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1 minute ago, jmh2006 said:

Good evening all.  Just wanted to hop on to let you know that we are cleared for take off in the morning!  DH's procedure today (lithotripsy) to blast his kidney stone was a success!  Phew!  First flight is Detroit to JFK departure time 10:07am so our pickup to airport is at 7am.  We have a bit of a layover at JFK as flight to Venice departs at 6pm so we will be enjoying the Delta Lounge.  I will check in here from time to time to provide updates and pictures!  Ciao!

Woo hoo, glad everything went well.  Enjoy your trip, jealous, looking forward to hearing about it and seeing pictures.

4 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Thank you Maryann! Will be going out to a nice steak dinner with Linda and son Jonathan!

Happy Birthdah, enjoy your dinner.  🎉🥂🎂

1 hour ago, taznremmy said:

YIKES!!  I am 104 pages behind. 🙀

 

I arrived home safe, but not very sound last Friday evening, and I've been in bed pretty much since then.  Have a nasty cold and upper respiratory infection, but I'm finally starting to feel better.

 

I will go back and catch up on all the pages I missed.  Sorry for not keeping in touch or posting pictures, but I had very minimal wifi access and what I did have was used up re-arranging plans as a result of the rail strike in the UK.

 

Hope this finds everyone well.

Glad to have you back but sad to hear you aren't feeling well.  I give up when that far behind and just read the last few pages.  We all understand how easy it is to fall behind.

8 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

This wraps up our one month long (3/24-4/24/2024) trip to Japan.  

 

In summary, this was one of the most memorable experiences we’ve ever had.  Japan is beautiful.  The first thing I noticed was how clean the streets were.  There was no trash anywhere.  There were no trash cans anywhere either.  We figured out that whatever trash we have, you take it home with you.  Also there were no homeless.

 

The first half of the trip (11 days out of 15) were all planned out by DH, covered all the places that we comfortably did on our own (Osaka, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Okayama, Himeji Castle, Kyoto, Tokyo- Shinjuku, Shibuya Sky and Yokohama). Then the next 4 pre-cruise days were private tours with a group from the cruise, that tour guides took us to Mount Fuji as well as castles, shrines and temples.  All the while, enjoying all the cherry blossoms as much as we could.

 

The tours that we took at each port were private tours with the same group of folks from the cruise and the same tour guide.  I am thankful that the tours took us to see the beautiful castles, gardens, waterfalls, many shrines and temples.  And even though we have had enough of shrines and temples, they were all different in their own ways with their own history behind each one.  Through the tour guides and a lecturer on Millennium, we learned a lot about Japan’s history, traditions, customs and culture.

 

Japan was a bit crowded in some of the popular tourist sites.  Japan had been closed for 3 years because of the pandemic and only opened up less than a year when we were there in March/April.  So I guess, people could not wait to visit, especially during cherry blossom month.  They were making up for lost time.  We were so excited to see Mount Fuji in clear, beautiful weather In the beginning of the cruise and all the cherry trees everywhere we went.  The most spectacular was in Aomori, the last port on the cruise.  They bloomed later so the cruise timed it just right with the trees in full bloom.  It was definitely a grand finale - an explosion of cherry blossoms everywhere.  Or cherry trees on steroid.

 

The ship- Millennium is one of the older ships and the size of Radiance class ships.  It was clean and in great condition.  It looks almost new after its recent refurbishment.  Even though it is small, it seems very spacious with lots of sitting areas.  The crew was very polite and friendly.   Even senior officers such as Andrea, the Hotel Director was the most active crew I have ever seen.  She was everywhere, to greet guests- at the gangway, in the theater, sky lounge, or just all around the ship.  Because this cruise was so port intensive, we didn’t really get to spend much time on the ship or participate in many activities.

 

The food- Oceanview Cafe had all the different stations with a lot of options for everyone.  Food was very good.  The Main Dining Room food was very good also.  We did not make it in there every night as some days the tours did not get back till late or we were not hungry because of a late lunch.  Service was excellent though.

