HBE4

A friend of mine has a 2024 Mustang. It has 2 huge iPads for a dashboard.

I agree, it makes no sense until my agent explained it to me. When an older car is in an accident, it's more likely to be consider a total loss since the cost of repair is often close to the value of the car. Usually if the cost of the repair exceeds 70-75% of the value of the car, the insurance company considers it totaled & write you a check for the full value of the car so it ends up costing the company more money than if they paid you for the exact same damage on a new car. It probably has to do with the demographics of the area. Maybe there is a history of more accidents or more senior drivers in that area that are more accident prone. Maybe more cars are damaged due to tropical storms than snow storms? Who knows what mystery formula insurance companies used to determine rates. One thing I leaned the hard way is to shop around for insurance every couple of years. I stayed with one company for over 20 years & after a few people were shocked at how much I was paying, I looked around and EVERY other company was significantly less. Right now, I'm paying about 1/3rd of what I was paying 4 years ago when I switched & I might start looking around again soon. The one downside is I bundle auto & homeowners together to save money so if I switch one, I probably should switch the other.

Wishing you a speedy recovery & looking forward to you posting how effortless & painless the recovery is.

Disappointing that the Labadee stop is cancelled but look on the bight side. Rather than getting an alternative port where you'd be spending money on food, beach chairs, excursions, etc, you are actually saving money by eating food already paid for, free pool-side loungers and - if drink package purchased - free drinks. Financially speaking, you are getting a better value for money already spent. Be happy Royal isn't adding a surcharge for the extra fuel they are burning. 😀

I did see your post the other day asking if I went to Sundays game & forgot to reply. Friends of mine went & offered me a spare ticket but I had a previous commitment . Agreed, it was a much better score & game on Sunday. Tuesdays game was the 3rd in 4 nights and 6th in 9 nights and the team was just tired. Brutal schedule coming up too so the better get their rest.

Update: Rangers lose 4-2. Ugh!

Let's Go Rangers!! Canadian Winnipeg fans are well represented at this game

@akcruz Also sending my condolences. What an emotional roller-coaster. The venue looks familiar, where was it?

I was told Ocho Rios couldn't handle the larger ships. And after investing big $$$ into Falmouth, naturally most if not all ships will be directed there.

As spoken by the OG Kraken fan or as I like to call him, The Kraken Godfather 😉👍😁

The only constant is change.

The restaurant I was thinking of is called Wiseguys in Bluffton. https://www.wiseguyshhi.com/ I had the meatloaf. It's big enough for 2. Or a snack for Owen @A&L_Ont🙂 We also went to an outdoor restaurant on the water on the island called Skull Creek Dockside https://docksidehhi.com/ For lunch, we sent to Salty Dog Cafe on the island and Calhoun Street Tavern which is on Old Bluffton, within walking distance of a bunch of small art galleries, which was a nice way of killing a few hours.

I don't know if Royal stops there on the regular but they are allowed to. NCL as well . Carnival gets to keep 75% of port taxes collected. There is a list in this link. https://www.visittci.com/getting-here/cruises Didn't Royal build the pier at Falmouth, Jamaica? Or was part of a joint venture. But they'll let other lines use it. I guess there is a reciprocal agreement among competing cruise lines when it comes to non-private islands?

Happy Birthday @dani negreanu

Yes, you are correct. It's call Harbor Town @Sea Dog I was in Hilton Head only once, in Jan 2023. Actually, I stayed in Bluffton which is on the mainland across from Hilton Head Island. My BIL was staying there for the winter & I visited for 5 days. However, most our time was spent at his rental house playing games & eating fabulous dinners as he's a fantastic cook. During the days, we walked on the beach or at several nearby parks. Pickney Island National Wildlife Refuge and Sea Pines Forest Preserve. Not sure how your mobility issues will be but the walks were interesting, thru the swampy, Low Country. Didn't see any alligators as it was too cool for them to be active but did see a bald eagle or two. including their nest which are the size of a small condo. Most of the walking was flat ground like the pic below or boardwalk-type sidewalk over the swampy parts. As noted above, we did go to Harbour Town for a happy hour drink and watched the dolphin excursion boats return followed by a pod of dolphins looking for food. For the next hour, the dolphins frolicked in the marina and put of such a show, we didn't feel the need to actually pay to go on the actual excursion boat! Thank you Flipper and friends! Other than that, we did hit a few local breweries and I did treat my BIL and his wife to a nice dinner. I have to check my CC receipt to find the name of the restaurant. I would have loved to visit on of the plantations or spend a day or two in Savannah but time did not allow. Next time.

