Quartzsite Cruiser

Terry, I'm sorry the bloodwork is still a problem. I hope you can see the oncologist soon and be able to follow up on the suggestions. The waiting to get an appointment, especially one sooner rather than later, is the worst part of the medical system. Tony, thanks for the pictures of your tour in Nagasaki. It gave us an idea of the part of the area we did not see. I'm always surprised at the number of people who go to Chinatown for Chinese food for lunch when they are in Japan. That happened on another cruise to Japan, too. Terri, I hope your floor guy finishes the floor tomorrow, and you don't have to move too much out and back. Karen, when you cruise to one area, or cruise a lot, the packing seems to go faster since you don't have to figure out where most things go in the luggage. Jake, that's good news you got your CCL credit applied to the December cruise quickly. Dixie, for many years you could email the CCL statement in; then they changed to wanting it faxed. On our last cruise in March 2022, they had changed it back to emailing. That is much easier for us, since we no longer have a fax machine. Lenda

Try calling to book the cruise as they sail out of your lake. They should be able to give you the date. 🤣 Lenda

It was still very pleasant and felt relatively cool for my walk. I also had a nice chat with my neighbor who returned Wednesday from an extended motorhome trip to New England and down the east coast. Their trip was cut a few days short because of Idalia. Annie, I think stunk about yesterday is about as serious as you can get on here, but I think another word comes to mind. I'm sorry @catmando Chuck got such a bad report from the doctor. I hope they can get him cleared for the injection for his hip, and that he can see a oncology dermatologist for his arm soon. I'm sorry you both had tummy issues after your lunch, and hope your are both feeling better soon. Debbie, it sounds like you have a fun day and Farkle with River planned. I hope the rest of the weekend is fun but not too tiring. Penny, I'm not surprised at the port change, but I'm glad the ships are still calling at Maui since the island is so depended on tourist dollars. It will be a different experience, but still a good day on Maui. Maureen, I hope you have good luck getting the pressure meter linked with wifi on your cruise. We've found that if you are planning on using the port's wifi, it works best while most of the passengers are on shore and on tour. Once they start returning and their phones and devices start loading pictures to the cloud, the wifi usually slows so drastically that it's not worth using. Hopefully your cell phones will work well in the ports. An early HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you since you will be traveling tomorrow. I'm glad Barb is recovering even if slowly. I hope the placing of the port and the chemo are not too hard on her. Thanks for the update. RNB, I'm glad you are your family are all right and without major damage. I hope the cleaning up is completed soon. Lenda

The first picture is related to our first visit to Nagasaki. In 2002, while the Diamond Princess and the Sapphire Princess were being built there, the Diamond caught fire and was pretty much gutted. In order to meet the launch deadline, the Sapphire became the Diamond, and the original Diamond was renamed Sapphire. This is what greeted us when we arrived in Nagasaki. These pictures were taken in the older part of the city. This a typical shopping arcade that is found in many Japanese cities. There was a pachinko parlor part way down, and DH went in to see if he could figure out the game. Even then, I'm not sure if we really understond it. These next pictures show a small part of the more modern city. This was taken looking at the city as we sailed. This is a comparison of the send offs between the two stops in Nagasaki. The first two were in 2002 on the Volendam, and the last was taken in 2005 on the Pacific Princess. Lenda

We have been to Nagasaki twice -- 2002 on the APEC cruise on Volendam and 2005 on the War in the Pacific Theater cruise on Pacific Princess. It is an easy town to walk in and to use the tram to get around. This is the first group of pictures I posted of our stops in Nagasaki. These are pictures of the Peace Park, an extensive area and these are just a few of the monuments. The bomb was dropped on August 9, 1945 at 11:02 am. As in Hiroshima, a portion of a building was left standing as a memorial. These are just a small sampling of the Peace Park. The park and the entire 2005 cruise commemorating the various battles to take back the Pacific Islands was a very moving experience. There will be more in another post. Lenda

