FromSea2ShiningSea

My condolences to Bonnie @Bonteachesfor the loss of your dear friend My thoughts and prayers are with you. And for @sgmn ‘s grandson Isaac and for your recovery from Covid. This morning’s gift to us as we approach our day in Waterford(Dunmore), Ireland

A Happy Anniversary Toast to you, Graham and Pauline @grapau27. I hope you are having a wonderful day! We had a fun full day in Liverpool. Cheers! Kraken Coke & Peach Bellini

We are having a great time. This is the first time I’ve been able to get internet. We’re on the van posting in between getting out of the van to see all the Beatles famous places. I’m posting as best I could now. it stopped raining. I’ll post pictures when I get a chance.

Good morning! Happy Happy Anniversary to @grapau27 Graham and Pauline from Liverpool! We are in your country now currently on a tour. It is 60 degrees and raining. This morning’s sunrise.

Yesterday morning, we did an open canal boat tour. The tall house up ahead is where Rembrandt painted his Night Watch painting. In he afternoon, we went to the Heineken Brewery Factory for the Heineken Experience tour. They gave us samples to taste plus in the end, we each got 2 glasses of the beer. All in all, it was an informative and fun tour experience. Night view of the Amsterdam Cruise Terminal. It was a very easy and walkable terminal to get to from our hotel.

Graham @grapau27, your garden is gorgeous. Do you do your own gardening or do you have a gardener? I love the gladiolus. Looks like they will open soon. Good choice! I hope the chef does a good job for you. What will you choose for dessert? My son fractured his thumb one time when he was in high school. He was long boarding with some friends and slid off when he went too fast at a sloppy section near our house. He fractured his thumb. He had to have a cast put on for that injury. Thank goodness I think it wasn’t marching band season. It would’ve been hard to play the trumpet. Those are good. But by the time you’ve finished dinner, you’re too full for dessert. You’re pretty close to Vancouver. You can bring home some sesame balls from the Chinese Restaurants there. Good luck with the injection tomorrow. I hope it will give you some relief. I’m happy Linda’s wrist is better.

The top one is Champagne Lobster Roll. Second one is Truffled Creamy Lobster Tempura Roll. These plates were from Navigator Izumi from January 2022. Note: Not all Izumi’s are created equal. Quality will vary depending on ship and chef. Navigator was excellent. Allure & Odyssey were mediocre to me. From Navigator- Shrimp & Vegetable Tempura Assorted Sashima (They ran out of shrimp so they substituted yellowtail) Truffled Creamy Lobster Tempura Roll - Now you only get 4 pieces Izumi Ryu Futomaki Roll Chicken Teriyaki Yaki Udon with Grilled Beef

Maryann @Luckynana Wishing you a HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! 💐 🎂 🎈 🎉 🍹 I hope it’s a fantastic one!

Sunrise this morning. This is where we will walk to from our hotel to the cruise terminal on Wednesday 8/16. We had tickets to The Van Gogh Museum. The museum contains the largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings and drawings in the world. We spent about 4 1/2 hours here. I really wanted to see The Starry Night painting but I found out that it is in the Museum of Fine Arts in New York City. These are just a few of Van Gogh’s paintings in the last weeks of his life. He was painting one painting a day. He died July 29, 1890. After The Van Gogh Museum, we moseyed on over to The Rijksmuseum. The Library- “The Rijksmuseum’s art-history library is the largest of its kind in the Netherlands. Completed in 1881, the library has largely retained its original form and ornamentation”. My phone’s battery 🪫 died after the library photo so I could not take any more pictures. Glad I got the library though. I was so tired. Merv was started to really bother me so we just blitzed it and went through the galleries real fast. Didn’t stop to read anything. I forgot these guys yesterday. They didn’t want to get left out. So here they are. More duckies.

