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I just realize that the last hockey game I went to, I only tipped the person(s) serving me food & drinks! It never occurred to me to tip the person that scans my ticket, the usher that pointed me in the direction of my seat, the security guard keeping unruly fans in check, the players, coaches and trainers and all the other little, behind the scenes people - like the guy that mops the locker room - that make the game so enjoyable. Am I a bad person? 🤣🤣🤣 - mandatory laughing faces to show I'm joking. Or am I? 😄

Love this picture. Your DW smile is still as radiant now as it was back then.

+1 I have no words to add other than I feel the same way.

I am but I will probably not watch it for a few weeks & then binge all the episodes over a few days.

Well, since you brought it up, the saxophone is probably one of thr sexiest musical instruments. 😁 "He wiggles well". Lol. Love that description. I'm going to see if I can work it into a conversation. 😆

And I thought "Echo & the Bunny men" and "Toad the Wet Sprocket" were weird names.

I can be, um, maybe the ticket taker? Show people to their seats? Part of the stage crew? Or a gopher? You know...go fer coffee...go fetch lunch, etc. That's kinda my specialty. I was going to suggest "Sea Dog and the Kruising Krakens" but he may be too humble to take top billing so Kruising Kraken it is. I can hardly wait until they release their first song: "Dancing in the Minefields".

The Hallmark channel had Christmas in July movie marathon. And I'm pretty sure within the next 2 weeks, stores will put out Christmas decorations. So why not some Greensleves in August?

My husband is a coin collector and does the same thing but also goes to coin shows. Quite a few of the people there are very helpful and have told him what is the absolute lowest he should sell for or to hold on to the coin and their opinion usually matches what he has found on the internet. He has sold some stuff, at the shows, above what he was told it was worth. I inherited a ring that I actually thought was costume jewelry. I took it to a local jeweler to find out if it was real before getting rid of it. It was real and offered me $500. I declined. I took it to the next coin show and showed it to a few vendors. The first few offered me exactly $500 so I kept walking. One said $1000 and I slid that ring over to him so fast and took the cash.Try a coin show for some different opinions, you might get lucky. One of my neighbors belongs to a local Numismatic Society, basically a fancy name for a coin club, whose members are made up of profession coin dealers as well general hobbyist with their own private collections. They host a monthly auction where people can put their coins up for auction with minimum bid. Often times, the professionals won't go much above the minimum bid but to a private collector or general hobbyist whose interest in coins is less about making a profit and more personal about having whatever interest them, will often bid 3 or 4 times above the minimum bid to get a coin they really like. Also, they do complimentary "no pressure" appraisals although I think they just look up the going price in the internet as well. Might be something worth checking out. One thing I found interesting is that where a coin is minted, say Denver vs Philadelphia - may have a big impact on it's value. Also, as someone else noted, don't clean the coin. That grunge/dirt is part of it's history.

Sadly, that is the way it is with most families. When my parents were still alive, it fell upon me & my older sister to do 90% of the care taking while my other 2 siblings seem to always have an excuse as to why they couldn't help out. I'm not complaining though, looking back, the time I spent with my parents in there final years is (mostly) precious and I feel like the other 2 siblings missed out.

You're welcome. Probably best to wait until after Labor Day so you won't have to deal with summer beach crowds & traffic. Although from RI, I'd have no idea how you'd get there. Ferry from CT to Long Island, maybe? https://www.fireislandlighthouse.com/

I'm the same way. One of the reasons I resisted taking a cruise until I was in my 40's is that I'm not very structured and hate being on a schedule (and also very limited vacation time). After my first cruise, I decided that was one of the best things of a cruise as it kept me going, otherwise I'd probably just linger & miss half the fun. Having said that, I still hate deciding where & when to eat more than a day in advance. I like to "wing it". Although I have gotten better and usually will have a general idea of a few places where I like to eat each day depending on how hungry I am.

Yes, it is. I never have as I usually lay on the beach & splash in the ocean all day before taking a late afternoon walk. It closes at 5;00 pm but the last admission is at 4:30. Missed it by a couple of minutes yesterday. I think next time, I'll swap the order & go directly to the light house first, then the beach. The light house is a about a 10 minute stroll from parking lot #5 at Robert Moses. They also have a free museum and gift shop in what used to be the Keeper quarters and a separate "Lens" building that houses some of the older lens from previous light houses.

@Ocean Boy Fire Island lighthouse at Robert Moses State Park Beach.

That just sounds gross no matter how it tastes. Back in my high school & college days, I worked in several deli's and would hate it when a customer ordered head cheese. Nasty to hold & slice and even nastier to clean the slicer afterwards. Fortunately, not to many people ordered it. I did taste it once. **** warning to those with a weak stomach, don't read ahead **** Think of slimy jello with chucks of indeterminate meat inside.