 

All in all, this was a great unforgettable once in a life time trip for us.  We really enjoyed the experience of being in Japan to share in their sights, food and culture but after 4 weeks, we were happy to head home.

 

I’d like to thank @dani negreanu for this thread, for allowing me to post long strings of photos here.  I hope you all enjoyed Japan as much as possible through the photos that I shared.  I also hope that it inspired you to maybe visit there some day.  It is truly beautiful.

 

Next up- Norway

What a wonderful trip, thanks for sharing it with us, your pictures are beautiful.  Looking forward to Norway.

15 minutes ago, jmh2006 said:

Thank you for the birthday wishes!  I wish I could say it was the best day ever, but I actually spent all morning at the hospital with my DH, Dave, who had a second kidney stone episode yesterday.  So most of yesterday was in the ER, he spent the night at the hospital and this morning had another stent put in.  The first round came last December.  This stone is bigger and since we are scheduled to depart for Italy and our cruise on Explorer a week from today he is having lithotripsy performed on Monday the 20th.  Not exactly the best birthday but that is okay as long as we make our trip.  Anyway he is comfortable now and we did go to a Sushi restaurant in Detroit tonight for dinner so it wasn't all bad! 😁

Sorry to hear about Dave's hospital visit.  Hopefully all will be well next week,and your trip will all be wonderful.   Happy Birthday, have a redo next week to celebrate 🥂🎉🎂

9 hours ago, helen haywood said:

The girls were initially wary…the wheelchair, the cast…the angst.  But things have returned to normal.  Minnie thinks the new chair is for her since they match perfectly!

 

 

And my sweet Diana…

 

Glad to see you made it home safely and you are being taken care of by all.  Hoping you can in to see a Dr soon and get through all this.

57 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Is that the Love Course at Barefoot Resort?  Fun course.  I've had to chip sideways with my ball right up against the ruins. 😬

Yes it is, notice the heart shaped bunkers.  DH said he picked that one special to show his love for mothers day, I just laughed.  I don't keep score when I golf and will pick up a ball if I dont like where it is although that is getting more rare to have to do that. One of these days soon I will have to start.

8 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I still get Micheline flowers and a card for Mother's Day.  She gets me a card for Father's Day.  Same for Valentine's Day.  Hallmark makes a lot of money from people like us. 

 

Like John and others, we don't get each other gifts any more for birthday's, Christmas, etc.  My birthday is next month and "she" will be buying a new putter for me. I know it will be the exact model that I want. 😁

7 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

Happy Mother's Day to all!  We have a sunny blue sky day here in SE Michigan and my tee time is at 1pm!  @bobmacliberty I did buy myself a new putter for Mother's Day! 😁

We went out at 11 this morning, have been looking at my golf shoes the last few times out, told Jim today I am getting new ones for Mother's Day, the creases in the front are totally splitting now.  Beautiful day on the course.

Afterwards went to a new spot on  the intracoastal for a drink and some apps.  

And to wrap it up back to the community pool to cool off and enjoy some music.  Great day overall.

Happy Mother's Day to all

8 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

@Tree_skier I feel the need to respond to your post concerning an informal survey re: husbands giving wives gifts for Mothers’Day.

It seemed to me a bit sarcastic,hopefully that was not your intent.Perhaps you were just curious if other husbands mark the occasion for their wives. I am not certain of your motivation,of course.

I will give you a little backstory as to my husband giving me flowers for the occasion.

On my first “real”Mothers’Day, my DH gave me a bouquet from our infant son,Christopher John. Sadly, we lost our infant boy shortly after to SIDS. This was in 1987. Christopher John would have been thirty-seven this past February.

We had no other children, but my DH would always give me flowers for Mothers’ Day .My husband is a loving and generous man. He always wants me to know that I am a very caring and loving person.We have been fortunate all theses years to be surrounded by loving and supportive family and friends. I am an aunt and a godmother to a number of children.

In 2004,I hired a teacher for our department. She and I became close friends. So close that she and her husband have “adopted” us as the parents she never truly had. We are considered grandparents to her two children.

Miracles can happen. We lost our baby son,and it took some time,but we have gained a family that we truly love and they truly love us.

