunderstorm. Thanks to all who contribute here and I send prayers to all in need of them and congratulations to everyone celebrating a special event. 🙏🎂🎉🎓🥂 Today's port is Exmouth, Australia which is our fourth time seeing it here as Port of the Day. Below are the links to previous showings. I have not been to Exmouth before but would love to, of course. Have a wonderful day!

Today is Cartoonists Day, Chanel No. 5 Day, Childhood Stroke Awareness Day, and Cinco de Mayo What is important in life is life, and not the result of life. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Meal Suggestion for today - Eleanor Chalstrom (name is of a food writer and likely a mistake) Drink of the Day - Loco Unicorn Wine of the Day - Banfi-Rosso-di-Montalcino Destination of the Day - Exmouth, Australia Today in History: 1891 Music Hall (now Carnegie Hall) opens in New York City, with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as guest conductor of teh New York Music Society Orchestra Ship Locations Eurodam At Sea Destination Juneau, Alaska eta 05-06 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Juneau, Alaska eta 05-06 Nieuw Amsterdam Vancouver, BC Canada 7:00-16:00 Nieuw Statendam Rotterdam, Netherlands South Holland 7:00-16:00 Noordam Vancouver, BC Canada 7:00-16:00 Oosterdam Santorini, Greece 10:00 - 21:00 Rotterdam At Sea Destination Eidfjord, Norway Hardangerfjord eta 05-06 Volendam Quebec City, Canada 07:00 - 16:00 Westerdam At Sea Destination Kodiak Island, Alaska eta 05-06 Zaandam Glacier Bay, Alaska 0700-1600 Zuiderdam At Sea Destination San Juan, Puerto Rico eta 5/8

Thank you so much! We can't wait!

Well, we moved from the place we were staying because our host was defensive about our complaint. He seemed to think live roaches in the bedroom on the bed and on the wall was okay because "Have you ever been to Florida before" was his first comment. He claimed to have had the house sprayed "last week" but wouldn't bugs be dead or lying on their backs dying if they were seen by us this week? That's how it usually works. He claimed no one had ever complained of roaches before. Hmmm. I guess they just moved in yesterday. He said he'd refund us the next two nights if we wanted to move on. So we talked it over and found a hotel suite with two separate rooms for sleeping and packed up in 20 minutes. Notified him and he initiated a refund for 2 nights. It will cost us more but no roaches in the hotel. We just didn't like his attitude towards us. Tonight we have dinner with the whole crowd again at a nice Italian restaurant. Graduation tomorrow but I think DD said you have to wait outside the venue an hour or so prior to them allowing us in so we don't end up in nosebleed alley in the top row.