Thanks, Maryann! My Oncologist was an excellent doctor, very nice but very serious. He never cracked a smile. So this one time, I decided to make him smile. When he came in to the exam room to see me, he asked how I was doing and how I was tolerating the daily oral chemo pill that I was taking. I said, “Oh great! I’m drink a 6-pack of beer with it.” He didn’t give it a Hahaha but he started to talk a little bit more after that. His main focus was taking care of me. I think it takes a toll being in Oncology. He retired at a younger age than I expected. It’s great to hear you and Andy had a fun cruise with your grandsons. That’s got to be the most special gift and the kids will treasure it forever. I love this beautiful picture of you guys wiith the frozen drinks. For sure, they’ll forever remember this. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the ship, food, crew and activities. Have a wonderful and relaxing time at the Polynesian. Is that a resort? Now you and DH can be a little less stressed about your family finding a place to live. Even though it’s not as ideal as you’d like, it is at least some stability for them and have a place to call home for now. It looks like the kids are adapting well. I wish you all the very best.

Jennifer, we had a B2B Brilliance Baltic & Arctic Crossing cruise in August 2020 also. Stupid Cxxxx came along and we had to cancel all plans. Same thing with a Best of Japan cruise in March 2020. 😒 I couldn’t sleep on the plane until the last hour and I kept nodding my head off. We wasted no time in doing stuff after we arrived. I got hardly any sleep last night. Greg, is it the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam that’s also a modern art museum? I hope your injection coming up for the knee will give you some relief from your pain. @mo&fran I’m thinking of you, too. I hope your chemo treatments go smoothly and you are able to tolerate the daily treatment for the next few weeks and the swallowing won’t be a problem for you. Take one day at a time. Best to you. I have been praying for you.

More pictures I like what it says on the building. The word “roept” means calls or calling. The Centaal Station Saw this little tiny rainbow from our room Behind that short tower in the front is the Red Light District Sunset The Grand Hotel Amrath Amsterdam across from the Doubletree, all lit up at dusk. In the day time

We made it here in Amsterdam. Checked into hotel the Doubletree, We got a room with a view. The sights on our walk to the Anne Frank Huis. We had a 4:00PM reservation. It was cloudy and dreary. It started to drizzle and rain while we walked there. We had to go over several canals This is the front of the Anne Frank Huis. It was a very moving tour to actually be where she and her family hid for two years and then what happened to them in the end. We got to learn and understand more about the history of the Jews in Germany and the Netherlands. When we came out, the sun was shining. More canals. Got ducks? The owner knows about hiding ducks on cruise ships. Looks like a fun duck pool party here.

Thank you, OB. The plane was fine. There were so many people boarding that I wasn’t sure if it was going to fit everyone. But it did and still had overhead bin spaces available. Thanks for posting the pictures of the plane. We were in the back for basic economy. Rows 50J & 51F. Both aisle seats. I need an aisle seat because of my left leg that I need to straighten out and stretch once in awhile. But then I could not see out the window to take pictures. There were some really nice shots of the peninsula as we were flying over it and some pretty clouds later on that I couldn’t take. The flight attendants were serving dinner and the options were vegetables with noodles or chicken. When this one lady attendant who was very serious and no smiles came around to our row, she said, “vegetables with noodles or chicken?” I said “I’d like the filet mignon please”. She said okay. I then ordered the Chicken. Then she had to search her cart for the chicken tray, I said, “Now I can get the filet mignon.” She was amused and smiled! The flight was supposed to be 11 hours but it was actually 9 1/2 hours. We were 1 1/2 hours delayed because they couldn’t find an available gate. Even the pilots were there waiting for the plane. It is a long flight for us folks from the west coast to fly to Europe kind of like you east coasters taking that long flying to Hawaii.

