Quartzsite Cruiser

Oh no, Terri. I'm so sorry you tested positive, but I'm glad Jim is negative. I hope you can get over this quickly. Lenda

Good afternoon from a very warm central Texas. It is 93F with a 10mph wind and lower humidity at 47% with the dew point at 68F. The mowing took a bit longer than expected between needed to work on the string in the trimmer, and the mower clogging with the thick weeds. After, I finished, the wind picked up, and I sat outside in the shade and breeze to cool off before heading to the shower. Tonight we are going to share a ribeye, and have baked potatoes and salad with our wine. The wine du jour is a nice cardbordeaux cabernet sauvignon which is the house brand at Costco. Tomorrow, I plan to smoke a half brisket to have with potato salad and the Mexican salad with corn and black beans that was a recipe of the day a while back. I'm doing it the easy way with caned beans and canned corn. Tina, please wish your parents a VERY HAPPY 65TH ANNIVERSARY for us. Gerry, please wish your DS A VERY HAPPY 43ND BIRTHDAY for us. Maureen, I hope you have a wonderful time tomorrow seeing the play, and that you can have dinner at the Pompton Queen Diner. Enjoy your visit with your DH's DS and DDIL. I'm glad they made it to the gate in time. Brenda, that is definitely not good news about the places in the pipe that need replacing, but it is good they found them before they broke. I'm glad things about your flights appear to be working out. I hope that continues, and you have a safe flight home. Roy, thank you for letting us know about yesterday. I hope you have a better night's sleep tonight. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, sending best wishes for a successful tournament for Ren and the team this week. I hope you are feeling better. I have enjoyed seeing everyone's pictures of Ketchikan today. I know if I try to name you, I'll forget someone. Lenda

The final set of pictures. We have rented cars a few times in Ketchikan and driven both directions from town. Heading southeast from town. Now, going northwest from town. Totem Bight State Historical Park. In 2018 on Zaandam, we were also fortunate to see their 4th of July Parade. It was a warm, sunny day in the mid 80s, and the locals were complaining about the heat. It was the only time we've left the ship in shorts and without a raincoat. We watched the parade from the ship, which gave us a great viewpoint. The flyover by the seaplanes. These were just two of many. The final entrant. This is not how we normally dress when we're in Ketchikan. We were just glad we had shorts with us. Lenda

I'll try to add a few more of my pictures from Ketchikan. I always enjoy the sail away, and the trip down the channel. First, this is an interesting totem that we saw in 2018. Heading down the channel. One of the Alaska Marine Highway ferries, Columbia. The drydock The airport, which is reached by ferry. Does anyone remember the bridge to nowhere controversy. The bridge was supposed to connect Ketchikan with the airport. Lenda

Our first visit to Ketchikan was in June 1993, in the pre-digital age on the old Sky Princess. We have been back there many times, mostly on BHB's and in all kinds of weather. I have too many pictures for one post. It may even take three posts. In 2012 and 2014 we visited Ketchikan five times on Amsterdam. We generally do multiple b2bs in Alaska figuring we'll get at least one decent day in the ports. In 2012, we booked two tours using 2 for 1 coupons from the Great Alaskan Tour Saver. The first one was a float plane flight to Misty Fjords. Most of my pictures are the same as those posted earlier. This tour was interesting, but it is one and done, since we came within seconds of flying into one of the mountains. Fortunately, the fog cleared just in time for the pilot to pull up and turn very sharply. We landed on calm bay and had the opportunity to step out on the pontoon. After the near miss, neither of us nor the other couple wanted to do that. The next time the Amsterdam took us to Ketchikan, we took the Duck Tour. It was disappointing as we did not spend very long on the water, and most of the time was touring downtown. In 2012, we did b2b2bs on Amsterdam. We arranged to take the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour on the Aleutian Ballad. The ship had been a crab fishing boat and was featured in season 2 of Deadliest Catch when it was caught by a wave and rolled 360 degrees. They showed that scene from the show on the boat. It is illegal to feed Bald Eagles in Alaska. However, the tour took us to an island owned by one of the native corporations where they also owned the surrounding water, and the law did not apply. The crew cut up bait fish and threw them toward the eagles. It was amazing to watch the eagles catch the fish. Another part of the tour was demonstrating the various crab traps and other traps. They would haul the traps up and show us the catch, which was then released. We also learned that an octopus is really very, very floppy. On one of the subsequent visits to Ketchikan, we took an off road tour featuring Tom-Toms, an Israeli built ATV. DH did not like how it drove. It was wet, misty and cold up in the mountains, but it turned out it was dry and sunny in town. We were the height of fashion that day. We stopped at one point to see a waterfall and to learn about the different plants and trees. Lenda