I've been to Buon Amici several times and always had excellent food & service. A friend of mine who has very high standards and is very selective about where he eats (i.e. extremely picky) says Buon Amici is one of his favorites as is Parkside in Corona, Queens

New City Pizza has been around since the beginning of time. Back when I was a mere child, my parents would go food shopping on Friday night at the Grand Union where the DeCicco's is now. Always got New City pizza after shopping as Mom was not going to make dinner that night. Pretty sure it's changed owners a few times but kept the name & taste. I've been to Rocco's a few times and it never disappointed me. Although I will admit, I've pretty low standards when it comes to pizza. The one pizza place I never liked was Nicky's in Congers & Suffern. It was good but it consistently gave me heartburn afterwards. Dessert was always Tums or Rolaids afterwards.

Well, as long as we are on the topic of paying for things we don't use, in addition to charging for stand-up Flowrider, can they also add a surcharge for the Rock Climbing Wall, basketball courts and gym? I have no use for those and it's not fair my cruise fare subsidizes those that choose to use it. 😉. Maybe even afternoon trivia and certain shows such as CATS? 😇 It will greatly enhance my cruise experience. 🙂 🤣🤣🤣

I don't disagree with this statement. It seems like for every really good pizza place, there is at least one not-so-good. I won't say bad as I don't think I've every had a bad slice. Except in High School where they tried to pass off a piece of cardboard with a hint of ketchup & some cheese-like material as pizza. 😉 Surprisingly, the "99 cent Fresh Pizza" slice joints are better than expect as long as you don't mind standing at a counter or eating it on the run. Which is what I usually would do as I race to get on the last train out of Grand Central. They've been around for 10-15 years at least and just recently upped the price to a $1.25 a slice due to - what else - inflation and supply chain issues. Haven't changed the name however. They have handwritten sign by the register saying the price increase is "temporary". haha. We'll see about that.

I can 100% identify with this statement. 😄 It's amazing how the taste of Sorrento's pizza changes through out the day. It's acceptable/eatable early afternoon, pretty good as a pre-dinner snack and one of the best meals I've ever ate on a ship at 2:00 am. 😇😉 Either the dough gets better with age or they must have better pizza chefs working the late shift. That's the only thing I can think of. 😊

Puts the term "Special Delivery" in a whole new context.😃

Leonard is mostly fine, although he seems to be a little skitterish. He is in constant state of high alert. Makes sense, he spent most of the first 4 years of his life in a 600 sq. ft. 1 bedroom apartment, then a few other similar-sized apartments while some friends watched him, to finally 4 different hotels rooms over the last 2 weeks. Now, he's in a 2200 st ft, 2 story house with 10 rooms to explore and it seems to overwhelm him. He's getting better. We've been busy over the last 2 days "Lenny-proofing" the house and getting him settled and comfortable. Along with some of his old favorite toys & scratch pads, we bought some new toys, better litter boxe, scratching post and cat tower so he is more at ease now. It's comical to watch him walk up and down stairs as that seems to be new to him We do need to get a collar with a bell as we are constantly "losing" him only to find him sleeping behind drapes or on a dining room chair where the table cloth shields him from view. Last night, it was cool enough to finally shut off the AC & let some fresh air into the house. Leonard quickly ran from window to window, fascinated by the sounds of crickets. Open the door to let him on the deck, he looked around as the cricket sounds are particular loud this time of year & after 10 seconds, quickly ran inside. 🙂 As for names, in addition to the aforementioned nicknames quoted above, he also goes by Snuggle McDuggle, Snugit or just Nugit for short, Snoogle McDoogle and Leonard Kittenstein. There are few more that I can't remember. But I still just call him Leonard.🙂

Made it home to NY last night, around 11 pm. My earlier reply to you was during a rest break & driver change in Maryland. Thank you for the tips. I remember visiting the Natural Bridge and some of the caves as a kid during family vacations, driving along the Skyline Drive & Blue Ridge Parkways. I'd love to visit them as an adult now too. Along with some of the wineries. And I did notice the billboard for Hard Rock Casino and I thought, funny, I don't remember seeing that before, either on the way down end of July or last December when I had stop in Bristol, VA on a similar drive to Texas. It just opened last week in July. I thought the billboard was literally put up while I was in TX. I do love casinos! Our original plan was to take a relaxed-paced drive back, hitting a few tourist spots along the way. But it took a few days longer than expected to tie-up all the loose ends in Houston so, other than a quick stop in Memphis TN, it was straight driving back as we had other commitments for today. But we are already plotting a return tip to VA to see all the things we missed this time around.

Thanks for remembering. Unfortunately, we got a late start & on a tight timeliness so we had to pass. Next time. I want to hit up some of VA caverns next road trip.

Caught up on Bella thread. That sucks.