bennybear

@rafinmd woohoo! So glad things are going in the right direction!

Aw, practically blushing. He is an amazing painter, and sculptor but has had recognition for installation type art, in the MOMA, the wit de Witt in Rotterdam, Berlin, San Francisco and a few other places. As DH says the kind you can’t sell. He’s gone a different direction now, but is also involved in theatre and film. He even was accredited in Cannes. Ok, I’ll stop now! LOL! The Biennale is amazing as is the glass in Murano. Those ravens wings were also glass, hard to reimagine it on that scale. We had our chandelier made by one of the only female glass blowers in Murano. DH thought we were just going to look. 🤷‍♀️ The one we had made and shipped. All the fruit is hand blown with real gold or silver for colour in the glass. At the time it was pricey but not insane. ooh, do renew the Irish passport! I

@RMLincoln my condolences on the loss of your DSIL. So glad your DH is doing well!

Good morning and thanks all! @ger_77 wishing Maurice a very happy birthday! @smitty34877 sorry to hear Tana is needing more help, but glad your family was able to help provide some respite. We’ve visited Santorini several times and have stayed there for a few days. Last time we were extremely fortunate to be the only ship that could visit because of the dynamic positioning on the Koningsdam. We find it much easier to take the small boat over to the small port of Ammoudi below Oia and the bus up. They are usually waiting at the dock and it completely avoids the cable car up. But unfortunately not down. Like @RMLincoln we think Akrotiri is well worth a visit and perhaps the red sand or black sand beaches we also love Oia and highly recommend the local walnut cake with Mastic Icecream! Some cute posters in the local church.

@Host Bonjour thanks for kind words. We've visited Venice a number of times, separately and before, during and after cruises. Last time was our second visit to the Biennale and we spent a week after our visit to Puglia. Our son is an artist so he spends literally days there. We were surprised by the depth and breadth of the art, in church’s, villas, throughout Venice. The Villa D’oro was open with a special glass exhibition that was astounding. We love the Murano glass, had to even buy a chandelier one year! a few more photos

@Quartzsite Cruiser thanks for the kind words! So magical under the sea! There is also an Enterprise in the industrial section very near to Target. I wasn’t aware the Marriott one was closed as we usually rent at the airport. @RMLincoln let the healing begin! So glad it’s behind you!

@0106 the whales are pretty awe inspiring, we’re fortunate that we can watch them right from our condo. I think Hertz is right in the Courtyard Marriott right at the dock. There’s some pretty decent cacti gardens by the old airport, really near the port. You only need about half a hour to walk through them, There are some major ones by Hilo as well when you’re over there. South of Kona there’s some Greenwell ones and just generally a very different landscape, maybe visit a coffee plantation. some photos from the old airport gardens

Ooh, lucky you! In January you will likely see whales even on a snorkelling trip or from the shore. I think snorkelling is one of our faves, I think Debbie @dfish went on one this year. The snorkelling at Kahuluu Beach Park is usually excellent, as is Kealakakua Bay where we used to see the spinner dolphins as well. Not sure you will need wet suits, the water is usually pretty warm. We just wear reef shirts. Kahuluu has beach access, but it is rocky so you need beach socks that will go in your fins. We also enjoy seeing the city of refuge that has been posted, and two step next door offers good snorkelling as well. You could also rent a car, and see a number of things. Beautiful beaches north, botanical gardens etc. I’m happy to answer questions, really depends on what you’d like to see and do.

@JazzyV so glad things went well! Wishing you continued improvement! I’m not sure why the sunsets are so amazing either. I’ve never seen such incredible colours. And we live by the Rockies, so they can be quite spectacular here too. We have a friend that was in the USN as well, who says you can’t beat a Kona sundown! That little spider was there for two months. He hardly moved and we tried hard not to disturb him or her. I loved the little face and the ziggy zaggy, lol! Here’s a few more, including a green flash which we see quite often but rarely capture on film.

Literally have thousands of photos of Kona! So a few faves from this year.

Good morning and thanks.all! Gotta love a spritz! And Kona, are winter escape for over 40 years! @cunnorl happy birthday Charlene! @marshhawk Happy 70 th, wishing you both a fabulous day! @VMax1700 glad the Bay of Biscay was kind! Sorry to hear you have a medical evacuation. @AncientWandererso glad you are njoying your cruise! Shirakawa go is exquisite! Our Italian spritz!

I see Debbie already answered you. Thanks for asking, it really helps keep things a bit shorter. The other trick is called multiquoting and you click on the little plus sign beside “quote”. Both really help those in the West read through more quickly and I really appreciate them.

Welcome @shadow 123 My first dog was named Shadow. Welcome home @JazzyV now just take it easy! May the healing go well! @RMLincoln we knew what you meant! And you had a great excuse! Praying all goes well tomorrow! @kochleffel Happy Passover, I don’t like ginger beer so I think I’d try your version of the drink. @ger_77 hope you don’t have to wait too much longer for good news for Maurice! @Cruzin Terri sending lots of gentle hugs! So hard! @marshhawk hugs! Lots of hugs!

Good morning and thanks all! @StLouisCruisers thanks for stepping up to keep us going! @JazzyV prayers for a great outcome! @Cruzin Terri so sorry to hear you had to cancel, but sometimes the tough decision is the best decision. @Rowsby happy birthday! Just a FYI, we had a Novavax Covid booster and zero side effects! Felt like a miracle! We’ve visited Mykonos three times, but once we couldn’t tender in, and another time the ship was listing badly due to the meltemi winds.

Not late at all, a couple of months a year we’re on Hawaii time, lol! She’s our lovely granddog! Mahalo!