Good morning from a sunny day in central Texas. It is 73F with 90% humidity and a dew point of 70F. The weather app says there is a 1mph wind. Our high this afternoon will be 93F, so I better get moving and get the mowing and trimming done before it gets too hot. Yesterday driving back from Dallas it was very clear once we were away from the city. We could see for miles and miles, and enjoyed the still green country. Three interesting days to celebrate. Wind power is good and there are a lot of wind turbines along I-20 between Abilene and Big Spring. LGBTQIA plus equal pay are important. The Magna Carta was an important document in early England. We saw the document in the British Library when we spent a week in London. I like the quote from Friedrich Nietzsche. We'll pass on the meal, drink and wine today. We have been to Ketchikan many times beginning with our first Alaska cruise in 1993. The 1215 signing of the Magna Carta by King John was a momentous day. I've seen the moving picture of the horse running on tv shows. @Mtn2Sea Welcome home, Robert. @Crazy For Cats Enjoy your day in NH with the special lunch to celebrate your friend's upcoming birthday. @cat shepard Ann, thanks for the "picture" of the no-see-ums. They are nasty little pests, and I'm glad we left them behind when we moved away from the Gulf coast area. @ottahand7 Nancy, thanks for the update on your DB's recovery. I hope this time, the knee replacement will not become infected again. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I hope you can shake the cold soon. @Heartgrove Jack, thanks for the information about the Sentinel class of Coast Guard cutters. It's nice the enlisted personnel are honored too. @Cruzin Terri Welcome home, Terry. I hope you are over your cold soon, and that your ears are back to normal soon. @mamaofami Carol, congratulations to your grandsons on their high school graduations, awards and scholarships. Also congratulations to another grandson on his college graduation. @marshhawk Annie, I'm glad the job situation is settled. Thanks for the pictures of the boat tour in Misty Fjords. We took a float plane over the area, but I would like to take the boat tour also. Lenda

@Himself I hope you have a great cruise, Father. Lenda

Granted what is cold for thin bloodied Texans is not cold for those from more northern regions, but our highs can be in the 50s and 60s, damp and windy. On a cruise in Iceland, Alaska, or Norway okay, but day to day in Arizona, not fun. We go to Arizona in the winter because it can be better than Texas. Operative word is can. Lenda

Historically, December is our coldest month in Quartzsite, but January and February can be cold too. However, compared to Michigan,it is probably balmy. That is why we cruise in winter from Q. Lenda

Sharon, I'm glad you and Craig are there for your DGD. Susan, I bet your glad to get your place to yourself and the dogs after the last few days. Lenda

Good afternoon. We got home about an hour ago. Everything went well, and the traffic was not bad except about the last mile or two before we turned off I-35E, but that area is always a problem. Too many major highways entering and exiting I-35E in that area. The trip home was even easier. DH and I appreciate all the good wishes for safe travel and a good appointment. The shunt adjustment is simple. The nurse practioner places a device over the shunt valve which reads the current setting. Then she places another device over the valve which has a magnet that is used to do the adjustment. (And, no, I can't adjust it with just any old magnet.) At first, she was hesitant to do the adjustment since she felt most of the current symptoms were the result of a possible concussion when DH tripped and fell, hitting his head on the tile floor at the end of April. However, she did the adjustment as it might help with some of the symptoms. We also learned that concussions can take a while to get over. We'll see how things go over the next week or so. We have a follow up CT Scan and appointment in mid-July. We also learned to make the follow up appointment while we were there, and we still have to wait a little longer than than a month. Now, it's back to our normal, dull routine. Denise, I'm glad you are home safely. I'm also glad your presentation and the conference were a success. Katherine, I hope by now, you are on your ship and enjoying a cool drink. Have fun. Terry, I'm glad everyone is well enough to be at the table tonight. Annie, that is good news about Scottie. I hope he is able to make a full recovery. I also hope the job situation works our well for you. Sandi, I'm glad The Relatives are keeping a low profile. Gerry, I can believe the jack rabbit was huge. We have really big ones in the desert around Quartzsite. I thought I had a picture of one, but I couldn't find it. Eva, welcome to the messy bakers, kitchen klutz group. You are in good company. Pennie, I looked at the picture of the gear shift, and then did a double take. Vanesa, I'm glad your routine blood work looked good. I'm glad you could get in a round of golf today. Tony, thanks for the pictures of Dravuni Island. Carolyn, I never cared for chop suey either. I think we had chow mien instead, but I prefer lo mien. I am glad Amber is doing well, and is getting the therapy she needs at home. Lenda