@Cruzin Terri Terri, I hope your birthday is wonderful, and will be followed by many more wonder birthdays. Lenda

RABBIT 🐰 RABBIT 🐰 WHITE RABBIT 🐇 Good morning form a warmer central Texas. It is 75F and feels like 75F with 62% humidity and a dew point of 62F. It should still be pleasant when I take my walk in a little while. Our predicted high is 98F, and we'll be back in the triple digits beginning tomorrow, but it looks like we'll stay below 105F for the next week. 🤞 We've had two ginger cats who unfortunately did not live too many years, but were very loving cats. I'd rather have an apple popover, and someone else can have my tofu. It has never looked appealing to me, and even our vegetarian DD only likes it fried. An interesting quote from George Bernard Shaw that made me smile. We'll pass on the meal, drink and wine today. We have visited Nagasaki twice, and I'll retrieve my pictures next. Hats off to the first woman telephone operator. I worked as a switchboard operator at one time. It was one of the jobs I said I wanted to do when I was about four or five, and I actually got to do it for a while. Also, a great day for our Canadian Dailyites who will be celebrating Saskatchewan and Alberta joining the Confederation in 1905. @HAL4NOW Thanks for the beautiful pictures, Tony. @kazu Jacqui, I'm sorry your elbow is getting worse not better. I hope the new therapist can help with the cupping. @Crazy For Cats Jake, I hope Mona doesn't let you sleep too late tomorrow, and that you and DH have a safe flight to Montreal. @ottahand7 Nancy, I hope the staining goes quickly and well today. The dinner with your sister and her family sounds lovely. Lenda

The only businesses along the road are anothher dollar store, a rv oark and a servive station, plus a church. My guess is the rv park gad problems. There are a lot of homes in the area too. Lenda

Jacqui, it's not the city that will foot the bill. We are in the country, and the water company is owned as a subsidiary of our electric coop. Either way, I'm almost positive some insurance company will be paying. Lenda

Jacqui, my guess would be the contractor. After all, it was his crew that broke the water main. Actually, I bet it will be his insurance company. I'm on my Android tablet, and I didn't have any trouble accessing your signature and the spreadsheet. My guess is he accidentally turned off signatures. I've done it before, and it's easy to do accidently. Lenda

We have a slight change of plans for dinner. About three to four hours ago, we discovered we didn't have any water pressure, just a trickle of water. It turns out the contractor connecting the water to the new dollar store a couple of miles down the road broke the water main. The water was finally on a little after 5. That was too late to get the meatloaf made and cooked at a decent time. We'll be having grilled cheese sandwiches and potato chips instead. The good news is, I don't have to figure out what to make for tomorrow's dinner. 😁 Lenda

Carolyn, hoping your are 100% soon. That news is so sad. I hope the medical emergency patient is doing better now. Maureen, that is great news about the improvement seen in the scan. I'm glad that Benadryl helped relieve some of the itching. Lenda

It was still pleasant when I finally was able to take my walk this morning. Last night, I did see the Blue Moon which was actually orange, but looks yellow in the picture. Because of houses and trees, I wasn't able to see when it first started rising. Even though it was still big in the sky, I had to zoom in because of the ambient light, so the picture is slightly fuzzy. Terri, thanks for checking in. I'm happy you had minimum damage, and that the sun is shining. It's good news the flooring guy will only be 1/2 late. Bruce, safe travels to you and Sue tomorrow. You will be on your way to a wonderful two weeks with family by the time I get up in the morning. Terry, I hope all the bloodwork for you DH is good, and that the doctor can help with the poor eating. Gerry, I hope there are visa services in Canada that can (for a price) help Canadians obtain a visa for India. In 2003, we were able to drive to the Consulate in Houston, drop our passports and applications off and then pick up the passports and visas that afternoon. A few years later, the passports had to be sent to India for visas, which not many people wanted to do, and our visa service in Houston quit handling visas for India. I just looked up how US citizens can obtain India visas, and things are a lot better. We can now get them online. I'm still not sure we ever will or will want to go back to India. Lenda