As others have posted,we do not exchange gifts any longer. We celebrate with experiences rather than giving things. At this stage if life,we are trying to dispose of some of our things, not collect them.

My DH has always marked occasions with flowers. It is something he does from his heart.

I may suggest that you think of surprising your wife with some flowers tomorrow. She may be quite glad if you do.

MJ

What a touching story, you were truly meant to be a mother, one way or another.

We too are in the done with physical gifts category.  Have seen various versions of this for different celebrations.  This is the Mothers Day version.

Every year my children ask me the same question. After thinking about it, I decided I'd give them my real answer:
What do I want for Mother's Day? I want you. I want you to keep coming around, I want you to ask me questions, ask my advice, tell me your problems, ask for my opinion, ask for my help. I want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever. Tell me about your job, your worries, your kids, your fur babies. I want you to continue sharing your life with me. Come over and laugh with me, or laugh at me, I don't care. Hearing you laugh is music to me.
I spent the better part of my life raising you the best way I knew how. Now, give me time to sit back and admire my work.
Raid my refrigerator, help yourself, I really don't mind. In fact, I wouldn't want it any other way.
I want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family, I have the things I need. I want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask me what I want for Mother's Day, I say "nothing" because you've already been giving me my gift all year. I want you.
If you feel the same way, feel free to copy and paste... I did! ❤️❤️
I think most all moms feel the same!! I love this!!
Happy Mothers Day friends

This shot was taken not far from where we live, not my picture, a local photographer that shares their pics on many of the social media sites.  Beautiful sunset last night. 

Oh my sorry to hear about your accident.  No advice but the suggestion of having DH get the car and come back for you sound like a good idea.  Let us know how you make out.

52 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Just read on the Celebrity board that our friend here on Dani's thread @helen haywood fell and broke her leg on her Beyond cruise. 😞

 

 

Oh no, hope she makes it home ok.

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

My friend decided to adopt another kitty. No name assigned as yet...

 

I suggested "Samba", since one of the other kitties is a Siamese called "Sushi" (the other one is called Lychee), and we have a very popular chain of restaurants called "Sushi Samba".

 

So now I have another [step]kitty to be proud of 😍

 

 

So cute!

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

Some good, and some not so good.

 

Good, as far as the latest scans for our daughter last week.

 

Not so good, in that our friend, Greg, passed away unexpectedly from complications due to a cardiac event.  He was a musician, and played with several bands in his career.  Very talented on keyboard, brass and vocals.  Susan and I helped out with the funeral dinner.

 

His funeral was unlike any I had ever been to.  Many of his band members came and played some of his favorites as a tribute.  At the end of the service, a video appeared on the screens of Greg playing and singing  an arrangement that was perfect for the end.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the place, and I guess he got to play at his own funeral.

 

RIP Greg.  You will be missed.

 

 

Glad to hear your daughters scan are good but sorry to hear about your friend.  Sounds like a great send off although bittersweet.

@Luckynana Happy Birthday to your girls

@A&L_Ont Happy Birthday to Owen

🎉🎁🎂

19 minutes ago, CruiszBug said:

April 13-29, 2024: HAWAII DO-OVER!

Made it to the airport by 5:15 AM! Brittany (Phoebe’s nurse) was waiting for us! 😀

 

Thank you, Tom for being our UBER driver! 

Checked 8 bags @registration. TSA CARES agent escorted us through security. Gate tagged/checked wheelchair and medical dolly with 8 additional carry-ons… Made our 6:30 AM flight on Southwest to Las Vegas via Nashville. Let the trip begin! (Wish us Luck!)

 

 

Woo hoo I can see the pictures now. Looking good, enjoy your trip.

2 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

I think you are confused.  Maryann doesn't live in Leland, she lives in NJ.  I am the one moving to Leland in a few years.  And for what it is worth, Wilmington is a very nice city.

Agreed about Wilmingtin, great little city, need to get back its been a while.

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The adventure begins.