Starting our trip to Amsterdam for our B2B British Isles/Transarctic cruise. Fly the friendly skies of United…🎶 The plane…the plane! 787-9 Dreamliner

It’s been a really lovely day so far today. Had an orthodontist appointment and they got this birthday balloon for me. It was very nice of them. Got my free scoop of ice cream for my birthday. That’s Coconut Pineapple flavor. My nephew from New York drove out here on a road trip with his two daughters. We will meet up with them, my mom and all our families for dinner tonight. They will drive to Seattle this weekend and meet up with his DW (who will fly out from NY) and all their families to go on an Alaskan cruise. After the cruise, he will drive back to New York with his girls. So, it will be nice to see them tonight and hear about their road adventure.

Thank you, Dani! I say you have amazing memory. Did your DH paint this beautiful picture? Thank you, Marietta! Thank you, Bonnie! Thank you, Mark! Thank you, Jennifer! Thank you, Greg! Cheers! Thank you, Ken! Thank you, Andrew! Thank you, Arzeena! Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Thank you, Graham, and for the pretty card. Thank you, Lenny!

Oh, girl just wanna have fun! 🎶 🎵 🎶 As for the drinks though…I am a true lightweight. I ask for little, little alcohol or make it a virgin.

Don't look at me. I'm a lightweight in the alcohol department. 😆 🍹 But I like to try different drinks. I will bring @John&LaLa's Drink List with me. Can't wait to see you guys!

Thank you, Graham. Now I remember you gave me the information before along with suggestions on the Beatles museum and the Cavern club. I remember pictures that you posted, too. We have a tour that day that will include many of the Beatles sights such as the homes of John, Paul, George & Ringo; The Penny Lance Experience; Strawberry Fields; St. Peter's Church; Eleanor Rigby's Tombstone and Cavern Quarter. I'm sorry we will miss you this time. We will have to see what cruiselines dock in Newcastle Port of Tyne and the itineraries they offer. Meanwhile, I hope you and Pauline will be able join us on Bella 2. I know many people would love to meet you. On August 22 while we are in Liverpool or on the ship, we will raise a toast to you and Pauline for a very happy 42nd anniversary. 🥂 Sue, I checked the map. You are pretty far from Liverpool. We will enjoy our time there though. I hope you will consider Bella 2 also. It would be so nice to meet you.

What port are you near, Graham? I think I've asked you this before but have forgotten which town you live in. We will be in port in Liverpool August 22. Since we'll be in your part of the world, it would be awesome to be able to meet up with you and Pauline. Same goes for @sgmn . I'm not sure how far that is for you.

I made Blueberry Buckle Cake today. Mmm Mmmm good. Can you smell it? May want to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to it. @Jimbo Here is the recipe. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7985/blueberry-buckle/ Some notes: ~I added a teaspoon of lemon extract to see how it would turn out. Can barely taste the lemon flavor. Maybe a little bit more next time. ~For the topping, to get a crumbly effect, instead of the smooth topping like I have, make sure the butter is cold and not softened. I use King Arthur’s All-Purpose Flour and their Blueberry Buckle Recipe turns out to be the same as the Allrecipes’ recipe.

I was going to do the same today. Make Blueberry Buckle Cake. Glad Susan is feeling better. Congratulations, Dani @dani negreanu for reaching Page 4000! 🎉 Happy Birthday to Lenny @lenquixote66 on Monday. It is my brother’s birthday also that day. My epidural injection appointment has moved up to this coming Tuesday. I face that big, long, fat needle again.

We also have an obstetrician - gynecologist here. 😊

Marietta, Charlie sure has gone through a lot. He is a trooper. I am lifting you and him up in prayer. I thought about you all night last night. I pray that he is well taken care of at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. My nephew’s DW is an anesthesiologist there. Great hospital but I’m sorry it’s not so convenient for you to get to. Take care of yourself, too. @jagsfan, I hope you get checked out, too. DH agrees with @Ocean Boy‘s opinion about getting to a doctor ASAP. @Sea Dog, I pray that Linda’s hand surgery will go smoothly and that your knee pain will be kept at a minimal. Will be thinking of you two. I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine and take in as much Vitamin D as possible. For us, it’s going to be a warm/hot one this weekend. We may head out towards the coast. Maybe.