We were lucky to be there when it was safe to go out on your own. The last day, we wandered down toward the market. Four of us took one of the small boats out to the back waters. They stopped the boat at a relative’s house. He and his kids came out with a anaconda, a three toed sloth and a green parrot. I was surprised at how soft the sloth’s fur was. When we returned to Manaus, we also went to the market and wandered around that area. When you are on one of the small boats going through the channels in the jungle, you can get an up close look at the flora and fauna. We also saw the pink dolphins in the wild, but I could not get a good picture of them. Some of the houses in the jungle The sloth and the anaconda at a house where we stopped. The area around the market and the market which was just a few blocks from the ship. The sign that marked the high water line of the river each year. The sunset when we left Manaus. Lenda

We were in Manaus in 2006 on the old Regal Princess doing b2bs making it a round trip from FLL. Since Manaus was a turn around port for those doing only 14 days, we were there 2 1/2 days. The afternoon we arrived, we took a riverboat tour that also included a small boat through the jungle. We saw the pink dolphins then. The next day we did a city tour that included the opera house and the zoo. in the afternoon we took a shuttle out to a resort. I'll begin with pictures of our first afternoon in Manaus when we took a tour out in the jungle. I'll also include pictures from our tour the next day. One of the stops on the tour was the zoo where we saw many of the animals native to the jungle. However, the zoo was old and sadly many animals were in small cages, so I decided not to show those pictures. Manaus as we approached the dock. Some of the river boats that transport people along the river, and are also used for tours. From our river tour and the place where we transferred to smaller boats to go into the jungle. More from the Opera House The stage and orchestra pit A reception room One of the nicer buildings Where many regular locals live Manaus at night from the ship Lenda

Good morning from a sunny central Texas where it is 72F and feels like 72F. The humidity is 70F with the dew point at 61F. It should be nice for my walk when I finish here. Our high will be 97F, so not too bad. Not much on the agenda today, so I'll probably be working mostly on pictures. I gone through a lot of them, but there are still a lot more on the computer that need tweaking or culling. I was glad to see so many of our Dailyites weathered Idalia well with minimal damage. I hope those we have not heard from fared as well too. The pictures of the destruction are sobering. We won't be eating outside, but once we get back to Quartzsite we may since eating outside is a lot easier there. I'm not a fan of trail mix, and I've enjoyed some memoirs. When I read, I mostly want fiction. And interesting quote, and one that is too often true. The summer corn salads look good, but tonight it will be meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad and wine. We'll pass on the drink, but might want to try the wine if we ever find it. We were in Manaus in 2006 on the old Regal Princess. I'll work on my pictures in a little while. Thomas Edison's invention of the motion picture camera changed entertainment forever. @Denise T Denise, I hope the laptop repair is quick and that the computer is still under warranty. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, thank you for your pictures from Manaus. I hope your DGD is doing all right at the aquarium. @ottahand7 Nancy, I'm glad the mystery of the "large cat" is solved. Thank you for your pictures, too. @marshhawk Annie, I hope @catmando Chuck's infusion treatment goes smoothly. @RMLincoln Maureen, I'm sorry your DH is having more itching. I hope the eye doctor can do something about it. @kazu Jacqui, glad to see you have a few rain free days. @dfish Debbie, I hope you and Sue have a fun time with River this weekend. Lenda

@Mr. Boston Safe travels today for both you and your DH. Enjoy your time in Europe and then on the Oosterdam. Lenda

Sharon, our condolences to you, your DM, and all the family on the passing of your aunt. I hope your uncle can find peace, heal and take care of himself. I'm sure the family will help and look after him. Lenda

Maureen, I'm glad your nephew's trailer did not flood. I hope all Dailyites in the path of Idalia fare as well too. Lenda