A quick early good morning from central Texas before I start getting ready to head to Dallas. As I expected, I woke up too early and couldn't get back to sleep. According to the weather app, it's clear and 71F with a predicted high of 93F. I don't remember the last time I had chop suey. For the past few years, I've been looking into my family history. Flag Day is another good day to celebrate. An interesting quote from Angie Dickinson. The meal sounds good if the avacado isn't too ripe. Mai Tais are good, and the best place to have one is at the beach bar at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel watching the sun set behind Diamondhead. I'll pass on the wine. We have not been to Dravuni Island. Wow on the 29 inning baseball game in 1966. Roy, best wishes for today’s tests. Sandi, I hope you get rid of that cough soon. Lenda

Sandi, thanks for the good wishes. I just wish we weren't going during rush hour. Dallas traffic can be a zoo. Lenda

Terri, I'm glad everything went well, and you made it to Jacksonville without any incidents. The bonus is your luggage made it too. Safe travels home today. Lenda

Debbie, as I uspected, Messy Painters Guild, Messy Bakers and Kitchen Klutzs are related, the last two particularly. Sounds like you got a goid report over all today. Terri, glad things are finally working out. Lenda

Good afternoon. DH has an appointment tomorrow morning at UTSW for another shunt adjustment. It is at 9 am, so we have to leave no later than 7am. I may not be around until after we get back from Dallas. We just hope the traffic isn't too bad tomorrow. I'm also doing another happy dance this afternoon. My passport card arrived in the mail today. All that is left is the old passport which should be here soon. @Lady Hudson Katherine, an early Bon Voyage. I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, just wanted to let you know, we haven't been to tomorrow's port, so you don't need to waste time looking for my pictures. You and your BD are angels to take Shirl's calls and to try to help her adjust while keeping her DB in the loop. I hope she will adjust to her new home soon. Tony, thanks for the pictures of Ghent. We might have to give the town another try, and hope it's not raining or on a Sunday. Oh no, about your neurologist leaving the practice. It would have been nice if you had learned sooner, and been given information about the new doctor. Brenda, it is always hard to give the granddog back. I'm sorry the two workers were seriously injured. I hope they will be all right. More good memes, John. Lenda

Great news. Safe travels, and I hope all goes smoothly all the way home. Lenda

Terri, I'm sorry the plane is delayed again. I hope this is the last change. I'm sure when you booked the trip, it was a good idea. It was circumstances beyond your control that caused al the problems. Sadly, you and your DH were the victims of too many SNFUs. Lenda

Got both of them! Lenda

It is still sunny, but as usual for this part of Texas in the spring and summer, big, fluffy clouds are building. However, there is no rain in the forecast. My errands are finished, and the one I dreaded the most was the easiest. Since we do not have home mail delivery in Quartzsite, all property owners are entitled to a free PO box. Each year, you have to fill out a census form to keep the box. In the past, we just had to verify the information, but now, we have to prove we own property each year. This means taking something showing you own property into the PO, but since our month for the census is in June, we have to go to the Whitney PO. This is the first year the clerk handled it without a lot of hassle. There is an axe throwing place in our county seat across from the courthouse. It is in an old bank building. We have no plans to check it out. Terry, I'm glad the three girls are feeling better, but sorry the guys now have the bug. I hope it is short lived for them too. Fred, thanks for the pictures of your lovely peonies, and the story behind them. Annie, I'm sorry your appointments were set back a month. I hope the Home Depot people get there today. Thank you, Graham. Roy, I hope all goes smoothly tomorrow and that it is not too stressful. Roy, I'm glad the ship was able to get the last bus of passengers back on board. We had the Noordam III move from Monaco to Ville France due to weather when we were out independently. They arranged shuttle busses to get the passengers from Monaco to the ship. Gerry, I hope you get some answers about the pacemaker setting. BTW, I can't help wondering if the Kitchen Klutzes are also the Messy Painters. Charlene, I hope you continue to avoid flooding with all that rain. It's just my opinion, but we found Bruges much more interesting than Ghent. It would be difficult to see both in one day and to do them justice. Karen, I know your last "first" will not be an easy day. You could wait until that morning to see what you feel like doing. I hope all your good memories will make that day easier. Ann, I'm glad Pat made it home safely yesterday. Your peonies are lovely, too. Lenda