I am SO glad you posted this because I thought I was the only one the kept Closed-Caption on. I pretty much can identify with everything in this video ,especially the mumbling actors with an accent while loud "background" music plays & people whisper. For the longest time, I'd be turning the volume up and down or pausing, turn on CC, rewind, watch the segment I couldn't understand, pause, turn off CC and then repeat the process 2 dozen more time during the movie. I am the worst. I would never watch TV with me. Now I leave CC on most of the time, except during comedy specials where you can see the punch line before the comedian delivers it, thus ruining the joke. I do find myself reading the CC rather than watching the action on the screen. And of the streaming platforms - either Peacock or Paramount - the CC can be a few seconds behind which is disconcerting. However, I do like the creative description of music!👍

You did mention it & I forgot so I'm glad you reminded me. This is probably the best benefit to the Uber disruption of the ride-hailing business. One of the best benefits to knowing the cost up front, is that the Uber & Lyft apps - and I assume the Cub app - show your route. When I was still dating my future DW and her daughter was a mere child of 5 or 8 or somewhere in that range, we took a trip to California & flew into San Fran. This was back in 1990 give or take a year. During the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel, my future step daughter must have mentioned a half-a-dozen times that we've never been to this city, it's nice to see a new, different city and stuff along those lines. My jaded, distrustful NY personality kicked in & I had visions of the 30 minute ride turning into a 90 minute ride as the taxi driver took the longest, most congested "scenic" route to the hotel in order to drive up the fare. I was sure I was going to argue that it was not necessary to drive us across the Golden Gate Bridge 3 times! None of that actually happened but it was a long 30 minute drive & no google maps to reassure me. So hopefully taxi drivers taking the long way to drive up fares is a thing of the past.

I like the convenience of Uber. A few taps on the phone, I know the price & pick-up time right away. I can follow the car on the little map on the phone so I'll know if I have time for an after-dinner shot and then step outside once my ride is a minute away, which is nice on a cold or stormy night. You can also schedule an Uber up to 30 days in advance if you have an upcoming trip. Once in awhile, my credit card will offer a 5% cash back bonus. I'm pretty sure I've seen the Uber App notify me when Surge Pricing "may be" in effect, in which case I may or may not try to seek out a taxi. Lyft in generally a little cheaper than Uber which is generally cheaper than taxis, the key word is generally. Exceptions include the aforementioned "Surge Pricing" and in instances where Taxi rates are a flat rate regardless of time and distance. Example: In NYC, taxis from JFK airport to Manhattan is a flat $70 rate while Uber rates will fluctuate between $50 - $150 based on demand. So take the sure price (Taxi) or gamble (Uber) and welcome to JFK Vegas 😉 Other airports in other cities many have similar flat taxi rates & perhaps why @bobmacliberty taxi from LGA to Manhattan was cheaper than Uber. Also, I think with the popularity of Uber/Lyft their base price has increased over the years so the price savings may not be as great as it used to be. Just a WAG on my part. Uber seems to work best in populated area & I've had mixed results in less populated areas. Last year when I was in South Carolina, I ordered an Uber to Savannah airport. The closest Uber driver that accepted was 35 minutes away. After 20 minutes, HE cancelled and I had to order another one that was even further away, 45 minutes I think. From what the 2nd driver told me, that's it can happen if they have to drive a long distance and there is no return customer coming back to their "home territory", in my case Bluffton, right outside Hilton Head. I understand why the 1st guy did - he wants a fare in both directions - but it's not fun when trying to catch a flight.

I might have missed it but was there a special occasion? Or "Just because" you have an awesome genie that goes the extra mile?

One of the great things about Royal is that they have something for everyone. Labadee has always been one of my favorite stops specifically for the secluded Gilligan Island type vibe. Not sure if this is accurate, but in my mind, it's an old time Caribbean stop. I hope they keep it that way. But the food does need to seriously be improved. Right? 🙂

Some interesting pictures in that video. Thanks, I think? 😉 My first thought was of Buffets Fins when reading the post, Cuba to the right

I know he doesn't own a Jeep but he can pass the duck forward under the rules of "Jeep Ducking", slide #4 in the attached link. https://www.motortrend.com/features/duck-duck-jeep A movement that was started by a person named Allison in a small town in Ontario, Canada as an act of kindness, fellowship and healing of sorts. Seems kinda kismet.

That and probably to stop Customer Service from being overwhelmed by phone calls, emails, chats, etc. from concerned customers.

They certainly do seem to be making the most of it & as you said, can't blame them. Last total solar eclipse in NY for the next 130 years. Hopefully your hotel will have a viewing party or at least in close walking distance to someplace that does. Make sure to get your "Embrace The Dark" t-shirt. Although I think it would be better if the t-shirts said "I stared at the sun and survived" as stated in one of the flyers on that link. EDIT: And as for Belhurst Castle, beautiful grounds and building, great restaurant but I'm not a fan of their wine. Personal presence. I've never stayed there but have gone to view 4th of July fireworks over the lake.

In the Finger Lakes region, probably 20 minutes outside Geneva. That's what caught my attention in your post. Enjoy, Geneva is a cute little town as you probably know already since you booked a hotel there. In case you haven't seen this already https://www.eclipsegeneva.com/eclipseviewing Belhurst Castle would make for a great place to stay & view.