ATG

We also self insure the trip cancellation portion. I’ve already paid that amount - it’s gone whether I am on the trip or not. And if I’m not it’s due to something major and the money is the least of my worries. Medical and evacuation are different - that’s additional cost I’d need to come up with. Since we travel several times a year, I purchase an annual policy. It works for us but everyone should look at their situation and make their own decision.

I also use the klymit inflatable pad, it works great and rolls up quite small. I also bring my own pillow.

In 2005 we celebrated my younger son’s high school graduation with a trip out west. One of the highlights was a one day raft trip through the Grand Canyon. It was run by one of the Native American tribes. They picked us up at a hotel in an old school bus which took a very rough road down to the river. We rafted for about 3 or 4 hours, almost to lLake Mead. Then we hiked up what seemed like a very steep mountain, but probably was just a hill. They then took us by helicopter to an airport where we met the school bus and were returned to our cars. I have great pictures of the walls of the canyon going up all around us.

Unless their tickets are tomorrow, I hope they brought rain gear. Saturday the forecast is 50 as a high with 99% rain chance. Augusta is about 45 minutes south of us and the warm weather we had early goofed up the azaleas. One of our neighbors went to the Monday round and said it was not nearly as beautiful as usual. This year they admitted 50,000 each practice day and 40,000 for the actual tournament.

As a kid in Indiana, my grandpa and I would go fishing for bluegill and crappie. Very fond memories.

I was planning on Costco today but realized it’s Masters week in Augusta. Everything will be crowded. I’ll wait 2 weeks for it to clear out.

I once ordered grits on a cruise and they came with cinnamon sprinkled on them. Yuck. Cinnamon, brown sugar and milk belong on oatmeal or cream of wheat.

I have grown to love grits. The small diner in the next town over has great ones. For those that don’t know grits, they are ground corn. The best are stone ground. I have heard that the only difference between grits and polenta is the grind. Grits are usually served at breakfast and most people add butter and pepper. Or they are served with cheese, often with shrimp. Instant grits taste like wet sand. There were a couple of places in Atlanta that had bagels. Around where I live the only ones available are Thomas at the grocery store. I know a real bagel person would not consider that a bagel. I’ve tried to bake my own, but they weren’t very good. I do bake my own English muffins.

I had never seen a bagel until we moved south.

I’m from Indiana and hadn’t heard of it until we moved south. Our neighbor in Tucker (an Atlanta suburb) was from a small town in South Georgia. She mentioned it. When I looked confused she invited us to brunch and made some. Wow! Hot chocolate sauce on biscuits! Yum! Definitely not healthy and I don’t want to know how many calories, but what a great idea.

Even an older (69) non-technical person like me can do it. And believe me, if I can just about anyone can. We live in a rather rural area and there is no Uber here, but I put the app on my phone and was able to figure it out. I didn’t even have to call my son for help!

On Odyssey it was 30 minutes. In one case near us they had been in the pool when sticky was attached, came back for a couple of minutes and went to swap wet towels. Pool staff were going to remove their stuff because they didn’t know the people had returned. Those of us who had seen them explained and staff left their stuff. I think this works reasonably well. I’m sure you have time for a bar or bathroom trip.

I was thrilled on Odyssey that they actually removed things from unoccupied chairs. They were using sticky notes with times and then came back. I’m always looking for chairs in the shade instead of pool side, but those are hard to find too.

We had the one with a separate shower and tub. It seemed like I was always going from one to the other. But that wasn’t a big thing. We loved the room and the location. More than enough storage and plugs. I agree with everyone about the elevator buttons. Great idea but just doesn’t work. We liked the music hall. Cafe Promenade was small. Cafe 270 was great but only open sometimes. The Book was one of the best shows I have seen. All in all, a great cruise (last January). But, I also prefer Oasis class. We’re booked on Anthem next year for 3 weeks - our 50th anniversary celebration. It was picked for the itinerary.

We use kindle unlimited. For $10 a month you can borrow up to 10 books at a time. When you finish one you return it and can then get a new one. DH reads a LOT and it’s a great deal for us. Not all authors are part of it, but enough that there’s always something to read. Last year they had an offer for a year for $99.

Woo woo! We booked this cruise while we were on odyssey in January! I can’t believe it! I’m excited to meet everyone in person.. I know I can’t keep up with the drinks - most of my D+ ones are used for Diet Coke.

We generally leave $10 to $20. But I do have a comment about the tip pool. I agree the server doesn’t get much as an individual from your 18%, but doesn’t he also get a portion of every one else’s 18%?

Our forecast for tomorrow morning is 26 to 28. This could be very harmful to the peach trees that bloomed last week. Our South Carolina peaches are very good, I hope the crop isn’t ruined.

@John&LaLa John - someone mentioned the parking garage for Oasis was full yesterday. Did you have any trouble getting in? What time did you get there? We’re debating drive or fly for our next Oasis cruise.

Based on a comment on another thread, the parking garage was full yesterday for the oasis cruise. Is this common? Do they offer an alternative? For a non-holiday or spring break week, how early should you get there?

If they cancel and refund it’s not a big deal. It’s not like that $90 on my credit card is going to break the bank.

It is only available on one of my 6 booked cruises. It happens to be the only 2023 one.

The same type of thing happened on mariner in the Solarium. We were on loungers next to a “bed” it’s about the size of a twin I believe. The woman on the bed was on the side, not the middle. Another woman came by and plopped down. The first woman said “ excuse me?” And the second woman said the beds were for 2 and refused to move. I was just shocked! First woman left after a short argument.

It’s over $200 for my next cruise. But the shocker to me was the over water cabana for $3,499! That’s almost what I paid for a 8 day cruise!

Your discussion about the book struck a chord with me. As a child I spent lots of time at the library and usually brought home as many books as I could carry. Back then the books had a paper card with the check out information. There was one book I loved and I checked it out frequently. As I got older I guess I outgrew the story and forgot about it. A few years ago I somehow remembered it and started hunting. I didn’t know the author or title but remembered a few character’s names and the plot. I was actually able to find it and Amazon had it on kindle. Due to arthritis in my hands I don’t use real books anymore. It’s definitely a childhood book, but I reread it frequently. I love the memories it evokes.