These are pictures from our two times in Bruges. In 2004, in addition to walking around Bruges, we also took a boat ride on the canals. Bruges was quite a bit more crowded on June 2004, than it was in September 2016. These pictures are a combination of both visits. A couple of pictures of Zeebrugge on the way to the train station. In 2016, we took the train from Blankenberge. This picture was taken from the train station looking toward the church were the shuttle dropped us. In 2016 on our walk from the train station to the walled part of Bruges, we found a smaller gate that lead us through a part of Bruges we'd not seen in 2004. An open area on the way to the main plaza. The main plaza was not wall to wall tourists. We took a ho-ho tour that year, and saw some of town outside the walls including this windmill. Different views of Bruges from a canal boat. We came across this area on the way back to the train station. Lenda

In 2011 on the Prinsendam, we took a tour to Ghent. I'm glad we got to see the town, but it is not as picturesque as Bruges. We were there on a Sunday, and there were not many shops open, so we had more free time to wander around the older part of town than we needed. The tour included a boat ride on the canal that goes from Ghent to the Scheldt River. These are a few of the pictures from the boat ride. An old warehouse turned into what looks like a beer garden. The area around the main square and the church. I don't think the weather helped with our impression of Ghent. Lenda

Since @richwmn Rich mentioned Brussels in today's destination, I'll include some pictures from our 2008 visit there. This time we were on the Prinsendam and docked in Antwerp. After an hour tour that morning of Antwerp on the Ho-Ho that did not have any stops, we took a tour to Brussels. It was a good thing it was a ship's tour since we were late getting back to the ship. The weather in Brussels went from bad to worse, with a heavy downpour as we were leaving town. Our bus driver got lost, and we got to see more of the town that planned. These first pictures are from the Brussels Expo site which was the place of the 1958 Expo. The third one is the Atomium. I'm not sure what this building is, but it looks important. We had a walking tour of part of downtown Brussels. Brussel's famous statue. It is very small and almost hidden, and could easily overlooked. As you can see, it really started raining once we were back in the bus and supposedly heading to Antwerp. Lenda

Good morning from a sunny ☀️ central Texas. It is 74F with 100% humidity with a dew point of 73F. However, there is no condensation on the window this morning. Our predicted high will be 94F. Last night, for the first time in many, many days, I saw the moon. Today will be busy with errands this morning and laundry. I plan to get the first load in the washer going before I run my errands. I'll skip the axe throwing for everyone's safety. I hope Doe B's fans celebrate the day. I can be a klutz in the kitchen; actually, just about anywhere. An interesting quote from Plato. We'll skip the meal, drink and wine. We have been in Zeebrugge three times, going to Bruges twice and Ghent once. We were there once on Noordam III, and twice on the Prinsendam. We have also been to Brussels once when Prinsendam docked in Antwerp. It is interesting the world's oldest treaty, signed in 1373 is still in existence. @rafinmd Roy, thank you for providing the maps. Rich @richwmn I hope you get your internet back soon. @MISTER 67 I hope you don't experience any flooding. @Cruzin Terri Terri, I hope you can make it to Miami and on to Jacksonville today. Safe travels. @aliaschief Bruce, enjoy the realities of being back in the real world. 😉 @cat shepard Ann, I hope your area gets some rain, but not the downpours the southern part of the state is getting. @dfish Debbie, enjoy your visit with Sue's former SILs, and try to stay cool. Lend

Vaneesa, that is good news than BFF is healing well, and is out of the splint and has a walking boot. Beautiful flowers, Carolyn. Thank you. Terri, I hope you make your flight tomorrow, but your safety comes first. I'm glad the hotel can accommodate you 8f the flight doesn't go. I'm glad the cat was found. Her son has his hands full. Lenda