bobmacliberty

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

Graham - This is very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I took a look at Sunderland on Google Maps and between the Sunderland docks area and the banks of the River Wear, I can guess where many of these shipyards were likely located. You can still some of the remnants.

On my first business trip to Manchester, we stayed at a hotel very near Old Trafford (The Copthorne at Salford Quays). We didn't know at the time, but there was a Man U match the next day. That entire area was crazy with fans. We checked out the morning of the match. I can't imagine what it would have been like later that day. We also learned that you do NOT want to wear the wrong color in the wrong part of Manchester. 😬

We haven't been to the MDR in several cruises. We use a mix of Coastal Kitchen, specialty restaurants, and the Windjammer. The declining state of dining in general for Royal is one of the reasons that we are now considering other cruise lines. A former CEO of mine once said, "never give a customer a reason to change brands".

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. 😁

I think that same storm continued east across northern Florida and hit us. High winds and lots of thunder. No tornado but we have a lot of smaller branches down. Not as bad as you.

I've never even thought about that. Makes sense though. One of the biggest problems with cooking lobster is leaving them in the pot too long. Sous vide would let you more precisely control the temp. I would think that the vacuum seal would not be necessary though. Maybe just cook them in a sous vide controlled large pot??? Time to do some googling... Edit...Serious Eats (my go to web site for all things sous vide) agrees that sous vide is the best way to cook lobster. It's a little more involved than traditional techniques needing to par boil the lobster first, then remove the meat, then finish using sous vide. Adding this to my list of things to try. How to Cook Sous Vide Lobster | The Food Lab (seriouseats.com)

Thanks. I'll definitely be trying this, but I think I'll do a basic rotisserie first. You know...I need to get a baseline data point first. All in the name of science. 😁

I do have a sous-vide wand. How do you poach a whole chicken? Do you just use enough broth to cover the entire thing in a large pot? That would seem like a lot of broth. For how long do you poach it before putting it on the spit? Sounds like an interesting way to add flavor and moisture.

We haven't been there recently so I can't comment, other than to say that I hope it returns to what it was.

Thinking about a rotisserie chicken tonight. Playing with the new grill. 🙂

Out of curiosity, given that you're a doctor, is that a moral choice or a health choice? No judgement...I respect either.

Today is my first full day as a temporary bachelor. Micheline is visiting our daughter in Cincinnati for a couple of weeks to help her work in her 130 year old house. What will I do with my free time? Replace the light fixtures in our closet. 🤷‍♂️ I decided for dinner last night to make a smash burger on the grill, using a griddle insert. It was tremendous. I'll definitely be doing that again.

I like going to Horseshoe Bay beach. Possibly my favorite of any beach that I've been to (although that's a hard choice to make).

@CSHS1979 Laura - Please thank John for the great pictures. 🙂

For good reason...it's the Atlantis in Dubai. 🙂

Spectacular back-to-back sunset and sunrise photos. Just spectacular.

Looks like the Florida response to a category 1 or 2 hurricane.

You and I were on the same Freedom cruise in 2015. I remember discussing a Quest "wardrobe malfunction" in the review I wrote, and you commented that you were in that winning section. I still think that's the best Quest I've ever seen.

Who'd a thought that Dad jokes are actually worth something?

My guess...Rob will be the last one out of the maze and will go home. If they had shown that to everyone at the end of the last show, half the audience wouldn't bother tuning in for the finale. This way, they keep all of the Rob fans watching.

We have several of those big ice things near me. We do have fishing here, but some don't seem to be for fishing and rather just to get ice, like you would get a bag in a grocery store. Some are in front of convenience stores, and some are stand alone with nothing near them. They are all "Twice The Ice" from Ice House America, so there must be a profit in these things. Pictures from street view on Google Maps: This one is near a marina and is more likely for fishing:

I made the same prediction to Micheline. Great minds...

Your cabin is looking better and better. Love the nightlight and the shower but I don't have a lot of use for the hair dryer. 😁 Are you in a suite or do all cabins get all of the liquid amenities that you mentioned?

Same with us. We have a family cruise coming up on Wonder but then probably Oceania next for us to try out the "best food at sea". We'll stay with Royal for multigenerational cruising but want to try other lines as just a couple. Very interested in what Ken thinks (post cruise).