 

Sarah and I are sitting at the airport waiting for our flight to Vancouver where we will board the Explora Journey tomorrow for a 6 day cruise to Los Angeles.  This will be our first time sailing a cruise line other than Royal and this will be the complete opposite of what we are used to.

 

The Explora Journey is 64,000 Tonnes. 900 passengers and 700 crew, all suites, everything included.  This is MSC's new high end line that for an easy comparison would be like Silversea is to Royal.

 

We only have two stops, Astoria and San Francisco.  Astoria we will just wander around and have lunch in town at a local fish and chip shop.  In San Francisco we are docked from 9am to 11pm so I have Go Cars booked for 8 hours for us to see some sights and then an evening behind the scenes tour of Alcatraz.

 

I'll post pictures and updates along the way.

 

The only concern right now is that yesterday, Westjet issued a 72 hour lockout notice to the mechanics union so that could impact our flight home.

 

The other thing I was not prepared for was the dress code on board.  Resort casual for the day and resort elegant for the evening.  A quick shopping trip and visit to the dry cleaners was required this week.  So much for travelling with a carry on only.

 

Tonight's hotel in Vancouver is done on the cheap with us staying at the Days inn by the Airport however an unexpected bonus is Vancouvers summer food festival is open and across the street so that will be dinner tonight.

Bon Voyage, looking forward to hearing about your trip.  When we did Alcatraz we started in daylight but left after dark.  Neat to see it then, even creepier.

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

 

You're not kidding!  We moved here 7 years ago, Two new red lights made their appearance just around my block, a new 55 and over community built around when we moved in, and the ground clearing in all directions of our town, an entire community of townhouse buildings are partially occupied while more buildings going up there, and way more ground clearing where low income housing will be going up.   I don't know where our town is going to find the room in our schools to contain the population of children who will be attending.  

Rte 9 is only a one lane road, and our other main road is only two-lane.

I thought everybody from NJ, as well as the rest of the northeast, was moving south.  Everybody moving here seems to be from the northeast or Ohio.  We've said we are full, way too much building going on, pretty soon there won't be a tree left, it is sad.  We have passively looked around but to get away from it we would need to move farther away from the beach than we want to. 

4 hours ago, LadyZolt said:

We have very slow Internet in India.  This will be my final post as we have to get ready to leave in Dubai.  Royal Caribbean did say that they wouldn't refund us the rest of the cruise, which is what I expected, so we will file with our insurance once we're home.  I see John's photos from the Taj Mahal, so I'll just post a couple I took.  😀

 

Adding my thanks for keeping this thread going with your amazing pictures.  Safe travels home and hoping all is resolved when you get back.

3 hours ago, sgmn said:

Talking about parents who have passed away , my mother's story as a child is terrible sad.  Her farm worker father died when she was about five and the family with three under 5's lost their tied farm cottage. Her mother married again in haste to a wrong'un and sadly took her own life when mum was 9.  There was no social services or government help in the '30s. It was either the workhouse or farmed out to other relatives.  She was lucky she was taken in by an aunt but didn't see her siblings again until she was an adult.  At 14 she had to earn her own living.  But she never complained and was the sweetest most loving mum anyone could wish for.

At 48 she achieved her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse. 

She inspires me so much and I miss her every day. 

This is her wedding day in 1955

Wow what a story.  Amazing what many of our ancestors have gone through in their lives and come out the other end great people.  

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

 

I know when I started my book on our family tree, there were several things I found that I wish I could have asked my parents, or that Susan could have asked hers.  It seems that no one in the family was aware of certain things.  One, was that my one grandfather had a marriage prior to my grandmother.  If my mother, or her sister knew, it was never shared.

 

Another was a prior marriage of Susan’s grandfather, and the son he had from that marriage.  And it seems like some things are closely held secrets, for what ever reason.  After discovering this, and asking one of Susan’s aunts, she was aware but never shared, even though she kept asking what I had found. 
 

My self imposed timeline to finish my book has passed, but it is nearly finalized.  I have reached a point to where I am conflicted about what I should include about a few of the living relatives.  Since the book will be primarily for my kids and grandkids, do I include things about prior marriages and/or children of those relatives?  There are things that are not talked about, and my kids are probably not aware of them.  
 