Terri, thanks for keeping us updated. I hope you are high enough that the storm surge does not reach you. Glad you are both safe and not affected by the storm. Joy, I hope it's sooner rather than later for the Covid booster. Because of DH's surgeries last October, I got my last booster about the end of September. I am trying to be careful, but with all the doctor visits DH is having, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I haven't heard or read of many cases of the new variant in our area yet, but there are some in the greater DFW area. I'd planned to wait until later September or sometime in October for the flu and RSV shots. Tony, I'm glad the weather improved and you enjoyed your day on PEI. It is a very pretty and interesting island. Lenda

Good afternoon. I've gotten a few small, pesky chores out of the way. but it's really been an easy morning. after several busy days. Gerry, I'm glad that your DH's problem wasn't his heart, and I think you did the correct thing calling the ambulance. DH had BPPV; about 15 years ago, and he was given some mild exercises to help break up the crystal in the inner ear. BTW, for those who have never had the misfortune to have or know someone who's had BPPV;, it stands for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Joy, last year when I needed to have the assistance of the paramedics to help get DH into and out of the car, we were helped by some wonderful people. One of the EMTs saw our grand piano, and while his partner was finishing the paper work, he gave us a short concert. As they left, the even put the throw rug back in place. It takes a special kind of person to handle that job and to be so caring. Carolyn, I'm sorry you had a stomach bug, but I'm glad you are feeling better today. I hope your DSIL and family in Savannah do not have any problems from Idalia. Paul, that is good news your injured places are less sore today. Sadly, those ports you mentioned are the only way cruise passengers can see the inland cities. Ann, I'm glad the birthday party Monday was a success, and that the birthday boy enjoyed it. Mary Kay, I checked with our local pharmacy yesterday, and they have no idea when the new Covid booster or the RSV vaccine will be available. They are not keeping a waiting list either. Lenda

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We did not go to Tel Aviv the day we were in Haifa. Due to the cancellation of the port in Egypt, we spent two days in Ashdod. The second day, we went to Tel Aviv, and this is what I posted on April 29, 2021. The second day we were docked in Ashdod, we talked about finding a taxi to take us to Bethlehem, but after two long days spent in a taxi, we decided against going there. Along with another couple, we found a taxi in the port to take us to Jaffa and Tel Aviv. If we're lucky enough to return to Ashdod, I want to find someone to take us to Bethlehem and Jerusalem for a slower walk in the Old City. Jaffa is the ancient port for Jerusalem. It is a town we really enjoyed. Looking from Jaffa toward Tel Aviv. Our driver dropped us off at seaside promenade in Tel Aviv. After a short time along the sea, our next stop was a mall in downtown Tel Aviv, and we had an hour or so to wander around. I'll confess we spent most of our time in the mall where we shared a pizza. A couple of street scenes in Tel Aviv taken from the car as we headed back to the Prinsendam. Lenda Cruising-along, kplad

Here are the rest of the pictures from our day touring northern Israel. Our first stop was Nazareth and the Church of the Annunciation. We were both surprised at how modern the church was. In the open area beside the church was a view of the remains of the ancient village of Nazareth. Naturally, across the street was the usual tourist trap (Opps! I meant, shop.) 😀 Our next stop was Cana and the wedding church where Jesus turned water into wine. Since there was a service when we were there, we were not able to see the wine casks. And nearby. The next stop after Cana, was the Jordan River. We made several stops along the Sea of Galilee and drove through the town of Tiberius before visiting Capharnaum. At this stop, either we did not see a souvenir store, or I didn't take a picture of it. Lenda Live4cruises, Lcu

We were in Haifa on 10/22/17 on the Prinsendam. On the recommendation of a fellow CC member, we hired a taxi for a tour and saw a lot of northern Israel. Because there are quite a few pictures, I'll post the ones of Haifa first, then post some from our day outside the city. Haifa from the Prinsendam The Baha'i Gardens as seen from the Prinsendam. On our return to town, we stopped at the overlook at the top of the Baha'i Gardens, then drove past the entrance at the bottom of the hill. There was a conference being held that day, so the gardens were closed to visitors. Our home away from home from the top of the Baha'i Gardens. Lenda