Thank goodness that neither Susan or I have any deep dark secrets about us.  At least that’s what she claims. 

I have many old family photos, always surprised at the people that are missing from them.  It used to be to keep things secret and pretend they never happened.  With all the ancestry info out there now a quick search will bring it all out.

My daughter did some research recently and found my great grandfather was a pirate in the Bahamas with multiple wives, my great grandmother being the last.  Knew there was an interesting history but nobody talked about it and you didn't ask.

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

 

Today marks 43 years since my Dad died at the age of 61.  He was a Foreman working on the 2nd Avenue Subway project when he fell down 25 feet, head first.  He was a very healthy, strong man who never smoked in his life.  He remained in a coma for a week before finally passing, which was a Blessing, due to his extensive injuries.  

Sad to hear this

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

I’m sorry Maryann what a tragedy. It’s so tough to lose our parents. The one thing I have learned is that there are days that you have a question that you would like to ask them as they are the only ones who know the answer and you can’t get your question answered. I wished I would have asked more questions of my parents.

Agree, I lost my mom almost 40 years ago, I wasn't old enough to think of asking many of the questions I should have.  Still miss her and think of her every day.  Had my dad for over 25 years after she passed, still not enough but did appreciate that time so much more.

1 hour ago, jmh2006 said:

Hi CC friends!  It has been a rough 10 days.  As some already know from that other site that shall remain nameless, I lost my dear father very unexpectedly on April 18th.  He was in good health up to the very end and would have been 88 this August.  I returned home today after a week down in North Carolina, where he lived, to help my sister take care of all the "things".  My sister moved down there from NJ last summer.  While I am still a little bit in shock that he is gone (my mother died in 2014), I am so thankful he was living life to the fullest up to the very end and we were all together the first weekend of April for a fun filled time.  My father had moved into a lovely independent living community in the fall of 2022 so he had downsized quite a bit which was very helpful this past week as were emptying his apartment.  I also urge everyone to have all their important papers organized in a file for your loved ones, should anything happen unexpectedly as did for us.  Even though we knew where all the "stuff" was he still had little post it notes all over his desk of passwords for his computer.  😃  We will be having a Celebration of Life in the summer down in NC for him.  

So sorry for your loss.  No matter their age losing a parent is always tough.  May his memories bring you and the family peace.

@Sea Dog enjoy your trip, I hear you with differing opinions.  I have a few in my life that swing wide both ways, told them not discussing with you.  So far all still good, hoping your friends can be the same.  Love Hilton Head, lots of great places to visit.

5 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

Fifty three years ago, this happened!

Happy Anniversary 💖🥂🎉

52 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

10 days of "nail biting" and emotional roller coaster ended today.

 

After the last week Iranian attack upon Israel, most of the airlines cancelled, again, their flights.

 

DS2 was supposed to arrive for the Passover holiday Saturday, the 20th. Rental car with 48 hours free cancellation.

 

Checking with the airline early Thursday (18th) -- the flight is a "go".

 

Friday morning "we" retaliate (who thought to attack Iran a couple of days before the Passover, with the risk of returning everyone of us to the shelters again??? no answer from "above").....

 

In no time at all, DS2's flight was cancelled. The airline agreed to reroute them via Paris. He counts himself lucky... Friends of his, who already checked their bags Friday morning, were rerouted via.... Abu Dhabi, spending the night flying East in order to get West.

 

BTW, the rental were very understanding and waived the cancellation fee.

 

Finally, we were reunited with our grands late this afternoon. What a huge relief and joy !!

 

Mark @h20skibum -- what a beautiful party. Well done, so glad your granddaughter enjoyed every minute of it.

 

@DaniDanielle -- hopefully Charlie is better and you're taking care of yourself too.

 

@aussielozzie18 -- aussie, as usual, your pics are stunning. Thanks for sharing.

 

💖 so happy to hear you are all able to spend passover together.

No limits but not sure how pricing may be affected if you wait longer.  If more people buy the discounts may be less.  On the other hand if not many are buying you may be able to get a nice discount.